Everyone Can Use My Credit Except Me

If you followed me on Twitter yesterday, you know I was at the Apple store trying to purchase an iPhone. I bounced in about 1PM, and after talking to a couple of store reps decided to take the plunge. What followed next was the longest 2.5 hours of my day.

I’m going to link you to the back story, which I hope you will DIGG because that post has worthwhile information on credit fraud (more prevalent in the United States).

Continuing with this story, let’s just say I forgot that all my accounts are locked due to “credit fraud protection”. Ryan the Apple store rep had just walked me through most of the “interview” process for my purchase when he received some sort of flag on his point-of-sale unit. He had to call AT&T to port over my number from Sprint, and next thing you know my phone rang.

At the time, I ignored the call as Caller ID was “unknown”, and I was in the middle of this store purchase. Ryan proceeds to tell me that it was the AT&T rep, and she needed to speak with me. No problem I thought, until she called back AND MY PHONE DIED. Twitter followers know that I have been holding off on getting an iPhone, but my Sprint phone had been on its last leg for a few weeks. So there I was in the Apple store, trying to make my purchase, and I couldn’t because AT&T had no way to contact me.

It was then that I realized I had been possessed by the Cult of Mac. I was not leaving the store without a working phone, an iPhone specifically. I scrambled to get a USB cable from another store rep so we could get power to the phone. Got it. Asked the AT&T rep to call back, and when I picked up we got disconnected. Ryan asked the rep to call again, and she stated she had exceeded the number of courtesy calls she could make on an account. Holy crabcakes! Say it wasn’t so.

Ryan patiently spent the next 2 hours calling AT&T talking to a different account exec each time in an effort to get my service ported from Sprint. If my phone wasn’t sending the calls directly to voicemail, I was wrestling with the inordinate number of questions to prove my identity. Remember a few paragraphs back when I said I forgot about the credit hold on my accounts? Those holds are supposed to make it difficult for other people to assume my identity. Didn’t seem to matter much last week when someone attempted to buy a car in my name, but there I was making a legitimate purchase, and I couldn’t answer half the questions.

Finally, after the 6th call to yet another AT&T rep, my Sprint phone stayed connected on the call, AND I got five questions I could directly answer. Weathered & weary, I paid my dues to the Apple rep, shook his hand, and headed out the door.

I’ll be sharing my experiences with the iPhone in an upcoming post. Be sure to tune in as this adventure has only just begun.

Dallas Photo Walk Winner

I’m sure many of the city leaders will blog the same opinion, but to say choosing a city photo walk winner was difficult is an understatement.

I hope to NEVER choose a winning photo ALL BY MYSELF ever again. There were a number of excellent photos, and it was not an easy decision to pick just one. Truly, it was not. Picking winner = Not fun. There were over 450 total photos that I went through, and I could have easily made a tie between several (if that were a choice).

At exactly 11:55PM after spending most of my day, and all evening wrestling with a decision, the winning photo came from Bradley Atchison.

If you’re looking for a great way to view a lot of photos on Flickr or any photo site, I highly recommend Cool Iris, a web browser plugin for Firefox. http://www.cooliris.com/ Not only does it render images beautifully (the upsizing of small photos is amazing), it has an image search function. I was able to pull in all 450 photos, without needing to navigate 20+ web pages.

UPDATE Aug 31, 2008 - Scott Kelby posted his choice for the Grand Prize Winner. You can also view all the city winners on the Photo Walk site.

Dallas Photos from Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk

It’s been a few days since Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk, and photos are appearing in the Dallas Flickr group. Tomorrow I will have to pick one photo, a singular selection amongst a collection of fine photography, as an entry for the grand prize contest. Lord help me.

There are 300+ images to go through, some of which I’ll look at today, and then I’ll make my final decision tomorrow. Won’t be easy, but perhaps that winning photo will be so obvious the choice will be a clear one. I didn’t want to be put to the task alone, so the Dallas Flickr photo that receives the most votes within the group will also get a prize donated by yours truly.

There are some amazing photos taken from all over the world. Be sure to checkout the other Photo Walk city pages. If you have pictures of the photo walk itself (group shots, other photographers) please post them to the Flickr group created by NAPP (Nation Association of Photoshop Professionals).

Photoshop Elements 7 & Photoshop.com

Adobe has announced version 7 of Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements as well as a mobile strategy for the Photoshop.com website. Looking at Adobe’s site it appears that these version upgrades are only for the Windows platform. While I understand the rationale, WAAAAAAYYYYY more Windows consumers in the global marketplace, it’s a little disappointing that the Mac version still lags behind. What’s even more annoying is that Adobe’s mobile strategy is setup immediately for Windows 6 Mobile, and not an iPhone–still on my Christmas wish list donate today–which is really a better device for imaging.

As a professional, my day-to-day is inside Photoshop CS3, and rarely do I need to fire up PSE. In the consumer market, interest in PSE is picking up, which caused me to add it to the Media Cats class list. It’s a great tool even for the serious photo hobbyist, and with a price point of $99 it’s a tough program to beat. So long as they don’t make features exclusive to PSE over Photoshop I’ll be okay. I hate having to install an app *cough iPhoto* that I keep just for one or two features I use on occasion.

First reviews of Photoshop Elements 7 seemed to draw a yawn, but PSE has always felt a bit cluttered to me compared to Photoshop. Certainly it does not have the UI strength built into Lightroom. More coverage can be found on the CNET download blog.

Are You Ready To Photo Walk?

Greetings all!

I hope you’re as excited as I am to meet up for the Photo Walk this Saturday. The weather has been pretty wet all week, but I’m hoping we will catch a break. On the upside, the rain should make for a cooler evening.

Here is a daytime picture of Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse where we will meet. The Dallas Photo Walk page has been updated with the latest Google map, which you can get directions. The address is 302 N Market St
Dallas, TX 75202.

I went to several restaurants, and all wanted some sort of banquet reservation for a group of our size. Not a real problem except for deposits, and the insistence of a single party catering ticket. I hope that Sonny’s will accommodate us a bit better, but will know more Saturday night.

As a last reminder here are things to keep in mind for our walk:

1. Safety. Safety. Safety. Be aware of your surroundings, e.g, people, traffic, non-moving objects, and keep an eye on your gear.

2. Pair off. It will be a challenge to keep the entire group moving together, and it’s NOT a requirement for all of you to move when I move. I will be breaking folks down into smaller teams so YOU will always be paired with someone.

3. Comfort. I know my Twitter avatar looks pretty lean, but my Mii character is quite the portly fellow. Be sure to wear good shoes, and bring water if you’re inclined.

4. Camera Gear. If this is your first Photo Walk then you may be inclined to “bring the kitchen sink” just so you don’t miss the one shot of the evening. My suggestion is to keep your pack light; I wouldn’t bring more than two lenses. A tripod would be useful, but a monopod easier to handle.

5. Flickr Group. If you haven’t done so, NOW is the time to register for the Flickr group. I have received a number of requests already. The only suggestion I have is PLEASE include your real name in the request. Crazy_Photographer2789 is a fine handle, but I have nothing to match up against my registration list.

NOTE - Your photos will need to be posted by midnight Tuesday, August 26th.

Alright, that’s my last minute pep talk. See everyone at the walk!

Technology… Equalizer or Divider?

I recently stumbled upon a thread in Twitter, an apparent flame war between several patrons of Twitterland. It didn’t affect me personally, but I was drawn in by the vile language and extreme rage being thrown out on both sides. At different points in the threads I read, links were tossed out as “evidence” to backup statements, followed by more links as counter-arguments to accusations.

Then my wife walked into my office with baby girl in her arms…

My daughter will grow up in a technological age unlike anything I or my parents could have imagined. The Internet connects citizens around the world, and information exchange is so quick only telepathy would be faster. While I admire our advances, and the geek in me loves all the gadgets & technical wizardry, I worry about the challenges my daughter will face.

Cyber-bullying. Cyber-stalkers. Identity thieves. Some of these items weren’t even around when I was a teenager. People ask me why I don’t use an alias online, why I make it a point to use my real name on message boards or social networks. First, I generally won’t post something online I wouldn’t say in person, and second I’ve done what I can to establish my actual identity online in hopes it will deter others from pretending to be me. (Not that you would want to do that, I’m really not all that hip) I’ve already been the victim of identity theft.

In eight years it may be next to impossible to tell our daughter “No, you don’t need a cell phone.” I certainly didn’t think an eight year old needed one several years ago, but now “tweens” as they are called seem to be getting younger & younger. There was an article on MSNBC that talked about “Grade-school Lolitas“, how parents are facing the challenges of stemming off a constant tide of media & Internet information that is out there unfiltered. My 7 year old niece thinks she’s fat. Why in the world is a 7 year old concerned about body image?

I dealt with bullies when I was growing up, but they were tangible flesh obstacles I learned to overcome. A quick wit, weight training, Saturday night kung fu and a big dog were all I needed to tackle the bullies of my day. How do I prepare my daughter for an onslaught of cyber accusations or candid images & videos? And it’s not just “kids being kids” or harmless fun, adults are being harrassed as well. Ariel Waldman wrote a post about Twitter harrassment back in May 2008.

Today’s Twitter flame war reminded me just how easy it is for people to horribly abuse technology.

August 12 - IDUG Dallas Meeting

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. It would seem everything is on the rise. Gas prices are up, Texas weather is gettin’ mighty warm, and your humble Adobe Instructor is hopin’ to kick off another IDUG (InDesign User Group) meeting chock full of information.

The Dallas chapter of the InDesign Users Group will meet on Tuesday, August 12th at the Clampitt Paper Creative Center. Lisa Niday gives everyone a whirlwind tour of the newly released Acrobat 9. Learn how this new release is changing the face of PDF (Portable Document Format). Don’t think for a second you should skip this event. As InDesigners, PDF is where many of us end up, and you want to see the destination Adobe has set for your designs.

And now an official word from our sponsor:
Adobe® Acrobat® 9 Pro software helps business and creative professionals communicate and collaborate more effectively and securely with virtually anyone, anywhere. Unify a wide range of content in a single organized PDF Portfolio. Easily manage electronic document reviews to obtain feedback and build consensus. Create and distribute dynamic forms to collect data electronically for greater accuracy. Help protect sensitive information with robust security features. And enable users of Adobe Reader® software* to fill in and save forms, digitally sign documents, and participate in reviews.

Register For The Event

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Agenda
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11:00-11:15 Socializing, Announcements, Eating
11:15-12:30 The New Acrobat 9 — Lisa Niday
12:30-12:45 Q & A
12:45-01:00 Closing and Raffle

Clampitt Creative Center
9207 Ambassador Row
Dallas, TX 75247
UNITED STATES
Directions To The Event

Aug 10 - Dallas Digital Photography Meetup

I am speaking for the Dallas Digital Photography Group on using Lightroom vs. Bridge, Photoshop vs. Photoshop Elements.

Anyone with an interest in photography is welcome, beginner or advanced. Bring your camera, gadgets, and photos! The event will be at:

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Venue Information:
Attendees may bring in outside food and drinks into the meeting room.  There will be NO food or drinks provided, so please come prepared.

Twitter Tools Added

The blog should now pull in my twitter feed, and list them under the “Twitter” category.

Send Scott Citron Some Love

I have had the privilege to meet a few folks while growing my business, and traveling the country. Many of them are gurus in the industry, authors, well-respected educators within the Adobe community. One such person is Scott Citron.

While I don’t know Scott very well, I appreciated his dry sense of humor & wit the few times I heard him speak during gatherings of Adobe InDesign chapter leaders. I found him easy to talk to, and we swapped a few stories about clients we had in common.

Recently, Scott was in a very serious car accident. He suffered a number of injuries, was admitted to ICU, and just last week was brought out of sedation after multiple surgeries. One of the first things Scott said upon regaining consciousness was “This sucks.” Sandee Cohen has immortalized those words with a design in support of Scott’s recovery.

Please take a moment to read Scott’s story, leave some get well comments, and purchase some “This Sucks” gear.

UPDATE - 08/07/2008 - Scott is awake & waving.

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