Personal HD Camcorder

Looks like there may be a low- to mid-level HD digital camcorder in my near future. Kodak will be releasing their new Zi8 on the market, which comes in Black, Aqua and Raspberry. I am opting for a conservative Black, although I'm not adverse to the other hues. We are talking 1080p at 30fps.

My main objective will be capturing my many motorcycle excursions in video. Especially the mountain twisties. We shall see how well Kodak's electronic image stabilization works. At this price level I won't hold my breath (since it is still difficult to achieve rock steadiness even with the expensive consumer camcorders). But, the buzz is that it should be better than most.

Or I can always try my hand at porn.

Digicams

Last night I was surfing the web gathering information on the current crop of digital cameras. I've been using a Canon clamshell compact that's gotten long in the tooth (technologically), but it still does a damn good job. It's spec'd at 4.0 megapixels with 3x optical zoom.

The compacts and ultracompacts have advanced dramatically. Image stabilization and higher rez come to mind. Then there's the pro-sumer models which bridge the gap between pocketable cams and professional-class digital SLRs (DSLR). These generally have a non-interchangeable high-zoom lens and use a lot of plastic. Lastly are the professional (or near-pro) cameras that offer interchangeable lenses, metal bodies, better image sensors and other specs that push the techno envelope.

However, it would be rather hard for me to justify a replacement at this point since I haven't been doing a lot of snapping. Gotta make the effort and stop procrastinating.

Technology is nice, but creativity begins with the heart and mind.

HDTVs

What I noticed about the Black Friday newspaper ads is that the flat-panel HDTV prices are dropping drastically. Nevermind that the prices are slashed to kick off the holiday shopping season; this (IMHO) is a sign of what's to come. We are looking at modestly sized sets (measuring about 32") selling for around $450, while sets as large as 50" can be had for under a grand... and the technology is not sitting still.

Purchasing one is inevitable, as we prepare for the FCC ruling to convert all broadcasting to digital by 2009.

The Pen is...

... mightier than the sword, as the saying goes.

As much as I would like to just about eliminate using paper altogether (and replacing the pen with a stylus for electronic input), I still have a fondness for traditional media stemming from my lifelong interest in art. I have been using PDAs for around a half dozen years now, a technology that seems to be fighting an uphill battle against the convergent technology which integrates cellphone, digicam, entertainment center, alarm clock and PDA into one device.

But what I've found is that nothing beats pen and paper for spontaneity (that and random access information retrieval). For spur-of-the-moment note taking, and for doodling... nope, there's nothing quite like it.

So I will continue to tout sparing our trees, yet I must also quietly acknowledge there's no escaping the ubiquity of the pen.