Mr. Picassohead

I love simple but elegant and fun sites like this. If only Picasso had access to computers and the internet during his prime, I wonder what he might have produced? Then there is a long list of great artists who could have benefited.

This was quite a simple image to produce and took less than 60 seconds. I just worked through the options available from top to bottom. As the eye was first, it seemed obvious that it should only be half on the face. I did the same with the mouth. The other items, such as eyelashes and hair did not want to fit in with the image without distracting from the simplicity. I would have loved a few decent eye-lashes.

Warped buildings in Praha

IMG_8304
Originally uploaded by 天曉得。.

And I thought only Barcelona was advanced enough to build buildings like this. It is called the Dancing House. But I love it. The small thumbnail looked like there had been a disaster. But no, they build them that way.

A new approach here, this was added from Flickr, where I have some of my own images. But this time I was browsing the general library.

Why is it so?

Well I was thinking that there would be no post today, but decided that I needed to ask Dr Karl a question. Along the road, I found some old archival footage of Professor Julius Sumner Miller, who is perhaps one of the guilty parties in my interest for science. Typically, the shows on the site based not on what great science they provide, but based on how funny they are. I suppose that that accurately describes the old prof.

My favorite is The Dunking Duck. And as a bonus, no static electricity to be seen anywhere.

Read more at www.abc.net.au/science/...

Internet Archive: Details: Crazy 04 Summer

Well I was browsing the internet archive to see if I should upload my holiday videos, which I decided to do. I picked a few random samples which were not professional movies, as this is the catgeory my movies fall into. The second movie I selected was this little gemstone. The first half is particularly good.

View the video at www.archive.org/details...

of Japanese Vending Machines

I thought the vending machines in Japan were a great idea. I even liked how you found them inside youth hostels and as a result, when back in Australia discovered that I did not know how to pronounce the names of any Japanese beers on the grounds that I had always purchased beer from vending machines, including in said youth hostels. Now maybe the stuffy rules hostels here in Australia could learn a thing or two from their Japanese counterparts. Unfortunately some of the same said Australians cannot get over the fact that some people but panties from vending machines. One day they might grow up. One machines they do not have in this photo archive, is the hot food vending machine. I ate a take away meal from one in Naha on Okinawa.

This site has lots of interesting vending machines including all of the types I have discussed so far. But my favorite is the recycling one shown here. Now they need these machines in South Australia. (You will have to buy an can or bottle of drink in Australia to find out why.)

I originally came across this site from a Japanese Radio podcast, which I think comes from my favorite Japanese city, Okayama. It is couple of really cool Americans, one who speaks Spanish. But beware of the cows.

Read more at www.photomann.com/Japan...

Totally Gourdgeous & Penelope Swales

Well I am totally chuffed! This CD is due for release on 2006-01-16 and I have it early. Yay! I had to add the album details to the Grace Note library. This is only the second time, in all the hundreds of CDs I own. There does not seem to be any method in iTunes to add the CD cover details. This is the first CD I have imported where I have set all the tracks initially to 4 stars. Usually they only get 3 stars.

Brian's recommendation - Buy while you can. (disclaimer - Brian is not a stock broker or licensed financial adviser. This advice does not count as official financial advice. His musical skill is more defined by intent to play well rather than real skill. But he knows good music when he sees it.)

In iTunes, you can set songs you like to play more often, but it takes quite a few play lists to do so. I have 2 star tunes (for radio podcasts and the like) set to play once only, 3 stars play more often, 4 stars play twice as often as 3, and 5 stars place twice as often as 4. Normally tunes start at 3 stars. If when playing, I really like the tune, I increase the star rating by one. Though down from three means one. To do this you need to use the smart play lists. Create a play list which is capped in number of play times for each star level. Currently I have 1, 3, 6 and 12 play times for 2, 3, 4 and 5 stars respectively. Then you create a composite play list, from the other play lists using the OR function. (In the previous play lists you needed to use AND.) Set the play list to random playing. This feature relies on the fact that you are constantly restarting the play lists. I do this quite regularly as I download radio station and other content from the podcasts.

Penelope is one of my favorite singers, from a song writing view a bit like and Australian Bob Dylan, though the style is contemporary Australian Folk. This band has a stronger Jazz influence. You can hear some samples, though they have been compressed too much and sound tinny. There are also a few mp3 files at mp3.com.au. This is where I first heard Penelope. The tracks on the CD have a much better quality (of course). Now that I have learned that they (Totally Gourdgeous) have two other albums (maybe marketing is not their big point), I will have to get these.

Penelope is from Emerald. How I pine for the Dandenongs with their huge forests, now that I live in suburban Sydney. Previously I lived in Kallista and Upwey. Emerald is somewhere I wanted to live... :(.

Find out more at www.totallygourdgeous.c...

The Mirror Project - Brian Yap - Holiday Reflections

I'd quite forgotten about this page. There was a bit of buzz in the on-line media...and then the site dropped off the radar.

This photo was never intended to be a photo of me. I was taking a photo of Lacaster Castle, and it happened to have a reflective door. I have cropped out most of the castle and zoomed in on the door. I will have to keep an eye out for other mirror images and add them when I get a chance.

The site seems to be alive and well, though I did not see any images of reflections in the back of one's iPod... But no, on a closer look, I see a picture taken in the reflective back of an iPod. Arrgh... I cannae wait for a movie where some man, using a razor, in a desert, with lots of shaving cream foam, is shaving in the reflection on the back of his iPod. Of course it is a bright sunny day. There is probably a horse near by and the man is most likely wearing an army uniform, dirty from weeks of exposure to the elements, without being washed.

Read more at www.mirrorproject.com/m...