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RainyDayMagazine's content can now be licensed for your print magazine or web site. Please contact us directly here. If you want to see something reviewed, then drop us a note with a link and we'll be happy to take a look.
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June 30, 2011- Quincy Quarries Reservation ... |
If the rock outcroppings in the photo below don't look natural it is because they were man-made. The formations are the result of over two hundred years of granite quarrying for stone used to build everything from the cornerstones of banks to the Bunker Hill Monument. The Quincy granite quarries are amongst the oldest in the country. They began in the 1700's, ceased operation in the 1960's, was purchased by the MDC in the 1980s, and are now managed as part of the Blue Hills Reservation.
After the quarries closed in the 1960s, they became filled with water and were popular with the locals for swimming, diving, and rock climbing. Its popularity was a struggle for the police as public safety was a constant issue. Numerous attempts, none of them successful, were made to discourage the more dangerous practices such as cliff diving. Some of them (floating old telephone poles) actually... [more]- Quincy Quarries Reservation
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June 29, 2011- One Tenth Design:Bridge ... |
Document shredders are standard equipment in most offices. They prevent sensitive information from being just lifted out of the trash. With identity theft on the rise shredders are also becoming more common in homes and home offices. For the most part, shredders do what they are suppose to do...chew stuff up into strips or little bitsy pieces. The problem with them is not their function, but their form. The typical document shredder for the home looks like an offspring of a leaf shredder and a trash can. One company, One Tenth Design, aims to change all of that with their Bridge Compact Shredder.
The Bridge is a personal document shredder for those with occassional shredding needs. It is small, cleverly designed, and simple to operate. The unit is about 10" in length at the top and tapers down to about 8". We are not sure why there is a warning icon for keeping hands out of the slots as they are way too small even for a baby's hands to get at the cutting blades. In fact, the blades are... [more]- One Tenth Design: Bridge Shredder
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June 28, 2011- Clayton Boyer: Clock designer... |
After we did the FirstLook of the Rockwell BladeRunner, the interns brainstormed about what would be a good FirstUse project to throw at it. One day the interns rushed in, very excited, and exclaimed that they had found the perfect project to test out the BladeRunner: they had discovered the wooden clocks of Clayton Boyer.
Interns...they are so enthusiastic. We didn't have the heart to tell them that we were well aware of Mr. Boyer and his amazing wooden clock designs, moreover that we had already saved some room in this Winter's RainyDayProjects schedule to build some of the clocks. However, as we had not... [more]- Clayton Boyer: Clock Designer
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June 27, 2011- Digital Publishing for the iPad... |
Compared to the likes of Wired and Martha Stewart Living, we are a small publisher (100K viewers/month, <2000 downloads/iPad issue). When we heard that Adobe was looking for beta testers for their new Digital Publishing Suite (DPS), we applied and were accepted. Over the course of six months we learned to use the evolving suite of tools and managed to build and publish three apps (2010 Holiday Gift Guide, Spring 2011 issue, 1000 Character Reference).
The Beta program ended on June 8 of this year and the tools are now available for purchase. Unfortunately for us, the current Adobe pricing is WAY out of our range:
- Startup/recurring fee for using the DPS: $5k platform fee + $495/month,
- Per issue fee: $0.30/issue, 25000 issue-block minimum, prepaid.
The large publishing houses can afford to front the money and play, but it is unlikely we will ever be able to justify the current Adobe rates for publishing to the iPad. Granted, Adobe is not interested in folks like us at this time, but we suspect that there are plenty of smaller publishers interested and... [more]- Digital Publishing for the iPad
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June 24, 2011- National Geographic DVDs... |
If you have ever had a subscription to National Geographic you know how hard it is to throw an issue out after reading it. For us, it was impossbile. We would put every issue and map in order by year, put them in slip sleeves, and neatly arrange them on the shelves. And we were happy.
After many years, though, our shelves ran out of room and we were not able to accommodate any more National Geographics in the library. Instead of letting issues pile up in a corner, we sadly decided to cancel our subscription. We have always wished we had another option. Fifteen years later we still... [more]- National Geographic DVDs
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June 23, 2011- Splitting Irises... |
The best thing about having a perennial garden is hardly ever having to do any work on it while enjoying its beauty year after year. The second best thing about a perennial garden is that the plants multiply by themselves. One can either use them to expand the garden or compost them to return the nutrients back to the soil. About five years ago, we split and moved some irises from one part of the garden to another. Since that time, they have grown a lot and once again become quite crowded.
When we decided to not plant a vegetable garden this year and take down the raised-bed, we thought it would also be a good opportunity to divide up the irises. We would move them into the spot vacated by the vegetables. The nice soil is already there and the space would give them a lot more... [more]- Splitting Irises
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June 22, 2011- Sigma Zoom... |
Last year (almost to the day) we went with our bird watching /photographers friends Candy and Andy to a spit of rock to get a look at the heron rookery at Manchester-by-the-Sea. The camera gear we took with us last year was adequate for the outing, but the D90 body/Sigma lens combo was pushing the limits of the TrekPod from a stability perspective. Since we knew we would not have to trek very far with a tripod, we took a beefier unit with us this time. In the year since we had been out there, we had acquired a slightly bigger Sigma lens. It seemed appropriate to bring it and see how it would perform under similar conditions.
Bringing the bigger tripod was definitely the right decision. Even though the terrain was uneven, we were able to set up the rig and had confidence that it wouldn't tip over. The older 80-400mm Sigma lens had built-in optical stablization (OS), but our newer 50-500mm lens did not. However, since Sigma recommends switching off the OS feature when the lens is mounted on a tripod, not having the OS capability did not hamper us in any way. In fact, when we... [more]- Sigma Zoom: Manchester By The Sea
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June 21, 2011- Sunset at Wollaston Beach... |
We don't know what others call Wollaston Beach, but around the office we refer to it as the "Cape Cod of the South Shore." Wollaston Beach is a 3-mile long stretch of sand in Quincy. It is only a few miles outside of Boston, but has a vibe all its own. We can get to it in less than twenty minutes if the traffic is light. When we don't want to fight the traffic to the Cape, but want a bit of the flavor, that is where we go.
One of the great things about Wollaston Beach is that it is pretty low key. There is a boardwalk that edges the beach for a few miles. Off the boardwalk are a few local yacht clubs. Sprinkled along the other side of the boardwalk are... [more]- Wollaston Beach: Sunset
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June 20, 2011- Visionary Lenses: Summer Colors... |
Tomorrow is the first day of Summer. We have been getting things in place for the day. We have cleaned and vacuumed the convertible, put on the Summer tires, and did the basic checks (oil, transmission, etc...). The iPod has been loaded with new songs (Lady Gaga, Roger Penrose, etc...). There are still a few more tasks left on our PrepForSummer list, but we are amost there.
We completed one more on the list late this weekend...swapping new lenses into the Oakleys. We got some fresh new colors from Visionary Lenses and have been looking forward to giving them a try. The tough part is to pick a color. After a bit of discussion, we decided to go with the green and the purple. The high contrast yellow lenses were excellent for those... [more]- Visionary Lenses: Summer Colors
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June 17, 2011- Nespresso: Pixie FirstUse... |
At the beginning of the month we posted our FirstLook of the Nespresso Pixie. We have had it for a over a week, have made a few cups with the unit, and are now prepared to tell you about our FirstUse experience with the unit.
Along with the Pixie, every Nespresso unit comes with a sample pack of 16 different coffee capsules: 7 espresso blends, 3 pure origin espressos, 3 blends for large cups, and 3 decaffeinated blends. The included guide explained in more detail the personalities of the various blends, their intensity, and recommended brew amount (espresso size, or coffee cup size). As we did not have enough to do any meaningful comparisons, we will not comment on the... [more]- Nespresso: Pixie FirstUse
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June 16, 2011- Leathinity camera strap... |
Yesterday, we posted a write-up on a case for our new Nikon P7000 point-n-shoot camera. In the discussion we mentioned that we were not big fans of camera straps because they make cameras less "pocket-able." Since putting our camera in a case already made it too large for most pockets, we saw no reason not to attach a strap so we could sling the camera on our shoulder. While the camera case came with a perfectly adequate nylon strap, we wanted to find something a little more elegant.
Craft-savvy folks know that for lovers of things handcrafted, the best source is Etsy. It was there that we found exactly what we were looking for. The name of the company is Leathinity. The maker is out of Hong Kong and goes by the initial "sths." This maker has many great-looking offerings, but the item of most interest to us was this camera strap. The strap was... [more]- Leathinity Camera Strap
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June 15, 2011- Nikon camera case... |
The Balda camera below was passed from father-to-son to one of the editors here at RainyDayMagazine. While the camera is over fifty years old, its bellows is light-tight and its optics razor sharp. The mechanical system (shutter, film winder, etc...) is still in excellent operating order. Protecting the camera is a purpose-built case. It is made from leather and is shaped to wrap around the various curves and protrusions of the camera.
Camera cases have changed a lot since the days of the leather "ever-ready" ones like that on the Balda. Today's cases are typically padded, have pockets for accessories, and are sometimes part of a larger "system." While our new Nikon P7000 fits perfectly in the Kata S-312 camera bag, we wanted something with a more vintaged look for it. A little more like the... [more]- Nikon P7000 Camera Case
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June 14, 2011- iPhone4 Camera Skins... |
The interns got the idea for this iPhone4 DIY project from an item they saw on Etsy: a skin for the iPhone4 that gives it the appearance of Leica camera. They thought it was such a cool idea that they wanted to make their own skins. A quick search turned up a surprisingly large number of shots of old cameras to serve as seeds for their iPhone skinning project. A few quick size adjustments in Photoshop was all it took to create a bunch of images suitable for use as skins for the iPhone.
The interns' problem was that there were many cool camera images and they liked them all! Obviously, it was not practical to turn them all into skins. They decided a better approach was to print them out and... [more]- iPhone4 Camera Skins
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June 13, 2011- Clear iPhone4 Cases... |
The interns got inspired by an interesting iPhone4 DIY project they saw a while back, which we'll discuss tomorrow. The DIY project had a drawback which the interns had to solve before moving forward with the project: they needed to find a clear iPhone4 case (which, in our opinion, would be an improvement on the original concept). It seemed a simple enough task, finding a suitable case, but it took longer than anticipated to sort through all of the options available on the market. In the end, they settled on three cases: NUDE from SwitchEasy, Feather from Incipio, DuoShell from Marware.
All three cases were made from polycarbonate, a perfect polymer for case material. It is highly impact-resistant, easily molded, and optically clear. We picked the Incipio Feather and the SwitchEasy NUDE because at 1mm thick, they were the... [more]- Clear iPhone4 Cases
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June 10, 2011- Thunder clouds... |
The 90º heat in Boston finally broke yesterday and it did it in dramatic fashion. Around 4PM in the afteroon, clouds started to form overhead. In the span of less than thirty minutes, the sky got dark, the wind picked up, and flashes of lightning streaked across the sky. It had a kind of "wrath of God" feel to it all. Which immediately led to the thought..."Cool! Thunderclouds! Wonder if we'll need a polarizer?"
We had considered setting things up to see if we could capture some of the lightning strikes, but decided it was probably prudent to not bring too much gear out as the situation could get really wet really fast. Shooting with the D90/18-200mm with VR active, we took a series of... [more]- Thunderclouds
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June 9, 2011- HP: TouchPad is coming... |
When we heard that HP, a company with some technical chops, was finally entering the market with a tablet that is not DOA, we cheered. HP announced today that the TouchPad, running WebOS, will be available July 1st. This version is Wi-Fi only and will cost the same as the iPad2 ($500/16GB, $600/32GB). This is great news for everybody (Apple, end user, tablet market) as it is never good for a product, even one as awesome as the iPad, to have no serious challengers.
Of course, staying alive against Apple's iPad will NOT be easy. The iPad is the 800lb gorilla, a rocket which has already launched and is in high orbit, or any other metaphor/hyperbole one cares to insert as an example. The TouchPad will be running WebOS. The WebOS operating system was developed by Palm (originally started by Apple engineers after the Newton couldn't get traction). HP acquired it when they swallowed Palm for $1.8 billion in 2010. Oh, as the tech world turns. The problem with WebOS is that there aren't that many... [more]- HP: The TouchPad is coming
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June 8, 2011- Nespresso: Pixie... |
Coffee makers are almost as irressible to us as new gadgets from Apple. Over the years, we have sampled our share of coffee machines. We generally favor coffee from machines that grind the coffee just prior to brewing, but have been impressed with Nespresso coffee when we reviewed Le Cube a few years ago. So when Nespresso came out with the Pixie, we were eager to take a look.
The Pixie from Nespresso is the smallest coffee machine we have ever tested. This single-cup machine combines a compact design with some impressive espresso-making specs:
- Automatic brewing
- Heats in 30 seconds
- User-selectable shot sizes: a 1-oz / a 3-oz pour
- Programmable duration
- A 19-bar pressure pump
- Thermoblock technology for precise temperature control
- Auto shut-off
The machine feels solidly made. The side panels come in a variety of colors, a nice touch for those who like to color coordinate their appliances with their decor. The machine itself is... [more]- Nespresso: Pixie FirstLook
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June 7, 2011- Orvis: Fly Fishing... |
To some fly-fishing is a sport; to others it'is a way of life. To the folks at Orvis it is a passion. Founded by Charles F. Orvis in Manchester, Vermont in 1856, The Orvis Company specializes in fine quality fly-fishing tackle, outdoor clothing, and sporting arms. As the country's oldest mail-order company, Orvis pre-dates Sears and is the oldest fishing rod manufacturer in the world. When some of us expressed an interest in learning more about fly-fishing, we could think of no better place to start than at our local Orvis store. The basic equipment for fly fishing is pretty simple (rod, reel, line, flies), but the variety of these components can be dizzying. Fortunately for us, the folks at Orvis are experts and were happy to help us sort it out.
For folks who are just getting started, Orvis can get them into the action with a complete kit for less than $200. This is probably a great way to go for anyone who wants to get out on the water the same day. For those of us who like to look at all the gear and ask a ton of questions before deciding, the process can take a little longer :-) The folks at Orvis were very low-key about it. They assisted when asked and left us alone when we just wanted to wander. We spent the morning... [more]- Orvis:Fly Fishing
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June 6, 2011- MOS: Dinosaurs... |
We here at RainyDayMagazine are fascinated by dinosaurs. While decendents of dinosaurs are all around us (birds, reptiles, etc...) none of them are of the size of the ones which roamed the Earth eons ago. Dinosaurs bones have been discovered all around the world. Petroglyphs made by American Indians may have depicted these creatures. Records of "dragon" bones found in Wucheng Sichuan date as far back as 2,000 years ago. As to the term "dinosaur" or "terrible lizard," it was the British scientist Richard Owen who coined it in 1842. What scientists know about these creatures is constantly being revised as new discoveries and technologies are brought to bear on the study of these fossils. CT scans, computer simulations, and biomechanically accurate modeling have enabled paleontologists to form and test new theories about these mysterious giants.
This weekend, the Museum Of Science (MOS) unveiled a new temporary exhibit, Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries, that showcases some of these latest findings. "People of all ages will be captivated as they walk back millions of years to discover how science and technology are revolutionizing what we know about dinosaurs, how they looked, and how they behaved," says Paul Fontaine, MOS vice president of education." This amazing exhibit combines major fossil finds, casts, and computer animations with striking... [more]- Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries
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June 3, 2011- Summer Reading... |
For some people Summer is a time for lounging around the pool, hanging out at the beach, or getting asymetrically sun-burnt because either they did not apply the sunscreen evenly or they fell asleep in the sun. However if you are like us, napping by the pool is not your thing. Even when we are out "relaxing," we are optimizing our down time with a stimulating read. If you are like us, then you will surely be interested in our Summer reading list.
We RainyDayPhotographers are always looking for something new to try. The recently released Painting with Light from Rocky Nook looks to be a great source of inspiration. The warmer Summer nights will be the perfect time to try some of the ideas in the book. We have recently... [more]- Summer Reading
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June 2, 2011- Brando: iPad2 Keyboard Case... |
When the iPad first came out a company called ClamCase announced they would be making a cover/keyboard combo that would essentially turn the iPad into a netbook or mini-laptop. We had some strong opinions about such attempts back then. One year and a few hands-on experiences with keyboard cases later, our opinions have softened somewhat. A week ago we got another reason to further refine our views, a generically-named product from Brando called the Wireless Keyboard. In fact, after using this keyboard we think we may have been COMPLETELY wrong in our original assessment of this entire product category.
This Brando wireless keyboard is one of the best integrations of a case with a keyboard we have used to date. While we still prefer to use our iPad in its "naked" form most of the time, this case is now the... [more]- Brando: iPad2 Keyboard Case
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June 1, 2011- RDG: June... |
Gardening has a lot of similarity with software development. There are a lot of ways to go about it and some of it works better than others. Take planting perennials vs annuals for instance. Planting perennials, like writing reusable code, takes a bit more planning and can cost more upfront. The payoff is that you don't have to do the same thing over and over again. Annuals are like demo code, they look great, can be done quickly, but are often a one shot deal.
The RainyDayGarden folks here plant mostly perennials, because while they love seeing the blooms and the colors, they don't really enjoy the associated physical tasks (digging, weeding, etc...) as much as the more hardcore gardeners. Another benefit of planting perennials is the ability to... [more]- RDG: June
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