Barge

Just got back from the Barge. Paul W and I tried some organic cider which was 7.2%. It was actually very smooth but had a distinct woody
after-taste. The usual locals were there. The mad one in the flat cap and the old dude in the corner. So all present and correct. I wouldn’t have it any other way really. I will be glad when the smoking ban comes into effect because I find it really annoying now. I don’t see how I should have to put up with the smoke and damage my health because people haven’t got the will-power or can’t be bodmassed to kick the habit. Weak-willed if you ask me. I have just installed a shiny new USB2.0 card and it’s working a treat. If it wasn’t then I wouldn’t be able to type this seeing as it’s a USB keyboard.

I am looking forward to seeing the Chinese State Circus in Blackheath in a couple of weeks time. This year they have Kung Fu as well which will be very exciting!!

Advanced image sharpening

While reading the October 2005 edition of Photography Monthly I came across a great technique for sharpening images. Most people use unsharp mask which is generally accepted as the best way of sharpening images because of the degree of control that is available. Sometimes coloured artifacts can be introduced as a matter of course. The way to combat this is to sharpen only the ‘lightness’ channel. To do this open your image:

  1. Select Image->Mode->Lab Color
  2. Select Window->Channels
  3. Click on the ‘Lightness’ channel

Now perform your unsharp filter as usual. Useful starting parameters are:
Radius
300dpi print:1.5
96dpi web image:0.5
Amount
Between:100 and 150
Threshold
Start at 0 (increase this value if you find that large areas such as the sky are being sharpened too much)

Woke up this morning

It’s a bright, sunny and crisp autumn morning here in SE4. I have a sore throat so have got up and am making myself a nice cup of tea. Ahhh that’s better.

I watched a good programme on the TV last night. It was called Afterlife and if you overlooked the rather wooden acting from Lesley Sharp it was quite good. Afterwards I had an excellent session on Burnout Revenge. Balam and I stumbled into a Portugese lobby. They were cracking guys, good fun and not too good(to start with), which is always a good thing. As the racing progressed they started to kick our collective asses as the Americans are fond of saying.

So later on today I am meeting up for lunch at the Barge
with Paul W(and maybe a few cheeky beers). I also have a few chores to be getting on with. You know, the ones that never seem to get done however good your intentions are. My tax return is currently languishing in a pile of papers eyeing me up.

Breakfast beckons so I will catch youse laters.

Autumn Comes

Well, it’s definitely a little colder today. Outside the window here in Staines the leaves are beginning to turn and the wind is starting to whip up on the river. I think that the flock of Canada Geese that used to congregate under the bridge here have left too 🙁

Tonight I am out for a drinky-poos at the H.I.T.W with my good friend
Blue. It’s been a while since I last went there and it’s long-overdue.
For those who don’t know H.I.T.W
is a pub just opposite Waterloo station under one of the arches. It has
a great slightly down-at-heel transient character probably due to the
train men that frequent it and the thundering trains that shake the
place every 30 minutes or so.

Burnout Revenge

Just had a good Xbox Live session playing Burnout Revenge. As usual we had:
1. Annoying American
2. Drunk West Country Lad

On the whole though, they were a good bunch, especially for a Friday night. It’s now 12:30 and I am feeling particularly wizened because I have a touch of the flu. Balam is still online and talking on the phone while gaming, that’s hard-core, although he is coming last 😉