After reading about aid ships refusing to go to Somalia due to the rampant piracy off the Somali coast, I wanted to see what YouTube turned up on the subject.

Take a look at what happens when the ship Somali pirates chose to attack turns out to be the USS Gonzalez!

Yesterday I was delivered one of the toys I bought when I still had a paycheck: a Nikon SB-400 flash to go with my Nikon D50 camera. I’ve taken only a few pictures with it but already I love it! The most noticeable thing is its compact size: about half the size of my previous flash. The next thing you notice is the lack of capacitor whine when its readying for the next flash – its absolutely quiet.

The SB-400 only needs two AA-batteries to do its thing, whereas my old flash needed 4. I tried loading it up with my NiMH batteries but it promptly spit them out. To be fair, I don’t know how healthy those old batteries are (they’re at least 10 years old) but with the amount of pictures I take having rechargeable batteries is a must.

Another cool thing about the SB-400 is that its smart enough to turn itself off when its camera host is turned off. That’s one less power switch to worry about. You’d think a feature as clever as this would’ve been standard on flashes for years now.

I took some practice shots yesterday with the flash. It can fire at one flash per second; probably faster if I set the camera to “machine gun mode.” Its certainly faster than the built-in flash.

The best feature of the new flash (and the reason I got it) is its ability to do bounce flashes. Lighting provides the flavoring for any scene. Having lighting options is essential for capturing an image. Bounce flashes provide a more natural look to most subjects: a nice, diffused light. It will do wonders for my indoor shots.

The SB-400 gets a big thumbs-up from me. Its small, inexpensive at $100, and provides most everything one could ask for in a flash. MT.Net says check it out!

(Thanks to Ken Rockwell for turning me on to the SB-400.)

I just got finished reading Lee Iacocca’s new book, Where Have All The Leaders Gone? It is filled with wisdom that only a Detroit CEO could provide.

Iacocca is a genius at breaking down difficult problems into manageable parts. He speaks his mind, which is a trait I admire. The guy also has credibility, having turned Chrysler around from bankruptcy to success with the invention of the minivan.

Iacocca’s been in the news again with the recent news that DaimlerChrysler is selling off Chrysler, a move that reverses a merger Iacocca feels (and now others admit) was a colossal mistake from the start. Still, Iacocca isn’t thrilled about the spinoff, saying Daimler is “kicking Chrysler to the curb.”

Where Have All The Leaders Gone is an entertaining look at America through the eyes of one of its legendary business leaders. At 82, Lee Iacocca still has something to say.

Well, this will have scientists guessing for a while.

…already reading this guy’s blog?

MT.Net reader Mike B. sent me this interesting story from the New York Times, describing the effects of subsidized farming on the American waistline:

For the answer, you need look no farther than the farm bill…. … the current farm bill helps commodity farmers by cutting them a check based on how many bushels they can grow, rather than, say, by supporting prices and limiting production, as farm bills once did. The result? A food system awash in added sugars (derived from corn) and added fats (derived mainly from soy), as well as dirt-cheap meat and milk (derived from both). By comparison, the farm bill does almost nothing to support farmers growing fresh produce. …. The reason the least healthful calories in the supermarket are the cheapest is that those are the ones the farm bill encourages farmers to grow.

Now if people would stop stuffing their faces with Twinkies, that would help, too.

Part of my day job involves doing demos of our product. The tool I have been using is WebEx, mainly out of habit more than any other reason. WebEx, though, has a few faults, such as price and lack of Linux supoprt – a significant drawback for a company like mine with Linux-based products.

A coworker recommended GatherPlace. I tried it out today and am pleased with the results. It is more affordable than other solutions, has support for Windows and Mac presenters, and supports Windows, Mac, and Linux clients through its Java application. Though Linux isn’t supported for the presenter, GatherPlace does allow Linux clients to take control of the presentation, which is the next best thing.

If you’re looking for a web service that gives Linux a little more respect, give GatherPlace a test drive.

The ever-excellent O’Donnellweb found this story of an experiment conducted by the Washington Post. The Post wanted to see if commuters on the Metro would pay attention to a street musician playing in the station if the musician happened to be a virtuoso. The musician was the master violinist Joshua Bell, who has played in the finest venues in the world.

Included in this captivating story are video clips of Bell’s performance, as well as the reactions of the passersby. As for me, listening to him play sent chills through me. His music brims with emotion.

Guess what reaction he draws from commuters?

I’ve got a few pictures of the lovely Mrs. Vincentine Williams and my old Spanish Fort homes. You can find most of them here, and a few from the day before here.

The green house in the pictures belonged to our next-door neighbors on Cavalry Charge, the Helmses. I don’t know if they still live there or not, as I didn’t have time to bother the people now living in our Cavalry Charge home.