Jeff Keller's Blog

California Adventure Trip Report – March 2012

Jeff Keller — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:56:50 +0000

The biggest surprise of my March 2012 wasn’t all the construction at DCA (which was nice and all), but the incredible crowds. Not too long ago I recall practically having the whole place to myself — not anymore. At least Cars Land will spread the crowds out a bit more.

Disneyland Trip Report – March 2012

Jeff Keller — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:28:54 +0000

I joined my old college roommate and fellow DL aficionado Ashley for a trip to the Disneyland Resort. It was a fairly crowded day, though it was actually worse next door at DCA. Below are photo from Disneyland that I took with the Canon PowerShot SX260 HS:

Six Flags Magic Mountain trip photos

Jeff Keller — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 06:07:22 +0000

It was just like old times earlier today, when my friend Ashley and I went to Magic Mountain, just like we used to do several years ago. We rode some new rides as well as some old favorites. The sleeper hit was probably Apocalypse (formerly Terminator: Salvation), and Tatsu and X2 were newer rides that we enjoyed, as well. Below are some photos from the trip!

A trip to the 2011 LA Auto Show

Jeff Keller — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 05:20:57 +0000

Long-time readers of this blog may recall that every year, my dad and I go to the car show in San Francisco. Over the summer, my parents moved down to Southern California, so that was no longer possible. Thankfully, the much more impressive LA Auto Show is at the same time, so we went on Black Friday to check out the latest models. Below are the most interesting cars that I saw at the show:

Bonus panorama from NYC

Jeff Keller — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 07:44:27 +0000

I took this panorama of one of the reflecting pools at the World Trade Center. Definitely a solemn place (though not everyone there seemed to think so). Love the Sweep Panorama feature on the NEX-7 that makes shots like this easy.

A trip to New York City

Jeff Keller — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 07:26:25 +0000

I went out to New York for PhotoPlus Expo at the end of October. I didn’t spend much time at the expo, so I had plenty of time to sightsee. The only problem was the “Noreaster” which blew in on Saturday. Walking around in the blowing snow was something this native Californian is not used to!

Anyhow, here are my favorite photos, all taken with the Sony Alpha NEX-7:

A few Disneyland/DCA photos

Jeff Keller — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 05:44:14 +0000

I spent a day at the DL Resort with my mom (who now lives in Southern California), to show her all the new stuff! The only new thing I got to see was The Little Mermaid which, while well done, seemed a bit rushed in the story department. At least the line is short!

Otherwise it was a very crowded Monday (year round schools were apparently on break), and fairly hot too. In other words, we didn’t get a lot done.

Here are my photos from the day, taken with the Sony NEX-7.

Thank you, Steve

Jeff Keller — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 02:20:12 +0000

Steve Jobs was responsible for much more than just the various Apple gadgets I’ve had in my life. My dad bought a Mac 512ke (pictured above) in 1986, for an outrageous amount of money. That really sparked my interest in computers, and got me into running a BBS and eventually several websites. Two of my websites took different paths. PowerWatch, dedicated to Power Computing’s “Mac clones”, would not have been possible if the Mac did not exist. That said, it was essentially put out of business by Mr. Jobs himself, when he ended licensing of the Mac OS. I remember writing him a letter asking him to reconsider, since he was putting me out of business. Not surprisingly, I did not get a response.

During the time I was running PowerWatch, I started playing around with a new gadget known as a digital camera. Specifically, an Apple QuickTake. The QuickTake showed me how digital cameras was going to change photography forever, and in 1997, I started a little website called the Digital Camera Resource Page. While Apple’s digital camera adventure did not last long, my website is still alive and kicking. I may not take photos on an Apple camera anymore, but I edit them in Aperture on a Mac Pro, view my photos and movies downstairs on my Apple TV, and take my pictures wherever I go with my iPad.

I’ve lusted after new Apple products my whole life. Early in my teenage years, I wrote a letter to my parents, telling them that a new Mac LC would bring a smile to the face of a shy child. It worked, and we got our first color Mac (with a 12″ RGB display, no less). I remember going to ComputerWare in Palo Alto, drooling over the Mac IIci and especially the IIfx, which cost thousands and thousands of dollars at the time. Over the years that followed, I owned PowerMacs, PowerBooks, iMacs, Macbook Pros, and Mac Pros. I’m pretty sure that I converted at least a few people over to the Mac side during that time, as well.

So thank you Steve, for giving me the inspiration for two of my jobs (even if you took one of them away later), for bringing a smile to a child’s face, and for designing the tools with which I can share my memories. It’s a shame that the most revolutionary people in the world seem to live such short lives. RIP.