From time to time Esoterica, for fun, attempts to bring you useful hints, links and suggestions. These came to my attention through e-mails and general life experiences. Those shown below were recently received and deserve to be shared. While no attempt has been made to scientifically verify the results, casual observation may seem to back up the numbers, verify the conclusions or the obvious . . .

Watch Those JPEGs!

I received this warning in the mail today. It is a simple explanation of something I highlighted during an early class lecture: Don't work on JPEG files and save them! Here is the story as presented to me:

JPEG is a great format, ya know? They can take a huge 30 meg file and make it look great at 3 meg - if only my diet worked so well :-)

However, there is a hidden danger behind all that digital dexterity. JPEGs are a "lossy" compression scheme. What they do is "dump" unnecessary information when they are created. The higher the compression rate, the more unnecessary information they tend to find. Before you lose too much sleep over that little fact, let's take a closer look.

First off, a JPEG really does an incredible job at getting rid of information we either can't see, or that's easy to re-create when it's opened.

For instance, let's say you're hangin' out in Montana and happen to catch some of that big sky they have with your digital camera. You end up with a photo that's just chock full of blue pixels. Since most of these blue pixels are exactly the same, JPEG compression dumps the look-alikes and recreates them when the photo is reopened.

It's not a perfect process though, and if you zoom in with your imaging program you may notice that some areas seem "jaggy". (Hey, something had to give with all that pixel dumping.) So here's the rule:

Avoid re-saving JPEGs at all costs (OK, not "all costs". If someone with a gun is demanding you re-save a JPEG, go ahead and do it - but only once! :-)

See, each time you resave the photo (not open and close, but resave it) you sacrifice some image quality on the alter of high compression. Every time a JPEG is re-compressed, some of the "imperfect" information that was created when the photo was previously compressed is made even more "imperfect". Bottom line, the more you re-save a JPEG image, the more it's going to deteriorate.

Here's a sample:

Let' start with this eagle:

Here's a close-up of a wing from the original:

Now, after some repeated re-saving:

I know what you're thinking - you have a gazillion JPEGS and now the idea of doing a little retouching scares the you-know-what outta ya. Well, that was the whole point :-) (kidding)

Actually, here's how you work with JPEGs - save them in another format.

Open the JPEG you want to retouch in your imaging software, then Save As a TIFF file. Since TIFFs don't lose info when they are saved (it's a lossless format), you can edit, open, and save them all you want with no ill effects. Go ahead, spend an afternoon doing it and you'll see I'm not just makin' it up.

Sure, you'll still have all of the "compression artifacts" from the original JPEG file, but they aren't going to get any worse. To minimize the effect, be sure you have your digital camera set to save the highest quality JPEG possible.

Anyhow, once you're done with your retouching, keep the TIF as your "original". Then if you need a smaller file, you can always re-save the TIF as a JPEG and you're all set.

Sneaky huh?

 

The process of ordering pizza

ORDERING A PIZZA IN 2010 ... This is funny, but the scary part is that it's probably not too far away from being REALITY!!!
Want to know how to order a pizza in 2010?
Turn up the volume. . . AND Listen closely. Watch the pointer carefully!
Click this link and see how it will be: http://aclu.org/pizza/images/screen.swf

Subject: Who am I ???

·   I was born in one country, raised in another. My father was born in another country. I was not his only child. He fathered several children with numerous women.

·   I became very close to my mother, as my father showed no interest in me. My mother died at an early age from cancer.

·   Later in life, questions arose over my real name.

·   My birth records were sketchy and no one was able to produce a legitimate, reliable birth certificate.

·   I grew up practicing one faith but converted to Christianity, as it was widely accepted in my country, but I practiced non-traditional beliefs & didn't follow Christianity, except in the public eye under scrutiny.

·   I worked and lived among lower-class people as a young adult, disguising myself as someone who really cared about them.

·   That was before I decided it was time to get serious about my life and I embarked on a new career.

·   I wrote a book about my struggles growing up. It was clear to those who read my memoirs that I had difficulties accepting that my father abandoned me as a child.

·   I became active in local politics in my 30's then with help behind the scenes, I literally burst onto the scene as a candidate for national office in my 40s. They said I had a golden tongue and could talk anyone into anything. That reinforced my conceit.

·   I had a virtually non-existent resume, little work history, and no experience in leading a single organization. Yet I was a powerful speaker and citizens were drawn to me as though I were a magnet and they were small roofing tacks.

·   I drew incredibly large crowds during my public appearances. This bolstered my ego.

·   At first, my political campaign focused on my country's foreign policy . . . I was very critical of my country in the last war and seized every opportunity to bash my country.

·   But what launched my rise to national prominence were my views on the country's economy. I pretended to have a really good plan on how we could do better and every poor person would be fed & housed for free.

·   I knew which group was responsible for getting us into this mess. It was the free market, banks & corporations. I decided to start making citizens hate them and if they were envious of others who did well, the plan was clinched tight.

·   I called mine "A People's Campaign" and that sounded good to all people.

·   I was the surprise candidate because I emerged from outside the traditional path of politics & was able to gain widespread popular support.

·   I knew that, if I merely offered the people 'hope' , together we could change our country and the world.

·   So, I started to make my speeches sound like they were on behalf of the downtrodden, poor, ignorant to include "persecuted minorities" like the Jews. My true views were not widely known & I needed to keep them unknown, until after I became my nation's leader.

·   I had to carefully guard reality, as anybody could have easily found out what I really believed, if they had simply read my writings and examined those people I associated with.

·   I'm glad they didn't. Then I became the most powerful man in the world. And the world learned the truth.

 

 *Who am I? (SCROLL DOWN)

 

ADOLF HITLER WHO WERE YOU THINKING OF? Scary isn't it?

The Banana  Test 
 
       

 There is a very, very tall coconut tree and there are 4 animals,

a Lion, a  Chimpanzee,  a Giraffe, and a  Squirrel


They decide to compete to see who is the fastest to get a banana off the tree.  

Who do you guess will win?  

Your  answer will reflect your personality.  
So  think carefully . . .  Try and  answer within 30 seconds . . .  Got your answer?

Now scroll down to see the analysis.
 

 

 

 

 

 

If your answer is:

Lion = you're  dull.  
Chimpanzee  = you're dense.  
Giraffe  = you're a complete moron.  
Squirrel  = you're hopeless.   
A  COCONUT TREE DOESN'T HAVE BANANAS.  

                                           Obviously you're stressed and overworked.  You should take some time off and relax  

Reasons why you should have a camera phone ,-- OR not

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For you Video Aficionados . . . Try this Liverpool Station Commercial-- 

(Be sure to view both links they are really cool) 

Talk about stopping traffic. The spontaneous reaction of the subway customers is especially interesting.

This commercial was shot at the  Liverpool Street  Subway Station in  London  on January 15, 2009. Only the dancers knew what was happening; the general public didn't have a clue what was about to unfold. This Youtube site has had several million hits in less since first posted.

First look at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM

Then view this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxF8i-T9kcg
 

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Is this what guys do when they have too much time on their hands????

Click here.
 

One last bit of magic . . .

I am not a particular fan of the many talent shows which seem to be on most networks, but I also suspect that this is one of the best illusions I have ever seen. Click here to see if you agree.