The official launch date is Monday, but lucky readers of thedude.com can take a look at the new site deign now. It’s a huge improvement over the old site, both aesthetically and performance-wise. I’m very proud to have been a part of this effort. Yay!
After focus groups revealed that my company’s current corporate image reminded them of a “dull forty-something white male”, they decided it was time to make a change. So, Affymetrix hired a design team to help freshen our brand.
I think the new branding looks great! This is the video used to kick off the effort. In my opinion, it’s too long, and feels too much like a PowerPoint presentation, but it does convey key design elements of the “New Affymetrix”. Nicely done!
This topic of cubicles vs. open floor plans has been debated to death, so I won’t bore you with my thoughts on the subject. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
Here’s a sneek peek inside Oakland’s Cathedral of Christ the Light. Although the 190 million dollar addition to the Lake Merrit skyline will not be open to the public until 2:00 PM this afternoon, I was able to sneak in yesterday and shoot a quick panorama.
After scratching my head about the outside of the cathedral for months, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the interior is quite nice. The sparsely decorated cathedral is flooded with a diffuse light warmed by the wood louvers. The cavernous space produces the expected acoustics - you know you’re in church with your eyes closed.
The odd feature though is the ginormous Jesus hovering above the altar. The image seems to be created by light passing through a drilled sheet of aluminum. To my eye, the points of light resemble LED’s on an outdoor advertising display or some kind of giant black and white TV, making the effect seem sorta cheesy. Now, imagine that space filled with a colorful stained-glass window. Yes, that would look better.
Embedded streaming video!
I found an inexpensive MOV to FLV converter which produces pretty decent results. The files are much smaller that the source Quicktime files, and still have much of the quality - even at large sizes. This means I can now stream video like this time-lapse of my commute to work directly from thedude.com. New possibilities!
It turns out it’s easy to embed a GigaPan Panorama on a web page. Hopefully, this will get more of you to check it out. Be sure to drag the the zoom slider on the left. Or, double-click on a region to zoom in on it. Looks like I have a white-balance problem in this panorama, but the amount of detail in is fairly awesome! Of course, you can always view a full-screen version as well.
This is really my first attempt with a decent camera attached to the GigaPan, so my results can only get better. Hope you’ll come back often for more!
Of course, after looking at the results xRes folks are getting I’m considering other options altogether…
Last night I met with Andrew and his friend Jeff Johnson, the goal being to shoot and perfect the process of creating Gigapan Images with the awesome Gigapan robotic camera head. Luckily Jeff knows everything about this device, and no doubt saved me a lot of time on the learning curve. Our first Gigapan image is a bit shaky (we kept bumping the table during the 15 minute process), but the results hint at what can be created with this combination of a consumer-grade digital camera (Canon G9) and the Gigapan head. Wow!
Having had a chance to learn a bit about this amazing process has me very excited about our trip to Burma. My next goal is to produce the highest resolution images of Burma ever shot.
gotye.com » Blog Archive » Hearts A Mess film clip. Check out my new favorite song/music video. I LOVE it! Thank you so much, Bill & Rebecca at Radio Paradise for turning me on to this!
You might as well bookmark this fantastic site.
Nothing special about today’s crap fair - just a load of the usual stuff that nobody needs. The high point was discovering this Smart Car-only parking spot less than 100 feet from the main stage and the fabulous Sun Kings.
BTW, This entry was made from Kelly’s iPhone using the new WordPress for iPhone App!
Fans of the best movie of all-time will surely appreciate this Dude Action Figure - complete with a rug and a White Russian. I’m thinking a pair of Achievers would be just the thing for my desk. Better order soon - it seems Dude action figures go fast!
This reminds me - Lebowski Fest is being held in San Francisco this year! Maybe I can finally make it! There is a potential conflict, though, as the Fest takes place during Burningman. Hmm… Bowling and White Russians or dust storms and half-naked chicks. Tough call…
