CNN: the most trusted name in news?  Must be on the web, because television is loosing ground to the Internet as a trusted source for information.  From that I segue gracefully into... the Edelman trust barometer found Microsoft is the most trusted name in business.

The Edelman Trust Barometer found Microsoft Corporation the most trusted global company, followed by iconic companies in their home markets, including Toyota in Japan, Haier in China, Samsung in South Korea, and Petrobras in Brazil.

I think MS is a great place to work, and having the company get this type of recognition feels good (especially for someone who used to be a closet MS employee).  I realize that Edelman is a PR firm which counts MS as one of its biggest clients, but this was, after all, a survey.

While I led off with the fun part of the survey... for me this is the really interesting part:

In the U.S., trust in "a person like me" increased from 20% in 2003 to 68% today.

In other words, most people in the US find the average employee is a more trust-worthy spokesman than the CEO.  Any connection to the surge in blogging?  It's pretty hard to preen cause from effect here but I, for one, am hugely thankful for the change in culture at Microsoft which made it possible for employees like me to feel comfortable blogging in relative freedom about our work.

I suppose that brings me back to the beginning... perhaps the trust in Microsoft will not be limited to a single survey or a fleeting one-year occurrence.  With any luck, as more people are able to get a glimpse of the people working at Microsoft and the pride they have in their work, the world will realize that for us it's really about building cool software, not crushing your enemies and seeing them driven before you.  While our moniker of "the evil empire" is something I look on with amusement, it's not a nickname I view with pride.

For a deeper dive on the topic of what can happen for company trust when the employees step out from behind the protective shadow of a company's CEO and PR machine I recommend you check out Richard Edelman's essay The Me2 Revolution on his blog.

It's eye catching... but, still, would you hire them?

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Roughly another day of work, spread across Saturday and Sunday, and I put a whole bunch more tile up on the back wall of the shower surround. Time to turn my attention to the side walls.

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Do you like movies?  Do you like spoofs?  Are you just tired of the hype around Brokeback Mountain? 

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, here's a little Friday diversion for you: check out the movie trailers for "Brokeback To The Future" and "Top Gun 2, Brokeback Squadron". 

I found the pointers to these clips in a great NPR article on spoof movie trailers (and for you etymologysts, it has an interesting little sidebar on the origin of the word "satire").  The NPR story links to a number of spoofs, including my favorite, a trailer for a nice, uplifting comedic drama, "Shining".

(note: don't bother watching the trailers for "Big" or "Taxi Driver", they fall short)

The support team for Windows Live Mail has put up a new blog with a bunch of great information for users (and prospective users) of the Windows Live Mail Beta.  There are answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs), common problems and known issues.

Check it out, I give it a

Okay, I admit it, I was a little intimidated by the tile portion of the project. I knew if I screwed up the other stuff that it could be easily corrected or hidden behind... yep, you guessed it... the tile. Since the tile is the last bit I wanted to be doubly-sure it looked great and so was very cautious about getting started.

I spent a few hours Saturday reading about the process... and said process was different depending on which book I read, nice. On Sunday I dragged my feet, prepped the area, snapped some chalk lines, arranged some tools...  I finally got started around 1:30 or 2. After a couple hours I got the hang of it, but really only put up a few rows of tile.

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No biggie, now I have the hang of it and the rest will go more quickly... and less stressfully. :D

It's too dark, use the flash
Remember how pretty downtown looked that night?  Remember grabbing a great snapshot of your friends enjoying the night?  Remember getting the picture back and having a great shot of your friends... on a completely black background?  Crap!

Don't fret, there's a solution (for next time, not for fixing your old pictures).

All digital cameras... um... all digital cameras with a flash... well, let's just say most digital cameras come with a special mode that improves the way your pictures look at night.  Traditionally called a "slow sync" or "curtain flash" this mode combines a flash to freeze the foreground (typically your aunt Greta) with the slow shutter speed needed to get the surrounding environment to show up at night.

 
One small setting change and Val goes from standing in the
dark to standing in Disneyland.

Making it work for you
This really isn't magic, but you may be surprised by the results.  Trying it out isn't daunting, there are just three things you need to do:

1. Learn to turn it on
2. Steady yourself
3. Don't forget to turn it off (really... don't)

Turn it on
Turning on the night-time shot mode will differ for every camera, but it is typically grouped in the settings as a flash option.  Try cycling through the various settings for your flash but don't be frustrated if it doesn't just pop up, on my Canon PowerShot S410 (and on my old S110 as well) the mode is called "slow synchro" which requires the camera be put in "Manual" mode.  To find out exactly how to set it for your camera browse through your manual for this icon:

It takes a steady hand
You remember the old commercials for the game "Operation"? No?  At any rate... because the picture will be taken at a slow shutter speed you will find it difficult or even impossible to hand-hold your camera for the shot.  I've managed to get some okay shots by just standing very still, but the best shots always come from either using a tripod or finding some piece of the environment to use as a brace.  I often look for a door frame, light post or fence and just hold the camera against it.

Don't forget!
I have a number of great pictures which have be screwed up by leaving the camera set to slow sync.  And if you have multiple people using the camera you can frustrate your partner by handing them a poorly configured camera.

 
If we hadn't noticed the bad setting, instead of a great picture
with my parents I would have been left with a blurry memory.

Don't be afraid to experiment
The beauty of digital cameras is that you can just go nuts taking pictures and not be wasting film or processing costs.  So go nuts!  Try taking the picture even when you don't think you can hold it steady enough, you might come up with something you like.

A deep breath, a steady hand and a lot of luck
netted me a fun self portait with Paula on
Main Street USA in Disneyland.