On Sunday I went on a run down to the big city park near our house. On the way back I was coming up to a tall berm and bridge over a canal, and approaching it I saw a kid with a dog stopped on the other trail on the other side, looking at the spot where I was going. I heard something loud - like a bark/howl but definitely not a dog.

There’s a stand of cottonwoods (generating all manner of fluff this time of year) above the intersection of the three trails that come together just west of the bridge.  Sitting under the tree was a big red fox, one of the largest I’ve seen in Fort Collins (and I’ve seen quite a few). He/she was looking at the kid with the dog, letting out the occasional yowl. The fox turned when I was approaching and walked casually to the bridge, then sat down in front of it and yowled at me, watching me as I walked up slowly.

I’d never been that close to a fox, maybe 30 feet away. I wish I’d had my digital SLR! He/she was gorgeous and irritated. But I needed to get across the bridge so I kept going up the hill pretty slowly. Eventually the fox got the idea and headed off at a casual trot along the canal trail, never running.

I crossed the bridge and headed east up toward the street and saw the fox eventually disappear into the tall grass. He/she didn’t seem too upset at being scooted off the trail.

We just watched Battlestar Galactica’s ‘mid-season finale’ on the Tivo - oh my God, is it really true that we have to wait another 7 months to find out what happens? I think ‘Revelations’ is a misnomer! I really love this show, it is brilliantly written and executed, but this season is by far the darkest yet. Waiting impatiently until fall for the prequel movie.

This is great - but it’s scary how much this reminds me of some of my clients…

http://youtube.com/watch?v=S8scuDaPM7A

I’ve been looking for a camera backpack for a couple of months now, and I’ve looked at a lot of websites and reviews. I saw the Flipside at a local store about a month ago and kind of liked it, but since I’m going on a 3-day field workshop soon I needed to just get something. So today I took my camera gear to the store and tried out a few bags.

I was thinking I might want a bag for everything - my Olympus Evolt E-510, three lenses (one is a 600mm equivalent monster), filters, little odds and ends, my 17″ laptop and power supply and tripod. But this proved to be unfeasible - the bag I really liked online, the LowePro Compurover AW, was a great bag but heavy and just too much for me as a fairly casual nature-focused photographer. I needed something smaller.

My gear (not the computer, but everything else) fit easily into the Flipside 300. And it was comfy to wear with a chest strap and removable waist belt. Here are the interior and exterior views.

Flipside 300 Exterior

Flipside 300 Interior

Flipside 300 with Tripod

An important point was the capability of carrying a 23″ tripod. A lot of the bags I looked at didn’t have any straps or any other point of connection. The Flipside has a tripod pocket at the bottom that tucks away when not in use, but supports (along with a buckle and strap) my tripod very solidly. When I’m wearing the pack, it doesn’t move around at all. Although since it’s on the very back it does stick out quite a bit.

There’s a mesh pocket for a waterbottle on one side and a pocket for small items like memory cards on the other. Inside, besides the adjustable partitions, there’s a large zipped pocket for a manual or other flat items, and a zipped compartment at the top for a cell phone, etc.

One thing I like - the camera section opens from the back of the pack, not the front. So when you have to get your stuff out the part that goes against your back is up, not on the ground. However, when the tripod’s attached I’m not sure how you’d actually lay it on the ground… I’ll have a lot more experience with this bag in a week, after my trip, and will share more details then.

dagasg

This is great, but is quite the timesuck - Cubescape.

A beautiful set of photos of a not-so-beautiful subject - disasters at sea.

An inspiring look at some really cool pixel-based designs.

Web design rap - and he knows his stuff too.