Something Witty

Tumblr

2009-12-01T17:27:00.003-02:00

Instead of filling up this blog with things/garbage that I find online I decided to open a Tumblr.

You'll find a random collections of things I've happened to stumble online, hence the name, Repositor... aka. Repository

Since I have pretty much stopped blogging for some time now I figured I'd put it up here in case you ever want to have a laugh or find something interesting.

Cheers all.

Fonts

2009-03-13T10:39:00.006-03:00

Ever wondered what fonts would look like if there were real people??

From the comedy masters CollegeHumor.

*Warning* Only designers and people who work with fonts will appreciate the humor.

Photography in Focus

2009-01-30T15:23:00.005-02:00

It's been quite some time since I have posted anything here, due to Christmas, vacations and all that riff-raff.

But here is the latest photo that I worked on.
Taken during a photo-shoot with a friend of mine. Unfortunately I was only able to use a couple of photos from that photo-shoot.

Face Me

Cutest Frown

Tools used:
Adobe Photoshop CS3
Adobe Lightroom 2

Blue Series

2008-11-25T06:52:00.010-02:00

Here are some photos from a couple of weeks ago that I took for the concept design of a music CD (tentatively) titled "Sonhos do Meu Coração" aka. "Dreams of the Heart"

They wanted a pensive, dreamy feel for the cover, so that explains some of the 'strange' pose.

Blue Dreamer

This was one of the chosen images for the cover.

Blue Dreamer 2

Another one of the images shot for the concept art of the CD cover.

Post-processing done in Adobe Lightroom 2.

I have one or two more images which I will post when I have the time

20 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits, Part 1

2008-09-18T22:06:00.004-03:00

1. Alter Your Perspective
Most portraits are taken with the camera at (or around) the eye level of the subject. While this is good common sense - completely changing the angle that you shoot from can give your portrait a real WOW factor.

Photo by striatic

Get up high and shoot down on your subject or get as close to the ground as you can and shoot up. Either way you’ll be seeing your subject from an angle that is bound to create interest.

Photo by TeeRish

2. Play with Eye Contact
It is amazing how much the direction of your subject’s eyes can impact an image. Most portraits have the subject looking down the lens - something that can create a real sense of connection between a subject and those viewing the image. But there are a couple of other things to try:

A. Looking off camera - have your subject focus their attention on something unseen and outside the field of view of your camera. This can create a feeling of candidness and also create a little intrigue and interest as the viewer of the shot wonders what they are looking at. This intrigue is particularly drawn about when the subject is showing some kind of emotion (ie ‘what’s making them laugh?’ or ‘what is making them look surprised?’). Just be aware that when you have a subject looking out of frame that you can also draw the eye of the viewer of the shot to the edge of the image also - taking them away from the point of interest in your shot - the subject.

Photo by monicutza80

B. Looking within the frame - alternatively you could have your subject looking at something (or someone) within the frame. A child looking at a ball, a woman looking at her new baby, a man looking hungrily at a big plate of pasta…. When you give your subject something to look at that is inside the frame you create a second point of interest and a relationship between it and your primary subject. It also helps create ’story’ within the image.

Photo by paulbence

3. Break the Rules of Composition
There are a lot of ‘rules’ out there when it comes to composition and I’ve always had a love hate relationship with them. My theory is that while they are useful to know and employ that they are also useful to know so you can purposely break them - as this can lead to eye catching results.

The Rule of Thirds is one that can be effective to break - placing your subject either dead centre can sometimes create a powerful image - or even creative placement with your subject right on the edge of a shot can sometimes create interesting images.

Photo by reportergimmi™

Another ‘rule’ that we often talk about in portrait photography is to give your subject room to look into. This can work really well - but again, sometimes rules are made to be broken.

Photo by Bukutgirl

4. Experiment with Lighting
Another element of randomness that you can introduce to your portraits is the way that you light them. There are almost unlimited possibilities when it comes to using light in portraits.

Side-lighting can create mood, backlighting and silhouetting your subject to hide their features can be powerful.

Photo by Bukutgirl

Using techniques like slow synch flash can create an impressive wow factor.

Photo by diskomethod

5. Move Your Subject Out of their Comfort Zone

I was chatting with a photographer recently who told me about a corporate portrait shoot that he had done with a business man at his home. They’d taken a lot of head and shoulder shots, shots at his desk, shots in front of framed degrees and other ‘corporate’ type images. They had all turned out fairly standard - but there was nothing that really stood out from the crowd.

The photographer and the subject agreed that there were plenty of useable shots but they wanted to create something ’special’ and out of the box. The photographer suggested they try some ‘jumping’ shots. The subject was a little hesitant at first but stepped out into the uncomfortable zone and dressed in his suit and tie started jumping!

The shots were amazing, surprising and quite funny. The shoot culminated with the subject jumping in his pool for one last image!

While this might all sound a little ’silly’ the shots ended up being featured in a magazine spread about the subject. It was the series of out of the box images that convinced the magazine he was someone that they’d want to feature.

Image by TeeRish

Taken from 10 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits from the
Digital Photography School.

Sorriso (Smile)

2008-09-15T18:32:00.007-03:00

A short video clip I made for our Sunday event that ended up getting postponed to next Sunday. It took me a couple of days to make (In my free time) because I was learning how to use Premiere CS3.

Will post more info on the video later.

Enjoy!

A Passagem

2008-08-23T16:23:00.006-03:00

Yes, time flies!

Just a quick update.

Worked on an audio CD recently: "A Passagem" (aka. "The Ticket")

Went to Rio to mingle with Nan & Co., and learn how to properly produce music with insane deadlines. (Hint: Having a professional do it is an essential part in being successful)

Helped out with my 2 cents on the cover design, enough to land my name in the cover design, but the real credit goes to Calebe and Curi.

After the CD recording madness, we went on to dupe and print the covers and booklets here, (Never again!!) while prepping for a Seminar. I survived, and slept for an entire day after the event.

So now a couple of weeks later, I am still trying to get back to normal. Until I figured...

What the hell! Things won't go back to normal.

After that things started to go back to normal. So here I am, adjusting to the new 'normal'. Once I am properly adjusted, I am sure something else will come along to jolt me again. This time I have time to put on my seat-belt.

Disclaimer! All recording & production photos in the CD spread are mine. I just didn't want to be an ass and have my name dominate the credit list.

Sexy Powers!

2008-07-20T01:19:00.009-03:00

Oooh! I have 'Sexy Powers'!!!

Check out more at Whubble.

Cannonball (Music Video)

2008-07-19T17:02:00.005-03:00

Another of those 'Discovery of the Week' videos, and again, another live performance. A wonderful mixture of good music, and a good video clip.

(Detail) Listen to the solo on the cello.

Oh to have a studio and mics like these...

Photo of the Week 10

2008-07-11T15:47:00.004-03:00

Tang Zi Xuan
by foureyes on DeviantART

Essential Photography Quotes

2008-07-11T15:45:00.000-03:00

Since I had "some" time free, I decided to pull this out of its mothballed state, and reinstate it to some form of a blog.

From the Digital Photography School, here are a couple of good quotes to think about when/before you take a photo.

10 Favorite “Best Photo Tips”…. By You!

In no particular order they are…

1. “Think BEFORE you press the shutter” - Fuzzy

2. “Do you REALLY want a photo of this?” - Brian Rueb
or
“Would you put it on your wall?” - Chet

3. “Light is EVERYTHING in photography” - Teineli
similarly…
“Don’t take photographs of subjects, take photographs of the light” - Cedric
and very succinctly put…
“Your photo will be no better than the quality of the light… if the light is mediocre, do not expect anything more than a mediocre photo” - GL

4. “The difference between great photographers and a not so great photographers is that the great ones don’t show their crappy pictures.” - Bill Boem

5. “K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid” - Laura

6. “Try to express your emotion in photo.” - Igor

7. “It’s not the camera” - Smitty

8. “Take notes on every shot - you will learn far more from your failures.” - D. T. North

9. “Bring your camera with you.” - Sybren

10. “Never stop learning.” - steaminhaggis

Honorable Mentions:
- “If it’s worth taking one photo of, it’s worth taking a whole roll of. ” - Dan Wolfgang

- “Know your gear” - Scott

- “Fill the frame.” - Tim

- “Stop reading - go shooting.” - UncleSam

Just for Now (Music Video)

2008-06-09T14:51:00.003-03:00

Here is one of the only reasons why anyone would use a sequencer.

(Disclaimer!) Ignore the clothes and the hair.

An impressive live performance, it was the discovery of the week (aka. last week)!

Photography

2008-05-27T17:24:00.004-03:00

Simple Smile

Mature Beauty

The Art of Living (Flyer)

2008-05-12T15:21:00.006-03:00

An old flyer I put together last year (With updated text now)

All done in Indesign and Photoshop

Just posting it for record keeping purposes. Will be working on a new one some time soon.

August Rush

2008-04-11T21:59:00.003-03:00

I know it has been awhile but I'll just pretend that I've always been posting.

Keeping up with the movie "reviews" I watched August Rush a couple of weeks ago, and have been plugging it shamelessly since.

A cute movie that isn't ashamed to be fairy-tale-like takes you for a trip that is unabashedly romantic (in a literary sense).

Details and plot give-away here. (Spoiler Warning!!)

Illustrator Goodness

2008-03-05T08:17:00.005-03:00

The other day I vectorized an image that we were using as a logo for our site. Projeto Contato I can't take credit for this as it was JP's work, I simply vectorized it. I made the Illustrator file in a way so that making a flash banner would be easy.
The vectorized image is an Illustrator CS3 file. After it was vectorized, I composited it in Indesign CS3. (What can I say? I am a chained eagle to Indesign. *grin*) The largest part of the work lay in creating the Illustrator vector. And no, it isn't a "traced" image. 100% lines and curves. Enjoy!

Composite Banner

Based on Change of Seasons by StefanWilkens on DeviantART

Vectorized source

Lunar Eclipse

2008-02-22T07:30:00.002-03:00

Unlike that 'memorable' occasion of The 'Midnight' Joke of the Century this year's celestial event was indeed confirmed by

... those weirdos who believe that we came from monkeys and give the billions and billions of light-years away speeches?

aka. astronomers.

This night however, no one seemed to stay up late to watch the lunar eclipse. (I wonder why?) But before going to bed I managed to take a couple of photos sans tripod. I had to use my camera case to get the lens pointed up at the moon.

I realize that the photos aren't 100% in focus, but these 2 are the only photos in where the stars aren't a streak across the sky.

Here they are. Enjoy!

Lunar Eclipse, February 20, 2008.

Taken without a tripod.

Had to stop shooting when my dog started sniffing up the camera.

Dummy? Or just plain proud?

2008-02-18T13:47:00.011-03:00

You all must forgive me for being delinquent with my blog. I won't even try to excuse myself or enumerate all of the reasons why I was delinquent, but suffice it to say I have been busy.

Besides being involved a lot more in events, in the last couple of days I have been trying my hand at Web Design. While I have tinkered with HTML in the past, for some reason I felt the burning desire to dig deeper.

So off I went with nothing but Notepad++ and a CSS Template from FreeCSSTemplates.org.
(Ok fine! I had Dreamweaver installed just in case. But I didn't use it! I swear!)

But after a couple of hours of tinkering (aka. 2 days) I grew so frustrated with having to copy the header and footer from page to page, I turned to the Oracle (Google) to find out how to create a header and footer in CSS.

But instead of finding a tutorial on CSS, I stumbled across an extremely Easy Peasy way of using PHP.

It seemed so simple, and so easy to follow the logic that I couldn't resist, and installed WAMP Server (again) to test it out.

After 15 minutes of intense coding (aka. copying and pasting) I had a working page with a PHP menu!

With such quick progress, I grew confident that at last I had found my true calling!! Until someone called me to do janitor duties and off I was cleaning toilets again.

Speaking plainly, I finally understood many principles in PHP which eluded me even after trying to read PHP & MySQL for Dummies more than once, the logic in those books never seemed to sink in. Even after understanding the basics, I went back to the book to try to develop, and got myself even more confused than I was before. It took me a couple of visits to the Oracle to get my brain cleared from all the garbage from those books.

Don't get me wrong, I have talked to several people who swear by anything from (insert product here) for Dummies. But my brain can't seem to wrap around the logic that rules in the Dummy world. No offense to all of you.

(Darn! I just sounded so conceited there!)

After running after my own tail for awhile in both PHP and MySQL, I finally got back on the straight and narrow path of making them work together.

Now, for an experienced Web Designer/Coder that is a piece of cake, but for me who swore I would never be able to code a dynamic Website, that is quite a feather in my cap so to speak.

And while I have ran into a couple of brick walls, so far I've been able to either fix my own mess, or find alternatives. But learning never ends, and unfortunately so do bugs in your code. But the Oracle has all the answers, it all depends on your question.

Moral: Don't try to be a dummy if you aren't one.

Wedding

2008-01-18T07:09:00.000-02:00

On Christmas Day I was asked to be the (semi)official photographer for a friend's wedding. However, on the day before the wedding (January 13) I was stuck in Rio. (A 6 hour drive from home)

Fortunately the car (which was/is broken) was deemed safe to travel back. So off we go at 5 in the morning, arriving home at 11 with the wedding starting at 12.

All I had time to do was take a shower, throw on some clothes, and run outside to start shooting photos. (Over 460)

Thankfully some of the photos turned out decent, I was expecting a total flop. I learned a lot, mainly in regards to focusing and timing. (Yes, I learned the hard way) But that was one reason why I accepted to take photos of the wedding, so I could learn, even if it would be through the school of hard knocks.

Here are a couple of the best ones. (In my humble opinion at least)

A Man, a Tie, and a Wife

The Moment

His Ring

The Cellist of Sarajevo

2007-12-24T08:33:00.000-02:00

This is an article I found awhile back, but haven't had the time to post. But if I didn't post if before Christmas part of its 'magic' would be gone.

The Cellist of Sarajevo
by Swati Chopra

What do we do when faced with unspeakable horror?

Play music is what a resident of Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia, did, even as bombs rained around him. His is a story of courage and grace in difficult times

A musician walks on stage to the sound of deafening applause. He is in his coattails, dressed in black. He bows, sits down on a concert chair and takes an instrument in his hands. Let’s say it’s an old cello the color of burgundy. A few quiet moments as he prepares himself. And then, the music flows.

This is a routine every Western classical musician is familiar with. As was Vedran Smailovic, principal cellist of the Sarajevo Opera, when he decided to perform it in the middle of the war zone that his neighborhood had become. The year was 1992. The former Yugoslavia had erupted in ethnic strife and beautiful Sarajevo, with its rich theater and art traditions, had transformed into Europe’s “capital of hell”.

At 4 pm on May 27, as a long queue waited patiently for bread in front of one of the last functional bakeries in the city, a mortar shell dropped in the middle of it, killing 22 people instantly. Smailovic looked out of his window to find flesh, blood, bone, and rubble splattered over the area. It was the moment he knew he had had enough.

Smailovic was 37 at the time, widely recognized as an exceptionally talented cello player. Till 1992, he had been occupied with his involvements in the Sarajevo Opera, the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra RTV Sarajevo, and the National Theatre of Sarajevo, as well as playing the festival circuit and working in recording studios.

Looking back on that period, Smailovic describes himself and his associates as being “totally naive”. So great was their confidence in their unity and plurality, he says, that even when they were watching what was happening in other parts of Yugoslavia, they felt absolutely certain that similar destruction could never happen in Sarajevo, that it would be impossible to destroy such strong unity. That dream was shattered by 1992.

Smailovic felt enraged by what was happening around him and powerless to do anything about it. He was neither a politician nor a soldier, just a musician. How could he do anything about the war? Did that mean he would just stand by and watch people die, fearing all the while for his own life? In the long, dark night that followed the bread-queue massacre, Smailovic thought long and deep. With the dawn of a new day, he had made up his mind that he would do something, and that something would be what he knew best—make music.

So every evening after that, at 4 pm, Smailovic would walk to the middle of the street, where the massacre had occurred. He would be dressed formally, as for a performance. There he would sit, on a battered camp stool placed in the crater made by the shell, his cello in his hand, playing music. All around him, mortar shells and bullets would fly. Yet he would play on regardless, perhaps substituting the war noise with applause in his mind.

For 22 days, one each for the people killed, Smailovic played in the same spot. He played to ruined homes, smoldering fires, scared people hiding in basements. He played for human dignity that is the first casualty in war. Ultimately, he played for life, for peace, and for the possibility of hope that exists even in the darkest hour. Asked by a journalist whether he was not crazy doing what he was doing, Smailovic replied: “You ask me am I crazy for playing the cello, why do you not ask if they are not crazy for shelling Sarajevo?”

Smailovic continued to play his music of hope until December 1993, in graveyards and bomb sites. He had decided to “daily offer a musical prayer for peace”, he said. As his story began to filter into the press, he became a symbol for peace in Bosnia. An English composer, David Wilde, was so moved by the story that he wrote a composition for unaccompanied cello, simply called ‘The Cellist of Sarajevo’, into which he poured his own feelings of outrage, love, and brotherhood with Vedran Smailovic.

Celebrated cellist Yo Yo Ma played this piece at the International Cello Festival in Manchester, England, in 1994. Pianist Paul Sullivan, who was present, describes it thus: “Quietly, almost imperceptibly, the music began, stealing out into the hushed hall and creating a shadowy, empty universe, ominous with the presence of death, haunting in its echoes. Slowly it built, growing relentlessly into an agonized, screaming, slashing furore, gripping us all, before subsiding at last into a hollow death rattle, and finally, back to the silence from which it had begun.

“When he had finished, Yo Yo Ma remained bent over his cello. His bow still rested on the strings. No one in the hall moved, not a sound was made for a long, long time. It was as though we had just witnessed that horrifying massacre ourselves. Finally still in silence, Yo Yo slowly straightened in his chair, looked out across the audience, and stretched out his hand toward us. All eyes followed as he beckoned someone to come to the stage, and an indescribable electric shock swept over us as we realized who it was: Vedran Smailovic—the cellist of Sarajevo himself! He rose from his seat and walked down the aisle as Yo Yo came off the stage and headed up the aisle to meet him. With arms flung wide, they met each other in a passionate embrace just inches from my seat.

“The drama was unbelievable, as everyone in the hall leaped to his or her feet in a chaotic emotional frenzy: clapping, weeping, shouting, embracing, and cheering. It was deafening, overwhelming, a tidal wave of emotion. And in the center of it at stood these two men, still hugging, both crying freely. Yo Yo Ma, the suave, elegant prince of classical music worldwide, flawless in appearance and performance. And Vedran Smailovic, who had just escaped from Sarajevo, dressed in a stained and tattered leather motorcycle suit with fringe on the arms. His wild long hair and huge moustache framed a face that looked old beyond his years, creased with pain and soaked with so many tears.”

In the years since his heroic anti-war statement, Smailovic has relocated to Belfast, Ireland, where he performs, composes, conducts, and produces music locally and internationally. But the message of this story is greater than the man who made it. As American philosopher Robert Fulghum says in his book Maybe (Maybe Not): Second Thoughts From a Secret Life: “Listen. Never, ever, regret or apologize for believing that when one man or one woman decides to risk addressing the world with truth, the world may stop what it is doing and hear. There is too much evidence to the contrary. When we cease believing this, the music will surely stop. The myth of the impossible dream is more powerful than all the facts of history. In my imagination, I lay flowers at the statue memorializing Vedran Smailovic—a monument that has not yet been built, but may be.”

Source

Based on this story, the rock band Savatage composed "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24",

which after achieving critical success, led to the creation of the "Trans-Siberian Orchestra", which has graced us with successes such as "The Ghosts of Christmas Eve", and the "Christmas Trilogy".

Merry Christmas to you all!

Christmas Carols for the Disturbed

2007-12-22T20:33:00.000-02:00

Schizophrenia: Do You Hear What I Hear?
Multiple Personality Disorder: We Three Kings Disoriented Are
Dementia: I Think I'll be Home for Christmas
Narcissistic: Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me
Manic: Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and.....
Paranoid: Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me
Borderline Personality Disorder: Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire
Personality Disorder: You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why
Attention Deficit Disorder: Silent night, Holy oooh look at the Froggy - can I have a chocolate, why is France so far away?
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Jingle Bells,! Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle,Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...

Priceless.

I'm Dreaming of an Old Christmas

2007-12-16T14:15:00.000-02:00

Yes, that is right. I am dreaming of (or yearning for if you please) an "Old Christmas", just like the ones I used to know.

You all will have to forgive the corny reference to one of the most widely abused Christmas song, but after some time waiting for the "Christmas Spirit" to fall out of the sky, I realized that Christmases aren't what they used to be. Unfortunately little by little it seems we have been swindled out of our Christmas Cheer and instead offered a so-called bargain, of stress and confusion.

With only 9 days left to Christmas, I came to the conclusion that that old time Christmas cheer, has simply disappeared.

I didn't come to this conclusion to whine and moan about the "Good ol' days", but rather to set a goal for myself that I don't want a modern, stress-filled, and chaotic Christmas.

I'll take the old fashioned family loving, gift giving, (And by gift I don't mean the stressful shopping to get a gift for so-and-so or else he won't get me one) carol singing, peaceful Christmas spirit anytime. Thank you very much!

Joyeux Noël

2007-12-10T12:29:00.000-02:00

Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas) is a movie about the informal "cease-fire's" that occurred on several fronts on Christmas Eve 1914.

A good movie in almost all aspects. Most of the acting was well done, but one of the issues I have with the movie (which after looking online, most people complain about as well) is the ad-libbing of the two opera singers. But ignoring that part, the movie has a solid presentation.
Something which I found added to the realism to it, was the fact that all 3 sides (German, French, and Scottish) spoke their native language.

Here has a more detailed description as well as the historical background to both the movie, and the events covered in the movie.
Source

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

2007-12-09T14:02:00.000-02:00

Here is the official Trailer for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Found via NarniaWeb.

Direct Links
Large
Medium
Small

The production seems to be much better than The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
I just hope that all of the "fancy" special effects won't detract from its simple, yet enchanting story.

25 Bad Habits of Graphic Designers

2007-12-07T18:14:00.000-02:00

Here are 25 Bad Habits of Graphic Designers.

While some of them don't apply if you aren't a freelance designer, most of them are pretty spot on.

1. Taking Constructive Criticism Personally
2. Not Knowing Paula Scher, Milton Glaser, Paul Rand and Friends
3. Not Staying up on Current Events and Design News
4. Not Owning the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook
5. Charging too Little for Design Projects
6. Not Using Contracts to Cover Your Butt
7. Not Setting Deadlines for Projects
8. Doing Spec Based Work (If you like it you can pay)
9. Not Asking for a Down Payment before Starting a Project
10. Using Poorly Designed Fonts from Free Font Sites
11. Using Display Fonts as Text Fonts
12. Using the Comic Sans Font
13. Using too Many Different Fonts in One Design
14. Forgetting White Space is your Friend
15. Not Sketching Before Designing
16. Not Using Rulers on Screen
17. Relying Totally on the Computer, Especially for Kerning
18. Using Photoshop Filters After Your First 6 Months
19. Using Low Resolution Web Images for Print
20. Not Designing Logos in Vector Format
21. Making Logos Unable to Reproduce Well Small
22. Forgetting to Learn Keyboard Shortcuts
23. Not Saving Frequently
24. Not Backing up Files on an External Hard Drive
25. Not Getting Enough Sleep! Stop Drinking so much Red Bull!

Source

One of my main problems would probably be

7. Not Setting Deadlines for Projects

followed by

15. Not Sketching Before Designing

and

19. Using Low Resolution Web Images for Print

It stands to reason, however, that anyone who has...

12. Using the Comic Sans Font

wouldn't be considered a serious designer by many people.

Broken Escalator

2007-12-01T11:35:00.000-02:00

Keeping in line with my new 'lifestyle', here is a little commercial that I found on YouTube.

Design Exercise

2007-11-17T17:48:00.000-02:00

After nearly a month, I finally finished my pet project that I have been working/brooding on.

While the total duration took nearly a month, the amount of actual work hours on it would bring it closer to a full day. The vast majority (around 60%)of the time was spent on browsing the Oracle.
The only other thing that took a significant amount of time (around 30%) was the Photoshop for a few of the spreads. The actual design side (Indesign) only took around 10% of the total time.

Design Exercise

More information about its creation and source material can be found here.

Rest, Sweet Rest

2007-11-15T20:40:00.000-02:00

Am getting my first day off in almost 20 days. (Major recording project) So you can understand why I haven't posted anything here. (Even though I still have the laptop)

Will try to post something within the next few days.

Family Ties

2007-10-28T15:22:00.000-02:00

Having blood relatives read your blog definitely changes your blogging. You either end up making enemies, losing respect or friendship, or you end up self-censoring.

Something as inadvertent as a comic relief such as....

Seeing that the extent of the Christmas presents I receive are limited to 1 piece of clothing...
All 'Teched' Out

can make some relatives take offense.

If you were one of those relatives reading this and got offended by the above comment...
Give me a bigger present!!!!

Oh no! There goes the last family ties I had. Looks like I won't be getting anything this Christmas. So if any of you blog readers who are not members of my immediate family are feeling charitable, I am accepting Christmas presents! And New Years presents, and Easter, and Corpus Cristi, and Labor Day...

The sacrifices I make for comedy's sake...

Synergy

2007-10-25T21:54:00.000-02:00

Was working on a desktop at work today, but still had to do minor work to set up the laptop, and all of a sudden I remembered something that I read in one of those moments of browsing, a program that simulates a multi-monitor setup with several computers hooked up to a network. I have long been toying with the idea of having a multi-monitor setup, (purely for productivity increase I can assure you) so naturally I was tickled (no not pink, I already am pink) by the prospect. So off I go to install Synergy.

It took me awhile to wrap my brain around the operating details of the program, but after a quick consultation with the Oracle, I was amazed at the simplicity, and ease of installing and configuring Synergy. Once you understand the logic of the program, it is dead simple to configure it.

I highly recommend it to anyone who works on more than one computer in the radius of an arms length away. It saves the hassle of having 2 or 3 keyboards or mice on the desk, or reaching over to type on the laptop keyboard. Presto! All gone! All of them are controlled through your 'central' computer which acts as a server, and which is basically the only computer you need to 'configure'.
A major bonus to Synergy over all of the other KVM clones, (mainly Multiplicity by Stardock, which I had actually discovered first) besides the 'free as in beer' price tag, (which is a huge advantage) is the fact that it can be run on any operating system! (OK, not any, but 90% of all the major ones, including Unix, and Mac OS X)

So there is my little plug for Synergy.

synergy: [noun] a mutually advantageous conjunction of distinct elements

PS. Yes I do like Wikipedia

All 'Teched' Out

2007-10-24T22:44:00.000-02:00

After getting my brand 'spanking' new mp3 player, I thought I was totally set in the tech department, until my dearest mother came back from the U.S. (again), and brought back as an early Christmas prezzie, a 2 GB pen drive!

After being totally floored by the generosity of the gift, I began to deeply analyze exactly what it meant. A Christmas present in October means... No presents in December...
Seeing that the extent of the Christmas presents I receive are limited to 1 piece of clothing... Oh yeah! I can deal with that. Bring it on!
(Yes, I am ecstatic in case you were wondering)

And to totally make up my month, her old laptop caught some sort of trojan or virus, so I was recruited to format it.
Of course since formatting is such a delicate procedure, taking many weeks, so unfortunately I'll have to keep it for that duration to test it to make sure that everything is working properly. I don't want the laptop to give any problems later on you know. *wink*

Photo Update

2007-10-06T15:03:00.000-03:00

A thousand apologies if you keep checking this page and you notice that it isn't being updated, then again no one checks this page so I don't need to apologize.

Many 'blog worthy' things and events are happening all the time. So much so that I don't even have time to blog about them all! (Or any of them whatsoever)
Such is life without a computer.

Am posting some photos that I was able to take on Tuesday. I only have four of them because I haven't had time to process them all. Enjoy.

Golden Gaze

Clara aka. Clara L.

A Reader's Dream

Crimson Skies

JP

Lazy Lying Listener

Happy Birthday Josie Pie!!!

2007-09-22T17:35:00.001-03:00

Happy Birthday Josie Pie!!!

A toast to Josie, to her smile, her hair, and her little pink dresses. (Oh yes you knew that one was coming. *evil laugh*)

I hope the home activity last night hasn't frightened you into wanting to move homes already.

But I wanted to speak on behalf of the whole home (and myself for that matter) and say that...

"We love you!!!!"

Guards, Pop-Stars, and Madagascar

2007-09-22T16:55:00.000-03:00

What do you get when you cross Roberto Carlos, a security guard, and a poor man?

Answer: Our security guard!

Every day to and from work we were greeted by the 'stylish' guard. (Many apologies, but I never took a photo of him, I never thought I would need one.)

Always decked out with a suit, an earing, and his impeccable long hair, he was the epitome of style in the middle of ghetto land.

But just a few days ago, as I walked up the street, I noticed something was wrong. I couldn't see the long-haired pop star walking around anywhere. Frantically I looked around for him, and a semi-familiar face peered at me from behind the glass window.

The short haired person squinted at the bright sunlight which was behind me. Seizing the opportunity, I quickly subdued the intruder, and began interrogating him.

"What did you do with our 'Galã' (aka. good looking, stud, popular)?" I yelled while grabbing his shirt collar. "Where is he?!?!"

It was then that I realized that man was one and the same as our (ever so popular) security guard.

Terror gripped me as I dropped the now unconscious security guard. Looking around to make sure no one was looking, I dragged him into the nearest alley.

"Oh what am I going to do?..."

*FLASH*

Nope none of that really happened. (As if you really believed it in the first place)

I just passed by the guard house and smiled and waved.

*voice over from 'Madagascar'* Just smile and wave boys, smile and wave.

The Baker

2007-09-18T17:14:00.000-03:00

After a four year hiatus, I was finally trusted with enough power (invested in me by the almighty kitchen deacon) to make... BREAD!!!

The last time I made bread was around 4 years ago when I still lived in Brasilia.

But having a reputation to speak of once upon a time (in my bread-making abilities mind you) I didn't want to make any old door-stopper. No. This bread that I was going to make, had to be high quality building material. Any old brick would not do. I needed something... Solid.

So there I was, elbows deep in flour (whole-wheat flour mind you) and hoping that that sticky 'thing' would in some way resemble bread.

After kneading, punching, kicking, and a general beating, the dough was finally laid to rest inside the oven.

And out came little brown round bowling balls! Wait... What happened to the giant loaf of white dough that I put in? *mental fast-foward four years to the present*
"Oh that's right," *said with a crest-fallen voice* "I did make whole-wheat buns."

While I wasn't entirely happy with the way the bread turned out, I was relieved that at least we didn't have to build a new house with the bread.

Okay okay fine!! We did have to soak them in milk and take a couple of people to the dentist but wasn't isn't bad for four years of inactivity right??

Breaking News!!!

2007-09-10T14:55:00.000-03:00

The Onion's Breaking News!

I found this over a month ago, but forgot to post it.

Good humor is so hard to come by these days...

PS. *Disclaimer* You might not understand all the jokes unless you have used a computer for more than just checking your email and chatting.

Another Birthday

2007-09-03T16:03:00.001-03:00

Yes it is that time of the year again, where we all get to pull out our party hats, and uh... Party!!

This year Leilani (who is just a tad big closer to Brazil this year) is turning the big 2 OH. Leaving her pondering the meaning of life for at least a good few minutes.

Not to say anything against it, but I just can't seem to do that kind of soul-searching on birthdays.
As the old saying goes: "You grow older by the day, not by the year."

But kudos to you! Happy Birthday Lei! Have a great year.

Hello Music Land

2007-09-01T17:06:00.000-03:00

A while back I had to make a decision, either I get an mp3 player for running, or get new running shoes. And since it is hard to run barefoot, (even with very uncomfortable shoes) I decided to get shoes.

No I don't have money. I do accept donations though. I participate in this missionary work full-time, and since we don't receive a salary... *cheesy grin*

So I was going along, living my life, resigned to my fate that I wouldn't have an mp3 player when voilà! My mom returns from the US bringing back shoes and a shiny new mp3 player. This sweet thing. Thanks mom!!! Your my hero!

Will post a more decent update when I can manage to squeeze more time somewhere. (And when I can think clearly!!)

The 'Midnight' Joke of the Century

2007-08-27T17:20:00.000-03:00

*ding*
"You've got mail!"

That is how it always starts. One person sends it to some friends, those to their friends, and on and on it goes.

This one stated that on August 27, 00:32 AM, Mars would be so close to the Earth that it will look like the Earth has two moons! And that the next time an event like this would happen it will be the year 2080ish. (All of this was written in big blue text!)
So naturally Silas (the one who received the email) sent it to all of the home members, and even some friends who live here in São Paulo.

Sitting beside him when he read the email out loud, I held in the desire to scoff him, and instead tried to reason with him.
Me: "Do you know basic astronomy?"
Silas: "Oh you mean those guys who stay up all night to look at stars?"
Me: "Yeah yeah! I don't know as much as them but I know for sure that Mars won't look as big as the moon!"
Silas: "You mean those weirdos who believe that we came from monkeys and give the billions and billions of light-years away speeches?"
Me: "Forget it."

Nah. It wasn't like that, but I did try to 'politely' tell him (2 inches from his face) that an astrological phenomenon like that would have been big news by now.

So Sunday rolls by and it is all but forgotten in my head. But at night most of the people are hanging around. Finding it rather suspicious I 'discreetly' inquired why they were still awake. Kind of like this:
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE GOD ALMIGHTY ARE YOU FOLKS STILL DOING AWAKE?!?!?!"

So they kindly reminded me about the email (which by now had world-wide circulation apparently) which stated all that I enumerated in the first couple of paragraphs of this post. Well! I had to see this for my own eyes, half of the home awake staring at the sky.

So midnight rolled around and people started wandering outside trying to see Mars in all of its 'moon-like' glory. Hilarity ensued.

Person 1: "What is that there on the horizon behind those trees?"
Person 2: "Is it red?"
Person 1: "Yes it is! I think it is Mar...."
Me: "It is a cell-phone tower."
Person 1: "I knew that."

But as funny as that was, (It was so funny I nearly doubled over in laughter) the night wasn't over.

Person 3: "Wow look at the moon!"
Person 4: "Yes. A clear sky. Perfect for looking for Mars."
Person 3: "What are we looking for again? The moon?"
Person 4: "Mars. The email said that it is going to be as big as the moon! So I guess we just have to wait."
Me: "Oh look at the time. It is already 12:15, I guess we just have to wait 15 more minutes before 'POP' Mars will appear in all of its greatness!"
Person 4: "Maybe we are looking in the wrong direction."
*everybody turns to look at the other side of the sky*
Person 4: "Nope."
*everybody turns back to look at the moon*
15 Minutes pass...
Person 3: "I don't think Mars is going to come out. Who sent that email?"
Me: "Someone in France."
Person 5: "Oh no!"
Person 6: "Maybe Mars is showing up there? You know the whole rotation of the earth and all that stuff."
Me: *stifling a laugh*
Person 3: "Whoever sent that email is going to be soooooo sorry! I have to wake up early tommorrow!"
Me: "Everyone who is here came out of their own free will. That is what makes it so funny!" *bursts into laughter*
Everyone: "What is so funny?"
Me: "You!!" *rolls on the floor*

Everyone ended up walking off complaining loudly that they had been tricked into staying up late. I just could help myself but I haven't had something that funny happen in a long time.

No offense to all of you who still believe those kinds of things can happen. I have just seen one to many forwarded email to read them.

Later on I was discussing with John C. how people believe in anything they read online (Or anywhere for that matter). So much so that we even thought of coming up with a prank like that one again, just for another round of laughter.

But keep on believing folks! One day one of those emails might actually prove to be true. *snicker*

* * *

I have some pictures from a party, but both my computer, and another one caught a virus, so I spent all day fixing it.

I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Photo of the Week 9

2007-08-20T13:19:00.000-03:00

Afterlight
by EvilxElf on DeviantART

Hello, Skype? Hello...

2007-08-17T18:07:00.000-03:00

Normally this post would be saying something about how Skype was offline for over 24 hours, but tides have changed, and things that would normally be a calamity is now just a minor inconvenience.

It doesn't seem like the issue is 100% resolved, as only 3 of my Skype contacts are online, when normally there are over 40!

Just have patience and Skype will eventually connect, although by that time you won't be at your computer but when you get back it will have disconnected, and if you were lucky enough to be sitting at your computer the moment it did connect, you would have thrown your hands up in frustration at the sight of no one else online, because Murphy's Law states that, "If person #1 is trying to talk to person #2 on Skype, person #2 will never be online the moment that person #1 is." (How is that for a run-on sentence?)

So don't give up hope, people of the world. There will soon come along another new technology start-up that will take the world by storm, winning awards and the affections of all the internet users, only to be bought out by a multi-national corporation and little by little turn into bloat-ware while degrading quality and one fine day it will crash on you, leaving all its users scratching their heads and weeping bitterly, until a new technology start-up appears, and it will take the world by storm...

PS. Happy Birthday Fifi! Have a great year!

Nest's Galore

2007-08-14T17:33:00.000-03:00

Nesting Grounds

One of the 3 year olds found this nest somewhere in the garden a few days ago, and it got put on this hedge. (Which wasn't flowering at the time)
After the hedge broke into bloom, this nest was all but forgotten till I was roaming around the house yesterday with the camera in my hand looking for something interesting to shoot, when i saw this empty nest in the middle of this colorful hedge.

Some post-processing.
I am still not happy with the color balance. I probably will work on it some more later.

Shelless

Same photo-shoot as Nesting Grounds.

Happy Birthday Claire!

2007-08-12T17:13:00.000-03:00

Happy Birthday Claire!
Congratulations to not only a beautiful woman, but now a "Mother Extraordinaire"!

I consider myself honored to call you my friend.

I Have Returned!!

2007-08-11T10:32:00.000-03:00

After a short blogger outage here in São Paulo, it has been normalized. So back to (trying to) blogging.

Following up on my commitment to fight "Photographer's Block", here are some photos I took this week.

The First Iron GateKeeper

The Second Iron GateKeeper

The Gatekeeper's Gaze

I am quite happy the way these turned out. I was expecting them to be much worse, since I had already been eying these posts/sculptures for months already, but always put off photographing them for fear that it wouldn't come out as good as I wanted them to. Thankfully I didn't botch them up too much.

Will continue to post new pictures as they are taken and processed.

Photographer's Block

2007-07-30T17:55:00.000-03:00

I've just come to the realization that I have a bad case of "Photographer's Block".

And everything I've 'googled' up on it, simply say almost the same thing that they tell you with "Writer's Block", in fact, they actually derive their theories from "Writer's Block".
And all of them say to simply take photos.
So in light of that, I decided that I would... Take photos. Don't take a brain to figure that out.

I have to make some sort of goal to make me actually do it, so I promise that every 2 or 3 weeks I will post at least one photo here.

And am starting now.

I took this picture on Saturday on my way home. This wind-catcher always 'caught' my attention whenever I passed, but this time I decided to do something about it.
I know the angle isn't original, but I was shooting through a fence. I will do better in the (hopefully) near future. Hopefully the quality of these shots will be continuously raising the bar for my future photography.

But as in the words of Captain Hector Barbossa from the Pirates of the Caribbean, "They are more like Guidelines rather than a Rule-Book." So don't be legalistic.

* * *

Today is Paul's birthday. The big 17!
Here are a couple of photos that hopefully won't raise his ire.

"Nero"

The Lone Blogger Continues...

2007-07-26T18:57:00.000-03:00

Not that 'The Lone Blogger' ever started... Well maybe it did when people stopped reading this.

But big news everyone... I am an uncle! Yes. I have finally entered into the realm of people known as, 'Old folks'.

My niece, born July 13, 2007, (Friday the 13th. Be scared... Be very scared) was named Grace. (I think so at least) Weighing ??? pounds, (or if you don't live in the US, like 95.47% of the world's population, Weighing ??? kilograms) she seems as small as a football.
Sorry guys, but I don't have any pictures here right now on this computer. When I get on the computer that has the photos I'll seriously think about putting them up. *grin*

Lots of other changes flying around as well, such as, spending hours a day capturing audio off of DAT tapes (Which although isn't fun in itself, I happen to enjoy it, hours listening to music. The only down side is that I don't get to decide what type of music I listen to, and there is dialogue as well), my headphones breaking, (That was the tragedy of the month. *sniff sniff*) getting sick, and having a 'wisdom tooth' begin to act up again.

So there you go, the significant events in a nutshell.

Until next time, when you will hear 'The New Adventures of the Lone Blogger'.

Why I keep up with the 'The Lone Blogger' name is beyond me.

Photo of the Week 8

2007-07-26T18:42:00.000-03:00

Another Vision
by Kristina Buceatchi on photo.net

Many apologies for not keeping this up to date, but I have decided to not be delinquent today. *grin*
Pray it will last more than just a few hours. Heh.

Ramblings of a loose mind

2007-06-27T18:18:00.000-03:00

Ramblings indeed, as things fly in and out of my head. (Metaphorically speaking of course)
Somehow I seem to be drawn towards the "information overload" in point format again, but it hardly seems appropriate considering the circumstances.
This has been a week (Just these past few days) that had I more time, would have resulted in a 'killer' blog post. Alas, now it is relegated to the the bottom of my list of priorities. (How long is it? I don't know. I haven't seen the bottom of it yet)

Not to default to the point format, but the first 'major' topic is that my dog died. *sob*
Yes, old faithful 'Ike', the 13 year old dog, passed on peacefully while I was at the office. Tragic.
One thing that did console me was hearing the other home members comments, "I was walking down the stairs and out of habit I skipped a step, right where Ike always used to lie." *sniff sniff*
Touching, and heart-wrenching confessions.
Now if you can all send me comforting emails, comments, etc.

Ike

On a 'happier' note, I (and some other 'techy' friends) have managed to convince a handful of people that Outlook is of the Devil. (My apologies if you happen to still be using it)
After 2 years of use and campaigning, I finally have some converts to Thunderbird.
The only downside that I can see to it is that I am going to have to do tech support for all of the new 'converts'. But I still think it is better than having to solve their Outlook problems.

Well that is about it. If there is anyone out there that still reads this give me a shout, as it seems to be getting pretty dead around these parts.
Okay? *crickets sing in the background*
Well, all of you just go ahead and shout out your names... *wind blows*
In whatever order you feel like... *frogs croak*

That's all for now! Come back next time for another exiting rendition of...

The Lone Blogger

Trip on this, and that...

2007-06-13T17:53:00.000-03:00

Trip on this, and that...

Flash life update...
Prayer day at a park. (It was a photo shoot for me)
Paul left.
Missed Nanye when she was here in SP.
Got a new pair of running shorts.
Went to Rio and back.

There. The highlights of this past month or so. Enjoy the feeling that you are up to date with the going ons of my life.

Some of the so-called "photo shoot"

Bruised yet Beautiful

Hungry Habits

The Sun in Your Smile

Check out my DeviantART page.

Disclaimer: Sorry to steal your blog title Fiona, but I found it to be fitting.

Fate

2007-05-29T17:56:00.000-03:00

A lot has happened since I last posted.

A trip to the theater to watch My Fair Lady, the office moving, and everything involved with that.

Definately a big change, and due to that big change, I probably will be posting MUCH less on this blog. Real life has finally caught up with me.

I will try to put something up every once in awhile, so don't dispair.

Wordstock IV

2007-05-20T13:22:00.000-03:00

Wordstock came and went.

Some people are fanatics for Wordstock even if they aren't going. (Go figure) And yet others are so against the idea of Wordstock that they hate it with every fiber of their being.

While I am not a Wordstock promoter, I am not a Wordstock basher either. I enjoy most of the bands playing, but what I most like about Wordstock is the fact that you get new music. (Well, if flash videos count. *grin*) It is a great way to get people to write, record, and perform new music.

I do have to agree with the Wordstock bashers in the sense that some people get too tripped off with their 'band'.

But you do have to take the good with the bad, so in the end I think it isn't that bad.

So enjoy the footage from Wordstock IV.

Taurus Parties

2007-05-06T20:42:00.000-03:00

We (as in the whole home) went over to the Mamangava Home (Bumblebee Home) for the area Taurus Party.

Walking in the door all the guys were presented with a screw, all the girls with a nut, and the instructions to find your pair which would fit with the screw you have.

Matt and Sofi with a perfect 'fit'

In addition, all of the Tauruses were given a pair of horns to wear. (Not that we mind much, especially since 'chifrudo' aka. horned, has horns means being cheated on.) But it isn't like any of wore them. *grin*

The guys had black horns and the girls had pink ones.

Don't ask...

Not only was the party fun, but it had a cake contest, and the panel of judges were the Tauruses.
I uploaded some of the cake photos.

The winning cake design

The winning cake flavor

The design I thought should have won

Photo of the Week 7

2007-05-06T20:39:00.000-03:00

Lost in the Crowd
by hordel on DeviantART

Kiss Research

2007-05-05T20:25:00.000-03:00

I have been researching kisses. (Kisses on the cheek. Don't get too excited now.) And I believe that so far I the vast majority can be fit into 4 categories.
1. The Air Kiss
2. The Wet Kiss
3. The Dry Kiss
4. The Tooth Kiss

1. The Air Kiss
The one your regular socialite will give you when greeting or bidding you farewell.

2. The Wet kiss
Your regular kiss on the cheek but not before licking your lips.

3. The Dry Kiss
Your regular kiss. Nothing to see here, move on.

and my breakthrough category...
4. The Tooth Kiss
The kiss where instead of smacking your lips together, you press your bottom lip against your teeth to make the 'kiss' sound.
A select few, seems to have mastered this very fine art of 'The tooth kiss'.

Due to pressing time concerns, as well as limited investor funding, I am presenting my study for the approval for additional funding.
If sufficient funding were to be made available for this research program, the impact on society in general would be staggering.
Breakthroughs in kissing techniques that could be patented could yield significant returns for investors.
That is all. Have a nice day.

* * *

*Want AD!*
Subject needed for research on human behavior.
Average pay, many benefits, long hours.

Contact information available on request.

Photo of the Week 6

2007-04-29T18:57:00.000-03:00

Profile
by RoseyThorn on DeviantART

Photography Woes

2007-04-29T18:21:00.000-03:00

Someone just sent me an offline the other day, saying:

I didn't know you were a photographer.

Well, just as a disclaimer, I would not classify myself as a photographer quite yet. An aspiring or an amateur photographer would be more accurate though.

Even though my photography skills might be above the average Joe with a camera, I still haven't attained that level that I would be comfortable calling myself a photographer.

Yes, I do have very high standards, and I loath my poor photography skills.

One of my main problems is that I can't accurately tell if the photo came out good or not until I have put it on the computer screen. Which of course limits coming up with a good photo.

Aside from that, another thing I have noticed lacking in my photography, is composition. When it comes down to it, I don't take the necessary time, or I don't have the time available to invest in the composition. Which automatically throws me in the category of "Amateur", or worse, a "Snap-shooter".

More of my photography woes to come.

Happy Birthday to ME!!

2007-04-27T20:42:00.000-03:00

Yay! I am 22 today. For those of you who haven't written me already, I appreciate all of the late birthday wishes. *grin*
At least Nan didn't forget my birthday this year. *wink*

An uneventful day filled with beer gifts from parents and acquaintances.

Cheers to everyone who wished me a happy birthday, and to those who didn't, or didn't have a chance to. (You see, I can be very understanding.)

Yes, another year flew by too quickly. Lets see what this next one has in store.

Orkut

2007-04-22T11:44:00.000-03:00

Brazilians; none of them have any blogs, and they hardly ever get on to chat. So what do they spend all their time on the computer for? So after a long and extensive research I finally understood the Brazilian mentality. It can be summarized into one word.

Orkut

Born from the refuse of Google, bent on world domination, Orkut has a firm grip on the minds and hearts of all Brazilians.
They spend all their time, and effort on their Orkut page. The same way people elsewhere spends all their time and effort on their blog.

Ooops!
*grin*

Put Your Hands Up

2007-04-14T20:15:00.000-03:00

Yes, that is right, put your hands up!

Okay, now put them back down again.

Here is my latest masterpiece for those of you who haven't seen it:

Put Your Hands Up

Fine, it isn't a masterpiece, but it is one of my best photos so far.

You can check out, and leave comments on the DeviantART page or the Flickr one.

Any comments and critiques are more than welcome.

An excellent shot of the wonderful Gabi. This was a spontaneous capture after a more official 'photo shoot'.
Out of all of the pictures, this was the best.

Some editing, and post-processing done; mainly cropping, blurring the background, some airbrushing on the skin, and color tweaks.

Photo of the Week 5

2007-04-09T18:21:00.000-03:00

My Sahara
by lilli lau on photo.net

My Very Own Joke

2007-04-09T17:42:00.000-03:00

I made up a joke the other day. It goes like this:

How many Neo's does it take to change a light bulb?

Answer: None. There is no light bulb.

300

2007-04-08T20:28:00.000-03:00

I finally watched it last Monday; amidst all the hype, praise, critics, and bashing.

I was slightly impressed with the visuals, and the soundtrack, but what didn't really impress me was the storyline. Maybe it was due to the fact that I already read the comic book beforehand.

While I wasn't let down by the movie, I was quite disappointed by the fact that there were so many 'Lord of the Rings' style monsters. (From the hunchback, (*hint: Gollum) to the Immortals, to the giant/monster/Immortal, (*hint: Balrog) to Xerxes' tent. At times it seemed like the movie was more intent on showing deformities than to showing the story.

I am not here to criticize or bash the movie, but am just expressing my opinion on it.

Like someone said in the 18+ Netlinkup Forums, this movie isn't a 'Black or White' case, it has to be personal conviction. Just be prepared for lots of virtual blood.

I for one enjoyed it.

In a nutshell, it is an epic in all of its right.

From the visuals to the soundtrack, an epic story is told, albeit somewhat haltingly, honoring the sacrifice of 300 Spartans.

But what really makes me wonder is how come the Thespians who stayed alongside the Spartans receive so little recognition.

The Spartans had pledged themselves to fight to the death, while the (400) Thebans were held as hostage against their will. However, a contingent of about 700 Thespians, led by general Demophilus, the son of Diadromes, refused to leave with the other Greeks, but cast their lot with the Spartans. Unknown and unremembered by most, 900 Helots (Spartan slaves) died fighting alongside their masters in the last stand.
Wikipedia

King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans have become synonymous with bravery and self-sacrifice, consquently, so should Demophilus and the 700 Thespians. They were ordered by King Leonidas to withdraw along with the remaining Greek warriors before their position at Thermopylae was surrounded. However, the Thespians refused to leave and it was during the fighting of those final hours that Herodotus praised the Thespian warrior Dithyrambus, son of Harmatides, who it was noted, excelled in this decisive battle.
300SpartanWarriors

Something which I thought was very interesting, was after researching a little bit into the background, I came across this info about the 'Immortals'. Along with a more 'realistic' costume/armor.

The Achaemenid Immortals (or Persian Immortals, or simply Immortals) were the Persian elite Imperial Guard regiment during the Greco-Persian Wars. Herodotus describes the Immortals as being heavy infantry led by Hydarnes that were kept constantly in strength of exactly 10,000 men — every killed, seriously wounded or sick member was immediately replaced with a new one, maintaining the cohesion of the unit.

I am going to steal someone else's list here of things from the movie 300. Just for a little comic relief.

11. It is possible for a historical epic's soundtrack to rock out, and rock out well.

10. Previously being best known for playing the gayest supervillain of all time should in noway hinder an actor from portraying an Ultimate Bad Ass.

9. The Persian Empire was vast. So vast, it included what was once known as the land of Mordor.

8. No matter how cool their ninja suits look, it is unwise to refer to your elite troops as Immortal unless they actually are.

7. Even in ancient times, couples having sex would be bathed in mysterious blue light.

6. Goats can play musical instruments.

5. Spartans really, really, really disliked messengers.

4. When noble men stare death in the face, they think of two things: Their wives, and wheat fields. See also: Gladiator.

3. Despite repeated challenges, the world-record for length of time that a decapitated head remains atop a body before falling off, set by Underworld, remains secure.

2. Spartan women were strong and proud...but really, really gullible.

1. Good kings must have beards. See also: Lord of the Rings, Troy, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, Gladiator, Conan, Bible.

PS. For posters, click here, and here. Enjoy!
PPS. I was going to bombard you all with pictures, but I'll just give you a gallery to look at your own discretion.

Epitaph

Ὦ ξεῖν’, ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε
κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων πειθόμενοι νομίμοις.

Go tell the Spartans, passerby,
That here, by Spartan law, we lie

Photo of the Week 4

2007-04-01T19:51:00.000-03:00

Eyes
by judy ben joud on photo.net

Mumble's Happy Feet

2007-03-31T22:41:00.000-03:00

Just watched (kind of) "Happy Feet". A serious trip in itself, from the spoofs on religion to Chicanos, it is one floor-rolling laugh after another.

Something that did shock me was seeing the budget for this animation/live-action movie.
100$ million. Over half of the budget for "The Lord of the Rings" Trilogy.

Some of my favorite characters are the el Chicano 'Amigos', (Okay, so they aren't real Chicanos, they are Argentine. But I still think that they are the stereo-type Chicano. No offense to all of you Chicanos out there) and Lovelace.

El 'Amigos'

Lovelace

Mumble is the cutest thing when he first hatches. His father 'Memphis' (aka. Elvis Presley) asks him:
"What'cha doin there boy?"
"I'm happy Pa."
"What'cha doin with your feet?"
"They're happy too."

Anyone else notice the "spot/beauty mark" on Mumble's mother 'Norma Jean' (aka. Marilyn Monroe)?

Edit: Images should load properly now.

Adobe Creative Suite 3

2007-03-29T13:45:00.000-03:00

Adobe Creative Suite 3 has officially been announced. And while the prices are still sky high, it is still nice to see that at least someone is doing some work updating programs.

But what blew me away was the promo flash that is on the Adobe web site.

Truly a pinnacle of flash design.

The depth, and attention to detail in the promo flash caught me by surprise. It isn't very often that people invest this much in promoting a program, or a package of programs. (Okay, okay! Microsoft and Apple don't count.)

Photo of the Week 3

2007-03-25T16:51:00.000-03:00

Winter Windmill
by Jaap Hart on photo.net

EON: World Between Worlds Challenge

2007-03-24T21:36:00.000-03:00

While we are not here to promote the books, ((they are good by the way)) we (I) are (am) here to promote the arts.

So without further delay I am happy to announce that the EON World Between Worlds Challenge on The CGSociety has finally announced the winners and runner-ups for the competition.

An awesome gallery of high quality art, and near cinematic quality film trailers, is what this challenge left The CGSociety.
Every Challenge keeps getting better and better.

In the Trailer Arena, the moment I saw the winning trailer long ago, I knew that it would be the winner. The other contestants put up a valiant struggle, but they just weren't strong enough to knock down 'The Shift'

About the 3D Scene, I didn't even know that it was a separate category.
No, I did not read the Challenge Rules because I wouldn't participate anyways.
I thought that the 3D Scene was together with the Illustration category.

And while I cannot argue with the winners and runner-ups in the Illustration department, one entry that I thought deserves at least an 'Honourable Mention' is The Fourth Chamber by Adrian Baluta.

It is a beautifully executed image, from the colors to the concept, a stunning image in many aspects.
The only flaw I can find with it is (maybe that is why it wasn't recognized) the lack of the curved walls against the horizon.
The first time I saw that image I was sure it was going to win, but as the competition progressed, I realized that there were several good contestants in line for the first place.
But all is well that ends well.

One thing I love about all of the CGSociety Challenges, is that you find quality art where it would otherwise be buried.

Ok. So now you know what I spend some of my free time stalking on the web.

Black and White Photography

2007-03-17T20:57:00.000-03:00

For some reason (almost) everyone seems to be into black and white photography.

My case? Just look at DeviantART. The masses seem to be starting to create a B&W wave. Flickr seems to be catching it as well in certain groups.

Thankfully the 'Elites' haven't succumbed to the B&W fever.

While I understand some of the reasons behind Black & White, my argument remains the same. That while you can get texture with B&W, you can enhance the texture by about 20% or even 50% when you use color.

Granted, you must know how to use color, what shades, which palette to choose, and so on and so forth; but you have to know how to use texture in the first place, so you don't need that much more skill to factor color into the composition.

Very few Black & White photos I'll admit are better in B&W than in color. But those are few, and far between.

Sample

I am not dissing all Black & White photography. I even thought of dabbling a little bit in it myself; but I only have one thing to say about the current saturation of B&W photography.

Overkill.

That is all. Have a good day.

Camera Comparing Blues

2007-03-16T20:26:00.000-03:00

Oh the sadness when you have something better to compare to. When we went to the 'Arrastão' the other day, someone else took their camera as well. A Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT.*sniff sniff*

All of a sudden my Fuji that I was so proud of, seemed small by comparison.

And I found out the hard way why you pay a premium price for a DSLR compared to a Point & Shoot.

Two words... Image quality.

It almost makes me want to not take any more pictures till I get a camera like that.

But just realizing that I'll never get a camera that good encourages me to pull out my camera bag again, only to once again hide (it and me) due to the large amount of rotten tomatoes and vegetables thrown by a crowd (Home members) yelling 'Paparazzi'!

Edit: Uploaded the photos

Photo of the Week 2

2007-03-13T20:38:00.000-03:00

One Photo
by Rarindra Prakarsa on photo.net

Freaky Friday

2007-03-13T20:18:00.000-03:00

Some photos from our HGS last Friday. We ended up waiting a long time for everyone to show up, but when they finally did, we moved our operation the the exit of a university, where we hit the streets with tracts, singing, and a skit. A truckload of souls were saved. Real fun stuff.
I tried to be a photographer/witnesser. I'll let you guys decide how well I did.

JP and Gabes

Some of the musicians 'tuning up'

Some... *ahem* sheep that JP was witnessing to.
Where is JP? Uhh... Can't find him for some reason. *grin*

Some guys who thought it was so cool I was giving out little 'comic strips'
(Whose Slave are You!)

PS. I am thinking of writing a Link article.

Edit: Re-uploaded the photos

Photo of the Week

2007-03-04T18:40:00.000-03:00

Soft Light
by kedralynn on DeviantART

Band of Dirty Brothers

2007-03-01T20:08:00.000-03:00

My sincerest apologies for not keeping this updated for the past few days. The computer has seemed to have lost its firm grip over me.

Just a short recap from this past week:
On Tuesday a truck brought over a huge dumpster (cassamba here in Brazil). 30 square meters of a one large trash can. It was so big that it had a door on one side to walk inside.

The photos tell it all.

From 9:00 AM with a 1 hour lunch break all the way till 5:00 in the afternoon all six of us guys were shoveling leaves, branches, twigs, logs, grass, and any other garden waste we could get our hands on into that big mother.

By the time 5:00PM came around, we were all exhausted, wet, and filthy. So when I went to get the camera, the 'fellows' decided to do a little 'Band of Brothers' lookalike.

When I asked someone to hold the camera to take a picture of me and the guys, the foolishness level had already risen.

This is how dirty we all were. We just weren't all that eager to put on a white shirt. (It was white when we started in the morning)

That was Tuesday. On Wednesday through Friday I only have laziness to blame. (Well I was busy part of the time)

* * *

Concerning work, this looks like it could be my desk in a couple of weeks.

El Latin Party

2007-02-25T18:46:00.000-03:00

We (All of us) went over to another home to have a birthday party. Since it was an Argentine home, (Well, the majority of home members are Argentine) what else could it be than a Latin Party.

While 4 or 5 years ago I might have told you that I disliked Latin music, today I can tell you that I do like Latin music. At parties that is. All I can say in my defense is, Dancing is fun. *Grin

During the party, a friend of mine asked, "Can I borrow your camera?" So I obligingly handed it to him and showed him the on/off switch, bla bla bla.

Handing it back to me a couple of minutes later I look to see what type of photos he took and am astounded by the sheer genius of his photography. He certainly has an eye for... Well, just see for yourself.

That photo was 100% intentional. And no the focal point wasn't the high-heels.

* * *

Daylight Saving Time is over here in Brazil, so that means a whole extra hour of sleep. Yay!!

Check Mate

2007-02-25T14:49:00.000-03:00

Disclaimer: I found this article in the newspaper, and had to post it. It was originally in Portuguese so forgive the funky translation.

* * *

Check-Mate

Invite a friend over, sit down in front of a chess table and close your eyes. You opponent must narrate every move. The catch? You have to play by memory; develop your strategy simply by memorizing each piece’s position on the board. Is that hard?

Well that is how Roberto became Brazilian chess champion. The first of many titles.

The story begins at a taxi stand, at the church ‘Largo da Matriz’, in Itapecirica da Serra, a small town 33 km outside of São Paulo.

It was 9 o’clock at night, on a winter night. A couple arrived and asked for a ride to the nearest expressway, Regis Bittencourt.

Ernesto, the cab driver, thought that the run would take awhile, so he dropped by his house, which was on the same block, to pick up his son Roberto to keep him company.

It was a regular drive, no extra traffic. Once at the drop-off point, the man and the woman alighted. The lady, pregnant, fishes in her back looking for something, her husband’s wallet or… She pulls out a gun. Mr. Ernesto floors the cab.

At 28 years old, that is the last image Roberto sees. The shot hit him in the head.

It was June 28, 1994.

“Eight out of ten people shot in the head die, and two lose become completely disabled. At the beginning, that was the outlook.”

But months later, supported on a cane, Roberto Carlos Hengels was already walking, talking, and had regained full movement in all of his limbs.

He had however, lost his eyesight.

Chess, a childhood passion which had become a profession, was reduced to memory.

Six years later, without being able to teach chess, Roberto entered law school. It was an expensive course. His only chance in making it, was an internal championship, each semester, which would free the top scorers from paying two monthly fees a year.

The game? Chess.

“I had never played again, since the accident. But I had to try.” He recalls.

He tried, and playing solely by memory, he won. Each one of his opponents had perfect eyesight.

That same year, 2000, he was the Brazilian chess runner-up among the visually impaired; the next year, Champion. A title he won again in 2003, 2005, and recently in December of 2006.

He participated in the World Championship of Amateur Chess in Spain, and Poland, and was awarded the bronze medal in the Pan-American Games for the visually impaired last year.

Now he doesn’t play solely by memory. He bought an adapted chess board, and timer. On the adapted board, the pieces fit into the board, and there are markings on the pieces to indicate their set, and rank. The timer tells him how much time he has left for a check mate.

“My performance increased 50%,” says Roberto. “Before, people would cheat with the old timer.”

His self sufficiency, however, had another side-effect. “Before, everyone thought it was nice of me to play. Trying to include me, they would say, ‘Yeah sure, come over. You can play, lose and it will be fine.’ These days there are people who avoid playing with me, so they won’t lose to a blind man.”

* * *

For more on Roberto Carlos Hengles, here is another interview with him. Warning! Link is in Portugese.

Brain Cells

2007-02-23T19:45:00.000-02:00

Brain cells are a wonderful things, and I usually like to keep them safe from any harm. But today was the exception.
Spending a full day painting windows is in no way contributing towards my brain cell count. At then end of the day I was nearly stoned out of my head.
Who needs to buy drugs when you can simply be a painter! That simply shows how drug addicts lost all of their brain cells already. Painters are simply the smarter druggies. (Now everyone knows why I dabble into painting every once in awhile.)

A small disclaimer for those who are interested, I am not using Vista anymore. Too many font glitches for me.
If anyone knows of a modern decent font manager that works on Vista please let me know. (Or even a font manager for XP for that matter)
For now I am going to have to stick with XP, until PGP comes out for Mac or Vista. I am not in the mood for switching to an open source virtual encrypted disk. (Besides some people seems to have an aversion to Vista. *cough*MOSite*cough*)
But all is good. It was running too slow for my tastes on my funky GeForce FX 5200 anyways.
I am itching for upgrades, but must not complain. Compared to what many people have to work with, I am doing great!

I need to go... Count my remaining brain cells.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7...

Medivel Tech Support

2007-02-17T19:30:00.000-02:00

Oh for the simpler days where all you had to do was turn the pages...

YouTube Video removed!

I feel like this sometimes. No offense to all you tech-impaired people out there.

* * *

Big news!!!

Claire just gave birth to a baby boy!!

Congratulations to both you and Luca!

Resting in the Lord

2007-02-15T20:11:00.000-02:00

The AM Seminar 2007 (Brazil only) is almost upon us.
And everyone knows what that means. Yes stress-out time.

But wait....

We just got a GN that says that we have to 'Rest in the Lord'. When confronted with that fact, several of the members who have been frequently staying up early every day, (And by early I mean EARLY. 4 AM, 5 AM, etc...) had this to say about it:

"Ever since the GN came out about resting in the Lord we don't have to sleep at night anymore. We simply rest in the Lord!'

The midnight talk was already in full swing.

After making out with my pillow from 3 till 7:45, my presence was noted missing in the 'trip-where-all-the-men-go-out-and-carry-fiberglass-and-a-fridge'. All this came crashing down on my head as I sipped my delightful cup of cold coffee.

Yes, yes. The day started off terrifically. But I am not here to talk about my day. (Was that just a 'Whew!'??)

An interesting blog I just ran across a couple of days ago was Ike.com. And no it isn't our dog.
Quite the amusing writer, and blogger as well. Check it out if you have a couple of minutes to spare.

Commenters of the Blog.... Awake!!

2007-02-12T20:15:00.000-02:00

I just wanted to thank all of you dedicated commenters, and your dedication to never leave a posts without a comment.
Due to your unswerving diligence, and good natured trolling, each post has been chock full of delightful information.

Back to reality now...
For some reason no one seems to comment on anything I post.
First I attributed it to a low readership, but I know almost everyone who checks this, even if ever so rarely.
(The only one who still baffles me is the occasional visitor from China! Is anyone using Torpark out there?)

Oh and there are the users from the US, the UK, Germany, Taiwan, Japan...
Ok, ok! I don't know everyone who is reading my blog. If you are, please introduce yourself!
I, (and I am sure the others who occasionally peek here) would love to hear from you.

Boring Blog

2007-02-11T17:11:00.000-02:00

I have told myself, as I am sure you has said the same to yourself or even to someone else, that this blog has become boring.

Yes, that is right. Boring!

OK. Well shaved heads might hit the spot for some, but for the most part it doesn't seem to be appealing.

This blog seemed to morph from something attempting to be witty, to something not really trying and not even remotely resembling anything witty. It started to remind me of all those hundreds of blogs made by pimply teenagers or some high school priss rambling to the world about how Kevin from 12th grade is the hottest guy in school just because he plays (American) Football, and can do more than 5 push-ups without passing out! (AND OH MY GOD!!!!! HE EVEN LOOKED AT ME TODAY!!!)

So since this was beginning to remotely sounds like one of the blogs I just named above, I decided to do something drastic!

I can't remember what it was though. *cheesy grin*
If I remember what it was I'll let you all know. But for now, I'll just give you all a link to look at.

photo.net

I showed it to Lei around 3 weeks ago and she fell in love with it. It is a good site for looking at quality photography.
If you have found yourself all too often browsing DeviantArt looking for a decent photo, waste your time no more!

photo.net brings quality photographs straight to your monitor.
The only catch is that updates aren't as frequent as DeviantArt, and the photos aren't very high resolution.
But it has a large database of some really good photos!

Check out this one!

The Rice Field

I must get back into taking pictures!

Feast Out

2007-02-07T20:16:00.000-02:00

Well the Feast 2007 is over for us. It was great while it lasted. I was able to get some quality rest time.

Here are the promised bald pictures.

Sorry to dip again into the Tech world but bear with me for a little longer. I just got Windows Vista (aka. the new version of Windows) running on my computer.
Taking out the low end video card (GeForce FX 5200 gets a 2.0 performance rating in Vista) it runs reasonably well.
There are some minor glitches but I think that is an install problem. I am on my 2nd install and the 1rst one didn't have those glitches.
But this is only a temporary install anyways, so I am not seriously worried.

Feast 2007

2007-02-02T20:08:00.000-02:00

Will be starting our Feast tonight.
So I will be unavailable till Wednesday, Feb 7.

Am printing out multiple copies of all the reading material. Quite a bit of material I might say.

PS. I shaved my head last night. Will post photos ASAP.

New Music

2007-01-28T21:15:00.000-02:00

Oh, just in case any of you have been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks, (Like I was until the beginning of the week) Stem has a new website.

Complete with a new album named "Heavenly Music". You can get it here.

Songs to listen to are:
Crave
Glory to Church Buildings (Too funny)
Fools
Nothing to Loose

Don't notice the main page, it seems like someone hacked into, and is defacing it.

Family

2007-01-27T19:47:00.000-02:00

My apologies on the tardiness in updating this blog.
Real life has caught up to me.

My brother and sister came and left. Was a tearful parting on the female side of the family.

My brother

My older sister

My baby sister being a tiger

The Addams Family

Went to a party last night. But my spare batteries which I had just put it died on me the second I turned the camera on.
Oh the frustration!
I only managed to take 3 or 4 photos before they died.
The party was rather empty though.
*mental note to self* Never put a small crowd in a huge room *end mental note*
It was good to see everyone.
Example: "Hi! How are you doing? Long time. What? No way! Two kids! Married! Wow, really long time."
Something kind of along those lines.

Here is a little something for the technologically minded of you.
The Online Book of Genesis (How the Techie sees creation)
The Life Of A Computer Analyst (Evil yet too good to be true)

Soccer and a Birthday Bunny

2007-01-23T20:20:00.000-02:00

It has been over 2 months since Michael and Taby left, and I haven't gone to play soccer since then. But thankfully I will be returning to 'active duty', since a new soccer lover/fanatic/enthusiast moved here. This was the first week since Miguel has moved here that there hasn't been some sort of home activity or meeting on Monday. So that meant soccer night!

It was nice, being able to play again, as well as see people that I haven't seen in months.

Came back with a bang. I scored 2 goals! (If you saw how well I play, you would also thing it is a big thing when I get to score a goal *grin*) Yes, I am that bad. Heh. I do my part though.
But in general I play in the defense position, so it is pretty rare when I do make a goal, not only because of the fact that I don't move up to score, but the times when I generally do, I miss around 90% of the time. (The other 10% I loose the ball.)

To keep with the joyous mood, I am pleased to wish Nani a Happy Birthday!!
Enjoy your new responsible life, as well as a great year running away from all the uncles.
If you need me for anything I'll be in the bleachers, selling popcorn. *snicker*

No but seriously, have a great year. Try if you can to keep in touch, even if it is through blogging. *hint hint*

Capricorns

2007-01-21T16:47:00.000-02:00

Here are the photos from last night.

The two Capricorns. (Both short by the way. *snicker*)

The lovely Patricia was visiting for meetings.

Today however, Michael and Taby came to visit for the day. They brought Arthur and the baby with them.

It was nice to see them after so long. And everyone missed Arthur.

Took this one after running after Arthur for a couple of minutes. Minor Photoshop.

Photoless

2007-01-20T21:40:00.000-02:00

Went out on Wednesday to a pizzeria for 'happy hour' with my family, and a whole bunch of other people showed up as well. Still need to get the pictures from someone else's computer.

The house has been packed for the past few days with people coming over for meetings. Dishes takes FOREVER!! Haven't done that many dishes in aaaages.

Another bad side effect of a large home is that we won't be having individual birthday celebrations anymore. Only sun sign celebrations. One of the benefits of living in a 'combo'. *grin*

Tonight is the Capricorn celebration. So I will be sure to try to take the most embarrassing photos I can manage.

Did my first 'recording' day before yesterday. My 'boss' wasn't coming over, so I was drafted to record something for a video clip. It was relatively good, compared to the fact that I had no idea what I was doing.
I think it was ok. (It had better be) But I guess I'll find out how bad I did when he comes over on Monday, and takes a look at it. Wish me luck!

PS. Gabriel (From Curitiba) sent me a beer through someone that came for meetings. Was quite flattered. Don't think my current roommate would do something like that. Although he might give me some watered down lemon juice. Hehe.

Let brotherly love continue

2007-01-16T20:16:00.000-02:00

My brother came in yesterday. He is visiting from the US. So we met up with my older sister today, and sat around for a few hours drinking beer, talking, and picking on my sister.
It is part of the family tradition, whenever we get together we always pick on the girls. No photos, even though my brother did bring me a new 1 Gig memory card. (Kudos!!)

Catch y'all in a couple of days.

PS. Congratulations to Crystal and Gabe on their wedding!

Work days are fun days

2007-01-14T20:27:00.000-02:00

Well... Sort of. Worked normal today instead of sleeping-in, and bumming out all day.

For the past 2 days I have been doing layout/design again. It had been so long since I had done any sort of creative design, that it took me a long time to get back to designing something that doesn't look like it came out of a toddlers leftover meal.
But it is nice to be able to experiment with different ideas again.

One more new home member arrived today, and another coming tomorrow. We are already packed to the gills as it is. But this week it will be like sardines, with over 3 people sleeping over. Not to mention all of the commuters.
Back to eating out of giant pots. *sigh* Reminds me of the good ol' combo days.

I did find something interesting a couple of days ago. A site with 'Cool Sayings and Quotes' such as:

Be nice to your kids . . . they'll be the ones choosing your nursing home.

Bacteria is sometimes the only culture some people have.

Aim Low, Reach Your Goals, Avoid Disappointment.

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity.

Those who criticize our generation forget who raised it.

An alcoholic is someone you don't like who drinks as much as you do.

Get the full monty here.

Updated Links

2007-01-13T09:00:00.000-02:00

Read the title.

Josie and the Pussycats

2007-01-12T20:08:00.000-02:00

Josie is home. She arrived this morning with Abner, our current 'black-man'. Heh. They were visiting relatives in Vitória.

I went out running today. Well, sort of. I psyched up myself for running all morning, worried that I ate too much for lunch, and then I would get a cramp, the works.
We leave the gate, ('We' being me and Gabi) and haven't been walking for more than 7 minutes when it starts to sprinkle. (We live at the bottom of a hill, so we generally walk up the hill to find a flat place to start jogging. Starting your jog uphill is a killer. Am speaking from personal experience)
So we dash back home, running as fast as we can, since she had clothes on the line.
We get home, but the rain lets up only a little. But by then it is too late to go back out and keep running.
So that was the first run of the year. Pitiful I know. Will try again tomorrow. *grin*

Crowds and Combos

2007-01-11T20:49:00.000-02:00

And God looked down, and He saw that it was full.

We are almost back to full steam here. Another 5 people, and 4 kids just got back today. Only 2 more people to be back to regular home life. *sigh*

My roommate is back. I introduced him to Steve but he didn't seem to be too happy that I was competing with his stuffed animal collection. *snicker*

On a more 'physical' note, I must start running again. I only ran about 2 or 3 times since the 'Christmas Push' began. Although everyone says I lost weight while in Rio, I just hope I didn't gain it all back these weeks. Heh.

Trailers

2007-01-10T21:05:00.000-02:00

The new trailer just got moved in today. It is HUGE!! 7.5 meters!
It took the guys bringing it all morning to get it up our driveway, (What can I say, we have a long narrow driveway) destroying half of the garden on the way up, but it's there.

Life goes on. Dog bathing went on both yesterday and today. I think they haven't had a bath in over 2 months! And the old one just lies in the mud all day.

Will post some pictures when I can.

Paint and Hugs

2007-01-07T19:32:00.000-02:00

I just spent the last 3 days painting the house since it is relatively empty. So please forgive me if I am a little 'loopy'. :D Smelling paint in a closed room isn't exactly my idea for multiplying brain cells.
I did have an epiphany though. I just can't remember what it was. *grin*
Who said you need brain cells for epiphanies anyways.

I ran into both Rory and 'Ari'Anna while online today. Major flashbacks from over 3 years ago. We used to be regular conference chat buddies.
It was a blast talking to you guys!

This is something I found off of someone's blog.

It looks like something The Family would do. I almost wish we thought of that first.
Reading more about it, I found out that what the guy had, was a lot of determination and patience. Starting out years before he got any kind of recognition. Or even hugs.

Check it out at:
The Huggable Site (So lovely it makes you want to hug your screen)
Wikipedia entry

Holy Nano Fibers Batman!

2007-01-06T19:47:00.000-02:00

Was checking out the news when I ran across this tidbit.

Self-clean technology to remove the mud, sweat and tears of wash day for ever
Scientists have produced a coating that could make filthy rugby shirts and grubby football shorts a thing of the past.

The "self-cleaning" process makes fabrics repel water, resist stains and even kill off the bacteria that grow in sweat and make clothes smell. As a result, kit could be worn repeatedly between washes, the distinctive aroma of kit bags gone for ever – even performance on the field could be enhanced.

Scientists working for the US Air Force have already produced T-shirts and underwear that can be worn for weeks at a time without washing.

Full article is here.

Personally, even when these become commercial, I'll still stick to wash days. Thank you very much. :D

Photos Photos Photos

2007-01-05T21:59:00.000-02:00

So here are the photos from the party on the 31rst that you have all (not) been asking for.

Secrets in the dark? Tsk tsk

Look at my hair

Daaaaancing Trees

The Shy couple

The not so shy couple

These aren't as hot as some you might see in Italy. But it beats spending New Year's alone. *grin*

The Wrath of the Steve

2007-01-04T11:55:00.001-02:00

Space...the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

*Theme song*

*Captain Kirk voice over*
Captain's log, Star Date 123456.

We have returned from planet Rainy Beach, after a brief shore leave, we are now on our way to the Deadline Sector.

Since leaving the Bikini Quadrant, we encountered an unidentified life form.

Star Fleet Intelligence has codenamed it 'Steve'. (When asked why it was named Steve, the answer was: "Because 'Bob' is already taken (Note: 'Bob' was a baby owl that showed up around a year ago))

This, entity. This, thing. Sat on top of the screen. Grinning.

All attempts of communication seem to be at a stand-still. It seems to have a recording that is constantly played over all frequencies.

Mr. Spock has theorized that it is in hibernation, and is that at any minute it will wake up. We have contacted Fleet Command and are awaiting further instructions.
*end Captain Kirk voice over*

To be Continued...

I'm Back!!

2007-01-03T14:23:00.000-02:00

Am back from 'vacations'. (Yes, the quotes are there on purpose)

Will write all about it when I have some time. But for now, late deadlines are calling me.

Laterz all! o/

Vacations

2006-12-27T18:42:00.000-02:00

I will take off for vacations tomorrow. Thank goodness. Am already starting to act funny. (Either that or the whole world just went weird on me. Yes that means you too)

I talked to the lovely Claire today. Which totally made my day. (Thank you Claire)
Besides the euphoria of finally talking to her after months of no communication, (I did follow her blog though) I discovered that I am not, in fact, talking to a wall. I am talking to a wall called the World Wide Web, also commonly known as the 'Internet'.

Well I probably won't be online for a significant amount of time during vacations, but I'll try to update here. (Which basically means nothing)

Laterz all!

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T20:30:00.000-02:00

A Merry Christmas to you all! Have a wonderful year.

Will be working till the 27th, then am planning on taking off till New Year's. Hopefully this blog post will supplant the hoards of emails that I would have had to write to each and everyone.

Woke up at 8 after going caroling till 2, but fell asleep on the couch waiting for coffee, and now I've had a stiff neck all day. Not so nice.

But we had the Christmas brunch, and now am waiting for Christmas dinner. So addios all!