Every Holiday season, we make a trip to NYC to check out the window displays of the major department stores (Macy's, Saks, Bloomingdale's, etc...) Without fail, we always seem to like Macy's the best. This year was no exception. Since Macy's is a corner store, it always has two different sets of window displays. While the windows on the Broadway side was extremely cool, our favorite this year were the ones on the 34th St.

The theme was "Yes, Virginia", which was inspired by the true story of little 8-year old Virginia O'Hanlon, who wrote a letter to the New York Sun in 1897, asking if there really was a Santa Claus. The answer to this question recently generated some very passionate discussions. More than a 100 years later, a NYC second grade teacher answered the question differently than that of the Sun's editor Francis Church ("Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist …") and instantly found herself in the... [more] - 2011 NYC Holiday visit

Kata bags are the only ones we trust to protect our photography gear. Every year we look forward to seeing what's new from Kata, and this year is no different. The Kata bags that caught the interest of our RainyDayPhotographers were:

• Kata KT PL-TLB-300 Tele Lens Backpack - Black
• Kata KT PL-TC-30-35 Tripod Case
• Kata KT PL-MB-120 MiniBee-120 PL Backpack - Black
• Kata KT UL-MB-111 MiniBee-111 UL Backpack LG - Gray
• National Geographic NG A6120 Medium Duffle Bag
• National Geographic NG 4474 Earth Explorer Small Waist Pack

The TLB-300 PL Telephoto Lens Backpack is designed to safeguard a Pro DSLR with 300mm Telephoto Lens attached, while keeping it as light and as compact as possible. A padded cradle divider fits around the base of the lens where it joins the camera, and provides stability to the heavy load. There is also an adjustable circumference divider that will fit around any lens diameter, and an internal securing-strap which make sure the... [more] - 2011 RainyDayPhotography GiftGuide

Meade and Celestron are the two dominant players in the telescope market. In the past, the astro gear (LX200GPS, ASGT tripod, HyperStar, etc...) we looked at was more suited for advanced amateurs. Some readers have asked if we would recommend some quality telescopes for beginners and youngsters. We thought it was a reasonable suggestion and began looking around. Turns out, finding a good quality beginner telescope was more difficult than we thought it would be. If we saw large colorful close-ups of planets, galaxies, or comets on the box, we skipped it; there is zero chance one will see ANY of them with a low-power telescope. We think it is blatantly false advertising and sets a completely false expectation of what one may see with that instrument. We wanted no part in perpetuating such falsehood.

One telescope company did catch our eye. That company is iOptron. iOptron offers a range of mounts and telescopes for both beginners and serious amateurs. They are a new player who has been steadily gaining traction because their gear strikes a good balance between... [more] - iOptron iExplore 70 AZ Telescope FirstLook

Lighting is one of the more difficult topic to master in photography. Our eyes see a scene very differently than a camera. Seeing the light and capturing it are two very different things. Understanding how light interacts with the subject, the environment, and the camera are basics which every good photographer must understand.

Once those basics become second nature, the next step is to be able to manage or manipulate the light so one can "get the shot" even under challenging conditions. If you are serious about increasing your... [more] -The Art of Photographic Lighting

There are many ways to shoot panoramic images. One way is to take multiple images and stitch them together into a larger photo. That approach is great for landscape and scenic photos. However, the problem is that things can change or move between shots. Those motions can show up as blurs in the final image.

A single-shot approach is often better when shooting a crowd or where there may be a lot of movement. A fisheye lens, with its 180º field of view, is used to make such a shot. Obviously, due of the extremely wide-angle, the scene captured is quite distorted. Up until the last decade, fish-eye lenses were used more for their artistic effects than for... [more] -Pixeet Panorama Kit FirstUse

The Nor'easter made quite a mess over the weekend. Many are still feeling its effects today. Fortunately for Boston, the storm only dropped a few inches of the heavy white stuff. Even so, limbs and branches were down everywhere. We went for a hike around the Arnorld Arboretum to see how the trees there fared.

The Arnold Arboretum is 250 acres of managed greenery in the city of Boston. The responsibility of maintaining the grounds is shared by Harvard University and the City of Boston. We got there around 10AM and most of the snow were already off the leaves. For the most part, the trees... [more] - First Snow

Bostonians woke up to frost on their windows and black ice on the ground today. The sheen will not last long, but it is a clear sign that it is time to get out the fleece. Last week, we took advantage of the one warm day and swapped out the Summer tires on the Boxster for its Winter shoes. We didn't install the hard top because we still have hope that we will get a chance to put the convertible top down a few more times before things get too cold. New England weather...you never know :-)

Most of the slippery stuff should be gone in a few hours. However, a Nor'easter is making its way toward Boston. The word on the street is that... [more] - First Frost

Playing with the Kinect hacks are a lot of fun. Getting the hacks to work on the Mac, not so much. OK, not AS much. However, we REALLY REALLY wanted to see the Kinect running on OS X. So we banged our heads until we figured it out. Once we got things to work, we realized the instructions were actually quite accurate. They just needed a few clarifying steps. Hopefully, by pointing out where we went astray, we can help keep those of you interested in venturing down the same path from wandering around.

Before downloading any of the hacks and demos, the first item of business is to install some software development tools. Fortunately for Mac users, the tools are supplied by Apple and they are completely FREE. The latest version of these free tools is Xcode 4. Xcode 4 is a fully integrated (editor, compiler, debugger) software development environment and is specifically for creating software for Apple devices (Mac, iPhone, iPad). It is the version that we used for... [more] - Installing ofxKinect for OSX

We got a Microsoft Kinect 360 camera through Craigslist back in April. The main reason we got it was because the cool Kinect-based hacks, which had been Linux and Windows only, have (finally!) been ported to OS X. Kinect is at the forefront of one of the more exciting user-interface directions which has come along in a while.

What can be done with the Kinect? How about manipulating things in three dimensions? A great example is demonstrated by Memo Akten by his 3D drawing and manipulation hack. It is not a stretch to see that "drawing" in 3D is no different than... [more] - Kinect Hacks for OSX

One would think getting a TV out of the box would be no big thing, but a large screen LCD TV is kind of unwieldy. While not very heavy, thethe LCD TV panel is wide and thin. How do you get it out without either throwing out your back or risk dropping the TV? The last thing you want to do is to crack the screen getting it out of the box!

We could cut open the box, but what if there is something wrong with the TV and we had to ship it back? We could wait until there were more people around to help, but that would require patience. After waiting all day for... [more] - Unpacking an LCD TV

John Baichtal is a contributor to MAKE magazine (awesome for their articles on DIYs, hacks, and other such things) and Wired's GeekDad blog. John has written for legendary tabletop gaming magazines Dragon and Dungeon, as well as for Kobold Quarterly and 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. Joe Meno is the founder of BrickJournal, a print and online LEGO fan magazine. He has organized and run LEGO fan events, acted as an advisor on LEGO projects, and helped design LEGO sets. Together, these two have assembled book which gave us a fascinating look at those obsessed with LEGOs.

Known affectionately as Adult Fans of LEGO, or AFOLs, these folks love those colorful plastic bricks so much that their fascination borders on cultish adulation. Tens of thousands of AFOLs attend conventions to meet with like-minded builders, and they spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars creating replicas (pianos, Yankee Stadium, etc...), scenes, and sculptures with the colorful plastic bricks. The creations are... [more] - The Cult of LEGO

The weather this weekend could not have been more perfect for a road trip. We took full advantage of it and drove 100 miles out to Northamptom for the Paradise City Art Festival. We have been to the Marlboro PCAF a number of times and so thought we knew what to expect. We were happily mistaken.

What we found was a show that was about three times as large. As expected, the show was extremely well organized (free parking, fast moving ticket lines, etc...) and the vendors were all very... [more] - Paradise City Northampton

Normally, we head up to Maine for Columbus Day, but this year we'll be in town for the holiday weekend. Instead, we are going to take a drive out the Northampton and check out the Paradise City Arts Festival.

We have been to a few PCAFs (2004. 2006, Spring 2010, Winter 2010) over the years, but they have all been the Marlboro show. The buzz is that the Northampton one is bigger. Our friend Mark Del Guidice will be exhibiting at the show. We have not seen Mark recently and are eager to check out his new work. If you have time this weekend and are looking for something interesting to do, go check out the Paradise Arts Festival. It should be a great show! [Permalink] - Paradise City Fall 2011

When we hear "Kevlar" we immediately think "bullet-proof vest." So when we heard that a kevlar jacket had arrived at the RainyDayMagazine office, we thought "Cool! Which intern should we shoot?" Fortunately for the interns the jacket is not for that kind of protection.

Klättermusen is a Swedish company that designs and manufactures outdoor clothing and equipment for outdoor enthusiasts. Their products are often unique, definitely not the "same old same old." The company is not just unique in its approach to product design, it also put its money where its mouth is when it comes to environmental ethics. One percent of their sales is allocated for... [more] - Klättermusen Mithril KevlaJacket FirstLook

We are always looking for accessories which will enable us to extend what we can do with the iPhone 4. Lens attachments for the phone's 5-megapixel camera are such an accessory. Brando's inexpensive macro lens converts the iPhone into a fairly capable microscope. The Pixeet fisheye lens enables anyone to take 180º images and make immersive panoramas. These two lenses are tiny enough to bring everywhere. However, as with any optical gear, we thought they deserved a proper case and not just tossed into a backpack or jacket pocket unprotected.

Whenever we think of protecting gear, Otterbox is the first name that pops to mind. They make cases that are tough, water-proof, and come in a wide variety of sizes and colors. The Otterbox 1000 is the smallest one in their collection and it is the perfect size for our project. We like the clear case because it makes it easy to see what is inside. Some Otterbox cases come with... [more] - Otterbox iPhone lens case

Accessories for the iPhone have typically been limited to skins, cases, and other protective gear. With the introduction of front and back cameras, items such as lenses have occassionally popped up. The iPhone 4 has been used successfully as a digital microscope as well as an astrophotographic imager. A few years ago, a Japanese company called Digital King created a fisheye lens for the iPhone. It met with limited success. Recently, a company call Pixeet rebranded the lens under its own name, added a case and some free software, and bundled it into a much more compelling offering.

The Pixeet Panorama Kit consists of a 180º fisheye lens, a silicone case, and some misc bits (mounts for other phones, lens retaining cord). The fisheye lens is well constructed of aluminum and glass. It attaches to the case using magnets. This approach is pretty clever as it... [more] - Pixeet Panorama Kit: 180º Fisheye Lens

We got the Delkin Shade for our Nikon D40 back in 2008. The Pop-Up shade is a helpful accessory for anyone who likes to check their work via the camera's LCD, especially when out in bright sunlight.

However, we stopped using it after a while because we found it interfered with our style of shooting. With the shade popped-up on the D40, it was difficult to frame the photo because we could not get close to the eyepiece. We had to constantly open/close the shade and it was more of a bother than it was worth. However, the issue went away when we got our... [more] - Delkin PopUp Shade ITW

We were out at Brimfield in July for their giant antique show. We planned to do the same this past Thursday for the start of the Fall show, but the torrential rain changed our plans. The skies finally cleared on Saturday. We left Boston before 8 AM, had breakfast at a diner on the edge of town, and made it to the show before the crowd.

All the rain definitely had an impact, both on the number of vendors and the overall attendance at the show. Many parts of the fields were still soggy and walking around was sloppy at times. Fortunately, the weather for antiquing was perfect on Saturday (sunny, cool, dry) and attendess did start to show around lunch time. One of the benefits of a smaller crowd was... [more] - Brimfield Antique Show: Vintage Tech

If you don't know what Sugru is, check out our FirstLook post. If you have ever looked at something and thought "if only...," then this stuff was created for you! The stuff was created by people-who-love-to-hack for people-who-want-to-hack, even if they don't know it...yet.

Sugru comes in a few basic colors and can be combined to create lots of different shades. The stuff feels like putty. It can be moulded, shaped, and worked just like putty. It will cure in about 24 hours. Once cured, the stuff is... [more] - Sugru Hacks

Hurricane Irene went inland, pummeled Vermont, but spared most of Boston. All of the plants in the RainyDayGarden came through unscathed. As we had mentioned in July, the Passiflora made it through the Winter, buy got a very slow start due to all the rain. It has, fortunately, been budding furiously. The sunny weather these past few days finally got the Passiflora blooming.

Our plant was originally purchased at Logee's in Connecticut eight years ago. It has been propagated over a dozen time. Some of the cuttings were given to friends, others have been... [more] - Passiflora Update

High tech materials and exotic lens coatings have taken sunglasses from just a pair of "shades" to performance "gear." The styling of sunglasses have followed suit. Oakley has developed a billion dollar business by taking it to the extreme. While not just anyone can rock the look of iridescent lenses in a X-metal frame, everyone looks great in a pair of Wayfarer. Even better if they incorporate the latest tech along with the retro styling. The interns are always on the look out for modern sunglasses with the Wayfarer sensibilities. Recently they happened upon a boutique brand that may just have us reaching for them before our Oakleys.

Raen Optics is a relatively new entrant in the eyewear market. RAEN, headquartered in Encinitas CA, was created in 2008 by the designers at Libre Design. In three short years, they have managed to... [more] - Raen Sunglasses

We battened down all the hatches this past weekend and managed to weather Hurricane Irene without incident. Rainy days are good for watching TV or doing projects. We spent two days watching back to back episodes of the BBC series MI-5. If we had gotten off our butts and looked at some of the stuff which came on Friday, we would have seen that we had received a shipment of Sugru. If we had, how we spent our weekend might have taken a completely different turn.

The name Sugru is an Irish word "sugradh" for "play", but what is Sugru? The better question is not what is it (silicone elastomer), but what you can do with it. According to the instructions, Sugru is designed to... [more] - Sugru FirstLook

Wild Planet's SpyGear line is an amazing collection of gadgets for the James Bond/Lara Croft in all of us. So we are always thrilled when a box labeled "SpyGear" shows up on our desk. While we never know what we are going to find, but if it is from Wild Planet, we know it will be fun.

This time, the SpyGear box contained a pair of Ultimate Night Vision (UNV) binoculars. Unlike the Wild Planet SpyVision goggles we've looked at previously, these use infrared to (invisibly) light up the scene. The box states that these binoculars are the ultimate in... [more] - SpyGear: The Ultimate Night Vision

When we set out for our Vermont Summer Outing, we had no idea of the beauty of the state. Our base was the Inn at Sawmill Farm in West Dover. From there we ventured up Route 100 then onto Route 30 around the edge of the Green Mountains to Manchester. Our goal was to then go down 7 or 7A and loop back to the Inn via Route 9.

Shopping was the goal of the day and we found plenty of places to stop, wander around, and into which to poke our heads. We knew we would find a lot of antique stores (and we did), but we were impressed with the amount of high-end crafts (glass workers, furniture makers, sculptors, artists) we came across on the trip. In retrospect, it should not have been surprising as... [more] - Vermont: The Shopping

We wanted to see the Fourth of July fireworks on the Esplanade, but the thought of fighting 800,000 people for a spot along the Charles River was not at all appealing. Just considering the idea required way more effort than we were willing to muster up. However, opportunities to take photos of fireworks are hard to pass up. What we needed was to find an "undiscovered" spot that was close enough to the city, accessible by car, and preferablely with a view of Boston skyline to serve as a backdrop for the show.

After a bit of discussion, we decided to head down to the HarborWalk at Fan Pier. The one problem with the location is the buildings. It meant we would only see fireworks which would be high in the sky. However, that vantage point has a great view of Rowes Wharf from across the water, the Custom House clock tower would be visible in the distance, and the fireworks would look... [more]- Shooting Fireworks

A bright red cardinal has been visiting the bird feeder in the RainyDayGarden these past few weeks. For days, we have been stalking this elusive visitor, but despite our efforts we came up empty.

One would think it should be easy to get a photo of the cardinal: set up the camera, autofocus on the feeder, wait for the visitor. We could hear it singing up in the tree. Occasionally, it would do a fly-over of the feeder. However, it almost seemed like it knew what we were trying to do and didn't want any part of it. Maybe it was because of the interns, maybe it was... [more]- Backyard Adventures

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

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

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

Yesterday, we had 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 a big fan of camera straps because they made the camera less "pocket-able." However, as putting the camera in a case had 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 thought we would see if we could find something a little more elegant.

Craft-savvy folks know that for lover of things handcrafted, the best source is a site called 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 other great looking offerings, but the item of interest was the camera strap. The strap was... [more]- Leathinity Camera Strap

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

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

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

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 Lightfrom 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

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

When we mentioned that we were looking for an appropriate tripod mount for the iPhone, a few readers pointed us to a couple of possibilities. Of all the suggestions, the unit from ThoughtOut appeared to be the best one for our application. The major pieces (grip, stem, arm) are made of metal, the tips are rubber-coated, and the design does not interfere with the macro lens protruding from the iPhone.

Assembly of the PED3 mount was quick and simple: insert arm into stem; thread mount onto tripod; slide in phone; adjust grip. We should note that it is a good idea to make sure the phone is secured in the cradle before moving the... [more]- PED3 Mount

We have been on a bit of a macro-photography binge lately. We have done some fun and creative things with the Lensbaby in the past. A recent "ah ha" moment led us to realize that it may be interesting to mount the Lensbaby onto a bellows and use it as a macro lens. While we know we could mount the lens, we were not sure if we could get it to focus.

There are macro accessories for the Lensbaby 3G lens. However, the bellows, if it works, would give us the option of playing with the amount of magnification on the fly. The downside is that the rig would be... [more]- Lensbaby Macro

The Nikon D90 has been our daily workhorse for two years. Prior to that we had been using the D40s. The D40s were light, grab-n-go, take anywhere, cameras. However, they were a little bit too large to easily slip into a coat pocket for when we wanted to be a little mor, um, discrete. We kept the D40s around as a backup for the D90, but in the two years of owning the D90 we really only used the D40s a few times. A few weeks ago, we sold one of the D40s on Craigslist and used the funds to purchase Nikon's top-of-the-line point-n-shoot camera, the CoolPix P7000.

We had not purchased a point-n-shoot digital camera since we bought a Canon S100 when it was first released more than a decade ago. While we were not surprised at how much has improved in this product segment, we were surprised at how much we were able to... [more]- Nikon P7000 FirstLook

Last week we posted a write-up of the Brando iPhone4 microscope lens. It generated a bit of email asking if the setup is at all practical out "in the field." It was a fair question, as all of the sample images provided in the article were taken inside under controlled conditions. This weekend was overcast, in the mid-60ºs, and had a light breeze. Those were fairly reasonable conditions for seeing out how the iPhone4 microscope would perform InTheWild.

The advantage of using the iPhone4 camera outside during the day is that there is plenty of light. However, having TOO much light can overwhelm the camera's sensor. The day being bright but overcast was a huge benefit as the diffused light lit the plants without creating hard edges and harsh shadows. Another benefit of a cloudy day was that it was easier to... [more]- iPhone Microscope Outside

Every few years we make the drive from Boston to the giant, outdoor, practically the whole town, antique show out in Brimfield. We go, not because we are big antiquers, but because we love the idea of poking around in other people's attics.

The awesome thing about the Brimfield Antique Show is its hallmark organized chaos. We have been to the show a few times and have realized that long-time vendors are situated in approximately the same location year after year. Other than that, it is just one big jumbo. If you are looking for something specific, somebody at this show probably has it, but... [more]- Brimfield Antique Show

We came across a DIY article on the Crabfu Artworks website last September on how to turn the iPhone into a portable digital microscope. We thought the idea was ingenious. Apparently, so did the company that makes the lens. They thought the hack was so cool that they started shipping the lens with a slip-on iPhone4 cover. We got one and have been playing with it for a bit. Of all the iPhone accessories which come across our desks daily, this one from Brando is quickly becoming a favorite.

For an inexpensive little gadget, this tiny lens is more complicated than we expected. The housing of the lens and sleeve are made of plastic. The lens can extend in the sleeve to adjust and accommodate different minimum focus distances of various cell phone cameras. A clear brace is positioned at the end of the lens so the light from the LED can shine on through onto the... [more]- iPhone Microscope

This is the final installment of the 2011 NEAF Conference write-ups. It was our first time attending the Expo and it was excellent. We got to meet and chat with like-minded folks, listened to some interesting talks, and had plenty of hands-on time with all kinds of equipment. In this last post, we thought we would cover a few of the more unusual things we saw at the show.

We first came across Fullum-built telescopes last Summer at the World Science Festival om NYC, and were happy to come across them again at NEAF. By combining world class hand-made optics with... [more]- NEAF 2011: Wrap up

Not all astronomy has to be done at night. Some of the most interesting stuff happens during the day. The downside is there is really only one thing to look at during the day, the Sun. Of course, just because there is only one thing to see does not mean it will be boring. The Sun is an amazing to look at and utterly fascinating object to study.

Solar activities are not just visual curiosities; they can have immediate, direct, and substantial impact here on Earth. In fact, NASA is devoting a lot of resources (Solar Dynamic Observatory, Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, Hinode) to monitoring and reporting on what is happening with our Sun. While not as popular as night astronomy, amateurs are increasingly... [more]- NEAF 2011: Solar Party

Astronomy may be the most accessible of the scientific disciplines to the general public. All that is really needed is a clear night, a comfortable chair, and a pair of binoculars. Of course, that does not mean a little gear wouldn't add to the enjoyment of looking up at the night sky. Every year those who have been bitten by the astronomy bug gather at the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) and Telescope Show to look at gear, share stories, and to generally have a great time.

NEAF and the Telescope Show is presented by the Rockland Astronomy Club of Suffern NY, and is the biggest telescope show in the world. We decided to drive down from Boston to see it for ourselves. The two-day event featured world-renowned speakers, workshops, special events, and over... [more]- NEAF 2011

We just got back from NYC after spending a few days at the NYIAS. It was a blast. We sat in every exotic car we could, played with the knobs, and imagined what it would feel like driving them on an open road. The press preview started on Wednesday and the show officially opened to the public today. As with any show of this magnitude, there is something for everybody: sports cars, fuel-efficient hybrids, trucks with built-in gun racks, concept cars, and some which defies description.

As always, our favorite car from the show were the concept cars. Concept cars are the manufacturers' way of showing off to each other. The majority of the concept cars (Porsche Boxster being one of the rare exceptions) never make it into production, but they serve as a showcase for... [more]- NYIAS: Opening Day

Porsche is the reason we go to the NYIAS whenever we can. This year, visitors to Porsche's booth will get a close-up view of the Black Edition of the Boxster S. There will only be 987 of these specially outfitted vehicles. Each will be numbered and labeled.

Boxster owners will immediately notice the subtle difference: black instrument dials and shifter, black rear side intake grills, embossed logo on the convertible roof, black twin tailpipes, body-matching... [more]- NYIAS: Porsche Black Edition

We are spending a few days here in NYC for the NYIAS. If you are interested in the basic coverage, there are dozens of major networks, mainstream press, and folks from the usual car-focused publications to tell you all about it. Our plan at the 2011 NYIAS was to find the unusual or extraordinary.

Of course, like most plans, it went out the window once put into action. When we arrived at the show, we saw a long row of Jaguars parked out front. We soon discovered that fifty years ago, the New York Auto Show played host to the launch of an automotive classic: the Jaguar E-Type - or XKE as it was known in America. If any country took the E-Type to its heart, it was the... [more]- NYIAS: Jaguar

Yesterday we mentioned that the Flip camcorder was taken off the market by Cisco. One of the reasons for the Flip's demise may be the ubiquity of camera and video recording capabilities in portable devices such as smartphones and iPods. When Apple upgraded the iPad, they added no less than two cameras to the tablet: a front-facing camera for use with FaceTime video-conferencing, a rear-facing camera for photos and video recording.

Apple clearly made some trade-offs (resolution, cost, power consumption, etc...) when choosing the cameras for the iPad2. According to Apple, the rear camera can take 720p videos. This translates to images with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels (0.92MB). Apple realizes the technical details of the cameras were nothing to crow about and has pretty much left it off the iPad2 spec sheet. However, just because the iPad2's current cameras are pretty lame from a specs perspective, the addition of a camera to the iPad's large portable multi-touch screen can be a powerful combination.

Last Summer, we reviewed a bunch of digital microscopes for RainyDayScience's BackyardBiotech project. We found the microscopes to be suitable but impractical for field use. We tried to find a way to attach one of those digital microscopes to the iPad. Even thought they were all USB devices, none of them were supported on the iPad. When Apple announced that the iPad2 would have... [more]-iPad Microscope