What is in your cup?

[orlok]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Fasting on Thanksgiving? That should be a sin even if you are in the UK which does not celebrate the American Holiday... still should be a sin!

If it makes you feel any better, I suffered all day, and ended up like a bear with a sore head, snapping at everyone. Today it's calm and serene (and the glass of red wine in my hand has nowt to do with it ).

[Stitchawl]

There's got to be a morning after
If we can hold on through the night
We have a chance to find the sunshine
Let's keep on lookin' for the light

Oh, can't you see the morning after
It's waiting right outside the storm
Why don't we cross the bridge together
And find a place that's safe and warm

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIa6bHd48v4 )

Good morning, all. A quiet Saturday morn... peaceful... For those of you who braved "Black Friday," have you thought about the fact that it's all about grabbing what ever you can right after spending the whole day giving thanks for what you already have...

I'm still giving thanks for Ahmad "English Breakfast" tea, a bowl of miso soup and some crab. And judging from the video we watched the other night, giving thanks (and prayers) to the people who took the weight I lost and used it themselves. A truly frightening look at Obesity in the world... (see the video thread) people who are so big they can't get out of their houses because they can't fit through the doors, can no longer ride in cars because they don't fit inside... I thank the powers that be for me discovering the motivation to lose my weight. I never reached such a critical state, but putting on an extra 20kg is never healthy. I feel so much better now than I have in years.

And to that... I'll lift another cup of English Breakfast tea, before we go out for a long walk!


Stitchawl

[Stitchawl]

Saturday afternoon cup of Keemun tea. It really was a pleasant day!

Dreams, here's a photo of one of the neighborhood temples that I rode past today, stopped and photographed it with my iPhone. No filters used at all. The only thing I did with it on the computer was to reduce its size and crop its shape. Overcast day so no really bright lights, but the colors are still all there. Just imagine if the sun was shining... No special camera, just my phone.


Stitchawl

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Dreams, here's a photo of one of the neighborhood temples that I rode past today, stopped and photographed it with my iPhone.

Very pretty. A shame about the cars. Hmm....

[pdurrant]

Coke Zero #2 in my cup.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Very pretty. A shame about the cars. Hmm....

Had me going for a moment there. What cars??? Then I checked the original...

Black coffee, as usual.

EDIT: actually, the more I look at it the more I wonder how the hell you did that. I know photoshop etc. can work wonders, but still!

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by orlok

Had me going for a moment there. What cars??? Then I checked the original...

Black coffee, as usual.

EDIT: actually, the more I look at it the more I wonder how the hell you did that. I know photoshop etc. can work wonders, but still!

The picture is low res so easy to get away with. For example look at the hedge in front of the tree, you can see how he used the clone tool to copy the hedge next to it over where the car was. Same is true for the grey ground.

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by orlok

Had me going for a moment there. What cars??? Then I checked the original...

Black coffee, as usual.

EDIT: actually, the more I look at it the more I wonder how the hell you did that. I know photoshop etc. can work wonders, but still!

Actually, if you look closely, although he did a very nice job of removing the cars, he didn't change his target often enough so you can see a repeated pattern on the ground. It's a giveaway that the Clone Stamp tool was used to remove the cars. When using the rubber stamp, you need to change the target every 2-3 stamps or the pattern can be seen. But no one except a Photoshop user would ever notice that! In virtually EVERY picture of Japan that I've posted, I've had to remove power lines and poles. Every single landscape that I've posted had a few electric lines running across the entire image. The film maker, Kurasawa, said; "If you ever see a movie about Japan that doesn't have electric lines running through every outdoor scene, it wasn't shot in Japan.

Do you really think the models in the magazine adverts look THAT good? Photoshop is an amazing tool. Be it removing blemishes, thinning thighs, softening wrinkles, or a quick nose job, no picture in the last 5 years ever got into a magazine without 'some' photoshop work being done to it.

Stitchawl

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Actually, if you look closely, although he did a very nice job of removing the cars, he didn't change his target often enough so you can see a repeated pattern on the ground. It's a giveaway that the Clone Stamp tool was used to remove the cars. When using the rubber stamp, you need to change the target every 2-3 stamps or the pattern can be seen.

Yes, I wasn't doing it with the intent on completely fooling people (it would have taken a lot longer!)

It was just the incongruity of the cars with the stone pillars and trees.

Coke Zero #4 in my cup.

[orlok]

Whenever I photoshop in that way, the pattern is usually detectible, or at least something looks "wrong" with the image. I did an airbrushing job on a picture of myself to remove wrinkles etc., and the wife found it so creepy I had to eradicate all evidence that it had ever existed

Yet another coffee, with a chocolate bar treat (non-fasting day...)

[Stitchawl]

Early in the morning 'bout seven o'clock
There's twenty tarriers a workin at the rock
The boss comes along and he says, "Keep still
And come down heavy on the cast iron drill."

And drill, ye tarriers, drill
Drill, ye tarriers, drill
For it's work all day for the sugar in your tay
Down beside the railway
And drill, ye tarriers, drill

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOKOS...eature=related )

Good morning, everyone! It's 7am Sunday morning, 6°c outside, and as soon as I throw a cup of Yorkshire tea down my neck (my wife is having green) we're off for a ride! Should be the last good 'Color' ride of the season so we've planned a long one. She's pasting so many disposable hand warmers all over herself, she looks like a patchwork quilt! To me it's just a nice Autumn day but she thinks the Polar Ice Cap has moved down to cover Japan...

I did an airbrushing job on a picture of myself to remove wrinkles etc., and the wife found it so creepy I had to eradicate all evidence that it had ever existed

When we get back tonight I send you the instructions for face lifts. It's a quick, 3-4 button job that's just about foolproof. I usually do it on all my portraits and it makes the subjects think that I'm the world's greatest photographer... My Mother used to say "Dear, I just don't know why no one else is ever able to get a good picture of me!" I didn't have the heart to tell her... The trick is you only take off a couple of years, not all of them.

Stitchawl

[ProfCrash]

Keemun with apple pie. Much better than the gym. Lucas is officially turning himself from his back to his tummy. I am not sure I am ready for crawling but that is coming soon.

[dreams]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

<snip> Dreams, here's a photo of one of the neighborhood temples that I rode past today, stopped and photographed it with my iPhone. No filters used at all. The only thing I did with it on the computer was to reduce its size and crop its shape. Overcast day so no really bright lights, but the colors are still all there. Just imagine if the sun was shining... No special camera, just my phone. <snip>

Beautiful. Thanks Stitchawl. I'll have to practice with my iPhone. Those colors are still quite nice, even when a photo is taken without all the special equipment.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Very pretty. A shame about the cars. Hmm....

Originally Posted by orlok

Had me going for a moment there. What cars??? Then I checked the original... <snip>

I had to do the same.

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Keemun with apple pie. Much better than the gym. Lucas is officially turning himself from his back to his tummy. I am not sure I am ready for crawling but that is coming soon.

Aw, the fun times are coming. He'll be walking (and running from you) in no time at all.

Decaf sumatra in my cup.

[CRussel]

Send some of that apple pie this way. The Keemun I already have. Though I just tossed out something that was sold as "Keemun Hao Ya 'A'", but which was not up to what I would have expected. Overall very disappointing. I'm not sure what it was, but quite sure it wasn't what it was sold as.

Coffee today. Some Peet's Major Dickason's blend. Then nothing but diet coke the rest of the day.

Tomorrow will be a fun day. Gotta clear out the coop where poohbear_nc's friends hang out. Give the girls a nice new bed of shavings with fresh diatomaceous earth mixed in to help keep things dry in the winter. Just a barrel of fun and laughs.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

When we get back tonight I send you the instructions for face lifts. It's a quick, 3-4 button job that's just about foolproof. I usually do it on all my portraits and it makes the subjects think that I'm the world's greatest photographer... My Mother used to say "Dear, I just don't know why no one else is ever able to get a good picture of me!" I didn't have the heart to tell her... The trick is you only take off a couple of years, not all of them.

Have a good trip, and I look forward to receiving the instructions, as I spent ages on it, and ended up just ditching it all. Not that I feel the need to tamper with my pictures, you understand. It's for a "friend".

Tick Tock Rooibos in my cup.