Nov 02, 2002, 7:25am

Well, as mentioned earlier, Teddy has been found! Some kind soul found him wandering about a kilometer away from our house, near a school parking lot, called the SPCA, and they picked him up. We visited the shop this morning, and lo and behold, there he was.

He crossed an amazingly busy street to wind up at that school, we're so lucky he wasn't killed, it's not funny. It's good to have him back. He was so happy to see us at the kennel facilities.

in other news...

Going quasi pro in digital videography

Canon GL2 Amazing, scary GL2, ready for the big leagues.

After deciding for a month or two on this, I (read: WebMotif, the company I work for) dropped major dime on a thing I can't possibly call a toy (it's too expensive): a Canon GL2 3CCD DVcamcorder. Why did we get this DV camera?

Well, first, I have a job coming up where I will be doing some major promotional videos, with the help of a Vancouver Film School student / assistant, down south of the border. I needed to get this camera now to get familiar with it, and get ready for the job.

Second, I'm working on an upgrade to the CoffeeGeek site that will allow for something that is currently very hard to do - inclusion of video in the product reviews. Also, as I attend more news-related events (trade shows, seminars, shop openings, etc), having the option to videotape is key. All of this is going to be a large part of the CoffeeGeek site (depending on bandwidth usage) down the road.

Many, many moons ago (about 12 years), I was actually really proficient at film and video editing and such. I used to do it "old school" - splicing, editing on a film machine, you name it. I even got as deep as doing overlays, mild effects (fade ins, fade outs) and the like, all on film. Video at the time was pretty limited editing, but Carleton University had some (for the time), state of the art tools.

I also have a solid foundation in things like framing, conceptualization, visualization, story boarding (all craft components of film making), and technical knowledge, includling frame rates, aperture and shutter effects on filming, white balance, colour compensation, sharpness, and the like, mainly from my photography experience.

That stuff doesn't scare me, per se. What does is how complex this GL2 is. It's not a consumer camcorder. Some call it a prosumer model, but the title I like for it is 'documentary camera', in that it can produce very professional and film-like imaging (thanks to the 3CCDs, one for green, one for blue, one for red; also thanks to the massive CCDs inside, and modes like frame mode vs. normal (video) mode), yet it is very light weight in comparison to true "pro" cameras. At the moment, this camera overwhelms me, but I'm getting a handle on it.

For editing, we have two key tools - iMovie on the Mac (which completely rocks and is very easy to use), and Final Cut Pro, also on the Mac (which is a near-professional level editing program - many independent films that show up at major film festivals are cut together with FCP). I don't know how to use FCP yet... but my videographer assistant does.

I have a third reason for dropping some $4,300 on this beastie - I wanted something with legs. I didn't want to buy a $1000 consumer DVcam and be disapointed with it a year or two down the road. I wanted something that is a long term investment, and with the 20x optical zoom (and flourite lens), the 3 CCDs, and the wealth of super advanced and "pro" features, this camera definitely is an investment.

I'm definitely over the sticker shock - I have no regrets about buying the camera. Now I just have to get over my fear of the camera's super advanced and non-toy-like featureset.

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Mixelania

Photos from Algonquin Park
Photos from my trip to Algonquin Park this fall with my Mom and two brothers.

War Stories

Making Snow for the Fortress
One of the worst jobs I ever had... till I got out.

Webiffied

Tools I Use
The tools I use to build websites and lead a tech life.

iPod and iTunes Offline

iMark's iTunes and iPod isn't iPlaying anything right iNow.

Most Recent Songs

Fiddlers Green by The Tragically Hip

Around The Bend by Pearl Jam

Here With Me (Rollo's Chillin' With the Family Mix) by Dido

With arms open wide by Creed

truffle pigs by Matthew Good Band

In the News

Burundi and Beyond - NY Times
Great article by Peter Meehan - provided some background.

St. Petersburg Times
Side mention in an article about good machines

AP Story on Espresso
Background and information provided

NY Times - Grinders Article
Especially proud of this one - got the reporter to focus on grinders

Globe and Mail
LOL - showing bad reporting, dude says I'm an American-based site!

The Olympian, WA
Talks about my love for the El Sal Siberia Pacamara

Seattle Times - Clover
Interviewed for comments on the Clover brewer

NY Times - How it Works
Background and information for various espresso machines

Time Mag Article
Just a brief mention, article about roasting beans.

NY Times
Front page article about consumers getting into specialty coffee.

Washington Monthly
Quoted reference to what I wrote in an article at CoffeeGeek.

USA Today - Barista Jam
Intereviewed for my thoughts on what the epitome of espresso is.

WSJ Article
The Wall Street Journal has interviewed me 3 times. This is the first time my name got in a story.

Reuters Interview
Interview with Reuters, Jan 2 - this is the USA Today version.

My Other Stuff

CoffeeGeek
Launched Dec 22, 2001, this is THE online community for espresso and coffee fanatics.

CoffeeKid Website
It's all new, as of March, 2002. My personal coffee obsession site.

WebMotif Services
My company's site - needs an update!

Amazon WishList
Hey, if you feel the need to buy me something, check here!

Daily Visits

enGadget
Great gadget site run by the guy who used to do Gizmodo.

Google News
This is how I get my daily news fix.

DPReview Forums`
The most active forums for digital photography online today.

Daily Zen
Need my Daily Zen fix!

Jalopnik
A blog about car stuff. Vroom Vroom.

MoCo Loco
An industrial design blog. Very cool stuff.

Friends and Family Plan

Beata Blog
Beata's got her own blog! She updates it most days.

Riddla on Flickr
Matt Riddle's flickr account, updated regularly

Irdy Photos
Irdy, my friend from Jakharta, on Flickr

Recent Acquisitions

Canon EF 24-105 f4 L Lens
The best lens I've ever owned. Super sharp and quick.

Canon 5D
A full frame dSLR, with luscious colour reproduction.

Alzo Digital Lights
Some amazing florescent cold lights for product photography

Canon Xsi dSLR
Amazing technology and image quality in a tiny package.

Canon 40D
Latest prosumer camera from Canon - a much better upgrade than the 30D

Fujitsu P1610
Great 2.2lb computer that does most of my travel / writing needs

28mm f1.8 Lens
A great lens for closeup work and full picture photography

Foodsaver Advanced
Finally got the right tools for freezing green coffee.

Canon 50mm 1.4
Most amazing lens I've ever owned. Produces stellar photos.

Canon 10-22mm
Super wide angle (full frame fisheye) zoom for my Canon 20D