Digital camera recommendation: Canon SD450

I'm often asked for recommendations on digital cameras so here's my most recent favorite:

Santa was very generous again this year. Kalorama Ken found a Canon SD450 under the tree, and after playing with it for a few days, I can highly recommend this camera.

I've been recommending Canon digital ever since doing the research for the Canon Digital Rebel (also from Santa) that I've been using for two years now. Canon's digic chip (the electronic chip that turns light into a digital file) is the best on the market, and the quality runs from Canon's cheapest point-and-shoot to the flagship EOS-1D. Canons just make great pictures. The glass in the lenses give Nikon a run for the money, and the chip is tops.

But back to the SD450. This model is small like the older ELPHs with the same beautiful aluminum case and metal knobs. But it's much smaller and lighter, and the 450 has a HUGE LCD view screen. It also has all the features you want in a carry-along camera like self timer, flash with redeye reducer, and the highest resolution, smoothest short video function I've seen on a point-and-shoot.

At just over $300, it's not the cheapest option, but the quality of the photos and the big viewfinder make this a great value.

Free cell phone directory assistance

Wow. Don't get our friend Ryland Copeland started about the $1 that cell phone companies charge you for directory assistance. She gets fired up!

Her great tip: 1(800) FREE 411

It's a no-charge directory assistance service. I tried it, and it works!

Christmas Crazy

I think I have found hell on earth. It's the KB Toys at Ballston Mall. Junk made in China stacked to the ceiling, stacks of overstock crowding the isles, really scary sales clerks moping in the dark corners, baaaaad Christmas music playing over the crackling speaker. What was I thinking even going in that place? Why did the pen of motorized barking plush pigs with blinking eyes just outside the entrance not tip me off?

My head hurts.

I'm losing it people. Really. My family is strewn out all over creation this Christmas and the shopping and shipping is pushing me to the edge. Tomorrow is the last day I can mail stuff without spending more to ship the box than to buy what's in the box. It's midnight and I just thought of five more relatives that I forgot to send something.

Does Kwanza involve gift-giving? Maybe I'll convert.

I need some strong eggnog.

More Crap

I thought of some other gift-giving no no's (see the post below for the first five), so I decided to add five more to make it an even ten ...

6. Imposter fragrances. This gift strikes two blows in one little package: it says, "I'm shameless and cheap" AND "You're not worth the good stuff".

7. Framed inspirational cheese. You know what I'm talking about ... these pearls of cliche' from Hallmark and Successories. If my "Friendship is Priceless" then spring for a latte and tell me over a cup of coffee.

8. Holiday apparel. The thoughtful shopper should avoid Christmas sweaters, ties, socks, underwear, etc. Particularly anything with applique or batteries. You may actually know someone who would love a bright greeen sweater with a faux Santa-fur collar covered in jingle bells and blinking lights, but they shouldn't, so do your loved one a fashion favor and get them something tasteful.

9. McDonalds gift certificates. I actually know a responsible 29 year old who got $50 in Mickey Ds certs from his parents. This is a gag gift, people. I'm against gift certificates in general (other than iTunes) because it's like giving someone a wad of cash. (Disclaimer: Mom, Dad, if you are reading this, giving cash or cash equivalents to your children is perfectly tasteful and I appreciate every last penny ... love you, I'll call soon, Ken)

10. Teeth whitening regimens. I was amused (yet appalled) to see a Crest Whitestip gift pack at Target the other day. Nothing celebrates the birth of the baby Jesus and the love you have for your friends and family like giving chemicals for yellow teeth.

So drink a couple of strong cocktails and head out to the malls to find that perfectly thoughtful gift that avoids these pitfalls.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Crap

Gifts to Avoid this Season

Here is my short list of gifts you just should not give ... ever. Some of you may want to disagree because you may, heaven forbid, like these things yourself, but you must trust me on this, no one wants to receive the following five gifts:

1. Precious Moments. People of America, these overpriced dust collectors are not precious. They are porcelain pieces of kitsch crap. Figurines featuring teddy bears, tears, or bare baby bottoms are unbearable. Put them in the middle of a snow globe and you have just about the worst gift on the planet. Really. This should just be common sense, yet this company makes a fortune. Just stop the madness.

2. Clothing with large logos. Even if the brand is a good one, big logos or brand names emblazoned across apparel are obnoxious. It says, "Look, I bought you a shirt from OLD NAVY!"

3. Cheap Tool Kits. Tools are a great gift, but crap tools are dangerous. I don't have enough space here to give you much guidance on selecting good tools, but here are a few basic rules of thumb: if you get 20+ pieces for $19.99 ... junk. If the tools are made in China or Honduras, they are sure to be die-cast crap. You really do get what you pay for with tools.

4. Anything from Fingerhut.

5. Beer. Now I appreciate the sentiment, I really do, but if you must give alcohol, make it a nice liqueur or bottle of wine.

And honorable mention goes to any electronic personal hygiene device, particularly for nose hair or dead skin removal.

Busboys & Poets

UPDATE 3/19/06
Since my original post on Busboys below, I have decided I'm over it. It has become the poser palace, full of people all dressed up to hook up. Now don't get me wrong, there is a time and a place for such things, but it's not Sunday brunch. And the wait staff has become intolerable ... making patrons wait for half an hour for a seat despite empty tables and sofas everywhere. So I'm back at Tryst. Stop by sometime and I'll buy you a cup 'o joe.

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My friend Amy has been talking this place up for weeks, but I hadn't made it over until Saturday. Wow, they really nailed the "third place" concept better than any other place in town.

What is a "third place"?

Ray Oldenburg (1989) coined the term "third place" in The Great Good Place to describe where citizens of a community or neighborhood meet to develop friendships, discuss issues, and interact with others (The first being the home and the second being work.)

"There are essential ingredients to a well-functioning third place[s]. They must be free or quite inexpensive to enter and purchase food and drink within. They must be highly accessible to neighborhoods so that people find it easy to make the place a regular part of their routine -- in other words, a lot of people should be able to comfortably walk to the place from their home. They should be a place where a number of people regularly go on a daily basis. It should be a place where the person feels welcome and comfortable, and where it is easy to enter into conversation. And a person who goes there should be able to expect to find both old and new friends each time she or he goes there."

Had Oldenburg written his book in 2005, he would have included free wi-fi as an essential ingredient.

Murky Coffee in Arlington(the shop formally known as "Common Grounds") comes really close. It's within walking distance of GMU law school and the burgeoning Ballston and Clarendon neighborhoods. It's cheap and they have a group of regulars who become familiar if you go often. It's dirty, but comfortable. Yet Murky Coffee, to me, is fatally flawed for several reasons: the staff are rude and don't understand the community concept, the coffee tastes like ashtray, and the wi-fi isn't dependable. It's also full of white people who make six figures and who don't like to talk to strangers.

Tryst in Adams Morgan comes closer. In addition to a stay-as-long-as-you-like attitude and friendly waitstaff, the seating areas foster conversation between regulars and newcomers of diverse backgrounds. Although the wi-fi is free and reliable, the Tryst folks recognize that a room full of people staring at their laptops does not a party make, so they turn it off on Friday and Saturday evenings to foster a more social environment. The prices are low and the food and coffee are high quality. Tryst has live music on some weeknights. The problem? Smoke and crowds. Finding a non-smoking seat for more than one person can be a real challenge in the evenings. Still, it's super close to my house, and it's where I go when I want to socialize.

Or at least until now. Busboys and Poets has it all. Located in a transition neighborhood at 14th and V NW, the clientele are rich and poor, black, white, Latino, straight, gay, young and old(er). Seating in the cavernous venue is comfortable and plentiful, and they don't mind if you camp out for the afternoon. Community tables lit by candelabras and sofa/chair clusters force visitors into social settings. I have met fun people during both of my several visits in two days. The staff are friendly and all seem to be enjoying their jobs and their customers.

Better yet, B&P has a small bookstore that is well stocked with an interesting though somewhat-idiosyncratic inventory. It also has a beautiful theater room with deep table booths lining the walls and a stage equipped with high-tech multimedia accoutrements. B&P hosts free musicians, poets, authors, and comedians, and their offerings are sure to expand.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about this place is that it seems effortlessly hip. It's trendy, but it doesn't come off as trying too hard. It's cool just because it is. Cool like Johnny Cash, not Justin Timberlake.

Hope I see you at B&P soon! www.busboysandpoets.com