A news article in Science last week (Science Mar. 27, p. 1655) suggests that polar ice may disappear entirely from the Arctic Ocean during the summer in less than 30 years. According to the article, scientists narrowed 23 different climate models down to the six that best fit the data for the ups and downs of sea ice from winter to summer in the past. They then used the models to predict when the summer ice would disappear completely from the Arctic Ocean. The best estimate is somewhere around 2037.
You may live to see polar bears become nearly extinct in the wild. On the bright side (if there is one), marine shipping could occur between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Arctic Ocean during the summer months.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Quick Update
I'm sick as a dog today with a cold. No energy, although my nose isn't as bad as it was yesterday. So probably this week will be a little slower than the past week...
On a positive note, next group of BigShots are heading to the passivators today and so probably by the end of the week I will resume going down the list and sending out emails. They will be running more BigShots all this week so I expect the wave to continue through next week. Hopefully we will make substantial progress in getting through the list.
Some of the SuperBugs will be ready later this week.
On a positive note, next group of BigShots are heading to the passivators today and so probably by the end of the week I will resume going down the list and sending out emails. They will be running more BigShots all this week so I expect the wave to continue through next week. Hopefully we will make substantial progress in getting through the list.
Some of the SuperBugs will be ready later this week.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Menghapus Budaya Nerima – By: Ombung
Dahulu orang tua kita sering berpesan bahwa menjadi orang itu harus menerima keadaan sebagaimana mestinya (Nerima). Kita tidak boleh memiliki angan-angan besar (muluk-muluk) karena mereka pikir itu sebagai hal yang mustahil dan akan sia-sia saja. Mereka takut hal demikian akan membuat stress pikiran bahkan mungkin berakibat kegilaan. Pola pikir yang demikian ternyata malah banyak mendatangkan kesengsaraan hidup. Bagaimana tidak! Ada orang yang ingin maju malah dihalang-halangi, tentu yang demikian itu sangat menghambat sekali.
Denis Waitley mengatakan, “Dalam hidup ini ada dua pilihan : menerima keadaan hidup kita sebagaimana adanya atau menerima tanggung jawab untuk mengubah keadaan itu.” Opsi yang pertama banyak dianut oleh generasi terdahulu, mereka menjalani hidup sebagaimana adanya tanpa berani melakukan perubahan besar. Menurut mereka hal itu dilakukan demi memperoleh kenyamanan hidup. Nyaman yang seperti apa? Toh pada kenyataannya mereka hanya memperkuat daya tahan dalam menghadapi kondisi hidup yang terkadang menyengsarakan. Untuk opsi yang ke dua adalah bagi generasi sekarang yang memang menginginkan perubahan besar dalam hidupnya. Hanya saja opsi ini membutuhkan pribadi yang berani, bertanggung jawab, bermental baja, dan tahan banting.
Persoalan merubah hidup memang tak semudah membalik telapak tangan, tantangannya sangat besar, apalagi kita hidup di tengah budaya nerima yang masih kental. Sebagai contoh seorang yang dilahirkan dalam kondisi serba kekurangan, dari pada terus menambah daya tahan dalam kondisi tersebut, akan lebih bijaksana jika menambah daya juang guna mendapatkan kehidupan yang lebih sejahtera. Sudah sepantasnya orang miskin harus berupaya merubah hidupnya ke arah yang lebih baik, bukan malah bertahan atau menyalahkan kemiskinan tersebut. Orang miskin akan dianggap bersalah jika ia tidak mau bangkit melawan kemiskinannya itu.
Untuk melakukan perubahan hidup, yang pertama kali dibutuhkan adalah keyakinan bahwa diri kita mampu. Kemudian pelajari ilmu kesuksesan dari buku-buku positif, seminar, bertanya langsung pada orang yang sudah sukses, dan yang terpenting adalah bergabung dalam komunitas yang memiliki visi dan misi sama dengan kita. Hal ini bertujuan agar kita mengetahui track to run (cara tepat) dalam meraih kesuksesan secara benar. “Sukses itu mudah, kalau tahu ilmunya,” Widiarto, S.E., MBA. Langkah berikutnya adalah mempraktekkan ilmu yang sudah didapat, jangan dekati hal-hal yang sekiranya dapat merusak pola pikir, dan terus berjuang hingga mencapai tujuan.
Kembali lagi pada budaya nerima, orang-orang yang menganut paham ini secara langsung maupun tidak akan bereaksi offensive ketika mengetahui bahwa kita memiliki target hidup yang mereka anggap terlalu muluk. Mereka seolah merasa terpanggil untuk menyadarkan diri kita, karena menganggap apa yang sedang kita lakukan demi kemajuan hidup tersebut terlalu mengada-ada. Bisa jadi mereka adalah orang-orang terdekat kita, mereka orang-orang yang sangat kita sayangi. Maka berhati-hatilah! Jangan biarkan cita-cita kita tercuri oleh siapa pun, toh apa yang kita lakukan itu nantinya demi kebaikan mereka juga. Jadi dalam merubah hidup itu perlu memfokuskan target/tujuan yang jelas.
Di era globalisasi saat ini, kalau pun kita belum bisa menghapus, sebaiknya hal yang musti dilakukan adalah menerapkan budaya nerima tersebut dengan bijak atau seminimal mungkin. Nerima sama dengan berpangku tangan alias pasrah, tentu perilaku demikian sangat menghambat kemajuan seseorang untuk sukses. Jangan pernah menyerah dengan keadaan, berjuanglah! Yakinlah bahwa anda masih berpotensi meraih kesuksesan hidup. Terima kasih.
Denis Waitley mengatakan, “Dalam hidup ini ada dua pilihan : menerima keadaan hidup kita sebagaimana adanya atau menerima tanggung jawab untuk mengubah keadaan itu.” Opsi yang pertama banyak dianut oleh generasi terdahulu, mereka menjalani hidup sebagaimana adanya tanpa berani melakukan perubahan besar. Menurut mereka hal itu dilakukan demi memperoleh kenyamanan hidup. Nyaman yang seperti apa? Toh pada kenyataannya mereka hanya memperkuat daya tahan dalam menghadapi kondisi hidup yang terkadang menyengsarakan. Untuk opsi yang ke dua adalah bagi generasi sekarang yang memang menginginkan perubahan besar dalam hidupnya. Hanya saja opsi ini membutuhkan pribadi yang berani, bertanggung jawab, bermental baja, dan tahan banting.
Persoalan merubah hidup memang tak semudah membalik telapak tangan, tantangannya sangat besar, apalagi kita hidup di tengah budaya nerima yang masih kental. Sebagai contoh seorang yang dilahirkan dalam kondisi serba kekurangan, dari pada terus menambah daya tahan dalam kondisi tersebut, akan lebih bijaksana jika menambah daya juang guna mendapatkan kehidupan yang lebih sejahtera. Sudah sepantasnya orang miskin harus berupaya merubah hidupnya ke arah yang lebih baik, bukan malah bertahan atau menyalahkan kemiskinan tersebut. Orang miskin akan dianggap bersalah jika ia tidak mau bangkit melawan kemiskinannya itu.
Untuk melakukan perubahan hidup, yang pertama kali dibutuhkan adalah keyakinan bahwa diri kita mampu. Kemudian pelajari ilmu kesuksesan dari buku-buku positif, seminar, bertanya langsung pada orang yang sudah sukses, dan yang terpenting adalah bergabung dalam komunitas yang memiliki visi dan misi sama dengan kita. Hal ini bertujuan agar kita mengetahui track to run (cara tepat) dalam meraih kesuksesan secara benar. “Sukses itu mudah, kalau tahu ilmunya,” Widiarto, S.E., MBA. Langkah berikutnya adalah mempraktekkan ilmu yang sudah didapat, jangan dekati hal-hal yang sekiranya dapat merusak pola pikir, dan terus berjuang hingga mencapai tujuan.
Kembali lagi pada budaya nerima, orang-orang yang menganut paham ini secara langsung maupun tidak akan bereaksi offensive ketika mengetahui bahwa kita memiliki target hidup yang mereka anggap terlalu muluk. Mereka seolah merasa terpanggil untuk menyadarkan diri kita, karena menganggap apa yang sedang kita lakukan demi kemajuan hidup tersebut terlalu mengada-ada. Bisa jadi mereka adalah orang-orang terdekat kita, mereka orang-orang yang sangat kita sayangi. Maka berhati-hatilah! Jangan biarkan cita-cita kita tercuri oleh siapa pun, toh apa yang kita lakukan itu nantinya demi kebaikan mereka juga. Jadi dalam merubah hidup itu perlu memfokuskan target/tujuan yang jelas.
Di era globalisasi saat ini, kalau pun kita belum bisa menghapus, sebaiknya hal yang musti dilakukan adalah menerapkan budaya nerima tersebut dengan bijak atau seminimal mungkin. Nerima sama dengan berpangku tangan alias pasrah, tentu perilaku demikian sangat menghambat kemajuan seseorang untuk sukses. Jangan pernah menyerah dengan keadaan, berjuanglah! Yakinlah bahwa anda masih berpotensi meraih kesuksesan hidup. Terima kasih.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Plain Ti Rulers
Alright folks, got a few of the plain Titanium Rulers ready to go. As I mentioned in the post below, these have a light glass bead finish on them. It was originally my intention to have a much larger batch than this but half of the rulers never even made it to the marking stage and then there was some loss in the final finishing stage. So we are left with a few dozen pieces that are saleable.
And before anyone else asks, no, I will not be releasing seconds of these. I would rather instead do a second batch. Now that I understand the areas where there were problems with the first bunch I am confident I can avoid pretty much all of it and get another group made within a few weeks. I plan to obtain the material on Monday and get that next batch going so no worries if you miss out on this batch, there will be a lot more coming and it should not take very long to make it happen.
Price on these is $45 plus shipping and I have to keep it at one per customer this time around. These are plain finish only, no anodized pieces in this group.
Sold Out! Thank you!
And before anyone else asks, no, I will not be releasing seconds of these. I would rather instead do a second batch. Now that I understand the areas where there were problems with the first bunch I am confident I can avoid pretty much all of it and get another group made within a few weeks. I plan to obtain the material on Monday and get that next batch going so no worries if you miss out on this batch, there will be a lot more coming and it should not take very long to make it happen.
Price on these is $45 plus shipping and I have to keep it at one per customer this time around. These are plain finish only, no anodized pieces in this group.
Sold Out! Thank you!
Bevel and Emboss Text
Let me show you how to Bevel and Emboss text. It does not need special skill. Just a bit of patience and can be done in any version of Photoshop.
This text and the effects can be done in any version of Photoshop.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Good News (hopefully)
I spoke with the shop this morning and they have gotten their BigShot tooling straightened out and dialed in. They are estimating that they could have most of my total order filled by a week from Monday. If so that would be absolutely awesome as I was fearing this could drag on for many weeks with a lot of starts and stops. It still has that potential of course but right now it's looking good that most folks on the list will be seeing a BigShot in their hand within two-three weeks or so. :)
I had a meeting today that took up my afternoon so was out of the shop... I'll be messing around with ti rulers over the weekend and hopefully knock out the finish work so I can have a sale. Maybe tomorrow afternoon or Sunday...supposed to be rainy anyway so nothing to do but stay in and work. :)
I had a meeting today that took up my afternoon so was out of the shop... I'll be messing around with ti rulers over the weekend and hopefully knock out the finish work so I can have a sale. Maybe tomorrow afternoon or Sunday...supposed to be rainy anyway so nothing to do but stay in and work. :)
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Ti Rulers Coming Soon
They are back from marking and I'm quite pleased. These have been such a long time in coming for what they are and it's been kinda nuts. Basically it was one of those little projects where everything that could go wrong did go wrong. But I'm finally beyond all that and if I do these again or at least some variation of them I will know exactly what to do next time.
Anyway, I was able to rescue about half of the batch. A lot of these do have minor surface blems, blips and small scratches so do be forewarned. I'll be sorting them out over the next few days and will save what I can. Because of uneven finishes from tumbling I will have to bead blast these with a fine glass bead media but that is not all bad since it gives them a nice frosted look. I'll be anodizing some and leaving some plain...we'll see what happens with them when I get fully underway with the finishing.
Note the cool way that the laser marked scales develop complementary colors to the main color of each piece. It's a really neat effect. Green gets gold marks, gold gets UV, UV gets green and (not shown) blue gets silver. Plain just looks dark gray or black.
Anyway, I was able to rescue about half of the batch. A lot of these do have minor surface blems, blips and small scratches so do be forewarned. I'll be sorting them out over the next few days and will save what I can. Because of uneven finishes from tumbling I will have to bead blast these with a fine glass bead media but that is not all bad since it gives them a nice frosted look. I'll be anodizing some and leaving some plain...we'll see what happens with them when I get fully underway with the finishing.
Note the cool way that the laser marked scales develop complementary colors to the main color of each piece. It's a really neat effect. Green gets gold marks, gold gets UV, UV gets green and (not shown) blue gets silver. Plain just looks dark gray or black.
Face in the Wall
Do you know what a Displacemment Map is? It uses the contours of an image for example the rough surface of a brick wall on an image placed above it. This gives a realistic effect to the image on top as it fits into the contours of the image below. To demonstrate it I will use two images, one of a brick wall.
This is the photo of a brick wall. I will use this for a Displacement Map.
This is the photo I will apply the Displacement Map to.
And this is the effect I get after applying the Displacement Map.
The PSA Test for Prostate Cancer
For over 20 years some health professionals have been recommending that men over 50, and men as young as 45 if they belong to a high-risk group, be screened for prostate cancer by means of a PSA test (see Human Biology 5th ed., table 18.4). The PSA test measures the level of prostate-specific antigen, a protein from prostate cells. An elevated serum PSA indicates that prostate cancer might be present, in which case the next step is a biopsy to determine for sure.
When the PSA test was first introduced in 1987, scientists thought it might lead to as much as a 50% reduction in prostate cancer deaths. But now it seems that it may not save lives after all. In a study of 77,000 U.S. men, the 10-year death rate from prostate cancer was the same in a group who had an annual PSA test for six years plus a digital rectal examination for four years, compared to a control group who were never tested over the same time period. The study may need to be continued out for another decade or so to determine whether the PSA test has any usefulness over the longer term, however.
How can a test that accurately detects prostate tumors not save lives? Apparently the answer is that most prostate cancers are so slow-growing that older men are likely to die of something else first, even if they do have a diagnosis of prostate cancer. For older men, skipping the PSA test altogether may someday be safe option.
By the way, a digital rectal examination is not some sort of digital readout. It's a physician’s gloved digit, or finger.
When the PSA test was first introduced in 1987, scientists thought it might lead to as much as a 50% reduction in prostate cancer deaths. But now it seems that it may not save lives after all. In a study of 77,000 U.S. men, the 10-year death rate from prostate cancer was the same in a group who had an annual PSA test for six years plus a digital rectal examination for four years, compared to a control group who were never tested over the same time period. The study may need to be continued out for another decade or so to determine whether the PSA test has any usefulness over the longer term, however.
How can a test that accurately detects prostate tumors not save lives? Apparently the answer is that most prostate cancers are so slow-growing that older men are likely to die of something else first, even if they do have a diagnosis of prostate cancer. For older men, skipping the PSA test altogether may someday be safe option.
By the way, a digital rectal examination is not some sort of digital readout. It's a physician’s gloved digit, or finger.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Brightening Image Trick with any version of Photoshop
Sometimes a photo maybe underexposed and that's the only one you have. Let Photoshop help you out. Any version will do. Or suppose you want to selectively brighten a part of the image, without affecting the rest of the image, there is an easy way to do it. While you read about it, you will find some helpful shorcuts on the Brush Tool which saves a great deal of time.
Here is an underexposed image.
The same image fixed in a jiffy in Photoshop. You can do it too like a expert with minimal fuss.
Or take this photo. I want to highlight the figure even more.
I have brightened the figure without touching the rest of the image. You can do it too.
A Few MicroSpuds
Hi Folks,
When it rains it pours! :)
I have a few of the CPM 3V MicroSpuds done. These nifty 5 inch mini tools are loosely based on the gigantic old fashioned irons worker's tools. The MicroSpuds feature a bottle opener and 7/16 wrench opening, pry tip with V notch, 1/4 hex opening and tapered tail end used for aligning objects before bolting them together. They are not sharp enough to act as a marlin spike...these have a bright stonewashed finish. They are running $70 each plus the shipping. Link to purchase is here:
Sold Out for now! Thanks folks, I really appreciate it.
I have a few of the CPM 3V MicroSpuds done. These nifty 5 inch mini tools are loosely based on the gigantic old fashioned irons worker's tools. The MicroSpuds feature a bottle opener and 7/16 wrench opening, pry tip with V notch, 1/4 hex opening and tapered tail end used for aligning objects before bolting them together. They are not sharp enough to act as a marlin spike...these have a bright stonewashed finish. They are running $70 each plus the shipping. Link to purchase is here:
Sold Out for now! Thanks folks, I really appreciate it.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Seorang Vegetarian - By: Ombung
Senin (22/09/08) pukul 15.00 WIB, seorang gadis muda berinisial SY mendatangi sebuah Kantor Polisi di negara bagian Nevada. Dengan menangis ia melaporkan kejadian tragis yang telah menimpa dirinya pada seorang petugas piket. Gadis itu menjelaskan bahwa ia baru saja mengalami perkosaan oleh seorang preman di tempat parkir sebuah Mall. Setelah melakukan intrograsi wajib, petugas polisi tersebut mulai bertanya mengenai kronologis terjadinya peristiwa tersebut.
Dengan air mata berderai, SY mulai angkat bicara. Ia menuturkan bahwa usai berbelanja ia langsung menuju ke tempat parkir, kemudian waktu hendak membuka pintu mobil, tiba-tiba seorang preman mendorongnya dari arah belakang. SY tersungkur masuk ke dalam mobilnya, dan secara tragis peristiwa perkosaan itu pun menimpanya. Usai mendengarkan penjelasan dari SY, sang petugas akhirnya meminta tim dokter kepolisian untuk segera memvisum SY.
Selang waktu berganti, akhirnya tim dokter kepolisian sudah bisa menyerahkan hasil visum kepada sang petugas. Saat melihat hasil visum tersebut sang petugas tercengang karena tidak ditemukan adanya tanda-tanda perkosaan pada alat vital nona SY. Dengan geram sang petugas menjelaskan pada SY bahwa hasil visum menunjukkan negatif telah terjadi perkosaan, bahkan akhirnya ia sampai menuduh SY telah membuat laporan palsu. Namun SY tetap bersikukuh bahwa dirinya baru saja diperkosa.
Akhirnya dengan perasaan jengkel sang petugas bertanya, “Jika terjadi perkosaan, mengapa hasil visum pada alat kelamin nona menunjukkan hasil negatif?!”
“Ya tentu saja pak, soalnya yang diperkosa bukan alat kelamin saya, melainkan di mulut saya alias perkosaan oral...!,” jawab SY sedikit keras.
Petugas itu pun tercengang, dengan keheranan ia kembali bertanya, “Kalau terjadi perkosaan oral, lantas kenapa nona tidak menggigit saja alat kelamin si pemerkosa sebagai bentuk perlawanan?”
Dengan tegas SY pun menjawab, “Maaf ya pak! Saya ini tidak suka daging. SAYA INI VEGETARIAN PAK!”
GUBRAAAAKKK ???!!!???!?!?!??!!! sang petugas klepek-klepek :D
Dengan air mata berderai, SY mulai angkat bicara. Ia menuturkan bahwa usai berbelanja ia langsung menuju ke tempat parkir, kemudian waktu hendak membuka pintu mobil, tiba-tiba seorang preman mendorongnya dari arah belakang. SY tersungkur masuk ke dalam mobilnya, dan secara tragis peristiwa perkosaan itu pun menimpanya. Usai mendengarkan penjelasan dari SY, sang petugas akhirnya meminta tim dokter kepolisian untuk segera memvisum SY.
Selang waktu berganti, akhirnya tim dokter kepolisian sudah bisa menyerahkan hasil visum kepada sang petugas. Saat melihat hasil visum tersebut sang petugas tercengang karena tidak ditemukan adanya tanda-tanda perkosaan pada alat vital nona SY. Dengan geram sang petugas menjelaskan pada SY bahwa hasil visum menunjukkan negatif telah terjadi perkosaan, bahkan akhirnya ia sampai menuduh SY telah membuat laporan palsu. Namun SY tetap bersikukuh bahwa dirinya baru saja diperkosa.
Akhirnya dengan perasaan jengkel sang petugas bertanya, “Jika terjadi perkosaan, mengapa hasil visum pada alat kelamin nona menunjukkan hasil negatif?!”
“Ya tentu saja pak, soalnya yang diperkosa bukan alat kelamin saya, melainkan di mulut saya alias perkosaan oral...!,” jawab SY sedikit keras.
Petugas itu pun tercengang, dengan keheranan ia kembali bertanya, “Kalau terjadi perkosaan oral, lantas kenapa nona tidak menggigit saja alat kelamin si pemerkosa sebagai bentuk perlawanan?”
Dengan tegas SY pun menjawab, “Maaf ya pak! Saya ini tidak suka daging. SAYA INI VEGETARIAN PAK!”
GUBRAAAAKKK ???!!!???!?!?!??!!! sang petugas klepek-klepek :D
BigShot Update
First of all, the BigShots that are coming back from the passivators where they have been acid dipped and cleaned are absolutely GORGEOUS! Wow...Just a super nice bright finish on them and I'm overjoyed with the results. I think you will be too. ;)
OK, here's how it will work: I will be going down the list in the order that people signed up. As I get these done and as your name comes up on the list I'll send an email to you with a buy now link. I think that's a simple low stress way to do it and also it's fair.
I have had a tremendous response to the BigShots so it is going to take a while to get them all made and to get through the list. I think for the first pass I will limit it to two per person just so we can get through everyone who wants one as quickly as possible. The shop that I am working with has said that they will make as many pieces as I want so if people want more than two I think that it will not be a problem to get them to you but it's going to take a little time.
Now, these will be getting done in waves. The first wave has already started and over the next few days I'll finish the name stamps and get more of these out. My buddies at the shop had to bump me for another job last week so we lost a week of production. They will start turning more BigShots tomorrow however and will give me another week or so of machine time. Then I'll probably be getting bumped again for a few days and this will continue like this for as long as it takes to get all the pieces made that I want. When I do get done with the list I will no doubt have extras made and probably do some general release sales.
So, bear with me if you will and I'll get everyone hooked up as fast as I can. Thanks for your interest and your patience! :)
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Button 3 Metal Button
Let me show you how to make a nice shiny button. Something that looks as if its made of metal.
It can be done Photoshop Cs and should be possible in Photoshop7. It is very easy and takes little time.
It can be done Photoshop Cs and should be possible in Photoshop7. It is very easy and takes little time.
Friday, March 20, 2009
If Not Bird Flu, Then.....What?
In Human Biology: Concepts and Current Issues we discuss the possibility that a human pandemic might be caused by the bird flu virus, H5N1, if the virus evolves to become easily transmissible between humans. But so far it hasn’t happened. Where will the next great human pandemic come from, if not from the bird flu virus? No one knows for sure, but the smart money is on pathogens living in animal species closely related to humans, such as non-human primates. In fact, that’s precisely how HIV developed – an evolving virus in monkeys jumped to chimpanzees and then to humans.
Knowing this, how might we prevent the next pandemic, or at least have some warning that it was coming? One intriguing possibility would be to keep a close eye on diseases that develop in humans who are in close contact with wild animals. To learn more, read “Preventing the Next Pandemic”, by Nathan Wolfe (Scientific American, April, 2009, pp. 76-81), and then check out the website of the Global Viral Forecasting Initiative. In fact you can download a .pdf file of the Scientific American article directly from the the GVFI website.
Knowing this, how might we prevent the next pandemic, or at least have some warning that it was coming? One intriguing possibility would be to keep a close eye on diseases that develop in humans who are in close contact with wild animals. To learn more, read “Preventing the Next Pandemic”, by Nathan Wolfe (Scientific American, April, 2009, pp. 76-81), and then check out the website of the Global Viral Forecasting Initiative. In fact you can download a .pdf file of the Scientific American article directly from the the GVFI website.