The Good Life... a weblog about life, technology, and the Opera web browser

I'm looking forward to the day when we'll have routine body scans. If you're exposed to a lot of science fiction, as I am, you've probably seen what I'm referring to: some sort of bed where you lie down and you get scanned. The doctors know immediately if there's anything wrong with you. It's simple, painless, and just a regular part of medical care. Nowadays, it seems like so much can be lurking within you without showing any outward symptoms. If we could all go to the doctor and get a body scan every six months or so, we'd find problems sooner (at a more treatable stage) and get more accurate diagnoses.

Sure, there are a some scanning technologies today, such as MRI or CT, but they're much more limited than I have in mind. I've had two MRIs: one on my jaw and one on my wrist. In both cases, I had to stay very still for several minutes while a specific area was targeted. MRIs only show slices of certain parts of our bodies, so I imagine a full body MRI would take hours. Not fun. CT, also known as CAT scans, uses x-rays, so I imagine any large-scale and regular scanning would have adverse effects.

I actually found my first MRI quite relaxing. If you haven't had an MRI, there's a lot of noise involved. The noise is something like the sound of wood blocks being knocked together continuously. For whatever reason, I found the noise very soothing and I almost fell asleep. The MRI on my wrist might have been equally relaxing, but I was in an uncomfortable position.

In any case, I hope we'll see such technology in my life time. That, and teleporters.

Back in college, I took photography courses that opened my eyes to the world beyond point-and-shoot cameras. For the courses, I bought a Minolta SRT-101 from my uncle. The SRT-101 is a fully manual camera: the only thing automatic about it is the light meter. I used to take roll after roll of film and develop them in the school's dark room. I still used it after college, but without having a dark room readily available, I didn't have as much freedom with my prints. I had some bad experiences getting film developed and I've since shelved my SRT-101. That's really unfortunate because it's a great camera for shooting black and white images. The pictures I took with it are still some of my favorites.

After graduation, my grandparents bought me a Canon Powershot A70 digital point-and-shoot camera, which was one of the best digital point-and-shoot cameras available at the time. Most digital point-and-shoot cameras are almost fully automatic, but the A70 allowed me to at least change the aperture setting. Since then, I've taken thousands of photos and my A70 keeps right on shooting vibrant and beautiful photos. Despite the camera's advanced technology and photo quality, I found myself missing the versatility and hands-on experience of SLR cameras.

Over the past couple of years, I've found my interest in using the A70 wane. It's been a tough time because I really enjoy photography, but I often found myself frustrated at not being able to get the right depth of field or focus on the subject of my photo instead of whatever the camera chose. I started to feel like all my pictures looked the same and I blamed it on the A70's limitations. To be fair, I know at least part of the problem was my lack of creativity. I'm sure I could do more with the A70, but my mind has subconsciously been made up that it's holding back my potential.

At the beginning of February, I decided that was time to take the digital SLR plunge. After quite a lot of research, I finally settled on the Canon EOS 40D with a Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lens. Since the lens was backordered, I also ended up getting a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens. Both are fantastic lens, with the former offering super wide-angle shots and the latter offering extremely shallow depth of field.

I haven't been able to get out as much as I would like, but I am beyond happy with my purchase. I've found my interest renewed in going out simply to take photographs. I again pick up my camera to photograph something mundane that can be given new life in a photograph. I've found myself posing inanimate objects to get the best image composition. It's such a fantastic feeling to have something I enjoy so much no longer frustrating me.

I still have a lot to learn. The 40D is a very advanced camera with tons of features and loads of configurability. Not just that, but I have a lot to learn about different techniques. I need to learn about panning. I need to learn how to better take advantage of the depth of field and wide angle possibilities of my lenses. I'm sure I'll have enough to experiment with to last me years. And I am so happy to have so much to learn!

Sara Ellen is now twenty-six and a half months old. Compared to the first two years of her life, the development she's going through now is much more subtle. This week, her hair is falling in front of her eyes for the first time. She's started eating raw carrots, counting, and sleeping more often in her own bed. She has great senses. She is energetic, smart, fun-loving, kind, shy, and gentle; I hope these are the traits she holds on to as she grows up.

She wants to watch movies constantly, though we restrict her to one a day. Her favorite movie used to be "Monsters, Inc" (which she called "Bears and Frog"), but now she prefers "Cars" (mostly because of Mater). A couple of days after she first watched it, Rebekah had become Lightning McQueen, I had become Mack (McQueen's transport truck), and Sara Ellen called herself "funny Mater". Her other favorites are "The Incredibles", "Ratoutille", and "Finding Nemo", though she'll occasional want to watch "Beauty and the Beast". Sara Ellen always cheers for the heroes by exclaiming, "No get you!" and fearing for their well-being.

Twenty-seven months ago, I didn't know what I'd do with our child. Now, I don't know what I'd do without her.

A while back, Eirik tagged me. He'd like to know a bit more about me. One...word...at...a...time. So, here goes:

Where is your mobile phone?
shelf

Describe your girlfriend:
girlfriend?!

Your hair:
missing!

Your mother:
young

Your father:
closer

What is your favourite gadget?
40D

What did you dream last night?
forgotten

What do you prefer to drink?
water

Dream car?
Jeep

What room are you currently in?
Dining

Your ex?
n/a

Your biggest fear?
loss

What do you want to be in 10 years?
same

Who did you spend last night with?
family

What are you not?
active

The last thing you did?
waste

What are you wearing?
comfy

Favorite book?
Stardust

The last thing you ate?
pie!

Your life?
good

Your mood?
stable

Your best friends?
faraway

What are you thinking about right now?
life

Your car?
dying

What are you doing right now?
finishing

Your Summer?
sticky

Marital status?
happily

What is on your TV right now?
SG-1

When did you last laugh?
earlier

When did you last cry?
today

School?
done

Helen, Rebekah, Rijk, and David, you're up! Copy the list of questions above and fill in your one-word answers.

At the end of January, I finally joined the church I've been attending for the past five years (when I was in the United States, anyway). Rebekah and I were married there, Sara Ellen was baptized there, and I play in the handbell choir there. Membership brings a few additional benefits to me: it serves as a gesture of my commitment to the church and it makes me feel more like I'm a part of the church family. I've been reluctant to join not because I didn't want to or because I disliked anything in particular about the church, but because I figured we'd be moving elsewhere soon, so it wouldn't be worth it.

While we still lived in Oslo, a co-worked confided in me that he really wanted a bicycle. He'd wanted a bicycle for a long time, but knew that he might be moving soon and he didn't want to deal with the hassle of moving with a bicycle or trying to sell it before moving. And he'd been telling himself that for the past year, all the while really wanting a bike and missing out on having one. Finally, he bought a bicycle and he couldn't have been happier. His point was that if you put off doing what you want because of something that might happen in the future, you miss out on all the enjoyment you could have had before that future event happens, if ever.

Joining my church didn't take much effort, didn't cost me anything, and didn't have any down side. I just put it off because of something that might happen soon and I was missing out because of it. When I realized that I had no good reason not to join the church now, it was almost as if a burden had been lifted off my chest. It was one less thing to wait for. I learned that if you wait for life to happen, you'll be waiting instead of living. So don't wait: live.

I don't think about it often, but I am a dreamer. Sometimes it helps us achieve our dreams if we share them with others. And so, here are some of my dreams:

1. I dream of being a great husband and father. I am in charge of providing for my family and I believe that goes beyond financial obligations. It means helping to foster an atmosphere where my daughter can flourish. It means helping my wife to do the things she dreams of doing. It means making tough decisions that may not be what we want, but are what we need.
2. I dream of being a great friend. I want to keep in touch with those that are most important to me. I want them to know I care. I want them to know that I'm thinking of them and that I enjoy who they are and that I enjoy spending time with them. I want them to know I miss them. At the moment, I want them to know that I know I need to work harder at this dream.
3. I dream of being a great photographer. I recently realized that I have a lot more artistic ability than I knew. Between writing (see the next point) and photography, I'm actually doing pretty well. But I want to do better. I've noticed that I tend to take the same photograph over and over (see these pictures, for instance). I want a digital SLR camera, but I know that's not the solution to this problem. I need to think more creatively when I'm taking pictures. I need to get away from my standard formula and try new things. It's the difference between being good and being great.
4. I dream of being a great writer. I didn't want to be a writer until I was in college and a professor told me I was good at it. Since then, I've had a love-hate relationship with writing. When it comes down to it, I need to write more. I need the practice. I also need to read more. And I need to experiment. In the end, I want to make people laugh and I want to touch them somehow with what I've written.
5. I dream of making a difference in the lives of others. We all have it within ourselves to make the lives of others better. We just need to tap into it. Yes, finding bugs in a web browser can decrease the frustration of others, but I'm sure there's more that I can do.
6. I dream of pleasing God. I know I cannot lead (and have not led) a sinless life, but that doesn't mean that I cannot please God. I have been blessed so much, in so many ways that I can't even imagine. I dream of giving some of those blessings to others, of acknowledging those blessings, and of sharing them.

This Summer movie season looks fantastic. Generally, I only see a movie in the theater if the special effects make it worthwhile. I have seen some romantic comedies in the theater recently (such as Musc & Lyrics, which was a lot of fun), but I wouldn't have minded waiting for the DVDs. In any case, there're plenty of movies I deem worthy of trips to the theater this Summer.

Here's my list of must-see Summer movies for 2007:

• Spider-Man 3 (May 4th) - Saw it on May 9th: great movie
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (May 25th) - Enjoyed the first, thought the second was over-done, but I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with the third - Saw it on June 21st; much, much better than the second; great fun
• Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (June 15th) - Enjoyed the first one and I'm a big fan of superheroes - Saw it on June 15th; it was okay
• Live Free or Die Hard (June 27th) - Yippee-ki-yay!
• Ratatouille (June 29th) - Pixar: nothing else needs to be said - this movie was great fun; I laughed, I cried, I enjoyed
• Transformers (July 6th) - Transformers were some of my favorite toys when I was a kid; plus, this a Spielberg movie and the trailer looks fantastic - the movie was phenomenal
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (July 13th) - Harry Potter: again, nothing else needs to be said - excellent, just excellent
• The Bourne Ultimatum (August 3rd) - I hope this one lives up to the first two, which were very good
• Stardust (August 10th) - This is one of my favorite books and I want to see what this all-star cast can do with it

Undecided:

• Ocean's Thirteen (June 8th) - The first was great, the second was a flop, so I'm still on the fence
• Rush Hour 3 (August 10th) - I liked the first two, but I'm not sure if they can do it again

Wait for video:

• Shrek the Third (May 18th) - The first was OK, the second was boring. Fool me once....
• Evan Almighty (June 22nd) - This just doesn't seem to have as good a story as the first one

What's up with ten of thirteen movies here being sequels? The only original story in my list is Ratatouille. Is Pixar the only studio that can pull-off a blockbuster non-sequel?

Downloadable Music vs. CDs

Today, Steve Jobs posted a note on the Apple Inc. web site about iTunes and Digital Rights Management (DRM, AKA anti-piracy). You should go read it, as it's quite good. It's OK, I'll wait. Done? Good. According to Jobs, about 10% of the music sold in 2006 is downloadable, DRM-protected, and purchased online. The remaining 90% is sold DRM-free on compact discs.

In his note, Jobs talks about the restrictions the music industry imposes on Apple, such as strict requirements that any breaches in DRM security must be fixed within a matter of weeks. DRM must be bulletproof, according to the music industry. The majority of downloadable music sold online has always been protected by DRM, so the music industry finally has a medium where they control how music is shared. Unfortunately for them, a non-DRM'd format is already the de facto standard. Since the mid-90s, MP3s have been available for download via newsgroups, web sites, and P2P networks. It's no wonder that DRM'd music has met so much resistance.

iTunes and Norway

If you haven't heard, the Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman has ruled that the iTunes' DRM violates Norwegian consumer protection laws because it prevents consumers from using their music on digital music players other than the iPod. Most people outside of Norway don't know how many consumer protections are in place in Norway. It's actually quite nice being a consumer in Norway, compared to the United States. For instance, most non-disposable consumer electronics in the US have something like a ninety day warranty on defects in the manufacturing process. In some cases, it's one year. Norwegian law requires a minimum five year warranty on these products (if I'm not mistaken, Norwegians please correct me).

One of the things I really liked about Norway is that it was obvious that big companies hadn't stripped away the rights of individuals. The iTunes case is the same sort of situation. Many people argue that Apple is no more responsible for making sure their songs are compatible with their competitors' MP3 players than printer manufacturers are responsible for making sure their printer cartridges are interoperable. However, they're missing the point. The Ombudsman seems to be saying that purchasing music is more than just buying a certain file format. It's buying the right to listen to the music as you see fit.

DRM and Me

I applaud Steve Jobs' willingness to remove all DRM restrictions from music on iTunes as soon as the music studios allow it and I hope this redirects the Norwegian Ombudsman to the real culprits here: the music industry. To this day, I haven't purchased any DRM'd music or copy-protected CDs and I have no intention of doing so. I'd really like to buy some DRM-free and music industry sanctioned downloadable music, though. Please Universal, Sony BMG, Warner and EMI, make it happen.

I finally got around to joining Facebook. Rebekah joined a couple of months ago and I know she's reconnected with some old friends, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I've only been in touch with one of my college friends semi-frequently, so I'm looking forward to reconnecting with some others soon.

Since I signed up this morning, I've been poking around, looking for people I know. I sent out about a dozen or so friend invitations today and I'm happy to say that I have friends. Yay! It's always nice to have bits of technology to connect you to other people. Of course, being a geek, I'm a bit of a social inept, so I'm not sure what the etiquette is for Facebook, but I'll figure it out. Or I'll get over it. Probably the latter.

I've found that working in Quality Assurance tends to leak into the other parts of my life. I usually notice this most often when I'm interacting with web pages. There are so many little things about Facebook that annoy me. For one, I can't join my college's network since I don't have an college e-mail address any more. That's the only way to join a college network. That's just silly. Also, there's totally no way to say that I'm married to a person on my friends page. I can say that "We hooked up", "We dated", "We lived together", she's "In my family", etc. But I can't say that we're married. "Practically married", but not married. I guess that's a side effect of targeting the college croud, but I don't think it's too far fetched.

This is my first social network experience, so it'll be interesting. I'm looking forward to it. I'd rather use a web site to get to know someone (again) than go to a party and drink beer, so at least that's something in its favor.

Do you ever remember that you forgot something, then wonder what else you've forgotten? Or, do you remember that you forgot something, but you forget what you forgot?

Yeah, me too.