Why post these?
Just because ...
Beauty should be appreciated
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Tube Amp Project - In the Beginning
This is first manifestation of my tube guitar amplifier project.
The components and speaker should be arriving in the course of February. Living in South Africa we are at the wrong end of expensive shipping pipelines.
As this project is intended to provide the basis for learning and experimentation with tube amps the cabinet has a definite separation of the speaker and amplifier compartments.
Initially the amp will be 5watt single ended and the speaker 10 inch. The amp compartment allows easy access to the amplifier and the speaker compartment will accept a 12 inch speaker.
The cabinet is made of 20mm South African pine. This is a pretty soft wood and probably not the best wood for a cabinet. It is cheap and easy to work quickly with. As the amp develops and I feel I have a decent cabinet design I will then get higher quality wood and work it more carefully and accurately.
More posts as the project progresses.
The components and speaker should be arriving in the course of February. Living in South Africa we are at the wrong end of expensive shipping pipelines.
As this project is intended to provide the basis for learning and experimentation with tube amps the cabinet has a definite separation of the speaker and amplifier compartments.
Initially the amp will be 5watt single ended and the speaker 10 inch. The amp compartment allows easy access to the amplifier and the speaker compartment will accept a 12 inch speaker.
The cabinet is made of 20mm South African pine. This is a pretty soft wood and probably not the best wood for a cabinet. It is cheap and easy to work quickly with. As the amp develops and I feel I have a decent cabinet design I will then get higher quality wood and work it more carefully and accurately.
More posts as the project progresses.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Popups From Hell -1
This is is from Windows Explorer in Microsoft Windows XP. I used a right button drag on a mapped drive. I was expecting the options I normally get when I use a right button drag on my local drives but Windows displayed this popup.
So it recognises that I could be wanting to copy or move the folder. But what is a zone? I am a seasoned Windows user and do not know what "zone" means in this context. How much more the use of this term must confuse a less seasoned user.
Rather than presenting the options as I am used to I am now asked a question. So the idioms are inconsistent.
Then I am presented with two buttons; Yes and No.
Who ever thought that Yes and No are the logical possible responses the the question "Do you want to move or copy files from this zone?"?
Its like the silly, nonsensical response we often make when we're asked a question like "Do you want tea or coffee?" and we answer "Yes".
Which button do I click to move the files and which button do I click to copy the files?
So let's itemise the issues in this one little popup:
- Inconsistent idiom for right button drag in Windows Explorer.
- Use of obscure terminology.
- Option labels totally nonsensical when compared with the option selection I need to make.
Oh ... did you notice the banner on the popup? Remember I was using Windows Explorer.
And the icon ... What? Why?
So it recognises that I could be wanting to copy or move the folder. But what is a zone? I am a seasoned Windows user and do not know what "zone" means in this context. How much more the use of this term must confuse a less seasoned user.
Rather than presenting the options as I am used to I am now asked a question. So the idioms are inconsistent.
Then I am presented with two buttons; Yes and No.
Who ever thought that Yes and No are the logical possible responses the the question "Do you want to move or copy files from this zone?"?
Its like the silly, nonsensical response we often make when we're asked a question like "Do you want tea or coffee?" and we answer "Yes".
Which button do I click to move the files and which button do I click to copy the files?
So let's itemise the issues in this one little popup:
- Inconsistent idiom for right button drag in Windows Explorer.
- Use of obscure terminology.
- Option labels totally nonsensical when compared with the option selection I need to make.
Oh ... did you notice the banner on the popup? Remember I was using Windows Explorer.
And the icon ... What? Why?
Defaults from Hell - 1
Microsoft Word 2007 - Insert Picture
I create a lot of mockup images in my design process. I insert these into my specification documents. My project folders are structured so that different types of images for different projects are in different folders.
The MS Word Insert Picture function forces me to go to a default folder every time I want to insert an image.
When I am working in an area of a design I tend to use images in a specific folder for a while then later I will use images from a different folder.
I don't mind having to navigate to a specific folder the first time I use an image from that folder. What gets me really hacked off is that the Insert Picture function does not bother to remember where I went the last time because I will probably go there the next time I need an image. I don't mind navigating to a different folder when I start using a different folder. The function makes me navigate from the same starting point every time I want to insert an image.
I don't want to change my default folder, I want to keep my default folder as the overall basket folder for all my projects. The navigation to any one of the image folders is not that onerous by itself. It just gets terribly annoying when I have to do it EVERY SINGLE TIME I GO TO THE SAME FOLDER!!!!!!!
This is not a radical concept ... Corel, for example, have used this approach for years.
I create a lot of mockup images in my design process. I insert these into my specification documents. My project folders are structured so that different types of images for different projects are in different folders.
The MS Word Insert Picture function forces me to go to a default folder every time I want to insert an image.
When I am working in an area of a design I tend to use images in a specific folder for a while then later I will use images from a different folder.
I don't mind having to navigate to a specific folder the first time I use an image from that folder. What gets me really hacked off is that the Insert Picture function does not bother to remember where I went the last time because I will probably go there the next time I need an image. I don't mind navigating to a different folder when I start using a different folder. The function makes me navigate from the same starting point every time I want to insert an image.
I don't want to change my default folder, I want to keep my default folder as the overall basket folder for all my projects. The navigation to any one of the image folders is not that onerous by itself. It just gets terribly annoying when I have to do it EVERY SINGLE TIME I GO TO THE SAME FOLDER!!!!!!!
This is not a radical concept ... Corel, for example, have used this approach for years.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Scott Adams (Dilbert)
When I first started hearing these stories [about irrational corporate behavior] I was puzzled, but after careful analysis I have developed a sophisticated theory to explain the existence of this bizarre workplace behavior. People are idiots.
Including me. Everyone is an idiot, not just the people with low SAT scores. The only difference among us is that we're idiots about different things at different times. No matter how smart you are, you spend much of your day being an idiot.Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Heaven helps those who help themselves
No this is not a post about politicians ...
"Heaven helps those who help themselves" is a well-tried maxim, embodying in a small compass the results of vast human experience. The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual; and, exhibited in the lives of many, it constitutes the true source of national vigour and strength. Help from without is often enfeebling in its effects, but help from within invariably invigorates. Whatever is done for men or classes, to a certain extent takes away the stimulus and necessity of doing for themselves; and where men are subjected to over-guidance and over-government, the inevitable tendency is to render them comparatively helpless.
"Heaven helps those who help themselves" is a well-tried maxim, embodying in a small compass the results of vast human experience. The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual; and, exhibited in the lives of many, it constitutes the true source of national vigour and strength. Help from without is often enfeebling in its effects, but help from within invariably invigorates. Whatever is done for men or classes, to a certain extent takes away the stimulus and necessity of doing for themselves; and where men are subjected to over-guidance and over-government, the inevitable tendency is to render them comparatively helpless.
~ Samuel Smiles ~
Friday, December 11, 2009
Evil People
If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?
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