I'd like to do it again, but I need a bit more energy, it was a lot of work.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Domai art contest
Art from the Domai art contest a few years ago. There's a lot of great stuff.
I'd like to do it again, but I need a bit more energy, it was a lot of work.
I'd like to do it again, but I need a bit more energy, it was a lot of work.
Self-development
TC (our animal photographer from some days ago) mentioned an old article of mine where I'd said: "I think the world would be a better place if everyone were more open about things..."
My older sister, after reading another article of mine many years ago, said to me: "from the article you sound like a very open person, and I don't think you are really." I said "no, but it's my ideal".
I've made a lot of progress since, but still have a ways to go.
TC added: "I think that it is cool that you are at least aware that you are not yet where you want to be (and really...whom among us can really say that we *are* there?!)"
Yes, that's important. Like Ghandi said: be the change that you want to see in the world. But it's not easy to see that. When I started out as a "seeker" as a very young man, I pretty much thought I was perfect. It was the world which was messed up, not me!
But the more I have improved myself over the years, the more my eyes have been opened to seeing how much more there was to improve yet.
And the more it makes sense to me that the problems we see in the world are really reflections of inner problems.
My older sister, after reading another article of mine many years ago, said to me: "from the article you sound like a very open person, and I don't think you are really." I said "no, but it's my ideal".
I've made a lot of progress since, but still have a ways to go.
TC added: "I think that it is cool that you are at least aware that you are not yet where you want to be (and really...whom among us can really say that we *are* there?!)"
Yes, that's important. Like Ghandi said: be the change that you want to see in the world. But it's not easy to see that. When I started out as a "seeker" as a very young man, I pretty much thought I was perfect. It was the world which was messed up, not me!
But the more I have improved myself over the years, the more my eyes have been opened to seeing how much more there was to improve yet.
And the more it makes sense to me that the problems we see in the world are really reflections of inner problems.
Aristotle and Piet Hein
Humor is the only test of gravity, and gravity of humor; for a subject which will not bear raillery is suspicious, and a jest which will not bear serious examination is false wit.
-- Aristotle
Den, som kun tar spøg for spøg
og alvor kun alvorligt,
han og hun har faktisk fattet
begge dele dårligt.
- Piet Hein
(He who sees in jest only jest, and only seriousness in the serious, he has understood both things pretty poorly.) (I wish I could find Piet's own translation, he surely did it better.)
============
To punish me for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself.
-- Albert Einstein
-- Aristotle
Den, som kun tar spøg for spøg
og alvor kun alvorligt,
han og hun har faktisk fattet
begge dele dårligt.
- Piet Hein
(He who sees in jest only jest, and only seriousness in the serious, he has understood both things pretty poorly.) (I wish I could find Piet's own translation, he surely did it better.)
============
To punish me for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself.
-- Albert Einstein
Flying police spy camera
Flying police spy camera (and more). And here we thought it was just a dystopic science fiction idea. Ain't it lovely.
More videos.
Leviathud said...
The worry/scrutiny shouldnt be focused so much on the technology but rather on those who wield it.
Using words that are not emotionally inert (such as spy) colours the issue from the get-go. This is a device which allows law enforcement officers to observe a subject, be it a crime or suspect or location, from a distance. Just like binoculars. Why havent we protested the binoculars?
More videos.
Leviathud said...
The worry/scrutiny shouldnt be focused so much on the technology but rather on those who wield it.
Using words that are not emotionally inert (such as spy) colours the issue from the get-go. This is a device which allows law enforcement officers to observe a subject, be it a crime or suspect or location, from a distance. Just like binoculars. Why havent we protested the binoculars?
Pubic Relations
Pubic Relations, an inquiry into the whys and wherefores of hair removal. I'll look forward to seeing results, since I'm always asked why Domai models typically come shaved, and I don't know, except it seems "everybody does it".
Maybe you'd be interested in doing their survey.
(Oh, and it turns out it's a woman making the research, and she is quite beautiful.)
Update: it seems the survey turns into a full blown sex life survey in the middle, I don't know why.
Maybe you'd be interested in doing their survey.
(Oh, and it turns out it's a woman making the research, and she is quite beautiful.)
Update: it seems the survey turns into a full blown sex life survey in the middle, I don't know why.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Adobe price gouching
I am upset. I really feel Adobe is robbing their customers.
I've paid for Photoshop 3, 4, 5, 6, and seven. I've paid for Creative Suite One and Two, which include Photoshop 8 and nine.
And now they tell me that I'm not elligible for an upgrade to Photoshop 11 (CS4), because it's "a different product" than the Creative Suite, even though it includes Photoshop. I have to pay full price! Oh, it's on special offer, "only" five hundred and thirty pounds! (A thousand dollars!)
This is just f***ing disrespectful of loyal customers.
------
Update: I looked it over, and I could get the upgrade to the Suite for a hundred pounds less, and I might like to have the newest version of Illustrator at some points, so I decided to go with that.
I still think they are really exploiting their near-monopoly though.
At least I skipped CS3, so I avoided one "upgrade tax" payment.
Other comments: If you're hooked on confusion, try to figure out which of the myriad versions of the Creative Suite is right for you. They have to have special software on the site to help you choose!
Also, getting the box version (including shipping) was cheaper than buying the download. Very odd.
Sorry for all this bitterness, I just had to vent.
I've paid for Photoshop 3, 4, 5, 6, and seven. I've paid for Creative Suite One and Two, which include Photoshop 8 and nine.
And now they tell me that I'm not elligible for an upgrade to Photoshop 11 (CS4), because it's "a different product" than the Creative Suite, even though it includes Photoshop. I have to pay full price! Oh, it's on special offer, "only" five hundred and thirty pounds! (A thousand dollars!)
This is just f***ing disrespectful of loyal customers.
------
Update: I looked it over, and I could get the upgrade to the Suite for a hundred pounds less, and I might like to have the newest version of Illustrator at some points, so I decided to go with that.
I still think they are really exploiting their near-monopoly though.
At least I skipped CS3, so I avoided one "upgrade tax" payment.
Other comments: If you're hooked on confusion, try to figure out which of the myriad versions of the Creative Suite is right for you. They have to have special software on the site to help you choose!
Also, getting the box version (including shipping) was cheaper than buying the download. Very odd.
Sorry for all this bitterness, I just had to vent.
ISO settings
If you're serious about photography, I recommend experimenting with your ISO settings (the sensitivety setting) to see what you can get away with. The setting which is right in one situation may not be right in another.
If you're getting shutter speeds so low that all your pictures are shaken, it's worth it to set a high setting, even though you're getting slight noise.
And conversely, it's stupid to use a very high setting if you're walking around on a sunny day with a wideangle lens.
Of course it ties in with experimentation (and study) about what shutter speeds you can get away with, and how different aperture settings affect your image quality on what lenses (many lenses are less sharp on full opening).
The Nikon D90 has excellent performance at high ISO, so I've decided (so far) to have a standard setting of 800, and auto-correction up to 3200 (if the shutter speed falls under 1/30 sec). On models older than the D90 I'd recommend 400 and 1600 instead.
I may set it lower than 800 if I need short depth of field in good light, or if peak sharpness is essential.
If you're getting shutter speeds so low that all your pictures are shaken, it's worth it to set a high setting, even though you're getting slight noise.
And conversely, it's stupid to use a very high setting if you're walking around on a sunny day with a wideangle lens.
Of course it ties in with experimentation (and study) about what shutter speeds you can get away with, and how different aperture settings affect your image quality on what lenses (many lenses are less sharp on full opening).
The Nikon D90 has excellent performance at high ISO, so I've decided (so far) to have a standard setting of 800, and auto-correction up to 3200 (if the shutter speed falls under 1/30 sec). On models older than the D90 I'd recommend 400 and 1600 instead.
I may set it lower than 800 if I need short depth of field in good light, or if peak sharpness is essential.
Ain't Misbehavin'
Both the songs and Waller's piano are just unsurpassed. Wonderful stuff.
(Too bad I couldn't find the studio version on utube, since that one has a great and long piano intro. Otherwise it sounds perfectly like this one though, so I suspect the movie used it for playback.)
(Too bad I couldn't find the studio version on utube, since that one has a great and long piano intro. Otherwise it sounds perfectly like this one though, so I suspect the movie used it for playback.)
Sex on Dubai beach
"Britons jailed, fined for sex on Dubai beach", article. When cultures clash.
Side note: as if the grammar of paper news publications was not bad enough, news outlets even insist on export the attrocious practices to online publications, even though space is not an issue there. Replacing "and" with a comma reduces redability, makes no sense, and saves only three characters.
Side note: as if the grammar of paper news publications was not bad enough, news outlets even insist on export the attrocious practices to online publications, even though space is not an issue there. Replacing "and" with a comma reduces redability, makes no sense, and saves only three characters.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Pat Boone
Somebody once told me I sang like Pat Boone, and of course I took that as a compliment, but I was never really familiar with his work. So when I heard Lisa Simpson say about Ned Flanders' home that it is like their own, but everything has a "creepy Pat Boon-ish quality to it", naturally I had to look him up. Bless YouTube.
I can see what she means. Like myself he's an excellent singer and devilishly handsome, but a bit over-slick and over-wholesome. For instance he is singing "you broke my heart" and "you're to blame" with a huge, happy smile.
(I don't really find him "creepy", but the joke works.)
I can see what she means. Like myself he's an excellent singer and devilishly handsome, but a bit over-slick and over-wholesome. For instance he is singing "you broke my heart" and "you're to blame" with a huge, happy smile.
(I don't really find him "creepy", but the joke works.)
Firefox download issue
For the past few months, both Firefox and Mozilla have refused to download anything. I get this message.
I can't get them to save anywhere else, and it does not help to change permissions for the desktop.
Any ideas?
Damien wrote:
From various internet boards, I gathered this much :
• When starting a download, Firefox first creates a temporary file in a default internet download location, then moves it to the user-specified download folder.
• Apparently, that "default download location" is some obscure system-wide setting which, in your case, still points to the desktop of your deleted account.
• This setting may reportedly be changed by editing some .plist files, or... through the old Internet Explorer's preferences panel.
That did it! Incredible! There was actually this system wide default d/l location, and it is no longer accessible, since there's no longer an "internet" control panel. But the ancient IE has direct access to it...
And it works now!
What a story.
I can't get them to save anywhere else, and it does not help to change permissions for the desktop.
Any ideas?
Damien wrote:
From various internet boards, I gathered this much :
• When starting a download, Firefox first creates a temporary file in a default internet download location, then moves it to the user-specified download folder.
• Apparently, that "default download location" is some obscure system-wide setting which, in your case, still points to the desktop of your deleted account.
• This setting may reportedly be changed by editing some .plist files, or... through the old Internet Explorer's preferences panel.
That did it! Incredible! There was actually this system wide default d/l location, and it is no longer accessible, since there's no longer an "internet" control panel. But the ancient IE has direct access to it...
And it works now!
What a story.
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