MY WORLD, I AM WHO I AM:
POPEYE:
It was Popeye in 1929 who said, "I AM WHO I AM CAUSE THATS WHO I AM". Truly a noble intellectual statement from one sea dog who fought the bad guy (BLUTO aka BRUTUS, est; 1932) and saved the anorexic Olive Oil.
Note: I have no idea what he saw in her, she was in bad need of a makeover and some implants, fore and aft, but still Popeye saved her from Bluto's advances.
Like Popeye, I like Spinach with lots of lemon, dash of pepper, spot of good wine vinegar, and a pat of butter of course. Thats how they do it in Greece. Thus I think it proper to let you know what I am all about. It might and it might not appeal to you. A
fter all, you might hate Spinach.
Something I learned dealing with the United States Special Operations Command. I strive to build things that work better, are simple to operate, field sustainable or repairable, off the shelf, on budget and can be amplified or upgraded. Thats the philosophy of the Black Box. The Black Box has more power, actually 5.5 AMP HOURS on a twenty amp draw and still a lightweight at a little over 2.5 pounds. There are several thousand of the Black Boxes out there.
All of our accessories, we call "gizmos" you can make yourself. The gizmos are practical priced accessories like light stand holders, Pocket Wizard Holders, Flash Clamps for six dollars. We come up with an idea that saves money and we share it with you. Radical thinking, yes, friendly yes, loved by the competition...no.
NO STANDARD ANSWERS or EXCUSES: You won't get "branded forum answers" from me. We do not accept payment for reviews since no one ever offered. They are afraid of what I will say. We only review shipped products available in stores. I work with Nikon and Canon, and have owned just about any brand you have.
NO CANON VS. NIKON HERE:
Maybe U.S. vs. China Knockoffs on occasion. I deal direct with Shen-Feng-Shui on other products and know what it's all about.
I owe NO ONE and when I endorse something like Bogen Tripods, Kirk Products, or Custom Brackets.
In addition, the products I endorse for the BEST AWARDS were not chosen by price, they were chosen by the job it did. Sometimes you pay more for the better quality, that lasts a lifetime; Sometimes the less expensive product might be superior after weighing the details.
THE STARTING LINE: Photography started for me when someone left a paper bag left sitting on a park bench in the Zoo area in NYC's Central Park. Today we call the bomb squad. I was fourteen, a junior, and was naturally playing hooky from school. I grabbed the bag after eyeing it for an hour, artfully dodging the truant officers who carried my picture in their wallets with the number one on the front. With no one claiming it, I stood on top of the park bench and yelled the sacred words "finders keepers".
With the legalities out of the way, and running for my life, I had mischievously become the owner of an AIRES IIIL 35mm Rangefinder Camera, the first of the Japanese clones of a Leica. It took nice pictures of the Dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History in NYC, the Statue of Liberty and other sites when I played hooky.
THE GADGETMEISTER:
I picked up the nickname "the Gadget Meister" starting in an obscure camera repair facility, the best in the camera district of New York City. It was where I first found out man could fly if he simply touched a capacitor from a Honeywell 770 Strobe. It was the Eveready 497, 510 volt battery that prepared me for the Moon trip, knocked me flat on my ass.
Only the Wright Brothers had a better first flight. I learned how to make my own tools, I couldn't afford the factory ones. I learned tool making in metal shop in high school and even today they still talk of the Jacobs Hubcap Remover, not sold in stores, available in Midnight Black Only. You too can have a career in hubcap "restoration" for only $29.95.
SUMMARY: I WRITE IN BROOKLYN-ESE:
You'll need a sense of humor and patience to survive my website www.aljacobs.com or my critically exclaimed (stuff like "Oh shit, he said that?) commentary website aljacobsladder.com Less is more. Less things to go wrong and more power. This means "Less Bling-Bling saves you Ching Ching". and less mental drag leaves you free to create and dream.
In AUGUST 2008 WE WENT MAC:
With 28 years doing I.T. as part of my job, working on computers, certified from DOS/WIN 2 to Vista, I finally gave up on PC's. Thus PC RETIRED, MAC INSPIRED. I converted an entire business and lifestyle to a loaded MAC network in two days, resulting in being ten times faster and more proficient not spending my time fixing things or workarounds. I run five websites, two blogs and write storyline articles about everything daily and process what I shoot and don't spend my time on repairs, upgrades and viruses.