ultrasupergenius’ journal

So, fellow flickr geeks… that day has finally arrived. Flickr is selling you prints of your own photos. How does it feel? I feel sorta violated. Maybe that is not the best way to describe it. I feel like I have been purposefully decieved. Close to a year of using their service with the understanding that they are not out to make a quick buck off of me - and I have established a great deal of brand loyalty in response. Now, after that sense of loyalty and trust has been established, the truth comes out - and it is totally different from the paradigm on which that loyalty is based. 180 degrees. They do want to make a quick buck off of me, and off of every other flickrite based in the United States (presumably to be launched worldwide sometime in the near future). Then again, I have found myself thinking “It would be pretty darn convenient if I could order prints straight from…”

So how is Flickr any different from the other online photo suppliers (ofoto, shutterfly, winkflash, snapfish) who offer online storage of photos, personal accounts, and claims of a sense of ‘community’? I have to admit that they came up with some pretty neat options to make a quick buck… Like turning your photos into official US Postage stamps, that can be used on letters and stuff (although a bit pricey at $17 for a sheet of 20 $0.37 stamps). They also offer the opportunity to pick your photos up in one hour at a local Target. Let me say that again… I can log into flickr, send out some pics to get printed, and pick them up in one hour from the Target store down the road. That is pretty darn groovy. Apparently you can do so for up to 8×10″ prints (which are reasonably priced at $2.99). It is more expensive for this option (mailed 4×6″ prints are $0.15 each, Target prints are $0.20 each… mailed 8×10 $1.99, Target 8×10″ $2.99), and I am really not sure of the standard of quality that will be available from the local Target… and I will stay unsure until lunchtime. That is when I am going to pick up some test prints. Ugg. I feel sorta violated.

Okay - here is the dillio. I placed my order. I got cahrged. I got an error, and I have no idea if the order went through. Here is my letter to Flickr:

An open letter to Flickr:
Hey - I just spent an hour of my morning loading photos into my cart, and proceeding through the multiple checkout windows, and at the final submit got this message:

Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server error ‘80040e2f’

Cannot insert duplicate key row in object ‘FreePrints’ with unique index ‘IX_Username’.

/utility/dbConn.asp, line 93

What a waste of my time. I realize that this is a new service - and I wish you the best of luck with it… but man did you screw me over this morning. Now when I try to go to my cart, it is empty. You have charged my card… I don’t know if the order went through. I don’t know if I should waste more time going to Target to pick up prints that have been ordered, have been paid for, but may or may not have been sent there. What a freaking waste of time. Please don’t waste my (or other flickrites) time like that. I would like to know what is going on with my order. I’d give you a confirmation code or order number or something like that - but like I said, the above error is all I got. My account is under the name ‘ultrasupergenius’. Please let me know what is going on with my order.

Thanks,

David (ultrasupergenius)

Ugg ugg ugg.

GlassBlowing_Oct23 (70)

Originally uploaded by ultrasupergenius.

On Sunday, Sarah and I went back out to the Glassworks Gallery in Sperryville, VA and took our second glassblowing class. This time around was even more fun than the last… and more productive. We each went BIG with out pieces. Really big. We made three pieces each. Sarah made two Vases, and a bowl, as did I.
There is something quite amazing about working and shaping a blob of molten glass. I can’t even describe it. It is technical in many repects, and there are physical aspects that are quite difficult to master - but more than anything else there is this haphazard ‘go with the flow and see what the piece wants to become’ aspect that makes the process magical. I could see a lot more in the glass this time as compared to last time. The changes in color and consistency were far more obvious… And yet I am not at a point where I instinctively know what to do when I notice those changes. More time. More pieces.
I can’t wait to get the pieces in my hands… they are going to be shipped out today, and will probably arrive on Wednesday, maybe Thursday. I will post pics when they get here.

Blog Entry Based on this Article…

I know very little about the source of this article (swissinfo.org), but assuming that the basic facts are right - I am really upset about what we [The U.S.] are doing. I knew that this trial was bound to be a show, with little or no chance of it being anything more than a carefully orchestrated media circus meant to support our actions in Iraq… I never guessed that we would violate international law in order to ensure that the circus went in our favor.

The person being interviewed is supposedly Marc Henzelin (MH), who teaches at the Centre for International Law at Geneva University - and was asked by Mrs. Hussein to defend her husband at the special tribunal. He apparently refused.

M.H.: The trial of Saddam might provide wonderful material for a US television series with a lawyer and a prosecutor crossing swords. But this has got nothing to do with a fair trial.

S.Z.: Why not?

M.H.: Because it is not a regular court deliberating the case. Special tribunals are completely against international law.

S.Z.: In what way?

M.H.: In light of the Geneva and the Hague Conventions [on international law for humanitarian concern and the protection of cultural property in armed conflicts] this court is clearly illegal. Occupying powers have no right to change the legal system of a country. This is precisely what the US has done.

What’s more, the judges were not elected but appointed by the occupying powers. They flew in a nephew of Mr Chalabi [Salem Chalabi’s uncle Ahmed led the foremost Iraqi opposition movement, the US-backed Iraqi National Congress]. He was a lawyer in London specialising in commercial law. Later he was appointed president of the Iraqi special tribunal.

If anyone has any information that would confirm or deny the allegations above - I would love to hear them. Especially if you can deny them. I really want to believe that this is not true. I really want to understand why I have not been hearing about it in the U.S. Mainstream Media…

This past weekend, Sarah took me out to the Oldway Art Center in Sperrryville, Virginia to learn how to blow glass… It was so much fun. The class consisted of just the two of us and the master glass blower - Eric. Below is a couple of photos and some captions, and I mean to come back and blog some more about the whole experience really soon… as well as post some more photos.

This is Sperry, the Turtle that was trying to cross the highway on the way to the Art Center… We found him a great home a safe distance from the roads.

This is me using the Jacks on my first piece, making a Jackline. Eric dubbed my shot glass a triple shot glass. I think it has become a scotch glass…

This is Sarah, examining her second piece, a beautiful vase. It turned out amazing.

This is the collection of pieces that we made. From the left: My triple shot glass (Scotch Glass), My Green Speckled Decanter, Sarah’s Red Vase, and Sarah’s perfectly round and straight shot glass (which she claims is a candle holder).

1011011 Woohoo!

Originally uploaded by ultrasupergenius.

My blue jetta is a trooper. It has gone cross country coast to coast a couple of times… I lived out of the car for several months in Delaware… And has been the transportation method getting me to countless adventures.
The Jetta hit a milestone the other evening - it flipped over to 101101 miles! Pretty cool number. I actually missed the celebration for 100,000 - and a couple of other possible milestones, but this anagram mileage is even cooler. Way to go Jetta!