tea.co.uk

More about tea… more than you would ever want to know. Become smart, read about tea.

design elements (free)

Gimmi.co.uk has some nice freebie design elements in hi-res. I always download… you never know when you’ll need spray paint or burn marks.

Retro radio

Forget your iPod, now THAT’S a retro radio.

auto rate iTunes songs

I love iTunes… I love to rate my songs for future use, tracking, etc. This plugin does the work for you. Personally, I still like to hand-rate, but if you’re not that type, this is possibly for you.

Match Color feature in Photoshop

Unfocused Brian has a nice article on the “Match Color” filter in Photoshop. I’ve used it once, but never thought of this application. Yes, this one I will file away for later use.

city shrinker :: mini

I love tilt shift photography work. These pieces from city shrinker are great.

mosaic generator

These were so hot back in 1993, when I was in High School. Now, you can make your own with the power of the internets. Generate a mosaic from any picture. Upload and render while you wait.

“the code”

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this just yet, but I’d like to introduce AV Club’s the code.

(hint, type “help” to begin).

Also, I’m welcome to suggestions for what this can be.

Grid systems.

I’m getting interested in grid systems. (I know Shua will be proud). Nice article here.

Safari on pc

What?!? Apple’s releasing their next iteration of Safari on the PC. Personally, I’m still a Firefox fan. But this is interesting.

Live Free Live Loud

The site for Live Free Live Loud is live and kicking… preparing for the annual 4th of July weekend NewSpring concert. This year it’s on June 29th at the Anderson Civic Center. (read the press release)

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I built this guy over the weekend. It’s a simple site, and I found CMSimple to be an adequate content manager for sites of this scope. It fits the bill for a multipage site that’s light and quick to roll out. No messy databases to configure, unless you’re into that sort of thing. There are a few plugins available to expand its functionality (the photo gallery, for instance). Some of the guides aren’t in English, but I was able to find my way.

It’s free to use as long as you leave the footer link intact.

Lego master.

CNN.com has a cool article on Nathan Sawaya, a master Lego builder (be sure to look at the gallery pics).

Second life – lifechurch.tv

I visited the actual LifeChurch.tv service in Second Life this morning. It was very interesting and the detail of the campus was impressive. Well done, guys.

I’m still not sure what one does in Second Life, other than visit church. Any suggestions? I’d given thought to designing a line of AV-inspired clothing. Interested?

I prefer first life

I’ve given it a fair, one hour shake this weekend, and I must say… I prefer first life over Second Life, the virtual reality world. I did only get past the orientation, and made it to visit the LifeChurch.tv campus. Still, it feels like glorified IM… and I really hate chat programs.

That said, I will probably log in sometime tomorrow and check out the LifeChurch.tv streaming video from within the campus. The idea intrigues me. If you have no idea what I’m blabbering about, read this.

Cup of tea

This morning, Meg is out with the girls planning a baby shower for the new Wilson addition (that’d be Jason and Kelly’s baby), and I’m here at the house with my darling two kids. I’m pretty sure we’re training them up right. At the moment, Rainey is napping and Gardner’s doing quite well at Project Gotham Racing on the Xbox.

Earlier at breakfast, this was the dialog:

G: “what dat?”
me: “that’s tea, Gardner”
G: “dee?”
me: “yes, green tea”
G: “tan I have it?”
me: “do you want green tea”
G: “no, I want bown tea” (translation, “brown tea,” aka Earl Grey or something similar)
me: “you really want brown tea”
G: “yes, is duwishes” (translation, “delicious”)

And so I brewed my son, the tea critic, an entire cup of Darjeeling tea, with sugar (I actually only gave him half a cup). He may not sleep for several days, which probably explains why he’s doing so well at the Xbox right now. Kids are so much fun. It’s amazing to see your own personality and preferences rub off on them… and then watch them develop preferences of their own. So cool.

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Originally uploaded by avclub.

a use for my cat.

Finally, a use for my cat.
(and in related news, an article about catnip)

mandelbrot set (fractals)

This is only for those who (1) have 53 minutes of spare time and (2) are total math geeks. Google Video of the Mandelbrot set. If you’re an After Effects user, you’ll find the “Fractal” function under the “Generate” menu. I’ve always wondered exactly what it was. Now I know. And knowing is half the battle.

sushi

Tonight, Meg and I are attempting to make sushi for the first time. Brace yourselves.

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*** UPDATE ***
The sushi creation went very well. We made vegetarian sushi with carrot, cucumber, avocado, and sesame seed. The weren’t terribly difficult to make, but weren’t quite as tightly rolled as you find at a restaurant. But then I’m just learning.

Google calendar – continually awesome

I’ve known that Google calendar is awesome. I’ve known there are a few select “public” calendars you can subscribe to. But I didn’t know until today that there’s a Netflix new releases calendar (shown in pink). Now two of my favorite web-based services are buddies. Oh the possibilities.

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Now, if someone can get the gmail app and goosync to work on my LG phone, life will be nearly be complete.

Lost, still compiling

There have been some great submissions for the “Lost – will we remember” post I’m putting together for next year. Continue to send in your submissions of things we are questioning now that we’ll not want to forget.