Saturday, April 17, 2010

"The daylight here", Nataly Dawn

[Thanks to Ganesha Games]


A home page is for...

Here's a hint for webmasters and -designers: A home page should present all the basics. For example, I checked out some graphics software, and I could not see on the home page what platform(s) it supported, and there was no obvious choice as to where I could click to find the information. I looked it up at Wikipedia, and of course that info was right near the top, as it should be.

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ducloqu said:
I would be interested to see how DOMAI looked in 1997.

Here you go. (Might be 1998) (The top painting is my own):




It's gaga


I'd heard "Lady Gaga" mentioned 300 times in a week, so I got curious, who is this chick.
It's a pop chick, plays what sounds like the normal pop music. I kinda like it though. Dresses a notch or two more flamboyantly than most, good for her. (OK, maybe three notches. Kool.)

What's she got in common with Marilyn Manson? Both of them are very thin and white, and both wear so much make-up/wigs/sunglasses that you actually can't tell how they look, apart from being plain and having a big nose.

Lots of skin and lots of product placements in her Telephone video. (Here's the too-naughty-for-TV version.)

Candles and paper books

This is a comment by NormM I found under this article.

There's a famous story that is told about Edison. On the day that he first lit up a park (in NY I think) with his new electric light, a reporter came up to him and asked him, "Do you think that someday ordinary people will be able to afford electric lights?" He is reported to have replied, "One day, only the rich will be able to afford candles."

We've already seen the exponentially-improving electronic world displacing the physical in many areas, including music and games. Virtual goods use so little resources that they can become much less expensive than real ones. One day, only the rich will be able to afford paper books.

Photo contest results

The $500 winner of my photo contest is:

Russ Scheid:


This photo is just outstanding. The way the cold greys and the muted reds play together, the perfect mix of straight and curved lines, the balanced composition, and the man with the balloons, all make it extraordinary.
I've sent the prize money to Russ. He's excited and say it's the first photo contest he has won. I doubt it'll be the last though.


Finalists:

Allan Jackson:



Joe Zasada:



TCGirl:




Daniel Huber:



Alex O'donnell:



Aaron Dill:



Matt Gokey:



Honorable Mention:

Steven Gray:



Sam Pieter:



Mr. Beep:



Kaveh Kardan:



Joe Rowell:



Jared Foust:



Jeffrey Wright:



Ed Portzline:



Jason Weigner:





Andreas Weber:



------
It was a delight to see how all entrants took to the spirit of the contest. Thanks. - Eolake

Canadian publishes porn for the blind

Canadian publishes porn for the blind, article.

The book's home page.

Sleeping bebs

[Thanks to Angelo]
More sleeping babies.

I don't think I've ever been that flexible, even as a baby.


Ganisha Games said:
I have actually sent the link to my ex who is a yoga teacher. They collect this kind of images. Innocence and flexibility = perfect yogi.

Yes. Those plus the relaxedness are my goals.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Week-end

So, have a great week-end, y'all!

(Not that I'm going anywhere, just felt like saying it.)

Paper publishing to die (updated)

Article.
It's clear that electronic publishing will more or less kill off paper publishing. The questions are, how soon? (Five years or thirty?) How sudden will it be? (A long stretched-out process or one with a collapse at some point?) And how complete will it be? (Will there still be a niche market for paper books/mags in fifty years?)

Ten years ago I told my friend the newspapershop owner: are you sure you'll have a business for life in this store? Soon there will come... and here I described a device just like the iPad. OK, it's still a little to small, a little too heavy, a little too expensive, but these things have a way of changing.

Sure, some people will still want things on paper for decades to come, mostly from force of habit, but printing and distribution costs money. The fewer of these people there are, the more expensive their books will become, and the more expensive books become, the fewer people will buy paper books and magazines... you see where this is going.

----
Related article.
Some books can't and won't be digital-only. Books of special importance, like religious books, and books which rely on special physical properties, special paper, special ink, fold-outs... to make an easthetic or functional point.

The author shows this metalic ink as an example:

And he also talks about Scott McCloud's "infinite canvas":

Whose fans are dumber?




Make a test here.
Stupid Fight can't go out and administer an intelligence test to each person that's sending messages to a celebrity. So instead, it estimates based on several stupid indicators. Are they using twenty exclamation marks in a row? Do they endlessly use the abbreviation 'OMG'? Do they seem incapable of working out where their Shift key is? These indicators have a strong correlation with the message, and its sender, being stupid.

Alice for the ALDITCS

Alice (you know who) has been animated for the ALDITCS.
It's eye-catching, and I'm sure there'll be tons like this. But ultimately I wonder, beyond making toddlers giggle for a minute, what's the value?

What you know


[Thanks to TC]

About attention

Here's another mnml post. Read it.
Consider what you give your attention to each day. It’s a precious resource, & determines the shape of your life.

I also like this, from the same article:
Give up on news. It’s a never-ending cycle. And if you’ve paid attention to the news as long as I have (I’m a former journalist), you know it’s all the same, year after year. Unless your job depends on it, the news is usually a waste of your attention.

I have pretty much stayed away from the news for decades. One of the reasons was I found it depressing. Well, I've become stronger and sounder mentally, so I gave it a new chance recently. And what did I find? I don't get depressed by it these days... but it's simply not interesting! Like the guy said, it's the same ole same ole same ole.

It seem like if you're looking for a new inspiration or guru, Leo Babauta may not be the worst choice. Buy his book.
-----
Sukiho and myself just coined:
"News is just gossip made respectable."

You can't buy three (and plea for help)

It turns out that Apple is taking it seriously when they say each customer can only buy two ALDITCS (A Leading Device In The Tablet Computing Space). When I had mine sent from the US, my friend who forwarded it bought one via me. And now I tried to do the same for a friend in Italy. I'd forgotten all about the embargo, and for a few days it seemed that Apple had also. But then suddenly today, Apple sent me an email which said that because of the two-per-customer limit, the order had been canceled.

It is really hard to get one in Europe, it could take months. Is there somebody in US who would buy one and ship it by UPS to my friend? I owe him money for some artwork, so I will pay for everything up front via Paypal.
(He's gonna try to go via AccessUSA, it may work, depending on how many restrictions Apple has up on this one (like does the credit card need to be US, etc).)

Thumbs down

The ALDITCS get two claws down from Chloe the Gorgi.

How does it do it?

Out of courtesy to those of my readers more interested in "other" things, I'll try to refrain from using too often the name of, um, "A Leading Device In The Tablet Computing Space".

So. Here's an article about how can ALDITCS be so fast and keep cool? and other stuff.
"After the [ALDITCS] was announced, I got two types of emails from readers. The first group saying they were disappointed, because they had been hoping I was right that The Tablet would be Apple’s reconception of personal computing.
The second group wrote to tell me how excited they were because I was right that The Tablet would be Apple’s reconception of personal computing."

It is pronounced "alditecs". If we can get the press onto it, it'll be just like when that short black singer was called TAFKAP.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

What A Wonderful World (Death Metal Version)

RIP Peter Steele

Saddest News Ever: RIP Type O Negative Vocalist Peter Steele, article.
"I’ve seen Type O Negative live more times than I could even recount and their shows were always memorable and amazing. Besides being super talented and beyond gorgeous, Pete Steele was also the nicest guy to his fans. He even signed the cover of my Playgirl issue that had his centerfold spread in it – which is framed and hanging on my wall to this day."

The writer, my friend Gail Worley, also interviewed Peter in 2003.

Sony Webbie

Sony Webbie, cheap and compact HD cam.

Iggy plays around

OK, so less about the iPad, less about the iPad... OK, how about Iggy the Cat?

mnmlist: you need less than you think

mnmlist: you need less than you think, article.
(I like the symbolic spelling of "minimalist".)

For the first twenty years of my adult life, having a lower-middle-class income, I lived like a student. I have a small rented room, a bed, desk, chair, a fridge or access to one, and that was it. I used the library a lot.
When I moved up to an upper-middle-class income, I moved up to a lower-middle-class lifestyle, and that's where I am now. Two bedrooms, one has my office, a larger fridge, a big TV. I don't have a car. Working at home, that'd be like throwing money out the window. I do have a great bed though, Tempur foam mattress.

Kick-Ass dentist trip

Just saw today that Kick-Ass, the comic, is available for purchase digitally now via the iPad app "Comics" (I dislike too generic product names, creates confusion.) So I bought the whole set just in time to have something to read on a dentist trip. And to show off the pad to my nice dentist and the hygienist, that was fun too.
And they all commented on how I'm loosing weight, and then it turns out my teeth are perfect, in fact for the first time ever I had a 0.0% index on the bleeding test where they poke your gums to see how many are infected and bleed. Anything under 10% is OK, but mine has been getting better and better over the past few years.
Kick-Ass seems good so far, though not a lot happens per issue. But I guess that's endemic of the times and Image Comics.

The Wright answers

Pascal forwarded:

Genuine children's answers in written tests about the Bible :

1. In the first book of the Bible, Guinessis, God got tired of creating the world so he took the Sabbath off.
2. Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. Noah's wife was Joan of Ark. Noah built and ark and the animals came on in pears.
3. Lots wife was a pillar of salt during the day, but a ball of fire during the night.
4. The Jews were a proud people and throughout history they trouble with unsympathetic Genitals.
5. Sampson was a strong man who let himself be led astray by a Jezebel like Delilah.
6. Moses led the Jews to the Red Sea where they made unleavened bread which is bread without any ingredients.
7. They Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterwards, Moses whent up to Mount Cyanide to get the Ten Commandments.
8. The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple.
9. The seventh commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.
10. Moses died before he ever reached Canada. Then Joshua led the Hebrews in the battle of Geritol.
11. The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him.
12. David was a Hebrew king who was skilled at playing the liar. He fought the Finkelsteins, a race of people who lived in biblical times.
13. Solomon, one of Davids sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.
14. Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption.
15. The Epistles were the wives of the Apostles.
16. St. Paul cavorted to Christianity, he preached holy acrimony which is another name for marriage.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Mac Mini hosting

Cute idea: web hosting on Mac Minis.
(Colocation or "colo" means that you buy or lease a computer, but it stays in the host's server farm, where they have techies who can keep it running all the time. A different option is "web hotel" where you share space with other web sites on one machine (box).)

Exhilaration

Last day for the contest!

Last day for the photo contest! $500 prize, deadline April 15.

Entries so far are already very varied indeed. Some tell me that the specs have made them think more about how and what they are photographing, so that's great.

Non-essentials...

Frictionless Work: How to Clear Your Life of Non-Essential Tasks, article.

Thanks to TTL to point to this important article and subject. In the past 15 years this kind of philosophy has been essential to my life. It works both as a powerbooster, and as tool to make you evaluate importance, something most people hardly ever give real conscious thought to.

And maybe it's even rarer to give thought to this: if I get so successful at this that I finally have a few un-filled hours now and then... then what? If I should have nothing to do, nobody is home to visit, there's nothing on TV... ?
Why does this feel fearful? What is there in "nothing" that we are afraid of?
Can you just sit relaxedly for an hour or two and do nothing? If not, isn't that worth reflection on?

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

22 Useful iPad Tips

22 Useful iPad Tips, TidBITS article.

Paint/draw program

A friend uses SAI PaintTool for art (video demo). It's Japanese software, and what makes it special is that it uses vectors for the lines, and bitmaps for other stuff. (Normally "paint" apps use bitmaps, and "draw" apps use vectors.)
That's a really good idea, but it's Windows only, and it seems the program is not being updated anymore, and so on. So does anybody know a good paint app which uses vectors for the lines? Mac preferred, but I might get a Windose machine or install a simulator if I find a really good app.

I guess that while I do fine art, I don't do it in the naturalistic oil-painting tradition, but more in the modern acrylics tradition, more like comics or posters, lots of lines. So emulation of traditional media is not important to me.

I think Adobe Illustrator is quite powerful, but I think the interface sucks ashes, it always confuses the hell out of me.

Rough jokes

A few rough jokes from the net. Not for the well-brought-up.

Ipad for impaired vision (updated twice)


Frank asks me:
Since you are sharing your experience in reading with the iPad this might be a good place to ask a question which either you our your readers could answer. I have a friend who has failing eyesight -- so bad that she cannot even read with a very strong magnifying glass. What I am wondering is whether or not font sizes on a iPad book reading application can be increased to very large size and still be usable, readable on the screen. If so this might be a great device for people with impaired vision. Anyone out there care to comment?

I think I read a review saying the writer's wife loved the iPad for being easier to read than large-font books.

I took some photos of the iPad in three of the best reading applications in the largest font setting.

The Kindle app at the largest font setting:

The Instapaper app at the largest font setting:

The iBook app at largest text setting:


iBook at one of the medium text settings:

iBook at the smallest text setting (this is very small indeed):


They are all very good apps, and it seems to me they might help.

Frank said:
Thanks for the help Eo.
The demonstration photos were great and gave me a good idea of the range of current possibilities.
However, her eyesight is very poor -- so we may have to wait for the development of an app for people with impaired vision.
She/we live in Australia -- so the iPad isn't even available here as yet.


eolake said...
I would say that looking at the iBook app's biggest setting, if that's not going to do it, then the only thing would be to wait for a possible future iPad or tablet with a bigger screen, because the text can't practically get bigger on this one.

If she combines the largest text here with a loupe... ?

Here's an idea: Get her a desktop computer (Mac or PC) with a large screen, and install Amazon Kindle on it, and enlarge the text there.

... OK, I just did that on my own screen... see pic hereunder. You won't find bigger text outside road signs!



Also, by the way, both desktop computers and Kindle 2, and iBooks on the iPad (I've heard), can read aloud to her, in an mechanic, but understandable voice.

David Pogue on Windows 7

David Pogue on Windows 7.

Mix pix

First of all, this is funny. (Though I might venture it measures education rather than intelligence, but perhaps the less said, the better.)
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=================

Monday, April 12, 2010

Impracticality

I've been wondering for a while if companies don't actually do this.

(click for big pic.)

Re. how you get the large version, Mike Johnston said:
Go here...
http://www.dilbert.com/
...and click on the little magnifying glass in the upper right-hand corner of each strip.

Which reminds me: an iPad app I would love to have is one which collects various web strips as they come out and presents them in one simple interface. I'd be happy to pay for it to avoid the ads.

"Art Authority"

Recommendable iPhone/iPad app: Art Authority.
Tens of thousands of pieces of classic art, easily browsable (with info or full screen). Even with painters I thought I knew quite well, I've already seen many works I don't remember having seen before.
It also works well as something to do with your eyes and hands while you listen to a podcast or such. (And this is one of the cases where the iPad can multitask.) Because it doesn't engage the left brains as much as some things, and you can pause it at any second.

Some may say you can get all those pictures for free on the web. To that I'll say it may be true, but only if you consider your time worthless. I have tried to find paintings in decent size on the web, and it's a loooong job. It's like having to rummage through a city-sized attic with half a billion paintings to find the 2,000 which are worth looking at.

Added Flash

This is funny, while everybody else apparently is calling Flash an outmoded technology, and are conspiring to push it off the web, Adobe is making a big push to get it much more used in all its big applications.


But beyond all that, I have just ordered an upgrade to my CS4 Design Standard collection. The Content-Aware fill in Photoshop is worth the price alone. For example, I have a beautiful model who has a failed tattoo on her belly. You want to remove that, but you also have her navel and the belly wrinkles in that area, and those you don't want to throw away, you don't want Barbie. It is very tricky. The new Fill function may save me two hours of work per set in such circumstances.


Putting files on an iPad

How to manage files on an iPad is one of those big mysteries willfully kept mysterious by our good/evil god, Apple.

If you connect the iPad so it shows up in iTunes, select it and then select the "apps" tab at the top. There will be some apps which can "share apps". And if you select GoodReader for instance (which can read PDFs and much more), there will be an area where you simple can drag files into from your computer, and they turn up virtually instantly. Very handy. And then they show up in My Documents in GoodReader next time you use it.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

A new format

TTL brings out the interesting thought that what Vagabond Steve and others are doing now is really a new medium/format. It's philosophizing, like "standing on a soap box", only now the box is so big people can hear you all over the world.

And of course spirituality and consciousness can travel along any channel, even in the middle of "cold machines" like the Net and its devices, and seeping through the gaps between all the nodes of crass commercialism.

Over ten years ago I was interviewed by a magazine about Domai.com, and the lady interviewer said that she was surprised to find such warmth on such a cold medium as computers. And this was a modern young woman, not somebody who was a stranger to technology. So maybe we need to check our expectations about, well, anything.