coolmax unnecessary
After that brief hiatus from the continuity of Blacksburg, I am now back in my natural habitat. With one environmental switcheroo: I am moved into my temporary apartment. Again, contrary to last summer where I sublet a fully-furnished 3-bedroom palace, I am currently in a lavishly large, single apartment, complete with no furniture, save a futon that Nik doesn’t care to take with him. Using only a few minutes of my precious, relaxed summer time, I put together this flawless QuickTime VR of the living room/desk/media center setup I have pieced together. Remember you can zoom +/- with Shift/Ctrl.
The rest of the apartment is an unorganized mess. But, what would you expect from someone who tried to minimize every possible furniture requirement, leaving himself with more floor space used by boxes than by sitting room? The hallmark of this disaster is the kitchen; I realized that last summer I was blessed with a glorious amount of countertop space - here, not so much. The top of the microwave conveniently doubles as bonus counter realestate, I discovered.
Apart from the unfurnished apartment issues, I also found out that I gravely underestimated how many rugs and carpets I would need for this wood-paneled floor. The location and shading keeps this apartment cool, but cool enough that 80º outside becomes 70º inside. Somehow. Strange. But floor coverage is suddenly an important consideration, and one that I wasn’t preparing for, according to my IKEA rug purchases.
But, alas! It is the summer. It is a time to put up with faults and failures for the sake of the glory days to be enjoyed. A time to wear sweaters indoors, even if people are tanning just 30 feet away. A time to mock the fast-paced busyness of the other 9 months by indulging in Saturday morning, homemade, iced lattes alongside a novel of your casual choice. A time to forget the stringent pace of meals enforced by standards of productivity. A time to host marathons of the Star Wars films for your friends, with the movies on mute while John Coltrane plays through the stereo.
A time to savor.
May 19th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Nice Bike! You ever do any riding off road? It was my goal for this summer to ride the entire C&O canal towpath DC to Cumberland, 184.5 miles (was going to aim for 3 days):
http://bikewashington.org/canal/index.php
I have not thus far gathered the motovation to get back into shape enough to do it, only a couple 10 - 20 mile rides so far. The weather too has been somewhat uncooperative.
May 19th, 2007 at 11:28 am
The most offroad I’ve gone has been the Mount Tabor / Craig Creek ride which includes about 10 miles of dirt and gravel roadways. Riding on high-pressure tires and with only the carbon fiber acting as a shock absorber, it’s hard to go on any rougher surface. Just gravel alone is almost impossible to tango with, since it directs your razor-thin tires and pushes you about.
I hope you do get through that 185 trip. I’m sure it will require serious training and gallons of watered-down Gatorade.
May 19th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
That QuickTime VR was pretty cool! How did you make that, if I might ask?
May 19th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Jason - Canon cameras come with a disc of some random software, one of those applications being PhotoStitch. Only a few clicks put together a great 360º view if you took that many shots. One of the output formats, though, is QuickTime VR. It requires more processor power, if there is any difference between outputting panoramic JPEGs and these VRs. Older computers will run it, but you may watch as it slowly progresses through the stitching.
Also, for general panoramic shots, Photoshop CS3 now includes a stitching feature; it may also output VRs, but I am not sure.
Anyways. PhotoStitch is a great application and can become addictive, rapidly.
May 20th, 2007 at 9:39 am
The high frequencies must sound pretty good from those JBLs at ear level. Great arrangement.