.... the jackal rides and run....

Ok lets not forget that I have a mammoth 320km to cover over the weekend. But until then....look at these awesome HDR pics! All from my USA Highway 1 Collection....

So I've been toying around with HDR. Pretty interesting, and I have tons of old shots I could use and experiment. Below are 2 works....the HDR version and the original file. Here's Petronas Twin Tower 'bronze' look. The 3 files created were varied in contrast brightness and HDR-ed. The original photo was taken in 2005 from a nearby hotel. This one amazed the hell out of me....a shot from the famed 17 mile Drive off highway 1 in the USA taken in 2005 I just created 3 identical files of the original and changed the EV settings on the HDR option boxes. Scary...just to sum the potential of HDR! More time later, more pics to come. This is fun!

So I just got myself a spanking new HTC Desire last week and am really diggin' it. While I'm not a real fan of Google but choosing between an Iphone and an Android phone was getting to choose between the lesser evil. Right now, apple is the evil empire, in my books anyway! Google, well let's see if their plan for total world domination will ever come to fruition (I believe it will, its just a matter of time). The phone comes equipped with Android 2.1 (2.2 has been release in EU so I'm eagerly anticipating its release to APAC). Looks and feels good so far. The screen looks vibrant but not quite as sharp and bright as the Apple Iphone 4's so called 'Retina' display. Ok, battery life sucks (I hope this will improve in the coming days and with 2.2) but not really a problem for me since I'm mostly desk-bound these days and a charger is always somewhere to be found. Build quality is good....but the Iphone really has much better build that one can 'feel...

After glancing through some of me buddy Darren's well taken shots here , I was very impressed with the post processing done on the pics. They were out of this world. Apparently this was done using HDR (High Dynamic Range) post processing. Then it clicked.....ever had that problem of a nice pic with great background but so bright that the foreground subject(s) becomes underexposed? sure! With HDR, this can be a thing of the past.....It basically takes 3 pictures of different exposures (braketing will do it) and combines them to give a near-perfect exposed picture, regardless of whether its a sunny day or gloomy area or even at night. Now this post processing is done on the computer and requires at least 3 multiple exposures for best effect but I can imagine as camera tech becomes more advanced (super fast CPU) this feature can be a real-time post processing feature on cameras in the near future as well! Well I did a bit toying with the trial version of Photomatix upon recommendation...

Received my White Industries ENO Freewheel on a Thursday and immediately got it installed that night itself! I initially had problems getting the fixed 18T cog off as my chain whip is a 10speed version (I think) and no matter what I did the chain did not get a good grip on the cog. I remember about a method called Rotafix....basically no tools required. It involved removing the chain from the chain ring, allowing quite a bit of slack and with the slack you somehow wrap the chain onto itself at the cog and then turn the wheel. Wow, it was next to effortless and safe! Tightening the freewheel was a non-issue. Verdict : Man, the freewheel is LOUD.....and there appears to be some drag when coasting (even pulls on the crank!) but does not seem to affect much the riding experience esp when coasting down hills and stuff. It was a great buy. Immediate engagement, just like a road bike. Did 2 rounds of long distance 80km on Saturday (my first ride with the SS) and 105km on Sunday. I managed to ...

Managed to install the Nitto Dynamic Stem II purchased from Velosolo (fast shipping btw!) onto the Fixed. Previously the 120mm Shimano 600 + 42cm Traditional Bend Drop Bar proved to be too far forward and a tad too low. I was first a little bit adamant on the Nitto 90-degree stem but after installation, it didn't look bad at all. I installed the Oval Concepts R701 Traditional Bend Drop Bar (44cm) as well. The setup needed new brake wires, housing and that was solved for 14 bucks at the LBS. Installation was easy but laborious; basically had to reinstall at the brake cables again due to the length issue. The position of the bar is now just a tad higher than the haze. The stretch to the hoods, bars and drops are pretty comfortable though I think a 110mm stem would be just heaven (the current one is 120mm) as it still feels a little too far. I took her out for a spin this morning, semi-TT style and tried out the various positions. All I can say is its now more comfortable than the pre...

Ryo, KL, Ben and me did this route on Saturday morning (thank god we decided on Saturday as Sunday was raining cats and dogs all day long!). We left at 5am (Ben made a gargantuan effort to join this ride!) and met up with Ryo & KL at Nicoll highway. It was quite a cooling day! The ride through West Coast Highway - Jalan Buroh was particularly smooth although there were pockets of traffic consisting of huge trucks which were a little worrying to us but fortunately the roads were wide and well lit. In fact, I felt that route completed quite fast as before we knew it, we were turning towards Jalan Bahar and heading north. Funny that the same route, different direction really feels like a whole new route! We did well maintaining average speed of 32-35km/h whilst moving throughout the ride. Had a short 10-15 minute break at Yishun Dam before turning left into Seletar North Link which connects into the new and upcoming Punggol Timur/Barat islands...nice road...problem was towards the end...