• create super cool timelapses

hey look an update! a timelapse from over the holidays.

• create super cool timelapses

so this weekend i set up a website image capture script to save off images of huffingtonpost.com and drudgereport.com on my file server. this is in reference to drudgingtonpost.com. it’s still running strong after first starting in january 2009. so i have headline data for the past 30ish months. not bad! the huffingtonpost database has 100,996 entries and drudgereport has 75,421. so yea, i have a lot of politically bias data just sitting there. and now i plan to add more.

now i’m taking a screenshot of each of those sites every half hour. i was inspired by a timelapse video of the nytimes recently going around. i think it would be really interesting to see a timelapse of huff and drudge side by side during parallel times. especially during election season.

a couple of notes. first, i’m wary that i had to set this up on my file server. i wish i could do this on my webhosting server. but its difficult to get things to execute on a remote server you don’t have control over. i don’t even think i have to permission to execute that crap. so now i have to worry about power outages and backing up. is there a way to boot up a machine after a power outage? should i get a ups? as for space, each image is say 1 MB. (1 MB)*(2 sites)*(48 captures/day)*(365 days/year)=35 GB/year. that’s not bad at all. let’s hope it plays out that way.

maybe i can do a timelapse of the headline word clouds as well?

anyways, now i just wait and let my server do it’s thing for a year or so.

• create super cool timelapses

create super cool timelapses!

so now that i’m done reading a dance with dragons…i can do other stuff! i’ve always meant to add this on the list, but haven’t thought about it in a while. anyways, i’m infatuated with timelapses. i’ve already done some already.
here are some for reference:

marine corps marathon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMyIC_6Js7Q
building a lego at-st: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px6hNzL8quI (someone gave me a thumbs down!!!)
driving through kansas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMpXZKyicBk
car camping: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST7tKxX9tXE
my first timelapse!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-WAsaB4Gh8

so the current idea is to make timelapses with good image quality. aka, use a slr. i currently have my old d80 that i use. last year or so, i did a mini project where i built a wifi arduino intervalometer. it works. but it’s too clumsy to be practical. so i’m looking for other options for the d80 now. anyways, i want to create some epic timelapses! more coming soon!

• make a kick ass blog

so…i never liked the list blog part of my site. it was just unimaginative and boring. i’ve been wanting to change it, but i never knew how. i wanted the design to actually exhibit a list. i bet most people didn’t even realize the categories were list items. so i conceived this design this week. i think it looks pretty good. makes it look like an actually list. hopefully it’s clearer that it’s a list. the best part was it required minimal changes. it took me maybe a few hours max to change everything. and i made the notebook paper all by myself! (with an example to work off of). goes to show that if you know exactly what you want, it’s so much easier to make something. let me know what you think! haha as if anyone reads this.

• take more damn pictures

so i just sold my d700. i had it for a little over a year and it was an amazing camera. so very amazing. but it was just sitting there on the shelf most of the time and i felt like i didn’t deserve to have such a nice (and expensive) camera. so i sold it on craigslist. by far the largest craigslist transaction i’ve ever done. but it worked out. and i actually made about $75 profit from when i originally bought it. further proof that quality camera equipment holds its value.

so one may say to themselves, “geez, selling your camera doesn’t really help with the whole ‘take more damn pictures’ item on the list”. well…they are right. but i am coming up with a new plan… i’m thinking of it as a reboot for the better.

• take more damn pictures

yay i actually have time to write a post. but only because i just got my wisdom teeth out and i have nothing else to do. i’m just sitting here drooling watching some 30 for 30.

ok. so rewind 2 months.
i decided, hey, maybe i should actually try printing some of my own pictures. i’ve never really done that. maybe it will help me take more pictures too. i also have this huge empty wall in my apartment. this blank white space. i should populate it with some photos! so i get this grand idea of hanging light bulbs from the wall and clip pictures on the wires for the lights. i got some shelf brackets from ikea. got some lamp wire. light sockets. electric plugs. that’s pretty much it. used the brackets to create lines to hold the bulbs away from the wall. then the lamp wires went from the floor to the lines then hung back down with light bulbs. i thought it was pretty cool and pretty easy to make and set up. finally, printed out a bunch of pictures and paper clipped them on the wires. picture!

fast forward 2 weeks. landlord tells us that they are selling the place.

fast forward 2 weeks. disassemble everything to move. put it in a bag.

fast forward a month. it’s today. i have gauze shoved in my mouth. and the lightbulbs and wires and stuff are still in the bag.

figured i would make a post on my short lived creation.
i’ll hang up more pictures in my new place some how.

• at the bottom of the list

i’m back from my trip. i just moved into my new place. i’m switching jobs. fun times. hopefully i get some colombia pictures up soon. and actually post some self-project related stuff. but life is busy.

• at the bottom of the list

sorry i’ve been busy.  this week is especially busy.  this blog was made for lists…so here’s my list for the week:

• pack to move
• move all my stuff into storage
• sell stuff on craigslist
• pack and get ready for my trip to colombia
• look for a place to live for when i get back
• one brick stuff
• fun job stuff

everything needs to be done by this friday. i can do it!

• make a kick ass blog

the past couple of weeks i’ve been making little fixes and changes.  some firefox fixes.  ff4 just came out.  not sure how that looks.  not overly anxious to look at that.  finally added the “pics” and “list” links.  links to the latest pic and the whole list respectively.  next i want to make the picture browsing a better experience.  can i just dynamically load each picture?  i just dont like how the thumbnails reload on every picture.  got to think of something.

• at the bottom of the list

so i got this fancy robot clock for christmas.  three christmases ago.  it’s cool, it’s boxed shaped, it’s made out of metal, you can move its arms and legs, and its body is an analog clock.  but the problem is i could never figure out how to change the time.  the time was wrong and i had no idea how to fix it.  id try twisting and fiddling with it’s robotic appendages with no avail.  i even sliced a part of my finger off trying to pry it open.  so this nice gift just stood on my desk telling me the wrong time all this time.  a reminder of the great mysteries of our world.

fast forward to today.  i pick it up for my biannual “try to change the time” effort.  by now the batteries are long dead.  i think the robot is frowning a little more.  but i try turning and pulling on its arms once again.  twisting its head.  i even unscrew some stuff.  nothing.  but with all the fidgeting i notice the little nob on top of his head is loose.  wtf!  how did i not notice this before??  you can pull the little nob out and twist it to change the freaking time.  so after two years, i figured out how to change the robot time.  while i should probably feel really dumb, i’m actually pretty damn thrilled!

maybe i’ll take a picture of it later.  but i need to get new batteries.