04/20/05 06:00 - ID#31862

DJ Spooky

Tom asks the dreaded software question. Sometimes, I think he is great - sometimes. DJ spooky had lots of interesting stuff to say but also seems to really strain to tie everything to his previous degree in the philosphy. I don't know how much he had to justify everything that he was saying. He kind of talks as though he is insecure with something. Sorry to get all diana troy. This will make a great poem.

I hate listening to people asking questions to hear thmeselves speak. Especially when it takes four minutes and they have to take a dramtic deep breathe instead of a pause.

Note: Someday I would like to give a speech and tie everything to botanical metaphors. I do now wonder if remixing does cause a loss of roots.

My final thoughts: Only now is music a commodity because you package it and copy it so easily.

Permalink: DJ_Spooky.html
Words: 153
Location: Buffalo, NY

04/20/05 03:59 - ID#31861

More mapping

Terry and I drove down ferry from east to west at like 2am in effort to test the mapping project. We drove from the como mall to the home and it mapped the whole trip perfectly. Sorry to hear you were ill (e:southernyankee).

Permalink: More_mapping.html
Words: 45
Location: Buffalo, NY

04/19/05 03:30 - ID#31860

Poetry Flyer

Here is the light up sign that jesse made for our poetry reading. I wish I could get a better pic of it. It lights up. I will get a pic of it tommorow.

Permalink: Poetry_Flyer.html
Words: 35
Location: Buffalo, NY

04/19/05 04:55 - ID#31859

Quoted at publish.com

What a weird day!

Paul Visco, a professor in the digital media arts program at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y., said he worries about competition, pricing and the future of graphic design.

"It seems as though much of the recent innovation between the two software giants was brought on by healthy competition. They had an array of software packages that had the same purposes, e.g. GoLive and Dreamweaver, Illustrator and FreeHand, Photoshop and Fireworks. If there is no longer any need to compete, then they might not continue to develop new products. It will effectively create a monopoly in graphic design."

Visco also voiced concerns about pricing. "Adobe can now say $1,000 for Photoshop, and companies and designers won't have any other choice. Look at Microsoft. Once you get really big like that, nothing matters."Quoted from: Analysts: Merger Works for Adobe, But Customers May Suffer

I was really most concerned about a single toolkit approach to graphic design.

Permalink: Quoted_at_publish_com.html
Words: 168
Location: Buffalo, NY

04/19/05 04:38 - ID#31858

Paul's Savable Google Maps

So I decided to design up the google map capture program while I was at it. This is the new interface found at

Here is the largest map I have downloaded so far. It is most of Western New York at 2560 pixels by 2560 pixels big. I want to get all of america. I was thinking it would be really easy to systematically download every tile from google maps so that you could have them for the future if something ever happend to google.

This reminds me of that one time I downloaded 80,000 corporate logos in vector format. I never did anything with them yet, but it was fun collecting.

Permalink: Paul_s_Savable_Google_Maps.html
Words: 118
Location: Buffalo, NY

04/19/05 03:06 - ID#31857

Public Transphere New Look

You can visit the new version here. Don't forget to stop out on saturday or sunday for the big event.

Well, it all started out when I saw (e:ajay) 's site about google and I just couldn't stop after that. The softwar n ow let's you pick an arbitrary google map at zoom 2 and then works. I have to say he is all around inspirational because he is also the guy that got me hooked on xmlHTTP. I remember when I was visiting him for some linux help one day and he mentioned it. I sersiously had no idea how great it was. Soon enough I will totally redo this site to be way cooler. With networked live user interaction.

How does it work?
Basically, a cell-phone sends data from a GPS in the moving vehicle to a MySQL database. A PHP file reads from that database and makes it available to the world. The same PHP file, disguised as a tiny xml file calculates the current latitude and longitude in pixel location values. The xml file is then read into the browser DOM using xmlHTTP, a javascript technology. With the live location data, the van icon is moved on the map accordingly via javascript. The site continues to poll the database every 5 seconds for smooth real-time mapping yet maintains very low bandwidth data requirements as the page never has to reload.

The site is also capable of extreme error handling so that the end user does not notice an glitches with missing or innacurate data. The site even has a debug mode, that is avaiable by hitting the "d" key on the keyboard. Furthermore, the user can surf the history of the van's movement by using the left and right arrow keys.

There is are also some shortcuts.
Left and right arrow - go back in time and return to the present time
T = tracking mode
D = debug mode
s = satellite image
r = show and hide route

Permalink: Public_Transphere_New_Look.html
Words: 339
Location: Buffalo, NY

04/18/05 02:57 - ID#31856

Proof that the software works!!

We drove the car around the public transphere zone.

Here is a picture captured looking out the window.

Here is a picture of the screen. Look at the locations, they match!!!

Permalink: Proof_that_the_software_works_.html
Words: 34
Location: Buffalo, NY

04/18/05 04:39 - ID#31855

MicroRevolt

Here is an awesome project for all you kniters out there.The site also has software that lets you translate any digital image into a knitting pattern.

mission
microRevolt projects investigate the dawn of sweatshops in early industrial capitalism to inform the current crisis of global expansion and the feminization of labor.

microRevolt developed web application knitPro, a protest tool that generates knit patterns of sweatshop offenders.Quoted from: // mission

Permalink: MicroRevolt.html
Words: 80
Location: Buffalo, NY

04/18/05 12:07 - ID#31854

The graphic design world will end

OMG we just bought license from both fro multiple thoudsands of dollars. This is going to stiffle all growth. What will happen with the overlapping products. Let's bet on who dies.

imageready vs fireworks
flash vs livemotion
illustrator vs freehand
dreamweaver vs golive
flashpaper vs pdf

Adobe To Acquire Macromedia In $3.4B Deal
Brandweek Magazine - 54 minutes ago
SAN FRANCISCO -- Adobe Systems Inc. said Monday it will acquire Macromedia Inc. in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $3.4 billion. San Jose-based Adobe's software includes the Acrobat program ... Quoted from: Google News

I seriously can't believe this. It is the biggest news ever to hit modern graphic design.The acquisition is subject to closing conditions including approval by the stockholders of both companies and regulatory approvals. Adobe and Macromedia expect to finalize the merger by Fall of this year.

Permalink: The_graphic_design_world_will_end.html
Words: 150
Location: Buffalo, NY

04/18/05 02:06 - ID#31853

Well it's done!

I have finally completed my part of the public transphere project. It turned out incredible and I think that it is commercially viable. I mean I know other companies put out similar technology but jesse and I are able to do it cheaper. The site actually maps in real-time now thanks to Mickelson's Law.