Don't Buy the Realistic

My Review of iConvert™ Slide and Negative Scanner

2009-01-05T15:46:00.000-08:00

Bring your old photos into the digital age with this slide and negative converter.
If you have a drawer full of old photo negatives and slides, you need iConvert™. This easy-to-use digital converter combines the functionality of both a 35mm film scanner and 35mm slide scanner into one...

iConvert™ Slide and Negative Scanner

Not for serious photography enthusiasts

By Heather L. from Austin, TX on 1/5/2009

2out of 5

Gift: Yes

Pros: Compact

Cons: Unreliable

Describe Yourself: Tech Savvy

My husband got me this for my birthday and I was thrilled because I prefer shooting film over shooting digital, but I still want to be able to have a quick way to get my photos online for people to view. It was easy to set up, and fast to scan. However, the quality of the scan was lacking. The colors were not as vivid as they should have been, the picture wasn't too sharp, and the highlights were blown-out. I thought that maybe it was just a badly exposed negative, so I tried a few that I knew were exposed well and produced a good print. Again, the highlights were very blown-out and the picture wasn't sharp. Because it's close by, I took the same negatives to Walmart and had them scanned. The quality was superior. We returned the product. It may be good for someone who is just looking for a quick way to get their negatives converted to digital (but if I were one of those people, I would pay maybe $50 at the most for a product that did that), but not for a photophile who needs the details to come out crisp and clear and not blown-out.

Scanned with iConvert

Tags: Made with Product

Actual picture from negative, no post-processing

(legalese)

Details... More details!

2008-12-25T05:09:00.000-08:00

In the haze of the morning, China sits on eternity
And the opium farmers sell dreams to obscure fraternities
On the horizon the curtains are closing

Down in the orchard the aunties and uncles play their games
(Like it seems they always have done...)
In the blue distance the vertical offices bear their names
(Like it seems they always have done...)
Clocks ticking slowly, dividing the day up

These poor girls are such fun they know what God gave them fingers for
(To make percussion over solos!)

China my China, I've wandered around and you're still here
(Which I guess you should be proud of...)
Your walls have enclosed you, have kept you at home for thousands of years
(But theres something I should tell you...)
All the young boys are dressing like sailors

I remember a man who jumped out from a window over the bay
(There was hardly a raised eyebrow...)
The coroner told me this kind of thing happens every day
You see, from a pagoda, the world is so tiny.

Call me when you try to wake her

2008-11-07T21:05:00.000-08:00

The Cat in the Hat came back, wrecked a lot of havoc on the way
Always had a smile and a reason to pretend
But their world has flat backgrounds and little need to sleep but to dream

I forgot about this!

2008-10-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

Kermit the Frog - "Once in a Lifetime"

Oh, and I guess I should post the original video in case you have somehow failed to see it in the past 27 years...

David Byrne is just so nerdy-cute in that video...!

"Exodus Damage" by John Vanderslice

2008-10-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

I'll see you next fall
at another gun show
I'll call the day before, like usual

but I wanted so much more
I got exodus damage bleed,
could not commit, some things I'll never be

so now we're talking about this
I'm starting to lose my confidence
no one ever says a word about
so much that happens in the world

dance dance revolution
all we're gonna get
unless it falls apart
so I say: go go go
let it fall down
I'm ready for the end

so the second plane hit at 9:02
I saw it live on a hotel tv, talking on my cell with you
you said this would happen, and just like that, it did
wrong about the feeling, wrong about the sound
but right to say we would stand down

an hour went by without a fighter in the sky
you said there's a reason why
so tell me now, I must confess
I'm not sick enough to guess

dance dance revolution
all we're gonna get
unless it falls apart
so I say: go go go
let it fall down
I'm ready for the end

so you hope that one person
could solve everything
and for me, that's you
sometimes that dream
is a sad delusion
but sometimes it's true

so now we're talking about this
I'm starting to lose my confidence
no one ever says a word about
so much that happens in the world

dance dance revolution
all we're gonna get
unless it falls apart
so I say: go go go
let it fall down
I'm ready for the end

My car may be dead!

2008-10-04T10:47:00.000-07:00

I don't know yet. I was attempting to leave work early yesterday and it started bumping really badly, then the "Check Engine" light (which has been constantly on since I got that car four years ago) began to flicker on and off. So, I turned around and went back to work to bum a ride from Marilyn (my car won't get towed if I leave it at the parking lot at work). My dad is going to come have a look at it later.

It's odd. I had no trouble at all on the drive to work, but it started bumping as soon as I turned it on when I was attempting to leave.

I'm afraid that he's dead. Which really sucks because we just fixed the power steering on him, and I bought new cornering lights that I was actually going to put on today (note that in the above picture the driver's side cornering light is busted).

It also sucks because if he's dead I'll need a new car. I planned my next car to be brand new (so I can drive it for years and know it's had all the scheduled maintenance), but I didn't plan to buy one for another six months or so. Yes, I have money saved up but it is to move (hopefully, see below), not to buy a new car.

And here's the Reader's Digest condensed version of the moving problem:

We thought we had found a place to move. We were going to move in October 24. Then they call us and tell us we can't move there because we have two evictions on our rental history.

This sucks because this is not right.

One eviction was something that was dismissed, and the other was actually Juan's father's eviction (he and Juan have the same first and last name). I think we have all the needed paperwork to prove the dismissed one was in fact dismissed (court papers should be fine), but we don't have the court papers to prove that the second eviction was actually Juan's father. Our "proof" doesn't have the case number, so I don't know if they'll take it.

We need to be out of our current place no later then October 30, so we're running out of time. I don't want to have to move to one of those ultra-ghetto apartment complexes that say "Evictions? No problem!" Those places look filthy from the outside-- I don't want to know what's inside.

Update, 10/04/08 4:40 pm CST:

After spending $60, Adam Corolla lives! (At least I hope. He drives better than he has ever. We just replaced the spark plugs and spark plug wires.)

This isn't a joke.

2008-09-19T23:26:00.000-07:00

I think I have a big problem.

I think I'm in love with my job.

I get horribly depressed when I'm not there. I tend to cry. Weekends are not fun.

I mean, I'm really fucking sad right now. I wish I was back at work.

Edit (10:59 pm CST):
Holy shit, there's a Voxtrot lyric about this:

I believe in love, I'm married to my work.

Well, except I'm not legally married to my work.

Pecan Street Festival

2008-09-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

Pecan Street Festival is this weekend! Too bad the nice weather is going to be gone by then (I think they're saying this weekend is going to be humid, with highs in the 90s). But I still want to go!

Well, I got on the guestlist for the Voxtrot/Belaire/The Cool Kids show on September 26 (it looks like I didn't respond in time to get on the guestlist for Black Joe Lewis/Belaire this Friday). But I still don't have a +1.

I want to paint my car with some cool designs. Someone help me come up with ideas! Also, does anyone know what kind of paint is best to use on a car? It doesn't have to be shiny or anything-- for the whole time I've had my car, it hasn't been shiny. Also, I need a place to drive it to when I paint it (I can't do it in the apartment parking lot).

100th Post Extravaganza!

2008-09-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

...or something. When I logged in it said my blog had 99 posts, so that makes this one the 100th.

ANYWAY.

Last week is over. Hurray! So far this week hasn't been total shit. I mean, I haven't had to drive anywhere two counties over or anything, and I'm not PMSing.

I've enjoyed the weather the past few days. I wish it would be like this (and maybe just a bit colder) all year long. I'm glad the summer is almost over. The heat really bothers me (yet I continue to live in Texas... But if I lived elsewhere I couldn't work at Photo Texas!).

I may or may not get on the guestlists (with a +1) to two upcoming Belaire shows: One this Friday (the 19th) and one next Friday (the 26th, with Voxtrot). However, that kind of sucks because Juan hates going to shows (I promised him after the Toadies show that I wouldn't take him to any more shows) and I hate going to shows alone. And Lily works on Friday nights, so I can't invite her. So, if you happen to read this and aren't some creepy stalker let me know if you want to be my +1 and either or both of the shows. I will then let you know if I actually did get on the guestlists and if you can come with me (because even if you think you're not a creepy stalker, I may).

Lily, if you read this, I promise I'll soon get your Ludo pictures off of my camera and send them to you. I'm just being really lazy, and if they did shoot in the Pentax RAW format I'll have to convert them and I don't feel like doing that right now. I think I forgot which ones you took and which ones I took, so I'll just send all of them to you.

Umm... That's it. Well, this was the worst extravaganza ever.

iTune Genius

2008-09-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

I downloaded iTunes 8 last night and enabled the "Genius"-mode (which took almost an hour; I guess because of my 5,300+ songs). I've been playing with it today, and I'm not too impressed yet.

Here are three of the playlists it has generated so far:

Source song: Air - "Radio #1"
Playlist:
Brian Eno - "A Long Way Down"
Brian Eno - "Passing Over"
Brian Eno - "Just Another Day"
Brian Eno - "Silver Morning"
Brian Eno - "Deep Blue Day"
Brian Eno - Weightless"
Brian Eno - "Fullness Of Wind (Variation On 'The Canon In D Major' By Johann Pachelbel)"
Brian Eno - "Brutal Ardour (Variation On 'The Canon In D Major' By Johann Pachelbel)"
Brian Eno & Harold Budd - "The Silver Ball"
Brian Eno & Harold Budd - "Forshadowed"
Brian Eno & Harold Budd - "An Echo of Night"
Brian Eno & David Byrne - "Defiant"
Brian Eno & David Byrne - "Number 8 Mix"
Brian Eno & David Byrne - "Solo Guitar with Tin Foil"
Cornershop - "Lessons Learned - From Rocky I To Rocky III"
Cornershop - "Good Shit"
Cornershop - "It's Indian Tobacco My Friend"
Cornershop - "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)"
David Byrne - "Miss America (Remixed By Cecco Music)"
Ghostland Observatory - "Shoot 'Em Down"
Fujiya & Miyagi - "Ankle Injuries"
The New Radicals - "You Get What You Give"
Delta 5 - "Mind Your Own Business"
X-Press 2 - "Lazy"

Okay... Some of these don't make a bit of sense (I'm talking about The New Radicals). And why eight Brian Eno tracks (14 if you count the "Brian Eno &..." tracks)? I would have liked more variety. Where is Zero 7 on this list?

Source song: Cool For August - "Walk Away"
Playlist:
Tori Amos - "Spark"
At the Drive-In - "One Armed Scissor"
Audioslave - "Shadow of the Sun"
Beck - "Timebomb"
Cool for August - "Trails"
Dishwalla - "Counting Blue Cars"
The Format - "On Your Porch"
Hum - "Stars"
Incubus - "Nice to Know You"
The Killers - "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine"
Led Zeppelin - "Dancing Days"
Orgy - "Stitches"
Paula Cole - "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?"
R.E.M. - "Drive"
Spacehog - "Mungo City"
Stone Temple Pilots - "Still Remains"
Stone Temple Pilots - "Silver Gun Superman"
Stone Temple Pilots - "Days of the Week"
Toadies - "Possum Kingdom"
Toadies - "I Burn"
Trust Company - "Downfall"
Vertical Horizon - "We Are"
Vertical Horizon - "You're A God"
ZZ Top - "Got Me Under Pressure"

Well, at least this one has more variety. However, not all of these songs fit together too well. If I'm in the mood to hear ZZ Top, Vertical Horizon just won't do for me (not to mention I fail to see how ZZ Top fits in with the originally selected song).

Source song: David Byrne - "Lie to Me"
Playlist:
The Police - "Message in a Bottle"
Beck - "Tropicalia"
Beirut - "Scenic World"
David Byrne - "Girls on My Mind"
David Byrne - "Marching Through the Wilderness"
Coldplay - "One I Love (live)"
Coldplay - "Warning Sign"
David Bowie - "Heroes"
Dexy's Midnight Runners - "Come On Eileen"
Brian Eno & David Byrne - "The Jezebel Spirit"
Franz Ferdinand - "The Dark Of The Matinée"
Primitive Radio Gods - "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand"
R.E.M. - "Try Not to Breathe"
R.E.M. - "Leave (alternate version)"
The Shins - "Phantom Limb"
The Smiths - "This Charming Man"
Spoon - "Don't You Evah (DJ Amaze and Alan Astor Mix)"
Supertramp - "Breakfast in America"
Talking Heads - "Book I Read"
Talking Heads - "People Like Us"
Talking Heads - "Dream Operator"
Tom Tom Club - "Genius of Love"
Cake - "Short Shirt, Long Jacket"
My Morning Jacket - "One Big Holiday"

Well, so far, this one has been the best. There are a few I'd take out (namely the Coldplay tracks and "Try Not to Breathe" by R.E.M.) and replace with a few others (maybe "Everyone" by The Black and White Years, along with "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" and "One (Blake's Got A New Face)" by Vampire Weekend).

I tried to make one for "We're in Yr Corner" by Cornershop, but it wouldn't work. I find that strange since four Cornershop songs showed up on the first playlist, three being from the same album as "We're in Yr Corner."

I really hope it Genius gets better. The idea of it is nice, but for now I'll stick with making my own playlists.