I haven’t been around these parts in a while, mainly due to being busy with kids and work. I keep saying I’m going to remedy this, but that never works out either.

I’ve been playing with Python a lot at work recently, in an effort to streamline the testing of our product. It’s been quite fun writing scripts that can do pretty much whatever we want.

Outside of work, I’ve been developing an image stacker (a la startrails.de) using Python and the Python Imaging Library (PIL). So far, it’s a command line only program that doesn’t do much. I thought about making a Tkinter GUI for it, since I have an xubuntu dualboot on my MacBook, but I really wanted a native OS X app due to there being only one (but it’s cross platform and I don’t like the buttons). Unfortunately for me, Objective-C is complete crap and definitely doesn’t look intuitive. Thanks to some really good google-fu, I found that there are Python wrappers to Cocoa and I can use native OS X api’s in my Python code. The sweet thing is that I don’t have to use PIL on OS X since I can hook into Quartz and use the imaging algorithms already created.

The code is started, I can get a list of images that I want opened and I have part of the GUI created. The nice thing about Python is that I can do everything easily within lists to keep stuff organized instead of trying to figure out arrays in Objective-C. Python really spoils developers with its simplicity.

Hopefully I get some time to work on the code more, it would be neat to have the program do something constructive.

I don’t think life will ever return to normal now that there are too kids running around the house (well only one really). Erica has been blogging more and because of that, I set her up with Windows Live Writer on her Toshiba. This way, she can save drafts easier and not have to be connected to the internet if she wants to create a post.

Edison’s schedule is constantly changing and that’s kind of annoying as I’ve consistently been getting to work later and leaving earlier than normal. Work isn’t too bad, some days are slow, some are hectic. It’s not ultra hectic yet, but it’ll get that way soon.

I finally went to Lake MacBride to get my long exposure pictures of the rock spillway with snow on the ground. Erica’s cousins went with me and we had an awesome time. I’ve finished scanning the two rolls of Acros 100 I shot in the Bronica and am now working on editing them before I upload to flickr. Don’t get me started on the two negatives I shot with the Crown Graphic, I totally screwed up and have been trying to determine the best way to recover (if possible) or if I should dump the negatives or shoot over-top of them.

In incredibly exciting news, we were due for an upgrade with Sprint, so we ditched the Blackberries and got Android phones. Erica’s Blackberry dumped all her contacts and she wasn’t too happy and began to think about wanting a new phone.

Phone upgrades and the two of us are an adventure. When we got the Blackberries, we had to run to the other side of town just so we could get Erica the maroon Curve 8330. It had to be maroon or she wasn’t going to let us upgrade to the smartphones. We had our minds set on the LG Optimus S, a new Android phone and it was going to be free. For the new phones however, it turns out that she couldn’t get her upgrade until 7 days after I was allowed to get an upgrade. We didn’t know about the gap in upgrade dates before going to Best Buy to try and get the phones. She had to have the purple one, so when we were told we needed to wait a week for her upgrade, we both started to worry that she wouldn’t get her color. On the day of destiny, we roll into Best Buy to meet up with Zach, the guy who helped us 7 days before. Sure enough, they had 4 purple phones and looked like they didn’t have the charcoal colored one that I wanted. How’s that for fate? Fortunately for me, I am rocking the last charcoal phone they had in the store.

The LG Optimus S is a pretty kickass little phone (Erica may disagree, but hers is having some known issues). Did I want the Evo 4G? Yes. Did I want to pay for the phone ($199) as part of the upgrade? No. Did I want to pay for the non-existent 4G in Cedar Rapids? No (but we will once we upgrade again since Sprint raised the price for “premium 3G”). These phones were free in the upgrade, so we’re now set. I love the damn thing (not as much as my family), but it’s pretty damn high on the list of things to love. I believe it’s right below Hy-Vee Chinese, that shit is amazing (I’m getting some for dinner tonight! FTW!). It’s the best Chinese food in this damn town, Thai Moon is really good too, but it’s on the other side of town and driving there is a pain. Ting’s Red Lantern is shite, I can’t stand that place, but everyone I know really likes the food. Amateurs.

So back to the phones. The Blackberry felt like a computer in my pocket when I went around town. I knew that I could do anything if needed; searching the internet comes to mind. Now I’m spoiled. The new phone feels like a better computer in my pocket, so I can search the internet if needed, scan fucking barcodes at stores (that was the most exciting thing about registering for gifts when we got married), and Angry Birds. That game owns and now controls my life. I can do things not possible with earlier phones. I also have a film developing timer, something I tried writing for my Blackberry, but was required to register for a developer hash to sign my program to get access to the restricted API’s that I needed for timing and thread calls. That’s mega lame.

In my never-ending design/build mentality, I’m working on what is the coolest DIY thing I’ve built in a while. I’m keeping it on the down low until I actually finish building, but it’s going to be cool and you all are going to be jealous. My excitement meter for this is at an 11 on a scale of 10, lets just hope that the end result doesn’t suck. Sometimes my plans end up that way.

The little dude is now home after a two and a half month stay at the St. Luke’s NICU; he came home on the 17th. Kinda nice to have him home, but he is harder to take care of than Lilly. Glad to have a son, but having another girl would have been easier I think.

One thing I am annoyed with is getting pissed on five times while changing diapers. Kid has some range with that thing too, I’m impressed. Immaturity will step in sometime in the future and we’ll have contests to see how far we can pee while out camping somewhere.

We have been having issues with baby monitors. Evidently all the ones you can buy in the store are cheap and don’t use any technology that allows for signal integrity. The set we had with Lilly are going the way of the ghost and through some research have found that if you keep them plugged into the charger, they die faster. What ever happened to pride in design and to give the customer great products for a good price. The added technology won’t add much cost to the device anyway.

Seriously though, why can’t I get a nice baby monitor that uses spread spectrum technology to minimize interference. I’m sure other parents would want this, given SIDS and children who are born with breathing issues. I’d much rather pay money for a device that doesn’t have static (good noise cancellation on the microphone) and doesn’t get interfered by the smallest things (charger for said device not being plugged into device).

Another thing that bugs me is the lack of detailed specifications when looking at the products online. I don’t care how big it is, I want to know how/what the device does and technologies it uses. Most consumers don’t care about this information but they should.

The last two months have been extremely hectic and I haven’t even begun to reflect on them as I haven’t had time. Erica was put on house bedrest the last week of August due to high blood pressure. Although she was on bedrest, she was determined to shoot her friends wedding on the 4th of September, so we did that for 5 hours with Dean helping out. That afternoon we went in for her second steroid shot for the little dude that was growing inside of her, she was 29 weeks pregnant.

The next week she had another OB/GYN (30 weeks) appointment and her doctor said she was getting admitted for hospital bedrest, this happened on I believe Thursday the 9th (I probably have the wrong day, I know that I didn’t stay at the hospital Thursday night). A smattering of tests was performed and it pretty much came down that the little dude wasn’t doing so well in Erica’s uterus.

I get a frantic call Friday morning from Erica saying they’re doing a c-section and I need to find a place for the Lilliputian to go for the day.

Hostile Environment causes a Precision Extraction. That’s how I’m describing everything. Erica’s Pre-Eclampsia caused the placenta to suck up nutrients and keep them, reminiscent of relief efforts in Africa. Little dude wasn’t getting the nutrients he needed.

I can’t handle all that surgery stuff, so I waited in the recovery room outside the operating room (go ahead and say I’m a pansy). So on the 10th we had our second and last kid, Edison. It took us 2+ days to figure out the name as we had ideas, but nothing sounded good or worked.

I broke down right after I saw him, I spend all day at work being emotionless, and I think the adrenaline was sort of wearing down and the fact there were 6 nurses hovering over him didn’t help. The breakdown only lasted a half hour or so and I tried really hard to not let it happen. Kind of ashamed of it too; then again, it’s hard seeing your son so tiny (2lbs 2oz).

Such is life I guess. Turns out the steroid shot idea from her OB doctor was a grand idea and probably prevented a shitload of issues he could have had. He’s just over 3lbs now and is already out of the incubator and into a regular crib, not normal for a kid born as early as he was. He is on oxygen now as his O2 level in his blood goes down when he gets super relaxed.

At least I have enough vacation to cover the needed time off.

I’ve been neglecting the blog for a while now and I can keep coming up with lame excuses of how my work week is incredibly long, I’m working second shift for this past week, or I just haven’t had anything decent to write. The latter isn’t true, I was going to write about my SoFoBoMo2010 adventures.

This weekend we’re shooting a wedding for one of Erica’s friends, going to be an interesting day. The ceremony is at a baseball diamond on the south side of town, a first for the city of Cedar Rapids (I wonder why…). I’ve been told by my wife that the actual ceremony is 6 minutes long. With the formals and the reception following, it probably won’t be a long day, which is good for her because her OB doctor has put her on bedrest due to pre-eclampsia again with the new kid. We’re having a boy for this final round of offspring, pregnancy is really messing with her system and it’s no use putting her in more danger. At least the family name will live on past me.

Wednesday night was pretty eventful, the program I’m on for work had a party at the Cedar Rapids Kernels game, a minor league baseball team in town. I got lots of praise from incredibly high level management for doing good work, so that was nice and very unexpected. We also waited for the imminent grand slam, the Burlington Bees had walked everyone at bat after their pitcher pegged a Kernel in the head with a fast ball. Right as we were driving away from the stadium we heard the announcer say something about a grand slam. Needless to say, we were kinda pissed for leaving, but Erica wanted to look for compression socks at Wal-Mart to reduce the swelling in her legs.

It’s nice that here is a long weekend due to Labor Day, but I’ll be doing lots of housework since we’re totally not ready for the kid we’re jokingly calling Leonidas. His room isn’t clean, need to tear down wallpaper, paint and setup. I also have to remove nails from the porch rafters so I can paint some Killz paint to eradicate the mold for good. We finally got a new roof and so far it’s working out well. Somewhere in there is mowing my mother-in-law’s yard which I never look forward to doing (I also don’t like mowing my yard, but it’s a fact of life).

So I’m swamped with stuff at work. I’m working just under 12 hours a day and will continue to do so for most likely the remainder of the summer. Definitely learning a lot and that will come in handy for the next project, which I hope comes in soon.

Because I’ve been so busy, I haven’t had time to really think about what I want to do for SoFoBoMo. My two original ideas aren’t that great, well one is decent and shouldn’t be too hard complete, just need to hash it out if I choose to go with that one. I wish I had a working 4×5 with lots of film so I could use that camera to document my learning how to deal with movements. The Yashica A TLR I’m borrowing was going to be the camera I wanted to use, but it only focuses to a 3.3ft minimum and I would like to get closer.

I was able to get a developing tank for the 616 film that Dean’s dad has and I was able to successfully develop the roll of film. The negatives turned out two properly exposed images and then a couple of faint, underexposed pictures. Looking at the clothes and talking with his dad, it appears the pictures were taken in the 1950′s.

I finally built up a googlecode page for my airfoil generator, so that can be found here. Hopefully someone will find it useful. For some reason, when I ran Monolingual the last time, I decided to remove all the extra binaries in my applications that aren’t needed (ppc) and now Python GUI stuff doesn’t work. Go me for hosing that development environment up on my computer. I guess I could try to revert back with Time Machine, but there really isn’t a point as I don’t code much in Python anyway.

So we’ve been busy as of late, the biggest thing we’ve done was a big dreve to Mississippi to watch my brother graduate from Flight School. That was a fun trip, especially getting two tries at the simulator; I almost landed on the carrier, but I was too fast on my first try tries and on the third, I was told I needed the speed brakes and in the mix of talking and trying to figure out what I needed to do to correct for how slow I was going now, I hit the back of the boat.

We also hit up our friends’ wedding in Elgin, IL and had a good weekend without the kid. Erica and I definitely don’t like the tolls near Chicago, that’s lame. I ended up going back to Boston for work for a couple of days and that was fun; with the exception of the flight back through O’Hare and the huge storms in the Midwest.

In other news, we’re having another kid and that’s pretty cool although Erica has been miserable since day one of this pregnancy.

I’ve been watching the “Ancient Aliens” series on the History Channel. Things in history are finally starting to make sense now after watching 6 hours of the show. I’m totally pumped that I have a fresh new look into ancient times and the evidence presented makes a very compelling argument to prove that we were (and still are) being visited by extra-terrestrials.

I haven’t taken many pictures in a while and need to remedy that, but I do have an old roll of 616 Kodak Verichrome film that Dean’s dad acquired in an old camera purchase. I got a developing tank for cheap off of etsy of all places and that should be here tomorrow or Tuesday. I can’t begin to think of how old this roll of film is, but it’ll be a fun time developing and seeing what photographs show up.

So I have this cousin-in-law who is getting more into photography by the minute and has access to a good surplus store at the University of Iowa. Needless to say he found a roll of Kodak Verichrome Pan 127 that expired in June of 1962. After much discussion about what to do with the fim, it was decided that I was going to shoot and develop the film.

Alas, I had no camera to shoot this interesting format of film; 127 is just slightly larger than 135 film and is on a reel like 120/220/620 film. I went to Photo Pro, the local pro shop that I frequent and showed the roll of film to my buddies Mike and Levi (cool guys if you get a chance to visit the store). Sure enough, they had an old Kodak Brownie Sunflash that they just gave me as it would never have been used there and they were also excited about the roll of film. I played with the camera for a bit and then loaded up the film, I had noticed some issues with the shutter, but I told myself that you can’t go wrong with a camera that only has two apertures (color and black+white) and a single shutter speed.

Went to Noelridge Park on the way home to shoot all 12 exposures, as I was inspired since I just acquired a camera I’ll only use once for this one roll of film.

So the camera’s shutter sucks and stuck open dragging the exposure (kinda knew that from playing with it, but I had to go big or go home). I miswound one frame, so I get the overlap/diptych above (which looks cool). I was able to salvage a total of 5 out of the 12 frames on the roll of film. It was a fun experience with a classic roll of film and I am sort of annoyed that I couldn’t have had a better run with the experiment. At least I’m happy with the photographs I got.

Tree and Path – Noelridge Park, Cedar Rapids, IA

This is a Tree, but it’s Hard to Tell Due to the Severe Overexposure and Curve Adjustment to Correct – Noelridge Park, Cedar Rapids, IA

Rock Wall – Noelridge Park, Cedar Rapids, IA

Blurred Flowers – Noelridge Park, Cedar Rapids, IA

I got on this kick of trying to design and build a monorail 4×5 film camera, so I’m working on getting ideas for that. Going to hopefully combine aspects of the Fader Monorail kit with the Toho Shima FC-45X. I keep wanting to sit down and draw out the plans, but I keep thinking of how to best combine the two cameras. I wanted to use a nice wood like Maple or Cherry, but I think I’ll have to relegate myself to the cheap Poplar I can get at Home Depot or Lowe’s near my house. I am planing on staining the wood to give it some color, need to research what stain would be the best color wise.

The kick to build a 4×5 camera is a direct result of borrowing a Busch Pressman Model D 4×5 camera. The big negatives are amazing and it seems fitting to go with bigger cameras to feed my obsession.

I did make some progress on my Cuboid-like 120 pinhole camera last night. I bent some metal to attach to the film back I pulled out of a busted Pentax 645N. I need a bigger piece of wood for the front of the camera where I’ll put the pinhole/zoneplate as the other piece of Poplar I have is too small. The holes in the film holder will be filled and I’ll probably fiberglass the area between the film holder and the rest of the camera.

Those are the only camera projects I have going on. I am working on trying to get some print sales and looking for the best possible way to get exposure and the ability to easily ship prints to people.

I figured I’ve done enough photography posts lately that I should generically document my day as an Engineer.

I get in early because it’s nice and quiet and one can actually get stuff done. This morning I worked on getting some emulators set up to run software on the product I’m working on integrating. That was an on and off task for most of the morning mainly due to getting asked questions and having to go talk to people about stuff they want me to work on. I was tasked with helping out people coming in to troubleshoot/integrate their system with ours so that should make the rest of the week interesting to say the least; it is the same group of people I went to go see during my trip to Boston.

I finally got the emulator stuff working a little before the software guy I’m working with showed up. I was able to run some tests and missed what I was trying to capture, but that’s all my fault. I was looking for an issue the software guy saw yesterday afternoon and in asking him to show me what he saw, I pointed out a big bug in his code. This was a triumphant occasion as fixing this bug (a simple task) got the issue he was seeing to go away. I’ve found that by helping the software and firmware teams I get a better understanding of the entire system I’m working on, only way to do things in my opinion.

The rest of the afternoon was spent helping him talk through more integration issues we’re working on and setting up for the visitors. Somewhere in there I didn’t take a lunch and ate some Girl Scout cookies my boss brought in to share with the team.

That’s pretty much my day, sorta normal.