My daughter's first word... Helppooo

4 months and 10 days old, my daughter looked at me and said "Help" clearly, slowly and softly. I felt joyful that she started practising how to speak, and then felt a bit weird... "Help"?

I know it was not what she really meant because immediately after saying "Help" followed by "pooo" and bubbles... cute and adorable.

I was told by my parents parenting is hard as my mother always say to me "... wait until you have your own child and then you'd know how it feels" Now I know. The babies would go from happy to unhappy, satisfying to irritating and back and fore in a split second. Just right about when you're going to pat yourself on the back... they started crying. Arrrggg! I calmed down, I started right the way to diagnose, of course the check list... in my head I ran the list... hungry? no. wet? no. burp? no. too hot too cold? no. nothing works... then I laid her down in her crib and she stopped and felt asleep. "... I am tired... put me down you idiot" OH! for crying out loud that's what she was saying. Sighs!

Then, it got me thinking... Is it gonna get better or worst? which leads to the next question Do I know my parents better now than say 10 years ago? better yet... Do they know/understand me more now than 10 years ago? Sadly, now I know the answer to my first question. I know if I do what my parents did and my kids do what I did, history will repeat itself.

In the most humble way possible I ask God what can I do then I pray... and that's all I can do. Thanks God for giving us Lance and Shana. Thanks God for speaking to me through my daughter... "Help".

35mm DOF Adapter for Canon HF S100

In the picture:
Canon HF S100
DIY DOF Adapter
Nikon 50mm 1.8 D Lens

It took me about 5 man hours but span over 2 mos to build my version of this DIY DOF Adapter. I spent most of my time sourcing for parts. Once the parts are found, it is pretty easy to put together. Why DOF Adapter? I think I am a bit obsessed with it for the effects that it brings to an otherwise normal and boring camcorder. Here is a picture of how it looks like... the final product!!!

Now, the Adapter:

I made it with PVC pipe's joints (Joint A looks like a reducer with external screw threads and Joint B looks like a cap that fits nicely to the screw threads of Joint A), bayonet from a cheap canon macro extension tube, 58mm UV filter, 58mm PL, 2x 49mm UV filter, Canon Ee-A focusing screen (FS), tiny motor from an old broken Treo 600 or any cell phone that can vibrate, and both ends of a phone cords with RJ11 connectors.

I glue most parts with super glue, quick and easy, except for the motor as it is located right on the glass surface of one of the 49mm filter that is facing the 35mm lens. The 49mm filters, with glass, sandwich with the FS in the middle which fits perfectly, and the whole thing fits right inside Joint A... what a geometry!!! It's a bit tight but it fits and you do want it tight in order to fix it in place. The 49mm filters provide a good casing to protect the FS and fixing it in place at 42.6 mm from the bayonet. The bayonet was also glued onto Joint A for attaching to 35mm lenses. Next, glue the 58mm UV filter, without glass, to Joint B for attaching to a 58mm PL, also without glass, and then to the HF S100 camcorder. The 58mm PL allows the DOF to turn freely to align the FS to the camcorder. You will find it handy! The tiny motor was soldered to a regular phone cord with the RJ11 connector for attaching to an external power source (an AA battery) then was glued on the 49mm filter. That's pretty much it. The total costs for this adapter was about $50. Test footage @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvq9dv5E8AA