Monthly Archives: May 2007

Thursday link roundup

  • Ala. Officials Probe ‘Monster Pig’ Saga

    State wildlife officials said Wednesday they want to know how the huge hog dubbed “Monster Pig” got into a fenced hunting preserve where it was chased down and shot to death by an 11-year-old boy.

    weighed 1,051 pounds and measured 9 feet, 4 inches from the tip of its snout to the base of its tail.

    Jamison was hunting with his father and the guides on May 3 when he killed the giant pig. He said he shot the huge animal eight times with a .50-caliber revolver and chased it for three hours through hilly woods before finishing it off with a point-blank shot.

  • Are you a good liar?
  • Microsoft Surface
  • Popular Mechanics how to videos

Guiliani

As my libertarian and libertarian leaning friends have been bringing him up lately, here is a negative portrait of Rudy Guiliani.

And to expand on my bar rant of last night, he would make a great mayor (New Orleans needs one right now), and would probably make a great president if it were the year 1880. However, in our modern age presidents have far too much discretionary power, and pro-choice, thrice married, adulterous Catholics are far too good at living with contradictions to be trusted to keep their promises.

Photography Note

For good portrait shots with an SLR camera, make sure the focal length (zoom) is around 72mm (or 50mm if you’re using Nikon DX lenses, which most Nikons are). This minimizes lens distortion and ensures that the photographs actually look their subjects.

My magic portrait lens is set at this by default, and it’s a wonderful thing.

Strange and funny

From the Wikipedia entry on Sam Peckinpah

Ray Bradbury tells the story of Peckinpah’s long interest in filming Bradbury’s novel Something Wicked This Way Comes. When Bradbury asked how Peckinpah intended to shoot it, Peckinpah said he would “rip out the pages and stuff them into the camera.” Bradbury sold the rights to another party, and the incensed Peckinpah sent Bradbury a gift: a potted cactus and a jar of Vaseline.

Strange and funny

From the Wikipedia entry on Sam Peckinpah

Ray Bradbury tells the story of Peckinpah’s long interest in filming Bradbury’s novel Something Wicked This Way Comes. When Bradbury asked how Peckinpah intended to shoot it, Peckinpah said he would “rip out the pages and stuff them into the camera.” Bradbury sold the rights to another party, and the incensed Peckinpah sent Bradbury a gift: a potted cactus and a jar of Vaseline.