Wednesday, November 23, 2005

 

Strange azz dreams...

Maybe I ate something funny last night... Maybe I didn't have anything... I don't remember. Anyhow I did have some strange dreams that made no sense which I recalled the next morning. Usually I don't recall the things, and that's what is so funny about it.

Dream 1: This one was actually fun. Even though it made the least sense. First I was getting stuff together to build some cool car sitting in the garage. Then this is where it got odd. A semi truck pulls into the driveway. But the driver is nowhere around. But the truck is left open, so I poke around through it. Then I see some wierd festival in the park across the street. I figure the driver is over there. Normally, the park across from my house is so small that there aren't any sanctioned events of any kind there. But in my dream there's some kind of pumkin festival and kids are selling 'em for a fundraiser. Plausible, but still highly unlikely... Then... I go back home and see a freight train has somehow appeared coming down the hill and sitting in the driveway behind the truck. Yeah, WTF? Well it's a dream... So I go and take a look... Then there's two security guards or attendants walking around the train, and I'm poking around. So I ask, "Is it ok to look around?" and they say "Sure, feel free to have at it..." So I looked around the different cars... Ok that was fun... Made no sense, but it was fun.

Dream 2: This one could be called a nightmare I suppose. Not the kind where you have sweats or feel terrible impending doom. No, this is more of the kind where you wake up feeling pissed off. Something that's quite possible in real life, but probably never happens considering the nature of it... I go to the place where I get a haircut, but it's later in the day then I usually go and there's different people working there. Fortunately there's nobody else before me, so I don't have to wait... Cool... I sit down and the person gets started half way. But then somebody else shows up and the hair stylist lady decides to go and have a conversation. Mmmkay. But then it starts taking too long. I've got somewhere to go or something, so I'm like "Hurry up!" But I keep getting the cold shoulder... And I end up walking out with half a haircut to a different shop at an adjacent plaza. Then I wake up realizing it's a dream - duuuh! But what kind of stupid f'd up shit is that?

Now I probably know why I usually don't remember my dreams. It just seemed real odd that I remembered these two, considering how little sense they made.

Sunday, November 20, 2005

 

WTF do I know about S.O.W.? I'm just a fish!


Just an opportunity to make fun of the typical Bryce newb pictures known as S.O.W. (Sphere Over Water). Seems to be an overdone thing to the point where it warrants having its own genre.

For those who don't know bryce, it's just a simple matter of creating a random sphere and then setting the default ground plane to a water material. Usually such an image can be made in under 5 clicks of the mouse. Now you know why I parody such images.

Saturday, November 19, 2005

 

Finished a car model freebie... Quick render.

Well here it is... I finished my electric car model freebie. So, why not post a render here?

Click on the pic to see it in full size.

Saturday, November 12, 2005

 

Thoughts on "Open Music"...

I've always enjoyed Open Source for software. The net is a great place, and cool "products" such as Wings3D, KnotPlot, OpenOffice, etc. work quite great...

Now I believe it is time that this type of movement is applied to content and not just applications...

So what content should be made "Open"?

Music of course!

The trick is getting the movement started. Upstart artists are probably the most willing to go with this as they have the most to gain. Publishers and established artists will not be too happy, since they are the most likely to lose.

How Open Music would apply to artists:
Artists would retain all rights to their creations as far as lyrics, notes, etc. goes. But it is released into public domain. So what this means is that nobody other than the original artist could claim the song as their own. This also means that unless they have the artist's permission, they can't publish it at a profit. But since the music is released to the public, the public are free to copy and redistribute as they please as long as they don't make any proceeds in the process.
So, how exactly are artists expected to profit from such a scheme? It's rather easy:
  1. No overhead costs. The artist doesn't have to deal with producers, marketing, burning CDs, trade associations, and all that other B.S. that inflates the cost of music production. The music is recorded and published by the artists themselves. This could be done as inexpensively as a P.C. with audio recording software and a broadband internet connection.

  2. No digging through the system in order to publish the music. Simply put, the music performer doesn't have to dick around hoping to find some exec or producer likes their style. Nor do they have to change according to some music industry person's whims. Music is directly put online. Making good use of whatever limited audience there is and using word of mouth is how the audience is expanded.

  3. Donations by fans. Like other Open projects, music will be funded by appreciative fans who make contributions. If the music by an artist is deemed worthwhile enough, odds are the fans will want new songs. Contributions are the way to keep it going. In a way, this is like the online equivalent of street performers. The performance is up front and the audience decides whether or not to pay. If the music isn't good enough for contributions, then the artist will usually move on. This also eliminates image based performers who are funded by producers, but lack any true musical talent.

  4. Live performances. You hear about a band, get the music free online, listen to and enjoy it. Now wouldn't you like to see a show? If the band is willing to tour, live performances in addition to contributions should help make ends meet.

  5. Supplemental merchandise. Band logo items, concert t-shirts. Nothing new here, it's just that the music that fans in to begin with is free.
Now the tricky part is to get radio and other venues to support artists who start out using the Open Music model of content distribution. Sure it's not a cash cow to start out with, but if an artist does strike it big while making use of the Open Music model - radio and TV will look pretty stupid if they don't ever play them. Radio/TV use might require a modification of the public licence which Open Music would use under limited terms. Afterall, it's quite difficult to get airtime if radio stations can't make money off of it. (They don't get paid to play releases, but rather profit from advertising to the audience which an Open Music artist attracts.)

The other tricky part is to capture the audience in the first place. Bands who get involved in Open Music should make it obvious in some way. This could be done via an announcement at live performances as to where or how songs can be obtained online, and that they can be copied and redistributed under certain conditions. Using this music model, artists should understand that it never hurts to ask for contributions while between sets in a recorded performance. Open music directories should also be put to use listing artists that freely provide music. These places should also list the venues where any live performances occur, so fans can willing to pay for a show can go.

Hmmm... I wonder if anyone out there is listening. Do you think it'll catch on?

-----
Edit... I did some googlin' and found this place which has a model which is almost Open Music in nature... Not quite (still some profit and production costs involved), but close (artists see a much bigger piece of the pie than they would from big labels.)... They do provide music under Creative Commons license (personal non-profit use), and you can listen to it for free. Check it out!

www.magnatune.com

Their playlist is still tight, but perhaps they'll get bigger as word gets out.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

 

I thought I posted a blog on...

Something about the value c, a.k.a. the speed of light, not being a constant... But now I don't see it... I wonder what I did? Probably something dumb. I'll look to see if I can get it to show.

Saturday, November 05, 2005

 

Stupid prediction of the moment...

Sometime in the near future, optics researchers in Europe will discover that the constant value "c" which represents the speed of light is actualy in itself a ratio of other variables. These variables in themselves are not directly related to energy or mass. The result is that ten years later, the first commercial application of gravitics will occur in Japan by an electrical controls manufacturer. Most of the formulas needed for such application actually already exist and are those of Maxwell and Einstein.

Funny prediction, huh? Dunno why it came to me, but I felt like I had to blog it.

Edit---

Well think about it... If Einstein's equation holds up, if you re-write the thing to solve for mass, and the E value is constant -- tweaking the factors in the c^2 part actually becomes a reality. Coulomb's constant plays a role in it, and it can be found that there is a relation between charge and inertia. By being able to tweak what represents mass, without altering its overall energy - you can control its effective inertia and how it interacts with the phenomenon known as gravity. Thus comes the technology of inertia field science, a.k.a. applied gravitics. Strangely enough, optics may actually play a role due to "extra-dimensional" forces due to lesser known phenomena of the photo-electric effect. The extra-dimensions do not apply to space as we know it, but when applied mathematically - they predict the reactions causing observable forces.

Ok... Enough craziness for now...

Thursday, November 03, 2005

 

Maybe this explains it?

Apparently, this is probably the least explored blog that I know of. Heh...

Anyhow, I think I found an explanation. Go ahead and read it.

I guess weblogs are stupid. So be it. But sometimes it's the way to get the crazy thoughts out of ones head without it amounting to much.

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