September 19, 2004
Now THIS is Exciting!
I first noticed the fabulous fat typeface used on the Golden Gate Bridge when my daughter Kerry visited last year. I instantly loved it. I took this picture with the thought that I might use the typeface in a future design. Well, it turns out that I don't need to go through all the trouble of painstakingly recreating each character, because it's already been done! Allow me to introduce you to Chuck! You'll find this many other gorgeous fonts at the Parkinson Type Design web site. Be sure to peruse his impressive collection of Typographic logos. Marvel at the power and the beauty of type!
(By the way, ANY of these splendid typefaces would make a superb gift for that very special dude or dudette in your life. :-)
Posted by thedude at 03:59 PM | Comments (2)
September 18, 2004
I Was Lucky This time
How often does this happen to you? You shoot 100 photos at an important event and discover that the very best shot of the day is useless for one reason or another. It's way out of focus or 2 stops overexposed or - as in this case - something totally unexpected has happened. Something like... a light leak? What the...?
Certainly not caused by the camera, this leak must have occurred when I pulled the film OUT of the camera. Unbelievable! Fortunately I had taken two shots of this scene, and with the help of PhotoShop, was able to create a perfect image from an otherwise unusable one.
Geeky stuff follows...
The original image with both layers is 986,342,974 bytes in size - just shy of one gigabyte. Manipulating an image this size - dust-spotting, color-correcting, and merging the new forground over the old - took about four hours on my lowly 2.4 gigahertz machine with one gigabyte of RAM. Just saving the image took about 10 minutes. On the plus side, PhotoShop 7.0 performed flawlessly, and my friends now have an image that they can print at least 4 feet wide with amazing clarity. On the down side, I think it may be time to upgrade my hardware. I have my eye on a G5 with a 30" monitor, but who am I kidding? It'll never happen. Wait, I know! I'll add it to my wish-list... :-)
Posted by thedude at 06:35 PM | Comments (1)
August 24, 2004
Not an Olympic Torch...
Thedude's birthday is approaching fast. My wife and family are always asking for gift ideas. Well, here's a really good one!
Posted by thedude at 06:11 PM | Comments (2)
August 21, 2004
Yet Another Perfectly Geeky Gift for thedude
This little thing is so cute! A file-sharing device running embedded Linux. It contains a web server and samba server - in a form factor I like. Small, inexpensive, no cooling fan, and easily hacked. Perfect!
Posted by thedude at 01:16 PM | Comments (0)
July 30, 2004
An Auspicious Occasion
Evidently, in some parts of the world, today is System Administrator Appreciation Day!
Here's your big chance to show some love for your hard-working and under-appreciated SysAdmin. (See the excellent gift ideas section.)
Posted by thedude at 10:10 AM | Comments (0)
July 23, 2004
It's Wish List Time Again!
The first item for 2004 is this fabulous luggage cart. My friend Grant has one. It's very light and compact due to its excellent design, and super sturdy.
Posted by thedude at 10:40 AM | Comments (0)
June 08, 2004
Another Brilliant Idea From Apple
Once again the designers at Apple have come up with a must-have toy. Their new AirPort incorporates some way cool features. Among them - the ablity to stream music from iTunes to this wireless device which then connects to your stereo. Check it out! It's already on my wish-list. I can finally stream music to my bedroom! I'm sure Kelly will be thrilled! NOT!
Posted by thedude at 01:04 PM | Comments (0)
May 31, 2004
It's on the Wish List!
Its small footprint and lighted keys would be just perfect in my server room!
ThinkGeek :: blu Illuminated Keyboard
Posted by thedude at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)
January 13, 2004
First Wish-List Items for 2004
How about this 61" plasma TV?
Or, how about this one terabyte hard drive?!"
Posted by thedude at 09:08 AM | Comments (1)
December 23, 2003
Looking for that Last-Minute Christmas Gift?
Surely you know someone who would appreciate Modern Drunkard Merchandise. It's on this site that you'll be introduced to the 86 rules...
Posted by thedude at 09:51 PM | Comments (1)
December 12, 2003
It's Not for Me - It's for Kelly!
Turns out that this lucious liqueur is an essential ingredient for two of Kelly's favorite cocktails - the margarita and the cosmopolitan. We can never have too much Cointreau. Yum!
UPDATE! Our dear friend Tobias suggests that you add one or two of these fabulous gifts to your own wish list!
Posted by thedude at 09:15 PM | Comments (4)
December 11, 2003
Still Looking for that Perfect Gift for Thedude?
Posted by thedude at 08:30 PM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2003
Squeeze Me
Another excellent Christmas gift idea.
Posted by thedude at 09:55 AM | Comments (0)
November 23, 2003
Steel This!
My wife asked me to post a few things I'd like to see under my Christmas tree this year. Here's a good one.
UPDATE: Scored a beautiful Forschner steel. Thanks Grant and Sandy!
Posted by thedude at 11:05 AM | Comments (0)
November 18, 2003
This Could Be Cool
Add this to my Wish List. It looks like it is better than the horrible Turtle Beach Audiotron. For one thing, it can search songs by filename as well as ID3 tag. I'm assuming it will have better sound. And wireless capability could be nice. I think I have enough wires running around this place already.
Posted by thedude at 07:55 PM | Comments (1)
November 15, 2003
Wet Wish List Item
Wow! Our friends in Alameda would see us a lot more often if we could get there in one of these babies!
Posted by thedude at 05:55 PM | Comments (2)
November 10, 2003
Still on My Wish-List :-)
This little silent PC is even more appealing now that they've announced an ATX version.
Oh yeah, and don't forget these.
Posted by thedude at 10:24 AM | Comments (1)
September 01, 2003
Wish List Item Number 6
I should not even need to mention this, but just to be perfectly clear... Of course I want an iPod!
Doesn't everyone?
UPDATE: My truly wonderful wife bought me a 30 gig iPod for my birthday! Woo-hoo! (Now I just need that Mac laptop...)
Posted by thedude at 02:32 PM | Comments (1)
July 23, 2003
Wish List Item Number 5
Here it is! The digital camera I've been dreaming about. Along with blistering speed and high resolution, this beauty can upload images to my network wirelessly - even while shooting! A major breakthrough - I want it now! After looking at the incredible 360 degree VR's in my last post, I want to get started on my own as soon as possible! (Of course, that will require a fancy fisheye lens, but that's a wish list item for another day.)
Hint: My birthday is in September. Are you listening Kelly? :-)
Posted by thedude at 09:30 PM | Comments (2)
July 01, 2003
Wish-List Item Number 4
UPDATE: Too late - I just ordered it.
Posted by thedude at 10:03 AM | Comments (5)
June 29, 2003
Jim's Christmas List Item #3
I really need six of these. The sooner the better.
Posted by thedude at 06:48 PM | Comments (0)
May 21, 2003
Jim's Christmas List Item #2
How 'bout this wristwatch/USB hard drive? It would make a perfect stocking-stuffer, don't ya think? ;-)
Posted by thedude at 09:47 AM | Comments (2)
May 01, 2003
My way-before-Christmas wish-list
I know - it's a bit early, but I just saw this this little beauty.
I want one! (Maybe I should buy one for my wife - wink, wink.)
Posted by thedude at 10:32 AM | Comments (0)