I'm here at the New School at 66W 12th listening to Jared Spool at an event hosted by The New York Web Producers. I was hoping to blog a few notes, but the N key on my SK is still sticky. Maybe some notes on the main blog.

- mike lee - new york and baltimore - curiouslee.com

I was just walking by the corner of Murray and Church, which is two blocks from Ground Zero, and did a massive double-take when I saw the store-front art installation titled A Cross-Section of the North American Continental Plate, 2000 by John Stoney.

What at first looked like some brown fuzz on top of a 5x5x2 foot plaster slab is actually an insanely-detailed miniature model of every major building or structure on the island.

Here's the text from the caption plate:

John Stoney created a full scale model of Manhattan in 2000, representing the fourteen-mile section of the North American continental plate that New York was built upon. The city itself is carved out of a one-inch plank of wood. This is the first public exhibition of Stoney's phenomenally intricate sculpture. The scale is 1 inch=1250 feet.

I can see all my familiar landmarks south of the Brooklyn Bridge including the FDR highway, South Street Seaport, AIG Headquarters at 70 Pine, and even the Statten Island Ferry dockhouse entrances.

Seeing the twin towers on this model on a spot the size of a dime puts into perspective how much of NYC was unscathed by the destruction.

I've got to come back with the Coolpix to get some real photos.

Here's press story on the installation.

P.S. Bah!!! The N key on my keyboard is startig to die....

- mike lee - new york and baltimore - curiouslee.com

Mike! Thanks for deciding to keep Hiptop Nation alive. The best part of it is the realtime tapestry, which will go global when the Sidekick is released in Europe and elsewhere. Your post feels like one that will be historically significant.

Speaking of history, I've checked a couple times at Archive.org's Wayback Machine to see if we are in there yet, but no returns so far. Just to make sure, I submitted your URL to them, and a crawler will come by to whack this site in about 24 hours. Now we'll be preserved for posterity, typos and all.

-- mike lee --

... is what I must be doing when I want a book that's full price at a bookstore, but buy it discounted on Amazon with my Sidekick. Pictured is Nan Goldin's I'll Be Your Mirror, which was $50 at a B&N store in meatspace. On Amazon, it was $38 and I didn't have to lug the tome home.

I did buy a cup of coffee on my way out.

- mike lee - new york and baltimore - curiouslee.com

Eric,

Good point. I will try the light first, then progressively hack into the extra camera. I'd love to create some unexpected effects as Farrell Eaves found when he accidentally waterlogged his Coolpix 990.

Though in the case of the SK camera, I would stop short at messing with the optics to avoid creating a short that could crash the Sidekick itself.

Please don't tell T-mobile customer service!

-- Mike --

Hey dav,

I totally forgot about IR--great idea. Let's try it! But no need to crank up the 'ol soldering iron. I searched "infrered LED flashlight" on Google and found one immediately for $17. Then all you have to do next is to take the camera apart and rip the blue filter off the sensor. I wonder if taking the filter off will give us another stop of exposure sensitivity. Prolly worth sacrificing the camera you have and buying another as they're only $29.

I'll report back too if I make any progress.

My photo teacher back in college told me a cool fact about IR photography: IR light reveals people who dye their hair...

-- mike lee --

On the subject of improving photo quality, I've really enjoyed using an Inova X5 Tactical LED flashlight to illuminate subjects for close-up photos in situations where there is little or no ambient light. I picked mine up at Sharper Image in New York City for $39.

In my previous HN posts, you'll see some examples of night shots indoors in a hotel room, a pub, and of a 9-11 memorial. I particularly like how the close-ups of my Powerbook came out.

So how is this toy any better than a regular bulb-type flashlight (besides looking cool)? It isn't really--the light output is actually a little less than comparably powered conventional flashlights. It's the long lasting and constantly regulated white light that's useful.

If you can't find the X5, most sporting goods stores stock a variety of LED lights for bike riding. See how my LED bike light looks in action.

While the X5 casts clean white light that is close to daylight in color balance, at night you'll be around spill light from very orange incandescent bulbs or greenish flourescents. So you'll sometimes get some strange color mixing. I've noticed that the little SK camera does some kind of primative white balancing, so May's tip to hold your breath before clicking is even more spot-on because you'll also get more vivid colors by waiting a few more seconds. You can see this white balancing in action in the first row of pictures of this panaorama. The first shot is balanced correctly for interior lighting, and there's blue spill light from the outside. The middle two frames are color compensated by the camera for daylight after waiting 5 - 15 seconds for the exposure to stabilize before shooting.

Some of my night shots have a deep ocean sub dive quality about them, which is kinda appropriate as the Sidekick kinda looks like a robot sub when closed.

OK, physics lesson over...

-- mike lee --

Ha! No one knows there are comfy cushioned seats right behind the bridge on the top deck of the NY Waterways commuter ferry! The lower deck is totally packed. It feels like my own charted boat.

- mike lee - new york and baltimore - curiouslee.com

Walking in from a gray and cold 2003, we're sipping milkshakes at Hometown Girl's old-fashioned soda fountain in the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore. This is how a cold drink can warm the spirit.

- mike lee - new york and baltimore - curiouslee.com

Remembering Countzero's post from yesterday, I too visited the robotic McDonut machine. I'm here at the Mega-McDonald's restaurant on 42nd Street in the theater district of Manhattan.

Just behind the storefront donutmaking display I found a sales counter is surrounded by big flat panel video screens flashing McDonald's ads and Disney imagery. Above the sales counter are high-ceilinged second and third level dining areas that are also decorated with numerous flat panels and projected video imagery.

There's even a hallway with a long counter sporting flat screen video/computer terminals. There's supposed to be Internet access, but tonight they're running a video loop on McDonald's history.

The goal of this location is to integrate the McDonald's brand and products with the 42nd Street experience, but the familiar corporate graphics and standard store fixtures are diminished amongst the Disney video, New York City-themed artwork, and Christmas decorations. It feels much more like an ESPN SportsZone.

I agree with the criticisms of some that McD's can generally improve their sagging bottom line by simply making better food and improving service.

- mike lee - new york and baltimore - curiouslee.com