DAWN PATROL AT LA JOLLA COVE from Chuck Hartley on Vimeo.

The same video is also on YouTube, for those of you preferring that platform.

Been spending a lot of time lately with two new toys: a GoPro Hero 2 camera and an HP laptop computer running Windows 8.  Love them both, but the key words for the last month have been “learning curve.”

For the last few years I’ve usually taken photos with a Canon S5 IS, which I still have and love.  It’s problem is that it’s a bit large and I’m a bit paranoid having it around water.  Enter the GoPro.  Tiny, and safe around water.  Getting it tiny though required that all the switches and dials and screens be gone.  It has only two buttons, and a small LCD indicator.  No view finder, no image preview, just point and shoot in one of the different modes.  Once it’s set up it’s great to use, and I’m having a lot of fun with it, both for video and still photography, but it’s certainly taking some time to learn what it can do with it.

The same for the new laptop.  It’s faster and has more memory, and well, it’s a laptop with a docking station for when I need a full-size keyboard and mouse (like processing photos) which my previous workstation was a big clunky tower about four years old.  It’s also running Windows 8, which I think has gotten a bad rap.  Similar to the switch from the Canon to the GoPro, there was a learning curve when I first encountered Windows 8.  It was steep, with new commands and new options.  After a month though, I don’t miss the Start button, and wonder if I could ever go back to not having the live tiles keeping me up to date.  It could certainly use a few improvements, and I look forward to having more software completely integrated into the start page rather than having to switch to the desktop environment, but especially when I’m at my desk with a couple of monitors running it’s a vast improvement, and I’m very happy I made the leap.

Having a great holiday and hope you are too.

While Diego rips to shreds what he thinks is the ear of that special bunny, here’s some Easter cute.

[via the NSFW BillInExile]

Just a little multimedia help for the kiddies who never read books.

[via Seduced by the New]

Spending a Friday evening watching legislative “debate”, and I’m using that term very loosely, probably isn’t something I’ve ever done before last night.  If I did do it before last night, I’ve successfully repressed the memories with good cause.

The outcome of last night’s New York Senate session however was fascinating and exhilarating.  I wasn’t sure until very near the end if I was watching a train wreck or photo-finish win.  For me it was Senator Grisanti’s speech explaining his vote that convinced me  it would be the latter.

The man gets it. Marriages like mine and Randy’s do not hurt either his own marriage or his faith. The question is about the legal rights and obligations of citizens, not who will call him a flip-flopper, and no politician should be so afraid of evolving they become an impediment to progress.

Just a little eye candy in the form of Jacob Sharpe and a bunch of pink balls [via Jimbo]

I’ve definitely fallen in love with the classic Walt Disney shorts ever since Santa brought us Epic Mickey last month.  I’m fascinated with the original characters and their original attitudes, and certainly wish they were getting more new material.  Yes, more.  They might not be doing short pieces of animation, but Epic Mickey is certainly a major work featuring Mickey and the others in their prime, and I can’t get enough.

Surfer’s Journal posted a link to this classic short today that’s totally taking my mind off the zombie stomach lurching around my gut.  Nothing like some classic hula on a Friday afternoon.

Taking a break from the last-minute flurry of holiday baking to bring you a little non-traditional Christmas music.

[via someone's twitter feed - sorry whoever you were]

and [via Kipesquire]

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Yeah, I know some of you a freezing your bits off under tons of snow that are collapsing your buildings.  Not really my problem, but I do have other issues that I need to take my mind off of, so here’s a bit of Christmas eye candy for ya [via Kenneth in the 212].

Remember, Christmas is only for bundling up if you’re in badly stereotyped movies.  Otherwise the secular aspects of the holiday season are all about Speedo Santa Runs and prepping for the Penguin Plunge.