reyes-chow :: FAITH

MacWorld Revew: meh

"Meh" pretty much sums up MacWorld this year.

Where to start.  I wish I could say it was exciting and all that, but it simply was not.  Whether it was the lack of any new announcement or THE announcement about Apple pulling out of MacWorld after 2009, the feel was simply not what is has been in the past.

I am not sure I would call it boring, but unless you were looking for some new case for something, seemed like there was very little to experience.  I am sure that is not the case, but with the huge number of case booths the tech energy seemed lacking.

But . . . lucky me I was looking for two cases.

I found a new iPhone cover from iFrogz (pictured above) that I absolute love.  It's sleek look, satin finish and burnt orange color finally sold me among the flood of possibilities.  It still has some grip and I can take it in and out of my pocket with much more ease than my previous silicon wrap. 

The other item I was in search of what a hard case for my Macbook Air.  I was pretty disappointed with the selection overall.  I suppose folks think if you have the Air, you wouldn't want to add anything to it, fair enough.  Still, compared to the iPhone and iPod case selection, not good at all.  I was teased by Speck when I saw that they had a see-through satin finished case, but of couse, not for the Air.  I finally settled on the basic clear case, which after a few days, I really like.  It gives me a little more confidence in handling the Air without fear of dropping or scracthing my dainty techno toy.

While I will still attend MAcWorld because it is in my backyard, I suppose there are folsk for whome the annual trek to mecca is coming to a painful end.  Should be interesting.

San Francisco Photographers

Yes, I enjoy giving my opinion about all things.  And while Yelp.Com helps to feed this part of me, sometimes there are folks who just need to given a little more visibility because, well, if we can't help folks out that we know, how the heck can are we able to help out folks that we don't know.   

So here are some folks that I know and who I think are superb photographers should you need one for a wedding, sitting, family portraits, etc.*

Toto @ Balebengong
Not really "in business", but more of a casual shooter, Toto has taken our family portraits for a couple of years now as well as been an unofficial photographer at the church.  Still, if you want a layed back experience, without all the bells and whistles but some GREAT shots, he is great.  If nothing else, be sure to check out and/or subscribe to his pics on his FLICKR PAGE.

Kristen @ REARVIEW WINDOW
We have known Kristen and her family for a few years now and they are top-notch uber-cool folks.  Not only does Kristen have a great eye for catching great images, but she is committed to being community in meaningful ways.  If you visit the site, you'll see some of her work from her involvement with the Not for Sale Campaign.  Kristen is available for weddings, portraits and other events! [eMail Kristen]

Shaughn @ SHAUGHN PHOTOGRAPHY
We have just finished working with Shaughn at the suggestion of a friend "in the business."  Eldest had to take some pictures for a project she is working on and voila, we made a friend and great contact.  Shaughn's eye for some cool lines and images are really great and artsy.   Be sure to take a look at his portfolio and for those of you who are at MBCC, you might see someone you recognize, besides my child.  [eMail Shaughn]

* No kick-backs, commission or referral fees are given, promised or strong-armed in exchange for these glowing recommendations.   

Does the Ooze have any standards at all?

Apparently the Ooze does not have standards - at least not high ones - because I am on some list of people that are being sent free books in the hopes that I review and blog about most of them.  Of course all it took was a blog posting from the Adam Cleaveland, a technorati authority over 50 and a quick eMail to say, "Sure, I'll read free books" and voila, I am one of 50 book-reading, blog-spewing narcissists.  Hey I call 'em like I see 'em ;-)  Did I mention these were free books?

While will never be as sweet of a reviewer as Mr. Copeland, See his most excellent review of Tony Jones' New Christians, I will do my best to give you some reason to buy it now, wait until later or don't bother.

I am about 3/4 of the way through the first book, Pete Gall's reflective memoir, Beautiful Idol.  Should be done with it in a few days and will post something next week.

I just received in the mail four more books and a CD.  Not sure what I'll start next, probably the one with the coolest cover ;-)  Yes, and I also choose my wine by the attractiveness of the label.  Sue me.  My choices are from the following:

• Feel: The Power of Listening to Your Heart by Matthew Elliott
• Porn Nation: Conquering America's #1 Addiction by Michael Leahy
• Hokey Pokey: Curious People Finding What Life's All About by Matthew Paul Turner
• We the Purple by Marcia Ford
• Songs for a Revolution of Hope, Vol 1: Everything Must Change CD by Brian McClaren and The Restoration Project

So if you have any thoughts about what I should read next and/or have a great idea for a creative rating system for movies, books, ect. feel free to drop a note.

MacSpeech Dictate Review

You are in trouble now.

I am writing this blog using my new software MacSpeech Dictate. I remember back in the day we used to use Dragon. That was about as clunky as you can get. During my MacWorld visit I purchased a MacSpeech Dictate and am very satisfied. If any of you have wanted to use a voice recognition software this one works great with my Mac .  Two thumbs up. And it doesn't even pick up my eldest child and her friend mocking me from the other room. ;-)

As far as accuracy, it is excellent. Very little setup time and all the commands actually make sense.  If you get it, it also comes with a great headset, though I did learn that the input on my MacBook is a line-in and not a microphone jack, so the USB adapter must be used.

I will probably use it most as I thinking sermons, speeches and other stuff that i am doing to gear up for the last few months of the Moderator journey.

All-in-all good times!