Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.... ~Plato
17 August 2007
Written by
Yours Truly (
)
Published on August 17th, 2007 @ 03:07:35 am, using 1599 words, 12624 views
This evening I checked out a website (http://planet.intertwingly.net) which had linked to my Acura mobile computing blog and, while there, noticed an interesting article on a recent attempt by site owners to block visitors using the Firefox web browser from accessing their sites. Their protest stems from the fact that one of the many available plugin extensions for Firefox, the AdblockPlus extension, allows internet users to free their web browsing experience of intrusive and often resource exploitative advertisements. These sites have begun to employ various blocking scripts, essentially user-agent sniffers, to detect the Firefox browser and prevent access to the page and its content. The rationale (I apply the term loosely) is that these sites are losing advertising revenue due to the fact that internet users who demand a clean and streamlined internet experience are avoiding the ads displayed on certain web sites.
Being a loyal Firefox user since the initial beta releases many (many) years back, and a naturally inquisitive person, I decided to check out the site which is, apparently, spearheading the effort and serving as a soapbox for all those site owners who feel they are being cheated by internet users who have the AdBlockPlus extension (myself included) installed.
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25 November 2005
Written by
Yours Truly (
)
Published on November 25th, 2005 @ 12:40:02 pm, using 913 words, 9467 views
I hadn't turned on my television in almost 2 weeks. I remember seeing several commercials, specifically on the Spike Channel advertising the Spike Channel, which went something like "There's no reason to think. Just sit down in front of this box. It will entertain you. It will make you happy." Being something of a contrarian when it comes to implied suggestions of control, I decided to do exactly the opposite. I turned the box off and didn't go back to it.
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29 September 2008
Written by
Yours Truly (
)
Published on September 29th, 2008 @ 08:27:48 am, using 811 words, 3106 views
This series of blog posts is the journal of a month spent traveling in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The posts and photos will be arranged chronologically, though the posts themselves may not come one-per-day. Some days I may feel like posting, other days I may not. Therefore, some days may not have any posts, while other days may have multiple posts as I do some catching up with the photos I’ve taken. Furthermore, some posts may have text content included with them while other posts may just be galleries of photos for which I didn’t feel like doing any write-up. I’ll do my best to include as many of the photos as possible, and may update some posts later on with additional photos that weren’t included in the initial posts.
Esta série de blog posts é o diário de um mês de viagem ao Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Os posts e as fotos serão organizados de maneira cronológica, apesar dos posts não virem diariamente. Alguns dias eu posso ter vontade de publicar, outros dias eu posso não. Portanto, alguns dias poderão não ter posts, enquanto outros poderão ter posts múltiplos de acordo com que eu for organizando as fotos que tenha tirado. Além do mais, alguns posts podem apresentar texto incluído em seu conteúdo enquanto outros podem consistir apenas de galerias de fotos sobre as quais eu não senti vontade de escrever. Eu farei o possível para incluir o máximo possível de fotos, e posso vir a atualizar alguns posts com fotos adicionais que não foram incluídas nos posts iniciais.
[click the thumbnails for a larger view]
This is a shot from the plane, at approximately 4:45AM, after nearly 12 hours of travel… The first leg of the flight left Newark, New Jersey, at 4:50PM on Friday, and arrived (late) in Atlanta, Georgia about two hours later. The second leg of the flight, Atlanta to Rio, was to begin 50 minutes later but, due to the plane arriving late and the need for it to be cleaned and catered, the next leg began later than expected. Anyway… The photo above shows the sun coming over the horizon, taken from approx 40,000 feet above the Amazon jungle, about two and a half hours prior to landing in Rio.
Esta é uma foto tirada do avião, aproximadamente às 4:45, depois de quase 12 horas de viagem… A primeira etapa do vôo saiu de Newark, New Jersey, às 16:50 de sexta-feira, e chegou (com atraso) em Atlanta, Geórgia por volta de duas horas mais tarde. A segunda etapa do vôo, Atlanta-Rio, era para começar 50 minutos depois mas, devido ao atraso do primeiro avião e a necessidade de limpeza e abastecimento, começou mais tarde do que esperado. A foto acima mostra o sol nascendo no horizonte, tirada aproximadamente a 40.000 pés de altura da selva Amazônica, por volta de duas horas e meia antes do pouso no Rio.
This is a shot of Trisha shooting photos from the apartment window, overlooking Avenida Prado Junior, at 5:45PM. The apartment is a block from the beach in Copacabana. The streets are almost always busy and remind me of Manhattan with their sounds and smells… Within an hour or so we witnessed someone hurl a loaf of bread from an apartment window across the street. It landed on the sidewalk below and was ignored by passersby (in fact, it was stepped upon by at least one pedestrian).
Esta é uma foto da Trisha fotografando da janela do apartamento, com vista para a Avenida Prado Junior, às 17:45. O apartamento fica a uma quadra da praia em Copacabana. As ruas estão quase sempre movimentadas e me lembram Manhattan com seus sons e cheiros… No espaço de mais ou menos uma hora observamos alguém jogar um pão francês da janela de um apartamento do outro lado da rua. O pão francês aterrisou na calçada e foi ignorado por transeuntes (de fato, foi pisado por pelo menos um pedestre)
This photo again shows Avenida Prado Junior, but from the other side. The sound outside the window is the constant sounds of car and buses, brakes and horns, police sirens and people shouting. Oh and the apartment next door is *constantly* cooking something that smells goooooood.
Esta foto novamente mostra a Avenida Prado Junio, mas do outro lado. Da janela ouvimos o som constante de carros e ônibus, freios e buzinas, sirenes e pessoas gritando. E o apartamento ao lado está *constantemente* cozinhando alguma coisa cujo cheiro é delicioso.
Contemporaneous Auditory Narcotics:
or, What my speakers are currently pumping…
Digitally Imported [Streaming Radio]
This post is the creative work of Yours Truly and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
22 June 2006
Written by
Yours Truly (
)
Published on June 22nd, 2006 @ 11:47:56 pm, using 448 words, 5576 views
Along with several billion other people, I've been following closely the World Cup football tournament being hosted this year in Germany. Since we weren't able to get tickets to see any of the matches, I'm forced to settle on watching them on television, and being subjected to the sheer stupidity of some of the announcers on the ESPN network. The specific idiots to whom I'm referring are Shep Messing and Glenn Davis, but there are some others who may have escaped notice.
So, why do these idiots need a geography lesson? Well, in watching the recent match between Ukraine and Saudi Arabia, their lack of knowledge of geography and grammar, not to mention a limited knowledge of the game of football in general, became glaringly obvious. Let's take a look at a simple map of Europe, taken from the following URL:
http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/eu.htm
Okay, so what's the issue? The issue is that the name of the nation located north of the Black Sea is Ukraine. It is NOT the Ukraine. However, I was forced to listen to 2 hours of inept commentating by Glenn Davis and Shep Messing, wherein they continually referred to Ukraine as the Ukraine. What is that? The name of the nation is Ukraine. There is no 'the' in there. A simple look at an atlas or a world map (yes, it requires opening a book or a website and actually learning something) would help these two idiots immeasurably.
My next point of contention comes from the incorrect usage of simple grammatical structures which, again, could have been avoided by these two guys had they simply been given a brief geography lesson. When implying possession, as in the team from a specific nation, (in this case Ukraine), the proper grammatical construction is "the Ukrainian team" and not "the Ukraine team".
While we're on the topic, let's discuss pronunciation as well. The word Ukraine is pronounced with the emphasis on the second, not the first, syllable. It is correctly pronounced U-kraine. It is not pronounced U-kraine.
I can understand that there is a certain inherent lack of knowledge of other parts of the world among many Americans, but these guys are commentators on a major television network. I'd think that ESPN could afford to buy an Atlas or a map for these two idiots...
So, once again, for the record, the name of the country is Ukraine. It is not, nor has it ever been, the Ukraine.
Contemporaneous Auditory Narcotics:
or, What my speakers are currently pumping...
Thievery Corporation - The Lagos Communique
This post is the creative work of Yours Truly and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
16 February 2006
Written by
Yours Truly (
)
Published on February 16th, 2006 @ 09:45:29 pm, using 395 words, 4074 views
We wanted to blast the world free of history.... picture yourself planting radishes and seed potatoes on the fifteenth green of a forgotten golf course. You'll hunt elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center, and dig clams next to the skeleton of the Space Needle leaning at a forty-five degree angle. We'll paint the skyscrapers with huge totem faces and goblin tikis, and every evening what's left of mankind will retreat to empty zoos and lock itself in cages as protection against the bears and big cats and wolves that pace and watch us from outside the cage bars at night.
"Imagine," Tyler said, "stalking elk past department store windows and stinking racks of beautiful rotting dresses and tuxedos on hangers; you'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life, and you'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. Jack and the beanstalk, you'll climb up through the dripping forest canopy and the air will be so clean you'll see tiny figures pounding corn and laying strips of venison to dry in the empty car pool lane of an abandoned superhighway stretching eight-lanes-wide and August-hot for a thousand miles."
I am the all-singing, all-dancing crap of this world.... I am the toxic waste by-product of God's creation.
I've met God across his long walnut desk with his diplomas hanging on the wall behind him, and God asks me, "Why?" Why did I cause so much pain? Didn't I realize that each of us is a sacred, unique snowflake of special unique specialness? Can't I see how we're all manifestations of love? I look at God behind his desk, taking notes on a pad, but God's got this all wrong. We are not special. We are not crap or trash, either. We just are. We just are, and what happens just happens. And God says, "No, that's not right." Yeah. Well. Whatever. You can't teach God anything.
You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everyone else, and we are all part of the same compost pile.
Step forward into your cave. Find your power animal and slide. ;)
Contemporaneous Auditory Narcotics:
or, What my speakers are currently pumping...
The Pixies - Death To The Pixies 1987-1991
03 November 2008
Written by
Yours Truly (
)
Published on November 3rd, 2008 @ 09:05:52 am, using 394 words, 39243 views
Adventures at Jardim Botânico, part 2
01) The third eye (also known as the inner eye) is a mystical and esoteric concept referring in part to the ajna (brow) chakra in certain Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. It is also spoken of as the gate that leads within to inner realms and spaces of higher consciousness. ~ photo by Trisha
02) A random shot of dense foliage in the Jardim Botânico ~ photo by Trisha
03) Photo of a second row of trellises deeper inside the botanical gardens ~ photo by Trisha
04) Another shot of the same row of trellises showing the difference in camera quality ~ photo by Yours Truly
[click the thumbnails for a larger view]
A flower of unknown variety growing by the side of the walkway ~ photo by Trisha
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04 October 2007
Written by
Yours Truly (
)
Published on October 4th, 2007 @ 09:54:23 pm, using 383 words, 3843 views
I was browsing my favorite free stock photography site last weekend and found a few high-resolution images which, when viewed side by side in Photoshop, gave me immediate inspiration for a redesign of the main site pages of thedarksighed.com. I spent a few hours in Photoshop with several different layer blending techniques and some creative use of masking tools, then switched over to EditPad and put together a new layout for the main site.
I’ve set up the homepage to pull the latest RSS feeds from the blog and display them on the left side of the page. To the right of the RSS feeds I’ve inserted a condensed display of my most recent graphic design projects, though I’m still trying to figure out a way to have these pulled automatically from the blog rather than having to update them manually. As of now, I’ve only posted a few of my most recent photo-manipulations to the blog, though I have several in the queue, so that section of the homepage is so far limited to only the most recent designs.
The new site layout follows the design philosophy of the b2evolution blog templates I’ve recently been building. Like my recent blog skins, it’s designed for a 1024x768 monitor resolution. It makes use of valid XHTML Strict markup and valid CSS Stylesheets. Where necessary, the markup is XHTML Transitional, as in the contact form page, which uses a Captcha image. The Captcha no longer functions properly when constrained by the code requirements of XHTML Strict markup.
I’m considering building a blog template around the same design, simply to streamline as much of the site as possible, but that’s an endeavor which will have to be left for another day. Right now I’m working on bringing over as much of the old site into the new style, and finding little time to do so. I plan to keep working on the site move in my spare time over the next few days.
Anyway, let me know what you think of the new layout. Any feedback is appreciated…
Contemporaneous Auditory Narcotics:
or, What my speakers are currently pumping…
Fila Brazilia - Old Codes New Chaos
This post is the creative work of Yours Truly and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
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