The image is called "chorus image" and is on thecdn.vox-cdn.com.
I will not do that.
The photo was taken by Cameron Faulkner.
I should care about my appearance on the calls. I don't mean the appearance of my hair or the appearance of my face. I am talking about image quality. The focal length is long. Bokeh. Over the past decade, I have written about cameras and phones. I use video conference platforms at work. I have a camera that I could use for meetings. I don't care, and I won't.
I know that a longer focal length would be more flattering than the built-in wide-angle lens on my MacBook Air. I have the skills, knowledge, and power to do what I do. I might command more respect in meetings if I did. My colleagues might scroll through a sea of thumbnail pictures on our staff meeting and think to themselves, "Allison really has her shit together." They see a blurry image of a person who has not gotten enough sleep and a cluttered background.
I have the skills, knowledge, and power to use a softly blurred background behind me.
I would like to blame my apathy on the fact that I'm on lock down. The Pandemic has had more false endings than Return of the King, as we enter year three. I could argue that there are too many real things to care about. I know that I wouldn't care if I could get back the emotional energy I spend worrying about the public space I'm in. I am not interested.
Many of my co-workers use their cameras on video calls with special tripods and flattering lighting. They look great! I applaud their efforts. I think it is more than just looking a little fancy on a meeting. It is the result of the shared trait that makes us nerds.
There are things I like tinkering with, and there are things I don't. I use the built-in speakers on my TV and the built-in grinder on my espresso machine; audio nerds and espresso nerds would find this frightening. In the summer of 2020 I turned my Animal Crossing island into a theme park.
Noupscale is a file on thechorusasset.com.
It was a labor of love.
A lot of people think that is a poor use of time. It was prime tinkering to me. I don't like tinkering with my computer, but I'll do anything to make sure I get the "Danger: 10,000 volts" sign on the rex paddock.
My fellow nerds, tinker away, whether it's your fancy webcam, the PC you built from spare parts lying around your apartment, or the perfect espresso grind. I will be looking like a videoconferencing amateur, but you can bet my Animal Crossing island is flawless. It looks like we are not leaving home in 2022, so we need to keep tinkering with our projects.
