Lomography

Lomography or a way to enjoy photography. here's the rule:
1. Take your LOMO everywhere you go and whenever you go.
2. Use it any time - day or night.
3. Lomography is not an interference in your life, but a part of it.
4. Shoot from the hip.
5. Approach the objects of your lomographic desire as close as possible.
6. Don't think.
7. Be fast.
8. You don't have to know beforehand what you've captured on film.
9. You don't have to know afterwards, either.
10. Don't worry about the rules.

But after you can also tried to put some lomo effects ( with Gimp ) on your digital pictures:

Here how to do it (with Gimp):
* Open a picture.
* From the menu choose ‘Image: Colors: Brightness-Contrast’ and increase the contrast by 30.
* From the menu choose ‘Image: Colors: Hue-Saturation’ and increase the saturation by 30.
* Choose the ‘Rectangular Selection’ tool.
* Open the ‘Tool Options’ dialog.
* Select ‘Feather’ and change the feather amount to ⅛th of the width of your picture.
* Select your entire picture. Choosing ‘Select: All’ from the menu will not work.
* From the menu choose ‘Select: Invert’.
* Create a new layer in the ‘Layers, Channels & Paths’ dialog.
* Change your primary color to black. Fill the selection on the new, blank layer.
* Change the mode of this layer to ‘Overlay’.
* Duplicate the layer.
* From the menu choose ‘Select: None’.
* Now select your base layer (the one with the picture on it).
* Create a new layer.
* Select the ‘Blend’ tool.
* Change the gradient type to ‘Radial’.
* Change the blend type to ‘FG to transparant’.
* Change your primary color to white.
* With the blend tool selected, click in the middle of the picture, and drag the line out to the farthest edge of your picture (if it’s a portrait, use top or bottom, if landscape, use left or right).
* Change the mode of this layer to ‘Overlay’.
* Change the Opacity of this layer to 80% (or whatever you see fit, you’ll see what I mean).


Filckr vision combines Google Maps and Flickr, and display teh latest upload on the website

Irish Election

Ireland just got a general election. They voted on thursday, and today saturday there are still counting ( and recounting the votes ) !!?!!!?

A bit of explanation is necessary. Irish voted thrursday for the Dáil Éireann eth lower house of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oireachtas Oireachtas] which is the parlement of the state. There are 166 seats elected for a maximum of 5 years ( but the Prime Minister can dissolve the Dail before that). A politican elected at the Dail is called a TD (Teachta Dála).
Ireland is divided ( which normally follow the counties limit, but subdvision can happen) in constituency, in order that each TD represent the same amount of people.
In each constituency there is 3 to 5 seats to be filled.
Other things, all members of the governement must be an elected TD ( there is less power separation between executive and legislative ), and the government composition is voted at the Dail. That means this election directly decide who is in power for the next five years.
Actually one of the member of the Dail is automatically re-elected (unless he resigned or die ):the Ceann_Comhairle

Now the fun part, how the TD are elected, and why does it 2 to 3 days to count the votes ( in a country where there is only 4 millions habitants ):
the system used is Single Transferable Vote which introduce proportionality in the results of the vote.
So it's not the 3 candidates with most votes in a constituency who necessarly got the seats.
First when you vote, you indicate a list of preferences for the candidates ( number 1 will be say candidate B, then 2 the candidate C... etc )
To be elected a candidate need to exceed a given quota ( calculated on the number of validat vote, basically : 1 + vote / ( setas + 1 ) .
Then one candidate exceed the quota, his vote are reported following the preferences indicated by the voter to the other candidates.

I can't imagine the mess when they are counting, and recounting ( at the moment saturday afternoon, 3 constituencies are recounting following reclamation from candidate )....

Update: That create some interesting TV show, RTE for example spend all friday and most of saturday airing a show going through each constituency, each count as they go along. Some constituency only got all seats filled after 7 to 8 count.
One interesting thing is with that kind of proportional system, one party can hardly get the overall majoroty on its own, it has to compromise and create coalition with smaller party.

For example, the overall majority is 84 seats, Fine Fael got 78, his current partner in the governement the Progressive Democtrats got 2... which means they need at least 4 ( out of 5 ) independants to join them ( or from another party, more likely green ).
The leader of the opposition Enda Kenny, is doing a different count: Fine Gael his party got 51 + 20 from the Labour + 6 from the green = 77, he needs the independant and all 5 independant and probably the 2 PD ( but his election program was vote for a change ) or Sinne Feinn ( but for some reason everybody ruled out to have a coalition with them ... from Ahearn to Kenny )... I don't quite actually understand him.

Limerick

Star Wars parody

A parody of the TV program cops... on Tatoine


And what happen when the monthy python meet Star Wars ( or was the dark knight a sith ? ).

Ratatouille

The next disney/pixar movie (in theater June 29th), looks fantastic all about cooking, i am already impressed by the copper casseroles, there is a 9 minutes preview on the website (enjoy).
Ratatouille Website

French are always complaining....

And it turn out...it's true.A study by FDS International found exactly that: French workers are the world's biggest whiners.In the same study, it appears Irish complain least about their lot.

Brits ( 37% feel they don’t get enough holidays, putting them at No.1 in the Holiday Whinge rankings) enjoy an average of 33.5 days annual leave and public holidays – but despite having less holidays (29), only 13 per cent of workers in Ireland whinge about their lack of holidays.

The report is called: What Workers Want: A Worldwide Study
of Attitudes to Work and Work-Life Balance (by FDS International)

The study findings are based on (amongst others):
- satisfaction with issues including pay levels.
- work-life balance.
- average working hours.

---

Wisdom ranking
Got 4.2 at this test: Wisdom scorecard

NY times related article: The Older-and-Wiser Hypothesis.

American view of France

EOS 400D ... my new toy

Limerick view from the quay.

Wall in da house.

Ring of Kerry ...cloudy

On the road to valentia (island)


Valentia Island



View on the Skellig Islands from Valentia Island

Sea kayaking

Saturday: Glencariff sea kayaking with http://www.seakayakingwestcork.com/
Excellent, damn my camera fail me ....

See some shy seals, unfortunately the rain was back.