Q: How Crap Can Software Get ?

OR
Q: How much does crappy software cost?

A: $999

The piece of shit is called Photoshop CS3 Extended. Adobe recently came out with a new version of Photoshop. They claim its optimized to run all the new hardware, platforms & most decent configs of today. The first sign of trouble was when they released 3 versions of the same product a la Windows Vista fashion. Most of the features work just fine except for the brush tools. There seems to be a 2-3 second lag! When it comes to digital painting thats a lot! Its like watching dubbed Hong Kong Kung Fu movies (i.e, the lip-synch is way off). Brush tool is pretty important tool & personally something I used the most.

Adobe guys had released a Beta version last year. The forums are clogged with frustrated complaints & queries regarding this matter. 2007 saw the alpha release, with the lag issue intact and few months ago they released a patch for machines running with 4GB upwards of RAM to rectify the lag situation. 4GB RAM! Obviously someone forgot to optimize!

$999 my left foot. Not even worth pirating.

UPDATE: An unusual tip from one of the threads. Place a piece of paper on the tablet's surface. This gives you paper like texture & associated friction. So the effects of drawing on a slippery surface of the tablet is reduced

Thieves & Murderers

Last year February, on returning home I was greeted by a concrete maw. On inspection I discovered that the 'brass-slot' fitting on my letter box was nicked by some bastard. The letter box is built into the wall in front of my house and the brass-slot assembly was fixed onto a black marble slab accommodated in a recess on the outside of the wall. So if you came to drop a letter you saw a brass plate with a slot and the word 'LETTERS' embossed on it. The whole brass plate was unceremoniously ripped off the wall.

Couple of evenings later on a walk, I found more concrete maws all around my neighbourhood. Talking to one of those effected, I learned that brass fittings like these slots and taps are the hot property amongst petty thieves in the city. You can buy a peg of brandy or a can of industrial glue for the money you get in a brass tap exchange at the scrap-yard. As we were discussing various thefts, we heard a commotion. One of the residents a few houses away had managed to catch one of the thieves red-handed - a kid about 13 years old. By the time we ran to them, the kid bit the guys hand and escaped. Smart kid. I hate smart kids.

This year in march another thief hit my house. He made of with a tap from the terrace. I noticed it only when I ran out of water. I had only filled the tank up that very morning! Got the pipe capped promptly. So what next? Yesterday it was raining heavily. With the noise as a cover these guys manage to thieve some pipes & fittings from my neighbours terrace. If these fucks had been a bit enterprising they could've swiped the house clean as the neighbours were at their relatives in another part of B'lore. One of my pipes was out of place.

Scenario: You hear some noise & rush onto the terrace to see what is happening there. You see a chap frantically trying to extract a brass tap. In the spur of the moment, you bum-rush the fool off the terrace. He is splattered on the ground.
Question: Do you get off murder for protecting one's property?
or
Do you do time for murder?

Genesis - No Reply At All

I just love the keyboard & brass theme that keeps rolling from the start this song. This one is yet another eel of a song.

Cunt

MacArthur Park

Recently I listened to a version of ' MacArthur Park' by Beggars Opera, on their Pathfinder album. ' MacArthur Park' is one of those songs that begs to be covered (with one exception of course, I'll come to that in a bit). The song was written by Jimmy Webb , who also wrote ' Witchita Lineman'. Jimmy Webb, in my opinion is a great songwriter with an amazing knack for writing haunting songs. Only problem is that his songs largely depend on a singer with a certain je ne sais quoi to bring out the song's phantasmagorical essence. For ' Witchita Lineman' it was Glen Campbell; ' MacArthur Park' had Richard Harris. The song was released in 1978. The Richard Harris version sounds like an ancient Vampire (probably royalty) reminiscing about a delicious meal, in the form of a comely human female, he had ages ago. Unfortunately this rendition gets a tad melodramatic when these lines come around:

MacArthur Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, no!

The music is haunting and the song is long (over seven minutes). Nevertheless a gem. The Beggars Opera version is bit longer than the original with an extended intro. The mournful quality a la Richard Harris has been diluted to 50% and the lyrics are slightly different. According to Jimmy Webb, Richard Harris could never remember the right lyrics and it was a bother trying to correct him. Now the exception: Watch out for a shorter version of the same song by Donna Summers. A disco disaster that killed this delicate long suffering song.

NB - The song in this Youtube video is the Richard Harris version.

Still Indexable!

The Geese & The Ghost

Sketch Mode Initiated

Weather Forecast

Today will be a very gusty day. With windspeeds high enough to break heads using broken mango tree branches. Wear your helmets!

Oblique Strategies

Oblique Strategies are these cards with simple messages on them. I've found these very useful when I'm painting myself into corners and in effectively dealing with blocks. Think of these messages as situations that force you to think out of the box. Here are two links.

Link1 has a detailed history of the cards. Interestingly Brian Eno had a hand in the creation of these cards.
Link2 leads you to a Mac widget version of these handy cards.

On Pathetic Attempts at Go & Verse

Black, here I go!
Little did I know
I can't go out
White has my goat!