I was checking out a site with some of the Best Visual Illusions of the Year, and one of them caught my attention. It caught my attention because it seemed to be full of bullshit.

Below is the illusion and explanation off the site. I took it from here. Be sure to check this out before reading my explanation of why I think it is bullshit.



I put my images and explanation behind a cut so it does no affect your viewing of the above demo and explanation they provide.

( [read, along with visual examples, my Shenanigan Declaration™] )

I was just pointed to this by a friend of mine who is now in possession of the knowledge of The Bet. tongodeon continues to lose:

What does one do when you want to complain about Twitter being down? 

I guess the answer is to post something on LJ in 140 characters or less:

"OMG. Twitter down!!  MEDIC!!1!!1!"


There ya go.

I wonder how many advertising dollars Twitter has drained out of LJ by a vast portion of their user base pumping out multitudes of 140 char twitter entries instead of actual blog posts.

Dear readers who have video, photography, or other relevant experience:

I have been shooting some video to demo mobile web content and I'm running into problems. I'm not finding much online to help me out.


First off, I don't have the right gear. That is a known issue. I flat out have NO pro video gear. Been using my still camera's video function. But what IS the right gear? I'm working on creating a list of gear I should get to do this.

I need to be able to get really close to the handset to make sure that the screen is readable (I need dual use for HD presentations and YouTube). This probably means I need a macro lens, but correct me if I'm wrong. Also, I need to deal with getting the proper angle. If I use a tripod when I shoot them on a table top, then I can only get it at a slight angle since you can't exactly point directly down. I am shooting with the phones on a table top, but am experimenting with shooting them on a platform.

The problem with shooting the handset in a vertical position is that it easily moves when you interact with it (looks bad and makes editing difficult). My last video I made I placed a piece of paper on a music stand such that it bent at the joint that the phone rested on giving it a nice "seamless" backing. Helped, but the phone still jostled about while I interacted with it. Aside from that, it was nice to get the image head on with no odd angle (since I can put the camera on a tripod facing forward rather than down).

The other problem I am running into is lighting. You still photographers will probably have a lot of grey matter (oh, and don't forget the connective white bits!) to help me here.

With the phone head on, I basically have a nice glass surface just asking to be a mirror. Most phone displays don't get bright enough to compete with heavy lighting which really complicates things since you need to get the phone itself well lit. Lighting up the phone usually means that the camera gets well lit as well, and thus shows up as a reflection on the phone (especially during darker screens).

Watching the iPhone videos I realize that they are on a black background. Is this the key? Shoot with them on a black mount at a distance from a black background?

I realize that the high end production video is probably a fake screen edited onto the real screen in post production. I don't think this is an option for me since I am going to need to do these videos across at very least a few handsets. Oh, and I lack the actual skill to do the compositing.

I have to do this on a bit of a budget, but any suggestions more than welcomed. Camera recommendations, lens suggestions, accessories, techniques, etc.

Tags: lazylj, video

My work laptop is on the fritz (lang?).

Over the past few days it randomly decided that I had two fingers on the trackpad. In addition, I would not be able to use the keyboard. Odd, but would only happen for a short while, then come back to normal.

This behaviour then upgraded it self to a pure lack of keyboard and trackpad functionality. Would usually last a few seconds intermittently, but regain normality.

This has now upgraded to full lack of keyboard and trackpad for extended periods of time. I have needed to plug in an external keyboard and mouse to regain control of the flailing beast. Once I decided it was hopeless, it started working again. It lasted for many hours, but now is back to being Tommy the Laptop. I sometimes think I hear See me, feel me, touch me, heal me coming from the speakers, but I'm not sure.

I have tried singing to it.

Laptop can you hear me?
Can you feel me near you?

Lappy can you see me?
Can I help to cheer you.

...but to no avail.

I have a feeling that this is some odd internal USB bus issue, but that is just a guess. I will probably have to take it into an Apple store to get it prodded, but maybe the Lazy LJ can help.

I have yet to upgrade to Leopard, but may do so soon. (My laptop is going to be my test case for a Leopard upgrade so I can test all my audio software and see how stable it is.)

I am realizing that tongodeon's bet with rwx, aka The Bet, will officially end upon Jan. 12th 2009. This is quickly approaching and makes me sad.

On the other hand, I find it uplifting to also realize that the official end of The Bet will not stop us from keeping our fingers on the pulse of the world of Furries in the Mainstream, regardless of the outcome due to nothing else if not habit. In other words, no matter who wins or loses The Bet I feel that it shall live on in eternity.

If nothing else, "The Bet" has become a part of this group of friends' lexicon and shall live on long after The Bet has ended.

I'm not sure if tongodeon is losing the bet due to this, but something is going on when you see a random fury in Iraq. It may indeed be a sign that tongodeon is losing the bet if the extremists point to "...the horrible western influence of blue jeans and furries," as a source of the degradation of their society.

Regardless of his bet, this video is just... I don't have the words:



Trust me. Watch the video. There is a lot of Whiskey, Tangos, and Foxtrots involved.

A rough song I am working on for Hooks'n'Heels along with probably my oldest electronic track I ever wrote, "White Light", under the 5000 Fingers moniker. Both used as BoingBoing TV Maker Faire coverage music.

Video starts with a short bit with sfslim showing off his BoingBoing T-shirt.

Here is my review of Iron Man in pictures.