Not Your Dad's Episcopal Church

There are a lot of reasons why this is not your father's Episcopal church, but here's one that should not spark controversy: the new rector in Foster City snapped a selfie (right) and posted it on his Facebook page.

In his first sermon the rector promised to welcome, listen, try to understand, and visit with everyone. That's a huge commitment. (Your humble blogger has trouble putting a Zoom call on the calendar.)

I'm cautiously hopeful.

The Moving Finger

Brooke D'Orsay has become a regular lead actress in Hallmark movies. Graduating from her ingénue role in the USA dramedy Royal Pains (2009-2016), she's funny, modern- but not bombshell-pretty, and smart.

That's why it was disappointing to see this experienced actress play a professional photographer who puts her finger in front of the lens while she snaps a photo in Hallmark's Beverly Hills Wedding.

Hallmark doesn't have the biggest budgets, but, like a photographer, they could have taken a few extra shots just in case.

"Frozen Flash of History"

Today is the 75th anniversary of Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, one of the most famous photographs of the 20th century. SF Chronicle:

It was 75 years ago this month that photographer Joe Rosenthal took one of the most iconic photos of the 20th century: six servicemen raising the American flag on Iwo Jima after the U.S. captured the island in one of the bloodiest, most famous battles of World War II.

After making that photograph, Rosenthal returned to San Francisco and was hired by The Chronicle.

In that single engagement the U.S. suffered 6,821 combat deaths (roughly equal to the total deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001) and 19,217 wounded. Japanese casualties were 18,000, with 99% fighting to their death.

The Pulitzer committee didn't wait for the year to finish, as was its custom, and awarded Joe Rosenthal the Pulitzer Prize in April, 1945.

Horns Over Hormuz

"Red devil horns" appeared over the Persian Gulf on December 26th.

The scientific explanation is that it's an unusual conjunction of a sunrise--the bottom quarter of the sun is truncated by the water--with a partial solar eclipse.

Only the superstitious believe that it's a harbinger of events that will unfold in that benighted part of the world. Everything will be fine.

Again, Happy New Year!

Moment Captured

Allie, the humpback whale, breaches with SF in the background (Susie Kelly photo)

In a photo reminiscent of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home a humpback whale breaches in San Francisco Bay.

Humpbacks have long pectoral fins and distinctive knobby heads and can grow to 52 feet long and weigh almost 80,000 pounds. The species, known for its acrobatic breaching, makes its north-south migration about this time every year, but unlike grays, which make a beeline to the arctic, a lot of them feed along the coast off San Francisco.

Humpbacks were first seen entering San Francisco Bay in significant numbers during the spring and summer of 2016. Since then, [Bill Keener of the Marine Mammal Center] said, 70 humpbacks have been identified feeding in the bay and many more congregate between April and November outside the Golden Gate, in Monterey and Bodega bays and around the Farallon Islands. This is the first one he has seen that isn’t healthy.

"Allie's" mottled skin shows that she's in poor health. Most humpbacks not only are in good condition, but their numbers are growing.

That's a hopeful sign that Star Trek's 23rd-century whale-extinct universe will stay fictional.

The Fakery Around Us

One of the latest tempests-in-a-Washington-teapot is about whether President Trump retweeted a doctored video of Nancy Pelosi slurring her words. Complicating the matter is that there are several Pelosi videos circulating the web, some "more fake" than others. Also, there is little consensus about where the line is crossed, for example, whether it includes editing out context or slowing the speed.

IMHO, this Trump-Pelosi contretemps is tiresome and will blow over soon.

The far greater issue is the advancement of "deep-fake" video technology.

Deepfakes first entered the public eye late 2017, when an anonymous Redditor under the name “deepfakes” began uploading videos of celebrities like Scarlett Johansson stitched onto the bodies of pornographic actors...

Celebrities are the easiest targets, with ample public imagery that can be used to train deepfake algorithms; it’s relatively easy to make a high-fidelity video of Donald Trump, for example, who appears on TV day and night and at all angles....

The concern is that a cleverly crafted deepfake of a public figure, perhaps imitating a grainy cell phone video so that it’s imperfections are overlooked, and timed for the right moment, could shape a lot of opinions.

You and I, dear reader, may take comfort in that we are not public figures; there are relatively few pictures and videos of us that can be used for nefarious purposes. But are we deluding ourselves?

Samsung's "deep fake" algorithms can create a video talking head from a single photograph. Below is a demonstration using a well-known portrait.

(Gif from sciencealert.com )

One silver lining is that the subjects of embarrassing revelations can plausibly claim that the "evidence" is made up. If some of it is untrustworthy--and we don't know which part--then all of it is. And maybe, just maybe, this will lead the viewing public to do more thinking for themselves.

Not Norwegian, Either

We can easily imagine how technologies like facial recognition can affect privacy adversely, especially if those tools are in the hands of the wrong people. Maybe we can take comfort that those technologies---at least in consumer versions---are far from perfect.

I've known "Timothy" for a long time, and "he" is definitely not Swedish.

Slowness is Good

I missed the video three months ago, but it's gotten a second life on the internet. A 12-foot alligator nicknamed "Humpback" walked across the footpath in the Circle B park in central Florida. Pedestrians watched from a distance that was still much too close for me.

If I ever do go to Florida for pleasure, I will be sure to bring someone in my party who is slower than I am.

Facing the Truth

Screenshot of how-old.net

No, I could not resist clicking on the link.

Microsoft's how-old.net guesses the subject's age and sex from a picture of one's face. The good news: photos taken at least three feet away guessed my age to be about ten years younger. The bad news: the up-close-and-personal, take-a-picture-now option guessed older.

That's why I keep my distance from people.

Nearer Than We Think

(Telegraph photo)

The defense against cellphone theft continues with the theftie:

the mobile security firm Lookout is adding a new tool for tracking down bad guys: the "theftie," a covert snapshot of someone trying to steal your phone.

It's part of an app that alerts you to suspicious behaviors on your phone, like a screen password mistyped three times. You get an email containing your phone's location and a highly unflattering look at the person holding your phone—be they Samaritan or supervillain.

If your humble observer stole a cellphone, his first move would be to stick a piece of colored tape over the camera(s) before pressing any buttons, and the theftie would be an un-incriminating black square. But that maneuver is supposedly beyond the capability of most villains.

To balance the scales, simple four-character password-protection of cellphones is too much trouble for most owners.

The takeover by moderately intelligent robots is nearer than we think. © 2014 Stephen Yuen

The Latest Real Estate Marketing Tool

Foster City overhead shot by Open Homes Photography

Drone aerial photography is the latest marketing tool in the real estate arsenal:

real estate photographers typically use small remote-control quadcopters (a helicopter with four rotors) with a camera - usually a GoPro - that takes stills and video.

Drone photographs are very affordable, especially when million-dollar properties are involved: Open Homes Photography "charges $225 for 1 to 10 still photos, $375 for a one- to two-minute video, or $525 for stills and videos combined."

The ointment on the fliers is the lack of rules [bold added].

The FAA lets hobbyists fly what it calls unmanned aerial systems for recreational purposes, but it bans their use for commercial purposes unless it grants an exception, which it has done only once.

"You need three things for a commercial operation: a certified aircraft, a licensed pilot and authorization from the FAA," says Les Dorr, a spokesman for the FAA.

Obviously, small drone operators meet none of the FAA's three requirements, but an NTSB administrative law judge has ruled "the FAA has no authority to impose or enforce regulations on small drones."

Look for abuses and accidents to occur as drones multiply. Confusion may lessen when the FAA promulgates rules in 2015, but the history of government regulation of rapidly changing industries does not augur well. © 2014 Stephen Yuen

Will Medical Insurance Pay for my Cellphone?

That's not such a far-fetched question, given the increased use of cellphone cameras and apps by patients.

The simple camera phone is epochal in that it puts the power—literally—into the hands of patients. The photographic possibilities extend far beyond the skin. In the pediatric gastroenterology clinic, many concerned parents bring in photos of their kids' dirty diapers, which all parties agree is vastly preferable to bringing in the real thing. Some neurologists recommend that parents make videos of children who have a known history of seizures to help the team fine-tune medication doses. In developmental and behavioral clinics, parents can show videos of their children at home demonstrating milestones like a mature pincer grasp or pulling to stand.

If the insurance company won't pay, perhaps one can still claim an itemized deduction for "medical equipment." The expense shouldn't be hard to corroborate, since the IRS will have copies of all your medical records and photos.... © 2013 Stephen Yuen

Finding Their Place

Migrant Mother, Library of Congress Collection

Today's CBS Sunday Morning runs a piece on how the Library of Congress is adapting to the digital age. Among the millions of documents it could have selected, CBS included the 1936 photo Migrant Mother, described by the Library as "Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age thirty-two. Nipomo, California."

42 years later, Florence Thompson was identified as the woman in the photo. Her difficult existence was captured in this Depression-era photo that depicted the face of "a 32-year-old parent who looks 50."

She and her family survived the Depression and the War and eventually settled in the farming community of Modesto. I was happy to hear how her story turned out. The Oklahoma migrants that John Steinbeck wrote about had very bleak prospects at the end of his Pulitzer-prize winning novel, but I like to think that they, too, managed to find their place in the golden land that was 20th-century California.

Florence Thompson (1903-1983) in 1979.

Out of the Bottle

What is this?

What it's not:

1) Prototype of Darth Vader's helmet;
2) Magnified photo of microscopic organism;
3) Bowl of cottage cheese after a kitchen accident.

Huge

Outside the sports-memorabilia store we saw a large man signing autographs. It was retired 49er Bubba Paris.

Bubba is remembered for his battles with weight (he famously failed to report to camp below 325 pounds as ordered by coach George Seifert) and cheerful oversized personality, but he’s mostly known as the starting left tackle who kept pass rushers from crushing Joe Montana.

Most of the younger shopping center crowd passed him by---Bubba’s heyday was over two decades ago--but the over-forties snapped away with their cellphones. Bubba admired the picture from our iPhone camera and said he was disappointed by his EVO.

Stating that the EVO camera (8MP resolution) should not be worse than the iPhone4 (5MP), the tech-savvy member of our family adjusted the white balance, auto-focus, and other controls on his camera. Now the EVO performed like a champ.

Bubba let us touch his ring from Super Bowl XXIII—the one where the Niners beat the Bengals on a last-minute touchdown. It was huge, as was the man wearing it.

Numbered Days

I’m not a serious photographer who likes to fiddle with F-stops and interchangeable lenses. As I’ve written before, however, my Canon A620 has become dated; I hardly use it because its features are barely superior to those of my cellphone and certainly don't merit lugging around an extra device.

A new Canon, the S95, just may have the right mix of performance, price, and features, especially low-light capability. According to tech writer David Pogue, the S95 “can take amazing, sharp pictures in low light without the flash.” I’m gagging a little over the $400 price, so I’ll wait until the price comes down a bit. But the A620’s days are numbered.

Pleasant Surprise

I’ve had bad luck (of the self-inflicted variety) with my Bluetooth earpieces. I bought my first one a few months before the hands-free cellphone law went into effect in 2008. A few months later it went through the wash cycle and came out dismembered and totally non-functional. My second earpiece avoided laundry malfunctions because it resided in my briefcase when not in use. After years of jostling and pounding it too passed from this mortal coil.

Despite a resolve to keep a close eye on the third Bluetooth, I forgot that the tiny device was buried deep in the pocket of my workout sweater. It went through the washing machine yesterday. I felt a sharp pang of chagrin as I saw the red LED flash from the bottom of the drum. The good news, of course, was that the LED was flashing at all.

"Takes a washing and keeps on flashing"--not the same ring

Modern electronics equipment is both complex and fragile. Even brief exposure to water can ruin a cellphone or camera. Timex’ ad slogan from the ‘60’s, “it takes a licking and keeps on ticking” seems such a quaint anachronism that even Timex has abandoned it.

I dried the earpiece, recharged the battery, and tested both transmission and reception. Unlike its 2008 ancestor, this Jawbone 2 worked like a champ. Pleasant surprises, though they be trivial, brighten my day. © 2010 Stephen Yuen

Admirable Aspiration

I've had bad luck with digital cameras, losing them, dropping them in water, jamming the aperture, etc. Four years ago I bought an inexpensive but reliable--top-rated according to Consumer Reports--Canon A620.  I liked that it had an optical viewfinder, used (four) AA batteries, and withstood being tossed around.  And if misfortune befell it, the financial wound would not have been deep. But unlike its predecessors it continues to plod on. 

The A620 was fine for taking snapshots, but its lack of low-light capability has become a nuisance.  Witness the photo taken from the Beach Park bridge in Foster City. 

I'm now shopping for a camera loaded with features, including light sensitivity. (I will likely upgrade my creaky iPhone 3G to the iPhone 4 this year; the i4 will become my point-and-shoot vehicle for most day-to-day uses.)

The purpose of this post, however, is not to bury the old Canon but to praise it.  Too many products in our house, garden, and garage have broken down prematurely.  The Canon was perfect within the bounds of its limitations, which is an admirable aspiration for animate and inanimate objects alike. 

Back to School Night at Staples

Along with other exasperated parents, I stood in line for nearly an hour at Staples to buy school supplies for the youngster. We couldn't have made our purchases in advance because most public school teachers only communicated their requirements on the first day of school. When a business is a monopoly, customer service brings up the rear.

But I didn't mind the wait. I had my iPhone (related post below).

But the iPhone's picture quality isn't great.

Local Warming

The downstairs rooms are cool on summer mornings even when the highs hit 100. This Saturday, however, it was already 78 degrees at 7 a.m., which doesn’t bode well for comfort today. I went outside to water the bushes on the side of the house, the area where the sprinkler hasn’t worked in years. Small wisps of steam rose from the fence. I left the hose on and went inside to get the insect spray.

Wasps had built another nest under the top board of the fence. So that’s why they were still buzzing around the house. The process had become routine: Spray, let sit, knock the nest down. Later, three prodigals returned, circling where their home had been. Tough luck, boys, your business isn’t welcome here.

It’s nearly noon, and I’m dripping. Time to take a shower then go to the shopping center to cool off.

I’ve had bad luck with digital cameras. The first, a Kodak, stopped working when the lens mechanism jammed. The second, a Canon, ended up on the bottom of Monterey Bay when my kayak overturned. The third, another Kodak, was left on the train about a month ago. (Given my culpability, “bad luck” is a charitable description.)

For the next purchase I’m leaning toward a Canon A620. First, given my “luck” and level of photographer’s skill, I shouldn’t spend more than two hundred fifty dollars; anything more would be a waste. Second, the A620 has an optical viewfinder, a feature that is becoming rare in even more expensive cameras; maybe it’s my aging eyes, but I find it difficult to frame an outdoor shot just using the LCD. Third, it has at least 6 megapixels---actually 7.1—and I need more MPs because, well, just because. (For humble weblogging, the experts say 3.2 MPs are perfectly fine.)

Comparison shopping at Best Buy, CompUSA, Fry’s, Brooks Camera, and Costco showed the lowest price to be at Costco online for about $215. (Adding the shipping charge—Costco online also charges sales tax---makes the indifference price at a bricks-and-mortar retailer to be around $230.) For some reason that I’m not quite sure, about--is this the right model? will someone put this camera on sale?---I’ve resisted making the purchase.

A military mom sent me an e-mail a couple of days ago. Sears will make up the difference for up to two years between the salary and benefits that a reservist employee would lose if he was called up to active duty. A commendable program and worthy of support. My decision is made: when I do buy the camera, I’ll pick it up at Sears though it’s a few dollars more.

[Update: we cooled off in the theater this afternoon. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men’s Chest is fun and energetic, with dazzling special effects. Johnny Depp hams it up by mashing together Han Solo. Errol Flynn, and Liberace. At two and a half hours, the movie is a good popcorn value.] © 2006 Stephen Yuen