On my morning commute, I sometimes see a dude on a Harley riding to work. His attire; old-school leather slippers (the kind Mike Brady wore with his pajamas and robe), shorts, t-shirt, “can” headphones with a basketball sweatband to keep them on his head. Those headphones plus the fact that he is bald makes him look like Lando’s second-in-command from SW:ESB. Except on a Harley. Wearing den clothes.

My trusty Combi Urban-Sling Diaper Laptop bag has been developing a tear at the top and is starting to look a little ratty. That and the demise of my Olympus XA, which I attribute to rough handling in the non-padded outer pocket of the Combi, has forced me to buy a new bag.

I decided on the CaseLogic LNM15F Sport Messenger Bag, which has a nice padded section for laptop, and ample space in the main pocket for a good-sized camera and extra lenses. It’s also got a nice soft pocket that my fifth-gen iPod fits in perfectly. Plus it’s got a 10-year warranty (do people ever use these?), so if a strap breaks, I can get a new bag. I’ll leave the tags on it a few days to make sure it is the one I want, but I am pretty sure it’s a keeper. I might put a little extra padding on the bottom for camera gear, and maybe some padded separators between individual items (camera body, extra lens, etc.) but for the most part, it’s good.

Emptying out the old bag was interesting. I found several things that I had forgotten about. Some stuff was stuff I need and will keep: camera flash manual, lens blower brush, plastic bags, gauze bandage, pack of tissues that they always hand out in Japan. But some stuff I just tossed: old eye drops, Claritin from 2002, random tissues, old receipts, and miscellaneous papers. But my main stuff that fits nicely in the new bag: iBook, folders with papers, iPod, Flashdrive, Bluetooth adapter, MooCards, moleskine, and a pen.

Getting rid of the old Combi bag will be sad. That thing has gone through a lot! Plus the layout is great. It’s got an insulated pocket for keeping a can of beer bottle of milk cold, is a nice size for a laptop, and the shoulder strap was contoured and fit pefectly. It just needed a little more size for a camera, and some extra padding. Hate to throw it away, but I gotta clear the clutter!

I woke up at 4:50am this morning and went running at a little after 5am. I did my usual 3.7 mile easy run, and saw a few runners out and about. I listened to a couple episodes of the Daily Giz Wiz, which is always good. It kept me running at a little bit faster pace (although still pokey) and I finished my run at 39:14.

It was strange, but when I was getting close to the end, I saw about four other runners/walkers. I am not sure why there were so many today. Also, the sky was cloudy and I saw a few flashes of lightning in the distance. When I was relaxing back at home, the clouds opened up and the downpour began. I can’t help but wonder if all those people out for their morning exercise got soaked or made it back before the showers got them.

Appetizer

Using only one word, how does grocery shopping make you feel?

Poor

Soup

What is your favorite part about the season of Autumn?

Being able to go outside without melting from the heat. That and Thanksgiving is approaching.

Salad

Have you ever had any bad experiences online?

Nothing serious. Just bad gaming nights! (which aren’t really bad)

Main Course

Name three things that make you happy daily.

Kids saying funny things, morning coffee, a nice meal for dinner.

Dessert

What one household cleansing or organizing item would you not want to be without?

Spotbot Carpet Cleaner

The new Sony Alpha α700 has been announced, and it is awesome! It’s pretty much the successor to our Konica-Minolta Maxxum 7D, and it looks pretty damn impressive. My 7D is still a wonderful camera, exceeding my abilities as a photographer, and I will use it until it breaks and cannot be fixed (or the repairs are too expensive), but the α700 would be the one I would get if I ever needed a new dSLR. What is so cool (to me, at least) is that Sony is keeping much of the Minolta tradition alive. The controls are an evolution of the 7D, which was evolved from the Maxxum/Dynax/Alpha 7, which evolved from the 600si/507si.

Sony seems to also be keeping the model numbering system of Minolta, where the 7-series (X-700, Maxxum 700si, 7, 7D) is the advanced amateur designation, while the 8 and 9 series are the semi-pro and pro models. I would not be surprised if the new pro-level dSLR from Sony will be the α900 or simply Alpha 9D.

Preview of the Sony Alpha α700 at DPReview.com (photo above from the DPReview preview)

Underwood Liverwurst on a toasty, buttered ciabatta roll is so good.