inverse_bloom

Im currently using Corel Draw X4, the Gimp and Blender. Although lately i have been finding Corel Draw X4 lacking in areas whereas Illustrator really shines. One great thing about Corel Draw X4 is if your a newb to it, there is an option to switch its layout similar to Illustrator. For better control over gradients and gradient meshes Illustrator is superior. Likewise illustrator has far better brushes to select from. If you go by the adage "You get what you pay for", then you'll find that this definitely applies here. The only strengths i can see that CorelDraw has over Illustrator is some of the bezier curve tools. It has some interesting options for this, but then again Illustrator gives you all what you "need". Another strength with CorelDraw is it has incredibly detailed accuracy for print work. For raster images i use the Gimp only because i dont need the extra features that Photoshop has (at the moment). I dont bother with Corel PhotoPaint X4 because i dont see many strengths. Although Paintshop Pro is a useful tool and has unique way of rendering and resizing pixels, in the past i used it just for that quality alone. QuarkExpress is the standard for layout print work, but i never got into that much as it has no use for web work. The freely available Xara Xtreme (on linux) is and excellent performing vector software but it doesnt contain all the features required from such software. It also has some inconsistencies that leave you scratching your head (saving files can be tricky sometimes for example). Although there is a pay for version available on windows but i cant comment on that as i haven't used it. 3D Studio Max is ofcourse very usefull for its intended purpose. But for 3D Modeling Maya is the choice to go by as far as im concerned (maybe Houdini), it allows you to work incredibly quick and its modelling features (particularly with NURBS and Sub'd's) are very usefull. It's standard renderer and also Mental Ray do a good job, but for the best apparently you can't go past RenderMan. SoftImage XSI is a good for modelling and also rendering but I cant elaborate too much, as i havn't spent enough time with it. After Effects is very good reasonably "accessible" software for compositing. Great for anything most poeple would do. Autodesk combustion is another reasonably priced one although i havn't used it. If you want to get into movie production for AutoDesk Discreet Inferno + system you'll be looking at 400k+ ! Apparently at the college i used to go to they had an AutoDesk Discreet Flame "in the basement" this is a lesser product then Inferno, but still at the 200k+ mark. I never got the opportunity to use it unfortunately.

I think the highest paying job is a bank robber. I mean think about it, first you blow a hole into the bank with a Mini loaded with TNT. You then run around frantically with your oompa loompa minions, bagging all the bonds, cash and gold bullion and shifting it to your rocket ship. As the cops begin closing in on your location, you have your minions pull out the dead cow carcasses and line a perimeter around the bank. The heat is on, they call the swat in with gas masks, your oompas let loose the red eyed ravenous fluffy bunnies on em, its an abolutely horrifying blood bath.After you've packed your rocket ship and lite up your cigar, you give the cops the finger and blast off. The cow carcasses flare up into a cataclysmic explosion propelling you at an unfathomable speed towards the moon, where you make you escape. Mega income in 30 minutes.Not bad.Creative story over, peace out.

Yeah just created a possible trap 17 awards banner. Here -What do you think yay or nay ?...........

No you'll be ok, your copyright can still be used and will adequately cover your particular site _nameless . Copyright is used for artistic works and written content (which a lot of content in web sites are classed as). Your right _nameless, there is a specific format the copyright comes in and you simply place it on your site, to be legally covered.But for logo's and business names, copyright doesn't sufficiently cover you. With logo's that are only covered by copyright; lets say if in the event you took someone to court for infringing your copyright, it will be your job to prove that you indeed had that logo before them and they directly copied from you (not an easy task at all).But if you register a trademark (depending on how much coverage you pay for) you are protected by your previous registration for your logo "on the books". The reason why articles and art works can be covered is you have much more grounds to say "they" copied it and this is mine. As with all "detailed" artistic creations, you kind of put a unique signature, or a unique way of doing things that is particular to you into your creation. It is here were you can provide evidence to your case that your work has been copied. Especially if such works have timestamps, etc.

Hi chezo, well your list of strong points is a good and healthy list. Nice sites too, particularly your striveit site. Hopefully you see some success in your endeavours. The welcoming party will be on soon, describing which links to go for to peruse through trap 17 rules. Good day to you.

I actually read an incredible story on the internet probably 3 years ago now... A mentally handicapped person with a certain percentage of IQ in 60-70's I think, was nurtured by their parent's and other supportive poeple to develop herself into an accomplished, able person (as many would see it). This person if i remember correctly was a young female in her 20's writing this article which, compared to the average person, exhibited much better skills and "very" articulated ideas.This is an inspirational example of where a group people have challenged themselves by "not" buying into preconcieved ideas such as the norm belief's promoted by society. In this example the girl was hugely successfull and had nurtured a mind which could perform on par with any one else in some areas.But really my encounters with mentally handicapped individual's have made me believe that they are at the very least a "warm" hearted bunch, not particularly engaging conversation, but nice nevertheless.

Yeah go with casualtechie.com, 1 vote from me. It implies an informal place for computer techies to "hangout" its clear and simple. Regarding the questions you asked on the previous page _nameless, registering a business name and or logo isn't absolutely necessary (at least in most countries). Your right, really it comes down to how large you "anticipate" your business to become. Not just this, but particularly your judgement after conducting competitor analysis. For instance it appears that Tom's Hardware only has a copyright covering all content in their site. However "Anandtech.com" a similar site, does have U.S trademarks along with their copyright.You would search out all of your competitor's, get a ratio for who's doing what and make a decision based on that. Just to elaborate a little on business "size" subject i mentioned before. When you first set up your business you create a business plan which will state how large you believe your company "could" become. If you anticipate your business idea to be a huge multinational success, then you would consider certain milestones to guage off from and when you hit each milestone you add more protection to your business by upping that ante on what your doing with your trademarks.It kinda comes down to how ambitious and serious you plan to be. After considering that, you determine how far you will need to go, to protect your business. If you are targeting nationally then you wouldn't bother with an international set of trademarks. In Australia you can set "state" trademarks as well.Maybe I went a bit overboard with my first reply on this topic. But really you do need to have a little idea about this stuff even if starting small. Every advantage and protection you can offer your business should be considered, as only 80% of start up business's survive.

Actually Edward De Bono books are good for this also. They are more associated with creativity and lateral thinking, but what they do provide is a walkthrough into how the mind processes ideas and memories, also how we form patterns and how those patterns are modified. @TS's post 6, Actually according to DeBono (one of the world's leading thought experts) creativity enables us to modify existing patterns. The brain is good at forming patterns of thinking which get extended by more thought that are of similar patterns. Creative thinking helps us diverge from these rigid patterns within our brains to take different directions. For instance, if you think about a past memory "in a different light", you are more than likely able to modify your perceptions and "recall" of that memory. Anyways. By the way i read this book by an Australian author i believe, called "The Memory Book". It's not too bad for a general read. Here is a link - http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ Although you have to be a little carefull how tight you crinkle pages, as my dads copy that i was using started to fall apart.

But we do know that the brain itself structures memories and experiences naturally like a defrag!. Basically the brain assimilates new information into its current model, not just storing information but also slightly modifying the existing system. I cant remember exactly how it all works, but books on improving your memory provide excellent insights into these processes.

Its a good name "Casual Tech", a lot of techies would go for that. Immediately before looking at the details of the topic i already knew what the name was about. To my reckoning one of your main competitors will be Tom's Hardware, they've got years of good reputation which will make things a little tougher for you. I'm just thinking of the name in a more literal sense, could you offer something more than just pure technical articles on the site. For instance in a computer mag they will have amusing articles with an underlying "tech" theme, but entertain you while you drink you coffee for instance. Something like that will "differentiate" you from "Tom's Hardware" for example while retaining extra meaning with your company name. Have you considered alternative spins such as "Casual Techie" or "The Casual Techie", i only ask because you may hit even closer to the mark by considering this. The other issue i thought i might bring up is Trademarks. You may already know about this subject, but it may be beneficial for me to include it for other people. Basically "copyright" will protect your information content, but not your business name or the logo for your business. For that you need a "trademark" put on the name and on the logo design. This will prevent another business from stealing your name or creating a logo that has similar forms to your own. In the event that they do copy the business name or your logo, the application you submitted on the register will prove your legal case against them. But furthermore applications are not applied by default "internationally", what i mean is you can only successfully register your trademark first, in your country of origin. If that step is successful, you can then proceed to apply internationally through the "Madrid Protocol". The Madrid Protocol otherwise known as a the "Madrid System" was a system that allows people to apply for a trademark in multiple countries. Before this system corporations and businesses were required to make applications in each country that they wanted their trademark to apply to. The Madrid System has in excess of 25 countries which it covers and it saves you money. So if you wanted to set an international trademark in ten well known countries you would proceed with these general steps - You'd first come up with a business name and a logo. You go to your local trademark office to make an application. Before completing the application you would look on their database to compare your name and logo with existing businesses. If there are similarities then you will need to determine if you are still capable of making a successful application. There are numerous classes that goods and services come under and you will make your application based on how appropriate a given class is to your business "type". For instance for web design, if i remember correctly, it is class 42 that fits best, but i "think" you can also apply under class 41 for additional cover. So for 42 (I'm fairly sure) you are setting a trademark on "IT services" which "web design" falls under. If your business type doesn't fully fit under 1 class you "have" to file multiple classes so your adequately covered (no way around it). Ok, so once you've determined your class/s you proceed to check the database with businesses in that class for any similarities. If there are none then proceed with you application, otherwise you may not be able to. Another way to do this is to just pay for the service for someone to do it for you (which is probably usually the case people opt for). After the application has been filled, it will take a while to be processed (typically 6 months in Australia ,not sure in other parts of the world). Once registered you are then able to register in other countries either through the Madrid System or not. The following is a list of all the countries that are part of the Madrid System - http://www.griffithhack.com/ For instance i looked inquired about registering a trademark for 6 countries internationally. It would have cost me approximately $ 2200 do this for one single application. But if you were to file them singularly you'd be up for thousands. The other "VERY" important thing to know is people cant register the same business name in your country while you have an application "pending" in your country. Likewise if you have one pending in specifically selected countries another person cannot make an application for that name or logo, as far as I'm aware. There is also some weird laws surrounding "typefaces" incorporated in designs and logos. For instance you can register a trademark logo with most type faces. The issue here is a type face on its own can not be trademarked e.g "a, b, c, d, etc". However there are laws that state you have to pay for a licensed "font face", as it is classed as software that is not licensed as free (although many fonts are). What you are actually paying for here is the vector outlines which display the font and its formatting features that allow you to change the way a font is displayed (kerning, baseline, etc). For instance there are some font sites that allow you to display a preview of font. Generally speaking, you can take some screen shots, vector them and construct your own legit logo, which you can account for where it originated and all for free (because they are your outlines). Or you can purchase and use a font for a minimal fee.

For myself i definitely have strong traits of being a creative thinker (or brain stormer) since young. So I guess by identifying this I'm halfway there, where ever "there" is. Though its interesting, because i allow this part of me to be inhibited. I think it is partially because the standards i sometimes place on myself that contributes towards it becoming an issue. But there you go.

Yeah we should have 2-3 more mods i agree, but i guess if the current mods and admin were supportive of that, we would have that already.

That might make an interesting new hobby, taking pictures such as these. The last picture is particularly amusing, the guy on the far left looks like he's having a mental breakdown. The guy up the top of the second pic looks like a half dead zombie although he is probably posing. In the first pick the little girl looks like she thinks she's gonna die.

Yeah my friend had a 2400 baud in 97... i think. I was like M8 your gotta get rid of that thing, its an evil waste your of time. Now after casting my mind back, the poor guy saw me on my $5000 comp with 33.6 Modem must have made him feel a little bad, though i did share its use when he asked. We had a good bunch on our BBS's we'd interact sometimes but we were mostly there to hoard stuff.

Hey thanks for that mate, actually I've been working quietly in the background to improve my skills. I've got plans to really improve my site in every way but it has been a long build up so far. I want to really give people something when they come to my site, by making the best tutorial content i can possibly produce. Another issue for not being able to finalize my design (as far as I'm concerned) is i just don't have enough content to lay it out in the way i want. I also wanted to port it to the "Magento" CMS and push the interactivity further with JavaScript. I should focus a bit more on this project as i have been sidetracked on others.

I've never heard a car lot trying take so many steps to rip someone off as this case, thats a bit low in my opinion. Obviously they dont give a hoot about reputation unless your surrounded by dodgy car yards in your area. I dislike the business of purchasing any a car, you can't believe "anything" the other says about it, but you pretend to play along reserving what you trully think. I haven't dealt with an honest person yet when it comes to buying cars, yet they get offended if you indicate anything they say sounds a bit shoddy.

Don't get discouraged too much _Nameless, thats usually how it goes in web design and development, your learning path unexpectedly takes its own course and there is so much to learn. Its a constant learning experience. Yeah i vote SheepDog for dog whisperer as well if that is possible, for no other reason than SheepDog being a great Xisto member.

Yeah i wholeheartedly agree, for me if i cant find meaning in the things i do then i get a strong feeling that my life is wasting away. Although there is another inherent dilemma in here, what should we deem as meaningful? Surely adding goodness to the world is a good place to start, but in what way would you do that? Then i guess it raises the question, what do you believe in? Personally my faith in people is slightly eroded so i have a really confusing time trying to figure that one out (im sure im not the only one by far). Other questions are, do you live more for the moment; for example help an old lady across the street? Or do you concentrate on the difficult task of making lasting changes possibly to no avail?

If i were you i wouldn't format your drive but install a demo of Kaspersky, hijack this and perhaps a registry analyzer to search for anything peculiar (not the average reg cleaner, but something which looks for malicious programs). From those programs you should get a very good overall check of your system on top of what you have, of course if you want to be totally sure...Personally i dread the possibility of that happening to me, for that reason i try to delete most stuff in my emails that contain sensitive data. I change passwords every 3 months and go online through a small virtual machine installed that can be scanned through quickly.

Its kind of an oddly phrased question, the way i interpret is "Would you pursue money above all else?". In that context i'd say i wouldn't allow myself to travel that path. My dad's side of the family are very much like that and many of them have lifes which are starving for enrichment.

Good on ya Anwii, ive been in that sort of position before a couple of times, the housing state in some parts of Australia is truly uninspiring. Hope things settle for you without too many hicups, there always seem to be a few. Anyway, Good luck.

Hi Kawai, you like to draw? Thats great. Please dont be shy to share what you do with Trap 17, we love it. I like to draw but not so much for the sake of Art but more directive with constraints like illustration or design. Hope you have a good time.

Yeah i used to enjoy chat rooms a lot, i tried this one out but the people had no imagination or were very timid or were horny (but no horny women).

Charlie Chaplan was good in "The Great Dictator", i think that was him at his best. Unfortunately i havnt seen modern times yet, but i think that would be more idealistic than funny. Jim Carrey manages to stay fresh. Some of his old stuff on Saturday Night Live is the most funniest things i've seen a person do. Robyn Williams is good and probably my favorite, he is unrelenting when he allows himself to let go, but he isn't for everyone. Although he is good in many films (even the serious) i prefer to see him doing standup or being interviewed. Billy Connelly (the scottish dude) is good, not only funny but seems a genuine person also. Although i dont like "some" of his stuff, Eddie Murphy is awesome. I've never seen "Delirious" on DVD but have heard it on tape and that was great. I've seen most episodes of the "Dave Chappelle" show and that left me wanting more. Jerry Seinfeld is a funny person and also comedian. I thought all actors were funny in Seinfeld. Mike Myers has contributed great stuff to SNL and ofcourse his movies are hilarious.

Good on ya, "Shreya" seems an elegant name. I have sympathy for your situation hopefully you get the opportunity to see your new born soon.