text:
Governing Catalog | Residence
Requirement | Academic Major | Academic
Minor | Second Bachelor's Degree | Liberal
Education Requirements | Fulfilling LE Skills Requirements | Transfer Credit | AP | CLEP | IB | Challenge Exam
Westminster offers courses leading to the undergraduate degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science. The faculties of the four schools determine which of these degrees is to be awarded under each instructional program.
Students may meet degree requirements as specified in the Academic Catalog in effect at the time of their entrance into the college, or they may elect to meet requirements given in a later academic catalog. All major, minor, and liberal education requirements must be contained within a single issue and may not be selected from several issues.
Students who leave the college for no more than two regular semesters retain the right to be considered under their previous catalog and retain the right for six years following the date of entrance to graduate under requirements current at the time of entrance.
Undergraduate students earning baccalaureate degrees from Westminster must complete a minimum of 36 hours of coursework at the college. In addition, undergraduate students must complete in residence:
A maximum of 88 credit hours of external credit is accepted toward a degree. External credit includes any transfer credit, credit by examination, and credit earned through Prior Learning Assessment.
The college offers the academic programs (majors) listed below:
Art/Fine Arts
Arts Administration
International Business
Aviation Studies
Justice Studies
Computer Science
Political Studies
Environmental Studies
Social Sciences
The requirements for each of these academic programs are listed according to the school to which they belong. Students are bound by the major requirements of their governing academic catalog. Changes made to program requirements for individual students by advisors are subject to the approval of program chairs, the school dean and the Registrar.
All students must formally declare an academic major once they have completed 60 or more credit hours (junior standing, see "Class Standing"). Students with junior standing who have not met with an academic advisor and formally declared their major will not be eligible to register for upcoming semesters. Forms for declaring majors and minors are available in the START Center, each academic school office, or the Office of the Registrar. You may contact any of these offices for additional information.
A major is an area of specialization within the degree. Students may complete more than one major at the same time but may not complete more than one degree at the same time.
Courses that are required for both majors may be used to fulfill requirements for both majors, but elective courses may be used in only one major. In other words, the hours may be used only once.
Information about combining two Gore School of Business majors may be obtained from the Gore School of Business or the Office of the Registrar.
Students may choose two majors, one that leads to a B.A., and one that leads to a B.S., but may receive only one degree. The first-listed major on the graduation application determines the degree awarded.
With the faculty's permission, students may choose to pursue an individualized field of concentration consisting of 40 to 60 semester credit hours, 80% of which must be taken at Westminster from two or more disciplines. The contractual major must demonstrate a coherent conceptual framework of focus, depth, and breadth; relate to a career or educational objective; and culminate in a comprehensive examination or integrative project. The contractual major option is intended to be interdisciplinary in content and methodology and is not intended to make available to students a single discipline traditional major that Westminster may not currently offer.
The program director(s) and curriculum committee must approve each student's plan for a contractual major. This approval is needed four semesters before graduation. The student's academic advisor approves other components of the student's program. A student may apply for a contractual major at the Registrar's Office.
Westminster graduates may choose to complete an additional major or minor after their graduation date and are allowed to use their same governing catalog as long as they stay continuously enrolled. Requirements must be completed within one year of their graduation date and students must meet all requirements in residence at Westminster. The student must notify the Registrar's Office of his or her intention to complete an additional major or minor.
The college offers an academic minor in most areas of instruction. Each instructional program lists specific minor requirements. Several majors require an accompanying minor. In lieu of a minor, students may support their majors with a broad variety of courses selected in consultation with their academic advisors.
A minimum 2.0 GPA is required for coursework used to fulfill requirements for an academic minor. Minimum GPA requirements are listed for each academic minor. Only grades of C- or better may be presented to satisfy minor requirements.
Courses that are required for both a major and a minor may be used to fulfill requirements for both the major and the minor, but elective courses may be used in either the major or the minor. The hours may be used only once.
In addition to the above-listed majors, the college offers minors in many of these areas plus minors only in Anthropology, Environmental Studies, French, Gender Studies, Music, Paleontology, Political Science, Religion, Spanish and Theatre Arts.
Information about combining Gore School of Business majors and minors may be obtained from the Gore School of Business or the Office of the Registrar.
Students who have earned a bachelor's degree and are working toward a second bachelor's degree must complete a minimum of 36 credit hours at Westminster College beyond the first degree and must meet all degree requirements. Students may not complete two degrees concurrently. Students who already have earned a bachelor's degree are considered to have met liberal education and upper division hour requirements. Transfer students who have earned a bachelor's degree are automatically awarded 88 credit hours of transfer credit.
Nursing prerequisite courses need to be fulfilled by students with prior degrees. Individual evaluations of comparable coursework will be made by the nursing program.
Coordinator: Barbara Schulz Smith, Ph.D.
As part of Westminster's commitment to develop new models of teaching and learning, several interdisciplinary learning communities are available to first-year students. These interdisciplinary courses are designed to help students:
Learning communities at Westminster link two classes together with a common theme. Typically, at least one of the classes also fulfills a liberal education requirement. Sometimes, a course is paired with an INTR course which is a course designed for first-year students as a seminar class that focuses on issues of college life. The majority of learning community classes are designed for first-year students and are NOT upper division (300 level) credit.
Learning communities are taught primarily by full-time faculty members. This is one of the bonuses of learning communities. Students get to meet and interact with professors who have chosen to teach first-year students as part of their teaching responsibilities at Westminster.
If you entered Westminster during the Fall of 2006 (or after this date) as a first-year student, you will need to take at least one learning community during your first year here. These interdisciplinary classes vary widely on theme and topic areas. By way of example, learning community classes have included the pairing of Psychology and English Composition, Speech and Philosophy, Anthropology and the Arts, and Business and Statistics. Many additional choices are offered each semester. Current learning community (LC) class offerings are listed in the class schedule and on the Westminster Learning Community website.
Note: Students who do not pass one or both courses contained within a first-year learning community are not required to repeat the learning community experience but will be required to successfully pass any liberal education category represented by courses within the learning community.
The liberal education program at Westminster College is designed to foster in students those values and intellectual skills that are necessary as a foundation for learning and to provide students with experience in the academic disciplines of the liberal arts. The following college-wide goals form the core of liberal education courses and are reinforced across the curriculum in major areas of study:
The following course requirements are established for all students seeking an undergraduate degree. Students must earn a grade of CR or C- or above in liberal education coursework to fulfill graduation requirements.
HIST 112 Western Civilization (3)
HIST 113 Western Civilization (3)
HIST 212 World History to 1500 (4)
HIST 220 United States History (3)
PHIL 100/100D Introduction to Philosophy (3)
PHIL 102 Critical Thinking (4)
PHIL 206/206D Introduction to Ethics (3)
REL 101 Religions of the World (3)
ART 101 Beginning Drawing (2)
ART 103 Beginning Painting (2)
ART 148 Fundamentals of Pottery (3)
ART 180 Photography (3)
MUSC 115 Griffin Chorus (1-3)
MUSC 125 Westminster Jazz Combo (1-3)
MUSC 135 Westminster Chamber Orchestra (1-3)
MUSC 145 Westminster Chamber Singers (1-4)
MUSC 315 Westminster Chamber Singers (1-4)
THTR 127 Stagecraft (2)
THTR 129 Costumes and Makeup (2)
THTR 180 Acting (2)
THTR 228 Beginning Theatre Workshop (2)
THTR 230 Beginning Dance and Movement (2)
ART 110 Survey of Art (3)
MUSC 109 Music Fundamentals (4)
MUSC 110 Survey of Western Art Music (3)
THTR 124 Survey of the Theatre (3)
ART/MUSC/THTR 200FN Experiencing the Arts (4)
MATH 120 Quantitative Reasoning (4)
MATH 141 College Algebra (4)
MATH 142 Trigonometry (2)
MATH 150 Elementary Statistics (4)
MATH 201 Calculus I (4)
MATH 201B Calculus for Life Sciences (4)
CHEM 103 Introduction to Chemistry (4)
ESS 110 Introduction to Geology (3)
PHYS 102 Introduction to the Physical Universe (3)
PHYS 104 Explorations in Science (4)
BIOL 102 The Natural World (4)
BIOL 210 Environmental Biology (4)
ECON 105 Introduction to Economics as a Social Science (4)
ECON 253 Elementary Macroeconomics (4)
JUST 101 Introduction to Justice Studies (4)
PLSC 101 Introduction to Political Science (4)
PLSC 121 American National Government (4)
ANTH 160 Introduction to Anthropology (4)
ANTH 252 Cultural Anthropology (4)
PSYC 105 Introduction to Psychology (4)
SOC 105 Introduction to Sociology (4)
SOC 253 Sociology of the Family (4)
CMPT 100 The Information Age: Society, Computers, and You (3)
EDUC 201 Discovering Creativity thrgh Multiple Intelligences (2)
EDUC 205 Service Learning in Salt Lake (2)
FINC 210 Personal Finance (3)
HPW 156 Exploring Wasatch Mountain Paths (2)
HPW 220 Fitness for Life (2)
HPW 250 Fitness for Life (2)
HPW 260 Psychological Aspects of Well-Being (2)
MGMT 110 Historical Traditions of Business and Entrep. (4)
MGMT 205 Leadership Development (2)
PSYC 330 Interpersonal Communication Skills (3)
ANTH 252 Cultural Anthropology (4)
ANTH 355 Indian Peoples in the U.S. (4)
COMM 360 Race, Gender, Class & the Media (3)
ECON 311 History of Economic Thought (4)
EDUC 320 Education in a Diverse Society (3)
ENGL 339A Queer Theory (4)
ENGL 356A U.S. Minority Literature (4)
FINC 435 International Finance (4)
GNDR 100 Intro to Gender Studies (4)
HIST 212 World History to 1500 (4)
HIST 316 The Civil War through 1890 (3)
HIST 319 American Women's History (3)
HON 222 Science, Power and Diversity (4)
MGMT 490 International Management (4)
MKTG 340 International Marketing (4)
NURS 408 Community Health Nursing (6)
PHIL 100D Introduction to Philosophy, diversity emphasis (3)
PHIL 206D Introduction to Ethics, diversity emphasis (3)
PSYC 335 Psychology of Women (4)
REL 101 Religions of the World (3)
SOC 105 Introduction to Sociology (4)
SOC 372 Race, Ethnicity, and Class (4)
The following guidelines are used in determining when students have met mathematics requirements. (Students without ACT or SAT scores or students who are unsure about mathematics placement must contact the START Center for placement testing.)
19 or less
470 or less
Take MATH 085 or 095 or take placement test
Take MATH 105 or take placement test
MATH 105 is waived. Take MATH 120, MATH 141, or MATH 150
28 or above
620 or above
MATH 141 is waived
Students may fulfill the requirement through
The following guidelines determine in which level of English coursework a student should enroll.
20 or above
490 or above
19 or below
480 or below
Passing SPCH 111 satisfies the basic speech requirement in the Writing and other Communication Skills category. A student with prior formal speech and presentations training may be eligible to have the basic speech requirement waived. Any waiver of the basic speech requirement will require an interview with the chair of the Speech/Theatre Program and the delivery of a specifically assigned presentation in front of a designated audience that satisfactorily demonstrates the student's proficiency. Competence must be shown in two speaking formats: informative and persuasive. The request for a waiver of the basic speech requirement must be made, with no exceptions, at least one semester prior to the semester in which the student plans to graduate. The requirement may be challenged only one time. More information and the form is available in the Start Center.
Foreign Language requirements are listed as part of the major requirements for each major (see individual academic program listings). Most majors require one of the following two options:
Eight credit hours in one of the following ways:
Successful completion of any college-level foreign language course that is the equivalent of four credit hours, or five quarter hours, satisfies part of the foreign language requirement as will adequate AP or CLEP examination scores. Students might also qualify to take a Westminster College challenge examination in French or Spanish with departmental approval.
Students who are bi-lingual (native proficiency) are exempt from this requirement but must meet with language faculty to receive a waiver. Effective Fall 1994, Westminster faculty approved American Sign Language for foreign language credit.
Students with some high school language experience who are unsure of proper foreign language placement should arrange for an interview with the professor in the respective language program.
A maximum of 72 credit hours may be awarded from two-year institutions. A maximum of 88 credit hours transferred from all collegiate institutions (two-year and four-year) attended may be applied toward meeting the total number of hours required for graduation.
Note: It is not possible to earn upper division hours from a two-year school.
Only 88 credit hours may be earned from non-institutional credit. External credit is defined as any credits applied to a degree that are earned by external means, such as transfer, CLEP, AP, or other sources.
Westminster College awards transfer credit for coursework that meets the following criteria:
All foreign transcripts are evaluated by Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute (ACEI), which determines the level of coursework taken and the semester hour and grade equivalents. Only coursework that is determined to be equivalent to college-level academic work that meets the criteria noted above will be considered for transfer. Equivalencies to Westminster courses will be determined as outlined below. Transfer acceptance of hours from foreign institutions does not guarantee fulfillment of like courses in majors and minors at Westminster unless approved by the faculty.
Transfer courses fulfill Westminster liberal education course requirements on a course-by-course basis when the transfer courses are deemed equivalent to the corresponding Westminster courses. The Transfer Coordinator makes this determination in accordance with guidelines established by faculty.
An advisor in the major or minor program of study determines whether transfer credit fulfills specific requirements in the major or minor. A student who receives elective transfer credit for a course may not necessarily be able to apply that course to the major or minor. In addition, some programs have minimum grade requirements.
Although the college accepts transfer credit for courses with a C- grade or higher, individual programs may require verification of prerequisite knowledge and may require students to repeat coursework.
By definition, it is not possible to earn upper division credit from a two-year institution. In certain cases, lower division coursework will be accepted as meeting upper division program requirements; however, these hours will not count toward the 40 upper division hours required for graduation.
A quarter hour is equal to two-thirds of a semester hour, so one quarter hour transfers as .67 credit hours. Students transferring from institutions using the quarter system do not lose credit, because semesters are longer than quarters.
To be accepted as meeting Westminster College requirements, courses must not only have equivalent academic content, they must also equal at least two-thirds of the Westminster required hours, e.g., a language class must be 2.68 credit hours or more.
Students who have Associate of Arts (A.A.) or Associate of Science (A.S.) degrees from regionally accredited institutions or have official letters verifying completion of liberal education requirements from a Utah institution are considered to have completed the following LE requirements:
The A.A. or A.S. degree does not exempt students from completing the following liberal education requirements:
Students who have Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees are not eligible for waivers.
Students should note that certain liberal education courses also serve as prerequisites or are required courses in their academic programs and would not be waived, even if a previous A.A. or A.S. degree has been attained. All students are advised to check the catalog for individual program requirements.
Students may earn a maximum of 40 credit hours under credit by examination programs: Advanced Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), Challenge Examinations, Nursing Examinations, and International Baccalaureate. Credit by examination is not counted as in-residence credit.
Advanced Placement (AP) examinations in most subjects cover a full-year college course equivalent to eight credit hours. Some subject areas such as Computer Science A, Economics (Macro and Micro), Environmental Science, Comparative Government and Politics, U.S. Government and Politics, Physics C, Psychology, Statistics, and Human Geography, are equivalent to one semester of college-level coursework and are awarded credit based on the credit hours for the equivalent course at Westminster.
A score of 3 is the minimum score accepted by the college; however, individual departments may require a minimum score of 4 to award credit for the equivalent course and/or liberal education requirement. Individual departments determine how they will apply AP credits toward specific major or minor requirements. Students may receive a maximum of 40 hours of Advanced Placement credit. Listed below are the AP tests that fulfill Westminster LE requirements and the required scores.
English Composition/Research
English Language/Comp
English Literature/Comp
4 or 5
4 or 5
English Literature/Comp
4 or 5
Art History
3, 4, or 5
3, 4 or 5
French, German, Latin, and Spanish Examinations
*Designates AP examinations equivalent to only one semester of college-level work.
For a complete listing of the AP examinations, the required scores, and equivalent courses at Westminster, contact the START Center or the Registrar's Office.
CLEP is a national program of examination to evaluate, confirm, and assess the academic achievement of individuals who have reached a college level of education through either traditional or non-traditional means of study.
Note: The CLEP program is currently under review by Westminster College faculty. Acceptance of CLEP testing for specific Westminster courses as listed below is subject to change. For a complete listing of currently honored CLEP examinations, please contact the START Center or the Registrar's Office.
CLEP includes General Examinations in three basic liberal arts areas and Subject Examinations in widely-taught undergraduate courses.
Credit is not awarded if duplicated by previous coursework.
Humanities II: Literature
Arts II: Arts Survey
Natural Science
Science/Mathematics III: Life Sciences
Science/Mathematics II: Physical Sciences
For CLEP exams taken since June 2001, a minimum score of 50 is required. A higher score is required for the full 12 hours of Language credit. For more information about CLEP, contact the START Center at 832-2282.
American Government
American History I
Humanities I: History
American History II
Analysis and Interpretation of Literature
Calculus with Elementary Functions
MATH 201 and 202
College Algebra
College Algebra/Trigonometry
MATH 141 and 142
College French I and II
FREN 110, 111 and 220
College German I and II
LANG 100 (12 hours)
College Spanish I and II
General Chemistry
CHEM 111 and 112
Introductory Accounting
Introductory Psychology
Introductory Sociology
Principles of Macroeconomics
Principles of Management
Principles of Marketing
Principles of Microeconomics
Western Civilization I
Western Civilization II
Students who have earned a diploma in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program in high school are awarded 30 credit hours and cleared of all liberal education requirements. Once awarded, students are not eligible to receive credit from AP or CLEP examinations except for Subject Examinations where upper-division coursework equivalency is awarded. It is not possible to receive credit for partial completion of the IB program. Students are required to provide proof of the diploma upon admission to the college.
Students may earn credit for independent learning in certain academic areas by means of the Challenge Examination. This is a comprehensive examination covering a given course according to the following conditions:


text:
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
The S.C. United Mount Pleasant U16 97 Crescent girls soccer team won the President Medal Cup state championship in Greenville Sunday with a 1-0 overtime win over the American Youth Soccer Organization.
In the opening minutes of the first overtime period, Alexandra Wain netted what would end up being the game-winner as 97 Crescent's defense and midfield play led by Megan MacAulay and Lillie Bradshaw preserved the advantage for the championship victory.
The win was 97 Crescent's fourth of the weekend as they charged through group play toward the championship match.
Skylar Davis opened the weekend Saturday with a game-winning free kick with less than a minute to play to lift 97 Crescent over Congaree Rapid Soccer Association Sky 97. Goalkeeper Hannah Miner preserved the shutout for 97 Crescent with the help of defenders Morgan Blackwell, Samantha Hilleshiem, MacAulay, Lyndsay McNally, Kylie Egan and Shanna Hyland. Mary Alice Strohmeyer scored two goals, and Wain and Brittany Miles both added one in a 4-0 shutout of Furman United Soccer Club in 97 Crescent's second game Saturday.
The girls closed out group play Sunday with a 6-1 win over Summerville Soccer Club to claim first place in their group and advance to the championship round. Strohmeyer, Wain, Miles, Kellen Haas, Jensen Haldrup and Skylar Davis each scored for 97 Crescent.
Crescent was without Taylor Cristo, Sydney James and Hayley Keiser who were sidelined with injuries but each played a major role in advancing the team to the championship weekend. Crescent entered the weekend as the tournament's No. 1 seed after winning the Fall League Championship with a 9-1-2 record, outscoring opponents by a combined 29-3. The team finished 24-4-4 overall this season, capturing championships in the North Mecklenburg Fall Kickoff and the SCUMP Charleston Select Shootout Tournament along the way. Their state championship win qualifies them for a bid to the region championship tournament June 12-16 in Decatur, Ala. The team is coached by Hope Atkinson and Jeff Hoerner.
© 2016 Moultrie News an Evening Post Industries company. All Rights Reserved.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Celebrator (doppelbock)
Lion Stout
Those are all I can think of right now, but the liquor store adjacent to the record store I work at just started carrying a s***pile of nice imports...looooooove.
You work at CD Warehouse? I live just down the street from that/Drake's Party!
As for beers, my favorite is free, but I also enjoy almost everything I've tried. In no order:
Bell's Amber Ale
Bell's Two-Hearted Ale
Bell's Oberon
Blue Moon
Dirty Bastard
Rickard's Red (Only seen it in Canada)
Sam Adams (I've only had light, it tasted good but the 6-pack didn't even get me buzzed so it was disappointing)
I'll also drink Bud Light/Miller Lite, though I prefer Bud of the two.
I can't stand Labatt.
I'm still pretty young and hopelessly poor, so I mostly drink beer to get drunk since I can't afford to enjoy $10 6-packs every couple days.


text:
on November 15, 2012 - 7:55 PM
, updated November 16, 2012 at 2:00 AM
One of the nation's largest private foundations is committing as much as $6 million over several years to help transform an impoverished Buffalo neighborhood.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation will provide the funding as part of efforts by Buffalo Promise Neighborhood to improve the well-being of children and families in 11,000 households within the 14215 ZIP code, in the northeast section of the city.
Buffalo Promise Neighborhood was one of three projects from across the country chosen by the Casey Foundation to participate in its new partnerships. The others are in Columbus, Ohio and San Antonio.
The Casey Foundation programs are expected to focus on adult education and job training.
The Baltimore-based foundation plans to invest $300,000 in the first 18 to 24 months to design, plan and pilot intervention programs and strategies aimed at assisting families with young children. The foundation's investment will then grow to $750,000 to $1 million annually, covering the cost of implementing services and evaluating their effectiveness.
The Casey Foundation partnership is the latest in a string of big grants for Buffalo Promise Neighborhood, which has secured about $20 million toward helping the 14215 community raise academic achievement, reduce crime, boost health and wellness, improve parenting skills and build economic opportunities and financial stability.
Last December, the federal Department of Education awarded the nonprofit organization $6 million over five years – an amount that M & T Bank has agreed to match.
Other major grants have come from the John R. Oishei Foundation and the U.S. Department of Justice.
The 14215 ZIP code in the city is bordered by Cheektowaga on the east and runs north from just below Delavan Avenue to Winspear Avenue in University Heights. It is split by the Kensington Expressway.
The Casey Foundation money will allow Buffalo Promise Neighborhood to "expand more aggressively" its work within the 14215 neighborhood, said David K. Chamberlain, chief executive officer.
Founded in 2010, Buffalo Promise Neighborhood so far has had mostly an academic focus on early learning, curbing absenteeism in schools and providing more after-school and summer academic programs for kids.
The organization, for example, broke ground in October on a new 10,0 00-square-foot early-childhood learning center at Bailey Avenue and Amherst Street that will begin enrolling up to 150 infants, toddlers and preschoolers in September 2013. Other initiatives, such as the Johns Hopkins Talent Development Secondary Program and Closing the Gap, also have been launched in Highgate Heights Elementary School and Bennett High School.
The Casey Foundation's "two-generation" family approach will bring attention to adults, as well, concentrating on parenting, job skills and financial security.
"We thought this fit perfectly with us," said Chamberlain. "We have a tremendous opportunity, but we now have a challenge ahead of us and we've got to show results."
The foundation's approach will pull Erie Community College into the growing list of partners and service providers involved with Buffalo Promise Neighborhood.
The college is being asked to create a satellite location within 14215 to deliver its GED program and Pathways to Success pre-collegiate program to residents who can't commute to one of ECC's three campuses.
ECC President Jack Quinn said the college was thrilled to be partnering with Buffalo Promise Neighborhood and "lucky to be working with a foundation of the stature of the Casey Foundation."
Established in 1948 by Jim Casey, a founder of UPS, the Annie E. Casey Foundation has assets of more than $2.3 billion, ranking it among the 25 largest private foundations in the country.
Foundation staff first became aware of Buffalo Promise Neighborhood about 18 months ago, while the foundation was conducting a national search to find new initiatives dovetailing with its mission of improving the lives of disadvantaged children and families, said Charles Rutheiser, senior associate in the foundation's Center for Community and Economic Opportunity.
Foundation officials visited Buffalo this past spring. They expect to see improvements in employment and income levels among parents in 14215 households, which should lead to greater stability in the neighborhood, said Rutheiser.
email: email@example.com


text:
A New Theme Book!
We promise we won't mention it beyond this one update, but we thought some of you might be interested to know that we launched a followup compilation to Science, called... Read more
Free Desktop Wallpapers!
As promised, here are your stretch goal wallpapers. Paper your desktops with pride.
We ask that you kindly do not share these links. Thanks!
http://smbc-comics.com/images/wallpaper4.html (Science)
http://www.smbc-comics.com/images/wallpaper3.html (Dino Revenge)
http://www.smbc-comics.com/images/wallpaper2.html... Read more
Signing Complete!
Your humble Weinersmith just got home from Austin. All the signed books are complete, so we are now very close to shipping.
I'm biased of course, but I'm very happy... Read more
Quick Note on Surveys
Just to allay confusion:
A few people have asked why some people got surveys while others did not.
The people who received surveys were all people who ordered t-shirts. Because... Read more
We Have a Shipping Date!
Hey everyone!
The last few weeks have been a pretty crazy time, what with San Diego Comic-Con and the reveal of a very exciting secret project with Phil Plait and... Read more
Ack! Not sure how that error got into the pdf. We're revising it and will have the correction out soon. Thank you all so much for noting the bugs.
Quick Update
Hey geeks! Sorry for the lack of recent updates, but I've been traveling a bit.
All of the art is done, and we're now in the process of making a... Read more
For people who want to add to their order
Hey geeks!
I just saw a proto for the book, and I think you'll all be quite please.
For people who want to add something to their order, we are... Read more
1,708% Funded
I call that a win.
My sincere thanks to everyone. Every time we put out a new big thing, I think "this is the time nobody wants it!" Thank you... Read more
Molecule Contest Winner - Matthew Michnik
I didn't know it when we started the contest, but that's what the consensus of /chemistry on reddit decided.
So, Mr. Michnik, you glorious glorious nerdy bastard, please get... Read more
300k - ALL HARDCOVERS WILL BE SIGNED!
I have run out of original compliments. Let me just say that this is going to make the next few years of running a small cartooning busy a lot more... Read more
Clarification Regarding Hardcovers
Heya! We've gotten a lot of questions on this, so here goes:
All the rewards listed contain all the info about what you get from them. If they don't say... Read more
275k Reached
Holy crap. This is amazing. Can you tell I didn't plan rewards this high? You geeks are gonna explode my hands drawing all these extra comics.
Special Orders
If you want to add the hardcover to any physical order, add $40 and send us a message on kickstarter. Thanks!
Adam Savage!
Well, I've been sitting on it for a while, but I can finally announce. Adam Savage very kindly agreed to send us a story for the Tales of Science section... Read more
Winning Labs!
Using a complex system of quantum randomness, we determined the winning labs. They will get free copies of the book! Here they are. If your lab was selected, WOOHOO! If... Read more
175k Reached
WOOH! Post your lab in the comments headed with "MY LAB IS" and we'll select 10 random ones at the end of the project to get copies signed to the... Read more
Quick Clarification
If we hit 250k, we'll list a couple new reward levels at which hardcovers are available. I'd love to just throw them in for free, but hardcovers cost significantly more... Read more
140k Reached
NEW COMIC released! And, we're approaching another map. Any suggestions for what type of land?
130k Reached
Well, hell, that's amazing. 130k is what we made total on the kickstarter.
And, you've unlocked Cheese Wizard Agapakis.
Another comic goes in! I'm off to bed for the night, but I'll update in the morning if we cross anything. Thanks, geeks!!
110k Reached!
Kelly Weinersmith HAS BEEN LOOSED UPON THE BOOK. I TRIED TO HOLD HER BACK, BUT YOU HAVE SUMMONED HER FROM HER SCIENCE CAVE!
100k Reached
I hoped we had a shot at reaching this in 30 days. We've done it in 24 hours. I have no idea where this is going to end up, but... Read more
75k Reached
Emily Lakdawalla added!
I'm about to go to bed, so if I'm a bit behind on updates during the night, sorry!
Once again, thank you all so much. I thought... Read more
50k Reached, New Map Unlocked
Everyone will now get the eBook of "Save Yourself Mammal," the first SMBC Collection.
Now, I'm going to go buy a gold rocket ship.
(Seriously, I have the best readers... Read more
30k Reached!
OH MAN! Just added Elizabeth Iorns' story to the book. She's one of my favorite people, and the founder of Science Exchange.
25k Reached!
You geeks are amazing. I'm gonna run home so I can make the rest of the updates more instantaneous. I am so humbled by all of you.
10k Reached
No words. I was hoping to hit 10k by the end of the day. Wow. You are all the best readers in the cosmos.
5k Reached
All I can say is holy crap, thank you all so much. The first SMBC comic that's ever been book-exclusive has been added. (Hint: It involves trebuchets)
1k Reached
Here's a special first update for you first 42 backers. We've reached our first milestone, which means Phil Plait's story will be in the book!


text:
Fujifilm FinePix S1500 Review
Latest Camera Reviews
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G80 Review
Your Comments
213 Comments | Newest Oldest First | Post a Comment
Since two weeks ago, I am owner of S1500. Al experimented with many and I am very satisfied
i bought one of these after reading many generally positive reviews. i managed to get this for £170 with a bag and 4gb card.
it seems these bridge cameras can have battery life issues and in the reviews that gave info about the s1500 battery life, this one seemed to do quite well.
with the supplied alkalines mine managed to get just over 450 images. seeing as it was a new toy, there was lots of flash and zoom in use too. ive put a set of 2650mah rechargables in there and have since gone past 1000 images with no warnings yet. so in terms of battery life im very impressed.
i am admitedly a relative newb to slightly more advanced camera settings so my attempts at getting night shots at Le Mans were pretty poor. ill keep on practicing though
otherwise, im more than happy with the image quality so far. when comparing this to my friends 400d SLR Canon, the Fuji's pictures are a fair bit darker if used in auto mode, but im sure it could be tweaked to improve the performance.
I am looking @ the S1500 to replace an aging Canon.I had an S5000 and did not like the shutter lag it had, has anyone experienced shutter lag with the S1500 ??
Also what is the maximum SD card size that the S1500 will accomidate. I tried to get this info from Fuji's website with no luck !!
From Fuji site you can find out that max size for card (tested) is 16Gb
Went from a Fuji F30 classic to the S1500 based on bridge style, extreme zoom and auto optimal setting. Took terrific outdoor shots of my son's graduation. Enjoyed the panorama setting which stitches 3 consecutive shots together in one saved picture. Indoor pics are grainy in natural light. Movies were great! 15x zoom really nice addition. Camera has great rubberized grasp. I'm still no expert at aperture, shutter speed settings.
I am wanting to pick up this camera, however, I would like to know how the action shots taken with this camera are ? Are fast moving objects blurred at all ? is the camera capable of taking images that are quickly moving using the higher shutter speed ? I would appreciate the feedback
Bought one of these a few months ago and I have been nothing but pleased. It does everything well and it has different settings you can just click for different light conditions. Sporting events, night, fireworks etc.
I love the night setting that keeps the shutter open for longer and creates really cool pictures.
Its been really simple to operate also. Im no expert but Ive delved into photography enough to be able to use the more advanced features as well, which are very cool…like the panoramic setting . You wont go wrong with this camera and the price is very attractive.
My mom bought one of these and I borrowed it. I had it for over 3 months and she forced me to return it! So I bought me one. This is so much bang for the buck. Miles ahead of my Cannon point and click. I love the fact that it is AA batteries so replacements can be just around the corner if you run out. When I used mom's for 3 months, I never had to replace the battery so I have no idea how long they will last.
The images are so much clearer than my other cameras and you will appreciate the professional looking shots. With a little thought you can shed that "point-n-click" image for good. I got mine for $179 with free shipping on Amazon.
10 million pixels is all very good but I need to take photos for emailing.Is the resolution variable?
Is the flash permanently off unless activated.My current camera has flash permanently on unless disabled which I find inconvenient.
just got this as a gift.thanks sandra x. could anyone tell me what filters to use on this cam. thanks.
I have a question. I bought one of these cameras and everything is fine except when I do video, the audio is impaired by the sound of the auto zoom. Can anyone tell me if this autozoom can be turned off? Or should I just invest in a video camera?
Bought an S1500 last week, and I am returning it today. Compared to my Canon, the image quality is just not up to par. The noticeable color noise and lack of crisp details are noticeably worse than any of my Canon A560.
Yes, the S1500 has a great form factor, a nice price, and some really attractive features. Those features tempted me to try it. But if the resulting images are lousy, what's the point?
Perhaps I'm too picky, but my Canon has spoiled me, and the S1500 takes much poorer photos in all conditions.
I can only recommend it for everybody!
I bought first a Nikon L100 with high hopes, than i returned it same day and got a FinePix S1500.
It is a very good value for its price!
I'm an expert hobby-photographer and totally satisfied with this bridge-camera.
@ #9
yes, you can choose from different resolutions, and flash is very easy enabled/disabled
My mums thinking of getting one of these can anyone tell me if they are a sesible buy for the technophobic ! She has a Minolta film slr but never really changes lenses etc so it is a bit of a waste. I was encouraging her towards a compact but she likes the slr look and has arthritis so prfers the chunkier type of grip. So all in all can anyone give me an honest thought plus the cheapest/best buys shop etc.
Many thanks
This camera would be good for your purposes. It's light yet it gives you the feel of something that's bigger.
I found the cheapest prices at Amazon, although that was a month ago so I'm not sure about how valid a point that would be right now.
Mine was $179 at that time but I'm sure you'd find it for less than that if you shop around a bit.
You really can't go wrong. It takes good pictures and for the technophobe, there's no need to ever take it out of auto. The grip on the right-hand side has a good amount of space but still manages to be snug. My hands aren't that big and it feels comfortable.
For the last year or so I've really been getting into photography.
A few friends of mine have been asking for shots of their band, and another for sporting event photos, can anyone tell me if this camera's really built for those sort of good quality shots?
I took a bunch of pics during a Blues Festival in poorly lit conditions. There were 8 bands and 7 of them absolutely loved the pics that I took. The one that didn't want my stuff already had a photographer travelling with them.
So the short answer is yes, given the usual little edits, I found that this cam works well for those types of shots.
Just used my camera for the first time in anger at a deer park. Deer and background were similar colour but I seemed to get a lot of white in the photo on the deer and especially on the grass. Mode was normal and flash was off. Overcast conditions. Any help please, I am a semi beginner so can't blame the camera. Did AF assist kick in. Could I have used SRauto. Thanks.
It sounds like your picture was over exposed. SR might help solve your problem. Or if that doesn't work you can try this:
Turn your dial to P. The hit the +- button on the right bottom of the cam. Use the Up/Down, Left/Right cursers or the back to adjust. Now you can darken your shot gradually and manually until you get the light, or lack thereof, that you'd need.
The only way to do it is to play around with the settings until you find the desired result. Try to remember what you did under specific conditions to get it right…that would be the most important thing so that you can repeat it when you need to.
* on the back to adjust. Sorry
many thanks for your reply. All a bit new at the moment. Thinking about what I did. I believe I held the shutter button down too long at the halfway stage before I took the shot,could that have let too much light in causing the over exposure. Thanks in advance if you can answer.
I doubt that.
Once it focusses and locks in you should be all set. However, if you then move onto say, a different background, your exposure would be incorrect since the auto focus chooses the exposure levels for you. So that might have done you in also.
So unless you changed your focal point of view (which might have happened) holding down the shutter half way for an extended period wouldn't necessarily screw up your exposure.
Jules #11
I have the same problem with the video audio being impaired by the auto-zoom. Have you found a fix for the issue?
John #24
Nope. Had to buy a vid cam instead. Canon Vixia 200. Haven't had much time to test it out. But obviously the quality is much superior and I reckon I did the right thing.
I have been researching cameras for a few weeks now, I would really like to try something other than a point and shoot camera. I'm undecided between this one or the Panasonic ZS-1 (point and shoot).
I was wondering if anyone would be able to tell me how the lag time is between taking shots. Any opinions on which one I should go with would be great too! This Fuji one just seems like such a great deal.
Sandy, I use a Canon G10 and my girlfriend has a Fuji S1500. The only negative issue I've had with her camera is the autofocus noise completely destroys the audio on her videos.
I haven't noticed significant lag time with the Fuji but I'm aware that others claim that to be an issue with the camera.
im really thinking about buying this cam, but i wanted to know if it´s good for sunsets and daybreaks pics.
Here's the thing:
Saying a specific camera takes good pictures is like saying one piano plays better tunes than another.
Yes, it has to do with equipment but it has more to do with the pianist at the end of the day. Or for our purposes, the photographer.
For the price of this camera I still don't think you can go wrong.
Combine that with some research and homework, and perhaps invest in some post production software (Photoshop) and this camera will take any picture you want. It has the obvious limitations and even the most seasoned pro will tell you that most of the work is done after you've taken your shot.
I still recommend this camera for the average person who would like to switch from a point and shoot to something a little more involved.
Sunrise, sunset it doesn't matter. The right person behind the camera is what makes the difference.
We buy these things expecting that they'll do everything for us and that's simply not the case. You need to invest more than just a little money to get the results that you need.
Thank you! Im definitely going to buy this camera, because for its price i think it´s worth a try. And i agree with you when you say "The right person behind the camera is what makes the difference". i have been using a sony w-50 for a while and im very proud of some of my pics.:)
Like others, I am a Cannon guy. I returned the horrible Nikon L-100 as well. I have the Cannon A-720 which takes better close up video, but distance video is not very good, where the Fuji will makes adjustments in brightness and sharpness. It was a close call on this one. I weighed the versatility of the Fuji (along with price) - against the negatives. The zoom was a big factor, and it's crystal clear image. I'm keeping mine.
I purchased one of these cameras 6 weeks ago and have already taken 2500 pictures with. I am more than pleased with the performance and the quality of my pictures. All sorts of subjects were covered including low light, super macro, really fast exposures. I have only had one problem and I do not think it is related to the camera. I was playing with the camera in a continuous shooting mode, trying to capture blue jays in our hanging feeder. Lots of action, but hard to capture with single shots. I had the camera set at maximum picture size (10mp). I had shot about 25 or 30 pictures capturing some great pictures, so I continued shooting more. I was into maybe 60 or 70 more pictures when the camera quit taking pictures and threw an error code onto the display saying it could not write the file. OK, card full I thought. The card is a 4 gb el-cheapo model, but seemed to work well. SO I took the card out, put it my card reader and nothing. Windows gave it a drive letter and nothing else. It could not read the card. Much discussion was held at work and suggestions were made to try some file recovery programs. Tried about a dozen of them with the same result, nothing to recover. One program actually gave me a clue, Card size 0 Bytes. This sort of tells me the card has some how fried itself and that my pictures (750+) are gone. I have tried the card in several computers and even in a different camera, result the same, cannot read card. I know this has not been caused by the camera, so was it the card itself. As with most things, more expensive is better. I would appreciate any comments about this if anyone has had similar problems. I have done a lot of reading on the net and this is not an isolated problem as lots of folks are loosing pictures. I am just glad my pictures were nothing important like a wedding. Thanks for reading this post.
i got this bad boy today. and i must say its the most enjoyable thing ive bought. i like all the features and i think its a pretty cheap but quality camera :D batteries have been hangin in there took over like 300 pics max settings and still good.
#32 Steve,
Cheap memory cards are like cheap hookers. While the outside may seem functional enough, chances are, there's something seriously wrong on the inside.
With memory cards though, it usually hides in the circuitry - low quality connections often lead to low quality performance and worst of all, total loss of information.
Also, while cheap hookers have a proclivity towards smack and crack, manufacturors of cheap memory devices have a tendency to use even cheaper crap components to make their products.
So in essence, it's about balance - you wouldn't match up a good buddy with a cheap hooker now would you?
Jules. Thanks for the reply to my question. I am leaned a long way to the side to replace my card that I have left. I have a 2 gig Kingston home not being used so I thing I will put that in the camera till I get a 4 gig replacement. And you are right, I wouldn't match up a good buddy with a cheap hooker.
One thing about file recovery though. I read on Stumble about a week ago, this advice:
Put your drive in a freezer for a couple of hours and then try to retrieve any lost information.
However, the advice pertained to a hard drive as opposed to a memory card (which is basically a miniature version.)
I haven't tried it but these guys swear by it.
Worst case cenario - frozen card syndrome - which is not that far from screwed up card syndrome. A case of which you currently have either way.
#32 Steve
I think your photo can be recover.
First go to the Disk management program, check if the drive can be read or not.
If it show a partition, it's fine, move to next step, else create a working partition on the disk.
Next, quick format it to erase off the FAT table in the drive (Please don't full format it as it will erase all the file), this is to allow any program to access the drive.
(all the action above is to make the drive accessible to file recovery program)
Last, install any file recovery program and scan the surface, and your fill will be there!!
Jules and Eric: Many thanks for the comments. I have nothing to loose and posibilly something to gain. Disk Management thing is also great idea. I will give these both a try over the weekend.
Eric: OK< I have not tried to freeze the card yet but have gone thru the Disk Management as you suggested. When I get far enough into the Disk Management program, the program tells me there is no media in the drive therefore I cannot partition it as you have suggested. I have also tried this from the command prompt, with pretty much the same story, no media.
Where do I go next
Steve, the solution i suggested is to solve the problem when camera corrupted the FAT table while updating the FAT table, which make us can't access the file.
If we can refresh the FAT table, and access the drive, we can recover it. I encounter this problems many time before as i use my aged memory card on my DSLR.
From your discription, you can't even detect the drive, it's mostly due to circuit damage, which is unrecoverble hardware failure. I encounter before when i use a SD to CF adaptor on a nikon D3.
Luckily i clear my photo before i do this, and my Kingston 1GB SD card go into warranty on the next day.
Anyway, don't let your S1500 go because of this. Use a better quality memory card will do.
Had a fuji 7.2 megapixel…...but got stolen
Replaced this with the s1500…........the 7.2 was absolute perfection.
It had good ergonomic design,simplicity of design and it did what it said it would do in an effective manner.
The s1500…....doesnt fit in its case…...dosesnt fit into the hand unless you are three and by comparison is as absolute nightmare.
They had a perfect solution. this one is awkward noisey in video mode, slow in ever other mode and has severe learning disability.
A real real dissapointment. Its in the drawer where it will fester dust I guess.
just bought my wife an s1500,and am wondering what memory card i should get.i am new to these sort of camera,normally just use disposable ha
@ Paul
What are you Gulliver?
Granted the video sucks but that's why it's not a video camera but a bridge camera.
Buy a new case.
Cameras don't have learning disabilities, people do.
I use an 8gb Sandisk. $13 at Amazon.
Your quality setting will determine how many pics you can take until the card is full. For example:
On a normal 10mp setting you should be able to take 3100 pictures. Refer to page 109 in your Pdf manual for more examples.
Sandisk is a good quality memory card and I adivse you to seriously think about quality. If you read some of the previous posts you'll find that cheap memory cards come at their own price; namely they screw up and lose your pictures.
Does anyone know if Fuji intend to produce filters for the FinePix S1500? A UV and Polarizer would be good.
Here's a kit
Jules, two reviewers who both state that you can't fit filters to Fuji S1500, have you tried them?
Ultimately the answer to your previous question seems to be no. I just searched the good search now, but everything I see tells me that there are no filters for this camera.
However, if you are intent on using filters you can get some and McGuyver them on.
Where there's a will there's a way.
Also, I found 46mm filters that should, theoretically, fit. But don't hold me to that. If you want you can check it out:
Cheers for the info Jules and it does look like I'll have to McGuyver them on!
Is it possible to attach extra lens to this camera. And how about view finder is it also like a small lcd screen ???
Duckt tape seems to be an option. And yes, the view finder is a small LCD.
Good point Jules duck tape would probably do the trick.
Do you have any shots I could view that you took using the S1500?
There you go. Some of these were taken under low light and as you will see, some not. But I think it'll give you a fair idea.
This is probably my favorite one.
Hey Steve
pls suggest which one to chose from out of Sony H20 and Fuji S1500fd,
especially when its ur first camera and first salary too…
Thanks Jules,
I have read some review, they are saying that picture quality is not so good. Is it true ?
And regarding extension of telephoto lens, doesn't this camera have inbuild feature for extension, like clamp or somethimg like that. Can we call inbuilt lens in this camera, a telephoto one.
I'm not a big Wikipedia fan but they do have a good article on the subject.
As for picture quality, I guess it depends on what you're using it for. I do quite a lot of photography for work and nobody so far has comlained about the quality of my work.
Besides, it's not the camera - it's the person that takes the picture that makes the difference.
Hi, Can anyone tell me what the leather(?) cover is actually of - it feels slightly rubbery to my partner, so this would be a problem for me (I'm latex allergic). Fuji's website is of no help in finding out the answer. Thanx.
Thanks for those? I take it you were using a tripod? It does make a huge difference?
No, as a matter of fact I never used a tripod on any of those. The stabilizer is pretty good at what it does.
I really have no idea mate. There's no tag on the inside of it?
I'm not allergic to anything…except gravity but when it comes to those things, I'd rather be safe than sorry.
I bought another bag that holds more stuff. I have my little voice recorder, 2 sets of rechargeables, notebook, pens, smokes, phone, thumbdirve, wallet, and a genie in my bag.
I Ordered this camera the S1500 from Dell on Thursday and it should be here by thursday or Friday.
But i realy want to know if you can put a fisheye lens on the camera.???
Never mind ignore that comment.
Im a starter and really want to get into photography.
Ive never had a camera of my own but im only 13 and a half so i have good reasoning.
For myself i realy like photagraphy because Its a good way to show youre perspective of the world.
For myself as an amateur is this a good camera and considering getting into photography Is it a headstart.?
Hey guys, I bought the s1500 as my first digicam and wanted to know if their is a website or book that you know of that can help first timers and digital cams. I have had a small kodak that didnt have the near the features that this camera has. Have figured out how to take pics and vid but am a newbie on functions and settings dont want to mess anything up by changing settings. Thanks
These guys are regarded as being the best at what they do. I't a blog format that deals with all aspects of Digital Photography. You can spend weeks on this site justreading and learning useful stuff.
can anybody tell me about the battery performance of this camera. I mean with charged battery how many photo this camera can take. Thanks…..
I can't quote an exact figure but I can tell you that it's over 1500 pictures with the rechargeables that I use.
As a whole it also depends on how you use the camera. How many times does it get turned off inbetween shots? How many of those shots will be taken with a flash? The quality of the batteries you'll be using? High speed shooting takes more energy out of the batteries.
So it all depends.
Under normal circumstances, when I go out to get images for a day I can take well over 2000 pictures. A lot of those will be continuous shots and some high speed ones. Probably no flash but I turn the camera on and off frequently.
Can anyone please tell me .. How fast is the multi shot (top3/4) on this camera. I uesd to own a £550 whci was poor on the zoom, so bought the zoom lense and startes taking spots shots. Realising the need for a bigger zoom I graduates onto the S5700 and although the zoom was just what I needed, the multi shot was very poor. I'limped my was through the last two seasons wiht it but need another camera that I can really sqeeze the DOF and have at lease 4 quick fire shots. Is this the camera for me?
It breaks down as follows:
Up to 1.4fps. for a maximum of 3 frames at 10mp
Up to 1.4fps. max depending on memory at 10pm
Up to 1.4fps. last 3 frames recorded at 10mp
Up to 3.3fps. for a maximum of 6 frames at 5mp
Up to 7.5fps. for a maximum of 15 frames at 2mp
The top 2 of those are different settings - sounds stupid when I say it I know. I don't know why they did this because it seems they could've done something different.
I forgot. So if you notice, the quality of the image you're shooting in continuous is affected by the frame rate you use. The camera, when shooting in continuous, only displays the setting and not all the other little details.
So if you're not paying attention and you unpload one of your great shots to Fotolia, you're likely to find that your friggen file isn't big enough.
One piece of advice I can give you with this camera and shooting contiuous:
Make damn sure you are 100% framed and focussed. Once it auto-focusses, it's over and that shutter keeps going no matter what.
Learnt that 300 frames too late.
The DOF is the same as any other good 35mm camera. The f number is completely adjustable in 3 seperate modes.
I have a question about the responsiveness of the camera. My biggest gripe of my previous digital cameras is the picture taken speed. Everytime I try to take a rare picture of the baby looking up at me by the time the camera takes the picture I get the side of her head because she already turned away. Same with my son taekwondo pictures. If I take a picture of him in mid kick I end up getting him when hes finished.
Re comment over a particular piano playing a certain tune better: it is a well known fact that top pianists, if playing a 'single composer' concert, will choose instruments set up differently depending on the composer. An all-Bach programme would require harder hammer-felt than, for instance, the luscious sounding Debussy or Ravel. Nb: German-built Steinways have a 'harder' tone than their US-built counterparts…
This is a camera discussion forum. If you want to do the piano thing, I'm sure you can find one elsewhere.
Jules, I think this is along the lines of what Paul said. You can be a professional photographer, but if you try to take pictures with a cardboard box, you may get more paper cuts than photographs. Likewise, you could be blind and produce photographs with a camera.
I've recently purchased a S1500FD and first used it a couple of hours ago. I've noticed, and am disappointed with, the quality of the images taken in my fluorescent lit room using various ISO settings were pretty poor. This is consistent with some of the reviews I've read on other websites such as CNET (http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/fujifilm-finepix-s1500/4505-6501_7-33529082.html?tag=mncol;lst). Even though the S1500FD seemed to be a relatively affordable camera of its kind, I've thought about returning it since I purchased it a few weeks ago. That's why I was reluctant to open the package until a couple of hours ago when I became very curious to try it out. I do like the design and feel of the camera though. It's relatively light as well for something that seems a bit bulky. I'm still considering whether I should return it though unless I can take better quality photos. Well, I'll see what happens in a couple of days when I take pictures in the sun.
Thanks for your comments, Jules.
P.S. I saw the images from the links you posts here, and they seemed kind of dark, not in psychological sense but as if the colors didn't accurately reflect the world you saw outside of the camera. Then again, how would I know?
Sorry about the typos. It's 5:17 AM here in Toronto and I've been up since early yesterday morning, so I guess I'm a little tired. Looking forward to your responses.
P.P.S. I just went over the images provided in this review and they weren't very sharp. The second paragraph of the conclusion page sums it up. The score was a bit generous, too.
Look mate, I'm not saying that you'll get professional quality shots when you use this camera. In fact, and I also said this previously, that I do a lot of post production work to get them as smooth as I can. And even then, there's no comparison to something taken with a garden variety $1500 camera.
The points I were making was;
A) For the price, you can't beat this camera. In terms of it being by definition a bridge camera - something that's better than a point and shoot in that it facilitates a transitional experience from a point and shoot to a [enter brand here] DSLR.
B) Composition and scene creation depends on the photographer, not the camera.
This is a $170 camera.
I never said it was anything more than that.
Now, as for your florescent light dilemma. And I'm not saying that the following suggestion will cause you to win the Photographer Of The Year Prize at the county fair; but it's worth a try.
If you turn your mode dial to P, S, A, M or C and hit the menu button, you'll see an option to change your White Balance setting. There are 3 options within this category to choose from - Florescent 1, 2 and 3.
Play around with that and see if your results improve.
If you already tried that and have a more extensive knowledge of photography in general, please excuse my ignorance but know that I was not attempting to partonize you.
Ok, now the most important part:
There's sun in Tornoto?
Well there's sunlight here in Pickering and Toronto is about 4 or 5 kms west of me, so I presume there's sun there too. I just picked up one of these cameras the other day at Staples. I've been shooting well over 20 megapixels for decades (Kodachrome, Fujichrome, etc) so it'll be a bit of a reduction, but a step up from our previous point and shoot Kodak 3.2mp. It'll be a long learning curve for me because I'm used to more manual operations (I can use my OM-1 blindfolded), but there's nothing like practice. I do wish there was a way of rotating pictures in the camera. It tells me no when I try, which makes it a pain reviewing vertical frames on the TV. And I second Shane's comment on the shutter lag, that's one reason why I've stayed away from digitals this long, they still aren't as fast as a film camera. I guess my OM-1 and OM-2 bodies will still have some work ahead of them for important stuff like wildlife and aviation.
Do you mean you want to rotate frames in the S1500?
If so, if you hit the playback button there is a rotate image option in the menu.
Shutter lag has always been a problem and I suspect it will be for a while to come.
It's like watching a Mac shut down and boot up as compared to the average PC shut down and boot up time.
It's frustrating and the only cure I have for it is continuous shooting. Even then it's a gamble and it depends on the quality you're willing to settle for. That and a tripod is a must if you do.
Yeah, I found a 'rotate' option but when I tried it I got a message saying it couldn't be done. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. Anyway, we're heading out for a walk now, I'll try practising on some chikadees and other assorted avians.
Well, THAT was frustrating. Froze my fingers in that wind. Lesson to beginners (which I should have known by now) - NEVER! EVER!... test a new camera by trying to photograph small birds. Combined with the shutter lag, the automatic focus dithering means that it takes over a second to snap a picture. By that time a chickadee has eaten three sunflower seeds, chased off a rival, flitted through a selection of seven perches, and laughed his ass off at your pathetic attempts to waste pixels on him. I've always preferred photographing alligators, they just lay there and let you work. Not many here in Ontario though.
Bought this camera for my wife for Christmas. From all the reading I've done, I'm pretty excited to see what this baby can do! Our first ever move away from a point & click. I hope it's not rocket science!
So I suppose from the recent comments there is shutter lag but it goes with the territory of digital camera's?
If I take out the memory card, when I re-insert it, will it automatically erase, or are the images stored on it?
No, the images will still be on your card. That way, you can take your card to the photo shop and get your pics developed.
To erase the images on your card turn on your camera, hit the Playback button and then hit the Erase button. It will give you an option to either erase or cancel. If you want to erase, hit the left arrow to scroll to "Ok." Then, hit the Menu/Ok button in the middle.
You can also erase all the images on the camera at once if you have say, 2000 images on there and you don't want to do the one-by-one thing 2000 times.
Hit the Playback button, and then hit Menu/Ok. The very first option will be "Erase." From there you can choose whether you want to erase the current frame or all frames at once.
And then there's always the option to erase images one by one, or all at once, directly from the specific drive represented by your memory card on your PC…or Mac.
If you need help with that one let met know.
Thanks. We've seriously never had anything that required anything more than "turn on", "aim", "press". I just hope this won't be too much too soon.
Well the best advice I can give you is to read. Read as much as you can and experiment. Have fun and see what your results are.
The trick is to remember what you did right when you get it right. There is an unlimited amount of variables but a few things stay consistently tried, true and tested.
These guys are pretty good at what they do and I suggest you visit this site.
Their mission is pretty clear right on the first page and it's exactly what they do. Doesn't cost you a thing.
It takes time and effort but it pays off at the end and you never stop learning.
Call me old-fashioned, but I sure wish there was a cable release, or an electronic remote. It would expand the wildlife photography possibilities.
i am thinking of buying a Fuji s1500 for my son for christmas, do you think it will be good for pics of skateboarding, and is there a fish eye lens available for this model?? thanks
Dane, #75 you can fix white balance using the custom command and snap a picture of a white card or similar and that will fix your white balance problem.
I've read through all these posts and came to the conclusion that some expect this to be a professional camera. It's not. It's a fun camera with more features to play with. I've owned all Nikon digital SLR's and the S700 a couple years ago was attractive to me so I bought it. No, it didn't live up to my expectations of the digital slr's but I find myself picking it up and taking pictures more often than the others because it's so portable and it's quality isn't bad at all especially if your only viewing photos or making prints. By the way, I've mad 11x14 prints with this and there's no problem. The S1500 I've tried at the store, and it's very similar to the s700 but it's upgrade is well worth the price. Oddly enough, the s1500 is lower priced than when I bought my s700.
I just wish Christmas would get here so I can give it to my wife! It's burning a hole on the shelf where I have it stashed until the big day! She's going to LOVE it! We have a 4 month old, and my wife LOVES to take close up pics with our old crummy camera. This will open up a whole new world for her!
Suzie, #90
Yeah i have one and it takes great pics of skateboarding.I Been skatinr 2 and a half years.You just have to know the settings how to tke good pics and adjust the shutter speed or just simply change to sports mode
Bought a Fuji S1500 from Amazon (best price) had issues with focus. Camera would occasionally display "Lens Position Error". Amazon has replaced it and the new one is much better.
For those with complaints on the zoom motor noise in videos, you can swap to from optical zoom to digital zoom in the movie menu set-up. Digital zoom has its limitations but work for me.
Great camera at a great price.
Thanks I got alot from this review. Though I am still struggling to decide between the s1500 or the s2000hd as they are both in my price range, but I just want to get the camera that would produce the better photo quality overall. also important would be the one that has the most choice for manual settings like changing shutter speed and aperture so I can experiment alot.
I can't wait to get either of these though. I've never had a camera before with a viewfinder and so am really excited about how much fun that will be! :]
Thanks for any advice
I can only speak for the S1500.
It has more changeable settings than what I ever use although I've tried just about all of them.
From 7 white balance settings all the way down to ISO between 64 and 6400(at 3mp), along with all the aperture adjustment you'll need, I think you'll find that there's a lot of room to experiment with.
So I guess go nuts and have fun whatever your choice.
Thanks alot Jules, really sounds like a whole lot of camera for the price. I have read as many reviews as I can for the s1500 and it's been very positive, and any negative feedback really is just expectations being too high. especially if people are getting it as a 2nd camera to their DSLR.
Thanks again, I think this is definately the best camera review site around, and tomorrow I will finally go and get a camera will this snow is still around. :]
How can I upload single images or small multiples from my S1500. I can do the whole card and it makes a folder etc, but if I take more photos with the old images left on it, I cannot seem to just upload the new ones. The wizard does the whole lot again and puts it into a new folder etc. On my old fuji, I could highlight what I wanted and just load up these. I have installed the FINEPIX VIEWER ver 5.5 (for windows)which came with the camera.
Here's what I do…although I'm sure there is an easier way but nonetheless:
When you stick your memory card into the slot, a dialogue box appears asking you to import pictures.
I just exit out of that and then I go and right-click on Start, click on Explore. That'll bring you to your root.
Now, right-click on Pictures, and create a New Folder for your shiny new pics.
Now scroll down until you find the drive that's been allocated for your memory card. In my case it's N:
It'll look like this…Removable Disk (N:) about 3/4 of the way down. In your case it'll probably be another letter.
If you click on that drive it will read your memory card's contents and display your pics in the right hand side pane. From there you can just drag and drop the pics you want into the new folder that you created.
But remember this will only copy your pics to that new folder and not remove them. If you want to delete the ones that you uploaded or ones you don't like, you have to go back to your memory card's drive and delete them manually.
Entry Tags
compact, beginner, fujifilm, super-zoom, 2.7 inch LCD, 10 megapixel, finepix, bridge, 12x zoom, s1500


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Freelance writer Mary Catherine O'Connor finds that a growing number of companies are proving the ways that they can make good financially, socially and environmentally (as the triple bottom line theory suggests).With that in mind, she contributes to Triple Pundit, as well as to Earth2Tech and other pubs focused on sustainability. She also writes The Good Route, an Outside Magazine blog that addresses the intersection of sustainability and the active/outdoor life.To find out more, or to reach her, go to www.mcoconnor.com.
Follow Mary Catherine O'Connor @triplepundit


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on December 23, 2012 - 11:24 PM
LOCKPORT – The attorney for Niagara Falls shooting suspect Paul E. Buck Jr. argued last week that his client's statement should be ruled inadmissible for his upcoming trial.
Dominic Saraceno of the county conflict defender's staff said police kept questioning him after Buck asked to leave Police Headquarters.
That's not the way Detectives Patrick Stack and John Conti said they heard it. Niagara County Judge Matthew J. Murphy III will rule on the admissibility of the tape of the interview in early January.
Buck was brought in for questioning in the wake of the near-fatal April 25 shooting of Anthony McDougald, 18, at 12th and Niagara streets. McDougald was left with a bullet in his chest that surgeons could not safely remove.
Buck, 23, of Niagara Falls Boulevard, is charged with assault and gang assault, along with Marlyn M. Rubin, 20, of Niagara Street, and Jacob J. Taggart, 23, of Niagara Avenue.
Saraceno was named to represent Buck after Murphy openly criticized the performance of his previous attorney, Assistant Public Defender Matthew P. Pynn, and Buck asked for a new lawyer.
Murphy believed Pynn should have cross-examined Conti in an Oct. 2 hearing about Buck's requests to leave. Conti denied that Buck ever made any such requests.
On the portions of the video played in court, Buck made such remarks as "Can I get the [expletive] out of here?" and "How long am I going to be held here? I want to go home."
Conti said he read Buck his rights. "You have a right to stop answering my questions any time you desire," Conti said he told Buck. "He never asked me to stop asking questions."
"The issue is whether he exercised his third right under the Miranda warnings – the right to stop answering questions," Saraceno said. "He shouldn't have to make multiple requests."
Deputy District Attorney Doreen M. Hoffmann argued, "Mr. Buck's request throughout this interview is never a specific request to stop the questions."
email: email@example.com


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|By Pat Romanski
Article Rating:
|October 16, 2012 06:00 AM EDT
Cloud Expo Silicon Valley $500 Savings here!
The move to cloud-based applications has undeniably delivered tremendous benefits. However, the associated distribution creates various challenges from the quality perspective:
- End-to-end tests need to pass through multiple dependent systems, which are commonly unavailable, evolving, or difficult-to-access for testing.
- Accessing such system often involves transaction and bandwidth fees.
- Teams need to test and tune the system under test against a realistic and broad range of performance and behavior conditions - yet such conditions are often difficult to achieve in a test environment.
In his session at the 11th International Cloud Expo, Wayne Ariola, Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Parasoft, will explore how to teams can use service virtualization to overcome the access constraints that delay and limit the testing of cloud applications. Delegates will:
- Discover how the escalating number and complexity of dependencies impacts QA efforts (STP-exclusive results from our recent study).
- Learn how service virtualization reduces the configuration time, hardware overhead, and data management efforts involved resolving dependencies for dev/test purposes.
- Weigh the pros and cons of different ways to resolve dependencies (staged test labs, server virtualization, service virtualization, stubs) to see which is best suited for a particular situation.
Explore Cloud Expo Sponsorship & Exhibit Opportunities !
Speaker Bio:
Wayne Ariola is Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Parasoft, a leading provider of integrated software development management, quality lifecycle management, and dev/test environment management solutions. He leverages customer input and fosters partnerships with industry leaders to ensure that Parasoft solutions continuously evolve to support the ever-changing complexities of real-world business processes and systems. Ariola has more than 15 years of strategic consulting experience within the technology and software development industries. He holds a BA from the University of California at Santa Barbara and an MBA from Indiana University.
A Rock Star Faculty, Top Keynotes, Sessions, and Top Delegates!
Cloud Expo 2012 Silicon Valley, November 5-8, 2012, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.
The growth and success of Cloud Computing will be on display at the upcoming Cloud Expo conference and exhibition in Santa Clara, CA, November 5-8, 2012.
The recent Cloud Expo at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, was the largest Cloud Computing conference ever produced with more sponsors, exhibitors and delegates than all other Cloud events of the year combined!
Cloud Expo Silicon Valley will attract more than 10,000 delegates from 48 countries and over 200 sponsors and exhibitors!
All main layers of the Cloud ecosystem will be represented at the 10th International Cloud Expo - the infrastructure players, the platform providers, and those offering applications, and they'll all be here to speak, sponsor, exhibit and network.
"Cloud Expo was announced on February 24, 2007, the day the term 'cloud computing' was coined," said Fuat Kircaali, founder and chairman of SYS-CON Events, Inc. "Cloud has become synonymous with 'computing' and 'software' in two short years, and this event has become the new PC Expo, Comdex, and InternetWorld of our decade. By 2012, more than 50,000 delegates per year will be attending Cloud Expo."
Sponsorship Opportunities
for Cloud Expo Silicon Valley
Cloud Expo 2012 Silicon Valley "show prospectus" has shipped. Sponsorship, exhibit, and keynote opportunities can be obtained from Carmen Gonzalez by email at events (at) sys-con.com, or by phone 201 802-3021.
Early Bird Registration Options
for Cloud Expo Silicon Valley
Cloud Expo delegates can pre-register for Cloud Expo Silicon Valley with $500+ savings here.
About SYS-CON Media & Events
SYS-CON Media (www.sys-con.com) has since 1994 been connecting technology companies and customers through a comprehensive content stream at www.sys-con.com - featuring over forty focused subject areas, from Cloud Computing to Web Security - interwoven with market-leading full-scale conferences produced by SYS-CON Events. The company's internationally recognized brands include among others Cloud Computing Expo (www.CloudComputingExpo.com), Big Data Expo (http://BigDataExpo.net), Virtualization Conference & Expo (www.VirtualizationConference.com), Government IT Conference & Expo (www.GovITExpo.com), Cloud Computing Bootcamp (www.CloudComputingBootcamp.com), and UlitzerLive! New Media Conference & Expo (http://events.sys-con.com).
Cloud Expo, Cloud Expo East, Cloud Expo West, Cloud Expo New York, Cloud Expo Silicon Valley, Cloud Expo Europe, Cloud Expo Tokyo, Cloud Expo Prague, Cloud Expo Hong Kong, Cloud Expo Sao Paolo are trademarks and /or registered trademarks (USPTO serial number 85009040) of Cloud Expo, Inc.
SYS-CON Events announced today that Roundee / LinearHub will exhibit at the WebRTC Summit at @ThingsExpo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. LinearHub provides Roundee Service, a smart platform for enterprise video conferencing with enhanced features such as automatic recording and transcription service. Slack users can integrate Roundee to their team via Slack's App Directory, and '/roundee' command lets your video conference ...
Sep. 29, 2016 05:45 AM EDT Reads: 1,500
Digital transformation is too big and important for our future success to not understand the rules that apply to it. The first three rules for winning in this age of hyper-digital transformation are: Advantages in speed, analytics and operational tempos must be captured by implementing an optimized information logistics system (OILS) Real-time operational tempos (IT, people and business processes) must be achieved Businesses that can "analyze data and act and with speed" will dominate those t...
Sep. 29, 2016 05:15 AM EDT Reads: 1,242
IoT is fundamentally transforming the auto industry, turning the vehicle into a hub for connected services, including safety, infotainment and usage-based insurance. Auto manufacturers – and businesses across all verticals – have built an entire ecosystem around the Connected Car, creating new customer touch points and revenue streams. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Macario Namie, Head of IoT Strategy at Cisco Jasper, will share real-world examples of how IoT transforms the car from a static p...
Sep. 29, 2016 05:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,635
Internet of @ThingsExpo, taking place November 1-3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, is co-located with the 19th International Cloud Expo and will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading industry players in the world and ThingsExpo Silicon Valley Call for Papers is now open.
Sep. 29, 2016 04:30 AM EDT Reads: 4,678
Almost two-thirds of companies either have or soon will have IoT as the backbone of their business in 2016. However, IoT is far more complex than most firms expected. How can you not get trapped in the pitfalls? In his session at @ThingsExpo, Tony Shan, a renowned visionary and thought leader, will introduce a holistic method of IoTification, which is the process of IoTifying the existing technology and business models to adopt and leverage IoT. He will drill down to the components in this fra...
Sep. 29, 2016 04:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,813
The Transparent Cloud-computing Consortium (abbreviation: T-Cloud Consortium) will conduct research activities into changes in the computing model as a result of collaboration between "device" and "cloud" and the creation of new value and markets through organic data processing High speed and high quality networks, and dramatic improvements in computer processing capabilities, have greatly changed the nature of applications and made the storing and processing of data on the network commonplace.
Sep. 29, 2016 04:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,211
SYS-CON Events announced today that ReadyTalk, a leading provider of online conferencing and webinar services, has been named Vendor Presentation Sponsor at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. ReadyTalk delivers audio and web conferencing services that inspire collaboration and enable the Future of Work for today's increasingly digital and mobile workforce. By combining intuitive, innovative tec...
Sep. 29, 2016 03:30 AM EDT Reads: 3,033
I'm a lonely sensor. I spend all day telling the world how I'm feeling, but none of the other sensors seem to care. I want to be connected. I want to build relationships with other sensors to be more useful for my human. I want my human to understand that when my friends next door are too hot for a while, I'll soon be flaming. And when all my friends go outside without me, I may be left behind. Don't just log my data; use the relationship graph. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Ryan Boyd, Engi...
Sep. 29, 2016 03:30 AM EDT Reads: 1,377
SYS-CON Events announced today that Pulzze Systems will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Pulzze Systems, Inc. provides infrastructure products for the Internet of Things to enable any connected device and system to carry out matched operations without programming. For more information, visit http://www.pulzzesystems.com.
Sep. 29, 2016 03:15 AM EDT Reads: 1,906
IoT offers a value of almost $4 trillion to the manufacturing industry through platforms that can improve margins, optimize operations & drive high performance work teams. By using IoT technologies as a foundation, manufacturing customers are integrating worker safety with manufacturing systems, driving deep collaboration and utilizing analytics to exponentially increased per-unit margins. However, as Benoit Lheureux, the VP for Research at Gartner points out, "IoT project implementers often ...
Sep. 29, 2016 03:15 AM EDT Reads: 3,578
There is growing need for data-driven applications and the need for digital platforms to build these apps. In his session at 19th Cloud Expo, Muddu Sudhakar, VP and GM of Security & IoT at Splunk, will cover different PaaS solutions and Big Data platforms that are available to build applications. In addition, AI and machine learning are creating new requirements that developers need in the building of next-gen apps. The next-generation digital platforms have some of the past platform needs a...
Sep. 29, 2016 03:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,881
If you're responsible for an application that depends on the data or functionality of various IoT endpoints – either sensors or devices – your brand reputation depends on the security, reliability, and compliance of its many integrated parts. If your application fails to deliver the expected business results, your customers and partners won't care if that failure stems from the code you developed or from a component that you integrated. What can you do to ensure that the endpoints work as expect...
Sep. 29, 2016 02:45 AM EDT Reads: 1,718
As ridesharing competitors and enhanced services increase, notable changes are occurring in the transportation model. Despite the cost-effective means and flexibility of ridesharing, both drivers and users will need to be aware of the connected environment and how it will impact the ridesharing experience. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Timothy Evavold, Executive Director Automotive at Covisint, will discuss key challenges and solutions to powering a ride sharing and/or multimodal model in the a...
Sep. 29, 2016 02:30 AM EDT Reads: 532
Is your aging software platform suffering from technical debt while the market changes and demands new solutions at a faster clip? It's a bold move, but you might consider walking away from your core platform and starting fresh. ReadyTalk did exactly that. In his General Session at 19th Cloud Expo, Michael Chambliss, Head of Engineering at ReadyTalk, will discuss why and how ReadyTalk diverted from healthy revenue and over a decade of audio conferencing product development to start an innovati...
Sep. 29, 2016 02:30 AM EDT Reads: 2,178
WebRTC adoption has generated a wave of creative uses of communications and collaboration through websites, sales apps, customer care and business applications. As WebRTC has become more mainstream it has evolved to use cases beyond the original peer-to-peer case, which has led to a repeating requirement for interoperability with existing infrastructures. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Graham Holt, Executive Vice President of Daitan Group, will cover implementation examples that have enabled ea...
Sep. 29, 2016 02:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,594
SYS-CON Events announced today that Numerex Corp, a leading provider of managed enterprise solutions enabling the Internet of Things (IoT), will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo | @ThingsExpo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Numerex Corp. (NASDAQ:NMRX) is a leading provider of managed enterprise solutions enabling the Internet of Things (IoT). The Company's solutions produce new revenue streams or create operating...
Sep. 29, 2016 01:45 AM EDT Reads: 2,058
Fifty billion connected devices and still no winning protocols standards. HTTP, WebSockets, MQTT, and CoAP seem to be leading in the IoT protocol race at the moment but many more protocols are getting introduced on a regular basis. Each protocol has its pros and cons depending on the nature of the communications. Does there really need to be only one protocol to rule them all? Of course not. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Chris Matthieu, co-founder and CTO of Octoblu, walk you through how Oct...
Sep. 29, 2016 01:00 AM EDT Reads: 2,311
"My role is working with customers, helping them go through this digital transformation. I spend a lot of time talking to banks, big industries, manufacturers working through how they are integrating and transforming their IT platforms and moving them forward," explained William Morrish, General Manager Product Sales at Interoute, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at 18th Cloud Expo, held June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY.
Sep. 28, 2016 11:30 PM EDT Reads: 3,976
According to Forrester Research, every business will become either a digital predator or digital prey by 2020. To avoid demise, organizations must rapidly create new sources of value in their end-to-end customer experiences. True digital predators also must break down information and process silos and extend digital transformation initiatives to empower employees with the digital resources needed to win, serve, and retain customers.
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In this strange new world where more and more power is drawn from business technology, companies are effectively straddling two paths on the road to innovation and transformation into digital enterprises. The first path is the heritage trail – with "legacy" technology forming the background. Here, extant technologies are transformed by core IT teams to provide more API-driven approaches. Legacy systems can restrict companies that are transitioning into digital enterprises. To truly become a lea...
Sep. 28, 2016 08:15 PM EDT Reads: 375


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Tuesday, April 15, 2014
I love to eat. I love food.
And sometimes given my enthusiastic love of food, I leap before I look when it comes to what I put in my mouth.
Its been said that I often dive headfirst into Lifes Deep End without first looking to see if theres any water there.
Im that way often with food.
That said, there are certain foods out there that Id just as soon not touch.
Take liver.
I cant think of anything more vile than eating a solid waste processing organ.
As a child my parents tried to sneak liver onto my plate and tell me it was steak. I was 10 years old.
I said, This is awful. Is it liver?
My Dad looked me dead straight in the eye and lied to me.
Naw, thats steak.
I love steak. This wasnt steak. And I told him so.
If this aint liver, it sure tastes like liver and I dont care what part of the cow this came from, theres no way this is steak.
I hail from the Midwest plains.
While I love all International cuisine, I like to keep my fare standard. These shows on the Food Network and Travel Channel where they take you to different parts of the world and eat the local cuisine? No thank you.
I dont care to eat fried Guinea pig. Neither do I care to dine on a tigers broiled private parts.
And I will not touch a Lamb fry.
I have embraced Southern cuisine.
If it aint sweet, it aint tea.
I have relented after holding out these many years and tried some boiled peanuts, even though my recipe for boiled peanuts include Take a handful of dry roasted peanuts. Pop them in your mouth for an hour or so. Now spit into your neighbors hand. Enjoy.
Perusing the meat counter at The Pig, appropriately in the pork section, I come across what looked like a two hands full of fingers. They were pigtails.
Who cooks with this stuff?
My answers have been numerous, starting with, Everybody does.
Nothing better than a good pigs knuckle, Im told.
Apparently my reluctance to try epidermis, pig digit or anything swine sub-lumbardial is turning my back on my rural Southern roots.
Not anymore.
When ordering from the counter the other day at a rural Lowcountry eatery, because I couldnt understand the server when he said what kind of stew they served over rice, I just assumed it was beef stew and said, Give me some of that.
My first warning should have come when he said, You sure?
Not wishing to offend I said, Sure. I want some of that stuff; load me up. Im hungry.
Remember what I said about leaping before I look?
Its called Stone Stew. The stones are actually sub-lumbardial swine vertebrae with a little marrow thrown in for flavor.
Thats the main ingredient in Stone Stew.
A few vertebrae, some marrow, and strips of skin, all boiled up nice and soft and poured over rice. A pall of silence fell over the dining room as I took my first forkful.
I am as Gomer as they come.
Be sure to get that soft part inside, its really good, the owner said.
When I got home I Googled Stone Stew and the first entry said, Yes, you big dummy you just ate pigtails.
Swine spine.
So scratch one more off my Culinary Bucket List.
I just dined on the southern most part of the pig heading north.
On my Culinary Bucket List, my pigtail has been scratched.
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Haitians challenge injustice in Dominican Republic
Black Miami stands firm in criticism of efforts to "purge" shores of Haiti's neighboring country
D. Kevin McNeir | 1/1/2014, 9 a.m.
Last September, the high court of the Dominican Republic [DR] ruled that thousands of men, women and children of Haitian descent would retroactively lose their citizenship — even if they were born in the Dominican Republic, allegedly because they were "undocumented." But after public outcry from Haitians in the Diaspora, including here in Miami, and from Blacks across the country, the U.S. State Department recently commented on a plan by the DR to restore legal status to those affected by the controversial citizenship ruling. The State Department said it still has "deep concerns" about the impact the decision will have.
"We've urged the government to continue close consultation with international partners and civil society to identify and . . . address, in a humane way, concerns regarding the planned scope and reach to affected persons," said a State Department spokesperson.
Magalie Austin, chairperson of the Miami-based Haitian Americans for Progress, said that her organization appreciates the U.S. government's expressed concern, she believes "it will take a coalition of organizations and countries to increase awareness of this issue and to pressure the Dominican Republic to restore the legal status of Dominicans of Haitian descent."
Austin also pointed out that there are several reasons why Dominican officials supported the ruling including: a political party that wins if Dominicans of Haitian descent are no longer allowed to vote; and the creation of a permanent underclass that would be working on far below minimum wage for the owners of the largest sugar cane plantations.
"Most people in the [local] community are shocked by the ruling and weren't aware of the history of racism in the Dominican Republic," she added. "However, there is a significant portion, particularly the Haitian American community, who is not surprised by the discrimination . . . The racism isn't just perceived. This is about the moral lessons that the world needs to live by: never be a perpetrator, never be a victim and never be a bystander. This kind of heinous act on the part of the government can never be allowed to happen without the world taking a stand."
Miami stands in solidarity
Congresswoman Frederica Wilson had this to say: "It is impossible to deny that in the Dominican Republic there is a long history of shameful discrimination against Haitians living there. Racial discrimination likely played a role in the ruling and this is part of why — as a longtime civil rights activist — that I am so committed to undoing this injustice. As Dr. King said, 'injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'"
She added that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights [IACHR], which was established to investigate these kinds of abuses, began a formal investigation in early December.
"In a recent Congressional letter that I along with Congressman Joseph Kennedy [MA] led more than a dozen colleagues in submitting," she said. "I requested that Dominican President Medina wait until the IACHR has released its preliminary recommendations before implementing the court's decision. If he fails to honor this request, we will need to consider all economic options."