West Michigan
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 4.08.08
The young adult group at church had a retreat, of sorts, this past weekend on the west coast of Michigan. We got to stay in some great little cottages, hang out at the beach, and stay up late. I even took pictures of the stars over the water! Music, food, games, Bible study, lots of fun.
And may I say? Western Michigan is lovely. Really lovely. Also? I love a rocky coast line. Even if it’s man made, it makes for great rock hopping. A small group of us ventured out to one of the concrete platforms, across the large stones piled along the way. Hilariously, I’d forgotten sunscreen, and spent the last day on the beach in a hooded long sleeve shirt and rolled up jeans. Of course I would have worn my board shorts to the beach, but lets face it, I had boots, not sandals, so jeans seemed to be the only sensible option as I trekked too the beach. I was a fashion travesty, I tell you, but it could have been so much worse! Hopefully next time I’ll remember that beaches require certain items, such as protection from UV (I can burn in under 30 minutes; yes, I’m that Irish) and proper shoe wear (am I to be blamed that I packed for a forest hike? There were plenty of trees around).
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the Green Tea Diary
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 1.08.08As you may know, my cousin Sarah Wilson is moving to South Korea for a year! To document some of her travels, and keep friends and family up to date, she’s starting a blog over on GreenTeaDiary.com.
I’m working on keeping the backend running smoothly, so let me know if you encounter any trouble with the site.
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Ring Light
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 26.07.08
Sometimes a ring light is used in photography to give a distinct look to the eyes of a model, and the shadows behind them… they can also be slightly on the expensive side. My first reaction, especially after finding instructions for hacking camping lights; wouldn’t making one myself be cheaper? I’d even mix different colour temperatures to make an assembly that could be adjusted to match other light sources.
After shopping around a bit on eBay, I found some super bright lights (over 100,000mcd); both cool white (7000k) and warm white (3000k). Some more purchases from the local RadioShack, and I was set to go. I thought.
Turns out, mcd is measured at the centre of the lamp’s beam. When the lamp has a 10 to 12 degree spread, it results in bright light in the centre, and nothing else. A wide-angle LED lamp, with similar mcd rating, would actually output far more light. Since I was stuck with narrow beam lamps, I gave up on mixing colour temperatures, and focused on just producing enough light to take a picture at normal speeds (the pictures taken here were around 400iso). In all, I used about 80 lamps (40 of each colour temperature) in a ring assembly set on perfboard painstakingly shaped with a knife (something corroded the blade within minutes… I fear for what vapours I’ve been breathing) and Dremel tool (which, I’m sure, has now coated my lungs with caustic dust!).
I carved out holes in a Tupperware bowl and lid, and used a piece of florescent light paneling to diffuse the light (it wasn’t enough, so I added some diffused contact paper as well). With some industrial Velcro for mounting the pieces, and an old pair of headphones for the modular battery pack cabling, it was finally done!
The good news is, it turned out ok. Not great, but ok. The bad news is… it probably would have been cheaper to buy one new. Especially after all the learning experiences (exactly how mcd is measured), my mistakes (two or three plastic containers), and the less than ideal light quality (LED’s, even warm white, do not produce very balanced wavelengths).
Anyway, learn from my mistakes! There are better ways to make a ring light, and unless you have a good source of super bright lamps with wider viewing angles, I’d recommend trying something with flash bulbs! Perhaps like this…? Maybe next year… 
And yes, those stylish glasses are my safety goggles… I may do crazy stuff with my Dremel tool, but I’m not a complete idiot. Except for that one time when I carved slate, and covered my bathroom in stone mud… and that other time when… well, those are other stories, for another time.
Leave it to John…even his safety glasses are pimp.
Your blog is really excellent. It inspires the readers who has that great desire to lead a better and happier life. Thanks for sharing this information and hope to read more from you.
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Dallas, Texas
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 13.07.08I’ll be honest – I didn’t see this coming, but here I am. In Texas. At least for the weekend. And yes, it’s bloody hot.
Renewing Your Passion is a conference by Gospel for Asia, a great missions and humanitarian organisation operating primarily in India. They focus on supporting local ministries in other countries, instead of sending americans over to “convert people.” It’s both culturally sensitive, and fiscally responsible – something a lot of mission agencies seem to miss from time to time. They focus on working with the lower caste; providing wells in communities without fresh water (Jesus Wells), caring for orphans (saving thousands of lives), and more. Truly amazing.
The conference is, to put it nicely, deeply challenging. As I hear various speakers, things are being brought to the surface that I don’t really enjoy having to deal with. Do I really love God? Do I have anything that could be called a relationship with Him?
Jacob, having worked many years for his father-in-law Laban in return for the hand of Rachel in marriage (Genesis 29:20), was able to look at the toil and see it as nothing, in light of his love. I don’t often feel that way about my “religion” (as one never does!). It still feels like work. I know it should never be a religion, but a relationship, and I know there’s a choice here – follow God, or not; and I certainly can’t not follow Him! I know what He says in the Bible to be true (and that’s because of evidence – not in spite of it like so many claim), and He’s proven his faithfulness in the past. That doesn’t stop me from feeling particularly alone right now.
I know loving someone is hard work, as any successful married couple will tell you. But at some point, I feel like I’ve lost sight of who Christ is. Why do I want to love Him, as a person? And that’s a question I may be wrestling with for a while. In the meantime, I’m putting my faith in God (Philippians 1:6).
It’s been good. As hard as all this is, it’s good. The speakers have been incredible, the people super-friendly, and it’s been good to talk with others about what I’m going through. Though I don’t think I’ll be moving down to Texas to work for GfA, I’m certainly still questioning where God wants me. Looks like it’ll be Detroit for a little while longer.
As I head home, who knew that airports had huge animated psychedelic tunnels of light? Well, now we both know! I may not look forward to airport terminals and parking lots, but flying is so much fun. Especially take-off. I guess drug-inspired hallways just add to the roller coaster ride experience.
As always, more pictures on Flickr.com
So, you went back to Texas again?
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Happy 4th!
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 4.07.08
Amid a nearly-tearful goodbye, Mark and I left the SWAP mission camp early this morning so we could make it back to northern Indiana in time for supper with friends and family. I missed the 4th or July festivities last year (stuck in Kentucky working), so was looking forward to the traditional get together even more! I stayed in the car and used my radio remote for the camera trigger to avoid the annual good-grief-there’s-burning-ash-in-my-eyes, and it worked beautifully.
Incidentally, the last shot is my favourite… somehow reminds me of a sea anemone. More photos on Flickr.com.
By the time I get home to northern Detroit, I think it will have been through 6 states, nearly 1600 miles, and over 30 hours in the car.
I think I’d have to say that number five would be my favorite from this group of photos.
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Cumberland Gap
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 3.07.08While Sarah worked with the other SWAP hosts during the day, Mark and I drove down to Cumberland Gap, bringing our total number of states-driven-through-in-two-days to six (Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, and finally Tennesse).
It was pretty cool! Mark and I hiked a good deal, though I suspect it wasn’t as much as I think. I’m more out of shape than I had hoped, and Mark says I complained like a middle schooler. We went across the original Cumberland Gap, along some ridges, and to several outlooks, including the tri-state point marking the point where Kentucky, Verginia, and Tennessee all touch.
I also got a particularly venomous spider bite sometime while we were hiking. Not sure exactly how, or when, a spider tried to feast upon my left side, but it wasn’t pretty. I think I ran a low-grade fever for the following 24 hours, and it hurt for days.
Such good pictures! Looks almost as good on film as it did in real life.
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A much needed vacation
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 2.07.08I think this is the first bit of time off I’ve taken this year. Much needed, but somehow just exhausting! Starting out in east Michigan, I headed over to my brother Mark’s camp in western Michigan, and we drove down to our parents place in north central Indiana.
(about 6 hours)
Spent some time with friends and family, then started on our way to meet up with Sarah Wilson, working with SWAP down in Harlan, Kentucky. She’s moving to South Korea soon, and we really wanted to get together before she left.
(3.5 hours)
Stopped in Florence, Kentucky, to have lunch with Jeremy Laughlin. Mark got me hooked on Panera Bread’s chicken salad. Just delicious!
(well over 4 hours)
Made it to Harlan without major complications, but man… slightly mountainous roads get interesting real quick! I was not aware that east and west both go south… while staying perpendicular to each other. Only in Kentucky, right?
Once we arrived in Harlan, Mark and I met up with Sarah and stopped by the lake where some of the other SWAP staff were meeting up for supper. After the lake, Sarah thought we should visit an overlook in Virginia, insisting it was just across the border, not more than 20 minutes. 50 minutes later, she was still sure it was “just around the next bend.” We stopped for gas and took some pictures, and thankfully made it to the overlook shortly after. It was definitely worth it, with a lovely vista overlooking the hills and mountains of west Virginia, just as the sun was beginning to set.
On the way back to Harlan, we stopped by a lovely little creek. The rocky stream bed was eroded smooth, into hills and valleys that provided endless footholds and slimy pools of algae and water. After a couple pictures, we went rock hopping down the stream. Probably some of the slipperiest terrain I’ve navigated, but amazing fun.
We made it back to Harlan without split skulls, so that’s good, and then drove up the mountain about 20 minutes to the SWAP camp for the night. It’s located along the top of the ridge, and the roads are absolutely terrifying. Sadly, no picture can truly capture the sudden drop off on both sides of a narrow road, and certainly not at night! Suffice to say, I’m incredibly thankful I live in a less treacherous locale.
As always, more pictures can be found on Flickr.com.
You’re a very talented writer, and you did such a good job detailing this trip. Thanks again for visiting me! It still makes me feel special and loved that you did.
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The fair
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 27.06.08My sister Lisa has been doing clothing design and construction for a few years now, with a growing involvement in local theatre and not-so-local historical pieces. I try to make it home for major shows (that any family members are a part of), but sadly wasn’t able to this month. But the latest event has even made it to the Peru Tribune with a short paragraph and a photo. Lydia and Matthew did very well at the fair themselves, and needless to say, I kinda enjoy playing the proud older brother!
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Flickr API
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 27.06.08Several weeks ago I attempted to figure out the Flickr API, with the purpose of setting up a Textpattern plugin for easy photo blogging. 10 straight hours. No luck.
Thankfully Elihu Ihms was online, and graciously started to help. In under 30 minutes, he had a working prototype, and spent the rest of the night getting a polished solution finished. I stayed up and worked out the Textpattern integration, and by the end we had a pretty decent alpha release, albeit 6 in the morning. I kinda slept through church… and then through the late service… and then through lunch.
It’s an amalgam of PHP and JS, allowing a user to access photostreams, individual images, and much more. Eli’s site has more information on the Flickr API integration and the PHP / javascript code usage. It’s far more useful than just the Textpattern plugin!
Tonight I spent a few more hours working out updates and feature enhancements. The result? an7_flickr – a Textpattern admin extension that adds easy Flickr blogging. Enjoy!
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Server outage
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 1.06.08My websites are down, and have been for at least a day. Well, all of them except Iaian7.com, which is still hosted on the same server I had years before switching most of my hosting to HostNine.
Evidently transformers for the master servers in Texas blew up. Once building inspections are over, and equipment accounted for… hopefully things will be back up and running. This is rather unfortunate, but especially difficult as I depend on symboleffects.com for much of my email and demo reel promotion, including online resumes!
I know random disasters like explosions can never really be anticipated, but with months of constant email server problems, and now complete inaccessibility, it certainly raises the same old question – why am I still with HostNine?
I had a few lengthy problems with my host as well until I switched to midPhase. Those guys have a great service and pretty much no downtime (that I have experienced).
Check them out: midPhase.com
Oh and as fishy as it sounds, there unlimited plans really are unlimited. No account suspension or anything like that.
mediaboxAdvanced
Thanks for sharing such information.