humour

Word Appreciation

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Hard work or work hard
Pay more or buy more
Price or worth
Efficient or effective
New idea or new effort
Follow up or follow through
Lack of resources or lack of resourcefulness
Revise or refine
Adopt or adapt
Maximize or optimize
A part or apart
Propose or oppose
Prepare or repair
Compare or contrast
Complicated or complex
Correct or perfect
Zero in or zero out
Speak up or speak out
Fit in or stand out
Tear down or build up
I think or I believe
Idea or dream
Push or pull
Customer service or customer appreciation
Receptionist or rejectionist
Money or wealth
Picture or image
Change or opportunity
Setback or step back
Shortcut or detour
Bridge or tunnel
Aspire or inspire
Create or complete
Success or achievement
Profit or progress

 

Scandal-free photography

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Toronto’s public transit system, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), suffered a few front-page scandals over the past several weeks. And yes, there’s another front-page scandal today.

The current scandal is not that a married TTC executive, who was living a double life, got his “long-time female companion” a $50,000 contract with a TTC design consultant.

The real scandal is that the woman, described as being “an amateur photographer”, was paid “at least” $50,000 over ten months to take pictures at public meetings and of roads where new streetcar tracks might be built.

$50,000.00 for pictures of meetings and roads.

$50,000.00 for an amateur photographer.

Attention TTC: Since the woman has been, uh, “released” from her contract, I’m available for your photography needs. Not only do I charge less than $50,000, but here’s a bonus I’ll throw in: I guarantee I won’t end up in a front-page scandal.

 

What’s in a category?

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For income tax purposes, the Canadian federal government uses a set of Industry Codes to categorize all jobs.

Not sure if this means anything but the government puts “Photography” in the same category as “Janitorial Services” and “Miscellaneous Building or Dwelling Services.”

Apparently the job of photography is not a profession but “Online Advice” is. Photography is not a business service but “Chimney Cleaner” is. A photographer isn’t even similar to “Authors” or “Artists.”

However it’s nice to see that the government is keeping up with the times. It has new industry codes for the jobs of “Online Escorts” and “Online Psychic.”

 

Take my job, please

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Fresh off the press (okay, fresh off my computer) is the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition. The electronic version was released in December 2009 and the print version should be released within a few weeks.

[Edit: Unfortunately, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics web page content changes with time so there are few static pages with archived data.]

Although it’s been described as “up-to-date and reliable”, it seems rather simplistic and behind-the-times in its descriptions. For example, it explains that “photographers take pictures of people, places, or things.”

It also mentions that photographers use film to create a picture but digital technology is being used more and more. It goes on to say that some photographers even use computers!
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Best romantic photography lines

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Very off-topic but just for Valentine’s Day:

Although these will make little sense to non-photographers, here are some of the best photography pick-up lines:

Let me focus only on you.

Picture us together.

I’ve got you in my viewfinder.

Will you be my long-term project?

I Leica you.

Do you do it RAW?

True love can never be Photoshopped.

Let’s get together for a horizontal composition.

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Best and Worst Jobs

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The Wall Street Journal published the Best and Worst Jobs in the USA, based on a recently-released 2009 study. The list is based on five criteria: environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands and stress.

The methodology and the criteria used are limited and subjective. There really is no way to produce an accurate and objective list since best and worst are relative terms.

Take this list with a grain of salt and a big dose of humour. Just for fun, see where your job ranks.

Name of the times

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It’s now the second decade of the 21st century, so stop using the phrase “digital camera.” It’s redundant. All cameras are digital, film is the exception. Feel free to use the term “film camera” when talking about a camera that uses film. Otherwise it’s just “camera.” No more “DSLR” either.

Cameras no longer have motor drives. Nothing is being driven or pulled through a digital camera.

Cameras no longer shoot “frames per second” because there are no more frames, just exposures.

Digital cameras do not videotape, tape or film anything because there’s no videotape or film in a digital camera. Digital cameras simply record video.
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