Well, it looks like I have managed to keep this and all the other wordpress sites going for over six months. Granted, this is the only one that gets regular updates, but that’s a record for me with WordPress. I have used some other bloated Java-based CMSs for over a year at a time, but even then it was rare for me to keep up with regular posts for more than the first couple of months. As I’ve said before… web-related stuff bores me.
So, why have I stuck with WordPress this time? First off, the need to support WordPress at work means I need to suck it up and stick with it. Second, that whole twitter junk that started even before Oak Stank took over pushed me back into the own my own content mindset. Finally, WordPress isn’t terrible any more. It used to be that if your session timed out while in the middle of the post, you were screwed. Good bye, post. Now, you log back in and pick up where things left off. This is one of the few times where modern web development trends has done something good. Finally, it’s no longer a pain to manage multiple WordPress sites thanks to tools like MainWP. From one single interface, it’s possible to update everything on a dozen or more sites in the same amount of time it would take to just login to three of them. I went with MainWP because it is standalone and fully hosted within WordPress itself, rather than shoveling things through some pointless cloud-based console like some other multi-site management tools.
Recent site changes
A few days ago I added a new plugin, the NextGEN Gallery. On the one hand, its interface doesn’t really feel WordPressy, but on the other hand, I can integrate a gallery into any random post or page, like this:
HXDX8552
Image 1 of 5
Shot with the Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 at 12mm. Exposure time was about 2 minutes. Cut it short because I noticed a jet would be passing over and if I shifted things just a smidge I could capture it and Orion at the same time.
I have also switched back to the Generate Press theme for the time being. I really need to figure out its so-called “advanced styling” features, as to me it just looks sort of meh. I did at least figure out how to add a border around the main content block so that things aren’t slammed up against the edge.
Also killed off the social media cross-poster plugin as I am done with twitter. I still want the fancy link previews for everything that supports that, so I installed SEOpress to deal with that.
As dasharez0ne says… Just walk out. If it sucks, hit da bricks.
My twitter usage has been significantly lower since July, but now they’ve finally gone and made it so that that the non-linear week-old garbage feed will reset after every visit or refresh. So, I went in there and deactivated my account. It will be deleted permanently in 30 days. Sadly, my last post was a complaint about twitter rather than a cat photo, but I hit my limit.
If you’re so inclined that you want more of my random mumblings, you can follow @jhavard on your favorite fediverse instance, such as one of the many Mastodon instances out there. You can also follow @jh@sevensages.org if you would like to follow this blog.
Back in the early 2000s, having sat in front of a computer for about 2/3 of every day, whether working or not, I figured it was time to get somewhat serious about photography so I would have an excuse to go elsewhere and not be in front of a computer. Started off with a point-and-shoot, graduating to that Panasonic Lumix that was all the rage because its integrated lens used Actually Good Glass. However, that wasn’t good enough so I bought a Canon EOS 20D, which served me well. Along the way I got into shooting on film, as I wanted to spend my leisure time as far away from a computer as possible, but that requirement went by the wayside as back problems came into play, and better spam filters brought a major quality of life improvement with regards to work.
Back in 2016, the 20D and the camera bag it was in just sort of disappeared on me one day. I really didn’t care too much about the camera itself, as some Very Hot Pixels™ were becoming visible even in short-duration strong daylight shots. Probably didn’t help that the camera lived in my car for most of its life, whether that meant Mississippi summer heat, or the occasional sub-freezing cold snap. I mainly cared about the lenses, in particular the out-of-production 100mm f/2, the light meter, and my old school Pentax microfiber cloths. As much as I loved the bag, even it was showing its age, and the company that made it no longer exists.
Just before COVID hit, I bought a well-loved EOS 1Ds to see if I wanted to get back into photography. Note the lack of additional specifiers. That was the first generation 1Ds. It’s still a great camera nearly 20 years on, but it has some limitations, though in my opinion it is the most film-like of any digital sensor I’ve used. I shot a few photos, and sure enough, I really enjoyed myself. Fast forward to the end of 2022, and I want to get back on the photo stuff in a serious manner.
I picked up a 1Dx Mark II, a handful of lenses, an arca-swiss-style plate to mount it on the tripod. In the meantime, the short days, weather and on-call schedule hasn’t been cooperative with shooting much in the way of photos. In fact, this weekend I’m both on-call, and will be watching NHRL do its thing all day, which is perfectly fine because the forecast looks something like this[1]:
Rain from 6am on Saturday continuing on to at least noon on Sunday
So, with just one single day of good weather and no scheduling conflicts, I putzed around the house too long and its was already golden hour by the time I was on my second cup of coffee. Oh well, time for some star trails.
Household power connector on one end, mono mini phono plug on the other. This is a great idea.
I’m currently in the Gear Acquisition Syndrome phase of getting back into photography. Fortunately, KEH makes this not disastrously expensive. As mentioned earlier, I bought a Canon EOS 1Dx Mark II, which is new enough to have most of the features, but old enough to be reasonably priced. I purchased the 50mm F/1.4 and 100mm F/2.0 to bring back my two favorite lenses. Back when I had the 20D I purchased and then sold a Sigma 12-24 F/4.5-5.6 ASPH DG EX HSM. At the time, I just didn’t use the wide angle lens, and was able to sell it for pretty much what I paid for it new. Well, I bought one of those, and it’s absolutely wonderful. Also grabbed a Canon 70-200 F/4 L IS USM, because the more common 75-300 F/meh-blech just wouldn’t cut it. Picked up the Canon 135mm f/2.8 SOFT FOCUS, which is simultaneously super sharp when not in soft focus mode, and stupid soft in its soft focus modes. See the Grabbed a Bower 500mm f/6.3 reflex lens, because everyone needs one of those. Bought a replacement TC-80N3, though I think that was actually not in the bag and is floating around the hosue somewhere. Picked up a three light Speedotron D402 kit off eBay. You’ll probably remember that from school picture day. Portable, rugged, and minimal ways to screw things up. It’s an older model, which means it uses the “household” sync plug. New models use a 1/4″ phono plug, which means an equally-cursed household-to-1/4″-phono exists in both directions. Bought a pair of PocketWizard Plus IIIe wireless triggers and appropriate cables to add a bit more isolation between the power pack and the camera, and that remote shutter release capability was a big seller. The camera didn’t come with a neck strap, so I bought a beautiful Souldier neck strap. To replace the light meter, I went with a Sekonic L-358. In fact, I accidentally bought two of them. One goes in the camera kit, one stays with the lighting kit. I went ahead and bought a Billingham bag for my camera kit, because I’ve wanted one of those for years.
Nebby looks like he needs to tell you something important that will change your life, hopefully for the better, but that’s up to you right now.
I think that covers everything I bought. What’s wild is that with purchasing only used gear I have spent less than what it took to buy the 20D and a few lenses all those years ago. I’m also quite happy that not only was I able to buy my favorite lens, I was able to buy that delightful soft focus lens.
At some point, I want to buy some of the tilt-shift lenses, a couple of wide angle primes, some of the fast L-series zooms below 70mm, and some of the L primes above 200mm. Also, since the camera is perfectly capable of shooting video, a hot shoe mount mic would probably be a good choice, and perhaps a nice budget cine lens. I had a great experience with a Rokinon for the MFT mount BMMCC, so will probably go for that at 35mm or 50mm.
[1] Actually, that’s next weekend, so I’m assuming next Saturday will be sunny and mild and Sunday will be miserable.
How is ChatGPT important to me? Answer using the persona of a 38 year old professional that is also a busy mother of three children.
As a busy mother of three children, ChatGPT can be a valuable tool for helping you stay organized and on top of your busy schedule. With ChatGPT, you can easily create reminders and to-do lists to keep track of your family’s appointments, activities, and obligations. You can also use ChatGPT to jot down notes and ideas, making it easier to remember important details and information. And because ChatGPT is a conversational AI, you can easily access and interact with it from any device, making it a convenient and versatile tool for managing your busy life as a professional and a mom.
How does a busy mother of three create a reminder using ChatGPT?
To create a reminder using ChatGPT, a busy mother of three can simply say or type “set a reminder” followed by the details of the reminder, such as the date, time, and task to be completed. For example, she might say “set a reminder for tomorrow at 3pm to pick up the kids from school.” ChatGPT will then create the reminder and add it to her to-do list, ensuring that she won’t forget to complete the task at the designated time. ChatGPT can also send notifications to her phone or other devices to help her stay on top of her reminders and to-do list.
set a reminder for tomorrow at 3pm to pick up the kids from school
I’m sorry, but as an AI language model I am not capable of setting reminders or managing to-do lists. I am trained to generate responses based on the input I receive, but I do not have the ability to perform actions or tasks. My primary function is to generate text that is relevant and human-like based on the prompts I receive. If you would like to set a reminder for tomorrow at 3pm to pick up the kids from school, you will need to use a tool or service that is specifically designed for managing reminders and to-do lists.
Are you looking to write a blog post using ChatGPT? If so, you’re in the right place! In this post, we’ll cover the basics of using ChatGPT to generate content for your blog.
First and foremost, it’s important to understand what ChatGPT is and how it works. ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool that uses artificial intelligence to generate text based on a given prompt. By providing ChatGPT with a topic and some initial text, you can generate a variety of potential responses and ideas for your blog post.
To get started with ChatGPT, you’ll need to access the tool through a compatible platform. This can be done through an online service, a messaging app, or a dedicated ChatGPT tool. Once you have access to ChatGPT, you can begin generating content for your blog post.
To generate content using ChatGPT, follow these steps:
Choose a topic for your blog post. This can be anything from a specific subject or theme to a general idea or concept.
Provide ChatGPT with some initial text to work with. This can be a simple prompt or a few sentences outlining your topic.
Ask ChatGPT to generate ideas or responses related to your topic. You can do this by sending a message or using a specific command within the tool.
Review the generated responses and select the ones that are most relevant and interesting to your topic. You can use these responses as the basis for your blog post, or as inspiration for further writing.
Use the selected responses to craft your blog post. Be sure to add your own voice and perspective, and incorporate any additional research or information as needed.
Writing a blog post using ChatGPT can be a great way to generate ideas and content quickly and efficiently. By following the steps outlined above, you can easily create a unique and engaging blog post using the power of artificial intelligence. Give it a try and see what ChatGPT can do for your writing!
