"What the hell is an UWA?" - An Ultra-wide angle lens - poor acronym, yes, but that’s what I’m calling them for the rest of this post.  Basically, my 28-105mm is a good lens - not great, as the range is kinda bland on a 1.6x crop camera such as my Rebel XT (mm…5D…).  So, my "Lens Purchasing Demon" has been very dormant these past weeks/month’ish due in large part to the move iI just made from an apparent drug house near Main St to a nice 2-story townhouse near Highland Park - the dumbass factor is much less here.  So, we headed to a wedding after my move.  At that wedding was a fantasic photographer named Steve Chesler.  Simply wonderful work.  And I found the photographer  in me  awaken - yet I have little time to shoot due to unpacking and another weekend of moving. 

Regardless, I’ve been looking closely at UWA lenses as of late.  The main problem I have with most UWA lenses is that most fit only on some of Canon’s Digital Line of SLRs - 20D, 350D (my camera) and 30D…possibly 10D, not sure.  I won’t be able to use a hand full of the ultra-wides because of this.  It isn’t a deal breaker, as the 5D, canon’s "cheapest" Full-Frame DSLR is still about 2-3k for the body only.  

The main motivation for an ultra-wide lens is due in part to a trip coming up to Denver and San Fransisco.  I realize getting a lens for one trip is silly, so I’m trying to see if I’d actually use it beyond a single trip.  I think I would as I currently have a nice low-light lens, a standard telephoto (though 105mm even on a 1.6x crop isn’t too great), and a macro (which I love).  I think an ultra-wide would add nicely to my range.

So, I’m looking at them all and I’m finding Canon’s go at an UWA lens to be very good - and rather expensive.  Factor in that the lens does NOT include a hood or bag - Sigma gives you both with their 10-20mm…but I read of light fall-off on the Sigma.  Decisions decisions.  I’d be tempted to buy locally, if the return policy was a "no question’s asked" - try out the lens and then simiply return.

Lucky for me, the Car Buying Demon has been sleeping soundly.  Part of me leans towards a new car - the other leans to a used one.  Then there’s the part (that’s winning) that still enjoys beating the piss out of my current car - it seems to love pain and hanging out at 5000rpm - which is fine by me :) 

Follow-up to Last Post…

Found this article today .  I’d like to counter that by suing whoever was behind the creation of Earth - thanks to you, we have Myspace.com.

I understand the severity of online predators - there is something rather disturbing about a male (or female…it can happen) in their mid-40s going to the house of a 15yr old.  I mean come ON people - what the hell is wrong with you?  Obviously you have an extra train of thought than most people.  That train is labeled "County Jail."

It’s almost like myspace.com was created for these sexual predators.  With all the concerns about internet privacy, these predators seem to have no problem with privacy - they’ve got tons of it when on the internet.  Give a creepy 45yr old a desire for underage teens and an anonymous portal to said teens and you have yourself the recent concerns about myspace.com.  There are apparent safety features for underage children who create/modify profiles and I have yet to read about those features.  I find it pointless to read about something that probably will not work.  

I consider myspace.com to be a fantastic way for people to connect, only because everyone from Seattle to Siberia has a profile.  Beyond that, I find the site to be very poorly constructed and I would be not be surprised if the code behind it is another class case of code hacking. 

Back to the original intent of this post.  There is alot of talk it seems about stopping these "predators" - and rightfully so.  These people make a rock look like a genious.  What surprises me, is why we don’t stop the dumbass kids from getting on the internet.  Oh, that’s right, today’s parents, from what I’ve seen, think that society will do a better job of raising their kin.  With that kind of attitude, you deserve what you get.  Can we have less low-IQ, minimal self-esteem, inexperienced-at-life children getting on the internet and forcing sites to impose all these little safety nets to catch them. 

It is NOT the internets job to offer protection.  Why in god’s name can’t parents give a damn about that their children do?  When you have a child, you should probably stop obsessing about your own life…ya know? maybe?  eh?  I mean, you have a baby that needs that diaper to be changed afterall.

Video games are not an adoption agency.  The internet is not an orphanage.  Lastly, the Government sure as hell isn’t the relatives you send your kids to when you want a "weekend away".  Step up, parents - care about your kids.  Look at their myspace.com profile.  If your kids get pissed about you "intruding" - tell it like it is, don’t remove your spine and turn into a jellyfish.

That is all

I’ve come to a few conclusions after nearly a decade of driving like an Andretti. One is that many people are simply scared, nay deathly terrified of driving.  But what do these fantastically wise people do?  They drive, thus making life for the people that have little or no fear when driving (me being the latter), miserable at times.

"Not sure what you mean", says you.  Well, here’s an example:  Take the rusted and heavily weathered 1990 Dodge Minivan in the center lane.  They are most likely so focused on just keeping in the lane and not "messing" when driving, that they don’t realize they are doing 55 in the center lane - when even the slow lane is purring along at a steady 60-65.  "So, just pass them.." says the reader.  Well, I do pass them, along with 16 other cars in a matter of 5 minutes.  The point is, people need to just drive - it isn’t fun if you are scared to do so. 

Another of my fantastic conclusions is that people will always put on their "Oblivious" hat when driving.  It seems that many GM cars come with these hats - Buick seems to have them as a standard feature.  Hey Mr. Johnny Senior:  Get a smaller car so we don’t have to watch you back out of a parking spot for 3.5 hours. 

So, fear combined with oblivious = frustation on my part.  I think the farther you get from a city the more people wear their Oblivious Hats.  When you drive a vehicle, it really isn’t a smart idea to think of every other thing in your life.  You are moving over 2000lbs of various materials down a road.  One wrong move and you are aiming that object towards another vehicle.  

If you are in the fast lane, drive fast - None of this 65mph crap - 75mph is my minimum .  If you are in the slow lane, do whatever you please, as I’ll be in the fast lane flying by you scared, oblivious self. 

It appears my time here has been extended.  To "celebrate", I’ll introduce you to another character that I’ve come to know and love:  Smoking Garden Gnome.

His voice is grating - think New Jersey accent with a hint of 40 packs of Marlboros.  He can’t seem to grasp the concept of "inside voice" either.  I think he’s roughly 4′ tall and I’m certain I’ve seen him posing in someone’s garden before.  Whether he quit smoking or still smokes, it is clear that either could be true.  His voice definately has that prematurely weathered tinge to it.  I’ve overheard someone having a nice deep smoking cough and I wonder if that is him.  I am waiting for the day he forgets to take his red cone hat off before coming into work - revealing his true identity.  Most don’t know, but I do.

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