Blog Marco

Here is a hilarious and extreme example of how much of a difference smart cropping can make. Here's a quick tutorial on how to crop your photos for your facebook or myspace profile album - no retouching required. First grab your camera. Then have someone else take your picture while you contort your body to reveal your best assets all the while "hiding" your worst features. Keep in mind on where you will crop the photo. Upload your photo and open in your favourite photo editor.

Get the crop tool and choose the area you want to keep and save. Upload to Facebook or MySpace. On a more realistic note - photographers do this all the time. They either frame the photo above the waist, or if you have a double chin, the photographer may take the photo on a higher plane so your neck won't appear as big. The most common technique is "the twist" where the subject stands side-on to the camera while facing the camera direct. Click "Read More" to see the crop below...

Learn a few useful keyboard shortcuts for your Windows key button (Win-key). Hopefully this will help save you time.

Windows Key + D = Minimise all windows and return the you to the desktop.
Windows Key + M = Minimise all windows.
Windows Key + SHIFT + M = Undo the minimise.
Windows Key + E = Open Microsoft Explorer. Some keyboards have a dedicated button for the internet browser - which may save you one keystroke.
Windows Key + Tab = Cycle through open programs through the taskbar, then hit Spacebar to activate the program you want. (Only works if you have Aero turned on in Vista - alternatively in Pre-Vista versions you simply use your Alt-Tab to cycle through programs)
Windows Key + F = Display the Windows Search / Find feature.
Windows Key + CTRL + F = Display the search for computers window.
Windows Key + F1 = Display the Microsoft Windows help.
Windows Key + R = Open the run window.
Windows key + L = Lock computer (Make sure you know your computer password before you execute this)

What the hell is solipsistic? the word is used in this article about twitter. Here's the word in context:

But Twitter has come under fire. The company doesn’t make much money. People complain that the service is trivial and solipsistic. Asked about the criticism, Mr. Stone smiled and said, “That’s like people saying, ‘Why would I ever carry a phone around when I have one in my kitchen?’ ”

According to Wikipedia... "Solipsism is the philosophical idea that "My mind is the only thing that I know exists." Solipsism is an epistemological or ontological position that knowledge of anything outside the mind is unjustified. The external world and other minds cannot be known and might not exist. In the history of philosophy, solipsism has served as a skeptical hypothesis." So is twitter solipsistic? It depends on the user.

In the same week as Cassie's nude scandal we get a bonus scandal for the weekend - yet another celebrity scandal, this time concerning Rihanna. Pop superstar Rihanna is has been hit by a shocking nude photo scandal — reportedly triggered by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown - in the series of photos there is a photo of a male — believed to be Brown — with pink panties pulled over his head. The Barbados-born singer's real name is Robyn Fenty. Rihanna, 21, can only be clearly seen in two of the photos, in which she is fully clothed. Another picture shows a man who bares a striking resemblance to Rihanna's ex-boyfriend Chris Brown with a pair of pink knickers on his head. The six self-taken images have appeared online just days after topless pictures of R'n'B starlet Cassie Ventura were leaked on the net. One of the revealing photos shows a scantily-clad woman, resembling Rihanna, in front of a mirror scrawled with the message: 'I love you, Robyn. I miss you'. The scandal comes as her 20-year-old ex Brown faces felony charges relating to an alleged assault on Rihanna earlier this year.

See Rihanna's nude photos after the jump...

[intro]
Uh (Uh, uh, uh)
(Next Selection...)

[verse 1]
You've been waiting so long
I'm here to answer your call
I know that I shouldn't have had you waiting at all
I've been so busy, but I've been thinking 'bout what I wanna do with you

[pre-chorus]
I know them other guys, they been talking bout the way I do what I do
They heard I was good, they wanna see if it's true
They know you're the one I wanna give it to
I can see you want me too
Now it's me and you

[chorus]
It's me and you, now

Two years ago Cassie Ventura posed nude for Allure magazine. And now nude photos of her have been leaked last week for all to see. Apparently some smart ass hacked her computer and leaked the Cassie's photos. We have had our share of scandals in the past: from Vanessa Hudgens to Vanessa Minnillo. Meanwhile, Cassie has acknowledged that these photos are of her both in her twitter account and her official fan website:

From Cassie's Twitter about her leaked naked photos:

The recent personal pictures that have been leaked on the internet of me were hacked and stolen out of my computer. These photos were obviously never intended for the world to see and it’s sad that people would really take time to steal and post them, it’s just evil. At the end of the day breasts are breasts, mine weren’t the first you’ve seen and they won’t be the last… people need to grow up, let’s move on. Thank you.
Cassie

And from her Twitter:

It seems that someone has hacked into my computer… that’s really foul and evil. Now stop acting like you haven’t seen a titty before.

Cassie had a hit song a few years called "Me & U". She released a single a few weeks ago but it didn't do too well in the R&B charts. Some conspiracy theorists are wondering if this "leak" was a planned publicity move.

See Cassie's nude photos after the jump...

I'm not sure if this was a mistake by the programmers by not automatically deleting previous backups but I've amassed about 10 Gigabytes for obsolete - old Lightroom catalog backups. Perhaps this is a use for having multiple backups at hand - but since I have a strong backup routine with all my other files, I think I can risk just having the last backup or simply to dump the whole backup catalog process.

So where do you find and delete these old Adobe Lightroom catalog files? In Windows its in your documents under the Photos folder then /Lightroom/Backups... So if you find yourself short of disk space (these backup catalog files/folders take up about 500 to 1 Gigabyte each!!!) you can find these folders and just delete them. While you're thinking about cleaning up your catalog, it may be a good idea to also "Optimise your catalog" to make it run faster (And defrag your computer while you're at it).

Who are the Top Ten Pound For Pound Best Boxers of All Time? Of course there is the International Boxing Hall of Fame where all the great boxers of all time have been inducted. We previously looked at the boxing term "pound for pound" and also Current Top 50 Boxers Pound For Pound. Again these lists are purely subjective.

Best Boxers of All Time Pound for Pound

1. Sugar Ray Robinson 179 wins, 19 losses, 6 draws, 2 no contests, 109 KO
2. Muhammad Ali - "Louisville Lip" 56 wins, 5 losses, 37 KO
3. Julio Cesar Chavez - Won 104 Lost 5, 2 draws, 80 KO
4. Joe Louis - "Brown Bomber" - Won 68 Lost 3, 54 KO
5. Roy Jones Jr - 49 wins, 3 losses, 38 KO
6. Archie Moore - 181 wins, 24 losses, 9 draws and 1 no contest, 145 KO
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Submitted by Marco on Tue, 05/05/2009 - 1:16pm.

We previously had a look at what the term "pound for pound" meant. This time we look at the current top fifty (50) Pound for Pound Boxers in this point in time. Remember this list is PURELY SUBJECTIVE. Perhaps a mathematical equation can be used to find out who is the best boxer pound for pound. ([Number of Wins - Number of Losses - (0.5 * Number of Draws)]/[Weight (Pounds)]) Or maybe something more complicated to add in other variables such as KO's, TKO's, length of match, number of punches thrown and landed, etc...

Current Top Fifty (50) Boxers Pound For Pound

1. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (147)
2. Manny Pacquiao (140)
3. Joe Calzaghe (175)
4. Juan Manuel Marquez (135)
5. Israel Vazquez (122)
6. Bernard Hopkins (175)
7. Shane Mosley (147)
8. Paul Williams (154)
9. Rafael Marquez (122)
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Submitted by Marco on Tue, 05/05/2009 - 11:34am.

"Pound for pound (the best boxer)" in boxing means to subjectively rank all the boxers disregarding weight class. So taking the boxer's skill/style/etc except their weight class who would be the best? "Pound for pound" is also used in mixed martial arts and other combat sports to describe a fighter's value in relation to fighters of different weight classes. (By the way - in the photo are Pacquaio and Mayweather Jr.)

The origin of the "pound for pound" terminology was coined to describe world Welterweight and Middleweight champion Sugar Ray Robinson. Robinson is one of the most accomplished fighters of all time, but his supporters realized that, while he could beat anyone in his own class, as a Middleweight he would not be able to beat a top Heavyweight. Hence, Robinson was called the pound-for-pound best without being expected to beat much larger fighters, under the belief that he as a Middleweight was still a better quality fighter than any fighter fighting at heavier or lighter weights than him.

Here's the recipe I use for making a pizza base. This quantity makes about 4 x 30cm diameter pizzas. Put whatever topping you want with Tomato sauce, basil, and cheese (mozarella).

Here's the recipe for a perfect pizza base: Mix 400g Strong Flour with 350mL warm water + 7g Sachet of Yeast + Brown Sugar to feed the yeast fungi. Mix it up the dough and clump it together. Then cover your mixing bowl with a tea towel or glad wrap and place in a warm place. (I put it on top of my computer or a warm window sill) After an hour, preheat the oven at about 240 degrees centigrade and get 200g of soft flour, a pinch of salt, a dash of olive oil (experiment with the amount) and mix together and knead the dough for about 5 to 10 minutes with your hands. We use a pizza stone to bake the pizza - I sprinkle the stone with bran to stop the pizza sticking to the stone. Put your toppings on. The oven is now preheated some 15 - 20 minutes. Place your pizza in the oven. Time to cook should be 8 to 15 minutes depending if your over is fan forced or not. Just be careful you don't burn your crust or your cheese. When cheese becomes "sunburnt" it doesn't taste as good and is really chewy instead of gooey.

Ever wondered how fish sauce is made? Fish sauce is an Asian dipping condiment and also an essential ingredient to many dishes in Vietnamese, Thai, Lao, Cambodian, and Filipino cuisine and is used in other Southeast Asian countries.

Different fish sauces have different ingredients: Some fish sauces (extracts) are made from raw fish, others from dried fish; some from only a single species, others from whatever is dredged up in the net, including some shellfish; some from whole fish, others from only the blood or viscera. Some fish sauces contain only fish and salt, others add a variety of herbs and spices. Fish sauce that has been only briefly fermented has a pronounced fishy taste, while extended fermentation reduces this and gives the product a nuttier, cheesier flavor.

In other words - fish sauce = rotten fish. But it tastes good. More info here: How fish sauce is made

Viewers know that Doomsday is coming to Smallville in the next few episodes and KNOWING that Superman has to die if the writers and producers want to stick to the myth (created by DC Comics). Which brings me to the question - is Clark Kent aka Superman immortal?

It's known that kryptonite weakens Superman (Although he does eventually become immune to it) and magic can also influence him. Also extreme energy usage as in the fight with Doomsday also weakens Superman to the point where he dies from his wounds. And also, because of the yellow Sun (where he receives his superpowers) the more exposure he has to it the more "immortal" or "Super" Superman becomes - but still mortal as he ages slower (the rate of decay of his body's cells are slower).

A great condiment to have with steak is Worcestershire sauce... Worcestershire... its one of those mysterious English words with weird pronunciation. How do you say Worcestershire (Sauce) anyway? It's that obscure word which a lot of people are afraid to say. Wikipedia says it pronounced this way: /ˈwʊstəˌʃɪər/ But who has time to decipher that code?

Some websites claim Worcestershire is said like: "Woos-tur-shur". Or "wer-chis-ter"... or even try Wurs-ster-sheer or Wurs-ster-shire or Wurs-ster-shur or Woos-ster-shur.

With all the news about the swine flu virus ravaging over the world plastered everywhere, I wonder what the difference is between an endemic, epidemic and a pandemic. (By the way, the photo has a random influenza virus illustrated in brown and the cilia from your lungs in blue)

An endemic is an infectious communicable disease (such as colds, influenza, measles, mumps, tuberculosis, pneumonia, smallpox) that exists permanently in a particular region or population. An epidemic occurs when this disease attack "a lot of" people at about the same time and may spread through one or several communities. A pandemic occurs when an epidemic spreads across the world.

The World Health Organisation has raised the pandemic alert level from phase four to phase five, signalling that a pandemic is "imminent". Here are the six different "pandemic influenza phases" defined by the WHO:

Phase 1: A virus circulates among animals but with no cases reported of infections in humans.

Phase 2: An animal flu virus is known to have caused infection in humans, and therefore considered a potential pandemic threat.