matubula

I've finished Resistance 3; it's been collecting dust for quite some time now. I remember playing the first one way back when the PS3 was new, but I think I've missed the second. Overall, I thought it was ok. I liked the environments they created, especially the town at the beginning, not so much the alien stuff towards the end. There was a bit that I thought was a carbon copy of Ravenholm from Half Life 2. The variety of weapons were fun to use; switching from high tech alien weaponry that can freeze or disintegrate things, followed by some sledgehammering was quite satisfying. As was being able to kill the alien grunts by damaging their cooling backpacks. Decent enough, nothing special though.

Thanks everyone! It's nice to hear (read) nice things. I'm really pleased with how the pink one turned out, I don't know why, but the colours remind me of an ice cream sundae. I'd like there to be more of the fly in focus, but even at f8 the depth of field is about 3mm deep, so getting anything at all can be difficult. YTL - The extension tubes I've got are called 'triplus' and are the active kind, so they the still allow the lens to communicate with the body for metering and controlling the aperture (and autofocus, although it's useless for this stuff). The passive sort don't have communication, so it's all up to you. From what I've read, controlling the aperture with passive tubes seems to be difficult, unless the lens allows for manual control.

Sweet! Thanks, syntheticgerbil.

Fly on a lilly petal by matubula, on Flickr Fly on a thistle by matubula, on Flickr

I'm pretty late to the party, but I just finished watching 'Parks & Recreation' season 2, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Not so much the first season, but I think they got it just right for the second.

Yup, the hyena was wild. We tracked their prints for while, gave up after a bit, back in the jeep our local guide spotted them again, rolled up to a big rocky outcrop, turns out it was one of their den sites with two youngsters. They were a bit weary for the first few minutes but quickly got comfortable with our presence. I quite like the 60D. I've got my mothers hands but the grip feels good, I wouldn't want a smaller one; the feel and grip of the camera was one of the primary reasons why I bought it (used). I tried the Nikon and Sony equivalents but they felt uncomfortable to me, too angluar, also Pentax (very close to getting one); I found the 7D the most comfortable to hold, but the lack of swivel screen was a no no. The spider shadow is really cool. Is the vignetting deliberate or accidental? These two shots are probably the best I've got so far with the extension tubes. Found the spider on my leg, then put it on a piece of wood. European garden spider (Araneus diadematus) by matubula, on Flickr European garden spider (Araneus diadematus) by matubula, on Flickr

Thanks! I can assure it doesn't feel that interesting, but it has been really cool to go to Qatar and Botswana this year. I'm a wildlife conservation and ecology student, so that's why I was in Botswana, so doing archaeology in Qatar was bit left field for me, but I knew someone on the project so that's what got me out there. I know what you mean, but I'm used to having an electronic viewfinder and live view (on the rear screen) active all the time, with the DSLR you have to select live view each time. Also, not being to see changes in white balance, EV comp, and ISO is taking some time to get used to. A few days ago I bought the 'nifty fifty' (50mm f1.8) and some active extension tubes, so trying a bit of cheap macro, plenty of bugs and flowers. Here's some from Tuli, Botswana, from earlier in the year. Taken (mostly) on my 60D and rented 100-400m L lens. Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) by matubula, on Flickr Male common flat lizard (Platysaurus intermedius) by matubula, on Flickr Stuart in the mopane by matubula, on Flickr

I've done the same recently, going from a Panasonic G1 to Canon 60D. I'm settling in, but still unsure about sticking with the switch. This guy is a Pseudacanthicus sp. 'L024', an undescribed species of catfish from South America. Pseudacanthicus sp. L024 by matubula, on Flickr A little while ago I was in Qatar with an archaeological project; these are some of my favourites. Rose and Dom at Jassasiya by matubula, on Flickr Rose walking back from one the highest jebils in Qatar, near the Saudi border by matubula, on Flickr Uromastyx aegyptia (dhub) by matubula, on Flickr Workers at Al Arish by matubula, on Flickr

I've been watching since Hamilton's rookie year in 2007, and being British myself, have found he's my favourite driver (even in spite of his tantrums). This year has been my favourite so far; the big shake up with the technical regulations has lead to some excellent races. Long may it continue!

You did. I'll leave it at that . I like this one. The eyes say it all.

I'm sure there's something to be made of wizard and lizard, and since the other animals are a little more easily identifiable, if you're feeling ambitious, I think #4 is a subspecies of Platysaurus intermedius.

From earlier in the year, when I was in Botswana.

To test your hypothesis we need to follow Fallout 3's technique of sniffing out a robot. Field Test: Engage the suspect in casual conversation [possible topic - gardening or botany - "Hey, Jake, d'you see those sweet rhododendrons?"]. Once the suspect is adequately engaged on horticulture, say "Activate A3-21 recall code violet." Conclusion: If you now possess a plasma rifle, consider contacting the authorities. If not, further testing needed.

Jeebs, that took me a solid minute to decypher.

Do I still get the certificate for sufficience? As an aside, can you be deemed any better than sufficient? My lowest number of citations has been 5 up until that point.