Archive for the ‘General’ Category

I just used Monolingual to recover nearly 4GB of space on my Macbook Pro’s HDD. I am very tempted to try the option that removes the PPC elements as it seems to be quite safe. The application’s FAQ says this;

You can use Monolingual to remove non-Intel architectures for your installed applications (even if some of the applications are PowerPC-only; Monolingual is smart enough not to remove PPC forks if those are the only ones in the universal binary). However, you should not strip the System frameworks if you want to use Rosetta.

I have no idea how much space this could save though. For some reason the main OS X Library directory is huge so I need to find out more ways to regain some space. Got any ideas?

Phrixus.co.uk has just had quite a lot of updates over the last week.

• • My theme has had a few adjustments to keep it up to date.
  • There are more navigation options.
  • The archives page has been rewritten.
  • My very customised Gallery 1 installation is now gone and has been replaced by a more integrated Gallery 2 version.
  • The Travelogue no longer links to a separate blog. I could never be bothered to apply updates etc. Now it is integrated into the main site using Google maps rather than the custom flash map I used previously.
  • The photoblog image on the homepage is now a random image from the photoblog album.

2008 could be a very interesting year for me. It seems that everything that I am involved with is moving towards some kind of junction. If everything that I do has a big change applied, it is likely to shake up a few things here and there. I certainly feel that things are going to be different a year from now. Perhaps it is this uncertainty about the future but I can almost feel my priorities changing. Things I desperately wanted to do a few months ago are slowly descending in the ranks as I modify my needs based on my theories and new ideas are creeping to the surface. Only in writing this is it apparent on how many levels this is true. I don’t wish to give any details on these things as it could be the lack of daylight affecting me but I am certain that things are going to change. I am not going to actively change anything, I will go with the flow and see where it takes me but I am conscious that I need to be careful when making decisions to ensure I follow the right path.That’s enough philosophical babbling, I have more exciting things to write about!

I am pleased to announce that my photography website, Encaptured Photography, has just been updated. Along with a minor update to the style, a lot of the code behind has been made more standards compliant. Along with this have come a few areas that need to be tweaked for various browsers and I expect to have this completed over the next few days.

New features include:

• Updated system to order custom ICC colour profiles for your home printer.
• Full text, keyword searching with boolean (and/or/not) operators.
• Image colour searching.
• Integrated system for searching for related images by keyword.
• Simple, in window (AJAX) slideshow for quick and easy browsing.
• PDF contact sheet download from lightbox view.
• Share photos in your Facebook account.

Feel free to head over and take a look around. If you notice any problems, please comment here or use the contact form on the site to let me know! Watch out as we hope to start adding more images and categories over the next few months.

Since I have not posted for some time, I figured a bit of humour might not go amiss!! Here is a great insight into what it’s like when we get into some real manual work! In this case back in 2004 when we first renovated the boat! Click below to see it… or go to the media page to see this and more!
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For my first YouTube video upload ever, I have one of the funniest things I have seen in a long while… not for CS who is undoubtedly the star, but he survived so all is well! The Video shot on Brooky’s phone and quickly edited on my Mac… Click through to watch and be winded yourself by the “Ultimate Belly Flop”!!
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It seems that Apple has gone absolutely mad with new product releases. New iMac… check out how slick and silver it is! New Mac Minis for the media centre. I am quite impressed with the new keyboards though they do not have a full width wireless option at this stage. If I am at my desk I prefer the number pad to be there!

Finally, iLife 08 and iWork08 have been released. I have iWork 07 and it is an excellent suite so I iwll certainly be upgrading soon. With the introduction of an Apple spreadsheet app and Microsoft Office compatibility, it’s a bit of a no brainer!

Having been playing with a new Macro lens that I received for my birthday, I felt it was time I updated the homepage photo. The tulip photo was taken with it during my testing and I am very impressed with the image quality! The magnification ratio is superb, though this particular image is taken from a distance away!

Here is a link to the gallery

Thanks to a chat with Gringod and my news feed, I have been deed’ed my own 128 bit number from Freedom to Tinker

70 7A 4F EE 1A A2 97 DB CD 1C 58 CB 83 FB 88 E5

This is all mine now so if I Google it and find someone using it… I will be after you faster than the DMCA can back me up and say ‘Yeaaah’ like a high school bully!

Alternatively if this whole post means nothing to you… feel free to appreciate my number but dont use it…anywhere!!

I have updated my homepage photo with an image of the moon during the eclipse. This was taken a little before the full eclipse because the visibility deteriorated badly over a 20 minute period. By the time we left, the moon was no longer visible through the haze. Nonetheless, it was a good sight while it lasted and luckily for us, not too cold!

The evening was also full of adventure as Dave’s Range Rover got stuck in the middle of a big puddle… a small lake nearly. As Aidy had the benefit of a good view and a camera to hand… there may well be a picture online soon!

After reading part 1 of the “Taking Your Photography To The Next Level” articles on the Luminous Landscape, I was deep in thought about where I am now and where I want to be in relation to photography. Whilst stuck into this review -as I have a habit of doing- my thoughts started wandering off a bit and I came to the conclusion that this type of analysis can be used for any aspect of life and further to that; I realised that I always do this anyway… if not always consciously. So if I take this ‘common sense’ approach and apply it to something else in my life, how much control could I have over being able to take myself up a level and would I be better able to control my ascension by focussing on the significant factors and avoiding the ‘fluff’ that I would inevitably get caught up in? If I can identify the noise… can I be better at anything? Can I take ‘anything’ up to any level I desire by knowing where I have to be?

Now I may have some big ideas at times… and I think this is one of those times… so I am going to try an experiment. Can I get rich (lifelong goal!!) by focussing on it? Avoid the fluff, avoid the noise… focus on taking it up a level… know where I want to be and know how to get there. by the end of this year, I will either be rocketing my way up the levels… or still down here near the middle!!!

Friday is always ‘one of those days’! To help the obligatory Friday foolishness, have a look at this list of valuable instructions… all of them from real products! I swear… 5 mins went by quickly!!

Here is my own addition to 4 billion other blogs!

Apple iPhone - ’nuff said!

Happy New Year to everyone I know! May all your resolutions stick and your ambitions be realised!

Thats it now, here endeth the fun and niceties… it’s back to work for us all and I can tell you, I don’t like it much! I do, however, like the new challenges and projects that I will be working on this year. The aims I have set for myself will be tough to reach but if/when I get there, it will have been worth it! It is back to work, but at least its another year of opportunities to make use of and try to achieve something great.

Should anyone come accross this site in search of a Photoshop script to generate the output required for Pixaria. Then you may have found the right place!!

On this project page you can learn about the script, download it and find instructions for setup and use.