I've been taking pictures in a RAW file format for the past few months. The images are much larger than an equivalent JPEG and they require some post-processing, but I think it's worth it. With the growth in flash sizes (16GB for ~$50?!?!) and software that automatically handles the post-processing, you might as well grab as much data as your camera will give you.

I've also been reading up on high dynamic range imaging (HDR) and picked up a nice little program called Bracketeer that can combine multiple exposures of an image to create a more evenly exposed image. Typically this is done with bracketed exposures by the photographer, but a tripod is needed to allow for a clean merge.

With a RAW image, though, you can play with the exposure details in software after the fact. It's debatable whether the final result is as impressive as a true bracketed exposure (or so I'm told), but the convenience can't be beat! Below is an HDR image created by merging three exposures (-2EV, 0EV, and +2EV) and a little bit of Photoshop action. The difference is subtle (mouse-over for the HDR), and I probably could've obtained the same result by tweaking the RAW, but I think it has a punch that the original lacks.

Inspired by Ryan Hadley's Goodbye Outlook post, I decided to build on what he had done. exchange2ics, a perl re-write with some additional functionality, is a multi-user gateway to allow calendaring clients read-only access to Exchange calendars via ics subscription. It implements caching to reduce server load and does not store any user credentials.

A friend recent pointed me at Phun, a physics engine. It's in the same vein as the Bridge Construction Set (which I'm mentioned previously), but it does so much more. There's a great YouTube video posted that shows what it can do. Check it out!

Verizon now offers a symmetric 20Mbps service in my area. In my testing so far the uplink doesn't quite reach the quoted speed, but it could be my router. It's a beautiful thing!