Author: Martin

Posted on

The cross-eyed method of comparing lists

Am I the only one who uses the cross-eyed method of comparing lists? I mentioned this to someone at work today and they looked at me like I was a space alien.

The way it works is this: you take the two lists you want to compare, and line them up side-by-side. You can do this with sheets of paper, or on-screen with columns of data in spreadsheets.

Next, slowly cross your eyes so that the two lists are superimposed. The hardest part of this is crossing your eyes and keeping them focussed at the same time. But if you can get the two lists exactly overlapping in your cross-eyed view, it becomes very easy to spot any differences. Items that are identical will overlap precisely, and will look normal. But items that are different will never properly line up, and so will look strange.

Continue reading “The cross-eyed method of comparing lists”

Posted on

Chroma sub-sampling and JPG image quality in Paint Shop Pro 8

If you’re using the new Paint Shop Pro version 8, watch out for some new settings when you’re saving JPG images. In Paint Shop Pro 7 you could only select the compression value for JPG images:

Paint Shop Pro 7 JPG image quality settings

In PSP 8, you can now also select what level of “Chroma subsampling” you want:

Paint Shop Pro 8 JPG image quality settings

The default setting is for some Chroma subsampling (2×2 1×1 1×1) to be used. Be careful with this, though. In particular after using the “One Step Photo Fix” script, the default setting can result in noticeably poorer images at the same compression setting than the “none” value (1×1 1×1 1×1).

For an explanation of why this is the case, see the page Chroma Subsampling in JPG Compression. Basically, although all programs read and display JPG images in the same way, there are multiple algorithms for generating them. Some algorithms work better then others, and they also tend to work differently on different types of image.

Generally I’m finding that saving photos with a higher compression setting but no chroma subsampling makes them look better than a lower compression with the default subsampling. But if you’re picky about image quality, it’s worth tuning the settings to find the finest settings for each picture you save.

Posted on

Rome Photos

I finally got round to doing all of the photos from our Rome trip this year. Here are some nice ones! (There are more over in Alex’s pages, but your have to register to see them. Please feel free to register, but send me an email if I’m not likely to recognize your name or email address. We get a surprisingly large number of weirdos trying to register who get offended when we delete their logins because we don’t know who they are.)

*

* * *

Posted on

Diet, end of week 8

Well, the diet kind of stalled at the end of week 5 (18 May). After we’d brought Alex back from the hospital that evening, we all tucked in to an enormous chinese takeaway, and things went downhill from there. I’d known that the holiday in Rome was going to be a diet killer, but I was also hoping that the additional exercise we’d be getting (walking everywhere) would keep it down to the weight gain down to a manageable level.

In the end it wasn’t too bad. I was back up to about 71.5kg immediately after Rome, but I’m down to 70kg now. Which is great. There are trousers I can wear again for the first time in two years. On the other hand, I’ve had to give away the trousers I bought in Boston in February, because I could pull them down over my hips without unbuttoning or unzipping them. 7kg makes a big difference.

My target for the current diet is still 67kg. My long-term aim is to maintain my weight between 67 and 70kg. So right now I’m at the top end of where I want to be. That feels about right. I’m content with my weight right now, but I know I’d be even happier with just a few kilos less.

The diet doesn’t feel like a diet any more, though. After eight weeks it has turned into a realisation that there is a certain amount and type of food I can eat that is compatible with being a reasonable weight. It feels like I have adopted new eating habits that (hopefully) mean my body is going to find a stable equilibrium somewhere between 67 and 70kg. And, happily, these eating habits still include the occasional bar of chocolate, and a moderate intake of pizza. Yay!

Posted on

The etiquette of reading weblogs

Rands just had what he described as a “Holy Duh” moment with regard to weblogging, and what weblogs are:

The painfully simple question is, “What is a weblog?” The painfully simple answer is, “A weblog is the representation of a person on the Internet.”

…

Weblogs are Net_People. Just like your circle of friends, some are particularly good at original content, some are just great at relaying links to other information. Some say too much, some say too little, but a weblog is the singular voice of a person.

Every now and then the obvious is worth stating. Sometimes it can clarify a picture nicely. For me, this ties into something I’ve been wondering about lately. Namely, what is the appropriate etiquette for reading weblogs?

Continue reading “The etiquette of reading weblogs”

Posted on

Phone still gone

Nope, I didn’t leave my phone at work. I called the lost property section of Lothian Buses, but none of their drivers have handed in a mobile phone today yet. They suggested I call back on Monday to check again. (The lost property department isn’t open at the weekend. They aren’t even open much on weekdays. 10:00 to 13:30, Monday to Friday only. Why stop there, I wonder? why not make the opening hours completely random? 07:45 – 09:50 on Mondays, 13:45 – 15:10 on Tuesdays, etc. People should pay more attention and not lose their damn stuff in the first place.)

I called T-Mobile last night and got them to put a block on the line, so that no calls can be made on my account. If Lothian Buses don’t have it on Monday, I’ll get the phone unit itself blacklisted, so that it can’t be used at all, even with a new SIM card. (Yeah, right…like hackers haven’t found a way around that yet.)

I’m not having much luck with mobile phones. My last one got destroyed by orange juice in Rome just last year. If it turns out that this one is gone, I’m not sure if I even want to get another one. Maybe it’s time to be disconnected for a while.