Saturday, May 09, 2009
Famous car
OK, I give up, this must be the world's most popular invisible car this week. I'm guessing 98% of netizens have gotten an email about it.
Go gentle into that good night
Go gentle into that good night, article by Roger Ebert, thanks to Norm.
It's thought-provoking, and it has high-rez Gogh scans, something which is surprisingly hard to find.
It's thought-provoking, and it has high-rez Gogh scans, something which is surprisingly hard to find.
Kindle DX
Kindle DX, much bigger display. PDF capability. Now we're talking.
Now all it needs is a whiter background and European availability. Please.
Mmmm, and 19 ounces, over half a kilo, is perhaps a little on the heavy side. I like something which is comfy to read holding in one hand.
... Update: I weighed some of my books, and it's actually not so bad. Forget I said anything. :-)
Philip Straub concept art
Philip Straub concept art.
It's not so long ago, by the way, that I found out what "concept art" is. It's "... a form of illustration where the main goal is to convey a visual representation of a design, idea, and/or mood for use in movies, video games, animation, or comic books before it is put into the final product."
It's not so long ago, by the way, that I found out what "concept art" is. It's "... a form of illustration where the main goal is to convey a visual representation of a design, idea, and/or mood for use in movies, video games, animation, or comic books before it is put into the final product."
Lightroom or Aperture?
I've been in doubt whether to bet on Adobe Lightroom or Apple Aperture for a future professional digital photography workflow app. So I was happy to stumble over DigLloyd's evaluation of the matter. (And amusingly he even mentions myself in the article, I'd not heard about it.)
Friday, May 08, 2009
Thursday, May 07, 2009
New art
"I Told You To Stay Away From Auntie's Medicine"
"Here's Looking At You, Kid"
"A Stained Glass Window of this Size Will Be Really Quite Pricey, Mr. Disney"
"Here's Looking At You, Kid"
"A Stained Glass Window of this Size Will Be Really Quite Pricey, Mr. Disney"
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Facebook cleaners
Wow, Facebook employs a hundred and fifty people to keep the site clean! That's a lot of people, hours, and work to avoid offending squeamishness.
I'm reminded: when Bart Simpson was skateboarding in the buff, the cop yelled: "Stop! In the name of American squeamishness!"
Of course, the US is far from the only country with its share of squeamish people. For example, in Brazil, home of the micro-bikini, bathing nude is a serious crime. And OK, even in Denmark it's strictly speaking illegal to be naked in public, although the chances of being arrested are smaller than most places.
By the way, I was charged recently with promoting a "nudists' paradise" which not everybody wants. Sure, there are many people I don't want to see nude either. But the pretty ones I don't mind. And listen, as an analogy I find smelly people offensive, but there's no law against poor hygene and there shouldn't be. I think nudity is on the same level. Where most people will find it offensive, it will regulate itself, no reason to call the dang coppers.
---
On a different note, I'm a bit surprised at how, this late in the game, FaceBook (or "FriendFace" as The IT Crowd calls it) actually seems to be about to become the global default social networking site. People are starting to talk about it like it's something one is bound to be using, like having a phone or an email address. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It is a private company after all, and you have no recourse if they don't like what you do or vice versa.
I'm reminded: when Bart Simpson was skateboarding in the buff, the cop yelled: "Stop! In the name of American squeamishness!"
Of course, the US is far from the only country with its share of squeamish people. For example, in Brazil, home of the micro-bikini, bathing nude is a serious crime. And OK, even in Denmark it's strictly speaking illegal to be naked in public, although the chances of being arrested are smaller than most places.
By the way, I was charged recently with promoting a "nudists' paradise" which not everybody wants. Sure, there are many people I don't want to see nude either. But the pretty ones I don't mind. And listen, as an analogy I find smelly people offensive, but there's no law against poor hygene and there shouldn't be. I think nudity is on the same level. Where most people will find it offensive, it will regulate itself, no reason to call the dang coppers.
---
On a different note, I'm a bit surprised at how, this late in the game, FaceBook (or "FriendFace" as The IT Crowd calls it) actually seems to be about to become the global default social networking site. People are starting to talk about it like it's something one is bound to be using, like having a phone or an email address. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It is a private company after all, and you have no recourse if they don't like what you do or vice versa.
Pete said:
It's a rare day when I come close to defending Facebook, but you should keep in mind that there's a lot to manage besides policies on nudity. I believe it's the responsibility of a provider of an innovative platform to provide some mechanisms that prevent it from being used as a platform to attack individuals, or to foster criminal or antisocial behavior. Just look at encyclopediadramatica.com for an example of where this can go when unchecked. (I haven't in some time, and prefer not to. I remember elaborate pages written to attack, demean, and discredit individuals who aren't particularly public figures -- photoshopped pictures depicting them having sex with animals, things like that.)
I'm not going to defent where Facebook draws the line, but it's probably worth keeping in mind that many nude photos of people under 18 are illegal to possess in the USA, and without having an automated mechanism to determine which are ok and which aren't, it seems sensible to me that Facebook would employ a lot of people to keep an eye on things.
By the way, I flippin' hate Facebook. I use it, but I hate nearly everything about it -- mostly, their anti-end-user licensing policies.
---
Beware facebook phishing.
I'm not going to defent where Facebook draws the line, but it's probably worth keeping in mind that many nude photos of people under 18 are illegal to possess in the USA, and without having an automated mechanism to determine which are ok and which aren't, it seems sensible to me that Facebook would employ a lot of people to keep an eye on things.
By the way, I flippin' hate Facebook. I use it, but I hate nearly everything about it -- mostly, their anti-end-user licensing policies.
---
Beware facebook phishing.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Bedroom light
One of the things that puzzle me as I watch TV shows about architecture is that many of the newly built houses have these modern, pretty bedrooms with big picture windows... and no curtains or blinds!
Do you know if that's normal these days?
How do people sleep in the summer? Me, I have blinds and a "blackout curtain" (a light-tight layer added to the curtain) in my bedroom in order to get decent darkness for sleeping.
Do you know if that's normal these days?
How do people sleep in the summer? Me, I have blinds and a "blackout curtain" (a light-tight layer added to the curtain) in my bedroom in order to get decent darkness for sleeping.
Clockwise
Inspired by writing this, I got hold of Clockwise.
It's a near-perfect comedy. No special effects, no fancy settings, no extreme behavior, and the plot is all logical and believable. And yet the whole thing is written and timed so well that it's continually engaging and often funny as hell.
And nothing is ever pushed in your face. For example there's a character so shy that he never finishes a sentence. It's really funny, and yet nobody ever points out that he never finishes a sentence.
Another character is muddied up by trying to push a car out of a muddy field. Most other comedies would have the character absolutely covered in mud, really overdone it. But here they didn't do that, the whole thing stays real.
Ballpoint art
Here's another entry in the "art or sport?" category.
Well, it's clearly art, but is that why it's interesting? I submit that it's interesting because all the work which goes into it and because of the fidelity to the photo. In other words, skill more than creativity. It seems to me you could get the same result with a mechanical device which made big prints of photos using ballpoint pins. (And there are actually printers which use pens.)
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Domespace (updated)
Eric points to the cool French Domespace houses. Pictures. Videos. (A lived-in one. A bit of a fluff piece, admittedly.)
I am not sure about the rotating bit, but maybe it could turn out to be good.
I have long thought, though, that the most desirable and aesthetic materials for building are timber, glass, and granite. Of course they are also amongst the most expensive, so I guess if I build a house it won't be huge. But that was never an ambition anyway, size is mostly a status thing. Except for large rooms, which I think have a positive influence on mentality and emotions. I would like to have a two-story living room, and big windows.
I'm watching a show about a young couple who built a HUGE house on a hill side. While it turned out very impressive, two things I don't get: why stretch your energy and finances so much to get a house four times as big as you need? And the other one, which of course is just a matter of taste: their house is all white walls and hard lines, which seems very clinical to me. I much better like the pleasantly warm tones of the interiors on these pictures. And more: the textures. The floors are wonderful, both the tiles and the wooden parts. It's alive. Of course again it's more expensive per meter than sleek white.I love the staircase too, both the steps and the railing.
One thing though: there's a large space in the center which is not used for anything. And maybe it can't really be? Clearly the house is not space efficient. (This of course is less important if you have a big lot and big money.)