...more recent posts
Wow, this is interesting. The new version of Adobe Photoshop can detect images of currency, and will not allow those files to open. Here's the +5 slashdot discussion which includes a post explaining the tech which supposedly appeared in the Adobe support forums:
...The algorithm looks in the blue channel of a color image for little circles and most likely examines the distance distribution encountered. I have discovered a small constellation of just five circles (a bit like Orion with the belt starts merged) that will be rejected by a Xerox color photocopier installed next door from here as a banknote. Black on white circles do not work.
These little yellow, green or orange 1 mm large circles have been on European banknotes for many years. I found them on German marks, British pounds and the euro notes. In the US, they showed up only very recently on the new 20$ bill. On some notes like the euro, the circles are blatantly obvious, whereas on others the artists carefully integrated them into their design. On the 20 pound note, they appear as "notes" in an unlikely short music score, in the old German 50 mark note, they are neatly embedded into the background pattern, and in the new 20 dollar bill, they are used as the 0 of all the yellow 20 number printed across the note. The constellation are probably detected by the fact that the squares of the distances of the circles are integer multiples of the smallest one.
I have later been told that this scheme was invented by Omron and that the circle patter also encodes the issuing bank.
Too cold for ice. That's right, all the restaurant ice machines stopped working last night. It was too cold. Apparently the thermostat systems go out of whack and never report the machines as being empty because, well, they are full of ice cold air I guess.
Spotted on the block was the Diamond Ice truck making stops at all the usual suspects. Not exactly the market cycle an industry outsider would predict.
Audiovox releases the first 1 megapixel camera/phone for North America, the CDM-8910.
P800 gets video recording capability.
The Mac rumor world is unusually silent on this eve of MacWorld San Fransisco 2004. Maybe too quiet. Live stream of the keynote will be found here. 12:00 pm eastern time tomorrow.
After many failed attempts NASA has a perfect landing on the red planet with their latest rover, Spirit.
NASA science chief Ed Weiler promised to stop calling Mars the "death planet."
J. P. Barlow has an ah-ha moment with VoIP.
Google 2003 year end zeitgeist.
What percentage of computers connected to the internet are under the control of remote operators (crackers)? Last night during drunken conversation I was speculating it was over 70%. Of course I really have no idea, but it *could* be that high. Any guesses?
Later this month at the Kent Gallery:
Paul LAFFOLEY
UN APERITIF DE L’ABSINTHE
(a brief display of new work)
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, January 22 thru January 26
In tandem with the Outsider Art Fair at the Puck Building, one block from the gallery.
Exhibition hours 10 to 6 daily FREE.
Evening Lecture Admission $10.
plus
A lecture on Various Themes
(accompanied by Paintings, Drawings, Slides, Readings and Video Verite)
PART I: Saturday Evening, January 24 from 7 to 9 p.m.
PART II: Sunday Evening, January 25 from 7 to 9 p.m.
Topics
Dimensionality, with a reading of Robert A. Heinlein’s (1907-1988) story “…and he built a crooked house” (1940) The story of a California architect that builds a Tesseracht House (a fourth dimensional (house).
The Principles of Geezer Art
The Earth-Moon Link up leading to physically alive architecture with video
The origin of my family name with slides
The current information on Time Travel
The History of Le Theâtre du Grand Guigol
The Zeppekolin or where I should be living right now
A working model of The Anthe Hieronymusbox Two. The three-dimensional version, combined with some palm reading, tarot reading for healing
The story of when Andy Warhol asked me to do some set up material and pictures for a Project on Hart Crane (1899-1932) and Brooklyn Bridge.
and other subjects to be announced