No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow.
Saturday, May 19
And Now, An Overworked Minx Pulling Four Shifts As Substitute Site Mascot
Art by the supercalifragilistic Chelsea Rose.
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Wednesday, April 04
It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Easter
It's a beautiful spring day here at Pixy Central* and I'll have a seasonal refresh of the main site up this evening. But you, dear reader, get a sneak preview of the latest work from our wonderful Chelsea Rose:
* Actually, it's well into autumn down here, but we're having better weather this week than we did all summer, so I feel I can call it spring if I want to...
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Friday, March 16
Your Table Awaits At The Minx Cafe
Minx and Miko, drawn by the wonderful Chelsea Rose.
Minx and Miko, drawn by the wonderful Chelsea Rose.
Looks like they've had to take up a part time job because I'm running late rolling out mee.nu. Hang in there girls!
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Thursday, January 26
Now Is The Time At The Mee When We Dance
So to speak.
Alive and Brilliant
So to speak.
Alive and Brilliant
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Saturday, January 21
Nothing New Under The Sun
I was struck by a thought today* and posted on Twitter:
And got 27,000 hits.
Which is impressive and depressing simultaneously.
* Ow!
** From Doctor Dolittle.
I was struck by a thought today* and posted on Twitter:
Is the Pushmi-Pullyu** a kind of palindromedary?Then I was struck by another thought* and Googled the term palindromedary.
And got 27,000 hits.
Which is impressive and depressing simultaneously.
* Ow!
** From Doctor Dolittle.
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Friday, November 18
Capsule Reviews
Zendegi, Greg Egan
Meh. Lost interest, stopped reading.
Snuff, Terry Pratchett
Not his best. But then, his best is very, very good.
The Children of the Sky, Vernor Vinge
The long-awaited sequel to the classic A Fire Upon the Deep disappoints. Some interesting parts, but the villain of the piece is petty, stupid, and dull. Doesn't measure up to the original or the prequel.*
The Atrocity Archive, The Jennifer Morgue, The Fuller Memorandum, Charles Stross
I like most (not all, but most) of Stross's work, and these are some of his best. Think computational linguistics meets British spy thriller meets H. P. Lovecraft. Snow Crash meets Declare. Recommended if you like any of those things. (I was re-reading those after I tossed Zendegi on the eight deadly words pile.)
The Clockwork Rocket, Greg Egan
Has potential, still reading. It's about an amoeboid alien chick from another universe who is her species' Einstein-analogue. The science is laid on a bit thick at times - what I'm looking for is more of Egan's brilliant last-third-of-Schild's-Ladder** and so far this is intriguing but not quite it.
* Mind you, both of those won the Hugo award for best novel, so it had a lot to live up to.
** The first third wasn't bad either; the second third plodded, but the last third took wing and soared.
Zendegi, Greg Egan
Meh. Lost interest, stopped reading.
Snuff, Terry Pratchett
Not his best. But then, his best is very, very good.
The Children of the Sky, Vernor Vinge
The long-awaited sequel to the classic A Fire Upon the Deep disappoints. Some interesting parts, but the villain of the piece is petty, stupid, and dull. Doesn't measure up to the original or the prequel.*
The Atrocity Archive, The Jennifer Morgue, The Fuller Memorandum, Charles Stross
I like most (not all, but most) of Stross's work, and these are some of his best. Think computational linguistics meets British spy thriller meets H. P. Lovecraft. Snow Crash meets Declare. Recommended if you like any of those things. (I was re-reading those after I tossed Zendegi on the eight deadly words pile.)
The Clockwork Rocket, Greg Egan
Has potential, still reading. It's about an amoeboid alien chick from another universe who is her species' Einstein-analogue. The science is laid on a bit thick at times - what I'm looking for is more of Egan's brilliant last-third-of-Schild's-Ladder** and so far this is intriguing but not quite it.
* Mind you, both of those won the Hugo award for best novel, so it had a lot to live up to.
** The first third wasn't bad either; the second third plodded, but the last third took wing and soared.
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Friday, June 24
Last Heaven Of The Undersun
By Guy Gavriel Kay
The Last Light of the Sun
Under Heaven
I've always liked Guy Kay's work, even the Fionavar Tapestry which was an early work and rather derivative. Tigana was and remains the standout; the theme of a country not merely conquered but wiped from history simply resonates.
His more recent works, starting with The Lions of Al-Rassan, have each recast a particular time and place in history into fantasy terms.
With Under Heaven he brings Tang Dynasty China very effectively to life. The story doesn't work perfectly; the latter third of the book veers from the personal voyage to Great Events and loses much of its earlier charm. But it remains compelling even so.
Less so (so far) with The Last Light of the Sun, for two reasons. First, there is no central character, and none of the major characters gets enough time to really develop. Second, it's set in 10th century Scandinavia and Britain, which is pretty much a crapsack world - unlike Sarantium (the Byzantine Empire) or Kitai (China), it has no charms to offer. All you can do is wait for the arrival of the Black Death and the collapse of feudalism; by the 15th century things will be picking up a bit. I haven't finished the book yet, but mid-way through I'm not very much inclined to.
If you're not familiar with Kay I definitely recommend picking up Tigana. I'd suggest taking the books in order from there.
Update: I did finish The Last Light of the Sun, and... Well, it's not quite the same telegraphed downer ending as The Lions of Al-Rassan, but it's near enough.
A consistent theme through both books is that of destiny; indeed, Kay has something of a habit of clubbing the reader over the head with this. For a much defter handling of that subject, you can't go past Lois McMaster Bujold's Chalion books - The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls. Now those I can recommend unreservedly.
By Guy Gavriel Kay
The Last Light of the Sun
Under Heaven
I've always liked Guy Kay's work, even the Fionavar Tapestry which was an early work and rather derivative. Tigana was and remains the standout; the theme of a country not merely conquered but wiped from history simply resonates.
His more recent works, starting with The Lions of Al-Rassan, have each recast a particular time and place in history into fantasy terms.
With Under Heaven he brings Tang Dynasty China very effectively to life. The story doesn't work perfectly; the latter third of the book veers from the personal voyage to Great Events and loses much of its earlier charm. But it remains compelling even so.
Less so (so far) with The Last Light of the Sun, for two reasons. First, there is no central character, and none of the major characters gets enough time to really develop. Second, it's set in 10th century Scandinavia and Britain, which is pretty much a crapsack world - unlike Sarantium (the Byzantine Empire) or Kitai (China), it has no charms to offer. All you can do is wait for the arrival of the Black Death and the collapse of feudalism; by the 15th century things will be picking up a bit. I haven't finished the book yet, but mid-way through I'm not very much inclined to.
If you're not familiar with Kay I definitely recommend picking up Tigana. I'd suggest taking the books in order from there.
Update: I did finish The Last Light of the Sun, and... Well, it's not quite the same telegraphed downer ending as The Lions of Al-Rassan, but it's near enough.
A consistent theme through both books is that of destiny; indeed, Kay has something of a habit of clubbing the reader over the head with this. For a much defter handling of that subject, you can't go past Lois McMaster Bujold's Chalion books - The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls. Now those I can recommend unreservedly.
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Tuesday, June 07
Codex Alera
By Jim Butcher
Book 1: The Furies of Calderon
Book 2: Academ's Fury
In this work, Butcher asks the question: Does unearned power turn people into amoral cretins? And answers it with a resounding yes.
The only problem is, that accounts for the entire dramatis personae.
There is still something of a trainwreck fascination at work, but I can't say I've actually enjoyed the series so far. The contrast to the Dresden Files novels couldn't be more marked: Harry Dresden has earned the readers' respect and support by fighting and sacrificing for every inch he has gained.
The characters infesting the Codex Alera, on the other hand, are a bunch of whiny children. Whiny psychopathic children. With learning disabilities.
By Jim Butcher
Book 1: The Furies of Calderon
Book 2: Academ's Fury
In this work, Butcher asks the question: Does unearned power turn people into amoral cretins? And answers it with a resounding yes.
The only problem is, that accounts for the entire dramatis personae.
There is still something of a trainwreck fascination at work, but I can't say I've actually enjoyed the series so far. The contrast to the Dresden Files novels couldn't be more marked: Harry Dresden has earned the readers' respect and support by fighting and sacrificing for every inch he has gained.
The characters infesting the Codex Alera, on the other hand, are a bunch of whiny children. Whiny psychopathic children. With learning disabilities.
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Thursday, May 05
The Name Of The Wind
By Patrick Rothfuss
The words are pretty, but I have no interest in the main character whatsoever, and 70-odd pages in there are no other characters, only cardboard cutouts.
Taking the broken hero and winding him up and setting him on his way again, Curse of Chalion-style, could have worked well. But a two-thousand-page flashback? No. Just no.
Zero silences out of four.
By Patrick Rothfuss
The words are pretty, but I have no interest in the main character whatsoever, and 70-odd pages in there are no other characters, only cardboard cutouts.
Taking the broken hero and winding him up and setting him on his way again, Curse of Chalion-style, could have worked well. But a two-thousand-page flashback? No. Just no.
Zero silences out of four.
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Monday, October 11
What's That Tune?
It's Music for a Found Harmonium by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra.
It plays during the Basel section of the BBC's The Story of Maths, about the Bernoulli family. I knew it, but couldn't place it, and it's been driving me mad for several minutes.
If you're not familiar with the piece, it's this:
(I think the producer of the series is a Penguin Cafe Orchestra fan; now that I've placed the Harmonium piece, I'm pretty sure their Perpetuum Mobile was in there too.)
Update: Just purchased Preludes, Airs & Yodels, their compilation album, on iTunes. That cost me 98¢; the rest was covered by the gift card I got for participating in an Adobe survey last year. Yeah, I haven't been buying much music of late. That $30 iTunes gift card has lasted me through two years of random episodes of Name That Tune!
Though actually I have still to purchase In C.
It's Music for a Found Harmonium by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra.
It plays during the Basel section of the BBC's The Story of Maths, about the Bernoulli family. I knew it, but couldn't place it, and it's been driving me mad for several minutes.
If you're not familiar with the piece, it's this:
(I think the producer of the series is a Penguin Cafe Orchestra fan; now that I've placed the Harmonium piece, I'm pretty sure their Perpetuum Mobile was in there too.)
Update: Just purchased Preludes, Airs & Yodels, their compilation album, on iTunes. That cost me 98¢; the rest was covered by the gift card I got for participating in an Adobe survey last year. Yeah, I haven't been buying much music of late. That $30 iTunes gift card has lasted me through two years of random episodes of Name That Tune!
Though actually I have still to purchase In C.
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Tuesday, June 08
That Song I Heard 20 Years Ago...
Was Wendy Matthews' Token Angels.
I actually have a couple of her CDs, but not with that track, so I bought it with the iTunes card Adobe gave me for telling them to for God's sake support their subscription product coherently.
If that makes sense.
It bubbled back up into consciousness just now, so I goggled the half-remembered lyrics, checked it on utube*, and bought it in the space of a couple of minutes.
The song came out in 1990, at which time none of that was possible.
* My Y*****e account has been suspended, so pppppppt to them.
Was Wendy Matthews' Token Angels.
I actually have a couple of her CDs, but not with that track, so I bought it with the iTunes card Adobe gave me for telling them to for God's sake support their subscription product coherently.
If that makes sense.
It bubbled back up into consciousness just now, so I goggled the half-remembered lyrics, checked it on utube*, and bought it in the space of a couple of minutes.
The song came out in 1990, at which time none of that was possible.
* My Y*****e account has been suspended, so pppppppt to them.
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Sunday, May 30
Into Each Season Of Doctor Who Some Suck Must Fall
Or so it would seem. And this week's episode is all that. 14 minutes in and it's so bad that I've stopped watching five times.
Update: Okay, it picked up a bit after that. But a very clumsily-written episode, which is particularly bad because it hit a couple of very important points for the season story arc.
Or so it would seem. And this week's episode is all that. 14 minutes in and it's so bad that I've stopped watching five times.
Update: Okay, it picked up a bit after that. But a very clumsily-written episode, which is particularly bad because it hit a couple of very important points for the season story arc.
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Friday, March 19
Pixy Is Currently Reading...
Book 5 of Charlie Stross's The Merchant Princes. The initial adventure story has, at this point, devolved into a seven-sided war spanning which is just the way I like it.
Update: One problem with this series is that Stross appears to have let his political views colour the story, and his political views are asinine. If those aren't his actual views, he's still badly mismanaged that part of the story.
Book 5 of Charlie Stross's The Merchant Princes. The initial adventure story has, at this point, devolved into a seven-sided war spanning which is just the way I like it.
Update: One problem with this series is that Stross appears to have let his political views colour the story, and his political views are asinine. If those aren't his actual views, he's still badly mismanaged that part of the story.
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Sunday, February 14
Can't Sleep, Brain Busy
Idea popped into my head for a story set in the Mina Smith universe. Mina's a customs agent, but this time our protagonist is an accountant. As much an accountant as Mina is a customs agent, anyway.
Just a snippet that I'll likely never finish, but anyway...
more...
Idea popped into my head for a story set in the Mina Smith universe. Mina's a customs agent, but this time our protagonist is an accountant. As much an accountant as Mina is a customs agent, anyway.
Just a snippet that I'll likely never finish, but anyway...
more...
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Sunday, January 31
Musical Interlude
Brought to you by the Wistful Ferrets.
Brought to you by the Wistful Ferrets.
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Thursday, November 19
Doctor Who And The Zombies Of Mars
It's Doctor Who. And Doctor Who is better than no Doctor Who. This does not imply, however, that it is actually good.
It's Doctor Who. And Doctor Who is better than no Doctor Who. This does not imply, however, that it is actually good.
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Sunday, August 30
Summer Theologica
I'm running way behind on this one - it's been a hectic month, developing new systems, putting out forest fires, cruising the Aegean - but I have enough tracks together now to at least put up an early, incomplete relase.
Another reason for delay is that Summer Theologica has expanded into a double album, which wasn't at all as planned. I'll outline the tracks first, then paste in links as the files get uploaded to the server.
You can find our other recent works at SemiAutumnatic and Winter Collection. Part four of our tenth-anniversary collection, Unsprung, is scheduled to be released next month, if I can persuade the girls to get back into the studio.
Update: 14 tracks uploaded and ready to go.
Update: 4 more tracks - Gödel's Dilemma, Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll.
Update: And two more, which I think will be all for tonight: Laplace's Demon and Russell's Teapot. Who knew that Bertrand Russell could get funky?
Updte: Two more tracks - Socrates' Method and Hume's Problem. Nearly done! There will be a third disc at some point with studio sessions of the live recordings and some remixes. I'm also going to move a couple of tracks around... Well, you'll see.
Update: Uploaded the closing tracks of discs 1 & 2: Anak Krakatau and Thera, respectively.
Update: All tracks and mixes uploaded. Done! That leaves me, oh, a whole day to get the next album out...
Disc 1
Side A - Islands of the Sun
1. Kiribati
2. Vanuatu
3. Tuvalu
4. Tahiti
Side B - Ontological Arguments
5. Anselm's Canon
6. Descartes' Devil
7. Pascal's Wager
8. Gödel's Dilemma
Side C - False Friends
9. Romanzo
10. Embarazada
11. Jubilación
Side D - Ashes to Ashes
12. Anak Krakatau
Disc 2
Side A - Islands of the Moon (with Axiolotl)
Recorded live at the Daedalus Cafe, Santorini, August 2009.
1. Samos
2. Icaria
3. Santorini
4. Antikythera
Side B - Argumentative Ontologies
5. Socrates' Method
6. Hume's Problem
7. Laplace's Demon
8. Russell's Teapot
Side C - False Prophets
9. Sex
10. Drugs
11. Rock & Roll
Side D - Dust to Dust
12. Thera
Disc 3 - Extras
Side A - Alternatives
1. Samos (studio mix)
2. Icaria (studio mix)
3. Santorini (studio mix)
4. Antikythera (studio mix)
5. Thera (studio mix)
Side B - Aftermath
6. Longing
7. Loss
Side C - Intercession
8. Euclid's Fifth
9. Tale of the Moth-Eaten Binky
more...
I'm running way behind on this one - it's been a hectic month, developing new systems, putting out forest fires, cruising the Aegean - but I have enough tracks together now to at least put up an early, incomplete relase.
Another reason for delay is that Summer Theologica has expanded into a double album, which wasn't at all as planned. I'll outline the tracks first, then paste in links as the files get uploaded to the server.
You can find our other recent works at SemiAutumnatic and Winter Collection. Part four of our tenth-anniversary collection, Unsprung, is scheduled to be released next month, if I can persuade the girls to get back into the studio.
Update: 14 tracks uploaded and ready to go.
Update: 4 more tracks - Gödel's Dilemma, Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll.
Update: And two more, which I think will be all for tonight: Laplace's Demon and Russell's Teapot. Who knew that Bertrand Russell could get funky?
Updte: Two more tracks - Socrates' Method and Hume's Problem. Nearly done! There will be a third disc at some point with studio sessions of the live recordings and some remixes. I'm also going to move a couple of tracks around... Well, you'll see.
Update: Uploaded the closing tracks of discs 1 & 2: Anak Krakatau and Thera, respectively.
Update: All tracks and mixes uploaded. Done! That leaves me, oh, a whole day to get the next album out...
Disc 1
Side A - Islands of the Sun
1. Kiribati
2. Vanuatu
3. Tuvalu
4. Tahiti
Side B - Ontological Arguments
5. Anselm's Canon
6. Descartes' Devil
7. Pascal's Wager
8. Gödel's Dilemma
Side C - False Friends
9. Romanzo
10. Embarazada
11. Jubilación
Side D - Ashes to Ashes
12. Anak Krakatau
Disc 2
Side A - Islands of the Moon (with Axiolotl)
Recorded live at the Daedalus Cafe, Santorini, August 2009.
1. Samos
2. Icaria
3. Santorini
4. Antikythera
Side B - Argumentative Ontologies
5. Socrates' Method
6. Hume's Problem
7. Laplace's Demon
8. Russell's Teapot
Side C - False Prophets
9. Sex
10. Drugs
11. Rock & Roll
Side D - Dust to Dust
12. Thera
Disc 3 - Extras
Side A - Alternatives
1. Samos (studio mix)
2. Icaria (studio mix)
3. Santorini (studio mix)
4. Antikythera (studio mix)
5. Thera (studio mix)
Side B - Aftermath
6. Longing
7. Loss
Side C - Intercession
8. Euclid's Fifth
9. Tale of the Moth-Eaten Binky
more...
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Saturday, July 25
What Happened To The Duchess In Browning's "My Last Duchess"?
She died of moider.
Robert Browning was one of the few writers I studied in high school English that I both respected and enjoyed. Shakespeare too, though his plays are far better seen than read. (The performance of King Lear we went to see got a standing ovation from a crowd of teenagers.)
She died of moider.
Robert Browning was one of the few writers I studied in high school English that I both respected and enjoyed. Shakespeare too, though his plays are far better seen than read. (The performance of King Lear we went to see got a standing ovation from a crowd of teenagers.)
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Tuesday, April 28
Very Random Thoughts
'Twas gloaming and the Assyrian
Did downcome like a wolfolding.
All purplegold his cohorts and
Like seastars their spearsheen.
"Like forest leaves when Summer's green
That bannerhost at sunset's seen.
Like forest leaves when Autumn's blown
That morrowhost lay witherstrown."
'Twas gloaming and the Assyrian
Did downcome like a wolfolding.
All purplegold his cohorts and
Like seastars their spearsheen.
"Like forest leaves when Summer's green
That bannerhost at sunset's seen.
Like forest leaves when Autumn's blown
That morrowhost lay witherstrown."
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Thursday, June 05
Why Does No-One Tell Me These Things?
Big Pig released a second album? In 1990, and no-one bothered to tell me?
Big who, you ask?
Big Pig.
You've got to love a seven-piece band with five percussionists.
Big Pig released a second album? In 1990, and no-one bothered to tell me?
Big who, you ask?
Big Pig.
You've got to love a seven-piece band with five percussionists.
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Tuesday, October 09
I've Been Wondering About That For 27 Years
The Seekers did take the melody for The Carnival Is Over from the Russian folk song Stenka Razin.
The Seekers did take the melody for The Carnival Is Over from the Russian folk song Stenka Razin.
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Thursday, July 26
Font Set Two Is In The Water!
Font set two, featuring the work of the astoundingly prolific Manfred Klein. I've only used a small selection of his work, the fonts I felt best suited to blog banners... Out of what I've downloaded so far. That still makes for over 160 fonts.
Just as I was preparing this post, I heard back from Manfred giving me the go ahead. So we're cool for school.
Samples in the extended entry; 164 files, total about 1.3MB.
more...
Font set two, featuring the work of the astoundingly prolific Manfred Klein. I've only used a small selection of his work, the fonts I felt best suited to blog banners... Out of what I've downloaded so far. That still makes for over 160 fonts.
Just as I was preparing this post, I heard back from Manfred giving me the go ahead. So we're cool for school.
Samples in the extended entry; 164 files, total about 1.3MB.
more...
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Font Set One Is In The Air!
The first (of two) starter font sets for the theme builder is ready. I hope to finish the second set today, and then finish coding the theme builder itself.
Samples are in the extended entry. This might take a while to load - it's about 3MB in 152 files. (Update: Oops, they were 32-bit images. Squished down to 8-bits now, so it's only about 1MB.)
As I mentioned before, these are all the work of the lovely and talented and all-round nice guy Nick Curtis. Set two will highlight another font designer, Manfred Klein.*
* Assuming Manfred is okay with this. I've emailed him about the project and hope to hear back soon. Unfortunately, another designer whose work I very much like, Derek Vogelpohl, has disappeared from the net and can't be contacted. Derek's fonts are under a mixture of freeware and non-commercial-only licenses, so I'm hesitant to use any of them without his consent.
more...
The first (of two) starter font sets for the theme builder is ready. I hope to finish the second set today, and then finish coding the theme builder itself.
Samples are in the extended entry. This might take a while to load - it's about 3MB in 152 files. (Update: Oops, they were 32-bit images. Squished down to 8-bits now, so it's only about 1MB.)
As I mentioned before, these are all the work of the lovely and talented and all-round nice guy Nick Curtis. Set two will highlight another font designer, Manfred Klein.*
* Assuming Manfred is okay with this. I've emailed him about the project and hope to hear back soon. Unfortunately, another designer whose work I very much like, Derek Vogelpohl, has disappeared from the net and can't be contacted. Derek's fonts are under a mixture of freeware and non-commercial-only licenses, so I'm hesitant to use any of them without his consent.
more...
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Saturday, June 02
It Takes An Image
Well, I've uploaded Minx 1.0, so it's time I started playing with some of the new features. Let's see:
Automatic Server-Side Image Scaling and Thumbnails (ASSIST!)
Shrink to 200 pixels wide - side-by-side with a browser-scaled image for comparison:
[thumbnail=/images/Benten.jpg size=200x]
[thumbnail=/images/Benten.jpg size=x200]
Fit inside a box 100 pixels square, keeping proportions:
[thumbnail=/images/Benten.jpg size=100x100]
Resize to 100 pixels square, regardless of proportions:
[thumbnail=/images/Benten.jpg resize=100x100]
Accessing this directly from HTML:
<img src="/images/Benten.jpg?size=200x" border="0" />
This is intended to make it easy to produce image galleries and photo albums where you need to produce images in multiple resolutions. Also, it will be used for user avatars: Since mee.nu users have complete control over their site layouts, there won't be a single fixed size for avatars, and resizing in the browser produces ugly images.
The advantages (apart from the improved quality) are that it makes it very easy to keep the image proportions, and it produces smaller files for fast loading times. (And less strain on your bandwidth.) Doing high-quality image processing is fairly CPU intensive, but we already have 16 CPUs at our disposal, so that is not anticipated to be a problem.
One hitch: This doesn't work for animated GIFs. Neither does the image processing function in the file module; the GIF library I'm using is lacking in several respects.
Well, I've uploaded Minx 1.0, so it's time I started playing with some of the new features. Let's see:
Automatic Server-Side Image Scaling and Thumbnails (ASSIST!)
Shrink to 200 pixels wide - side-by-side with a browser-scaled image for comparison:
[thumbnail=/images/Benten.jpg size=200x]
Shrink to 200 pixels tall:
[thumbnail=/images/Benten.jpg size=x200]
Fit inside a box 100 pixels square, keeping proportions:
[thumbnail=/images/Benten.jpg size=100x100]
Resize to 100 pixels square, regardless of proportions:
[thumbnail=/images/Benten.jpg resize=100x100]
Accessing this directly from HTML:
<img src="/images/Benten.jpg?size=200x" border="0" />
This is intended to make it easy to produce image galleries and photo albums where you need to produce images in multiple resolutions. Also, it will be used for user avatars: Since mee.nu users have complete control over their site layouts, there won't be a single fixed size for avatars, and resizing in the browser produces ugly images.
The advantages (apart from the improved quality) are that it makes it very easy to keep the image proportions, and it produces smaller files for fast loading times. (And less strain on your bandwidth.) Doing high-quality image processing is fairly CPU intensive, but we already have 16 CPUs at our disposal, so that is not anticipated to be a problem.
One hitch: This doesn't work for animated GIFs. Neither does the image processing function in the file module; the GIF library I'm using is lacking in several respects.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at
11:07 PM
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Post contains 220 words, total size 3 kb.
Thursday, May 31
The Finest Expression Of The Visual Arts
Brickmuppet is off on active duty (Coast Guard), but has left us with this fine bit of pinup art in his absence. Seeing it stirred an ancient (in web time) memory, and I followed the link to the artist's page (some NSFW), and there she was:
Benten from Urusei Yatsura, looking just fine.
Brickmuppet is off on active duty (Coast Guard), but has left us with this fine bit of pinup art in his absence. Seeing it stirred an ancient (in web time) memory, and I followed the link to the artist's page (some NSFW), and there she was:
Benten from Urusei Yatsura, looking just fine.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at
12:35 PM
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Post contains 60 words, total size 1 kb.
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