My Canon 40D supports exposure bracketing, which is perfect for taking HDR photos. I set it to automatically take a metered exposure, then take one shot that is underexposed by 2 stops and one that is overexposed by 2 stops. The amount of over and underexposure can be configured in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments. I also used the LiveView feature to take the photos, so that the mirror would not bounce, which would cause vibration and blurring. Even though I was using a tripod, I tried my EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 lens with image stabilization on and off to see if it made a difference – it did not.
I downloaded a trial version of the AperturePhotomatix plugin by HDRSoft. I kept all of the settings on the defaults to create the HDR photos. It worked great. The price is high ($79.95 USD), which is why I have not bought it yet. Perhaps later this year if I feel a strong urge to create lots of HDR photos.
For me, the internet is about the instant access to information through Google or Wikipedia. I love having a constant stream of new information to feed my addiction to knowledge.
For example, the other day I was thinking about the core of the Sun and how much energy it takes to balance the extraordinary mass of the Sun.
According to Wikipedia, the core of the Sun converts about 3.4×1038 free protons (hydrogen nuclei) into helium nuclei every second. I looked up the mass of the proton (1.672×10-27 kg), multiplied the two numbers to get 568,691,140 metric tons. Each second, 568 million tons of free protons are converted to helium (two protons). But how big is that really? The article did not give the context. It would require more digging.
I thought perhaps I could compare that mass with, say, a mountain. Searching in Google, I found that the estimated mass of Mount Everest from the base camp (17,500 feet) to the peak (29,035 feet) is 357 trillion pounds or 161 billion tons. So the Sun converts about 0.35% of the mass of Mount Everest from hydrogen to helium.
In the thermonuclear reaction, a fraction of that mass is lost. About 4.26 million metric tons of mass is lost each second, converted to energy following the famous mass-energy equivalence equation (E=mc2). Which is less than 1% of the amount converted from hydrogen to helium, but the speed of light (squared) is so large the actual energy output is staggering – 383 yottawatts (3.83 × 1026W).
But just how large is that lost mass? What is 4.26 million metric tons equivalent to in a form I can understand? Back to Google, and I find that the mass of Hoover Dam is 6.6 million US tons or 5.99 million metric tons of concrete.
So, now I can compare the two. Each second, the Sun converts about 71% of the mass of the Hoover Dam into all of the energy that holds up the outer layers of the Sun, and produces all of the heat and light (which are really the same thing – photons) that bathes our planet. That energy produces enough photons that 149.6 million kilometers away over half of our planet is lit so that I can read, take pictures and get a sunburn.
It’s amazing that all of that power comes from something as small. The Hoover Dam and Mount Everest are infinitesimally small compared with the total mass of the Sun.
But it’s more than enough to satisfy my thirst for knowledge for one evening.
Yesterday and today I went to a number of locations for Doors Open Ottawa. This is an event where 108 buildings are opened to the public for tours; many of the buildings are not normally open to the public. I’ve posted a few pictures to the gallery.
Yesterday, I started the day at the NAC. I saw two of the stages I have not seen before, plus a tour of the dignitaries box for the main stage. After that, I went outside to the War Memorial for the D-Day Memorial service.
On my way back to Parliament Hill, I noticed a synagogue with people coming and going. So I stopped and asked if I could go in. They said yes, so I stepped inside. There might have been a service in progress, but I could not tell – they were speaking English (not Hebrew) and were not talking about anything religious (more like community announcements). This was the first time I have been in a synagogue.
Supreme Court of Canada
Next, I went the Supreme Court of Canada. I felt that this was a very special place to visit – a part of the federal government I have not previously seen. Canada’s court system is something of which I am very proud. I read about abuses in places like China, Africa or the Middle East, and know how lucky I am to be Canadian. An added bonus: the beautiful Art Deco interior and exterior.
After that, I went in the East Block of Parliament, which had four offices open for viewing. One was the office of Sir John A. MacDonald and one for the Governor General. BTW, I do not like having the Queen as part of my government – I want to see Canada completely independent from the British monarchy. The next office was the Privy Council Chamber. I do not remember the fourth office – it was a not a name I’ve heard before.
Traffic Light Storage
That concluded my tour downtown, so I left for Traffic Operations (Public Works). This building houses offices that control nearly 1,100 traffic signals, 19 red-light cameras, 96 traffic cameras, road painting, road sign creation and maintenance and the creation, maintenance and repair of all of the traffic lights in Greater Ottawa Area.
Today, I had hoped to go to the Canadian Science and Tech museum storage building, but some issues with taking my mother-in-law to church meant I would not have enough time. I’ll have to see it some other time.
Instead, I started with the Canada Post Ottawa Mail Processing Plant. This building was only open on Sunday. This facility can process over 2 million letters and packages a day (much higher volume near the winter holidays). It is in operation 24 hours a day, 6.5 days a week.
The newspaper indicated that no cameras were permitted, but halfway through the tour I was told that was not a problem so long as I didn’t take pictures of the employees. I had left my camera in the car, and felt very disappointed by this. The facility was so interesting, I had really really wanted to take pictures of all the automatic sorting equipment. Also, the tour was really long – my group of 16 people were asking a lot of questions. 3 other tour groups actually passed us while we were going through. I started getting very hungry and sometimes even a little bored. I’ll have to come back next year and get some photos perhaps.
Gurdwara Sahib Ottawa Sikh Society
After that, I went to the Ottawa Sikh Society. This was the first time I have been in a Sikh temple (and yesterday was the first time in a synagogue). The temple was an open room with a clean (no shoes!) carpeted floor around a central raised platform (see picture). I was told a little about the Sikh religion (some of which I knew from reading the book [Teach Yourself] World Faiths by Dr Paul Oliver). In an adjacent room was a meal hall where everyone was served food as they sat on the floor. I had a piece of roti bread; I left a small offering before I left.
American Mark-4 atomic bomb
I had also wanted to see the Ottawa Main Mosque, but I was running late and decided my next stop would be Canadian Space Services, which maintain a satellite communications center (formerly a NATO site). However, I could not find the road, but I found the Diefenbunker, so I went there instead. Only the entrance and the top floor were open, but that was still neat to see. This was the first important Cold War site I’ve visited since Rosa and I visited Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin.
Today, I went down to the War Memorial monument for the D-Day Memorial service. It’s been 65 years since D-Day, and this is likely to be one of the last major events that will have veterans of that event. Many of the veterans are now well into their 80’s.
Veterans
I feel that we should make November 11, Remembrance Day, a national holiday, even it it means we give up Family day (which is a provincial in Ontario and Alberta). I know very well that my freedoms and privileges of being a Canadian citizen is through the blood, sweat, tears and sacrifices of those in uniform.
My great-uncle (on my father’s side) was on Juno beach that day. I only met him once, and if I recall, he was reluctant to talk about the day – many of his friends were killed or wounded. He has since passed-on.
I’ve been struggling with my memory lately. I can’t remember some of the simplest data – such as the dates of Rosa’s performances, or something someone tells me.
I’ve been just shrugging this off as nothing important, but in actuality it’s been bothering me. I used to have a great memory. I could remember so much, even some of the most obscure references (or so I thought – Rosa has pointed that sometimes what I remembered was not the same as what she remembered).
Just now, I could not remember the phrase “race condition”. I had to Google for deadlock to find the phrase on a Wikipedia page.
And I suddenly and horrifyingly realized that the root cause is that I’m getting old. This is what it must be like. That slow decent into the realm of imperfect memory access.
Oh my god, I’m only 14 months away from being 40. I didn’t realize until just now how close I am to being 40. I think I want to cry or something.
I worked in the start/finish control for the Lanark Highlands Forest Rally 2 weeks ago. I was not able to stay for the banquet, as I had previous commitments with Rosa. But I left my name in a draw for door prizes.
The next day the organizers called me and said that I had won a kayak from Clearwater Design.
Rideau River
It was very welcome news. I often thought about getting a kayak, but did not think I would be able to afford one because of all my other hobbies.
About 7 or 8 years ago, I was at a team-building event in a quarry in Quebec. The highlight of the day for me was being able to paddle around an artifical lake in a kayak. It felt so right, being so close to the water. It was so peaceful. All I needed was loons and moonlight.
Now I have that opportunity. White-water kayaking does not interest me – racing is more than enough adrenalin for me. I need time to chill out, time to think, time to meditate.
It could also be good exercise. I hate going to the gym because it seems so pointless. I go for my long-term health. I think of all the other things I could be doing during that time.
Storm water facility
Later this week, I’ll go to Le Baron Outdoor Products to get the rest of the equipment (life preserver, paddles, etc) I need. I also need some way to haul it around. I live only 7 minutes walk from the Rideau River, so I can start using the kayak there. Perhaps I can also bring it to work and go to the Ottawa River in the evenings. I also noticed that there is a storm-water facility just behind the house, which also looks very peaceful. I’m not sure if I could get in trouble using it, as it is City of Ottawa property.
I am so happy. Last week, I had my first published photo. A picture I took for Les Petits Ballets was used in an article for the school published in the newspaper Nepean This Week. The online article does not show the photo, which is reproduced on the right.
One of my other photos is being used by Les Petits Ballets on a promotional poster. The poster is being distributed around the city.
Over the Victoria Day weekend, I drove in the Sundowner 3-Hour Enduro at Mosport. I can’t say that it was very successful for anyone in Team 00, although Steve was able to place second in class in a wet race Saturday afternoon.
We went down with 2 Acura Integra Type-R’s, both now in bright yellow livery. They looked fantastic in the paddock, sitting side by side. There were three drivers for each – Dr Dolan, his son Pat Dolan, and Nick were to run in #00, which is a stock Type-R, while Steve, myself and Jay were running in #40, and ex-Speed World Challenge Type-R prepared by Real-Time Acura.
I signed up for the test day on Friday, as I had wanted to have time to learn the new cars. This was the first time I was racing since my big accident in the Team 00 Honda Civic at Calabogie 9 months ago. Although I owned a Type-R for about 18 months (I sold it to buy my first house), I needed time in the racecars to learn their handling characteristics.
Friday morning, I had 15 minutes in the #40 car, and Steve had a session in the car. After the second session, we noticed that there was a problem. There was smoke coming from the dipstick hole. We figured that the oil pump was toast. As the pump is inside the motor, there was nothing we could do – the motor needed a rebuild.
Now down to only 1 car, Nick gave up his seat in #00 and I took his place. I had two 15-minute test sessions in the #00 Type-R during Friday. I had a huge spin at the bottom of Turn-4. I was heading down the hill full-bore when I decided I wanted to be wider for the entrance to Turn-5A. I turned the wheel left a little and the tail of the car stepped out. I counter-steered right, but the tail whipped around the other way and I drove up the grass on the inside of Turn-5A fully sideways, looking out the driver’s side window at the marshal station. Luckily the car stopped before re-entering the track and it missed the paved ditch. The grass was deeply embedded between the tires and the rims. I drove to the pits, and took the chequered flag for the session.
Grass in the wheels
The team started making phone calls to see if we could find a replacement motor and eventually settled on Teknotik in Toronto. It was a good deal financially, so Steve, Nick and Pat put the #40 car back on the trailer and drove to Toronto. It should have taken only 2-hours, as Teknotik does 3-4 engine swaps a day.
The evening got late and those still at the track went to bed. In the morning, there was no sign of the #40 car. We called and found that they had been up all night long. The motor swap took so long as the fittings from Real-Time Acura were often different from the stock motor (the donor motor came from a street Type-R). In the morning, the swap was completed, only to find that the clutch was toast. It took many more hours to complete the clutch change.
The #40 car finally arrived back at the track just before 4pm. The Enduro started at 5pm, and there was much that needed to be completed on the cars. Both were refueled, the oil was topped up, tires changed, tire pressures set. The #40 car needed to have the transponder setup, and the radio put in. I worked on the radio, but we were missing parts (the push-to-talk button), so at the very last minute (literally), I had to cut out the non-functional radio. The #00 car needed to have a fan installed to prevent fog on the windscreen – the forecast was for rain during the 3-hour race.
Even with 5 extra crewmembers working full out, the #40 car (which needed more work) missed the mock-grid. That was not so bad, as we had no qualifying time – we would have started at the back of the grid anyways.
Steve and Nick took the first stint in #40 and #00 respectively. We pulled Nick in after less than 45 minutes, as he had had only 40 minutes of sleep in the previous day, as he was involved in the engine swap and clutch change.
Pat Dolan in #00
Steve came in around the hour mark and I took over. However, as I was strapping in, I heard Vern (crew) yelling that there was a lot of fluid in the engine bay and Steve told me to short-shift. So heading out, I had no confidence that the car was ok, and was afraid that I would end up spinning on my own oil.
I had not been comfortable in either car all weekend. Either I was sitting wrong in the car, or the seat was in the wrong place, or the mirrors were set incorrectly. However, this time, it was perfect. I felt comfortable and could get on with racing.
It took a long time to build up trust in the car. My lap times dropped from 1:50 in the cold (Friday) to 1:46, which was showing improvement, but the car should have been able to reach much better times. The cold was effecting everyone, but in the #00 Honda Civic (107hp), I was able to set a time of 1:44.1; in good conditions the Type-R (197 hp) should be capable of setting sub-1:40 lap times.
Towards the end of my hour in the car, I feel I was pushing harder than I had in the Civic. I was not braking for either Turn-1 or Turn-4, and was only touching the brakes for Turn-2 and Turn-8. It felt like I was going faster than in the Civic, but that might also be because in the cold (it was only about 10 degrees and very windy) the tires had much less grip and I was closer to their limits.
Around 7pm, I was brought in for our only fuel stop and Jay took over. I found out after I got out of the car, that Vern had actually said there was “not” a lot of fluid. The reason for short-shifting (I was shifting at just over 7000 rpm, when redline is over 8500) I found out was because the redline would cut the fuel instead of a soft redline where the ignition is cut – this hard cut in a corner would have instantly spun the car because of weight transfer. I thought I was told to short-shift because there was a problem with the motor. Had I known, I would have shifted at 8200 rpm.
Jay did a great job in #40, posting lap times as low as 1:43.5. However, with 20 minutes remaining in Enduro, the replacement motor let go as he drove by on the pit straight. There was a hole in the block. We don’t know the root cause for loosing the second motor.
Steve in Turn-5
On Sunday afternoon, Steve started the second CCTCC in #00. However, he had a hard time, finishing last. The transmission would not stay in fourth gear, so he had to hold the shifter and the steering wheel in some of the high-speed corners – far from ideal.
So, I am disappointed that my lap times could have been better. I do feel good that I will be able to find that speed later this year with once we work out the kinks in the two Type-R’s. And towards the end of my stint Saturday afternoon, I was passing slower traffic, which was good experience. Once the reliability issues are resolved, passing will be easier.
I was changing the tires on my BMW 330Ci, removing the winter tires and putting on the brand new Bridgestone Potenza RE-11‘s in anticipation of the lapping event tomorrow at Calabogie Motorsports Park. The jacking point on these BMWs is a plastic block under the door sill. I figured out later that the jack wasn’t moving forward as it went up, which generated a strong lateral force on the jack point (the plastic block). The plastic block popped out, the car moved sideways and came down on the still-extended jack. It ripped the rocker panel (part of the Performance Package with the 330Ci) and bent the metal just below the door. It also stripped the paint down to the bare metal, so it will all have to be repainted quickly.
The repair is likely to be expensive.
I’m so upset about this. I love my car. Rosa loves my car. I’ve had people come up to me (when the car is stopped at a traffic light) and tell me what a great looking car.
This is a year that I want to focus on becoming a better photographer.
I think about photography all the time. I read books, read magazines, listen to podcasts, I watch documentaries about it, and most days I carry my camera with me. I’m getting better at the tools too. I gave a demo of Apple’s Aperture software for theNortel Photo Club last week, and I created (well copied and updated) a new web gallery theme in Aperture too.
The course with David was especially good, including one-on-one interactions, and sharing experiences with other students. But the most crucial part was getting over my shyness to approach strangers. I’m certainly not an extrovert now, but I just feel like I’ve been given permission to do it, when before I was afraid to approach anyone because I wasn’t “permitted” to interrupt them. There’s some deep psychological reasons for my timidity – something to keep working at.
I’m gaining the confidence I need, and it’s showing. During a trip to Virginia in March, I approached a waitress at IHOP to take her photo. I would never have done that in the past.
And I’m finding out who I want to be when I have a camera in my hand. I’m not happy taking pictures of buildings or race cars or wild animals, although I’ve done all of that. I’m really driven by people. I enjoy great close-up shots of interesting people. A look of focus or concentration, a flash of emotion, a great smile, or perhaps the most amazing eyes. I’m so drawn to watching people. Even when I am taking ballets pictures, most of my photos are of the faces of the dancers, not their feet – which does not make for great dance photos!
I’m finding out who I want to be in my primary form of artistic expression.
