tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333384212024-03-13T15:58:18.742-04:00Ricardiblog"There is another way of putting this. But I forgot it." - Pier Giorgio DiCiccoRichard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.comBlogger285125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-66234118278007008222012-01-24T14:16:00.001-05:002012-01-24T14:17:32.521-05:00Please visit my new blog, <a href="http://occamstypewriter.org/wintle/">Adventures in Wonderland</a>.Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-21244393220104432672012-01-05T18:19:00.002-05:002012-01-05T18:32:17.929-05:00Well, that didn't take long.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/3260646748/" title="exit here by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3452/3260646748_15f9453c27.jpg" alt="exit here" width="375" height="500" /></a><br /><br />In my <a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2012/01/2010-rip.html">previous post</a>, I hinted that I might be considering bringing together my disparate blogging activities here, at <a href="http://products.scienceboard.net/">Life Science Tools of the Trade</a>, and at the <a href="http://occamstypewriter.org/irregulars/">Occam's Typewriter Irregulars</a>.<br /><br />It's done.<br /><br />Please welcome the brand-new, shiny, <a href="http://occamstypewriter.org/wintle/">Adventures in Wonderland</a>, kindly hosted by my friends over at <span style="font-style: italic;">Occam's Typewriter</span>. You can read a bit more about the history behind the move in its <a href="http://occamstypewriter.org/wintle/2012/01/05/what-is-blog/">inaugural post</a>.<br /><br />This dear old Ricardiblog will continue to live here, but I will no longer update it. Please feel free to visit me at the new place. I'll probably be tweaking it and poking it for a while, so don't be put off if things work a little differently. It's still me behind it all.Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-51404119409886138012012-01-04T17:01:00.000-05:002012-05-11T13:55:55.648-04:002011 R.I.P.Time for a little lazy blogging to get the year started.<br />
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Last year, I jumped on a little meme that <a href="http://occamstypewriter.org/vwxynot/">Cath</a> directed me to, namely the idea of <a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2010/12/2010-in-words-of-proprietor.html">listing the first sentence of the first post of each month</a>. It failed a bit, since there were three months where (shock!) <span style="font-style: italic;">I didn't post a single thing</span>. This year, surprisingly enough, isn't as bad, although June has gone AWOL and many of the entries aren't actually sentences at all.<br />
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<a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2011/01/hockey-pool-week-13.html">January</a>. About the hockey pool: "Yes, the holiday break is over, and all excuses about 'being away from the internet' or 'being too sleepy/full/hung over to make my picks' are now invalid."<br />
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<a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2011/02/yet-even-more-cross-posty-goodness.html">February</a>. Lazy cross-posting: "If anyone's interested, I've put up a <a href="http://products.scienceboard.net/index.php/archives/2011/02/03/493/">new blog post</a> at <i>Life Science Tools of the Trade</i>."<br />
<a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2011/03/weekend-update.html"><br />March</a>. I re-designed the blog's template, and posted a photo of a fish: "Today's news - nothing much, just a template re-design."<br />
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<a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2011/04/little-surprise.html">April</a>. It's not even a real sentence, but it's about LinkedIn's April Fool's Day joke: "...on visiting my LinkedIn profile today."<br />
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<a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2011/05/vote-canada.html">May</a>. An exhortation to go and vote in the Canadian federal election. I've cheated here, by including both a fragment, and the real sentence that follows it: "May 2, 2011. Federal Election Day. Get out and vote... please."<br />
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June. I didn't blog a thing in June, apparently.<br />
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<a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2011/07/its-almost-here.html">July</a>. Not much here either, just a teaser about the 2011 Honda Indy Toronto race: "The 2011 <a href="http://www.hondaindytoronto.com/">Honda Indy Toronto</a>."<br />
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<a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2011/08/honda-indy-toronto-2011-diary-part-i.html">August</a>. A summary of the Indy race. I've cheated again, since the first bit of writing is actually a photo caption. Here's the first full sentence from the body text: "I'm a bit late, the race having taken place in mid-July, but here's the beginning of my synopsis of this year's Honda Indy Toronto weekend."<br />
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<a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2011/09/slight-break-in-motorsports-action.html">September</a>. Another sentence fragment, about fish: "...to bring you two new arrivals at Château Ricardipus."<br />
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<a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2011/10/boo.html">October</a>. This isn't a full sentence either! "The 2011 edition of the annual pumpkin photo:"<br />
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<a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2011/11/motorsport-astrophysics-and-nobel.html">November</a>. Even more lazy cross-posting: "I'm cheating."<br />
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<a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2011/12/street-in-motion.html">December</a>. More photography, and yet another incomplete sentence: "An impromptu project to capture some of the energy of Toronto's streets, financial districts and commuter hubs."<br />
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All that cross-posting kind of makes you think I ought to concentrate my efforts on <span style="font-style: italic;">one </span>blog, not three, doesn't it?Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-64613319920454885342011-12-24T21:57:00.002-05:002011-12-24T22:03:39.528-05:00AngelIn the spirit of the holiday season, I give you one angel ornament, photographed through the viewfinder of a 74-year-old (more or less) camera. Which is now loaded with film and will, I hope, produce some interesting photos in coming weeks.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/6541171175/" title="Angel by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7001/6541171175_9dd9239433.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="Angel"></a><br /><br />All the best, loyal reader (or two) for the holiday season. Merry Christmas if that's your flavour, happy holidays regardless, and all the best for 2012. As usual, my resolutions will be to (a) drink less coffee, and (b) blog more. Which, of course, I <a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2011/01/and-so-into-2011.html">promised last year</a>, and pretty much failed to deliver.Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-70423747275418491032011-12-01T14:38:00.003-05:002011-12-01T14:48:58.962-05:00The Street in MotionAn impromptu project to capture some of the energy of Toronto's streets, financial districts and commuter hubs. The motion is intentional, as an attempt to reflect the bustle of rush hour in Canada's largest city.<br /><br />All photographs were shot with a <a href="http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&partNumber=DSCW130">Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W130</a> pocket camera. Most consist of elements from several exposures layered in Photoshop CS4 and processed with a variety of plugins, mainly from <a href="http://www.filterforge.com/download/">Filter Forge's excellent freepacks</a>.<br /><br />The full set of images is <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/sets/72157627987239387/">here</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/6337382253/" title="Toronto, near Union Station, November 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6232/6337382253_c3160775fc.jpg" alt="Toronto, near Union Station, November 2011" width="500" height="333" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/6337305665/" title="Toronto / Underground / Business District by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6231/6337305665_6200e442ed.jpg" alt="Toronto / Underground / Business District" width="500" height="250" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/6326459727/" title="Walking to work, City Hall, Toronto by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6041/6326459727_33502e71c4.jpg" alt="Walking to work, City Hall, Toronto" width="500" height="750" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/6310482669/" title="Maple GO Station Parking Lot, November 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6238/6310482669_d50b2426ed.jpg" alt="Maple GO Station Parking Lot, November 2011" width="500" height="375" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/6310350077/" title="Queen's Park Station, Toronto by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6047/6310350077_3ec3d0ca97.jpg" alt="Queen's Park Station, Toronto" width="500" height="500" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/6398170169/" title="Downtown Toronto, November 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6398170169_5edce1cf12.jpg" alt="Downtown Toronto, November 2011" width="500" height="498" /></a><br />All images copyright © 2011 Richard F. Wintle.Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-1667636597726556282011-11-13T20:21:00.004-05:002011-11-13T21:51:32.138-05:00Honda Indy Toronto 2011 Diary - part IIIPart I, in which we arrive on Friday and attempt to shoot IndyCars in front of every available sponsor billboard, is <a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2011/08/honda-indy-toronto-2011-diary-part-i.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Part II, in which Saturday rolls around and I end up covering the NASCAR supporting event as well as lurking around pit lane, is <a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2011/08/honda-indy-toronto-2011-diary-part-ii.html">here</a>.<br /><br />This is Part III - the main event, the IZOD IndyCar series race - and a bunch of other things.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/6089554122/" title="Calm before the storm - Firestone Indy Lights, Toronto 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6086/6089554122_f540bf5356.jpg" alt="Calm before the storm - Firestone Indy Lights, Toronto 2011" width="500" height="333" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Even during a packed race day schedule, there's inevitably some waiting around.</span><br /><br />The day started off as usual in the Media Centre, located upstairs in the <a href="http://www.allstreamcentre.com/">Allstream Centre</a> (née "Automotive Building") on the Exhibition Place grounds. The morning update and safety briefing was augmented by some words from the event's chief of security, Charles Burns, a genial gentleman who nevertheless falls squarely in the "do not make this man angry with you" category. Pre-race briefing over, we had our daily pow-wow with team lead John. Race day is what we're here for, and we needed to make sure we had all aspects covered. Two photographers with "race mode" pit lane access, a couple in the grandstands for crowd shots, careful discussion of who would shoot driver introductions, the grand marshal, the anthems, flyby and other pre-race events, and a scattering of the remaining team members at key points around the track. My assignment: turn 1, for the start, and all the re-starts after the inevitable accidents during the race. In 2011, IndyCar introduced "double wide" re-starts instead of single-file, line-astern ones - promising some fireworks as the cars gallop into turn 1 when the green flag flies.<br /><br />But first - morning practice, and a couple of supporting races. I shot a bit of the <a href="http://touringcar.ca/">Canadian Touring Car Championship</a> from turn 5, and scuttled over to Winner's Circle for the post-race festivities. I see a lot of this series throughout the year, but seldom have the opportunity to shoot the podium.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5938788248/" title="Richard Boake, race winner, Canadian Touring Car race #8, Toronto by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6006/5938788248_dbd76be32d.jpg" alt="Richard Boake, race winner, Canadian Touring Car race #8, Toronto" width="500" height="333" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Always good to get the eventual race winner on-track.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5934948101/" title="Tom Kwok gets soaked - again. by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6001/5934948101_09a3719abb.jpg" alt="Tom Kwok gets soaked - again." width="500" height="333" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Touring Car class winner Tom Kwok takes a pasting.</span><br /><br />Next up was IndyCar practice, an opportunity to shoot some pit lane action, something I've never done. I took advantage of a handy TV camera hole, still empty this early in the day.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/6271469172/" title="Graham Rahal, pit lane, Honda Indy Toronto 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6109/6271469172_57057fb084.jpg" alt="Graham Rahal, pit lane, Honda Indy Toronto 2011" width="500" height="333" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Graham Rahal and the Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing team.</span><br /><br />Next up was more serious business - Firestone Indy Lights, a fiercely competitive series full of up-and-coming drivers. I spent a good chunk of this race doing other things, but made sure I was at the finish line to practice again for the chequered flag shot. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5941923894/in/set-72157627165561806/">It worked</a>, and I even managed the sprint back to the podium ceremony. That went fine, but the obvious photo-op would be to catch race winner Stefan Wilson with his big brother, IndyCar driver Justin. Did I get the shot? No, I did not.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5941919360/" title="Stefan Wilson - winner in Toronto 2011! by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6004/5941919360_97f80df65b.jpg" alt="Stefan Wilson - winner in Toronto 2011!" width="500" height="400" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A happy, but very sweaty, Stefan Wilson. Shortly after this, he <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5941918368/in/set-72157627165561806">came after the photo corps</a> with his champagne bottle.</span><br /><br />And now - off to turn 1 for the main event. It turned out to be not a bad vantage point for pre-race fireworks, although the military fly-by was completely obscured by a large tree, which I was more or less directly under.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5947570988/" title="Obligatory pre-race fireworks photo. by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6129/5947570988_0643539cf0.jpg" alt="Obligatory pre-race fireworks photo." width="500" height="333" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The starting fireworks - fun, but never spectacular in broad daylight.</span><br /><br />And then, after a couple of pace laps - the start!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5924197109/" title="2011 Honda Indy Toronto - THE START! by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6133/5924197109_c733c470d0.jpg" alt="2011 Honda Indy Toronto - THE START!" width="500" height="333" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Lots of cars, and a full grandstand - this is what we're here for.</span><br /><br />I waited out most of the race in turn 1, working my way around transiently to a couple of other photo holes towards turn 2. And I have to report that despite half a dozen crashes and re-starts, the drivers behaved themselves beautifully, with not so much as a minor fender-bender. The most excitement was when rookie James Jakes ran a little wide, and passed within touching distance on the wide line around the corner.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5948100331/" title="James Jakes, wide at 1, Toronto 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6129/5948100331_dd63504a20.jpg" alt="James Jakes, wide at 1, Toronto 2011" width="500" height="333" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">He's going slowly, and sensibly keeping out of Danica Patrick's way.</span><br /><br />And so it went, until, with 45 minutes or so left, I skedaddled back to the finish line - just in time for a massive crash at, you guessed it, turn 1.<br /><br />Not to worry though. Joined by my comrade <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/48516235@N07/">Patrick</a>, I was there for that all-important chequered flag photo - one chance, and one only, to nail the race winner at full speed, on the painted line, hand triumphantly in the air, with the chequers flying from the flag stand and a grandstand of cheering fans behind. At full speed, even a fast burst of continuous shots is going to miss - this is a single photo that needs to be squeezed off at just the perfect time, just as the car flickers into your peripheral vision. And we nailed it. Both of us.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5934853891/" title="Dario Franchitti - Winner, Honda Indy Toronto 2011! by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6009/5934853891_733aaaafc3.jpg" alt="Dario Franchitti - Winner, Honda Indy Toronto 2011!" width="500" height="333" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">That, my friends, checks all of the boxes.</span><br /><br />All that was left was a murderously hot and breathless sprint to Winner's Circle - for the fourth time that weekend - through throngs of fans with the same idea. Into the crush of press, elbows up and peeking through heads, arms and assorted photographic paraphernalia. My photo of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5924672744/in/set-72157627165561806/">race winner Dario Franchitti hopping out of his car</a> wasn't as good as <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/4806291253/in/set-72157624531709604">last year's effort</a>, but the podium was well covered since our whole team was there, so it didn't matter much. And by hanging around for a bit, I wound up with a couple of fun shots, including this one of 1-2 team-mates Franchitti and Scott Dixon, clinking champagne bottles after hosing down their crew (and a few innocent bystanders).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5942025806/" title="Winner's toast, Honda Indy Toronto 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6121/5942025806_0fde0fac09.jpg" alt="Winner's toast, Honda Indy Toronto 2011" width="333" height="500" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Yes, Dario's looking right at me.</span><br /><br />And that, as they say, was a wrap. With a day's worth of racing plus a whole lot of fan, vendor area and other "event" photos in the can, it was back to the Media Centre to sift through, pull out the A-list shots to hand in, say some goodbyes, and wearily wend my way home for the last time.<br /><br />Next year? If I get the call, you'd better believe I'll be there.<br /><br />(All of Sunday's photos are in <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/sets/72157627165561806/">this Flickr set</a>.)Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-7901648183127844462011-11-05T23:31:00.003-04:002011-11-05T23:34:03.723-04:00Motorsport, Astrophysics and a Nobel Laureate (peripherally)<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/6316680829/" title="Dyson Racing Lola Mazda, Mosport 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6109/6316680829_a9df388d48.jpg" alt="Dyson Racing Lola Mazda, Mosport 2011" width="500" height="333" /></a><br /><br />I'm cheating. This post actually lives over at Occam's Typewriter. So feel free to take a look at it <a href="http://occamstypewriter.org/irregulars/2011/11/06/motorsport-astrophysics-and-a-nobel-laureate-peripherally/">over there</a>, if you like.Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-4286651319304963792011-10-31T11:55:00.001-04:002011-10-31T11:58:42.102-04:00Boo!The 2011 edition of the annual pumpkin photo:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/6297025986/" title="The Hallowe'en Crew 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6227/6297025986_e6299a64f6.jpg" alt="The Hallowe'en Crew 2011" width="500" height="375" /></a><br /><br />Nikon D5000<br />AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G<br />0.8 seconds at f/4.0, ISO 320<br />metered at +2/3 EV since the D5000 underexposes everythingRichard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-81417527009971003672011-09-10T18:12:00.002-04:002011-09-10T18:17:02.651-04:00A slight break in the motorsports action......to bring you two new arrivals at Château Ricardipus. Introducing:<br /><br /><b>Penny:</b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/6133771459/" title="Penny by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6167/6133771459_a1cbe3eca6.jpg" alt="Penny" width="500" height="333" /></a><br /><br />and <b>Bob:</b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/6133777241/" title="Bob by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6200/6133777241_98091c5714.jpg" alt="Bob" width="500" height="333" /></a><br /><br />Both photographs taken using a Nikon D5000 with the AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 lens, at f/2.0 and ISO 1,000 in available light. Penny: 1/80th sec., Bob at 1/40th.Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-49001344765783080952011-08-27T19:05:00.010-04:002011-08-27T23:56:23.638-04:00Honda Indy Toronto 2011 Diary - part II(This may make a little more sense if you read <a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2011/08/honda-indy-toronto-2011-diary-part-i.html">part I</a> first.)
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<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/6017723169/" title="Podium, NASCAR NCATS Streets of Toronto 100, Honda Indy Toronto 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6123/6017723169_8a7ab020a0.jpg" alt="Podium, NASCAR NCATS Streets of Toronto 100, Honda Indy Toronto 2011" width="500" height="333" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">NASCAR Canadian Tire Series podium, late Saturday afternoon.</span>
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Saturday</span>
<br />Once again, it was all about crowds, fans interacting with vendors, and generally any photos to tell the story of the event. And I took a lot of those photos, believe me - swinging through the Thunder Alley vendor area, past the team hospitality tents, and generally lurking around in the paddock and pit lane whenever I wasn't doing something else.
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<br />But first: some minor clean-up of the "cars in front of sponsor billboards" assignment, since it seems the entire team collectively failed to hand in anything in front of one key sponsor's signage. So - off to turn nine.
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<br />On the way, I snagged a through-the-fence shot of popular Canadian driver Alex Tagliani in morning practice, ripping down the back straight (known in civilian times as Lakeshore Boulevard). Here I'm shooting through the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/sets/72157625743666281/">brand-new safety fencing</a> - much stronger now, and generating some interesting horizontal stripes. The previous diagonal chain-link was much easier to "disappear".
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<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5920054583/" title="Alex Tagliani, Saturday practice, Honda Indy Toronto 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6128/5920054583_f476b89cd7.jpg" alt="Alex Tagliani, Saturday practice, Honda Indy Toronto 2011" width="500" height="333" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Dr. Pepper car would have been better here. Next year, maybe.</span>
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<br />Unfortunately, the fence is obscuring the Future Shop logo on the car's sidepod, but what can you do?
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<br />Having hit Thunder Alley, still quiet this early in the morning, I took a quick swing through pit lane to grab some driver shots. Here's Graham Rahal, hailing some acquaintances. You can tell it's early - look how empty the grandstands are. Not a bad driver shot, but a total fail as far as capturing the excitement of the event.
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<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5949195468/" title="Graham Rahal, Toronto 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6126/5949195468_309dd63178.jpg" alt="Graham Rahal, Toronto 2011" width="500" height="333" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">He's got perfect teeth.</span>
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<br />I also came across Helio Castroneves. This is the last of a series, from bare head through full helmet, as he suits up to go out on track.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5920402452/" title="Helio suits up... by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6130/5920402452_d49f81db34.jpg" alt="Helio suits up..." width="332" height="500" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Love that yellow/blue/white Penske livery.</span>
<br />
<br />And here's last year's winner Will Power. I like how he's staring back across his shoulder down pit lane, looking as though he's greatly concerned about something.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5931498429/" title="Will Power, pit lane, Toronto by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6121/5931498429_f1a7cf75d1.jpg" alt="Will Power, pit lane, Toronto" width="500" height="400" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">You'd never guess he's actually in line for the porta-potty, would you?</span>
<br />
<br />And on the way - finally, a chance for an IndyCar with a crowd in the background. This is a keeper, a nice addition to the "hand-in" shots, banked before race day comes on Sunday. Vitor Meira, racing for A.J. Foyt Enterprises.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5948064369/" title="Vitor Meira, qualifying, Honda Indy Toronto 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6003/5948064369_bf49db4291.jpg" alt="Vitor Meira, qualifying, Honda Indy Toronto 2011" width="500" height="333" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">That's what we need - car, sponsor signage, crowded grandstand.</span>
<br />
<br />And so, to turn nine and the Pizza Pizza billboard, sorely neglected yesterday. I spent the rest of the qualifying session getting shot after dull and boring shot of almost-in-focus cars, until I finally nailed a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5935387339/in/set-72157627156802018">nice head-on one of Mike Conway</a>. And then, right at the end of the session, what happens? J.R. Hildebrand stalls his car, <span style="font-style: italic;">right in front of the billboard I need!</span> Are you kidding me? Easiest photo in history.
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<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5935919052/" title="J.R. Hildebrand and the Pizza Pizza parking lot. by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6144/5935919052_9f9d84e26c.jpg" alt="J.R. Hildebrand and the Pizza Pizza parking lot." width="500" height="333" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">If he looks like he's parked - he is.</span>
<br />
<br />I'll admit to shooting some fun stuff along the way, including a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5920023737/in/set-72157627156802018">nice photo of eventual race winner Dario Franchitti</a>, and one of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5920556796/in/set-72157627156802018">Justin Wilson laying down some rubber</a>, and playing with slow shutter speeds a bit - good fun for me, but not really useful for the event.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5944107110/" title="Ryan Hunter-Reay, Streets of Toronto 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6028/5944107110_992afe6660.jpg" alt="Ryan Hunter-Reay, Streets of Toronto 2011" width="500" height="333" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Ryan Hunter-Reay, at 1/25th of a second.</span>
<br />
<br />The last race of the day was the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series <span style="font-style: italic;">Streets of Toronto 100</span>. Not at all a priority, but we needed on-track shots of a key sponsor's car (the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5952602722/in/set-72157627156802018">#84 Schick Hydro Chevy of J.R. Fitzpatrick</a>), and last year's winner, popular Canadian driver <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5932085727/in/set-72157627156802018">Andrew Ranger</a>. I threw in pole-winner Jason Bowles as well for good measure. So, off to the "<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5941671272/in/set-72157627156802018">false grid</a>" where the cars line up before the race.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5925114918/" title="Dexter Stacey, Canadian Tire NASCAR by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6001/5925114918_6af881a444.jpg" alt="Dexter Stacey, Canadian Tire NASCAR" width="500" height="333" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This is Dexter Stacey, not any of the "key" drivers - but I like the shot.</span>
<br />
<br />Next I went trackside, and ultimately to the podium ceremony. On that little jaunt I didn't just nail all three drivers before the race, but each of their cars rolling out, and each on track to boot. And since Ranger won, after tagging him crossing the finish line I high-tailed it to the podium ceremony for good measure, picking up a text message from team leader John asking me if I could get to it. "Already there!" - it felt good to send that reply.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5941660640/" title="Andrew Ranger and Kim Green, Toronto 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6135/5941660640_4c37b6952d.jpg" alt="Andrew Ranger and Kim Green, Toronto 2011" width="333" height="500" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Winner Andrew Ranger with Kim Green of Green/Savoree - one of the big bosses of the weekend.</span>
<br />
<br />And that was pretty much a wrap. I collected podium shots of all the NASCAR finishers, although my photos of them spraying champagne weren't good. And the ones of Ranger's car taking the chequered flag, from the grandstand, were useless, but a helpful education for Sunday's IndyCar race. You'll see the finish line photo from the marquee event in the next post.
<br />
<br />And so, back to the media centre for the usual hour or two of editing and handing shots in, and off home to bed. Saturday's photos are in <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/sets/72157627156802018/">this set</a>.
<br />
<br />Next: Sunday - Race Day. IndyCars, Canadian Touring Cars, and a bunch of podium ceremonies.
<br />
<br />The Part I post, including Thursday and Friday, is <a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2011/08/honda-indy-toronto-2011-diary-part-i.html">here</a>.
<br />Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-3906041440800005952011-08-24T23:18:00.006-04:002011-08-25T14:59:52.951-04:00Honda Indy Toronto 2011 Diary - part I<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5938853982/" title="Sebastian Saavedra, IZOD IndyCar Series, Toronto 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6022/5938853982_f96c031e26.jpg" alt="Sebastian Saavedra, IZOD IndyCar Series, Toronto 2011" width="500" height="333" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sebastian Saavedra - the most colourful car of the weekend.</span>
<br />
<br />I'm a bit late, the race having taken place in mid-July, but here's the beginning of my synopsis of this year's Honda Indy Toronto weekend. You can read about last year's event, if you like, in four, count 'em four, separate posts:
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<br />• <a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2010/07/honda-indy-toronto-diary-pre-race.html">Pre-Race Events</a>
<br />• <a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2010/07/honda-indy-toronto-diary-friday.html">Friday - Warming Up</a>
<br />• <a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2010/08/honda-indy-toronto-diary-saturday.html">Saturday - Getting Busier</a>
<br />• <a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2010/08/honda-indy-toronto-diary-sunday-finally.html">Sunday - Race Day!</a>
<br />
<br />This year, once again, I was lucky enough to be credentialed by the event (Honda Indy Toronto / Green Savoree), back on a team with seven others (six repeat offenders from last year, and one new recruit). With eight of us instead of twelve, the ship had to run a little bit tighter. Minor modifications to the shot list, more consistent trackside access, and a single team instead of two all contributed to what turned out to be a pretty tight and effective team. I was sporting a Nikon D5000 and a few nifty lenses this time, a big improvement from last year's Sony DSC-R1. And again, the group was great - lots of laughs, hard slogging around the track for three days, good-natured one-upmanship and showing off our shots. And sunscreen. Lots of sunscreen.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thursday</span>
<br />The week's fun started off with an autograph session with Alex Tagliani at the downtown Toronto Future Shop - an event I sleuthed out online, and got access to by the gambit of simply asking the store manager, who then pitched the request to the chain's PR person, who said "sure - as long as the store manager says it's ok", or words to that effect. Ask, and ye shall... you know.
<br />
<br />Tags was a champ, charming fans old and young, and when he heard who I was shooting for, hauled me off to the brand-new Bowers and Wilkins display - his sponsors. This cheesy-grin-product-shot was entirely his idea, proof positive that the man knows the value of keeping his sponsors happy.
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<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5913456199/" title="Would you buy a Bowers & Wilkins stereo from this man? by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6020/5913456199_be825684db.jpg" alt="Would you buy a Bowers & Wilkins stereo from this man?" width="500" height="333" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Go on, buy a B&W iPod dock, you know you want to.</span>
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br />Friday</span>
<br />First day on-site, and a chance to check out what would be my race-day assignment, the photo holes in turn 1. After some general faffling around trying to discover the access point, I made my way there and explored the scissor lift to raise us above the catch fencing, and a couple of other likely spots through the fence. A chance to practice a bit, and bank a few Ferrari Challenge and IndyCar shots.
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<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5916849803/" title="Ryan Ockey, F430 Challenge, Honda Indy Toronto 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6013/5916849803_d43efe8050.jpg" alt="Ryan Ockey, F430 Challenge, Honda Indy Toronto 2011" width="500" height="333" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">One great-looking Ferrari - Ryan Ockey / Ferrari of Ontario</span>
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<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5916818581/" title="Sebastien Bourdais, Honda Indy Toronto 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6131/5916818581_b4db3b85bd.jpg" alt="Sebastien Bourdais, Honda Indy Toronto 2011" width="500" height="333" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sebastien Bourdais, from the turn 1 photo hole.</span>
<br />
<br />Friday afternoon brought more time for IndyCars in front of sponsor billboards, and a chance to explore the track a bit. Here's my favourite - Marco Andretti, shot using the D5000's kit lens, an 18-55mm zoom, through a friendly corner worker's flagging hole. I reached this area, just inside turn 8, after a protracted hike around the inside of the track from, oh, turn five or thereabouts.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5917295586/" title="Marco Andretti, Honda Indy Toronto 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6148/5917295586_bb84850954.jpg" alt="Marco Andretti, Honda Indy Toronto 2011" width="500" height="333" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This would have been better in front of the Dr. Pepper billboard.</span>
<br />
<br />Of course, the day also required shooting as many fan and crowd photos as possible, since once again the event opened its doors, providing free admission (courtesy of the Honda Dealers of Ontario... go and buy one now!). Catching drivers in the paddock and on their way to and from practice sessions wasn't too hard. Here's Newman Haas Racing's Oriol Servia, grimly taking on the burden of being a professional race car driver.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5931879353/" title="The hard life of an IndyCar driver. by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6126/5931879353_441361ea26.jpg" alt="The hard life of an IndyCar driver." width="333" height="500" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Yes, it's overexposed. He still looks great.</span>
<br />
<br />The day wound up with NASCAR Canadian Tire Series qualifying - not really a priority for shooting, but fun and plenty loud. This time, I stuck myself in the photo hole on the inside of turn 1, picking off the big stock cars as they rumbled around in front of the Princes' Gate.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5952943348/" title="Dave Connelly, #82 Schneiders/Metro Dodge, Toronto 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6002/5952943348_555ca72805.jpg" alt="Dave Connelly, #82 Schneiders/Metro Dodge, Toronto 2011" width="500" height="400" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Dave Connelly, making some noise.</span>
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<br />Not a bad day at all. Of course, most of the "shots to hand in" were of fans, crowds, that kind of thing, but in among all that I was pretty confident I'd gotten turn 1 scouted out for Sunday's race.
<br />
<br />The next installment will be Saturday... more billboard photos, Helio putting his helmet on, and a whole bunch of NASCAR.
<br />
<br />More photos, as usual, are in my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/collections/72157607986325942/">Autosport</a> collection, if you want to skip ahead:
<br />
<br />• <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/sets/72157627142283098/">Thursday - Autograph sesson with Alex Tagliani</a>
<br />• <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/sets/72157627025248439/">Friday</a>
<br />• <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/sets/72157627156802018/">Saturday</a>
<br />• <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/sets/72157627165561806/">Sunday</a>
<br />Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-39604587591605943222011-07-06T22:33:00.003-04:002011-07-06T22:37:09.911-04:00It's almost here...The 2011 <a href="http://www.hondaindytoronto.com/">Honda Indy Toronto</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5788580378/" title="Honda Indy Toronto - Start-Finish Line by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3300/5788580378_6f82e0afe3.jpg" alt="Honda Indy Toronto - Start-Finish Line" width="333" height="500" /></a><br /><br />And <a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2010/08/honda-indy-toronto-diary-sunday-finally.html">like last year</a>, I will be there all three days, media credentialed and shooting like mad.Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-83338567627331413412011-05-11T21:01:00.001-04:002011-05-13T17:11:46.193-04:00Rainy Days and Mondays......get me down, or so the song goes.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5684923183/" title="Tuesday Evening rain, Toronto by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5144/5684923183_6b3a4355d4.jpg" alt="Tuesday Evening rain, Toronto" width="333" height="500" /></a><br /><br />These photos, on the other hand, were taken on a Tuesday evening. With only my pocket camera to hand, the trusty <a href="http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=8198552921665327460&storeId=10151">Sony DSC-W130</a> that I picked up out of the rewards catalogue over at <a href="http://www.scienceboard.net/">another online haunt of mine</a>, miles of not-so-open road between work and home, and a dreary day - well, it seemed a good opportunity to experiment.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5685189395/" title="I walk in the rain. by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5289/5685189395_f059dddefe.jpg" alt="I walk in the rain." width="500" height="384" /></a><br /><br />I'll figuratively tip my hat to fellow <a href="http://www.flickr.com/">Flickr</a> member <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ggiorgione/">Giuseppe Basile</a>, who has taken some very nice shots in this general style. Take a look at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ggiorgione/5375405216/in/photostream">this one</a>, as an example.<br /><br />I actually messed these last two up a bit, intending to focus on the subject while letting the raindrops on the window fall out of focus and provide some kind of nice, shimmery blur. That was the concept, anyway, but I underestimated the W130's ability to focus on things very, very close to it - and got the raindrops sharp instead. Happy accident - I think they ended up looking better this way.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5684975885/" title="On a dreary day, wear pink. by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5069/5684975885_22dbc49878.jpg" alt="On a dreary day, wear pink." width="500" height="375" /></a><br /><br />Somedays, I guess, dismal weather is good, and somedays it's helpful to have only the simple gear along. If I'd tried this with my DSLR, I probably would have failed miserably. But that's not always going to be the best solution. With a <a href="http://www.mosport.com/schedules-a-events/major-spectator-events/victoria-day-speedfest">weekend of car racing</a> coming up, I'll be quite happy to haul the "big" camera along - and have no rain, I hope.Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-74326180022959841682011-05-02T15:18:00.001-04:002011-05-02T15:19:36.413-04:00Vote, Canada.May 2, 2011. Federal Election Day. Get out and vote... please.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/2629247328/" title="Canada Day Balloon by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3054/2629247328_c0cd86404a.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Canada Day Balloon"></a>Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-63209434925362305002011-04-06T17:56:00.005-04:002011-04-06T20:28:03.666-04:00On the edge<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5583387557/" title="Abandoned by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5015/5583387557_caf3a522df.jpg" alt="Abandoned" width="500" height="333" /></a><br /><br />It's amazing what you can find in your own neighbourhood.<br /><br />Here at the northern edge of Toronto's suburbs, we're pretty much on the frontier - the frontier separating southern Ontario's disused farmland from rampant housing developments and suburban sprawl. Just a few minutes' walk to the north is a roadway, recently expanded to four lanes from the two that were there when we moved in, twelve years ago. On the other side - farmland, some of it still in use. But few, if any, of the farmhouses standing in the fields are inhabited. One by one, boards are appearing in windows, outbuildings are being dismantled, and the last remnants of picturesque rail fences are falling into disrepair.<br /><br />The whole area, like much of this part of Canada, was farmland, supporting mainly a mix of dairy cattle and feed corn, with crop corn and other vegetables scattered here and there. All over are dotted barns with their characteristic double-angled roofs, a style I've always thought of as somehow Dutch in nature - although I have no good reason for thinking this.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5586821075/" title="Barn, Keele Street, Maple, Ontario by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5105/5586821075_0641ae2419.jpg" alt="Barn, Keele Street, Maple, Ontario" width="500" height="357" /></a><br /><br />Most of these are on the verge of collapse, too, waiting for the day when their surrounding fields are sold to developers and the bulldozers come.<br /><br />There are few other reminders left of the stoic people who first came here to farm. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple,_Ontario">Maple</a> itself, although a fairly old town by Ontario standards, has essentially no historic buildings to speak of. Memorials to the settlers and pioneers are thin on the ground, although I tripped across one recently, tucked away among some trees adjacent to an industrial property or two, looking for all the world like a war memorial. It's labeled "Primitive Methodist Church", and "Pioneer Cemetery", although the mid-1800's seems a bit late to be talking about "pioneers" in these parts. Nevertheless, I'm glad it's there, as a little reminder of things past, as things future grow up all around it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5595765763/" title="Primitive Methodist Church cemetery, Maple, Ontario by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5230/5595765763_012d54a2a0.jpg" alt="Primitive Methodist Church cemetery, Maple, Ontario" width="500" height="333" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Technical details</span><br />Nikon D5000<br />Top photo: AF-S DX Nikkor 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR<br />Bottom two photos: AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G, Tiffen circular polarizerRichard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-17215259572733501342011-04-01T11:04:00.004-04:002011-04-01T11:10:15.836-04:00A little surprise......on visiting my LinkedIn profile today. I had no idea I was so well-connected.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-feaKfLv3RUA/TZXqe3SSmlI/AAAAAAAAALc/2zDYTxoe9jA/s1600/Capture.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 328px; height: 629px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-feaKfLv3RUA/TZXqe3SSmlI/AAAAAAAAALc/2zDYTxoe9jA/s400/Capture.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590632328407980626" border="0" /></a>Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-20619271523158597332011-03-26T17:55:00.007-04:002011-03-26T22:41:38.208-04:00Of Spring, and things.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5554643524/" title="First fatness of Spring 2011 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/5554643524_a9fe77524c.jpg" alt="First fatness of Spring 2011" width="500" height="400" /></a><em><br />First American Robin of the year. Shot through window glass.<br />Nikkor AF-S DX 55-300mm, 1/30th sec., f/5.6, ISO 200</em><br /><br />Spring's coming.<br /><br />Robins, House Finches, Grackles, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Goldfinches - all summer residents, and all appearing in the back yard over the last week or so. Despite a dumping of snow on Thursday, causing Mr. Robin to blow himself up into a ball to stay warm, they're here to stay, warbling from the rooftops and madly scurrying around collecting nesting material.<br /><br />On the other hand, I was scurrying around myself on Friday, heading to <a href="http://www.senecac.on.ca/">Seneca College</a> to give my more-or-less-annual guest lecture to students in their <a href="http://bioinformatics.senecac.on.ca/">Bioinformatics Program</a>, an enjoyable chance to catch up with an old friend who runs it, and to test-drive my latest slide deck, which uses rather a lot of photos of zoo animals to make various points. That all seemed to go well, and gave me an opportunity to explore the adjacent York University campus a bit, an interesting conglomeration of coloured concrete, strange angles, and metal details. I particularly liked the huge and ironically impersonal monolith of the Ross Humanities and Social Sciences building, and the crazy internal details of the Joan and Martin Goldfarb Centre for Fine Art, full of interesting design elements, half-finished sculptures, and enthusiastic arts students.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5560108736/" title="Ross Building, York University, Toronto by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5096/5560108736_bd17cf5ee0.jpg" alt="Ross Building, York University, Toronto" width="333" height="500" /></a><br /><em>Ross Building<br />1/200th sec., f/8, ISO 200</em><br /><br />I decided, on this occasion, to take only a single, fixed-focal-length "prime" lens with me, a technique used by many, many photographers over the ages, including the incomparable <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Cartier-Bresson">Henri Cartier-Bresson</a> - no zooms, no wide-angles, no telephotos. In this case, I had just a 35mm lens that on my DSLR gives more-or-less the same "normal" field of view as Bresson's 50mm mounted on his venerable Leica. The idea is to use your feet and hands and eyes to compose the photograph, rather than a zoom ring.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5561308000/" title="Wall detail, fine arts building, York University by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5264/5561308000_bd22e693f1.jpg" alt="Wall detail, fine arts building, York University" width="333" height="500" /></a><br /><em>Wall detail, Centre for Fine Art<br />Indoors - 1/640th sec., f/2.8, ISO 1,000</em><br /><br />Having trundled around Keele Campus for a bit, I'm finding myself rather pleased with the little 35. As expected, it's a bit soft at very narrow apertures, likely due both to diffraction inside the lens and also the resulting slower shutter speeds, showing up my less-than-rock-solid hands. Also as expected, when fully wide-open it does suffer a bit from coloured fringing around bright objects. But in its sweet spot, which I don't think I've <em>quite</em> hit in either of the photos above, it's rather nice indeed. There will be more photos coming... once the weather warms up a bit.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5418944697/" title="AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5054/5418944697_5226513390.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G" /></a><br /><em>The lens in question.<br />Shot with Nikkor 18-55mm @ 18mm, 1/6th sec., f/3.5, ISO 200.</em>Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-23305682241934254732011-03-21T16:24:00.009-04:002011-03-21T16:45:41.705-04:00Hockey Pool, week 24Once again, my turn to host the update, brought to you by the letters V, W, X and the number 610, which coincidentally is the size of the heap of points amassed by perennial leader Lavaland.<br /><br />This week again, she was the biggest gainer, after a couple of less-than-stellar performances that allowed me to sneak within one point after week 23. Cath and ScientistMother also had a strong week, while I slipped a bit. Bob seems to be tanking, which means I don't have to look over my shoulder quite so nervously at the moment.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_28ADY9wS78/TYe2pFCJmTI/AAAAAAAAALE/Zn0bK7LNqnM/s1600/Slide2.PNG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 235px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_28ADY9wS78/TYe2pFCJmTI/AAAAAAAAALE/Zn0bK7LNqnM/s320/Slide2.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586634679618476338" border="0" /></a>Overall, Lavaland's strong performance over the weekend has catapulted her back out in front, although I was actually leading by one point earlier in the week. After a strong week 23, Chall suffered a big deflection, leaving ScientistMother planted firmly in fifth. Cath's good performances over the last three weeks have paralleled the leader, letting her hold on to fourth.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lF7RCO9Aecg/TYe2zXVi0rI/AAAAAAAAALM/bFDPLr-L6Uo/s1600/Slide1.PNG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 244px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lF7RCO9Aecg/TYe2zXVi0rI/AAAAAAAAALM/bFDPLr-L6Uo/s320/Slide1.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586634856330351282" border="0" /></a>What will happen over the rapidly-decreasing number of remaining games? Will I catch Lavaland? Who will win the duel for fourth? Will Bob regain his mojo and chase me down for second? Stay tuned folks... but not here, because that's likely my last update for the year. Twitter is your friend, hashtag #VWXpool.Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-76388918230698701682011-03-20T19:39:00.006-04:002011-03-21T16:52:12.002-04:00Weekend UpdateToday's news - nothing much, just a template re-design. The blog looks more modern, but still rather "like a Blogger blog".<br /><br />The background will probably be changed, but it'll do for now. Suggestions welcome. In the meantime, here's a photo of a fish, from a recent trip to the zoo.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5535400831/" title="Fish by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5133/5535400831_a48d3efe24.jpg" alt="Fish" width="500" height="333" /></a><br /><br /><b>Technical details</b><br />camera: Nikon D5000<br />lens: AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G<br />exposure: 1/80th sec.<br />aperture: f/1.8<br />ISO: 1,000Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-24675544969837252152011-02-08T21:31:00.007-05:002011-02-08T22:33:41.659-05:00Product Photography (not quite) 101For the past few days, Chateau Ricardipus, or at least a very small part of it on and around the dining table, has been transformed into an <span style="font-style: italic;">ad hoc</span> photo studio and marketing operation. In her role as co-chair of our school's Parent Council, Mrs. Ricardipus is spearheading a Spell-a-thon and associated prize draw. The dining room has been taken over with Justin Bieber paraphernalia a-plenty, as well as various toys, gift certificates, and whatnot. Perhaps rashly, I volunteered to take photos of the prizes, to be reproduced at small size to go on ballot boxes, and also as 8 x 10-inch promo posters.<br /><br />Rashly, I say, because I have this much experience at photographing products:<br /><br />None.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/2082854550/" title="My Ferrari by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2111/2082854550_4a27a834a8.jpg" alt="My Ferrari" width="400" height="266" /></a><br /><em>A really terrible previous attempt.</em><br /><br />Never mind - fresh from reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Freemans-Digital-Photography-Tips/dp/1600594182/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1297195987&sr=1-1">Michael Freeman's Top Digital Photography Tips</a>, I transformed the dining room table into a veritable homonculous of a studio setup. Developing through a few iterations, the final version involved a base and backing of white foamcore, a gently bent piece of bog-standard printer paper as a background, a mirror underneath and a couple of cookie boxes to hold the whole thing up. Side lighting came from a couple of Ikea gooseneck lamps, an el cheapo $25 off-camera flash, a desk lamp, some sunlight through a window, and the pop-up flash on my Nikon D5000. Sheets of white tissue paper diffused the sidelighting.<br /><br />Predictably, the results looked - well, pretty amateur. The mess of colour temperatures from the natural light, the incandescent lamps and two totally different flashes really messed things up, and there were ugly shadows everywhere, although I got some workable results. This photo, of my newest lens, will give you some idea:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5420322576/" title="AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5053/5420322576_d090383d36.jpg" alt="AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G" width="385" height="500" /></a><br /><em>Not too bad, but covered in different coloured reflections, and that shadow is U.G.L.Y.</em><br /><br />Fortunately, a couple of Flickr contacts had some good suggestions. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cspivakphoto/">Charles</a> suggested <a href="http://www.digitalrev.com/en/guide-on-how-to-do-product-photography-on-the-cheap-7076-article.html">this video tutorial</a> - which as well as being amusing, made me feel a little better, since one of the two approaches to budget product shooting involved, you guessed it, two Ikea gooseneck lamps(!). <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/brmurphy/">Brian</a>, on the other hand, pointed me at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/brmurphy/3260655080/">this excellent setup</a> he built, out of a cardboard box, and, wait for it, white tissue paper and desk lamps, among other things. Both of these guys take very nice photos - so I felt a little better.<br /><br />The next day, I found myself with one more prize to photograph - an iPod nano, in devilishly white, shiny, dust-prone and reflective packaging. Taking <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/product-photography.htm">further hints from the incomparable Ken Rockwell</a>, particularly on using a glass base to make the shadows "fall" out of shot, I quickly whipped up a new setup, which you can see here, bolting my D5000 on to the trusty old Velbon tripod, setting everything up in front of a mirror and using some handy drawers for the Ikea clip lamps.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q7O2duenbGU/TVIEyp1zqXI/AAAAAAAAAKs/qkDw9netFsU/s1600/DSC04375ed.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 316px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q7O2duenbGU/TVIEyp1zqXI/AAAAAAAAAKs/qkDw9netFsU/s320/DSC04375ed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571520957282232690" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Ready, set...<br /><br />"Battery exhausted."<br /><br />Yes, I knew it had been running down the previous evening, and no, I hadn't stopped to charge it. All that live view on the LCD screen to frame the shot had finished it off. Do I have a spare battery? Heck no. But at this point, I was bound and determined to get the shot - and so whipped out Mrs. Ricardipus's trusty Sony DSC-R1, and in a fit of supreme laziness, hand-held it more or less next to where the D5000 was sitting on the tripod. And took what turned out to be, I think, a rather nice photo, even if its graininess does show up just how badly the Sony does in low light with the sensitivity turned up to even ISO 400.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5429934002/" title="Test shot - iPod nano by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5012/5429934002_7b9ee5845b.jpg" alt="Test shot - iPod nano" width="333" height="500" /></a><br /><br />Of course, by the time I took this shot, let alone edited it, she'd already found a perfectly good promotional photo, made up the poster, and printed it. But darn it, <em>I got the shot</em>, and that's what <em>really</em> counts, isn't it?Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-75581424464256602482011-02-03T12:31:00.004-05:002011-02-03T12:36:22.172-05:00Yet even more cross-posty goodness!If anyone's interested, I've put up a <a href="http://products.scienceboard.net/index.php/archives/2011/02/03/493/">new blog post</a> at <em>Life Science Tools of the Trade</em>. Nothing earth-shattering, just some musings the complexity of high-throughput DNA sequencing data analysis, and the need for clean and clear visualization tools for the end user.<br /><br />We'll be returning you to the regularly-scheduled wafflings about car racing, as soon as the weather warms up. In the meantime, the <a href="http://www.autoshow.ca/">Canadian International AutoShow</a> is coming, at the end of February. Stay tuned for the inevitable flood of photos.Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-77106818249980111122011-01-31T21:45:00.007-05:002011-01-31T22:08:31.892-05:00Hockey Pool, week, um, er, 17 I think.And so, I have the unmitigated pleasure of bringing you the VWXYnot Hockey Pool update for week 17, the Lamest Week Of The Year™. For those of us (me included) who faffled around with their picks, bewildered by the apparent lack of games, it's because the NHL All-Star game intervened with the real schedule. And, in case you missed the connection, it's the All-Star game that makes it the Lamest Week. Trust me on this.<br /><br />Of course, there were other things going on as well, not least of which was the <a href="http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/Tickets-Events/Events/2010/Rolex-24/Rolex-24-At-Daytona.aspx">Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona</a> (won again, somewhat predictably, by the Ganassi Racing team), and of course the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_All-Star_Showdown">NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown</a>, which was actually quite fun to watch, even though the many caution flags resulted in it running overtime. Which meant, of course, that my PVR missed the end of it. Nevertheless, let me take a moment more and throw out some congratulations to Canadian series champ <a href="http://hometracks.nascar.com/drivers/ncats/dj_kennington">D.J. Kennington</a>, who outlasted dozens of other drivers, and finished second overall.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/4916363773/" title="DSC01808 - D.J. Kennington, press conference, Jumpstart 100 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4916363773_83bdddb1f4.jpg" alt="DSC01808 - D.J. Kennington, press conference, Jumpstart 100" width="300" height="400" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Mr. Kennington, last July.</span><br /><br />But enough of that! On to the results...<br /><br />Thin week or not, nothing really startling happened with the overall standings. Lavaland's still on top, I'm still running roughly parallel in second, and so on and so forth. The only notable change is that Gerty-Z and ScientistMother have switched spots, following a very strong performance by one, and a rather flabby one by the other.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Weekly totals... look at that blue bar for</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> ScientistMother!</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q7O2duenbGU/TUd3y765JWI/AAAAAAAAAKY/uVJ6mbRyYCo/s1600/Slide2.PNG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 302px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q7O2duenbGU/TUd3y765JWI/AAAAAAAAAKY/uVJ6mbRyYCo/s400/Slide2.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568551181228778850" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">And here are the standings for the last three weeks or so:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q7O2duenbGU/TUd4L63CNYI/AAAAAAAAAKg/eRlQdrO5gIM/s1600/Slide1.PNG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q7O2duenbGU/TUd4L63CNYI/AAAAAAAAAKg/eRlQdrO5gIM/s400/Slide1.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568551610440889730" border="0" /></a>So there you go. I am, in fact, creeping up on Lavaland - but very, very slowly, and with the newly-adjusted points values for the players, I really have no idea how my picks for this week will pan out. Stay tuned...Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-9903326330180584842011-01-15T22:56:00.005-05:002011-01-15T23:35:23.441-05:00And so, into 2011.Not much to report, really... after a grueling couple of months writing grants (oh, and I think the Christmas holidays were in there too), I'm back to having a bit more spare time. Time, among other things, to dig through some old shots from last July's <a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2010/08/honda-indy-toronto-diary-sunday-finally.html">Honda Indy Toronto race weekend</a>, and edit a few of them.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5356064818/" title="DSC01914 - Will Power, pit lane, Toronto 2010 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5167/5356064818_f555066995.jpg" width="400" height="267" alt="DSC01914 - Will Power, pit lane, Toronto 2010" /></a><br /><em>High-contrast, black and white treatment. Why not?</em><br /><br />I've written a couple of guest posts over at the <a href="http://occamstypewriter.org/irregulars/">Occam's Typewriter Irregulars</a> blog. I'll be concentrating on science-y things there, since OT was founded, and is largely populated by, scientists (although the writing is fairly diverse). Good writers there - well worth a visit.<br /><br />My other blogging gig, over at <a href="http://products.scienceboard.net/">Life Science Tools of the Trade</a>, should pick up a bit this year - I've committed to at least one post per month, which doesn't seem like much, but believe me, would be a big increase over my past efforts. That will be all science - techy stuff, as compared with the OT Irregulars, where I'll be largely posting things for a lay audience. I'll probably keep <a href="http://ricardipus.blogspot.com/2011/01/cross-post-shakespeare-and-dna-part-ii.html">cross-posting</a> those ones from here.<br /><br />Otherwise, I think this place will stay much as it has been, which means, of course, more about cameras and cars, mainly. On that front, a few months ago I finally bought a DSLR: a <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d5000.htm">Nikon D5000</a>, kitted out with a couple of lenses including a <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/55-300mm.htm">55-300 mm zoom</a>, which should be fun for my motorsports pursuits. That means that I can stop borrowing Mrs. Ricardipus's lovely <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydscr1/">Sony DSC-R1</a>, although it will still get used for various things (like that photo of the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5276099498/#/photos/ricardipus/5276099498/lightbox/">Christmas tree</a> from a few posts ago, for example). It also means that the old film SLR is now long gone.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/3603002655/" title="The old camera. by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2453/3603002655_8288719bc0.jpg" width="400" height="300" alt="The old camera." /></a><br /><em>The dear, departed Pentax MZ-50 and 100-300 mm lens - now traded in.</em><br /><br />So far, the D5000 has been fabulous, although I'm still learning it - both where all the controls are, and how it responds to different lighting conditions. But I'm very happy with it, and it's proven adept at a variety of things, from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5149213679/in/set-72157620870982405/">close-ups of expensive cars under dodgy lighting</a>, to long-range snaps of zoo animals,<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5049048032/" title="Arctic Wolf, howling by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/5049048032_78002818c4.jpg" width="400" height="300" alt="Arctic Wolf, howling" /></a><br /><br />a bit of landscape shooting,<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5298433972/" title="Barn, Maple Road, Ontario by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5282/5298433972_c49bd6ffcd.jpg" width="400" height="320" alt="Barn, Maple Road, Ontario" /></a><br /><br />and even, with a <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/35mm-f18.htm">rented lens suitable for low light</a>, some concert photography.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/5178826927/" title="Solo by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1258/5178826927_d4084ae69e.jpg" width="400" height="300" alt="Solo" /></a><br /><br />So - among more important things, 2011 should bring, in no particular order, a lot more writing about science and other things, and many more photographs, at least some of which will be of things with wheels. Good times, I trust.Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-27768139617685774222011-01-04T10:16:00.002-05:002011-01-04T10:19:41.857-05:00Cross Post - Shakespeare and DNA, part II<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardipus/3823511693/" title="Hadrian's Wall, 1998 by Ricardipus, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3462/3823511693_e713cfb314.jpg" width="390" height="260" alt="Hadrian's Wall, 1998" /></a><br /><br /><em>Hadrian's wall. Although Roman, it has about as much to do with Julius Caesar as it does with either Shakespeare, or genome assembly.</em><br /><br />Another cross-post to point you over to the <em>Occam's Typewriter Irregulars</em> blog, where I try to explain "genome assembly" the process of putting many fragments of DNA sequence together to make an entire genome sequence. All of this aided by using bits of Shakespeare's <em>Julius Caesar</em>.<br /><br />The post is right here: <a href="http://occamstypewriter.org/irregulars/2010/12/31/genome-assembly-a-primer-for-the-shakespeare-fan/">Genome Assembly - a primer for the Shakespeare fan</a>Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33338421.post-86678628085263918772011-01-03T09:59:00.011-05:002011-01-03T10:36:04.649-05:00Hockey Pool, week 13!Yes, the holiday break is over, and all excuses about "being away from the internet" or "being too sleepy/full/hung over to make my picks" are now invalid. 2011 is here, the Canadian Juniors are poised for a semi-final game against the USA, and the VWXYnot Hockey Pool standings have made their way over here this week.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Overall standings for the past three weeks. I'm not winning.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q7O2duenbGU/TSHp8oi7c2I/AAAAAAAAAKI/_LUKzc1cZEI/s1600/Slide1.PNG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 260px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q7O2duenbGU/TSHp8oi7c2I/AAAAAAAAAKI/_LUKzc1cZEI/s400/Slide1.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557980643037246306" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q7O2duenbGU/TSHpp8yic7I/AAAAAAAAAKA/9dp4I1ihOlo/s1600/Slide1.PNG"><br /></a><br />Maintaining a convincing lead is Lavaland, even though week 13 wasn't exactly a stellar performance (tied fifth or second-last for the week, depending on how you look at it). Bob has catapulted from fifth to third, and I've clambered up into second overall. There's a real dogfight for third through fifth developing, with Bob, Chall and ScientistMother separated by only four points.<br /><br />Looking over these three weeks of results, I'm also giving myself a "hard charger" award for the steepest slope. Hey, it's my blog, I can do what I like.<br /><br />At the bottom end of the standings, Gerty-Z's excellent week has meant a jump from seventh into sixth, while Cath went in the opposite direction. Thomas is still bringing up the rear, although trending in the right direction.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Points gained in week 13, as ugly blue bars.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q7O2duenbGU/TSHqSewin5I/AAAAAAAAAKQ/ZORbctXJc4s/s1600/Slide2.PNG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 276px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_q7O2duenbGU/TSHqSewin5I/AAAAAAAAAKQ/ZORbctXJc4s/s400/Slide2.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557981018367106962" border="0" /></a><br />The biggest weekly points total goes to Bob with a whopping 42. Gerty-Z also had a convincing week with 38, and I was third with 36. Thomas has improved a bit, Lavaland had an uncharacteristically poor week, and Chall and Cath are tied for the limpest performance.<br /><br />So there you go. I apologize for the ugly graphs, but the deadly interaction between Excel, PowerPoint and Blogger is at least partly to blame.<br /><br />Onward to week 14!Richard Wintlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14644765072275026087noreply@blogger.com6