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I am making this post to announce the fact that this is a milestone for me, my 700th post.
 

And it will be official at the "NOW" moment at which this post will be added to this thread.

 

97tu2b.jpg

 

Of course, each post that I make in the following moments of "NOW" will increase my post total -- (as indicated by the post number below my avatar) -- by one, of course.

 

Of course,

when I make an infinite number of posts, the above statement will no longer be true, since

infinity + 1 = infinity,

of course.

 

So, the post number "700" won't be around for long, I'm sure,

unless Mother Nature steps in and kills me with a heart attack or some other sick scheme,

which She might have tucked under Her petticoat.

 

To celebrate this momentous 700th-post occasion, my conjoined twin Scuzzy and I are jumping for joy in the sunset, as shown below. Scuzzy is on the right and I'm on the left. Scuzzy and I are forever joined at the lower two leg bones, the tibia *and* the fibia. Due to the complicated nature of the bone entanglements, a surgical separation was not possible. Scuzzy and I have learned to live together, and I've learned to tolerate him, even though he always has horrendously bad breath. Scuzzy is so much smaller than me because he is seven years younger than me. (It was a very difficult delivery for Mom. Those details are perhaps best left for a later post.)


ve418o.jpg
 
L          A          R          R          Y          &
 
S          C          U          Z           Z          Y
 

S          A          Y          B          Y          E

 

F          O          R          N          O          W

Edited by larryb123456
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  • 2 weeks later...
I helped develop dencorso's current signature, during many e-mail and PM exchanges between us, over the past few years. It was an absolute pleasure for me to work with this extremely intelligent, perceptive, and kind MSFN member. dencorso gave me permission to share this development with you.

My motivations for making this post are twofold:
#1 -- to show how this development slowly progressed
#2 -- to share with you and other Photoshop graphic designers a technique I came up with to obtain a perfectly-smooth linear color-gradient fade over a region, analytically, rather than visually

Originally, dencorso had as his signature only the Supercharged Windows 9X userbar as shown in the top image in the following graphic. I had absolutely nothing to do with making this image and I don't know where dencorso got it.

http://postimage.org/'>dencorso_original.png


On Jan.17, 2012, I pointed out to dencorso that the 2 Ws in the word "Windows" were not of the same pixel font, but that they were different. And I showed the 2 different versions that would have consistent letters, V1 and V2. We agreed that V2 would be best, since the internal, slanted legs of the Ws would fit in better with the slanted legs of the Rs in "Supercharged" and the X in 9X. So, dencorso used V2 as part of his signature for a couple of years, even after a new addition was made, as discussed immediately below.
 
On August 17, 2012 dencorso asked me to make an "Unstoppable Windows XP" userbar -- (he came up with that great title) -- to add to his Supercharged Windows 9X signature. He wanted the blue to be taken from the XP taskbar and he wanted to include the XP logo. And he wanted an image in the userbar. As a first thought, he suggested a cloud. But I thought a lightning bolt would be more dynamic and tie in better with the word "Unstoppable". dencorso liked that idea. I had an animated GIF of a lightning flash, and I picked out a frame from it to get a general idea of a valid shape, and I force-fit that shape to fill up the space to the left of the XP logo. But it took much experimentation to characterize the fractal, bifurcation (fork-like) nature of lightning (with the purplish outline that I used, and all). dencorso provided great suggestions about lightning characteristics to help me out. I developed a version rather quickly that dencorso used. But, as time went on, I returned to look at dencorso's signature again and again, with "fresh eyes", and I'd invariably find ways to improve the lightning bolt. Finally, on November 11, 2012 I made the final version of the XP userbar, version 7. Of course, the top userbar, Supercharged Windows 9X, remained unchanged from its previous version.

http://postimage.org/'>dencorso_stacked9_XXPsignature_V7.jpg
 
dencorso is a perfectionist about his graphics, a great quality of his, and as time went on, an aspect of his (formerly perfect, in his opinion) Supercharged Windows 9X userbar began to bother him, more and more, and on May 7, 2014 he PM'd me saying, "There's a boot in my userbar!" and he made this graphic to show me exactly what he meant:

http://postimage.org/'>dencorso_boot_in_9_X_userbar.jpg
 
He asked me if I could remove the boot. This would have been an easy task had I been the one to have made the original graphic, since I would have had each component of the userbar on separate Photoshop layers. So to make the change, I followed the approach of deconstructing the problematic area and then reconstructing an improved version. (In retrospect, I would have removed the *entire background* from the right side of the 9X logo all the way to the extreme right side of the userbar, and then replaced it with a perfectly smooth linear-gradient fade. But, somehow (?), at the time, I didn't think of it, and I made many unsuccessful attempts at deconstructing and reconstructing.)
 
In version 5, I was getting close. I eliminated the yellow glow on the right side of the 9X logo, which dencorso approved, and pretty much filled the problematic area with the background color near the bottom of the ellipse layer. But the color transition under the word "Supercharged" was not smooth enough, as you can see here:

http://postimage.org/'>dencorso_new_signature_V5.jpg
 
And then I made 2 more versions that were not perfect enough. Finally, dencorso suggested, "take, on one hand, the orange below the "S" in "SUPERCHARGED" as the lighter hue and, on the other hand, the orange below the "D" as the darker hue, and create a degrade going from "S" to "D", so that the change takes place very gradually, along the whole word "SUPERCHARGED."
 
So, it was then that I thought of an analytical (i.e., mathematical) way to do this, a "trick" that I'd never used before. (I looked online to see whether or not this was a "standard" approach, and I didn't find anything about it. It seems so very simple to me, now, in retrospect.)

Here is a summary of my approach in making version 8, the final version:

At the "S" under SUPERCHARGED, r,g,b = 255,205,110 -- 0%
At the "D" under SUPERCHARGED, r,g,b = 255,142,40 -- 100%
 
To look at it in another way, from 0% to 100%, the color components vary as:
r goes from 255 to 255
g goes from 205 to 142
b goes from 110 to 40
 
So, I broke up the *individual* component r,g,b value ranges into 5 parts, to specify the r,g,b values to use at 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% in the Photoshop linear-gradient editor (we already know the values at 0% and 100%):
 
for r, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255
for g, 205, 192, 180, 167, 155, 142
for b, 110, 96, 82, 68, 54, 40

And then I applied the linear-gradient tool over the "S" to "D" background region to make version 8, the final version:

http://postimage.org/'>dencorso_new_signature_V8_final_version.
 
And as I told dencorso, I consider him to be the *major* co-creator of this improved, sans boot, Supercharged Windows 9X userbar.

Andthatsalltherewastoit.gif
 

Larry

Edited by larryb123456
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From the start, it sure an interesting collaboration, which I've enjoyed very much. :yes:

But,  when it comes to graphics, make no mistake, I may have even helped, but Larry is the one and only!  worship.gif

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One of my all-time favorite designs is the yin-yang symbol.
From Wikipedia:
In Chinese philosophy, yin and yang are concepts used to describe how apparently opposite forces in the natural world are actually complementary, interconnected, and interdependent, and how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Many tangible dualities (such as light and dark, high and low, hot and cold, fire and water, life and death, male and female, sun and moon, and so on) are thought of as physical manifestations of the duality of yin and yang. Everything has both yin and yang aspects, (for instance shadow cannot exist without light).
 
On January 19 of this year, I made the following userbar about yin-yang:

yin_yang.gif
 
It was based on the following images: the "standard" yin-yang symbol and a variation that I like.

1_basic.jpg   1_variation_used.jpg
 
The beauty of the yin-yang symbol is that many variations can be made illustrating the yin-yang duality concept. Here are some variations that I like:

image.jpg   image.jpg   image.jpg

image.jpg   image.jpg   image.jpg
 
The yin-yang symbol is also associated with Taoism, a philosophical, ethical, and religious tradition of Chinese origin, and the teachings of Lao-tzu, a poet and sage and contemporary of Confucius, 2500 years ago. Lao-tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching, considered by many to be the wisest book ever written. The book has only 81 short verses and can be read quickly, if desired. But the nature of the Tao Te Ching is that each time it is re-read, further interpretations are gained by the reader. I have a book by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, "Change Your Thoughts -- Change Your Life, Living the Wisdom of the Tao", in which he gives his own interpretation of each verse in the Tao Te Ching. I have found this book to be invaluable in understanding the Tao Te Ching. There is a copy available on eBay now for $4.19 USD, total, including shipping:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Change-Your-Thoughts-Change-Your-Life-Living-the-Wisdom-of-the-Tao-Dyer-Dr-/261540745531?pt=US_Nonfiction_Book&hash=item3ce50b113b
This book gives great insights on how to live a naturally peaceful, fulfilled life, without having to rely on "religious dogma".
 

Quotations by Lao-tzu:

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.”

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”

“When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everyone will respect you.”

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”

“Because one believes in oneself, one doesn't try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn't need others' approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her.”

“Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.”

“A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live.”

“At the center of your being
you have the answer;
you know who you are
and you know what you want.”

 

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This post concerns two of the basic axioms of algebra, the reflexive axiom and the symmetric axiom.
 
reflexive axiom: a number is equal to itself, a = a
 
symmetric axiom: if a = b then b = a
 
an example of a real-world application of the symmetric axiom:
 
if jaclaz = dencorso
then
dencorso = jaclaz I'm gettin' out of here, PRONTO !!!
 
just kiddin', jaclaz
you're one great guy
(for an Italian, that is)

just kiddin', jaclaz
you're one great guy
(for an Italian, that is)
 
an example of a real-world application of the reflexive axiom:
 
L          A          R          R          Y          B
 
E          Q          U          A          L           S

L          A          R          R          Y          B

 
B          Y          E          B          Y           E
 
F          O          R          N          O          W
 
F           I           N          I           S           !

  
Edited by larryb123456
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  • 2 weeks later...
M.I.A. is one of my favorite musical artists. She is is a multi-talented British-Tamil singer, recording artist, songwriter, rapper, visual artist, activist, record producer, photographer, fashion designer, and model.
 
I posted two of her music videos at http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/5150-what-are-you-listening-to/?p=1084033 These give give an idea of her artistic range.
 
As I often do with artists I like, both musical and visual, I make a series of userbars about them, over time, when I think about them.
 

Here are five userbars I made for M.I.A. during the months of March through October, 2013, listed in the order in which I made them:

image.gif





97ml9d.gif





image.gif





image.gif





image.gif

Edited by larryb123456
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In this post, I'm presenting one of the very first animated userbars I made (on March 18, 2012).
 
I hope you enjoy it, especially those of you, male and female, who like to wear tampons.

tampons.gif
 
N          O           T          W          E          A          R         I          N          G
 
T           A          M          P          O          N          S         N         O          W
 
L           A          R          R          Y          B          1        23       45          6
 
G          O          O           D           B          Y          E         B         Y          E
 
B           E          H          A           P          P          Y          !          !          !
 
T            H          E          V           E          R          Y         E         N          D
 

F            I           N           I           S          F          I          N          I          S

 

B           E          H          A           P          P          Y          !          !          !

Edited by larryb123456
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Björk, an Icelandic singer and songwriter, is one of my favorite musical artists. I just made a music post for two of her songs that I like -- at http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/5150-what-are-you-listening-to/?p=1084603

Here are three userbars I made about her:

 

 

 

 

image.gif
 

 

 

 

 

 

image.gif
 

 

 

 

 

 

image.gif

 

 

 

l          a          r          r          y

l          o          v         e          s

b          j          ö         r          k

m         u         s          i          c

 

b          j          ö         r          k

 

l          o          v         e          s

 

l          a          r          r          y

 

in          my            dr           ea           ms

Edited by larryb123456
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I'm sure all of you know people who are two-faced (http://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/two-faced).
Some of them are all smiles and friendly toward you on the outside, while you just know for sure that they feel just the opposite and hate you on the inside.
 
Here is a userbar I made on November 15, 2013 to let those jerks know that we see through their two-faced behavior:

have_a_nice_day.gif
 
H     A     V     E     A     N     I     C     E     D     A     Y
 

L      A     R     R    Y     B     1     2      3     4     5     6       

 
Edited by larryb123456
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