Yesterday, I set out to revisit my building days with a DIY project. After finding my high school films, I felt compelled to utilize the video aspect of my Canon 5D MKII. It’s brilliant for capturing HD video, but if your lens doesn’t have image stabilization and your grip isn’t rock solid, it might look like you’re always shooting during an earthquake.

A while back, I stumbled upon Johnny Chung Lee’s tutorial on building a $14 steadycam, “The Poor Man’s Steadicam.”  A father/son trip to Home Depot and 20 minutes later, I had a steadycam that worked beautifully. I did come across an issue or two.

If you ever plan to use your camera/camcorder off the steadycam, a quick release system is a necessity. For a solid and reliable quick release, look no further than the Manfrotto 323 RC2 System. At just under $30, it defeats the claim of a steadycam under $20, but I’d gladly pay extra to know my camera is safe, sitting on a reliable system. The standard tripod thread size is 3/8″, but the 323 RC2 comes with a 1/4″ reducer bushing, making it compatible with Lee’s specs.

I’m happy with the steadycam for now, but I certainly see a few mods in the near future. Top on the list is rubber grips. Holding the steadycam for a minute leaves your hands smelling like galvanized steel for the rest of the day. And if you have any plans to shoot in cold weather, these pipes will freeze faster than a Jack Rabbit on a hot date.

This project has gotten me back into the building spirit and it was just what I needed to fill my free time away from the computer.

If I spend a third of my life sleeping, I spend another third programming. Most of the code I write is for an application or framework, but lately I find myself using code for everyday problem solving. In the last post, regarding the width of DT, I wrote a 3-line script to find sizes with 3:2 ratios, without decimals. Here’s the code:

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for (var w:uint= 576; w < 650; ++w) {
	if (w / 1.5 == int(w / 1.5)) trace(w, "x", w / 1.5);
}

Sure, it’s not the prettiest code, but it gets the job done—and in less than a minute. Without these three lines, I could have spent a good 15 minutes with the calculator widget.

Another scenario where code came in handy happened a month ago. I visited my sister, Lizzy, in Philly and we decided to play Scattegories. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the die to pick the letter for each round. Luckily, I had my laptop with me, so I wrote this snippet:

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trace("abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz".substr(int(Math.random() * 26), 1));

In less than a minute, we had a pseudo-random letter and a fun time. There are dozens of moments each day where code is the quick solution, but I don’t always think code-first. Of course, code isn’t always the fastest solution to all problems, but it certainly comes in handy. Next time you have an issue, try using code. Heck, you can even write a 1-line 8-ball script if you have trouble making decisions.

Ajaxload is a nifty tool for the Web 2.0 crowd. With a few simple steps, it will generate one of the ever-popular, animated loaders. As you can see from the menu below, there’s a whole slew of them. The bonus of Ajaxload is that you can specify the foreground and background colors, including transparent as an option.

via Ben Kutil »

I can’t believe I haven’t posted this free gem yet, especially considering summer’s end is near. smcFanControl is an oldie, but a lap-saving goodie. It lets you manually set the minimum RPM of your computer’s fans, in case your palms are frying and OS X doesn’t smell the burning flesh.

I love little accessories like this. It’s called Backpack, by Twelve South, and provides iMac and Cinema Display owners with a gravity-based shelf for keeping hard drives out of harm’s way. I think it’s a brilliant idea, especially the amount of ventilation it provides. The unfortunate part is the $30 price tag, which seems to be the minimum for Mac accessories. For me, I can make do with what I got.

via Jon MacDonald »