Search Results for: Our Week In Disney World

Trading My DSLR For A Smartphone

Photography, Smartphones/Tablets

wp-1471229621006.jpgThis past weekend, we went to B’s aunt’s house to see some family that was in town.  In previous years, this would mean that I would grab my DSLR and spend much of the time snapping photos. For the third time, though, we went on a trip and either didn’t take the DSLR with us or took it but didn’t use it at all. This isn’t to say that I didn’t take any photos.  On the contrary, I took a ton of photos during our trips. The difference is that I used my smartphone instead of my DSLR.

Now, to some I know this might seem like heresy. A good DSLR camera can easily produce better photos than a smartphone’s camera. It can handle different light conditions and can allow you to change many settings to produce the best photo. DSLR photos tend to be higher resolution and can be printed into bigger sizes. So the DSLR would seem to be the better camera for the job in every case, right?

Well, not quite.

First off, there’s the weight factor. DSLR cameras are pretty heavy. If you add in some extra equipment (lenses, extra batteries, memory cards, etc.), a DSLR can really weight you down. The smartphone, on the other hand, is extremely light and portable. Not to mention that you’re likely going to have it on you anyway.

What about printing photos, though? It’s true that DSLR photos can make better prints at larger sizes, but nowadays we rarely print any of our photos. We mostly post them online or text/e-mail them to people. This is extremely easy with a smartphone. Simply click on the share icon and select the app you want to use to share the photo with. You can even send it to an image editing app first to crop the image, add a watermark, or combine multiple photos. With a DSLR, on the other hand, you need to offload the photos to a computer before you can upload or send them. Unfortunately, most times, you won’t have a computer with you so your “on-the-go” photo share will turn into a “I’ll share it later.”

Then there’s the problem of taking my camera to the pool. With a DSLR, I’d either wind up sitting on the side of the pool snapping photos or would need to place my bulky, obvious camera bag on the side hoping that someone didn’t take it. With my smartphone, though, I bought a waterproof case last year when we were going on our cruise. It keeps my phone dry even if it’s underwater. What’s more, I can use the touchscreen and even take photos with the case on. Sure, the touchscreen doesn’t work underwater, but I can set the timer, submerge my phone, and wind up with an underwater photo.

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Yes, there are waterproof cases for DSLR cameras, but they can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The one I bought for under $20 works perfectly for my smartphone.

I’m sure my DSLR will still get a workout. I might still take it with us when we next go to Disney World, for example. Still, more and more I find myself relying on my smartphone instead of on a dedicated camera.

Do you still use a stand-alone camera (either point and shoot or DSLR)? Or have your photo taking habits shifted to smartphone-only?

Jungle Book – The Wisdom of Baloo

Disney, Movies, Parenting

baloo-and-mowgliLast week, my boys had off from school. One day, B took them to the movies to see a The Jungle Book. While I didn’t go (my day job frowns on taking a few hours off to see a movie), it inspired me to watch the classic animated movie again.  While watching it, I was struck by Baloo. He’s supposed to be a stereotypical slacker. Someone who’s big on partying and short on responsibility.  (A "shiftless, two-bit jungle bum" according to Bagheera.)  Upon watching the movie again, though, he’s surprisingly wise.

A quick warning: There might be spoilers for the new Jungle Book below, but only if the new movie follows the 1967 animated movie.  So technically these would only be spoilers if you haven’t seen the 1967 movie and I think the statute of limitations has long since passed for that film.

Before I get to Baloo, let’s look at Bagheera.  He’s supposedly the responsible one of the movie. He finds baby Mowgli and takes him to the wolves who raise him as their own child.  When Mowgli’s life is threatened by Shere Khan’s return, he volunteers to lead Mowgli back to the man-village where he will be safe.  Bagheera rescues Mowgli from Kaa – and winds up nearly being eaten himself.  He’s definitely a role model, right?

Wrong.

After meeting the elephants, Mowgli asks where they are going.  Bagheera tells Mowgli that he’s going back to the man-village immediately.  Mowgli insists he’s not going and Bagheera attempts to force him to go by pulling on his shorts with his teeth as Mowgli holds onto a tree.  This ends with Bagheera falling into a river.  (Side note: Those shorts were insanely strong.  A panther pulling on them should have ripped them to shreds! Then again, naked Mowgli wouldn’t make for a family friendly Disney movie.)  Bagheera, frustrated with Mowgli, declares that he’s on his own and leaves him.  This, not even 10 minutes  (screen time wise) after Bagheera told Mowgli that he wouldn’t last one day and after Mowgli was almost eaten by Kaa.

I can sympathize with Bagheera when it comes to dealing with stubborn children.  Both of my boys can be exceptionally stubborn at times.  There are definitely times when I think that it would be so easy to just walk out the door and never return.  The thing is, though, that those thoughts would never be put into action because I care about my kids too much.  Even when they’re being a major pain in the neck and not listening, I might leave to a different room to cool down but I’d never leave them on their own.

When Baloo encounters Mowgli, he could have just kept walking.  Instead, he noticed that Mowgli was upset and alone.  He tries to teach him to defend himself and purposefully loses to Mowgli to help cheer him up.  Then, Baloo teaches Mowgli about "The Bare Necessities."

This is where Baloo gives three under-rated gems of advice.  First of all, Baloo sings that you’ve got to "forget about your worries and your strife."  All too often, we let our worries dominate our thoughts.  It’s important to give ourselves time to put our worries aside.  If we don’t, we might miss some wonderful aspects of life.  I learned this lesson a long time ago.  I’d hyper-focus on something that went wrong (especially if I did or said something wrong) and would ruminate on it for days.  It didn’t help the situation in any way.  It didn’t make me react differently the next time.  All it did was cause me to obsess and doubt every action I took.  I realized that I needed to be able to examine whether I could do anything about a worry at that moment.  If I couldn’t, that worry needed to be shelved until such time as I could make a difference.

Next, Baloo sings about using claws to pick prickly pears but not needing them for big pawpaw fruit. This is intended to be humorous (with Baloo singing a veritable tongue twister) but is sound advice.  Every situation is different and the approach needed for one might be totally different than the approach that the second situation needs.  If you go through life with just one approach – and an inflexible attitude that all situations need to have that approach for their solution – then you’re bound to "prick a raw paw."

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Baloo sings about minimizing your life.  Like many people, we’ve accumulated a lot of things that seem important, but which we could easily live without.  For example, a year ago we decided to cut cable.  Before doing this, we wondered just how we’d survive without hundreds of channels of video programming coming into our house at every possible second.  The answer was that it was a lot easier than we initially thought it would be.  Were there bumps along the way?  Sure, but it turns out that cable TV isn’t one of the "bare necessities" and you can live a full life without it.  When you cut the extraneous out of your life, you leave more time for the activities that you actually are interested in.

This is especially true for pursuing things that you can’t obtain.  Many people, perhaps envious of what others have, stress out over not having X, Y, or Z.  This stress negatively impacts their lives and, ironically, makes it less likely that they’ll get what they desire.  To quote Baloo: "Don’t spend your time looking around for something you want that can’t be found. When you find out you can live without it and go along not thinking about it, I’ll tell you something true.  The bare necessities will come to you."  That’s some real Yoda-level wisdom being dished out there.  (Obligatory Star Wars reference since today is Star Wars Day.)

When Baloo is convinced by Bagheera that Mowgli needs to go back to the man-village, he’s heartbroken.  In his short time with Mowgli, he had come to love Mowgli.  On the other hand, Bagheera, someone who’s known Mowgli nearly his entire life, doesn’t seem upset at all about Mowgli being sent away forever.  When Baloo fumbles in his "man-village talk" with Mowgli and Mowgli runs off, Baloo is determined to find him.  For someone who sings about reducing your life to "the bare necessities," he certainly knows what is important enough to hold on to.  Finally, when Shere Khan attacks Mowgli, it’s Baloo who stands up to the tiger, risking his own life to save the boy.

In the final analysis, Baloo might not be the most responsible character in The Jungle Book, but he has a hidden wisdom about him.  Many people in today’s society would benefit from channeling their inner Baloo from time to time.

boys-meet-balooNOTE: The image of Baloo and Mowgli above is a photo I took at Disney’s Pop Century hotel in 2010, during the boys’ first trip to Disney World.  They also got to meet Baloo.

Star Wars Excitement Building To Critical Mass

Geeky Pursuits, Star Wars, Technology, Uncategorized

VR-TechyDadIt’s no secret that our family loves Star Wars. I’ve been a Star Wars geek for as long as I can remember. Some of my first actions, upon discovering the Internet, was to join a Star Wars Usenet group.

NHL is a fan also, but JSL is a super-fan. He will often break into Yoda speak and demanded to see the film immediately after seeing the trailer back in February. (Sadly, I doubted I’d have been able to contact JJ Abrams, much less convince him to show us the movie early.

Still, our wait is almost over. We’ve been whetting our appetites with the trailers, but in two weeks the main course will arrive.

Some might fear that the new movies will repeat the mistakes that the prequels made. If Yoda taught us anything, though, it’s that fear is the Dark Side and should be avoided. Still, I’ve been secretly praying that the movie will be more Empire Strikes Back and less A Phantom Menace.

Besides the trailers, I’ve indulged my Star Wars appetite by reading some fan theories about the movies. My favorite involves the much despised character, Jar-Jar Binks.

According to the theory, Jar-Jar was originally supposed to be an evil figure hiding in plain sight. He would have been a mirror image to Yoda’s first appearance as a crazy hermit. All of his "dumb luck" moments would really have been subtle uses of the Force. The theory actually is week thought out and I could see this having been the original plan before Lucas chickened out and kept Jar-Jar as pure comic relief.

Our latest Star Wars indulgence involves a piece of cardboard. Google Cardboard, to be exact. Google Cardboard is a virtual reality headset that is made of (you guessed it) cardboard as well as lenses and Velcro.  You can ride virtual rollercoasters, travel to distant lands, and dive under the water to swim with virtual fish.

I picked up a Star Wars/Verizon Wireless branded Google Cardboard viewer on Wednesday.  After downloading the Google Cardboard app, I launched the Star Wars app.  I’ve previously used the app to take selfies of myself with Vader and Yoda.  I even got frozen in Carbonite and tried on Leia’s locks.  With Google Cardboard, however, I was able to launch the Jakko Spy feature which transported me to a desert world.  The Millennium Falcon flew right overhead pursued by two TIE fighters.  After I stopped ducking, BB-8 rolled up to deliver a message.  Needless to say, I enjoyed this immensely.  Being able to be immersed into a Star Wars planet was amazing.  The boys fought over who went next and thoroughly enjoyed their off world trips.  Even B got into the act, cheerfully saying "Oh, hello there!" as BB-8 approached her.

More Star Wars Google Cardboard features are due to be released leading up to the movie itself.  If you didn’t get a Google Cardboard from Verizon Wireless, you could always buy one from Amazon or build your own.  Either way, one thing is for sure: Star Wars excitement is just going to build more and more here until we see the new movie.  A Jedi might not crave adventure and excitement, but we’re sure looking forward to those two things on the big screen when we see The Force Awakens.

Happy Fortieth Birthday To Me!

Birthday

birthday_cake_smallToday is a big day for me.  Today, I bid my 30’s goodbye and say hello to my 40’s.  Yes, today is my 40th birthday.

Ten years ago seems like a lifetime away.  At that time, I was much heavier, NHL was only two years old, I didn’t have any grey hairs, and I felt like 30 was SO old.  In the past ten years, NHL learned to walk and went from daycare to pre-K to kindergarten to elementary school to middle school.  We stood up for him when he was bullied and administrators wanted to sweep it under the rug.  We learned about Autism, what NHL having it meant, and that I likely am on the spectrum as well.  I lost enough weight to be called "too skinny" for the first time in my life, gained some of the weight back, and lost more again.  JSL was born, scared us way too many times with febrile seizures and head injuries, and progressed up to elementary school.

Over the last decade, we took the boys to Disney World four times – once on our own and three times for Disney Social Media Moms.  B & I had a "just us" trip cancelled due to a hurricane and were lucky enough to get some of it back thanks to being invited to cover the New Fantasyland opening.

Technology has exploded in the past ten years.  Ten years ago, I didn’t even know what WordPress was and now I’m constantly working with it.  Our world expanded drastically as we discovered social media and gained new friends on social media.  We’ve gone from flip phones to smartphones and constant Internet access. 

I’ve learned many lessons about life in general, about parenting, and about myself.  I’ve introduced the boys to many different geeky topics such as superheroes and Doctor Who.  I’ve found a whole new level of geekiness that exists in sharing your geeky interests with your child.

I’m actually writing this with a half hour to go on my 30’s.  As I write about my geekiness with only thirty minutes left until I turn 40, I can’t help but imagine turning 40 as if it were The Doctor’s regeneration.  It might not be as dramatic as my entire body and personality suddenly changing, but I am going to have to say goodbye to 30’s-Me and say hi to 40’s-Me.  Some of the last words of Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor seem to apply here:

We all change, when you think about it, we’re all different people; all through our lives, and that’s okay, that’s good you’ve gotta keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be.

I’ll always remember 30’s-Me and I might even miss him a bit, but I’m also excited to see what fun things 40’s-Me will encounter.  Here’s hoping this will be a great decade!

Extreme Geekery: Wrecking Havoc on Society with Instant Transportation

Extreme Geekery

TeleporterIn my Extreme Geekery series, I often focus on some scenario that requires science and math to solve. Given my love for science fiction, though, I also love imagining scenarios when science and technology ARE the problem and society needs to figure out the solution.  When the telephone gained popularity, there was a shift in communication abilities.  No longer did you need to wait for weeks for a letter to arrive at its destination.  Conversations across great distances could be accomplished in real-time instead of over months.  With the Internet, this was greatly amplified.  Now, someone in the United States could communicate with someone next door just the same as if they were half a world away.  Businesses could also sell to people even if those people didn’t live anywhere near the shop.  In fact, the Internet revolution had such an impact, that many stores don’t even have a physical shop.  While there was an equivalent pre-Internet in catalog sales, the Internet took this phenomenon to the next level.  Societal shifts of this nature can create many more opportunities for people and businesses, but they can also destroy the old ways.

My question now is: What would happen if we developed instant transportation.

For the sake of this thought experiment, we won’t bother with the "how" of the teleportation.  Let’s just assume that there is a new smartphone application that can teleport you (and your family/luggage) from where you currently are to any place you want to go.  You select where you want to go on a map, click a button, and there you are.  We’ll assume that the transportation method is safe, effective, easy for anyone to use without incident (i.e. not so hard that someone selects "the mall" and winds up 100 feet above the mall plummeting to their death), and inexpensive enough so that pretty much everyone can teleport.  What would happen with society?  Would this be a boon or the beginning of the end?

"Snail Mail" Travel

The obvious casualty of this technology would be the transportation industry.  Why would you get on an airplane – dealing with security, baggage fees, cramped seats, and tiny bags of peanuts – when you could just click and be at your destination?  Airlines and trains would go out of business as people teleported to their destination the same way that people sent less letters via snail mail once e-mail was widely used.  Obviously, there would be some people who still used the slow mode of transport.  Perhaps they liked the trip or perhaps they didn’t trust the new technology.  In any event, the companies might not go completely out of business, but they would need to radically change their service.  Perhaps the availability of instant travel would usher the return of 1950’s style airplane rides.  When it came to shipping goods, companies like FedEx might ditch the fleet of planes and trucks.  Instead, a carrier would pick up your package, zap himself to your house to drop it off, and then zap back for the next package.  Ordering online could mean getting your items in a matter of hours instead of days.

Going On Vacation

With instantaneous teleportation, tourism would increase dramatically.  Want to vacation in Disney World?  Just zap yourself there.  Get the urge to spend an evening in Hawaii?  You’re there.  Get the urge to visit Australia?  Urge satisfied.  You might think that, despite the increased travel, hotels would suffer.  After all, why stay someone else when you could just zap yourself home and sleep in your own bed?  Then again, at home there might be dirty dishes in the sink, a rug that needs vacuuming, sheets that need cleaning, and garbage that needs to be taken out.  If you are going to have some vacation time, why not get away from those chores and let the hotel staff take care of the room for you?  Vacations might wind up taking two forms.  For the quick pop out – for example to have lunch in a nice little restaurant in Italy before getting back to work in New York – you wouldn’t book a hotel stay.  However, if you were planning to get away from it all for awhile, a hotel would definitely get your business.  (Though, forgetting something at home would just mean a quick teleport home to retrieve it.)

A Walk On The Shady Side

While instant travel would make many people’s lives easier, it would have a dark side as well.  Right now, borders are more or less controlled.  If you want to enter or leave a country, you need a passport and you need to pass through the country’s security checks.  With instant travel, a person could just zap themselves deep within the country for whatever reason good or bad.  Criminals sent to jail could have a conspirator on the outsize teleport in, grab them, and teleport back out with them.  Imprisoning lawbreakers would quickly become an ineffective means of punishment.  For that matter, criminals could teleport into a house, grab whatever they want, and then teleport away.  Far, far away.  Burglaries would be impossible to prevent.

Finally, though perhaps least serious, charging admission fees would become obsolete.  Take Walt Disney World for example.  Suppose you want to visit the Small World ride in the Magic Kingdom.  First, you need to purchase an admission ticket.  This ticket is checked before you get into the park.  Once inside, you can go on rides like Small World.  With instant teleportation, though, you could just appear inside the gates, go on the ride, and then teleport back home.  No ticket required.

All of this would quickly mean that laws would be passed requiring teleportation blocks of some kind.  Disney World might block teleportation within their parks from outside the parks.  So you could teleport from Small World to Space Mountain, but not from the parking lot to Big Thunder Mountain.  Furthermore, laws might be passed to limit teleportation liabilities.  Right now, if someone falls in a building, the building’s owner might be sued.  What would happen, though, if you teleported to the top of the Castle in the Magic Kingdom and wound up falling to the bottom?  Would your family be able to sue Disney for not limiting teleportation enough?  Or would lawsuit-shy executives make sure that there were only preset teleportation points for people to use?

Instant teleportation would also be a huge pain for celebrities. Paparazzi wouldn’t need to stalk outside of a celebrity’s compound, but could teleport right inside to take photos of them in their most private moments. Furthermore, overenthusiastic fans would be able to see their favorite celebrities at any moment. If the hotel room that a popular band was staying in was leaked on social media, it would suddenly become packed with screaming teenagers.  For that matter, non-celebrities might find themselves beset by intruders.  Does that guy you’ve told you don’t want to see anymore keep knocking on your door?  Bad news, he can now teleport through it.  Does that ex-girlfriend not get the hint that you’re over?  Unfortunately, she can teleport herself into your bedroom any time she wants to.

Overall Reaction

Given the downsides – both to entrenched businesses and to people/businesses wishing to avoid criminal activities, the development of teleportation capabilities would likely be strictly regulated if not banned outright.  However, technology bans never seem to last in the long run.  Eventually, the technology to teleport would leak out.  For better or worse, teleportation would get out and – like with any other technology – society would need to adapt.  Children would grow up knowing only a world with teleportation.  Elders would remember the "good old days" before people could teleport, but would eventually be replaced in positions of power by people who accepted teleportation as a fact of life.  Before long, mankind wouldn’t be able to conceive of not teleporting the same way that people nowadays can’t imagine not being able to drive where they want to go.

NOTE: The "Teleporter" image above is by qubodup and is available via OpenClipArt.org.

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