The N Judah 'public beta'

It seemed to me that the 'book' feature in iPhoto would be a good way to assemble and view a portfolio of pictures. So I bundled up a collection of photos that I took on the N Judah streetcar and CalTrain while I was commuting to radiation therapy at UCSF's radiation oncology department in San Francisco.

We did a quick first draft, mostly to see how the repro in the book looked relative to the photos on screen (predictably, the shadows became darker) and then fixed up and sent off a second draft, which came back this past Friday.

I've posted a page which gives more information about the project, and allows readers to download a PDF version of the second draft - a 'public beta' (please feel free to leave your comments). With a bit more fiddling with some of the photos, we'll be ready to print a very limited run edition which will be offered for sale. We may also offer prints of some of the photos... signed by the 'artist'...

Reaching up (and out) to the brain

The bowls you see here are on a shelf in my kitchen that is a bit less than 6 feet from the floor. Since shortly after I finished radiation therapy in December 0f 2006, I haven't been able to reach them with my left hand.

As part of my rehab program, I started to try to reach them about a month ago (these are breakfast bowls, so I do this every day). At first I could only reach up to the bottom shelf. With repeated reaching (to this shelf and another where my medications are stored), I slowly was able to reach higher.

Two weeks ago I finally touched the top bowl, and managed to get a finger under it. This morning, I picked up the top two bowls (one for Linda) and lowered them to the counter in one piece.

I mention this not just because I'm pleased to have back some use of the previously all-but-paralyzed limb, but because it illustrates the theory of neuroplasticity, the idea that the brain can be made to rewire itself, to route around damage (in my case, a brain tumor).

My experience teaches that it takes multiple repetitions - some hundreds or thousands - of simple movements to get them working again. Building neural connections is like building muscles at the gym - and proceeds about as quickly. If you keep at it, it will come...

Thanks, Scott!

Turns out that one of the two old photo books that Scott gave me yesterday is listed on a collectors' site for $125. It is mine now, right, Scott?

After our 90-minute rehab workout at the Y in Palo Alto this A.M., I crawled California Avenue in Palo Alto for half an hour, snapping pix with the new Zeiss lens. I met a construction worker named Bob, before dropping into the Printer's Inc. Cafe for coffee. There was a man with interesting features speaking animatedly at the next table. Looked like a startup guy to me. I'm loving it... shooting pictures in streets and cafes... I feel like I'm 19 again...

Got an email in Arabic which seems to be an invitation to join the Arabian Hackers Crew (aka ArabIaN HacKerS CreW). Hmmmm... no thanks, guys... my hacking days are long gone...

How to Make Good Pictures

It was show-and-tell at gulker.com World HQ this morning after Scott, Lily and I completed our mile-and-a-half walk. I showed Scott my $36 framed 11x14 print (vs. the $200 I paid a frame shop for a similar production) and the first draft of my N Judah book.

Scott had brought two old photo books that his wife had come upon while dealing with her late mother's estate. One was a Kodak guide "How to make good pictures" (1951, 29th Edition) and "The Retina Way" (1957, 7th Edition) a guide to using Kodak's famous 'miniature' 35mm rangefinder. I'm still having fun thumbing through both volumes, each laden with sage advice. Cameras change, but the basics of good pictures are remarkably stable... apologies to Kodak if they regard this as a copyright violation...

In other news:

Cool new 3G modem: the Nova Media iCON 431 is a 3G modem with Mac, Linux and Windows drivers. Whoaa... global connectivity for my Netbook?

Howard has an interesting commentary about the vanishing newsroom quandary. Via Dave "Toppler of Paradigms" Winer...

My culinary challenge this week: healthy dishes made only with ingredients from Trader Joe's. Byriani vegetables and rice with salmon is the chef's preparation for this evening.They're inexpensive, too...

Working photos: is a new public gallery where I'm posting things that catch my eye, preparatory to doing some more serious consideration. The front end of the 'good picture' process...

N Judah, farther down the track

Spent yesterday afternoon working on the N Judah book: it's getting close to publication form - will likely do more today. We have the first draft version, in softcover, back from Apple's iPhoto book printer. A documentary on the people and small dramas aboard a S.F. Muni streetcar...

Super B**l Sunday

We're using "Super B**l" to avoid lawsuits... apparently NFL search-and-shake-down lawyers want bucks if you use the words 'Super' and 'Bowl' in juxtaposition, similar to the way another batch of attorneys feel about the word 'Olympics.' Anyway we're not watching.... Ms. 'Superfan' Hubbard has it on in the background, but even she is on her Mac. Q. How can you own words? A. With enough lawyers, anything is possible, no matter how patently absurd...