I finally got a decent shot of one of the two snow leopard cubs at Woodland Park Zoo. Mac fanboys can rejoice! These cubs are a tough shoot. They are very quick and curious and seem to know how to not be photographed. Enjoy the wallpaper. I will keep photographing them.

These snow leopard photos and the wallpapers on my portfolio site, Salmon Bay Photography, are freely available for personal, non-commercial use. See my terms for the fine print.

1600 x 690 Snow Leopard

1280 x 552 Snow Leopard

Check out the snow leopards at Woodland Park Zoo.

Weekend thought…

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
~George Bernard Shaw

In the past week, I have been hit up twice for this information, so the time is right for the blog post.

Almost 2 years ago, I realized that I needed glasses. The 20/10′s of my youth were done. I got a very nice pair at one of the cool places in Seattle. They fit great and looked really good, but they were not me 24/7. I came across the sites below and thought it would be interesting to try. At the same time, a friend who really needs glasses had his last pair broken for him (that is another story). I sent him these links and he ended up getting a couple of pairs. They looked great. Worked great, even bifocals. Encouraged I took the plunge and have been very satisfied. To date, I have ordered from Zenni, Coastal Contacts and EyeBuyDirect.

What you need
You need your prescription and pupillary distance. Also you need to know the frame dimensions that work on your face. For the first couple of pairs, I mirrored my expensive, very nice, cool store pair. After that I learned what would work and branched out from there. I have about 4 pairs that I rotate and 2 $8 pairs for backup and glassblowing.

Where I have bought
Zenni Optical Dirt cheap prices and solid quality. Only $5 to ship, but can take up awhile to deliver.
Coastal Contacts More designer frames than other sites and prices range accordingly. Super fast shipping.
EyeBuyDirect Great turnaround. I had my order within 7 days. My current favorite pair is from here.

Check these sites for more information
GlassyEyes Definitive Blog
43 Folders: Adventures in $40 eyeglasses
Lifehacker: Save Bundles of Cash by Buying Eyeglasses Online

Happy weekend.

Big news that Joel Spolsky is ending his Joel on Software blog as announced in Inc. The money quote:

To really work, Sierra observed, an entrepreneur’s blog has to be about something bigger than his or her company and his or her product. This sounds simple, but it isn’t. It takes real discipline to not talk about yourself and your company.

It is true. It has to be bigger than yourself and it does take a lot of time to blog. A lot of people are disappointed. He has a company to run. His choice. The audience will move elsewhere. The video below is a re-post but relevant on the power of blogging. I find myself talking about my tiny little blog more than I ever thought I would. It is true that my traffic is tiny and likely irrelevant. I blog to build my brand and make me better. The blog forces you to think and stay relevant. It is mental pull-ups, push-ups and sit-ups all in one.

Joel Spolsky @ Inc: Let’s Take This Offline

Brier Dudley: Celebrity blogger says he’ll quit, questions marketing value of blogs