Tovarish

The second picture is a 5 exposure HDR tonemapped with Qtpfsgui. The glow is an unintended side effect common with HDR. I'll post one of the regular exposures when I get home tonight for comparison

Nice, really like the colour and the DOF . Some guitar porn:

I've mostly stayed out of this whole Cuban discussion. Partly because I have little time to dedicate to it, partly because I use in my old(er) and more cynical age I have realized things will never will be perfect and the best I can do is look out for those I care about, and partly because I've decided most people arguing about politics on the internet have already made up their minds before they post. However, I feel compelled to point out that in fact, Americans have taken advantage of free Cuban education. As far as the exodus from the island in the post Soviet years, I can only wonder how many people would not have risked their lives were it not for the embargo.

To quote my last post:

He's pretty much confirmed in paper what has been practical reality for the past year and a half. The statement was just to show that he's left power on his own terms and avoid any chaos should he pass away, but Raul's been in the driver's seat for quite a while now. He's a self professed fan of the Chinese way of doing things, and is making changes very gradually. Raul also seems more driven by practicality than by ideology. Castro has described the changes that have happened in Cuba over the past couple of decades (legalization of the U.S. dollar, a complete switch from agriculture to tourism, limited private enterprise - farmers markets, family restaurants, hostels) being as painful as "having to cut off an arm to save the rest of the body". Raul on the other hand has openly admitted there is a problem with government corruption and has taken steps to weed it out. He has loosened visa requirements, and admitted that the average monthly wage of $19 a month is not enough to live on and solutions must be found, without the drama. Not to mention his expressed willingness to normalize relations with the US, but of course that will not happen as long as the Cuban population in Miami still clings to a cold war mentality, and politicians whore themselves out for their votes. (Ironically enough I have been considering moving there within the next year or two, 15+ Canadian winters are more than enough for any Cuban) In the nearer future, I intend to spend roughly a month - either in July or August in Cuba (and not in a resort), so I will have an opportunity to witness any immediate changes myself.

Oh, and you know what really grinds my gears? This Lindsay Lohan. Lindsay Lohan with all those little outfits, jumping around there on stage, half-naked with your little outfits. Ya know? You're a...You're out there jumping around and I'm just sitting here with my beer. So, what am I supposed to do? What you want? You know, are we gonna go out? Is that what you're trying to - why why are you leaping around there, throwing those things all up in my, over there in my face? What do you want, Lindsay? Tell me what you want? Well, I'll tell you what you want, you want nothing. You want nothing. All right? Because we all know that no woman anywhere wants to have sex with anyone, and to titillate us with any thoughts otherwise is - is just bogus.

I'm waiting for the "What annoying Application are you?" Application. I just let requests and pokes pile up.

I thought it was pretty average. I give e'm points for trying something fairly original, and it was entertaining. However it was short, and some of the acting was pretty laughable. Though I understand that the point was to show this through the eyes of the clueless people experiencing the catastrophe, I would have loved to see some sort of back story to the monster at the end, even if it was a paragraph on the screen. This was supposed to be a DoD tape after all wasn't it? Sadly, I don't think there IS a backstory, and it bugs me that for all the mentions of Bloop being an inspiration, and the viral videos of the Japanese deep sea drilling platform being destroyed, they didn't even try to make the thing look like it would have come from the ocean. It was much better than America's attempt at Godzilla, but that's hardly a compliment

Pretty cool stuff. I'd imagine they'd find a way to incorporate something similar into eye glasses sooner. Which in all honesty I'd prefer. Call me strange but I'm not crazy about putting something directly on my eye (yes, even normal contacts)

Apparently some people who saw an advance screening are fairly good artists, and have drawn the monster: http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news....ter.php This thing is supposed to come from the ocean?

Thanks to a fellow forum member I've gotten back into last.fm - So I decided I'd try subscribing for a month. Here's my radio station: http://www.last.fm/listen/user/thecubanspy/personal and here are my "loved" tracks: http://www.last.fm/listen/user/thecubanspy/loved

That's it! There IS no monster. It's all a marketing gimmick by Intel!

After all the speculation as to the identity of the monster (Godzilla/Zilla/Chtulu/Barney the Dinosaur, who finally snapped [We should have seen it coming after the incident on the "Let's Help Mother Goose" episode]) - Am I the only one gripped with an irrational yet intense desire for it to be Trogdor?

If I come off as a smartass here , I don't mean to, but I feel like I need to respond to this as it is a pet peeve of mine right now - I have 2 DVD players at home, and that's not counting the two PC's that can play DVD's and my roomate's Xbox 360 that does as well. DVD players can now be had for under $40 - Honestly, at this point I'm very happy I saved some cash for the fact that they decided not to include DVD playback in the Wii - it would make as much sense as wanting to buy a toaster and having to pay extra because all available toasters now come with blenders integrated. Personally I'm very happy to have a web browser instead (and a little bit perplexed now that I realize the 360 doesn't do this - you would think IE on an Xbox would make more sense than Opera on a Nintendo). As far as Blu Ray / HD-DVD, I have had some experience with both through work, and while they're nice when they work as they should, I'm generally not impressed - That and neither format is guaranteed to survive yet .

Awesome find! and thanks for sharing . Now I'll only need to turn on my roomate's 360 when I want to stream Xvids. . P.S. Picked up Super Mario Galaxy today after the insane reviews it's been receiving. Only played for about 15 minutes so far, and I have a bunch of stuff to get done before I should jump on it again, but it looks and plays awesome!