It is nearly halfway through 2011, so time for an update to the To Do List I set out in January.
Take more pictures (aka learn how to use my Canon 550d)
I have taken loads of photos with the new camera. The numbering of my photos are now in the 5000 range, but I’ve saved just more than 2000 photos this year. For the most part taken on the 550d with a few hundred from my Canon point and shoot. My photos are a mix of travel, family and other random stuff. A few months back I got a 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, which is amazing.
The HD video on the 550d has got me to take a lot more videos. DSLR video is a crazy complicated art, and I’m only just starting to make sense of all the bells and whistles you have to play with to get a decent video. I’ve learnt a lot from sites like dslrfilmnoob.com and learningdslrvideo.com, along with the tutorials on Vimeo. I still a long way to go though.
Find a simple way to manage all the photos I take
My weapons of choice so far are Picasa for Mac and a new ReadyNAS with 2TB RAID storage. I’m backing up to external storage too. As I mentioned above, I’ve been taking a lot more video – this has meant I’m chewing through storage a lot quicker. I will probably need more storage in about 12-18months time, 2TB isn’t that large when you’re taking a lot 1080p video. Also video management related, I’ve moved from Youtube to Vimeo. I did this for a couple of reasons, I really find the look/feel of the embedded player a lot nicer and it just seems a much smoother service. I am reaching the limits of the free service, and most probably will end up going for a Vimeo+ account soon. Also video related I’m using iMovie to edit footage – it isn’t that flash, but does the job. I will possibly look at Final Cut Express if I get some time.
I have been uploading quite a few of my photos to my album on PicasaWeb here. Also, check out my videos on Vimeo.
Make sure I have sorted out my back pain for good
I completed a series of physio and have been doing a lot more walking and stretching. All in all I feel a lot better.
Ride a Segway
Complete! See video here.
Perfect my Pizza making
I think this will always be work in progress! Here is a picture of an attempt at the New York style pizza recipe
Try more wines (more Loire, Bourgogne etc)
I’ve tried a few new Chinon and other cabernet franc based wines so far this year.
Start playing squash again
Not started. I could blame back pain, but I think it is mostly laziness!
Sort out some work related stuff that I can’t talk about here
Complete!
Write more tech related blog posts
I have published a couple of tech related posts and some other general stuff too. Pretty pleased with this so far. Getting lots of traffic to my blog now due to it. I could do more though, and I have a few more topics lined up to work on over the next few months.
Read more books
I’ve read 8 business books so far this year (Delivering Happiness is probably the favourite). Discovering Instapaper has also been a good reading tool. Although not a book, it is great for reading those longer blog posts or web articles on your Kindle.
That is 8 completed, 1 not attempted and 1 work-in-progress.
I need to start thinking of some more to add to the list, suggestions are welcome!
