Silvith Concept & Design

I found this really nice autumn theme, made by Geek with Laptop.
So thanks! I’m enjoying it

Snoeshi from www.snoeshi.nl

I think I will create my own very soon. I just got my PC returned from repair facilities, and installed CS3, and I really think its time to get the hang of Illustrator.
Since I miserably failed at it for one assignment in school (back in 2001) I never got on good terms with Adobe Illustrator.
Now, my friend here, made this really beautiful design for her blog with illustrator, and it gave me courage. So I’m going at it again!

The past weeks a whole soap opera evolved from the actions of Stichting Brein vs The Pirate Bay. The short version:
TPB: we have been brought to court in Sweden. Great injustice!
SB: TPB accomodates crime. Dutch websurfers need to be protected.
*SB sues TPB*

Today, on my work, something like this happened:
Collegue: I bought a new phone with a navigation system.
Me: Well, just be careful to check. My mum bought one of those and they didn’t tell her you had to pay loads of extra money to download the navigational charts.
Colleague: Oh, if that’s the case I’ll just download an illegal version.

It was said so casually, it seemed this person did not even consider the fact it would be the same as tucking it under its coat and walking out of a store with it.
It’s available online for free, so it can’t be illegal. Something like that.
And almost all my colleagues, average, polite, decent human beings, seem to think about it the same way. They have no awareness of digital property. It’s bits and bytes, it’s not an object.

I don’t think shutting down torrent sites will have the desired effect. The only beneficial effect I can think of is that it’s a stimulus to invent and develop new ways of exchanging files.
So, it’s not as much the p2p and the torrents which are the problem, it’s the way people perceive ownership when the object is on a computer.

Should this change?

I found a bunch of awesome old Star Wars pictures here
Here are some of them:

I actually like the last one best, because it’s the kind of picture soldiers would send home from where ever they’re stationed across the world (or galaxy) ^^.

Here’s the link to the original article again: http://www.uniquescoop.com/2009/07/rare-star-wars-photos.html

see more Funny Graphs

Is Pluto a planet after all? Is it important?

In the classical world there are seven planets, the moon and sun among them. (the others being Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn).
Pluto, Neptune and Uranus don’t count because they are not “classical”. They weren’t discovered yet.

There was also a time when Venus not a planet. She was two stars: the morning star and the evening star.

It seems strange to me to change the status of a planet to dwarf planet, but then again, why would you cling to Pluto being a planet? Only because “it’s always been a planet”? Times change and with that the way we regard the world.
So it’s not a valid reason to keep on calling Pluto a planet.

Anyway, it seems the dispute continues… Is Pluto a planet after all? – space – 27 July 2009 – New Scientist

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I’m reading “One hundred philosophers: a guide to the world’s greatest thinkers” by Peter J. King.

Something which struck me while I was browsing the book: the fact that many people regard “the material” as inherently evil or the most degenerated state of being. They insist we have an eternal consciousness, which we hone through many lives until it’s so far developed it doesn’t need to materialize anymore but can go on to unite with the One. They insist mankind has a higher purpose.

When I look up at night and see the gazillion stars pinned against the velvet expansion, or I picture the huge seething orbs they really are, travelling the vast kosmos at high speed, I suppose I feel envious. These stars were there long before I was born, and will still be there long after I’m dead.

And then I wonder if it is this same feeling of envy, or perhaps longing or fear, which inspired people to invent the immortal soul. Just because they cannot imagine a universe in which their existence is fleeting, like snowflakes are. Nice to look at, intruiging from close by, but gone before you know it and replaced by thousands of other seemingly similar ones.
An image like this does not void my life of meaning. To me, it’s not that important if I live on for centuries to come or if my life ends with my last breath. Either way, to live and to think is fascinating in itself.

So, what I wanted to say is that I quite enjoy reading my book. Even only scratching the surface of some philosopher’s thoughts inspires interesting questions.
I’m looking forward to reading more in depth material, though it’s going to be difficult to decide where to start.

Went to the open day yesterday of Strijp-S, with my mother. It might mean little to you, but Strijp-S has always been the heart of the Philips industry. Yes, this multinational has its humble origin in Eindhoven, my birth town.

Strijp-S used to be a huge complex of factories in the center of Eindhoven. But all of the factories are closed now, and a few years ago they put a plan in motion to turn the old factory grounds into a modern living complex, with little companies, shops, appartments. All with the radiating aureola of ‘Design’, and the intention to house the talent of the Design Academy.

Yesterday was open day, and I was curious to see what wonders were hiding in the construction area. But it rather turned out to be a muddy nightmare, combining the incomprehensibility of the thought behind ‘Design’ with the unfinished chaos of a construction area.

The shop was quite interesting, with alot of lovely and intelligent pieces of art. I was really impressed by the  delicate fashion item design of Marlous de Roode.
After that we staggered through monstertruck tracks past a factory hall with children’s activities to a next gallery:  Joost & Kiki . They displayed pieces of furniture and room decoration, like candleholders looking like a mixture of the Eiffel tower and the Empire State Building, and an intimate sofa which was something of an alcove.

We walked past old skeleton buildings (an expierence in itself) to the coffee corner, in a hall with all sorts of colourful indoor climbing walls and after that walked towards another building. There, alot of small companies would be showing their work.
What really happened was that we climbed five stairs to end up in a hallway. On the left and right were very modernly fitted cubicle offices with people behind computers. You could sign up for a workshop, but it meant we would have to wait for over an hour, so we went downstairs and, discouraged by the lack of things to see, we went home.

The thing is, if there had been more explanations, if the route had been a little clearer, the whole day would probably have been awesome. But I felt something like I was wandering through an unfamiliar country, where I didn’t know the language and didn’t know the ettiquette.
It was impressive to walk around the old grounds. So, all in all, it was time well spent.

Strijp-S, the creative city

Freakangels is a steampunk comic, set in a post-apocalyptic London.
After a group of mutant teenagers destroyed the world, they retreated to Whitechapel and now they are trying to salvage what’s left of humanity and civilisation (not much).

Story
The story has been overall of high-quality, with a perfect mix of weekly cliff-hangers and exciting long-term plot. It’s written by Warren Ellis, a veteran comic writer. I know him mostly from Hellblazer, though he’s done much, much more.

Art
The artwork is extraordinary, and aside from looking good on the web, it looks absolutely stunning on paper. Recently they switched to a new colourist, who is going a great job.

www.freakangels.com

This incredible WordPress theme is called Notepad Chaos and was built by Evan Eckard.

Here is a great tutorial on how to create a steampunk painting in Photoshop! And if you don’t like the image of this man, check out the source files the tutorialist compiled, and create your own steampunk character.