Recent Posts

1751

Living Room / Re: Pet Peeve: I will never buy a rechargeable mouse again for as long as i live

« Last post by nudone on November 04, 2007, 07:51 AM »

well, yes, i have to agree that you just get used to whatever you use, Darwin.

as for cable snagging, mouser, that just sounds like you've not made any effort to put your cables in a place where they don't snag.

my mouse can easily travel over a horizontal and vertical distance of about 30 or 40 inches. this is without cable snagging or pulling. maybe it's because there is sufficient cable and it's laid out above the mouse in a bit of an 'S' shape. the only way i can imagine this layout snagging is if i started to rotate the mouse around and thereby twist the cable.

one other important part is that the cable is clipped to the top of the desk - this makes sure that the only part of the cable that moves is the part that actually rests on top the table, i.e. the bit that is directly above the mouse. the part of the cable that hangs down never moves.

okay, i am now officially a cable mouse bore.

1752

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2007 / Re: My System - Index Card Centric

« Last post by nudone on November 04, 2007, 07:28 AM »

excellent. anyone else going to give this a try?

1753

Living Room / Re: Pet Peeve: I will never buy a rechargeable mouse again for as long as i live

« Last post by nudone on November 04, 2007, 07:25 AM »

solution. don't use a wireless mouse at all. whenever i have to use someone's wireless mouse i'm kind of surprised why anyone would want to shove that weight around.

long live cables - and the very lightweight mice that are attached to them.

1754

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2007 / Re: For those with a System that Works -- Post it!

« Last post by nudone on November 04, 2007, 03:08 AM »

my system. think of something that needs doing. now think of something else that needs doing that doesn't seem as bad as the first thing. do the second thing to take your mind of the first thing. repeat.

what happens when you need to get the first thing done that seemed so bad? think of something even worse that needs doing. problem solved.

okay, i have no system. i think goals are very important but sometimes they can seem a bit pointless like app recently mentioned. when my goals seem to lose their sparkle i try to remember what the alternative is going to be if i don't realise these goals. the alternative often seeming like a living hell that i must avoid at all costs. this usually puts me back on track and fills me with the desire to get on with things.

i recently read something in a book about research into motivation that i found quite illuminating. the research concluded that 'will power' pretty much doesn't exist so just forget about it. don't expect to accomplish anything using 'will power'. it might work for a short period of time but you are very likely to fail if that is all you are relying on.

instead, you need to put yourself in an environment that will make it difficult for you to do the thing(s) you are wanting to avoid. maybe not very practical but it appears to be the successful way to achieve something.

have i put this theory into practise? nope.

1755

Living Room / Re: NEW Cody wallpapers for Halloween

« Last post by nudone on November 04, 2007, 02:18 AM »

thanks, Darwin.

1756

General Software Discussion / Re: online tutorials - screencasts rule over static pages?

« Last post by nudone on November 02, 2007, 02:21 PM »

hmm, not really thought about material being copied. i will include a watermark.

Stage6 seems to be the only site that does actually show larger movies. i couldn't find anything on viddler that looked any larger than youtube - making things fullscreen didn't make a difference - maybe i just couldn't find the right videos.

i think i'll still go with the youtube version for easy access and promotion and then provide a downloadable higher quality alternative version for people that are interested. a brief run through of the steps on a static web page will help with the search indexing side of things.

i'm wondering if tutorial is really the right word for what i'll be doing. as i'll be describing specific techniques that were used to create the images, i think that they are probably best described as walkthrough clips. they certainly aren't going to help anyone new to Adobe Illustrator. i know i've seen walkthrough videos before, and they are some of the most enlightening tutorials i've watched, but i assume they aren't going to be much use for someone searching for general tips.

what i think i'm trying to say is that i don't think these will be of much use to tutorial websites afterall - they'll just be of interest to someone that wants to see how a specific image was put together.

1757

General Software Discussion / Re: online tutorials - screencasts rule over static pages?

« Last post by nudone on November 02, 2007, 12:37 PM »

thanks, great suggestions from everyone. these will certainly help to produce a better product.

1758

General Software Discussion / Re: online tutorials - screencasts rule over static pages?

« Last post by nudone on November 01, 2007, 04:41 PM »

that's a good idea, tinjaw. it will probably take a bit of experimentation but if done nicely then that would produce a very consistent looking product across the different media versions - very professional looking hopefully.

not as quick as just doing a single screencast but it sounds like a worthwhile thing to spend time on.

1759

General Software Discussion / online tutorials - screencasts rule over static pages?

« Last post by nudone on November 01, 2007, 02:41 PM »

i'm going to do some tutorials on how i put the recent Cody wallpapers together as i believe they'll provide a good source for Adobe Illustrator users. the original idea was to do these tutorials as static web pages but i've now remembered just how long it will take to create a single page - what with all the screengrabs and writing it all out.

so, it seems pretty obvious to just do screencasts instead as they'll be loads quicker to make and will actually be easier to understand.

i'm thinking that i could do two versions for each tutorial:

one version would be for youtube for obvious reasons like availability and free access - but the image quality would be pretty poor (mainly because of the small movie size).

the other version would be at a much larger image size - large enough to make the video actually worth looking at. this could be downloaded rather than streamed. i'd be aiming to keep the file size below 10 or 20 meg. 20 is probably more realistic.

now, of course, bandwidth issues arise with this kind of video downloading so maybe it's a non starter. something else that might make screencasts less desireable is that i'll be wanting to submit these tutorials to the popular tutorial sites that cover Adobe Illustrator - and they don't deal with screencasts as far as i've seen.

so, i'm wondering what you think. i know i'd rather make a screencast. i know i'd rather learn from a screencast. but if i'm doing this to promote myself (which is really what it's all about) then i wonder if screencasts are not going to be as useful as using static web pages. i know, i know, it would be best to do both types of tutorials but i'm hoping to hear that the majority would really just like to see screencats.

thoughts please...

1760

Living Room / Re: NEW Cody wallpapers for Halloween

« Last post by nudone on November 01, 2007, 07:35 AM »

thank you, jgpaiva.

yes, that is Cody's Uncle's pet snake going throug the door. as for 'frankencody', i'm not sure what the story is behind that. it might be related to the scene in the crystal ball - maybe it all takes place in the castle. but as mentioned already, i wouldn't be surprised if it is all funded by Cody's uncle.

1761

Official Announcements / Re: Draw Cody competition - win incredible prizes!

« Last post by nudone on November 01, 2007, 03:04 AM »

nice animation there Deozaan, but i've no idea what Cody will make of it (reply is here http://wtfcody.com/?...age_id=5#comment-238 ).

it's also very good to hear about Audrey's reaction to winning. 

1762

Living Room / Re: NEW Cody wallpapers for Halloween

« Last post by nudone on November 01, 2007, 02:47 AM »

thanks again for the compliments.

i'm pleased to see that Deozaan has been scrutinizing the pictures - especially the frayed part of the table cloth. i really don't know who is buried under the headstone in the image - possibly one of Cody's relatives but whoever it was they lived to be 200, not 100, so they must have been somebody pretty odd/special.

1763

Official Announcements / Re: Draw Cody competition - win incredible prizes!

« Last post by nudone on October 31, 2007, 02:47 PM »

okay, after much flapping of wings and pecking at the windows for some bizarre reason, Cody has finally decided upon the winner of the drawing competition. i'll have to make the announcement for Cody...

the overall winner, as chosen by Cody, is Audrey. congratulations, Cody was overwhelmed by the number and variety of Audrey's drawings. Cody says it was very clever of Audrey to find out about all those things he's done and then put them onto paper.

a special mention is for p3lb0x as Cody really liked the sci-fi themed pictures, especially the Cyborg Cody (the blueprint will come in very handy).

of course, Cody also loved the pictures by hamradio, jandi, scancode, jgpaiva and Deozaan's daughter. i haven't let Cody see the picture submitted by cranioscopical as i think it may be too much for him.

i believe that all those that entered will receive a small prize and Audrey and p3lb0x will receive something extra. winners will be contacted by mouser to discuss what they have won and where it should be sent.

all the pictures will also appear on wtfcody.com where Cody will probably make time to say a little piece about each one as i know they will all be going up on his gallery wall.

1764

Living Room / Re: No More Secrets: Final Halloween Trick from Ralf Maximus

« Last post by nudone on October 31, 2007, 01:41 PM »

i've really enjoyed these short stories, mr. maximus.

i'm sure i'm not the only one that would like to see more.

1765

Living Room / Re: Fantastic Job Opportunity

« Last post by nudone on October 31, 2007, 08:21 AM »

could be a joke but could equally be real. there's a web designer/developer podcast i listen to and they are always commenting about how often they receive this kind of 'amazing' offer from overly optimistic clients.

1766

Living Room / Re: NEW Cody wallpapers for Halloween

« Last post by nudone on October 31, 2007, 08:11 AM »

many thanks. i'm really thrilled that people are picking up on different details within the pictures.

as for the software used to create them. i force myself to use Adobe Illustrator and nothing else. This makes certain parts of the images very cumbersome to produce, things like shading and blurs would probably be better done in Photoshop but it wouldn't be as challenging for me to do that way. i deliberately set myself the challenge to only use Adobe Illustrator - using a combination of programs would have been quicker but it would have felt like cheating. okay, i cheated at bit at the end to produce the different size wallpapers as it was taking quite a long time to rasterize the final images in Illustrator.

i'll be posting a few tutorials on wtfcody.com on the different techniques used to create the pictures. i think one or two will be surprising methods even to veteran Illustrator users.

1767

Living Room / Re: NEW Cody wallpapers for Halloween

« Last post by nudone on October 31, 2007, 06:16 AM »

thanks for all the positive comments.

momonan, you have touched upon a delicate subject about the previous halloween image as it's something i was never really fond of.

but as it is you that makes the request i will upload it. i think it will also provide a good demonstration of how far Cody has progressed in style over the past 12 months.

Notice how the new version is really just and updated version of the 2006 scene with many of the same elements - but with more care and attention paid to them.


Halloween 2006


fullsize version of image: Cody-Halloween-2006.jpg (184.39 kB. 1600x1200 - viewed 701 times.)

1768

Living Room / NEW Cody wallpapers for Halloween

« Last post by nudone on October 31, 2007, 04:45 AM »

Today is a special day for Cody as he has two new wallpapers he'd like you to see.

There are two sets, each set has five wallpaper sizes - this is to cover all of the different screen aspect ratios.

If you don't see the correct pixel width and height dimensions for your monitor but you know its aspect ratio then just download the wallpaper with the same aspect ratio - it should then scale to fit properly.


wtfcody.com reboot


dimensions: 1280 x 1024, ratio: 5:4
reboot_1280-x-1024-(5;4).jpg (294.01 kB. 1280x1024 - viewed 606 times.)

dimensions: 1440 x 960, ratio: 3:2 or 15:10
reboot_1440-x-960-(3;2-or-15;10).jpg (292.31 kB. 1440x960 - viewed 616 times.)

dimensions: 1600 x 1200, ratio 4:3
reboot_1600-x-1200-(4;3).jpg (377.39 kB. 1600x1200 - viewed 635 times.)

dimensions: 1920 x 1080, ratio 16:9 HD TV
reboot_1920-x-1080-(HD-16;9).jpg (422.45 kB. 1920x1080 - viewed 617 times.)

dimensions: 1920 x 1200, ratio 16:10
reboot_1920-x-1200-(16;10).jpg (429.62 kB. 1920x1200 - viewed 633 times.)



crystal ball


dimensions: 1280 x 1024, ratio: 5:4
crystalball_1280-x-1024-(5;4).jpg (226.13 kB. 1280x1024 - viewed 622 times.)

dimensions: 1440 x 960, ratio: 3:2 or 15:10
crystalball_1440-x-960-(3;2-or-15;10).jpg (201.09 kB. 1440x960 - viewed 594 times.)

dimensions: 1600 x 1200, ratio 4:3
crystalball_1600-x-1200-(4;3).jpg (264.66 kB. 1600x1200 - viewed 618 times.)

dimensions: 1920 x 1080, ratio 16:9 HD TV
crystalball_1920-x-1080-(HD-16;9).jpg (275.61 kB. 1920x1080 - viewed 597 times.)

dimensions: 1920 x 1200, ratio 16:10
crystalball_1920-x-1200-(16;10).jpg (295.06 kB. 1920x1200 - viewed 590 times.)


If you aren't sure about the aspect ratio of your screen then you will most likely be able to find it here http://en.wikipedia....f_common_resolutions

A full screen version of the scene inside the crystal ball will also be available either later on here or on wtfcody.com or just ask me if I forget.

1769

General Software Discussion / Re: You MUST See the Price for this Software

« Last post by nudone on October 29, 2007, 10:20 AM »

in marketing/advertising terms perhaps "choose your own price" is better than "please make a donation". okay, okay, i shouldn't have said that - we've had plenty of discussion about donationware.

1770

General Software Discussion / Re: PhotoshopRoadmap.com - Very cool blog for photoshop resources

« Last post by nudone on October 29, 2007, 10:14 AM »

i also like what i've seen on psdtuts.com - far better than the usual crop of tutorials (of course, they won't be a patch on the cody adobe illustrator tutorials that are coming  )

1771

Living Room / Re: Whats on your desktop?

« Last post by nudone on October 28, 2007, 03:13 PM »

thank you.

i was imagining you to be more a 'minority report' fan, wafting your arms around in front of that great wide expanse of wallpaper. 

1772

Living Room / Re: Whats on your desktop?

« Last post by nudone on October 28, 2007, 02:56 PM »

lovely.

care to say what you use the four screens for - always nosey, i mean nice to know what DC'ers use their machine for.

1773

Living Room / Re: Windows Install Date Thingie: I made it!

« Last post by nudone on October 28, 2007, 02:51 PM »

i was going to reinstall windows soon but after seeing you guys with 4 years of xp use i now think i'll just leave things as they are - 4 years is a good target to aim for - and better the devil you know and all that...

1774

General Software Discussion / Re: Evidence Eliminator - What has your experience been?

« Last post by nudone on October 28, 2007, 02:48 PM »

evidence eliminator - more like porn eliminator. well, that's what a friend of mine used it for when using his parents computer.

1775

Living Room / Re: Coders' Watches

« Last post by nudone on October 28, 2007, 02:44 PM »

like f0dder, my mobile phone serves as a mobile clock 'n' stuff and alarm clock if need be - sometimes i even talk to people with it - incredible, but true.

used to have a cheap analogue wristwatch - but it's too much trouble to put it on - i ain't got time for all that messing about - i'm a busy man.