This…
TAKSIM GEZI PARK AERIAL / Taksim Gezi Park Havadan Çekim [Part 4] from Jenk K on Vimeo.
…with some this video game user interface overlayed:
CategoryUncategorized
Ricardo Semler has inspired his business-minded fans into looking at their work in different way, particularly when it comes to democracy, management and the release of control.
Ricardo also believes that the most powerful way to create a successful democracy is by keeping the finance books open. Yes, that includes salaries. Everyone can see your salary and you can see theirs. Prioritizing is difficult, if not impossible to do accurately, without having access to this kind of information.
If you are not familiar with Semco and would like to hear one hell of a business story, I highly recommend his book Maverick.
I love this man.
“The war of an artist with his society is a lover’s war, and he does, at his best, what lovers do, which is to reveal the beloved to himself and, with that revelation, to make freedom real.”
~ James Baldwin
Within the tears of sorrow exists tears of beauty and hope. I have gone through moments where hope was tested. I have even tasted the salty words, “Hope is disempowering.” However, this hope is now what holds the tears in my eyes, relaxing and washing these windows into my soul. Sometimes these tears are allowed to river down my cheeks and other times I hold them there, pooling loosely. A natural balance of awareness. The watery distortion helps me see the world a bit clearer. Mixing sorrow, strength and even laughter. In the process of merging some of these frequencies of feeling, I have been fortunate enough to come across these most excellent tools… these prayers…
…starting with…
Charlie Chaplin’s incredible speech (that needs a better YouTube thumbnail)
Nahko – Great Spirit – mindful, stay mindful
ZakAndWhatArmy’s God Fractal
JFK via Prince EA
“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.”
This is a photo of me back in highschool in 1998. I’m demonstrating one of the first digital audio editing stations. I was the dorky kid who set it up and was one of the few that knew how to use it. Not a big feat, considering how basic it was back then.
I’m not pictured here, but things have changed… a little. I was interviewed for about 90 minutes, being asked questions about my experiences in animation. I heard that it went over really well with the listeners, which means I didn’t get too too technical. Tommy and KAC were great hosts that challenged me with their questions.
During the drive home from the radio station, I received a text from one of the hosts. I tell ya… it made my week.
I just want you to know, for the entirety of my sense of being in life, have i ever met such a motivational and powerful inspiration. Not for what your profession is per say, but your soul reminds me of things ive felt like for a long time, has been missing. This thought is so much deeper then this txt. (Especially while driving) and like i said earlier your verbal descriptiveness makes sense to me, even tho i couldnt fathom the words u use, that hit the nail on the head for my own illiterate perception. I too honor honesty, with ethics of acknowledging and accepting bad truth, and practicing good truth. To sum it up. I appreciate your words, and thoroughly enjoy your company sir. I hope our relationship is long and prosper my friend. Cheers! Btw ive been typing this sent your last txt, which came in right when i got done with the forst sentence.
– KAC
Juan sent these words yesterday. I think we all could use this kind of reminder in tough times.
“You probably need someone to talk to of course, this may seem messy to you. A new year has begun and a full moon above. Know as I know for myself in spite of what may seem agitating and messy, you are blessed by the alchemy homie… A sacred bath you might call it. Let it sink in and handle it with all the honour you know is true in your heart. Don’t panic, all is well. Your world just got shaken….consciousness is creating angles of awareness. I got your back.
your brilliance will shine on even stronger….ooooiiiiii!!!! Can’t wait for you to see what’s coming for you….I can’t wait….just keep your cool. Handle this proper as the man you are. If this brings up things that haven’t been handled, well, Seize the motherfuckers, and move into this year focused with all demons exposed. Thank them, and tell them to now hang back. You don’t need them any more. Your view is tooo precious now.”
Sure, some might complain about the soapy bubbles getting into our drink or popping in our face, but still…
Who doesn’t like bubbles? I mean… really.
Ok, THAT many bubbles could get a bit slipper or maybe even dangerous.
The first collection just got too darn big! Started another chain.
Shannon referred me to VIBEXX.
Fik-Shun – Holy cow this is nuts.
Detroit’s Soul
Recalling memories of my 3 years of synchronistic flow that took place roughly between 2009 and 2012. There are many threads I have shared verbally, though I usually focus on the strongest “impossibility” stories. In going through photographs, I was reminded of another wonderful example of my experiences.
Prior to leaving for Morocco, my friend Annie Abdelnour had contacted me via email. She had heard from a mutual friend that I was going to Morocco, where she was currently taking residency. She was staying in an eastern region of Morocco, about 7 hours away from Merrakesh. Merrakesh was as far east as we were traveling on our trip through Morocco, so we acknowledged that a meetup probably wasn’t in the cards, though she said that would follow up with an email with some Moroccan survival tips.
On our second day in Merrakesh, I decided to checkout an internet cafe to check my email. Due to the funky keyboard, it took me about 10 minutes to get into my email account. My inbox contained an email from Annie that contained her Morocco survival tip sheet, along with her contact number. Since I knew we were not heading east, I didn’t bother writing down her number.
However, one of my travel companions pointed out, “Well, there’s phones right here. You might as well try to get a hold of her.” I agreed and went back into the internet cafe and spent another 10 minutes getting into my email to write down her number, then immediately went to the phones to call her.
As it turned out, she was currently doing a bit of traveling herself. When I asked her where she was, she said, “I’m in Merrakesh.”
Keeping in mind that Merrakesh is a population of 1 million people, I still felt optimistic as we were in the tourist hotspot, so I quickly replied, “Really? Where?”
She was in the food courts about a 10 minute walk from where I was standing. Before I knew it, I was sitting with an old friend, drinking some Moroccan mint tea and some avocado lassi, while sharing tales of our travels. We sat there talking for an hour or two, before she had to head home for some rest, as she was leaving Merrakesh by bus, early the next morning.
How strange it felt to meet up with a familiar face, in a far off place, within such a short window of time. To think that I almost disregarded the possibility of meeting with her. As usual, I was tempted to label the situation as “weird”. Yet, in the moment, I remembered the advice of another soul who was following his path. He warned me to not label the experience as “unbelievable” or “weird”, as it will only remove one from the synchronistic flow. It was great advice that kept me in the moment, open, and ready for the next adventure that life had in store for me.
Thanks to Zak Koski for introducing me to this (now famous) Detroit designer. Not sure I’ve seen someone more real grace the stage at TED.
Portland/CreativeMornings – Aaron James Draplin from CreativeMornings/Portland on Vimeo.
Also checkout:
America Is F*cked
TEDx Portland
Advice for young designers trying to “get in” to the industry.
Can’t get enough? Do an internet search and you’ll find TONS of talks.
My phone would never pocket dial.
When I ended a call, I was 100% sure it was over.
I could dial phone numbers without having to even look at the dialing pad.
My battery lasted 4 days, on average.
More than 70% of the chargers I encountered would fit my phone.
Service is $30 a month w/ unlimited US nationwide coverage.
I could text message just fine, assuming I was creative and didn’t have to write a novel.
I couldn’t “browse the web” with ease, though I did have access to email and maps in a limited capacity… so no emergency was too big for my phone to handle.
I couldn’t take super awesome photos… but I made sure my “real” cameras were never too far.
This phone is *not* a smartphone.
I’d even consider a text pager, if pager service was still $10 per month (how about, “less”)-
-but I digress…
In my Walmart online shopping cart right now, I see this phone is $24.85, including shipping. How much are these new iPhone devices?
Sometimes the default world takes priority, and since I haven’t yet figured out how to live without money, this year had to be missed. This video helped with the homesickness.
I will not miss next year’s.
Simple Houdini pipeline. from Vlad Yudin on Vimeo.
Houdini recently released it’s fully functional and commercial “Houdini Indie” product for $200 (for companies making under $100k per year).
With that annoucement, Zak had asked me, “Where a great place to start learning?” Yes, it can be very intimidating, but if you have a specific use in mind it is TOTALLY doable without the years of experience that some expect. That being said, ya gotta know the basics and here’s some resources to get you started… starting with the free stuff!
Peter Quint: This guy is my hero and his videos are priceless. Here’s a direct link to the “Basics”… but don’t forget the other 150 videos that he has online.
https://vimeo.com/user2030228/videos/search:basics/sort:date
3DBuzz: Houdini Fundamentals for H9
http://www.3dbuzz.com/training/view/houdini-fundamentals/h9-fundamentals
SideFX: Creators of Houdini have a huge selection of tutorials, including an introduction to the interface. Once again, don’t forget to check the sidebar to see the massive collection they have available.
http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=855&Itemid=254
Paid source for training include CMIVFX and Digital Tutors.
Other sources include the SideFX online forum or odForce.net.
Having a maker’s space within walking distance, I consider myself very fortunate as I didn’t know it was there till I moved in to my house. Though, I won’t consider myself “lucky”, as we chose this area specifically for reasons like that (it’s also next door to a meadery).
What’s a “maker’s space”? Well then you have yet another reason to watch the following talk. Thx Voigt!
Seeing Spaces from Bret Victor on Vimeo.
This is applicable beyond Net Neutrality… and it’s hilarious.
Tesla, an inventor with zero business sense. Surprised they didn’t mention Edison’s love for doing live demonstrations of cooking animals with AC current.
This collection grows with time, so come back to check it out sometime in the future. If it stays quite for too long, ping me and let me know!
New 3D animation techniques have me revisiting mathematics. In my math book research, I found this information below to be particularly interesting and/or useful.
Perspective! by David Chelsea
Why not start with a bit of inspiration first? Would you be inspired to know that you can learn to draw environments like a professional comic book artist… while also forming questions as to why all these proportions line up almost magically.
Precalculus Mathemetics in a Nutshell by George F. Simmons
AH! It looks like a text book!! Don’t worry, it’s actually tiny, at about 100 pages. The author teaches calculus and states that he teaches precalculus (algebra, geometry and trigonometry) in a single day. It will take most of us longer than that… but this information gives a great grounding position to pounce off from.
The Secrets of Triangles by Alfred S. Posamentier
I’ve only read a few sections, but this appears to be a great place to start for those that want to understand points in space and their relations to each other.
Measurement by Paul Lockhart
It’s all about the relationships. Want to play with some math without writing letters or numbers? Start here.
Euclid’s Window by Leonard Mlodinow (haven’t read yet, but I kept encountering it while looking at the books above).
For the 3D animation programmer out there, you have quite a few to select from and I will have to take some time in the future listening those out, as well.
For the person who hates math, I recommend checking this list out, as it may help you understand where math becomes beautiful.
I have been a yoga practitioner since 2009 (though not as often as I should). I started because of injuries on my arm aquired while working on a computer. I found this book very helpful in translating the spiritual abstracts of our bodies into recognizable physical muscle patterns that we can trace from head to toe. Meridians are measurable!
First thing to do if I’m going to use Vim as my default text editor, is to get the colors looking good.
First, I’ve downloaed a theme (for example distinguished.vim) and placed it in my newly created ~/.vim/colors folder.
Next, I created a ~/.vimrc file and entered the following contents:
syntax on
colorscheme distinguished
set t_Co=256
Finally, if I type in tput colors into a terminal window, it tells me I have 8 colors. Even though my themes still appear to work in Vim, an error gets reported upon opening Vim.
To fix this error, I’ve edited my ~/.bashrc file and entered the following line.
export TERM=xterm-256color
Now tput colors reports 256 colors and Vim no longer reports an error when automatically loading my distinguished.vim file.
For those looking for a new Vim color theme, here’s a good place to look and another list of 10 good ones via VimNinjas.
I must admit though… colors still seem to be a bit wacky for me, as they don’t match the theme examples listed on the web page.
It sounds like “lightning fast” is just another typical headline for viral Facebook post, which automatically makes me feel as if I’m not giving Vim enough credit.
I typically use basic text when writing on my pc, and I sometimes create light code or html. Since I originally used a Windows machine, I have used Notepad, Context, Notepad++, etc. After moving to Linux, I was usually operating in gedit. It wasn’t until recently till I started shopping for another solution. Since we’re talking about BASIC TEXT, I felt it was pretty critical to choose an open source tool. I don’t like the idea of using a closed source tool in order to help me speak.
I have spent a bit of time looking, testing and reading comment and I think I’ve got a pretty good hold on the text editor options out there. The same names pop up pretty frequently… though one editor has always stood out as being a legend in this area, though it does not have a GUI. Vi or Vim.
I’m a big fan of not having to jump onto the mouse constantly, especially after realizing the RSI that the mouse was causing me.
What is Vim? Alan Thomas does a great job of introducing Vim and looks at it through the lens of “sentences”, comparing the keystrokes to nouns, verbs, etc. He also includes some great example uses.
So now the learning begins. This experience is much like when I had to force myself to touch type. I was slower at typing for a few days, but after 3 days of practice, I was almost twice as fast of a typist as I was before I touch-typed. Initial investment is pretty low compared to the benefits!
First step was to force myself to get comfortable in using hjkl in order to navigate around the page. The first 3 levels of VIM Adventure helped with that.
Other Vim Resources
Cheat Sheets
Vim common actions in catagories
Vim Quck Reference Card (PDF)
Best of Vim Tips
Like a Pro
Vim teaser quickly demonstrating some editing magic.
Ben Orenstein’s expert level vim talk (40 minutes) shows how deep you can get.
vimcasts.org/episodes/archive
Why learn Vim?
Best way to master
Is it worth the effort?
7 reasons Vim is your text editor
More Interactive Ways To Learn
OpenVim’s tutorial
Sitting at a Linux computer and want muscle memory to assist your text editing? As Alan reminds us, just type this in a terminal window:
vimtutor
Using Nautilus 3.4.*, I decided it was time to rename/remove the distracting unused bookmarks in Nautilus (file explorer GUI).
Found this thread which has the solution.
In Nautilus click view > Show Hidden Files then from your home directory go to /.config/ in there you will find a file called user-dirs.dirs this contains the entries under ‘Computer’.
MAKE SURE TO BACK UP ANYTHING YOU CHANGE
If you change, for example, XDG_DOWNLOAD_DIR=”$HOME/Downloads to just XDG_DOWNLOAD_DIR=”$HOME/” the downloads folder will no longer show up under ‘Computer’ in the sidebar.
You can also just comment out every line, in which case it will only show ‘Home’, ‘File System’ and ‘Trash’. It will keep those other directories as bookmarks though so you can do what you like with them.
This will not remove the ‘Computer’ entry entirely, just remove its entries, but it will make it look considerably cleaner. Sorry I can’t help on the ‘Network’ Entry.
Sources: Personal experience trying to restore missing entries under ‘Computer’.
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