for the fullsize version 1250px x 780px click here

Other advantages include no advertising and complete control over what does and doesn’t get embedded.

Below is a gallery made up of photographs uploaded from my computer using Apture. Click on the small images under the big one then click on the double arrow – it will make sense, promise!

Here is an image linked from the web:

And a web page:

The software adds extra usability to certain websites, Wikipedia being one:

Apture also works really well with videos:

It also allows incorporation of Twitter Stuff:

If you click on any of the links in the above window a new window will open. This is just scratching the surface of this tool’s potentials. Everything that I’ve embedded from above can also work from a link, for example I could have the above twitter page set to open only if a link is clicked by the reader.

For more information and details about how to set Apture up on your web site: Apture web site

While it cannot be treated as gospel as the sample isn’t random it does provide some great insight as to why readers cancel their subscriptions to feeds. I suspect a lot of this is also applicable to the blog itself and not just the RSS feed.

Their are some genuine surprises such as too high a posting frequency along with the more expected ones such as blog not focused enough.

Many of the items cancel each other out, e.g. too frequent posting/not posting often enough and lack of focus/too tight a focus all appear.

The original post is heavily commented and they are all worth reading for further insight.

By my count I break 12 of the rules on the list but that is OK (in some instances at least) as if there is a message in all this, it is that a blogger cannot please everyone all of the time.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced today that it would push their Doomsday Clock back one minute — to six minutes to midnight — in recognition of President Obama’s efforts to combat nuclear proliferation and climate change.

Original Article

The Doomsday clock was first established, by scientists, in 1947 and has only been adjusted 18 times since. An average of just over once every presidential term.

An argument could be made that the rising influence of the extreme right in the USA is potentially bringing global catastrophe closer but that is a discussion for another place.

Free high resolution images for commercial or personal use. Photographs and Illustrations

Free Desktop Wallpaper – Digital Art

A few free handwritten fonts

A few free handwritten fonts

Nasa free 3D Models

I know for a fact that this high res version of the International Space Station would cost a lot of money to purchase from any other source but here it is free.

Well these models are really well constructed and I’ve tested several of them in various 3D programs. The Cassini model, for example is over 4 megabytes uncompressed yet loads flawlessly into Bryce. The textures and maps are also available for free. The terms of service are more than fair, i.e. you can manipulate the models and textures and use them in commercial work providing you don’t use any NASA logos without permission (I think). There is definitely no copyright on the texture files so if you need some spacey type texture files for another project this may be a good place to look.

The vast majority of the files are available in the open in more or less everything 3DS filetype.

Here is the process that produces this landscape:

In the Martian winter, carbon dioxide freezes out of the air (and you thought it was cold where you are). In the summer, that CO2 sublimates; that is, turns directly from a solid to a gas. When that happens the sand gets disturbed, and falls down the slopes in little channels, which spreads out when it hits the bottom. But this disturbs the red dust, too, which flows with the sand. When it’s all done, you get those feathery tendrils. Note that at the tendril tips, you see blotches of red; that’s probably from the lighter dust billowing a bit before settling down.

From this article which is a must read.

H/T NellaSelim Daily Kos where I first came across this

An example:

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilisations; to boldly go where no man has gone before

morphs into:

SPAEC TEH FINAL FRONTEIR!1!111111 OMG WTF LOL THAS3 R TEH VOYAEGS OF TEH STARSHIP ENTARPRIES!!1!1!! LOL ITS FIEV-YAAR MISION 2 AXPLOR3 STRANGA NU WORLDS 2 SEK OUT NU LIEF AND NU CIVILISATIONS 2 BOLDLEY GO WH3RA NO MAN HAS GONE BFOR3

We’re aware of this issue. Some users have reported workarounds that can be described in the following threads from the old Group:

Current workaround is to restart your computer (See the reference below, “Workaround 1.”)

If this doesn’t resolve the issue, keep your Google Chrome window open and then try opening the page in Internet Explorer or Firefox. Close the Internet Explorer or Firefox window and you should now be able to view checkboxes in the Google Chrome window (See the reference below, “Workaround 2.”

There are more and better temporary fixes in the comments section.

Google needs to be looking to get a fix for this out within hours otherwise they will lose market share, make no mistake. This isn’t some minor inconvenience that will be tolerated this severely cripples the potential of an otherwise excellent browser.