Left: iPad 2. Right, the new iPad and its Retina display. Click to zoom.The new iPad vs iPad 2 screen comparison by The Verge.
A new iPad is out. It’s not iPad 3 nor iPad HD. Just iPad. Kind of how Apple used to name the new version of the iPod. And it’s “Resolutionary” – lame pun intended by Apple, not by me.
The biggest change, at least in my mind, is the new “Retina” display. Four times as many pixels in the same area, making each individual pixel so small that you cannot effectively see them anymore. That’s it! The pixel has died, you no longer need to worry about the number of pixels in your iPad; more pixels would be pointless since you cannot see them already!
What is Lytro? It’s a “light field camera”, a totally new kind of camera. Instead of recording the color and intensity of each pixel, it records the color, intensity, and direction of the rays of light.
What does this mean? It means that unlike the film and digital cameras you know, you don’t need to focus the light on the film/sensor in order to take a sharp photo. Instead, it captures the rays of light, and when you are viewing the photo, software processes the information to produced a final focused image. This means that you can focus the image after it was taken.
Very cool idea. Lytro just shipped their first consumer product and Amit and I went to the San Francisco Academy of Sciences to check it out.
The camera looks different from most cameras. It’s a stick, has no flash, and a small touchscreen. You need special software to view the images, since they aren’t normal image files. The software is Mac-only: a sign of the times.
Want to see an example photo we took? I thought so. Click on the preview below, let it load and then click on different parts of the photo to see it re-focus.
Impressed? Neither was I. The final image quality is similar to that of a crappy webcam. But don’t dismiss Lytro just yet. Remember that the first digital camera was created in 1975. It took many years for the technology to improve and replace film cameras. As technology progresses, I can imagine light field cameras take over current digital camera technology. This is just a glimpse into that future. We just aren’t there yet.
If you visited The MKX® today and was redirected to a hardcore porn website… you are welcome. However, I must admit this wasn’t me making a quick buck by getting into a new business venture (not yet, anyway). This was me getting hacked.
I wish I didn't have to use yet another "hacking photo" on a post.
It happened again, around 5 AM. I keep WordPress and all plugins up to date, and yet somehow a malicious attacker found a vulnerability on something I use in the site. I verified my logs and they didn’t gain access through FTP nor SSH, so a vulnerability it is.
Most PHP files were modified to include an extra line at the beginning that looks like this (I abridged):
<?php /**/ eval(base64_decode("aWYoZnVuY3R <--- lots and lots of gibberish like this ---> ZW5fNzCB9"));?>
When run in the server, this inserts code to redirect you to the naked ladies.
I assure you that The MKX® is clean… for now. The battle continues.
Ever wonder how I keep my skin so clear and smooth? Wonder no more, as I finally reveal my secret:
Mud baths.
This was at the Golden Haven Spa in Calistoga. Years ago the mud baths started out as simple hot tubs. But with the water shortages, the spa stopped replacing the water with clean water. Fast forward to 2012 and the water is now a really think mud.
Ha ha. That was a joke. Actually they bring moss from Canada and use the local thermal waters (they have geysers, remember?) to make a really hot mud. Really hot.
I’ve always wanted to see Old Faithful the geyser. Well, turns out there is a geyser in Calistoga, CA sneakily called Old Faithful of California. Of course the signs say “Old Faithful” in huge letters and “of California” in tiny subscript under it.
The science behind the magic.
The geyser erupts every 10 minutes or so. While it’s not super impressive and certainly smaller compared to my mental picture of the real Old Faithful, it is pretty cool. Makes me wish I had my own little personal geyser to use as a bidet.
Old Faithful standing in front of the geyser.
I risked my life to get close enough just so I could get you this video:
Honestly I wasn’t that big of a fan. Hell, I wasn’t a fan at all. But she always reminds me of this personal anecdote:
The year was 1993 and The Bodyguard (terrible movie, by the way) was all the rage. If you think “Moves Like Jagger” gets overplayed, then you definitely weren’t born in 1993 yet. It was right around some national holiday and the school was preparing one of those events. It was during classes but for some reason I was wandering around, maybe a bathroom break. Then I saw it, far away in the middle of the school yard under the scorching Monterrey sun: A lone microphone.
I walked towards it. Surely the powers to be wouldn’t leave a functional microphone alone and unattended , hooked up to the school’s PA system. I flicked the power switch to the ON position and heard the all too familiar pop of the amplified silence rushing through speakers all over the school building. It was live, and the temptation was too great to resist. I had to do it.
So I started singing: “And I will always looooooove yoooooooouuuuuuuuuuuu” in a beautiful baritone voice. The whole school shook for what felt like a long time, but was probably only the 3 seconds it took Pilar, the school principal, to cover the 50 meters between her office and the microphone. This was the beginning and the end of my singing career. Some kids ventured out of their classroom to see who the hell sounded so bad.
I don’t really remember what happened afterwards, but this is the strongest Whitney Houston related memory I have. I wonder if anyone is school remembers me doing that.
I joined my dad and my brother Moi for a crazy weekend in Vegas. For them it was a work thing. For me, not so much.
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas… which means that most of the material from the trip is not suitable for publication on The MKX®. But only because you asked nicely, I am posting three photos to give you but a taste of how the Kirsch boys party.
No, I'm not about to call this woman "mom". I simply call her "mamacita".Wow, look at those enormous boobs.... And the girls' aren't bad, either.Fine, so we all have our fetishes. Comments disabled.
This morning Rabbi Kaiman (Z”L) passed away at age 97. He was the Rabbi of the small Jewish community in Monterrey since 1944. He presided over my grandparents’ and parents’ weddings. My dad, my brothers and I were all circumcised by him, and studied for our Bar-Mitzvah with him in his house.
He was loved by his Jewish community and by the people of Monterrey in general. May he rest in peace.
