We rented a car for 3 days in Vegas a few weeks ago and I left a $500 camera lens in the center console. As soon as our flight took off for JFK I realized that it was missing. As soon as we landed I called up Thrifty and selected the menu option for lost & found... It just rang out. I then called back and selected the option to speak to a manager... it said 'Your call cannot be connected at this time'.
So, over the course of the next 5 days i kept trying to call and get through to someone. I left several messages with the lost and found at Thrifty Las Vegas after being transferred by customer service. I also had customer service email the Las Vegas outlet a couple of times. By the time I actually got on the phone to a real person at the location and they were able to search the car the lens was no longer there... well of course it wasnt!!!!!
Their response was that because I had chosen not to purchase the extra insurance there was nothing they could do. So basically... unless you pay extra, their employees can keep anything they find in your rental car. GREAT!!!
Review via Yelp.com
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Bizarre WiFi Network Names
Since my (Canadian, jail-broken, unlocked) iPhone cannot access AT&T data here in the US I have been becoming an expert in stealing WiFi around New York. Along the way I have been taking a few screen shots of some of the more creative network names... here are a few of them.
 |
| Poof |
 |
| Bitch, I'm Broke |
 |
| FBI Surveillance Van |
 |
| Free Gay Porn |
 |
| rapid-rape |
 |
| you are chillaxed |
 |
| darth&luke |
 |
Mo Money Mo Problems |
Thursday, November 18, 2010
US Top Gear Promo - Ride in a Supercar Taxi
I happened to stumble upon this promo running in Midtown for the new US version of Top Gear which starts next week. They had 6 different supercars done up like cabs taking people for short rides around a few city blocks. I waited about 15 minutes for my turn in my dream car... the Mercedes SLR McLaren. 0-60 in just 3.2 seconds, the fastest out of all 6 cars on offer... however, even though this was a Top Gear promo, we didn't get out of first gear!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
D.I.Y. Compact Dolly for DSLR
A couple of the guys I'm working with helped me build a simple and very inexpensive portable, compact dolly. Most of the materials were scrap and the only thing we forked out any cash for were the skateboard bearings at $12 from Amazon. I already had a spare tripod head. When I can afford it I'll probably but a video head to make it a little easier to operate.
It took a total of about 1.5 hours to make and I must say it works pretty well. The only other thing I want to add is a base-plate to allow it to be attached to a tripod to make it a little more versatile.
I have used the Kessler Crane Pocket Dolly before which is great but when you compare $12 to $500+ I know where my budget fits right now.
It took a total of about 1.5 hours to make and I must say it works pretty well. The only other thing I want to add is a base-plate to allow it to be attached to a tripod to make it a little more versatile.
I have used the Kessler Crane Pocket Dolly before which is great but when you compare $12 to $500+ I know where my budget fits right now.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Canon 550D (T2i) & Sigma 30mm 1.4 Test
I just purchased the Sigma 30mm 1.4 prime lens for my Canon 550D (T2i) and below are some example from my first 24 hours trialing the lens shooting stills and video. I think the lens is amazing so far. The only negatives are that the focus ring is not very smooth and its very noisy when you adjust the aperture.
None of these examples have been adjusted in post.
None of these examples have been adjusted in post.
Canon 550D (T2i) & Sigma 30mm 1.4 Test from Jeremy Aiken on Vimeo.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Bank of America Tower
Took a few shots with the new Canon 10-22mm yesterday and then used the new HDR Toning adjustment tool in Photoshop CS5 to get this effect...
Monday, October 25, 2010
My Review of Sennheiser HD202 Semicircumaural Closed Back Hi-Fi or DJ Monitoring Headphones
Originally submitted at Adorama
Sennheiser HD202 Semicircumaural Closed Back Hi-Fi or DJ Monitoring Headphones
Unbeatable value
By jza from New York, NY on 10/25/2010
Pros: Good Bass, Durable, Great Sound, Good Value, Comfortable
Cons: Cord is really long
Best Uses: Traveling, Relaxing, Working, With My Computer, Home Audio, Music, Portable Devices
Describe Yourself: Video Editor, Frequent Traveler, Gear Head
Primary use: Personal
Was this a gift?: No
I bought a pair of these a couple of years ago in Australia and they were on sale for $50. At the time I though that was amazing value for money as I previously spent $80 on some Sony headphone that were terrible. I recently lost my Senheisers and did not hesitate to track them down again. This time they were only $25 which I reckon would be very hard to beat.
(legalese)
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Inaugural 'Do cool stuff for fee day' in NYC
So today I set off to check out some of the things I'd not yet seen/experienced in New York... for free!!
Stop 1: James Farley post office on 34th St. to check out a shoot for a Law & Order SVU episode. Unfortunately they were doing all the shots inside and after a failed attempt at infiltrating the building and about an hour stalking around trying to catch a glimpse of Benson, Stabler... or Ice T, I moved on.
Stop 2: The High Line garden. This was once an elevated railway line through the lower west side of Manhattan, delivering food throughout the area. Last year it was transformed into a public park with stairs at various points along the way.
The High Line was built in the 1930s, as part of a massive public-private infrastructure project called the West Side Improvement. It lifted freight traffic 30 feet in the air, removing dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan's largest industrial district. No trains have run on the High Line since 1980. Friends of the High Line, a community-based non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. Friends of the High Line works in partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure as an elevated public park. More
Stop 3: Orchard Beach and City Island, Bronx. I took the 6 train all the way to the end of the line, Pelham Bay Park. I then jumped on a bus which took me about 1/2 the way to Orchard Beach which is closed if it's not Summer or a weekend. I walked the remaining mile or so which was well worth it. The beach was massive and the sand was clean and white. There were a few swimmers and fishermen about but it was deserted for the most part.
I walked on to the small bridge that connected City Island to the mainland and walked around checking out a few of the docks and lobster shacks. I found a bar that had some cuisine more in my price range and sat down for a late lunch... Philly Cheese & onion rings.
Stop 4: Long Island City. I got the train all the way back to midtown and then over the East River to Long Island City just in time for the sunset. I sat there for over an hour shooting a pretty nice time lapse of the skyline including the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.
Stop 1: James Farley post office on 34th St. to check out a shoot for a Law & Order SVU episode. Unfortunately they were doing all the shots inside and after a failed attempt at infiltrating the building and about an hour stalking around trying to catch a glimpse of Benson, Stabler... or Ice T, I moved on.
Stop 2: The High Line garden. This was once an elevated railway line through the lower west side of Manhattan, delivering food throughout the area. Last year it was transformed into a public park with stairs at various points along the way.
The High Line was built in the 1930s, as part of a massive public-private infrastructure project called the West Side Improvement. It lifted freight traffic 30 feet in the air, removing dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan's largest industrial district. No trains have run on the High Line since 1980. Friends of the High Line, a community-based non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. Friends of the High Line works in partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure as an elevated public park. More
Stop 3: Orchard Beach and City Island, Bronx. I took the 6 train all the way to the end of the line, Pelham Bay Park. I then jumped on a bus which took me about 1/2 the way to Orchard Beach which is closed if it's not Summer or a weekend. I walked the remaining mile or so which was well worth it. The beach was massive and the sand was clean and white. There were a few swimmers and fishermen about but it was deserted for the most part.
I walked on to the small bridge that connected City Island to the mainland and walked around checking out a few of the docks and lobster shacks. I found a bar that had some cuisine more in my price range and sat down for a late lunch... Philly Cheese & onion rings.
Stop 4: Long Island City. I got the train all the way back to midtown and then over the East River to Long Island City just in time for the sunset. I sat there for over an hour shooting a pretty nice time lapse of the skyline including the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Rock the Bells NYC
The day after we arrived in NYC we went to Rock the Bells on Governors Island, just south of the Brooklyn Bridge in the East River.
I had been to the show in Vancouver last year and it was awesome. This year one of my all time favorite hip hop acts, A Tribe Called Quest, were performing in their home city and there was no way I was going to miss it.
DJ Premier did an intro set and he was followed by three other hip hop legends, Slick Rick, Rakim and KRS-1. At the beginning of Rakim's set I managed to sneak backstage and hang out for a while, getting some pics with Method Man and having a chat with Primo (DJ Premier). I scored a Ol' Dirty promo shirt from his son and a Phife Dawg T from one of his groupies.
Lauryn Hill came on before Tribe and in my opinion, totally destroyed the old school vibe, yelling and screaming over a set of hard rock tracks that were unrecognizable and not at all what you would expect from her.
Tribe lived up to all expectations and played a set of tracks entirely from their first two albums to the crowds delight.
Wu Tang were next and got everybody hyped up with another old school set. We didn't make it through to see Snoop's set as we were suffering mild sunstroke and dehydration after 11 hours in the 35C (95F) heat drinking mostly beers and Monster.
The view from the ferry on the way to Governors Island
DJ Premier starts off proceedings
Some great T's getting around
Me and Meth
Boy Jones (Ol' Dirty's son)
Slick Rick (showing his age)
Rakim comes off stage
Chris Rock
Me and Primo
Busta
I had been to the show in Vancouver last year and it was awesome. This year one of my all time favorite hip hop acts, A Tribe Called Quest, were performing in their home city and there was no way I was going to miss it.
DJ Premier did an intro set and he was followed by three other hip hop legends, Slick Rick, Rakim and KRS-1. At the beginning of Rakim's set I managed to sneak backstage and hang out for a while, getting some pics with Method Man and having a chat with Primo (DJ Premier). I scored a Ol' Dirty promo shirt from his son and a Phife Dawg T from one of his groupies.
Lauryn Hill came on before Tribe and in my opinion, totally destroyed the old school vibe, yelling and screaming over a set of hard rock tracks that were unrecognizable and not at all what you would expect from her.
Tribe lived up to all expectations and played a set of tracks entirely from their first two albums to the crowds delight.
Wu Tang were next and got everybody hyped up with another old school set. We didn't make it through to see Snoop's set as we were suffering mild sunstroke and dehydration after 11 hours in the 35C (95F) heat drinking mostly beers and Monster.
The view from the ferry on the way to Governors Island
DJ Premier starts off proceedings
Some great T's getting around
Me and Meth
Boy Jones (Ol' Dirty's son)
Slick Rick (showing his age)
Rakim comes off stage
Chris Rock
Me and Primo
Busta
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Philly with Ben, Jordan & Rocky
After a week in Boston I got a $3 'Megabus' ride (2 hours late but you can't really complain) down to New York and met up with my mate Ben who I lived with during my exchange at Cortland Uni in 2002. We jumped straight on another bus at Penn Station and went to Philly. Jordan who was the Dept. head of the ski team at Camp Vega was nice enough to pick us up and have us stay at his family's place for a couple of nights.
We went straight from the bus station to meet a couple of his friends at a bar downtown then we all went to the famous Geno's for a Philly Cheese-steak. Unfortunately I ruined mine with excessive amounts of the hottest hot sauce known to man.
We went back the following day and sampled the wares at Pat's which is Geno's most fierce competition and located right across the street. Jordan had ordered for us at Geno's but now it was our turn to learn the propper etiquite whern it comes to ordering a Philly Cheese in Philly.
Compliments of eHow... (read full article)
Expect to order your meal in two phases. At the first window, you will order your Philly cheesesteak. At the second window, you order French fries, other sides, and your beverage.
Skip the friendly greeting at the window and don't expect one. Your Philly cheesesteak order should consist of exactly three words. The first word is a number, indicating how many cheesesteaks you want. So, if you want one, the first word is "One." The second word indicates the type of cheese you want on your sandwich. The third and final word is either "with" or "without," indicating your preference for fried onion. So, an order for the most authentic Philly cheesesteak would simply be, "One, whiz, with." That's it.
Take your cheesesteak, which will be handed to you in a matter of second. Move down to the second window, where you can order other items and pay for your meal.
I got it right, got my cheese-steak and could actually taste the steak this time which was great!
After Pat's we strolled down through the 9th Street Italian Market district and sampled some freshly made mozzarella at Claudio's Specialty Foods and some water ice with frozen custard.
Jordan had to go to class from 6-9pm so we dropped him off and drove around exploring north-east Philly for a bit, taking pics and playing some pool at a random bar. We then met up with one of Ben's old bosses from Qatar for an Italian dinner at Radicchio Cafe which was pretty darn tasty!
Jordan met up with us later on and just after midnight we drove right up to the top of the 'Rocky Stairs' at the Philly Art Museum and took a bunch of pics and watched as random groups of drunk people showed up to do their own reenactments of the famous scene.
We also got some great pics of the boat houses of Boathouse Row which are all lit up year-round at night with Christmas lights.
The next day Ben and I walked around downtown and had an awesome mini feast at the Reading Terminal Market before hoping on a bus to NYC.
We went straight from the bus station to meet a couple of his friends at a bar downtown then we all went to the famous Geno's for a Philly Cheese-steak. Unfortunately I ruined mine with excessive amounts of the hottest hot sauce known to man.
We went back the following day and sampled the wares at Pat's which is Geno's most fierce competition and located right across the street. Jordan had ordered for us at Geno's but now it was our turn to learn the propper etiquite whern it comes to ordering a Philly Cheese in Philly.
Compliments of eHow... (read full article)
Expect to order your meal in two phases. At the first window, you will order your Philly cheesesteak. At the second window, you order French fries, other sides, and your beverage.
Skip the friendly greeting at the window and don't expect one. Your Philly cheesesteak order should consist of exactly three words. The first word is a number, indicating how many cheesesteaks you want. So, if you want one, the first word is "One." The second word indicates the type of cheese you want on your sandwich. The third and final word is either "with" or "without," indicating your preference for fried onion. So, an order for the most authentic Philly cheesesteak would simply be, "One, whiz, with." That's it.
Take your cheesesteak, which will be handed to you in a matter of second. Move down to the second window, where you can order other items and pay for your meal.
I got it right, got my cheese-steak and could actually taste the steak this time which was great!
After Pat's we strolled down through the 9th Street Italian Market district and sampled some freshly made mozzarella at Claudio's Specialty Foods and some water ice with frozen custard.
Jordan had to go to class from 6-9pm so we dropped him off and drove around exploring north-east Philly for a bit, taking pics and playing some pool at a random bar. We then met up with one of Ben's old bosses from Qatar for an Italian dinner at Radicchio Cafe which was pretty darn tasty!
Jordan met up with us later on and just after midnight we drove right up to the top of the 'Rocky Stairs' at the Philly Art Museum and took a bunch of pics and watched as random groups of drunk people showed up to do their own reenactments of the famous scene.
We also got some great pics of the boat houses of Boathouse Row which are all lit up year-round at night with Christmas lights.
The next day Ben and I walked around downtown and had an awesome mini feast at the Reading Terminal Market before hoping on a bus to NYC.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)