Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Jeans fits
I was bemoaning that well-fitting jeans seem to be a lost art, when Ray found this article. It seems Levi's has put a lot of work into it.
Dance teams
I think that it must be be friggin' hard to dance fast and well in an outfit like this, attractive though it may be. Not to mention doing it with a constant huge smile. Seriously. Damn hard work.
The Russian "ReD Foxes Dance Team has been banned from performing during FIBA World basketball championship 2010 where Muslim countries will take part. Their onstage dresses have been claimed to be too provocative by the audience." (post)
The Russian "ReD Foxes Dance Team has been banned from performing during FIBA World basketball championship 2010 where Muslim countries will take part. Their onstage dresses have been claimed to be too provocative by the audience." (post)
Quotes of the week
Through all the world there goes one long cry from the heart of the artist: Give me leave to do my utmost.
-- Isak Dineson, 'Babette's Feast'
Set all things in their own peculiar place, and know that order is the greatest grace.
-- John Dryden
The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get old ones out. Every mind is a building filled with archaic furniture. Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it.
-- Dee Hock
-- Isak Dineson, 'Babette's Feast'
Set all things in their own peculiar place, and know that order is the greatest grace.
-- John Dryden
The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get old ones out. Every mind is a building filled with archaic furniture. Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it.
-- Dee Hock
Monday, October 25, 2010
Being Steve Jobs' Boss
Being Steve Jobs' Boss, article/interview.
You'd think that an interview with John Sculley (ex-Apple-boss) about Steve Jobs would be mainly bitter rivalry, but fortunately this isn't so, in fact it's highly interesting. It's quite philosophical, which I like.
You'd think that an interview with John Sculley (ex-Apple-boss) about Steve Jobs would be mainly bitter rivalry, but fortunately this isn't so, in fact it's highly interesting. It's quite philosophical, which I like.
An ark has been built
An ark has been built in Holland, virtually single-handed by one believer.
I wonder if somebody has calculated how much space it would actually take to transport a couple from every species on the Earth, plus food and supplies and a competent crew to keep them sound, but one thing is for sure: this guy is not afraid of a little labor!
I wonder if somebody has calculated how much space it would actually take to transport a couple from every species on the Earth, plus food and supplies and a competent crew to keep them sound, but one thing is for sure: this guy is not afraid of a little labor!
21st century vinyl
The Crossley Revolution is a new turntable. It's compact, can run on batteries, has built-in speakers and a USB port for digital conversion!
What's next? Hardcover books with wifi for synchronizing bookmarks with Kindle?
What's next? Hardcover books with wifi for synchronizing bookmarks with Kindle?
Glitchy Digital Images are Artist’s Inspiration
Glitchy Digital Images are Artist’s Inspiration, pic post.
Oil paintings based on corrupted JPGs. Goes to show anything goes in art.
Oil paintings based on corrupted JPGs. Goes to show anything goes in art.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
More HDR (updated)
Update: here is an older post which shows how non-trivial this is to do if the camera doesn't do it (and only a few cameras do, yet).
Here is one of the clearest examples I'd done where you can see the advantage one can get from High Dynamic Range technology, even the one built into the iPhone 4. (I'm starting to regard that device as a camera with a built-in phone.)
You can see that in the standard shot, most of the indoor red color is lost, and the color in the highlights and the blue sky are virtually all lost. These are saved in the HDR version (a combination, in-camera, of three exposures).
They are not computer-manipulated except for slight cropping.
(The first to comment on the quality of the window washing wins the opportunity to come over and prove he can do it better.)
Here is one of the clearest examples I'd done where you can see the advantage one can get from High Dynamic Range technology, even the one built into the iPhone 4. (I'm starting to regard that device as a camera with a built-in phone.)
You can see that in the standard shot, most of the indoor red color is lost, and the color in the highlights and the blue sky are virtually all lost. These are saved in the HDR version (a combination, in-camera, of three exposures).
They are not computer-manipulated except for slight cropping.
(The first to comment on the quality of the window washing wins the opportunity to come over and prove he can do it better.)
Excercise for middle-aged nerds
Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side.
With a 5- kg potato bag in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can.
Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.
Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer.
After a couple of weeks, move up to 10- kg potato bags.
Then try 50- kg potato bags and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100- kg potato bag in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute.
(I'm at this level.)
After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each bag.
With a 5- kg potato bag in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can.
Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.
Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer.
After a couple of weeks, move up to 10- kg potato bags.
Then try 50- kg potato bags and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100- kg potato bag in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute.
(I'm at this level.)
After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each bag.
Mate making amongst the well-off
Thanks to Ian from SA for this. I think it's interesting. And honest. Be sure to read both sides of the conversation.
(A Rand is currently about a seventh of a US dollar. So she's talking about for $100k/year. Not excessive.)
(A Rand is currently about a seventh of a US dollar. So she's talking about for $100k/year. Not excessive.)
... A funny thing is that the girl only stipulates income, not how much of it he would be willing to spend on her... Just because a guy is comfortable does not guarantee he's willing to buy swimming pools and mink coats.
Cursor positioning improved
I must learn better yet to not jump to conclusions. For example I had believed that the iPad was a very poor tool for editing text (as differentiated from writing it), because normally, even with the little loupe, positioning the cursor is clumsy and tricky.
But QuickOffice for iPad has invented a thing which I hope others will borrow: you point and hold on some text, and the app rapidly zooms in to something like 300%, and moves the line and the cursor up to just above your fingertip. This makes positioning the cursor not just as easy as, but even easier than it has ever been on a desktop computer. Wow.
I believe that almost all the unnecessary limitations of the iPad are just a question of software refinement. Apart from those which will buckle under for normal hardware evolution.
But QuickOffice for iPad has invented a thing which I hope others will borrow: you point and hold on some text, and the app rapidly zooms in to something like 300%, and moves the line and the cursor up to just above your fingertip. This makes positioning the cursor not just as easy as, but even easier than it has ever been on a desktop computer. Wow.
I believe that almost all the unnecessary limitations of the iPad are just a question of software refinement. Apart from those which will buckle under for normal hardware evolution.
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