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| Monday, December 21st, 2009 |
sarahs_muse
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10:44a |
So what can you do with GigaPixel images besides zoom in on them on webpages?
From the 25 th August to the 13 th September 2009, this giant picture of the entire sky is exposed in the « Un ciel pour une planète » exhibition, in the Atrium of the Monte-Carlo Casino, Monaco. The making of of the project is shown under a 12 m x 6 m picture. According to the last stellar census made by astronomers at the Besançon Observatory, the Milky Way contains about 150,000 million stars. Less than 0.0001% of these are visible here, and astronomers have, today, identified less than one percent of the total galactic population. This image of the sky is in fact a mosaic composed of almost 300 fields, each captured four times, for a total of 1200 photos. All were taken with a Nikon D3 digital camera and its 50 mm lens open at f5.6. Each image is the result of a 6-minute exposure. The apparent motion of the sky, caused by Earth’s rotation, was corrected thanks to a small equatorial mount, moving in the opposite direction and making a whole circle in 24 hours precisely around the Earth’s axis of rotation. "Lying on the ground, at the foot of the telescope, rocked by the regular “bip bip” of the interval timer, I gazed at the sky, as the amazing stellar clouds of the Milky Way passed over me. From time to time, the “clac” announcing the end of an exposure woke me up, when it was not the chilling cold of the night. I lived in this way for almost thirty nights, in complete osmosis with my camera and the sky, and heard about 1200 times the “bip bip” announcing the next exposure… The total exposure time of this image is close to 120 hours." Click for biggy For many more pictures and video's of the process, and a zoom-able Flash app of the picture visit their site: http://sergebrunier.com/gallerie/pleinciel/index-eng.html |
| Sunday, December 20th, 2009 |
sarahs_muse
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9:54p |
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sarahs_muse
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8:12p |
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sarahs_muse
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6:48p |
Woooooooohoooooo!
Rage against the machine WINS! No X-Factor number one this Christmas! RATM also give £60,000 to Shelter. Yay! |
sarahs_muse
|
5:10p |
The tests I would do if I can't find a digicam review site for a camera:
Before you buy a digicam check out the following problems that can plague your pictures. It'd probably take a little too much time in-shop - you'd more likely need a friend with the camera so you can do these tests.
Moire test... Picket fences receding into the distance, a net, or anything with rows/columns getting narrower... See where the resolving stops, and also check for herringbone patterns, and coloured moire patterns. Finding either is bad. Example - colours on the fence when there aren't any...  And on shirt: 
Pincushion / Barrelling test... Take a picture of a brick wall front on. Now open an image editing program, and draw straight lines from one side of picture to the other, and from top to bottom, along the cement lines. Is the cement lines curved? How much? Less is good!  The effects you're looking for: 
Purple/blue fringe test... Stand under some trees on a hazy day (white sky). Take pictures through the foliage and branches. Magnify the images you took, and look for purple fringing... less is better. 
Digital noise: Take some pictures with the high ISO setting the camera has. Magnify the images and check for speckles of blue/green/red squares, less is better. The colored speckles on this window don't exist: 
Amp noise. Take a long exposure with the lens cap on (30 seconds +) Open in image editor and turn brightness and contrast up... is it even, or are there purple glows near some edges? That's electronic components interfering with the image taking. Less is better. More splotches are bad... 
Image taking speed FPS : How many pictures per second can you crank out in nice bright conditions? More is better!
Blown highlight warnings : Take a picture of a bright sky or some swans close up - check the cameras preview window. Can you turn on an option that shows "Blown highlights"? It's a feature in-camera that flashes over the image a warning color to show you were the light was so bright, no information was stored... it's ALL full white. This is a great feature - if you've ever take pictures of swans and had them come out as white featureless blobs - you need this feature! This one isn't in camera - but it looks the same (apart from the controls on the right!) 
Vignetting : This is where the edges of the image get darker. It's the fault of a bad lens. Less is better! 
My tests mostly test the lens - although there's some for the camera. Like ISO settings. If you're happy with the above effects being minimal enough for you, then it's a good camera. Are there any more rough-and ready (non-studio) tests I can add to these? |
sarahs_muse
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2:57p |
Dance eJay revival.
Does anyone know know how to position audio block between bars? In earlier versions you could hold Ctrl down and drag it in 1/16'th steps between the bars. It's very irritating. =( |
sarahs_muse
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3:49a |
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sarahs_muse
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1:35a |
Making Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" in Ableton by Jim Pavloff
It's not the original, but it comes very very close to the real thing. I've always wanted to see Liam at work, and I think this will be the closest I'll get to it. The end result isn't bad - the samples sound right, but some are cropped and sequenced a little badly. The video goes through a few of the original music tracks that were taken as the source of the samples used in the song - about 6 of them. It shows the process of editing the samples, cutting them up, and post-processing them. It then shows the creation of some synths and drum loops, and real-time envelope effects, then onto mixing the tracks, and finally the finished sequence. It's incredible watching the eclectic songs mixed on screen gradually into a coherent re-mix that is so recognisable as a song in its own right. http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/agifm/making_prodigys_smack_my_bitch_up_in_ableton_by/ |
| Saturday, December 19th, 2009 |
sarahs_muse
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10:15a |
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sarahs_muse
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9:46a |
When siblings fall out - via facebook
So you've got some beer, and your sister grasses you to your parents. They ground you for 3 months. It's only fair, you're breaking the house rules. It's your duty to help you sister. After all, if she's also breaking the house rules, your parents should know. You wouldn't be a responsible brother. So you look around her room checking that she's not endangering herself, or breaking the house rules, and you find a sheet of paper with details of all your sisters hook-ups and snogs! What's a responsible guy going to do? Well this one tags everyone named on the list in a facebook post, and scans in the snog-log! (there's a lot in the hook-up list!) Maybe she'll change her ways before her parents need telling? http://i.imgur.com/58kXI.jpgRddit says this activity was Neutral Evil. http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/agduh/girl_rats_out_her_sister_sister_posts_girls/ |
| Friday, December 18th, 2009 |
techiebabe
|
4:03p |
This is a place to begin
Earlier in the month ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) cmcmck gave me five questions. I've finally got time to do them justice, so here goes: If not London then where else in the UK might you fancy living and why? This one's easy - Liverpool. We visited for our wedding anniversary last year and had a great 2 days - I wish we'd been there for a week! I'm definitely a city person and I like to be able to walk to shops, have nearby neighbours, and basically have everything packed together and practically on your doorstep. Liverpool had loads of culture, some interesting architecture, and the people were friendly as well as very quick witted. I can see myself living on Hope Street with the Phil as my local... the only downside is that there aren't any Michelin starred restaurants in Liverpool or indeed the surrounding area, so I'm not sure what we'd do for special treats. What got you into pylons? This advert. It made me start thinking of them as people-shaped, and looking out for them on car journeys. Then as I looked, I realised there were different designs for different purposes... and the rest is history. Where in the world have you never visited that you'd like to visit? Australia. I suppose that comes from watching Neighbours as a child and liking INXS - also, the vastness of it. The idea of people getting lost in the bush, poisonous spiders, Uluru, and Christmas in summertime. It all sounds strange and interesting - and yet they speak English and I'm sure most people there lead very similar lives to those in Britain, the topsy-turvyness of the seasons not withstanding. However, as I don't cope well with flying, and don't see the point in wasting a whole day on travel, I doubt I will ever get there. Nor to New Zealand, which sounds like it has many wonderful features in common with Iceland. I'd also like to visit Yellowstone, but again it's miles away. Even if my knees were fine and I could sit comfortably on a plane for the whole distance, I think I'd panic at being a) in the air and b) over water for hours. If you could change one thing to combat ableism, what would it be and why? That's a really good question. I started thinking of answers and then realised they were more than one thing... unless I can submit "attitude", but that's the whole concept of ableism / discrimination, isn't it? I suppose I would like it if people learnt not to stare, never to ask what's wrong with you, not to offer to pray for you, but just to say hi and treat you like any other person. That would be a good start. It's something that could begin in schools, and hopefully be ingrained by adulthood. Is there one person who you would say has been a big influence on your life? If so, how?Ooh. I was going to trot out my standard "my idols are Bob Geldof and Richard Branson because they show what you can achieve if you try" answer, but when I think about who has really affected my life (apart from Mike, whose calming influence goes without saying) I suppose the answer is first, Michael Hutchence, and secondly, Trent Reznor. Sorry, I can't whittle it down to just one. Hutch was someone I lusted after as a teen, but luckily I loved the music too (still do, I last played some earlier this week). Being a fan of Hutch meant I made friends with someone in school that I might otherwise have not mixed with, and I enjoyed her company. It meant I stayed up late watching Dogs In Space, and watched it over and over until the video started to degrade. Then, when I was at uni, he died. My mother rang to see if I was ok, but I hadn't seen the news so I heard it from her. I can't remember what I said but I recall slumping down in a corner of the hall by the telephone, just shocked. I was in a shared house with 3 men who I didn't really get on with, so I avoided the lounge and the TV, but days later I snuck into the lounge in the early hours to watch his funeral on cable TV. And cried. So Hutch counts as a big influence, in that his life and death was able to have that effect on me. As for Trent - his music really speaks to me. Whatever I am feeling, there's a NIN song to cover it. I am always surprised at the gigs to see so many people - when surely the songs are pertinent to me? Also, I remember each album and who introduced it to me, I tried to explain this here but don't think I did a very good job. Everything he does seems to really matter, to be relevant and important. I HAVE to see him on tour. I HAVE to listen to the music. It just resonates with me in a particular way, and to that extent has shaped who I am. Good questions! If anyone would like five, please leave a comment. |
sarahs_muse
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5:31a |
Unwanted girl had needle put in her head
"The deputy director of the neurosurgery department at the military hospital where the girl was treated said there was a common belief that sticking a needle into the head would result in death." In Reddit someone said: "It seams that the article is implying this is an urban legend like there was a common belief that crossing your eyes causes blindness." I imagine everyone thinks that the brain is a very sensitive object. I thought too too, until I found the YNC, and B0g. The amount of brain matter that can be blended up, and drip out of your skull while you continue to breathe is amazing. Take 2 men 1 hammer.... a 10 minute classic demonstration of what the human body can live through... I fully recommend to stay away from those sites... sometimes morbid curiosity is best left unsated. Strangely enough - I never had any bad dreams! http://www.independent.ie/world-news/asia-pacific/unwanted-girl-had-needle-put-in-her-head-1971296.html |
| Thursday, December 17th, 2009 |
sarahs_muse
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8:45p |
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sarahs_muse
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7:28p |
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| Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 |
sarahs_muse
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6:38a |
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sarahs_muse
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6:07a |
Day 1
Back to work... Day 1 finished ok. I was really tired, but I didn't want to miss the evening, so I passed the time online looking through a gadget site. I'm still worried about my emotional problems making a comeback, but so far, so good... |
| Monday, December 14th, 2009 |
sarahs_muse
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11:08p |
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sarahs_muse
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10:42p |
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sarahs_muse
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10:23p |
We oppose men's groups on our campuses!
Fortunately "only" 300 members... "Welcome to the facebook group established in opposition to the Men's Society at the University of Manchester Students' Union and now opposing men's groups across the country. Why? In our society, men experience no oppression simply because they are men. Women, on the other hand, experience oppression in numerous ways, whether from the double burden of childrearing and work, or through the myriad of sexist remarks, jokes and advertising that are the norm in the world we live in. Men's societies, groups and organizations represent nothing more than a backlash against the fragile gains made by the women's liberation movement. If you think you support men's societies, ask yourselves this: would you support a White's Society? Thought not. " http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=81643431047http://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/aea52/feminist_facebook_campaign_calls_for_the/ |
sarahs_muse
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9:15p |
Google indexing...
Did you know some sites like LiveJournal and Facebook can submit content to be indexed almost instantly? Take "snugglerazzelpie" for instance... currently there's NO returned results for it on Google. After I submit this post, a few seconds later, and you should see it in Google's search results: http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=snugglerazzelpie
Edit... ok, a few minutes and it's still not up... Another Edit... Ah..... 5 minutes later and there's two results: one for the main page, and one for the post itself. =) It looks like I've just made a unique keyword to Google too! |
sarahs_muse
|
8:12p |
JBOD (Just A Bunch Of Disks)
 You may have come across a zillion thumb drive designs by now. But design isn’t everything and unfortunately without a unique design, it is very hard for a thumb drive to stand out of the crowd and compete. But there are exceptions. Take a look at the PhotoFast JBOD thumb drive, which is a flash drive with conventional looks but with a unique functionality. “The CR-5500 is not your average microSD card reader hidden in USB thumbkey, but it is in fact a 4 slot microSDHD card reader that will turn all your cards into a single USB Drive using JBOD (Just A Bunch Of Disks) setting and let you build your very one 64GB (Max) USB thumbkey.”Unfortunately the device is only available as a pre-order. Shipment starts in January next year. Price? $64 (approx.) http://www.livbit.com/article/2009/12/04/photofast-jbod-a-smart-thumb-drive-that-works-as-a-card-reader-too/
I've always wanted to be able to add more memory to a USB key without loosing the storage I had already, and I've just learned the term for it... JBOD. |
techiebabe
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6:55p |
You ain't nothin' but a hound dog, cryin' all the time
Following on from the dog getting covered in paint and barking for assistance, he called me again over the weekend. I know his barks. Once you are familiar with a dog you know what can be answered with a simple "stop it!" or "no more food!", what needs reassurance ("it's ok, Daddy will be home later"), and what requires a more timely response - "Ok, I'm coming to let you out, hold on!" However, he has a short single bark which means "(non-specific) help!" and when repeated urgently I know there is something wrong and I should attend as fast as I can manage. On Thursday it was "Halp! I'z covered in paint!" but over the weekend it turned out to be "Halp! I'z stolen ur carton of apple juice, and my bed's getting wet!" I really shouldn't laugh, but it's very hard not to... Luckily I think laughing at dogs only confuses them. |
sarahs_muse
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6:11a |
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| Sunday, December 13th, 2009 |
sarahs_muse
|
12:25p |
You're already a cyborg.
Technically, you're already a cyborg. If you keep your cell phone with you most of the time, especially if the earpiece is in place, I think we can call that arrangement an exobrain. Don't protest that your cellphone isn't part of your body just because you can leave it in your other pants. If a cyborg can remove its digital eye and leave it on a shelf as a surveillance device, and I think we all agree that it can, then your cellphone qualifies as part of your body. In fact, one of the benefits of being a cyborg is that you can remove and upgrade parts easily. So don't give me that "It's not attached to me" argument. You're already a cyborg. Deal with it.... [continued] http://dilbert.com/blog/entry/dilbert_pocket/ |
sarahs_muse
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12:18p |
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