EPKPhoto's Tidbits http://blog.epkphoto.com The personal blog of Eric Kerby Fri, 18 Feb 2011 02:52:24 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Family web services http://blog.epkphoto.com/2011/02/17/family-web-services/ http://blog.epkphoto.com/2011/02/17/family-web-services/#comments Fri, 18 Feb 2011 02:52:24 +0000 EricKerby http://blog.epkphoto.com/?p=307 Over the past few years, I have been dabbling with different ways of offering various web services to help my family share content and stay in touch. I originally started with a so-so wiki that didn't work that well (mostly my fault). I then moved to Drupal where I intended to have a story and biography area, photo gallery, and discussion forum. The stories area did okay, but none of the other parts of the site caught on. That was probably good in the long run since I have had a love-hate relationship with Drupal in the past and wasn't up to spending tons of time to massage the interface.

Now, I have decided to install various open source web apps that have a focused goal and perform their narrow function well. Currently this includes Gallery v3 for sharing photos and videos, webtrees for compiling/sharing our family's geneology, and a MediaWiki install for various documentation, news, and stories/bios.

The biggest hurdle with implementing several sites is supporting some form of central login. It is hard enough to show family members how to use some of these sites, and would be hopeless if they had to manage different logins for each. I am currently using LDAP as the central authentication backend. This works okay with a Gallery plugin, but I'm having to work a bit to get LDAP working with MediaWiki. Webtrees doesn't have LDAP support currently, but it has been discussed as a desired feature.

]]> http://blog.epkphoto.com/2011/02/17/family-web-services/feed/ 2 Pork Chop and Zucchini Dinner http://blog.epkphoto.com/2010/10/06/pork-chop-and-zucchini-dinner/ http://blog.epkphoto.com/2010/10/06/pork-chop-and-zucchini-dinner/#comments Thu, 07 Oct 2010 01:52:01 +0000 EricKerby http://blog.epkphoto.com/?p=302 Yum, yum…had a delicious pork chop and zucchini dinner last night. The meal looked so good that we took some photos. Check out the photo gallery (preferably on a full stomach). The pork chop recipe came from Wegmans.

]]> http://blog.epkphoto.com/2010/10/06/pork-chop-and-zucchini-dinner/feed/ 0 Snow just the way I like it http://blog.epkphoto.com/2010/01/08/snow-just-the-way-i-like-it/ http://blog.epkphoto.com/2010/01/08/snow-just-the-way-i-like-it/#comments Sat, 09 Jan 2010 02:17:32 +0000 EricKerby http://blog.epkphoto.com/?p=286 We got a little bit of snow last night in northern Virginia…about an inch or so, which would be considered a dusting in many places farther north. The snow that came last night is just how I like it: enough to coat the ground, but not so much that the roads are trashed for a week. Here are a couple photos of the apartment complex and Sophie in the snow.

]]> http://blog.epkphoto.com/2010/01/08/snow-just-the-way-i-like-it/feed/ 2 Photos of Sophie, our new dog! http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/10/27/photos-of-sophie/ http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/10/27/photos-of-sophie/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:20:48 +0000 EricKerby http://blog.epkphoto.com/?p=280 SophieIn the beginning of October Lindsay and I welcomed a fun-loving new dog to our family. We visited the Fairfax County Animal Shelter and fell in love with Jindo mix whom we adopted and named Sophie. She's so photogenic that I'm taking this opportunity to revamp the photo gallery system on my website. She has quite the personality, which I'm sure you will see in the photos. Be sure to head over to the photo galleries and get to know our new dog Sophie (her Halloween costume is quite cute!).

]]> http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/10/27/photos-of-sophie/feed/ 3 Haircut…how often? http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/04/19/haircuthow-often/ http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/04/19/haircuthow-often/#comments Sun, 19 Apr 2009 06:02:26 +0000 EricKerby http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/04/19/haircuthow-often/ I just got a haircut that turned out pretty well. As usual, though, the barber commented on my thick hair and infrequency of haircuts. I have been telling myself that I need to get on a more regular haircut schedule that won't give the barber (and my friends) as much of a shock when I get more than half of my hair chopped off each time. So, the question is, how often? What is your haircut schedule?

]]> http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/04/19/haircuthow-often/feed/ 0 Thoughts while flying http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/02/23/thoughts-while-flying/ http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/02/23/thoughts-while-flying/#comments Tue, 24 Feb 2009 01:59:34 +0000 EricKerby http://blog.epkphoto.com/?p=276 I just arrived at Dulles airport outside of DC for a day trip to northern VA. While in the air over the late evening ground below, I was reminded how inefficiently we use light outdoors. A great deal of the illumination from parking lots, roads, houses, and businesses is partially directed upwards, never to serve its purpose of lighting up the ground. The waste is clearly seen with all the specular lights giving a show for jetsetters. The occasional parking lot or road does it right: the ground is visibly illuminated, but the source of the light is not visible from above. It seems to me that we could save a lot of energy by better directing all of a lamp's output downwards. Simple reflectors on top of lamps would handle this effectively. This would not only allow for lower output lamps, but less light pollution, fewer negative effects on wildlife, and much better stargazing! So, could someone get on this, please?

]]> http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/02/23/thoughts-while-flying/feed/ 2 Last Class at RIT http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/02/19/last-class-at-rit/ http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/02/19/last-class-at-rit/#comments Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:05:09 +0000 EricKerby http://blog.epkphoto.com/?p=274 Thus ends an era…I just got out of what is likely my last class at RIT. It has been a great run, and so many cool things lie ahead. Here's to hoping for a fulfilling career and long life ahead!

]]> http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/02/19/last-class-at-rit/feed/ 0 "Take Great Product Photos" http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/02/04/take-great-product-photos/ http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/02/04/take-great-product-photos/#comments Wed, 04 Feb 2009 05:34:04 +0000 EricKerby http://blog.epkphoto.com/?p=270 On Tuesday, February 3rd, I led a session on how to "Take Great Product Photos" in the Idea Factory at RIT.  The workshop was part of an Innovation Session — a series of sessions and workshops organized by one of my classes, Social Networks in Action.  The session went pretty well, and I got to meet several interesting entrepreneurs from the Rochester community.  My advice to the attendees mainly focused on composition and lighting techniques to easily improve their product photos.  Check out some photos and comments about the event on our class blog!

]]> http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/02/04/take-great-product-photos/feed/ 0 Quoted in Reporter http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/01/12/quoted-in-reporter/ http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/01/12/quoted-in-reporter/#comments Tue, 13 Jan 2009 04:21:21 +0000 EricKerby http://blog.epkphoto.com/?p=267 This past quarter, I worked with a group of students to organize the annual RIT School of Photo Arts and Sciences Holiday Auction.  I was one of three leaders in the group that solicited for donations, organized volunteers, and conducted the event.  It ended up being a great success and brought in around $7400 to be split among two student organizations and a local charity, the Rochester Community Darkroom.  RIT's college newspaper, Reporter, ran an article about the event.  I was quoted in it, so be sure to give the article a read.

]]> http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/01/12/quoted-in-reporter/feed/ 0 The (outstanding) Palm Pre http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/01/12/the-outstanding-palm-pre/ http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/01/12/the-outstanding-palm-pre/#comments Tue, 13 Jan 2009 02:23:41 +0000 EricKerby http://blog.epkphoto.com/?p=261 Palm PreFor those of you who haven't seen the news, Palm introduced a revolutionary new device and platform at CES on January 10th.  They call the device the Palm Pre, and the platform webOS.  This announcement is easily the most groundbreaking and exciting news that Palm has made since I have followed the company.  For those who don't know, I have been a Palm addict for the past 7 or so years.  I owned three different models in the Tungsten line, and enjoyed (and felt limited) using a Treo 700p for two years before I bought an iPhone 3G this past fall.  I never succumbed to owning a PocketPC or Windows Mobile device, but kept faithful to the true Palm OS.  This certainly was not easy as Palm faced hard times over the past few years.  Innovation at the company was stifled by mergers, reorganization, and promises of a brighter future.  Well, friends, that future has come.  The webOS looks like it is well worth the wait.  As an iPhone owner, I find myself drooling at the design of the new operating system.  Palm has always been the best at balancing openness with style and simplicity.  I really can't explain how cool and functional the new device looks.  I encourage you to check it out yourself by watching (or skimming) the Palm Pre launch video on Palm's website.  Now I just have to wait for the device to come to AT&T (Sprint is the launch partner…serves me right for switching).

]]> http://blog.epkphoto.com/2009/01/12/the-outstanding-palm-pre/feed/ 1 The Andrew Fund http://blog.epkphoto.com/2008/12/24/the-andrew-fund/ http://blog.epkphoto.com/2008/12/24/the-andrew-fund/#comments Wed, 24 Dec 2008 20:27:24 +0000 EricKerby http://blog.epkphoto.com/?p=258 Christmas Eve has arrived, and I find myself in Pennsylvania in the company of good friends and warm homes. I will be traveling to see my Grandma, parents, and family in a couple days. I wanted to take this time, though, to tell you about Andrew Metz. This 18-year-old family friend of ours has recently been diagnosed with a form of Leukemia just as he was entering basic training in the Air Force. Andrew now needs to find a bone marrow donor. YOU can help by reading Andrew Metz's story, donating to support his medical expenses and marrow donor registrations, and registering yourself for testing as a potential donor. I have created a website to tell Andrew's story where his family will be posting updates as the time passes. Check the Andrew Fund website regularly for more ways to help. Have a Merry Christmas, and pray for those who face tough times this holiday season.

]]> http://blog.epkphoto.com/2008/12/24/the-andrew-fund/feed/ 0 FiOS is moving in http://blog.epkphoto.com/2008/11/30/fios-is-moving-in/ http://blog.epkphoto.com/2008/11/30/fios-is-moving-in/#comments Sun, 30 Nov 2008 06:38:22 +0000 EricKerby http://blog.epkphoto.com/?p=248 Looks like my neighborhood back home is getting Verizon's FiOS service.  FiOS is Verizon's new fiber-optic, high-speed network that they are rolling out nationwide.  It is their way of seriously competing with the cable companies that offer bundle services.  Verizon will be able to pump tons of data through this system, and fortunately the cables they are installing will be able to support even more data in the future.  This is a good thing seeing as how the install process has damaged our yard.  Take a look at the picture of a worker digging in our yard for an example.  Even though we may be eligible to sign up for FiOS soon, I think my family will stick with Cox's services for the forseeable future.  We are somewhat wedded to their cable offerings as well as their business class internet (which hosts my website).

]]> http://blog.epkphoto.com/2008/11/30/fios-is-moving-in/feed/ 0 Our new puppy Lucy http://blog.epkphoto.com/2008/11/20/our-new-puppy-lucy/ http://blog.epkphoto.com/2008/11/20/our-new-puppy-lucy/#comments Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:17:15 +0000 EricKerby http://blog.epkphoto.com/?p=245 I have been enjoying the past week off from classes and away from the craziness of an RIT quarter as we near Thanksgiving.  What has been making this break fun in addition to traveling with my girlfriend is playing with my family's new puppy!  That's right, we have a new puppy…a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.  The little 9 week old is as cute as a button as you can see from her photo.  Her name is Lucy, and she came all the way from Missouri.  She has a lot of spunk, loves to follow us everywhere we go, and sleeps like a log after several minutes of play.  She has even shown a liking for tennis balls, even though they are about the size of her head.  I'll be sure to take many more photos and share them here.

Lucy with a tennis ball

]]> http://blog.epkphoto.com/2008/11/20/our-new-puppy-lucy/feed/ 0 San Antonio photos http://blog.epkphoto.com/2008/10/29/san-antonio-photos/ http://blog.epkphoto.com/2008/10/29/san-antonio-photos/#comments Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:55:01 +0000 EricKerby http://blog.epkphoto.com/?p=242 What better way to celebrate the snow that was falling today in Rochester than by posting some photos of nice and sunny San Antonio?  That's what I'm doing, so go check out the photos I took while travelling to this year's NCHC conference in San Antonio.  None of the photos are of the actual conference, but we did get a very good response from our presentations.  The lot of us presented on aspects of RIT's Honors Program including orientation, colloquium, communications strategy, and communications tools and technology.

]]> http://blog.epkphoto.com/2008/10/29/san-antonio-photos/feed/ 0 I Voted (do I get a sticker?) http://blog.epkphoto.com/2008/10/28/i-voted-do-i-get-a-sticker/ http://blog.epkphoto.com/2008/10/28/i-voted-do-i-get-a-sticker/#comments Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:47:31 +0000 EricKerby http://blog.epkphoto.com/?p=239 I made it back from San Antonio.  Rochester actually greeted me with somewhat decent weather for this time of year.  Unfortunately, it quickly degraded to the rainy mess we have here now.  Anyway, I just put my absentee ballot in for Virginia today.  It should make it back home well before the deadline of election day next week.  For those of you non-absentees, be sure to vote!  For the time being, look for some San Antonio photos to show up on the site soon.

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