Sound of Waves
Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima
194 unique view(s)
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Blabberbox: | Random blog-like posts from pftq. |  |
File Management
Tools to sort, rename, and organize your files...
Seems like the operating system would be best for managing your files, but this isn't always the case. Several times, I'd want to rename a whole batch of files, or maybe I'd want to fix the creation times of my pictures. As usual, the free stuff is always best - there's no reason to buy bloated software for essential needs as these. Below are the best I've found. Feel free to suggest more.
Programs and Tools
703 unique view(s)
JPEG Timestamp Modifier
If you like to take alot of pictures like I do - better yet if you like to hoard a lot of pictures everyone else like I do 
- you’ll find the times don’t always match up between cameras. It kind of kills the point of having an album if the pictures don’t line.
I tried to come up with a solution with my file modifier, which works, but lacks an interface. I admit that the tool I found here by far trumps mine. If I had known it existed, I wouldn’t even have bothered making mine.
The JPEG Timestamp Modifier basically lets you set all the creation/modified times to the time picture taken (on the EXIF) or you can shift the times up and down by hr/sec increments. You can load multiple files at once as well. I don’t see anything missing from the package. Definitely something to check out.
428 unique view(s)
Origami Folding
I used to fold a lot of origami when I was littler. Don't remember as many anymore, but once in a while I try to relearn a few. Below are some bookmarks I keep of some nice ones to remember (or reference if you don't remember). Usually I care only for those that require no cutting or additional accessories (just the paper and folding). Kind of defeats the purpose otherwise - at least to me.
If you know any other nice tutorials, do add. I'm always wanting to learn more - and perhaps figure out a few that I used to know how to make but forgot lately.
If you know any other nice tutorials, do add. I'm always wanting to learn more - and perhaps figure out a few that I used to know how to make but forgot lately.
Materials:...[More]
673 unique view(s)
How to Fly... or Throw Yourself at the Ground and Miss
Found this interesting site and article on how to fly. Sadly, it was the only link available on google (near the top anyways) that was actually related to flying flying - not flying with some giant overpriced piece of metal carrying you. Definitely sounds like fun - I’ll be trying that soon hehe. 
I suppose it’s another thing to add to the list of Things to Do. At some point, I do hope to get 42 of them.
328 unique view(s)
Left Behind
Scene 1:
-- Cut to door outside hallway. --
» Boy opens it and walks in with Friend1 and Friend2 (back to us).
-- Cut to front of group, angled to show only Boy's face. --
» Group walks toward camera down hallway, talking and laughing. Boy talking and laughing with them.
» Boy drops...[More]
-- Cut to door outside hallway. --
» Boy opens it and walks in with Friend1 and Friend2 (back to us).
-- Cut to front of group, angled to show only Boy's face. --
» Group walks toward camera down hallway, talking and laughing. Boy talking and laughing with them.
» Boy drops...[More]
599 unique view(s)
Embedding Flash to W3C Standards
Been trying to figure out how to embed Flash the “perfect way” for a while. The conventional way, using both object and embed tags, is not actually compliant or “legal” so to speak. If you validate your site (validator.w3.org), you will run into many errors.
So for a while, everything on my site except the Flash embedding was W3C-compliant. I honestly don’t know why I care, but it just bugged me that one problem was keeping my site from being fully XHTML.
Out of all my searches, I have to say this one is most useful: In Search of… the Perfect Plugin Technique. Not only does it list all the ways to embed Flash and stay within the standards, it lists all the pros and cons of each method.
From what…[More]
307 unique view(s)
Juggling Dreams
Sometimes you feel unstoppable, great, as if the world is only beginning, and you are at the center of it all. You get ideas, schemes that you never dared consider before, and now that you have, you feel obligated to pursue them, to drive them as far as you possibly can. At first you're not sure if you're up to the task; the first step looks hard and difficult. Then you toss in the first challenge, the first dream, and then the second, and then the third.
Pretty soon, you're not only tossing and catching all three, you are actually juggling. You can juggle two at a time, worry about the third later. Or you can juggle all three at once, perhaps without even breaking a sweat. Over time, you get better; you've gone far beyond anything you ever hoped to do, juggling three when at first you dared not even juggle one. You're ready for more; you want a challenge.
And so you throw in the…[More]
650 unique view(s)
Sony VCL-HGE07A Wide-End Conversion Lens
Sony VCL-HGE07A Lens at Amazon.
Been looking for a wide angle lens for my camcorder for the longest time. The recommended one (VCL-HG0737C) from Sony can cost upwards from $150 to $200. Recently, I noticed the VCL-HGE07A, a more compact wide-lens available for $230 from the Sony site, but only $80 from Amazon.
I guess really - you do get what you pay for. However, I couldn’t figure if Amazon was just mispricing the item or if it’s really worth only $80. Sony afterall priced it at $230 on their site, well above the $200 of the recommended lens.
On opening the package, it seems a fine-quality lens. Very strongly built. However, there are details that just won’t do - at least for me. First, there are no lens caps available. The pouch is nice, but remember it’s a large lens. Getting it out and avoiding touching the lens is a pain. Next is using the lens on the camcorder - the quality is nice but you cannot zoom whatsoever. I did not see this mentioned…[More]
640 unique view(s)
Falling Asleep
I just want you to know that I try really, really hard. In fact, when I fell asleep one time in class, I disciplined myself by not sleeping again for two nights in a row. I do that quite often.
271 unique view(s)
Why Not to Concentrate
I was walking home from school one day. It was a bright and sunny afternoon. The birds were chirping; the air smelled crisp and clean. And then I stubbed my toe. It was a painful stub. The agony of my tiny toe scrubbing against the abrasive concrete, the concentration of all that pain in such a tiny insignificant stub on my foot, was more than I could bear. I never wore sandals again.
Yet that moment sparked a curious interest in me. It made me realize that concentration, such as the concentration of all that pain in my toe, was not a good thing. When one is trapped in a cell, concentrated in a small space, he is not happy. When one is told how and what to think, to concentrate and narrow his mind, he is not happy. Even in politics, concentration is not a good thing; Americans don’t like concentration of power. Concentration means communism, dictatorship - all the things we fought to eliminate in past wars. Just...[More]
Yet that moment sparked a curious interest in me. It made me realize that concentration, such as the concentration of all that pain in my toe, was not a good thing. When one is trapped in a cell, concentrated in a small space, he is not happy. When one is told how and what to think, to concentrate and narrow his mind, he is not happy. Even in politics, concentration is not a good thing; Americans don’t like concentration of power. Concentration means communism, dictatorship - all the things we fought to eliminate in past wars. Just...[More]
643 unique view(s)
Books Online
Reading books online...
Of course, having the book itself is always better. It's easier on the eyes and you can read it wherever need be.However, sometimes you may not have the book with you - say.. you left it at school or something. And your class requires you to read it by tomorrow. Here are some online sources I've found for reading books in my class. I'm not sure what books everyone else is required to read, but maybe this list will help a few people.
580 unique view(s)