Monthly Archives: January 2010

Dryer Lint Fire Starters

Written by Aijaz Ansari. Posted on January 30, 2010. Filed under Camping. Tagged , . No comments.
The firewood catches fire
One of my favorite activities in spring, summer and even early autumn is sitting outdoors by a campfire.  For safety reasons, outside my home I can’t make a campfire on the ground, so I use a standalone fire pit.  The older children, as well as my nephews and nieces like learning how to start a [...]

Japanese Pull Saws

Written by Aijaz Ansari. Posted on January 28, 2010. Filed under DIY, Woodworking. Tagged , , . 1 Comment.
A Japanese Pull Saw
Pull saws have been said to have originated in Japan more than 2,000 years ago. The main difference between pull saws and 'Western' saws is that pull saws cut on the backstroke.

Why Text Editors Matter

Written by Aijaz Ansari. Posted on January 26, 2010. Filed under Computers. Tagged , , , , . No comments.
Emacs Screenshot
A good editor is a very flexible tool. Once you become an expert at it, you can use it to accomplish tasks almost as quickly as you can think of them.

Digitally Blending Photos With Adobe Photoshop

Written by Aijaz Ansari. Posted on January 25, 2010. Filed under Photography. Tagged , , , . 2 Comments.
The Blended Image
I took 3 shots, one underexposed, one overexposed and one correctly exposed (the Programed Auto setting on the camera). Then I blended the first two images and compared the resulting image with the correctly exposed one.

How Camera Lenses Work

Written by Aijaz Ansari. Posted on January 23, 2010. Filed under Photography. Tagged , , . 1 Comment.
The Focal Point
This is the first in a series of blog entries on photography. Today we look at one of the most critical parts of any camera - the lens.

“Are You With A Newspaper?”

Written by Aijaz Ansari. Posted on January 21, 2010. Filed under Photos. Tagged , , . No comments.
Bread in the air
On the shore was this man, throwing bread into the water.

Cleaning Up After Others

Written by Aijaz Ansari. Posted on January 20, 2010. Filed under Photos. Tagged , . No comments.
A garbage boat by the Sharjah Corniche
Tethered to the shore, this boat is used to pick up garbage floating in the lagoon by the Sharjah Corniche.

A Lucky Shot

Written by Aijaz Ansari. Posted on January 18, 2010. Filed under Photos. Tagged . No comments.
A cyclist makes his way into my shot of the masjid
A cyclist makes his way into my shot of the masjid.