The annual trader's fair at Sutter's Fort in Midtown is a treat for photographers. Lots of adults and kids in period costume, running around looking like they belong in the time capsule-like fort. It's on the whole weekend and I visited first thing today armed with my 'old school' Olympus OM4Ti, an SLR without the 'D' in front of it. Unfortunately, I forgot one important thing about film - it tends to run out, a thing my 16GB micro-SD chip never will! Luckily I had my trusty iPhone and took a couple of snaps to whet your appetite - it's fun and educational so take your kids too. While we're talking snaps, I should mention that Action Camera (one of Sacramento's few remainig camera sh

Big Diesel Visits CARB 11th Street between H and I was closed today while a display from the Diesel Technology Forum demonstrated new diesel technology. Several impressively large engines were on display, including this dazzling tomato red one.   According to their website, California has 530,000 diesel vehicles out of a total registered population of 19,315,619. Annually, 3.8 billion gallons of diesel fuel is sold, the 2nd highest in the U.S. In 2000, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted the Diesel Risk Reduction Plan to reduce particulate matter emissions - 75 percent from diesel vehicles and engines by 2010, and 85 percent by 2020 (from year 2000 baselines). Since 2001,

A report by Symantec (the somewhat self-interested PC Security company) has produced a report that lists the top ten places in the US to be scammed online. The nation's capital, Washington DC, is top of the cybercrime rankings, mainly due to its high saturation of smartphone usage (second in the country), but the large number of politicos, lobbyists and [all their money] must be a significant factor too. It’s not all bad news, the study helpfully tells us that the top rated cities for risk of cybercrime are not necessarily the top rated cities for actual infection. Risk elements that make this list are smartphone usage, widespread Wi-Fi hotspots and heavy Internet throughput which is

With a beautiful late winter Saturday afternoon to fill, I decided to take my two boys out for a walk by the river.  I like the area by Sutters' Landing at 28th/B for it's accessibility and the proximity of the skateboard/bocce/dog parks. The water level is very low and all the tracks and trails were available for wandering. I took along my two cameras - the new, a Nikon D90 and the old, an Olympus OM4Ti with a 24mm lens. I haven't used the Olympus in a while and wanted to do a comparison by taking some side-by-side images. Also to check if the light seals were still intact  - seven years of storage can make them rot. It was perfect weather for a stroll, the ground was dry, the sun not t

A lot has happened for me in the last 20 years - I got married, moved (from England) to Sacramento, had three (count-em!) kids and changed jobs. Enough to make my life interesting and full. One thing I left behind in 'Blighty' was my love of acting. Before coming to America, I had trod the boards in various roles, none of them remunerative sadly but all of them stimulating and fun. Fast Forward 20 years and things seem to have settled down a little. The kids are all at school, my commute is three miles each way and my circle of acquaintances has never been larger. Time then, to branch out again..... My two oldest children have been in several 'pay to play' theatrical shows, mainly at the