Cave News

Megapixels: are they becoming irrelevant?

A Computer World article says megapixels matter less than you think.

Camera vendors and consumer electronics retailers sell digital cameras as if the pixel count -- the number of pixels a camera's electronics can capture -- is the most important measure of quality.

I'm here to tell you that pixel count has become unimportant almost to the point of irrelevance. Megapixels don't matter anymore.

According to the article, the standard megapixel count is just over 10.

Who needs 10 megapixels? Well, maybe a professional photographer specializing in special effects or someone wanting to blow up photos to wall mural size.

In an effort to convince you that your camera is obsolete and you need to buy a new one, camera vendors keep harping on the more-megapixels-are-better myth.

Their message isn't completely false. In fact, older cameras are obsolete, and if you own one, you do need a new one -- but not necessarily one with maximum megapixels.

Each amateur photographer has a pixel count "sweet spot" that best suits his photography style and abilities.

For most people, that's somewhere in the 4-to-6-megapixel range.

Above that, however, increasing the number of pixels generally reduces the quality of pictures.

I don’t profess to be a digital camera expert but the Computer World article reinforces my long held belief that the emphasis on megapixels has been overblown for the past several years.

The 10X optical zoom was more important to me than the 6.1 megapixels when deciding to buy the EasyShare Z650 shown above. I have the Z650 set to shoot at 4 megapixels and that's really more than I need.

Link here to the Computer World article.

Health concerns drive Wi-Fi out of UK schools

Many have voiced fears of the effects of low level microwave radiation emitted from mobile phones and wireless computers.

This radiation is being taken more seriously in Britain as reported here.

Parents and teachers are forcing some schools to dismantle wireless computer networks amid fears that they could damage children’s health.

More schools are putting transmitters in classrooms to give pupils wireless access from laptops to the school computer network and the internet.

But many parents and some scientists fear that low levels of microwave radiation emitted by the transmitters could be harmful, causing loss of concentration, headaches, fatigue, memory and behavioral problems and possibly cancer in the long term. Scientific evidence is inconclusive, but some researchers think that children are vulnerable because of their thinner skulls and developing nervous systems.

Are they overreacting in the UK or are we in denial of the negative effects of radiation from wireless devices?

Interview with the half wit

A man owned a small ranch in Wyoming. The Wyoming Wage & Hour Dept claimed he was not paying proper wages to his help and sent an agent out to interview him.

"I need a list of your employees and how much you pay them," demanded the agent.

"Well," replied the rancher, "There's my ranch hand who's been with me for 3 years. I pay him $600 a week plus free room and board.

The cook has been here for 18 months, and I pay her $500 per week plus free room and board.

Then there's the half-wit who works about 18 hours every day and does about 90% of all the work around here. He makes about $10 per week, pays his own room and board and I buy him a bottle of bourbon every Saturday night."

"That's the guy I want to talk to, the half-wit," says the agent.

"That would be me," replied the rancher.

...hat tip to Ingrid Peterson

Tightwad: unlikely name for a Bank

There really is a Tightwad Bank, but only for a few more weeks.

The bank is located in Tightwad, Missouri.

It played off its name when it opened 22 years ago gaining national attention at the time.

It was a novelty that attracted mail-in customers from California, Massachusetts and places in between.

UMB Bank now operates the Tightwad branch and has decided to close it on January 31, 2007.

No longer will customers be able to settle an old debt by writing a check on the Tightwad Bank.

Residents will head for busier banks in larger towns nearby.

And tightwads from afar will have to look for a new way to settle their grudging debts.

Link

Camera shy

(click on picture to enlarge)

Does the ocwner of this building have something to hide or is he just camera shy?

The building is located just north of the old empty Great Western sugar beet factory on North Madison in Loveland, Colorado. This is not exactly the garden spot of town.

Monday Night Football in a Seattle winter wonderland

It’s easy to visualize a snow game between the Packers and Seahawks -- provided the game is at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

But this snow game was played in Seattle. A very unlikely place for a snow game. All that was missing were the sleigh bells.

Strange Help Wanted ads

From an old Reader’s Digest:

Newspaper ad: “Southern established gossip group needs a male singer."

Sign on door of grocery store: “Now hiring: 2 part time perishable clerks.”

Sign outside a penitentiary: “Now taking applications.”

Vintage tabletop MP3 jukebox

If you are old enough to remember 1950’s maltshops or diners, you’ll love this throwback jukebox style MP3 player.

It is called a “Vintage Tabletop MP3 Jukebox” but it won’t play 45’s.

It comes with 100 hits from the ‘50s and ‘60s but you can make your own MP3 discs and custom index cards. It can also play any of your audio CDs.

This cool bit of nostalgia will set you back about $250.

Link

Blue Flash: homemade back-yard roller coaster

An Indiana man made his own back-yard roller coaster featuring a 360-degree loop.

He calls it the Blue Flash. It cost $1500 and took a year and a half to build using trial and error.

The 180-foot long coaster goes over the tool shed, under the elm and around the rose bushes - all in 30 seconds.

Story is here. Video is here.

Driving to the shopping mall a hardship?

Some people complain about how far it is to the shopping mall on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. What about folks who are 4,000 miles from where they like to shop?

Marie-Pierre Lalande, an Air France flight attendant and mother of three, boarded a plane to Atlanta from Paris and arrived yesterday just in time for one of America's busiest shopping days.

Seems like quite a journey, but to some foreigners -- it's a bargain.

"These very American brands -- in France, they cost a fortune," Mrs. Lalande said.

She is one of a growing number of foreign tourists heading to the U.S. to jump on the Black Friday bandwagon.

In the case of Mrs. Lalande, the air fare is not a big issue because some airlines allow flight attendants to fly as passengers for little or no cost.

Others arriving from foreign countries will need to have deeper pockets.

Link