2001-04-30 - 4:20 p.m.

Houses and Photos

Late to bed, late to rise. The shock of switching from my weekend "get out of bed at 4" schedule and the schedule kept by actual people has left my grip on reality a wee bit tenuous.

Over the weekend, Julie and I had a chance to talk seriously about the economics of the house. I had planned to buy it all on my own, to simplify things, but after reading a couple books on mortgages, I've concluded I can't. Regardless of whether I could pull it off or not, banks will not give me a mortgage equivalent to half my current take-home pay each month. On the other hand, if Julie and I both sign on the dotted line, it's no sweat.

From there we got into discussions of how we could organize the household. That was interesting. She's worried that we'll fight over money, and I'm worried that we'll fight over who's been touching my stuff. The only thing we agree on is that there will be fights. I think late 2002 will be an interesting time for all of us.

I also spent some time fretting over photography. I'm not much of a technical photographer, but I do really enjoy taking pictures. Last winter I finally stopped using my Olympus SLR in favor of a Nikon CoolPix 990 digital. Being able to upload pictures easily, check exposures in near-real-time, and having the twist-grip all make digital much nicer than film. I really miss the superior flash metering of the Olympus, though. While the flash on the SLR sat too close to the lens to avoid red-eye, it had really tight metering. I'd never get the burn-in that you see with cheap cameras and, alas, the Nikon.

Anyway, I was surfing the net looking for flash tips. The simplest one is bouncing the flash, which gives more even illumination and more texture. Alas, my current flash comes up short on power when I try to bounce it. I was going to try to find money for a big ol' Nikon SB-28 with three times the power of my current rig, but instead I found something called the Lumiquest Pocket Bouncer, which mounts right on the flash and scatters the light for you. It may be just the ticket. You'll know when the next batch of Liralyn photos show up on the web.

Previous entry: Someone Tell Jewel to Shut Up

Next entry: The End of the World