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i want to buy a digital camera. and i want it to be cheap.
i don't need anything fancy. i don't need special zooms or video or anything.
i just want a camera to take shots of my kids that i can post on the internet and can make prints of if i want.
i've looked up some cameras on the internet & have found some 3-in-1s (webcam, digicam, something else?) for like under $20 and i'm pretty sure something like that would totally break the second i use it. so i know i probably won't be able to get something THAT cheap.
here are some questions:
*when i get my digital camera, do i need to buy any extra things in order to take pictures & get them on my computer? i've heard of a mysterious "video card". what is this thing? do i need it? is it expensive?
i guess that's my only question. i just want a no-hassle, no frills camera that i don't have to put film into that is not going to cost me a ton of money.
in other news, um, people, please use a little common sense and when you're on the subway/train/elevator/automatic doorway, don't stand in the motion detector's little detection area. is it really that hard for you to figure out that the reason the train keeps not being able to shut it's doors or take off or close it's doors is because you are standing in the doorway/leaning against the door/swinging your hand in & out of the doorway? i mean, the fact that everyone is giving you dirty looks and i even said something to you about getting off the door should have tipped you off, but nooooooo. and please if you are in a quiet area don't talk on your cell phone really loudly. and please clean your fingernails. ew.
sincerely,
yes i'm talking to you, you stupid guy i was on the train with friday.
now back to our regular "ashley is perfect" programming, my daughter now has a swollen, black eye, because i did not stop her from running and running and running around the sanctuary of our church and she slipped and whacked her face against something on her way down to the floor. she got hit right underneath her eyeball. luckily she didn't hit it hard enough to mess with the bone, she just has a puffy cheek, a bruise & a scrape. but it is just enough to make us look like total abusers as we take the kids to the dentist and to get enrolled in school this week. rock on!!! i am the best parent EVERRRRRRRRRRRRR.
okay every one send good vibes/prayers/thoughts our way, i am hoping to enroll the kids in this private christian school a few blocks from our house that i just found out about. it seems almost too perfect: low tuition because they are concerned that the low-income children in the area are able to get a good education, close to the house, before & after school care, small student:teacher ratio. i only know all of this through research & contact w/the school. we have to go check out the place & i'm going to call the alderman's office to see if they know of anything. i would hate for it to look all perfect on the outside & find that they don't feed the kids or have a pervert principal or something. please please please let this be a good place for my kids or i am going to tear my hair out. here's to having to apply to magnet schools a year in advance (oops), making too much money to qualify for childcare assistance through the state yet not truly making enough to survive on what's left over after paying a full-time daycare/preschool (!*#$@) and being frightened of the schools in our neighborhood (sigh).
i won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet, but was anyone else as insanely happy and dancing and clapping and jumping up and down with the special guest that diddy had come out & perform his biggest hit on the vmas???? and if you weren't planning on watching it, DO IT FOR THIS ALONE. dun, dun dun dun. da-nun. da-nun. ! ! !
August 30 2005, 01:19:30 UTC 6 years ago
As far as a memory card...most digital cameras have virtually no storage [i think ours stored like 7]. So unless you plan on snapping a few then uploading and deleting...then you need one. The nice thing is, once you get a memory card, they have a lot of storage! I think my 256mb holds over 400 photos. I believe i payed $45-$50 for it. You can then take that little card to walmart and print the pics right there on the kodak machine.
My camera is a Kodak easy share and it comes with software you can use to store and edit the pics. It also comes with a special cord that uploads the pics directly onto the computer using the software. Honestly, the software is a pain in the butt and all of a sudden, the cord just quit working...so I broke down and bought a memory card reader for $20. But if your computer has a drive that can read a memory card, then you wouldn't have to worry about that.
I don't know if memory cards and memory sticks are the same thing or two different things.
One thing that is a royal pain about digital cameras is that it is hard to get those "candid kodak moments". First you have to turn the camera on, wait a few seconds for it to be ready to take pics and then snap the pics and there is like a half a second delay from the time to you push the button before the actual pic is taken. argggg...how annoying. you might ask about it because they may have models out that are better.
The model I have is Kodak EasyShare CX6200-although it took a lot of trial and error to make photos easy to share. I basically have ceased to use the annoying software and just save my pics in my documents.
Either I suck at taking pictures or there are better quality cameras out there...but like I said, it works for our purposes.
CHILDREN'S SCHOOL:
*You know you have every right to go in and observe without notice at the school. And if they have a problem with that, then that might be a red flag.
*Look at the way the other children act because those will be the children yours will imitate.
*Ask about the turnover rate...if a lot of the teachers/caregivers have not been there very long, then that might indicate low pay, a low quality work environment and thus low quality care.
*Do the employees talk trash on other parents in front of children and visitors [i've listened in on so much gossip when i was conducting observations]-this may indicate disrespect towards parents' wishes.
*Since it is in a low-poverty area...chances are many of the children will display challenging behavior...how is this handled?
*How do the caregivers refer to the child with challenging behaviors-I have witnessed many instances where caregivers were not shy about referring to these children as the bad ones
*Do not ignore your gut feeling...most of the time, it's right. [i hear so many people tell mothers that they are just being paranoid when it comes to the children...and I think that is wrong-that women's intuition thing is there for a reason!]
I came across a website...I only browsed it briefly, but it might have some good information: http://www.childcareaware.org/en/
hope this helps.