Thomas Hawk › Comments

"Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is ready to take on that annoying blast of sound when TV commercials are just too loud and wants to compel the Federal Communications Commission to fix it and require the ads to be at the same decibel level as the programming. Whitehouse has introduced legislation called the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act of 2009, or CALM. New York Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) is a co-sponsor. Democrats say the FCC has received consumer complaints about commercials being louder than television shows since the 1960s. In the 25 quarterly reports on consumer complaints released by the FCC since 2002, 21 have listed as a top complaint the loudness of television commercials. Earlier this year, the Consumers Union, the nonprofit organization that publishes Consumer Reports, stated in testimony before the House of Representatives that "the CALM Act provides an elegant and common sense solution to finally ending a 45-year consumer complaint in the United States."" - Thomas Hawk from Bookmarklet

About damn time. - Trish R

"According to deputy city controller Monique Zmuda, the Department of Public Works currently spends $3.7 million per year on its antigraffiti program. That sum dwarfs the $1.9 million spent annually in San Jose, which, with its population of 1 million, is 25 percent larger than San Francisco. It's also more than twice as much per capita as Los Angeles, a city of 3.8 million people that spends $7 million per year fighting graffiti. This is big money, particularly at a time when the city is facing an intractable budget crisis. Last month, the Board of Supervisors was desperately trying to scrounge up $8 million to prevent layoffs among public health workers. The Public Works graffiti-abatement program burns through that much in less than three years. Is it worth it?" - Thomas Hawk from Bookmarklet

"A community of ‘candid’ photographers of men in public situations (all of whom have paid for their accounts in good faith) has been displaced and silenced on photo-sharing site Flickr in less than a fortnight. Four prominent photostreams as well as countless photos vanished from July 6th 2009 to July 13th 2009 without warning or right to appeal. At least one site had over a million hits in less than a year. Flickr has stubbornly refused to give a reason for its recent axe-grinding mission against these sites, but one user was given the reason ‘voyeur content’ after more than 8 days of asking for a reason yet that particular site contained pictures of men in public which is legal. Flickr has refused to expand on the reason it gave, but cited its ambiguous and open-ended ‘Don’t be creepy’ clause in its Terms of Service asjustification for terminating at least one photostream. Flickr has also silenced debate about the issue on its Help Forum. When confronted with whether or nor the... more... - Thomas Hawk

As someone who has, quite unfairly, had their name featured several times in the Flickr is Fascist Blog, and who knows who the perpetrator is I can understand why Flickr would want to protect it’s users in this way. The person behind it not only has a malicious personal vendetta against certain people on the site but also promotes the censorship, deletion and suspension of other peoples... more... - david Martyn

"Yahoo isn’t happy that a detailed menu of the spying services it provides law enforcement agencies has leaked onto the web. Shortly after Threat Level reported this week that Yahoo had blocked the FOIA release of its law enforcement and intelligence price list, someone provided a copy of the company’s spying guide to the whistleblower site Cryptome. The 17-page guide describes Yahoo’s data retention policies and the surveillance capabilities it can provide law enforcement, with a pricing list for these services. Cryptome also published lawful data-interception guides for Cox Communications, SBC, Cingular, Nextel, GTE and other telecoms and service providers. But of all those companies, it appears to be Yahoo’s lawyers alone who have issued a DMCA takedown notice to Cryptome demanding the document be removed. Yahoo claims that publication of the document is a copyright violation, and gave Cryptome owner John Young a Thursday deadline for removing the document. So far, Young has refused." - Thomas Hawk from Bookmarklet

But could a Yahoo staffer cross reference things like Flickr groups/mail, Yahoo mail, and Yahoo chat based on IP address? I understand that in general someone there would not be interested in the actions of an individual. But if a staffer was interested in the actions of an individual could they pull up this sort of information on a single user and at what level/authorizations. I'm... more... - Thomas Hawk

:( oh no, that is bad! - Rachel Lea Fox

if you're looking for fast and solid, go Bibble Pro v4 ... Mac/PC/Linux ... - Terence Kearns

"This is a very rare Canon 5200mm photographic lens. THE largest & most powerful prime lens ever created for dedicated SLR photographic use. Made in Japan. It is my understanding that a customized SLR/DSLR/EF mount can be created/included by the team of optical engineers who presently look after the lens. Due to its large size, it may be better suited to astronomy applications & others... It takes two strong people to lift the lens. It could also be mounted on a customized truck or SUV. A large geared or motorized support head would be needed to get the most out it. The magnification of this lens is truly staggering. If mounted to a Canon HD XL series video camera for example, a reach of 1000x optical (at least) would be possible (approx 37,500mm). The lens could also be mounted to HD & cine cameras. Manual focus & drop-in filters can be used. With so few ever built Canon spent a tonne on the R&D, not to mention the manufacturer of this lens. The Canon factory picture shows the lens... more... - Thomas Hawk from Bookmarklet

What! No IS! I'd like to see the tripod that you need to hold that sucker up! - Jeff P. Henderson

"Ms Jorgensen reckons that between her and her rivals the total number of limos in Copenhagen next week has already broken the 1,200 barrier. The French alone rang up on Thursday and ordered another 42. "We haven't got enough limos in the country to fulfil the demand," she says. "We're having to drive them in hundreds of miles from Germany and Sweden." And the total number of electric cars or hybrids among that number? "Five," says Ms Jorgensen. "The government has some alternative fuel cars but the rest will be petrol or diesel. We don't have any hybrids in Denmark, unfortunately, due to the extreme taxes on those cars. It makes no sense at all, but it's very Danish." The airport says it is expecting up to 140 extra private jets during the peak period alone, so far over its capacity that the planes will have to fly off to regional airports – or to Sweden – to park, returning to Copenhagen to pick up their VIP passengers." - Thomas Hawk from Bookmarklet

Caviar wedges? Where the heck is my invitation? - MVB (Curmudgeon of FF)

I grew up in Big Tujunga Canyon in the Angeles National Forest down in Los Angeles. When I was a kid I remember a massive wild fire came through the canyon in 1975. It scorched our property, but my dad saved the house by staying behind to fight the fire with my grandfather who was a Los Angeles County firefighter. It had been 34 years since that fire when the Station Fire swept through Big Tujunga Canyon earlier this Fall. Once again my dad chose to ignore the evacuation orders and stayed behind to defend the property. The fire scorched most of the property that my parents still live on today. They lost a few vehicles, a trailer and an old storage shed, but my dad fought the fire all by himself with a garden hose and saved the house itself as well as other structures on the property. - Thomas Hawk

"Roman Polanski remained in a Swiss prison this morning, with officials sayng the terms of his $4.5 million remain unmet. Officials would not elborate, but reporters outside Polanski's Alpine chalet -- where he will go to live under house arrest -- said workers were plowing snow from the area. "If the conditions were met, he would be in Gstaad," a Swiss Justice spokesman told the Associated Press" - Thomas Hawk from Bookmarklet

So, what are the odds that a helicopter lands on his property here and takes him away back to France if he's granted bail? - Thomas Hawk

If he gets out, he's running. Anyone who thinks differently, is lieing to themselves. - Bluesun 2600

"Every day, White, 51, updates a Web site he launched in 2003, icasualties.org, to keep count of the dead: American troops, coalition troops, contractors and Iraqi civilians. He eventually began documenting deaths in Afghanistan as well. Special coverage: War in Afghanistan He knew the wars would carry on, but he did not anticipate casualties continuing at this pace. October proved to be the deadliest for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since the beginning of that conflict in 2001. Nor could White have predicted the toll his task would take on him. As the numbers climbed, the dead came back to life on his screen. They weren't just statistics anymore." - Thomas Hawk from Bookmarklet

Where is this? looks like a theatre marque... - CW™

yeah, it's a detail shot of the Crest theater in Sacramento, an amazing work of neon. - Thomas Hawk

وااااااااااااااااااو! خيلي وقته ديگه بارون نزده - Moghamer

Even more of this today. Please stop raining! :-( - Kol Tregaskes

"The Volkswagen Microbus is a classic - even to those of us born after its time. Arguably unlike the newly remade Beetle, this remake of a VW classic is remarkably true to the original on the outside - but on the inside it is a bio-diesel hybrid stuffed full of high tech gadgetry and eco-friendly innovations." - Kol Tregaskes from Bookmarklet

Bumping some old good posts. :-) - Kol Tregaskes

Do you use them? I'm looking into getting new HDD externals and these units came to mind. - See-ming Lee 李思明 SML

yes, I've got four drobos now and just bought a 5th today as I'm running out of space again. I use Seagate 1TB hard drives in them, although the 1.5 TBs probably make sense too. Both are under $100 each and with $319 (after rebate) now for the old model that seems like a good deal. I've been very happy with my drobos. - Thomas Hawk

I’ve personally been a big fan of the Drobo and use Drobos for the primary storage of all of my digital data. Remember hard drive failure is not a question of if, but when. I’ve got four Drobos at present with about 12 terabytes of storage and am buying a 5th one today myself as I’m running out of storage again. While a Drobo should not be considered a replacement for offsite backups (remember theft/fire), protecting against hard drive failure (probably the number one way people lose data) makes a lot of sense. I don’t think that I’m going to pay up $800 just yet for the new Drobo, but it looks like the previous model (which has FireWire 800) has dropped in price and is now offering a $30 rebate. At $319.95, after rebate, this is the cheapest I’ve seen this model yet. If you’ve been thinking about picking up a Drobo, now might be the time to do it. - Thomas Hawk

Over at the Photobox blog they are complaining today after Flickr has apparently cut off their commercial API access. Photobox is a commercial photo printer in the UK who had previously been able to use the Flickr API to help Flickr users print photos with them. From the Photobox blog: “At PhotoBox we passionately believe in the values of the open web and consumer choice; if you do as well then please join us in our mini effort to encourage the mighty ‘community driven’ flickr to play fair. So put your hands in the air by signing this petition and who knows, just maybe, the very smart folks at flickr HQ in sunny CA will stop, take note and reconsider their decision to cut off our full API access. We believe it’s entirely their choice to have a preferential online prints partner in the UK and Europe all over (y)our photostreams (or not!) but to exclusively cut us off ‘due to these contractual obligations’ is a harsh step too far and flies in the face of what we all want – an open and social web driven by consumer choice. “ - Thomas Hawk

It would appear that I was only put on the "naughty step" - full service has been resumed. Well it would be if I thought Flickr help was a fair a reasonable place which it clearly isn't. - Paul Parkinson

Phillip Toledano has a powerful and touching photo essay about the death of his 98 year old father. It’s an honest photographic examination of family, life, and death. It shows how much more powerful photographs can be when you put yourself into them emotionally. Spend a few minutes going through this one. Read the words that go with the images. You won’t regret it. Thanks to Ryan MacLean for the heads up. - Thomas Hawk

More of his work here: http://mrtoledano.com/ - Thomas Hawk

If you are in the market for a compact digital camera check out this review by Flickr user Andertho. He highly recommends the Olympus E-P1. Retro beauty, modern function. This is the sweetest, nicest, awesomest, prettiest digital camera I have ever seen. The form factor is amazing. The build quality is just superb. The fit and finish are masterfully done. The camera has a satisfying heft even given its small size. The shutter makes a nice, quiet ka-chunk noise that is just satisfying as well. This thing looks like something Henri Cartier-Bresson would have carried around 60 years ago, yet it is an amazingly capable modern camera. This is a camera you just want to pick up and hold and play with. I find excuses to take this thing with me and use it. I love my D-300 for what it can DO. I love this camera for what it IS. - Thomas Hawk

I like this picture -- my only question -- how did you find a cable car that empty of people. ;-) - Brian Sullivan

it's in an empty one that they have at AT&T park for the kids to play on. - Thomas Hawk

Ah less magic than I thought - still like the picture. - Brian Sullivan

I guess I'll see you there, Thomas. - Spidra Webster

Spidra, were you there? I'm sorry if so and we didn't get to say hi. I was there earlier from 6:30pm or so until a bit after 8pm. - Thomas Hawk

"(11-12) 17:05 PST MARTINEZ -- Steven Douglas Burton was a member of the marching band at Alhambra High School in Martinez, where he struggled to fit in and wasn't known for being athletic. So when he showed up at his 20-year reunion with a buzz cut and dressed in a crisp Marine Corps uniform, fellow members of the class of 1988 were more than a bit surprised. So were military officials, who said Burton had never served in the military - nor had he spent a day fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan, as he claimed. He actually works at a bank in Palm Springs. On Thursday, Burton appeared in a federal courtroom in Riverside and pleaded not guilty to charges that he masqueraded as a decorated military veteran. He was dressed in street clothes, not the Marine uniform he liked to wear with a bevy of what prosecutors said were fake medals, including the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart." - Thomas Hawk from Bookmarklet

Wow. - Samuel L. Jackson

This is the best group of pictures I've seen from you since I've been following. Every shot here is cool. - Mark Welsh

hey, thanks Mark! - Thomas Hawk

Booted from where? - Thomas Hawk from iPhone

bah - Carla

Wendy, it sounds like there is a lot of animosity in the new group. Maybe the thing to do is to just start over in the group here, that way nothing is being impossed on anyone. Whoever wants to can still stay there. We can get the new group up to 3,000 members in short order, and a lot of interesting new people. Those who prefer the old group can stay there or do both if they want. As... more... - Thomas Hawk from iPhone

: - Carla

"Three months ago, Robert Cameron was hanging out of a helicopter taking pictures of Lombard Street. That was the last flight for the indefatigable "Above San Francisco" photographer who died Tuesday at his home in Pacific Heights. He was 98 and in the midst of his last show - "Environmental Journey: Robert Cameron's Aerial Photography of our Pacific Rim," which is on display at the Metreon in downtown San Francisco. "He just wore out," said his son, Tony Cameron." - Thomas Hawk from Bookmarklet

Wasn't he taking pictures until his death? Around age 90 or so? CHAMP. - RumNose

Ivan (pronounced ee-VAHN) Makarov is a Bay Area photographer that I have admired and loosely worked with over the past year. He strikes a balance of discipline, curiosity, and variety in his work; possibly a function of his continual pursuit of decency. Although stoic in facade, I think Ivan is constantly inserting emotion into his photography. I wanted to probe a bit on a few fronts of his style and inspiration. Read on… - Ivan Makarov from Bookmarklet

nice Ivan. Congrats! - Thomas Hawk

Absolute congrats, Ivan. This is one of my favorites and gives me the "willies" every time I look at it. Your subject is certifiably nuts! - Roger Loewen

"Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- An Andy Warhol painting of 200 dollar bills was sold for $43.8 million at a New York art auction by London-based art collector Pauline Karpidas, more than 100 times what she paid in 1986. Five bidders vied for Warhol’s 1962 “200 One Dollar Bills” at the Sotheby’s sale last night and it went to an unidentified phone buyer. The 7 1/2-foot wide silkscreen canvas comprises repetitive images of one-dollar bills, reproduced in tones of black on grey, with a blue Treasury seal. Karpidas offered the work, according to two people familiar with the situation. She paid $385,000 for the painting at a 1986 Sotheby’s sale." - Thomas Hawk from Bookmarklet

cunts - Chris Nixon

i saw that TH!!! :) - Carla

i told you i will stay out of this. if TH or ivan or mecki or all others want to "trickle back" to the dmuncensored, as it was said in the "veterans of the DMU group/thread" prophecy, they will. i personally, as it is, will not. i'm just one person though, and as was said in the "veterans of the DMU group/thread" you guys shouldn't beg Mo to join, right? do whatever is right. i sure will do. - Mo Tabesh

It's really not necessary for me to cross post the times Mo has asserted the same "open the threads" point of view. You guys came over - to your credit - to breech the idea of making whole again this quick frankly ridiculous split. I came over here to try to reach out and do the same thing. Since then, its degenerated into a bunch of "we want this" and "we won't do that" on both sides -... more... - Shims

tick tock - tick tock - free the forums, they will come... you guys invite me to drive 3 hours for a photo shoot but not in my own back yard :-( - bluetick

okay, here goes nothing.. but I do feel that though you have 1000+ members now, well how many actually participate?? I try... I just keep losing the link.. got booted from FF... I always look at my groups list to see where the action is and with no threads this group never shows up, so I forget to come here. (maybe thats why I was booted??) I've said it before, DMU was never really... more... - Carla