Google sent me mail ... SNAIL mail

Sitting in my mailbox --- my physical mailbox, you know, the one out by the road --- when I arrived home this afternoon was an attractive envelope emblazoned in the upper right corner with the Google logo in full colour. Within was a piece of paper, actual pressed moist fibres derived from cellulose pulp, upon which was black and coloured ink formed into shapes resembling the symbols of the Latin alphabet and grouped into white space separated chunks that would result in successful pattern matches in most English language dictionaries. A Letter. What and why was Google sending me?

JUNK MAIL.

I signed up for AdSense a while back and had added Google Ads to the sidebars of this site. As a result of signing up I've been receiving occasional emails telling me about AdWords and that I can buy these things to drive extra traffic to my site. Then I received an email telling me that I can have $75 of free AdWords. A little taster if you will. I ignored this. A little while later --- your chance for $75 free AdWords is coming to an end. Ignore.

Now I have a letter from Google telling me about my $75 worth of free AdWords.

This is a very physical reminder that Google is a business and advertising is their business and they want to sell. At the moment I don't mind the occasional attention as it is easy and low cost to ignore. But, if I start getting telephone calls to tell me about $75 worth of free AdWords just as I am sitting down to eat dinner, I might have to switch to Microsoft. Then again, maybe I have been receiving these phone calls. I have Caller ID enabled on my phone line and if it indicates overseas or private or a number I don't know then I don't pick up. Maybe they really, really, really want my business.

What photo gear would you buy for $10,000?

OK, this is a pleasant distraction from actually doing something, but, let's go. I have some experience with Canon gear so my selections are made from their products. My choices are made based on what I shoot ... or more exactly ... what I don't shoot. I don't photograph people, or, more specifically, I don't photograph people who are conscious of my photographing them. It is a reflection of my introverted nature. 'Malu' is the word in Indonesian.

That leaves a lot that I do photograph: landscapes, events, people from a distance, street scapes, nature, low light. If I were out in the field I'd like to be able to go from wide to telephoto as quick as possible. I've not yet entered the world of video but with the current crop of prosumer cameras, that is an option as well.

Based on these two paragraphs, experienced photographers might know where I am heading with my selections. The prices quoted below are taken from www.camerasdirect.com.au.

• Canon 5D Mark II - $2,947: full frame sensor for landscapes and good performance at high ISO settings for low light performance. $7,053 left.
• Canon EOS 7D - $1997: Another body. This one for sporting events and nature. Eight frames per second shooting. An APS-C sensor gives a 1.6x throw to attached lenses getting a bit closer to the action. Having a second body removes the need to constantly swap lenses. $5,056 left.
• Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8L - $1,689: With half the money gone the lenses will need to be zooms. The first is the 24-70 f2.8L for the 5D Mark II. On the 5D this lens gives the full 24mm at the wide end and the f2.8 should give good low light performance for nightscapes. The combination of this lens and the 5D Mk II also provides a nice combination for capturing 'atmosphere' at sporting events. $3,367 left.
• Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8L IS - $2133: A lens for the 7D. F2.8 means fast, Image stabilised makes hand holding at the longer end is possible. On the 7D the effective length of this lens is 112-320mm. Perfect for sporting and nature closeups. $1,234 left.

What to do with that last $1,234. I'd probably get the 50f1.4 at $484 (the 50f1.2L is too expensive at $1,867), a flash, and other accessories.

Another option would be to swap the 5D Mk II and 7D for a single Canon 1D Mk IV at $6,250. I'd loose the full frame sensor of the 5D Mk II and the extra throw of the 7D for the in-between APS-H sensor. I'd also loose the benefit of two bodies instead adding the need to change lenses on the fly. But, 10fps for 120 shot bursts, to quote Homer, aarrghhhhhhh.

Review: History Speaks - The Four Princes of the Warring States

This is my first review of one of Tsai Chih Chung's comics about Chinese history/philosophy. My last post mentioned that I have 15 of his books that I want to get through. The first book I have read is History Speaks. Before I get into the summary of the book's content, here is the description of Tsai Chih Chung from the back cover:

TSAI CHIH CHUNG - First came to prominence through his award winning animated movies and his immensely popular daily comic strips. When he turned his hand to the classics after a prolonged period of self-education, they were acclaimed by critics and shot to the top of the bestsellers lists.

History Speaks retells the major aspects of the lives of four princes from the Warring States period of Chinese history (475--221 BCE). The four princes covered are Lord Mengchang of Qi, Lord Pingyuan of Zhao, Lord Xinling of Wei, and Lord Chunshen of Chu. Before the princes are described, the life of historian Sima Qian is introduced. It was Sima Qian who documented 2000 years of Chinese history in his Historian's Records. This was completed a little more than 100 years after the Warring States period ended. It is, presumably, from Sima Qian's record that Tsai Chih Chung based his retelling.

The history described is, for me, of inherent interest. However, the telling of the story is also interspersed with snippets of wisdom on how to deal with people and situations that are seemingly relevant even today. These snippets are usually conveyed through the mechanism of a retainer advising a prince on how to act.

One such example occurs after Lord Xinling of Wei has ridden to the aid of Zhao to beat back the invading Qin. Xinling had to usurp power over the Wei army in order to support Zhao as the King of Wei feared subsequent reprisal from Qin. After successfully repelling the Qin, the King of Zhao offered Xinling a fiefdom of five cities within Zhao. Lord Xinling felt quite chuffed about this but was then advised by a retainer that some things shouldn't be forgotten and some things should be forgotten. Other people's kindness to one shouldn't be forgotten whereas one's kindness to others should be forgotten. The retainer reminded Xinling that he deceived Wei in order to save Zhao and his achievement should not be celebrated or rewarded.

It is said in the book that the four princes were constantly competing with each other to attract the best retainers. This attitude is somewhat evident today in the technology industry with various companies (eg, Google, FogCreek) going above and beyond to get the best talent. Joel Spolsky has even written a book on the topic: Smart and Gets Things Done: Joel Spolsky's Concise Guide to Finding the Best Technical Talent. Each of the four princes was said to have been their abilities to hire good and talented people and to engender loyalty within those that were hired. Lord Mengchang, for example, would immediately send a gift to the household of the interviewees that he deemed worthy. When the interviewee returned home, the gift was waiting. Lord Xinling would wait on anyone he deemed worthy of respect, regardless of their status or age.

The book is interesting historically and morally. The illustrations, which I haven't mentioned, are clean, clear, and uncluttered. I can't make any claims as to the correctness of the content or the translation and there are some spelling/typography errors, but these concerns don't detract from the overall pleasure derived from reading this book.