Poem of the day - May 1 2020

This is a kind of continuation of the previous blog entry. I must be in a poetic mood. Target once again are the politically correct, a breed of people that support the evil powers that be, but attempt to camouflage their despicable conduct by pretending to be politically correct, which is just a hypocritical way to describe betrayal of their fellow victims. That is about the most stupid thing any person can do. Some may find this to be put rather strongly, but I do not give a flying f..k, because they probably are treasonous politically correct nutters as well. So here's to them:

In social media, many of the politically correct are bots - machines that blurt propaganda supporting the evil agenda of the powers that be. They are programmed devices, just as the politically correct of flesh and blood are programmed and in addition paid to lie most of the time. Independent, original critical thinking has become an oddity in these troubled days. Those still capable of that are often scorned for not going with the flow, which is joining the lying legions. All you unsung heroes - I salute thee!



Hasta luego online virtual folks.

Poem of the day - April 30 2020

This is the first poem of the day in this blog. Poetic inspiration does not always have to do with flowers, fluffy clouds, pink bunnies and butterflies. Especially in my brain or wherever creative impulses live. Today probably is as good as any to begin this returning poetic theme. Please imagine that this poem is addressed to a really, evil, perverse and ruthless person. Perhaps it helps to reduce the bad karma that allowing these words to enter your awareness, may result in. Maybe the universe will choose to remit guilt all together when you imagine an extraordinary wicked person to be the victim of your rage.

'Sunup' poem of April 30 2020

Anyway I hope you enjoy this poetical effusion. The 'politically correct' that find this poem upsetting I would suggest to imagine the likes of genocidal psychopaths like Mao Zedong who tortured and massacred between 38 and 100 million Chinese citizens, Stalin who locked up, starved, tortured and murdered 64 million Russians, king Leopold of Belgium who butchered 10 million Congolese or Pol Pot who tortured and killed a quarter of the Cambodian population. Political correctness often means the refusal to acknowledge the evil occurring behind the veil. Such crimes remain hidden, because they are not reported by lamestream media. But only the utterly stupid and gullible believe all is well. Compliance with media deceit and refusal to actually make use of their brain, makes the politically correct accomplice to the covert crimes. They may seem correct to the misled eyes of the world, but the universe isn't fooled by their betrayal. Willful ignorance is a choice and therefore a crime that may go unpunished on earth, but not in other places and times that are part of the cosmic repair program. And then there is congenital stupidity, which requires subsequent lives to be fixed.

Examples of harmful political correctness: the imbeciles in the West that waved Mao's little red book in support of modern history's most evil mass murderer or the braindead morons that shouted that the Vietnamese communists were responsible for the Gulf of Tonkin incident, with which war mongering president Johnson started the Vietnam war. Or the retards that believe that a 'magic bullet' fired by patsy Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK. Or the harebrained that defend the box cutter terrorist theory that supposedly perpetrated 9/11 after which Colin Powell lied in the UN about Iraqi WMD's that enabled the Bush nutter to invade Irak, steal their oil and kill over one million Iraqi citizens. All condoned by politically correct idiots.



Hasta luego online virtual folks.

The human language a.k.a. English

Apart from ocean dwelling dolphins and whales, human landlubbers are suspected to be the only other earthly life form that uses a system of communication called language. There are over 7000 languages spoken by humans on this planet, which largely reduces the possibility to use that system of communication to communicate. Fortunately many people in non-English speaking countries have (to a certain degree) knowledge of English as a second language (or L2), which makes it possible for those of different speech to discuss, disagree and even (verbally) fight in that commonly used second language.

English as native and second language

The proliferation of the English language is the result of British imperialism. Colonial powers forced the people in conquered areas to speak English, so that the colonists did not have to learn an other language and that they - as native speakers - would always have the advantage of a better command of the language, which was kind of useful in oppressing and law making that often contained obscure articles that enabled the Brits to 'legally' plunder its foreign properties, while providing the officially appointed plunderers immunity so that they could continue to carry out criminal assignments without being dragged into court for ruthlessly violating basic human rights.

The limitless exploitation of overseas properties was possible only because of the possibilities that the English language offered imperialist forces. Its accuracy, ampleness and subtlety allowed articles of deceit to sound and appear eloquent, thus compounding their aura of authority. These properties inbuilt in the English language could even give the oppressed the impression that they were being oppressed to a lesser extent, while in fact the opposite was the case. In this way tyrannical rule seemed far less ungodly as it actually was. It reflects the smartly cunning way in which the language was constructed. That is no wonder, because the bloke that built English was Francis Bacon, who was inspired by the French band of poets - Le Pléiade - that was formed to improve the French language (in which they succeeded wondrously).

Bacon = Shakespeare

Bacon, who was a Freemason and Rosecurian, assembled writers, poets, scientists and legislators in the order Knights of the Helmet, that set out to hugely improve the English language, because he realised that a nation that intended to become the sole world power needed to have a rich and structured language. There is ample evidence that Bacon's nom de plume was Shakespeare. Besides the famous plays Bacon is attributed to have written approximately 2000 books. He didn't of course, the chaps under his direction in the Knights of the Helmet did. So besides building the language and promoting it through Shakespeare's plays, Bacon had many works written to give the language a solid foundation on which the legislative writings of the global British empire was based.

After the reign of the Brits seemingly had come to an end, it still smolders underneath the soil, impossible to extinguish, intending to blaze again at some point in the future. The main tool for this plan to come to fruition is of course its means of communication that is intertwined in its structure that has countless spurs into areas that require deep conveyance to serve properly. Etymology and other linguistic properties provide characteristics that rulers and ruled understand in dissimilar ways, in order to maintain the hierarchy necessary to govern an empire. To which diversity and independence are mortal enemies. It is remarkable that the English language has an abundant subset in its vocabulary to describe properties of these cherished values as well, which probably is an inevitable feat of the linguistic urge to be able to describe all there is or could have been - 'Tragedies and Comedies are of one Alphabet.' (Francis Bacon).



Hasta luego online virtual folks.

The boundaries of reality

What you read here does not exist. In the sense that it is not directly palpable or detectable with our biological human sensors. To actually experience it, we need 'translator devices' like computer monitor screens, televisions or speakers to allow our sensors to pick up signals that they send to our brain in the form of electromagnetic pulses with which we form images that exist in an imaginary virtual world only. The range of impulses that human sensors are able to detect, are marked by an upper and lower frequency, beyond which we are unable to notice whatever is emitting or reflecting those out-of-reach frequencies.

But the fact that our sensors are unable to detect them, does not mean that they do not exist. Oh by the way, anything that is detectable we call reality - the renown seeing is believing cliché - and anything outside of the range of frequencies that make up visible light or audible frequencies, requires specific knowledge to accept that they exist, even though they are invisible or inaudible. We can't hear, see, touch or smell radio- or TV-signals, WiFi frequencies etc. but because we have been told that they exist, we believe that even if our biological sensors are incapable to detecting them. We can see the impulses they transfer on screens or hear them through speakers. But because our sensors do not notice them without the assistance of auxiliary devices, we say that they exist in the virtual world.

The fourth eye

There is no Internet without monitors and speakers, like there are no games without them. We can not video call or vid-chat without our smartphones or webcams. Conference calls are not possible without specialized equipment. But we can also use devices to remote control drones to observe properties of agricultural areas (with infra-red scanners) or bomb the enemy.... The virtual world can be used to observe or direct events in the 'real' world. Does that mean that the limitations of our sensory ability just determine what is virtual and what is real and that there actually is no border between these dimensions inside our dimension? Is this an error of judgement caused by poor or incomplete information?

So apparently the measure and nature of the knowledge that we possess, determines what label we stick on things. But fragments of information - the building blocks of knowledge - are what they are; they can be true or false. This can mean that one and the same event, entity or thought can be qualified as true by one person and be labeled as false by an other. It is knowledge that determines our perception. Professor David Bohm already said this is the case long ago: Human knowledge is a perceptional enterprise.

If something is perceived to be real by one person and not real by an other their perception is not reconcilable, because they believe distinguished information to be true or false. But I suspect nature not to perceive matters in such a way, because it actually exactly knows the difference between true and false information. It seems to me that this is a mandatory condition to create anything at all. In other words, nature does not know virtual worlds, for that is the result of the limited ability to detect of human biological sensors and the possibility to manipulate the settings of artificial sensors and monitors. A person's perception depends on what information (s)he was offered, regardless of the fact if it is true or false, while nature is the source of all information. Entities within nature's domain (some of them) just distort information for unnatural purposes.

Anyway, this is how I perceive things to be.



Hasta luego virtual online folks.

Affinity Publisher StudioLink graphics suite integration

Approximately 2 decades ago I worked in the ICT at a major bank whose name shall remain unmentioned. I supported an international helpdesk where gorgeous young women from all over Europe worked for the country departments. While in groups of males often willy waving contests spontaneously emerge, women tend to engage in cleavage competitions. That basically was all the motivation that the support guys, like us, needed to happily work in that department. But I digress, what was I going to write about again?

Oh yes, I remember: suite integration. In the helpdesk the beauties had up to 38 programs open at the same time, mostly interfaces (based on Rumba for the initiates) to the company's mainframe. That caused the taskbar to be so crowded that it occupied over half the monitor screen. This was the ugly face of not integrating programs. In addition, all programs required the users to change passwords at a certain interval - some every fortnight, others monthly or two monthly. For security reasons of course, lol. No one can remember the mandatory continuously required changing of 38 passwords, so they were - of course - recorded in (online) Excel-files, printed and kept in the desks' top drawer for swift access - which was the result of a security measure, haha! I'm aware that this was a somewhat extreme situation, but extreme situations are often quite useful to imagine better ways on how to to go about things.

Affinity Publisher logo

Affinity Publisher has included the best way of program integration in the form of StudioLink. It merges the functionality of Publisher - the DTP program - with that of Designer - the vector drawing program - and Photo - the photo-editing program. There no longer is the need to open the programs separately and simultaneously; the functions of all 3 programs in Serif's graphics suite can be accessed from within a single program: Affinity Publisher. It makes obese taskbars part of a ridiculously primitive past and does away with frequent switching between the programs. The most effective time saver and efficiency booster that a software suite developing company could have invented.



How does StudioLink make Serif's graphic suite better than the rest?
This program integration combines all common and distinguishing features of Designer and Photo with those of Publisher, so that all DTP work can be done from within Publisher, a number of which are:

• The non-destructive editing that all programs in the suite feature
• The instant live preview of functions (no more guessing what an effect will result in by multiple trial and error clicks in many dialog panels)
• The undo functionality (1000 undos are standard)
• The history function that allows to go back to the very first command in a file and create different set of commands from any point
• The preview modes and before & after split screens
• The program's speed that easily outpaces the competition
• The infinite zoom capability
• The highly customizable fx and other control panels
• The customizable gradient colouring and transparency tools
• The placing of PSD, AI, PDF, JPG, TIFF, PNG or Affinity files with preservation of the layer structure of files capable of storing multiple layers
• Import and export to all major raster and vector files, including layered PSD, PDF and EPS formats
• Affinity Publisher has customizable RGB, LAB, greyscale and CMYK colour spaces, spot colour support, Pantone colours and an extensive range of ICC colour profiles
• 'Save with history' option so that you can review every step taken afterwards to edit a document if necessary

While this advanced functionality may persuade artists in the graphics industry to consider purchasing the programs in the Affinity suite, Serif recently decided to cut its program price in half! You have read this correctly: they give you a 50% discount, which means you buy a license for less than 28 USD per program, which includes 3 free upgrades. No subscription plunder model, if you are satisfied with a version, you can choose to use it forever without paying a monthly penalty until you stop using the program. If anyone still has doubts: Serif offers a generous 90 day trial period, which should suffice to try out the functions of the programs that you need.

This is one of the most persuasive offers I have ever encountered in the software developing business. An excellent incentive to leave the overpriced Adobe days behind. To top things off - most companies run forums where users go to remain oblivious to solutions for the problems they have, but in the Affinity forums the moderator crowd actually does its best to support users. For comparison, go visit the forums of QuarkXpress and InDesign to learn how to effectively frustrate and chase away users :D



Hasta luego online virtual folks.

Spiritual assaults / episodes

From time to time I experience spiritual assaults. There is no cure for it; they just occur and the only option is to let them fade away by themselves. Actually, I do not feel the need to make them go away, but that is a mindset that is becoming increasingly rare these days. Commonly people ignore them or even try to suppress such instants with all sorts of means, mostly medicinal brews. I, on the other hand, tend to patiently endure such episodes to the end. Maybe because I entered and grew up in this dimension in a time and place in which mostly everyone was of such opinion. People there lived close to nature and told stories about ghosts that they met in unusual circumstances while they acted in unusual ways, the spirits that is. They usually were semi-transparent, flew about like birds or walked through walls. That sort of stuff.

Ghost

I can't recall ever having seen a spirit or ghost, but the spiritual episodes that befall me leave no reason to think that they're (drug induced - I don't use any) hallucinations or psychoses. At best hairs stands up in my neck or on my forearms. Those are the physical symptoms of the spiritual sequences, but the mental aspects are more interesting, although they usually are difficult to describe with the tools that human language offers. But since I am in the process of writing this blog, I will give it a try anyway, because there would be no point in writing this blog entry, without attempting to do so. Therefore you may want to prepare for some involuntary incoherent and / or puzzling words in the remainder of this article.

The instants in which I experience the presence of spirits usually are characterized by an elevated awareness in which I become capable of understanding matters in a more precise and profound way, that has never before happened to me. It differs from moments in which I for instance discover solutions in creating technical constructions. Those I rather see as aha-moments. It has more to do with intangible matters that offer a more profound understanding of aspects closely related to the essence of life. We can do without most technical constructions, but life has a number of unavoidable requirements, even if many are totally clueless to what I write about here concerning such matters.

Dunning-Kruger syndrome

That sad observation merely means that society has drifted far away from what was once common and normal, thereby losing a lot of valuable things. But if people have no idea what these things are, they do not miss them, eventhough they in fact are missing in their lives. Modern life has become poorer as a result, less profound and more shallow, which is not a good thing. It resembles the Dunning-Kruger syndrome, that states that a lack of certain type of knowledge causes people not to be aware of the fact that they miss things that they have no knowledge of. This creates an unfortunate downward spiral that plunges people in increasing ignorance, even those that are highly educated in this extremely compartmentalized world of abundant knowledge. Having plenty of knowledge isn't a guarantee to become wise, those are two entirely separate matters.

So spiritual impulses are probably directly related to wisdom, while wisdom is not necessarily related to knowledge. It just depends on the nature of the knowledge if it is able to contribute to gaining wisdom. Having the knowledge to build a nuclear bomb does not automatically make the person that can build an atom bomb or hydrogen bomb a wise (wo)man. What's more, inventing destructive means has nothing to do with matters of life - it is associated to inflicting pain or illness or even to causing death, which is the exact opposite of life's features. Thus spirituality is directly connected to life, to existence. People that do not understand that are in fact dead, but just haven't stopped breathing yet. Therefore I would like to wish everyone spiritual episodes every now and then, reminders that life without an occasional spiritual experience, is not really living. It somehow offers life before death, which is more than just cluttering up this planet without a proper excuse.


Hasta luego online virtual folks.

Annoying fanatics

I've always found unprovoked spontaneous discussions concerning who is the world's best soccer player, guitar player or Formula 1 driver etc. rather stupid and am surprised about people's fanatism although they often present little to no argument to substantiate their claims. I'm a huge fan of Albert Camus who once said: 'The need to be right is a sign of a vulgar mind.', but I don't engage in discussions of who is the best journalist, writer or artist. To me it suffices to know that Camus was a person with an extraordinary perception and ability to eloquently express his feelings and thoughts. I simply enjoy the way how he looked at matters and how he put his views to words.

Albert Camus

I like how his mind worked, because he actually used it instead of mindlessly parroting other people's views and the fact that he lit a cigarette from time to time, although he probably wasn't harassed by programmed health fanatics that weren't as common in his day as they are now. Sure, retards are correct in saying smoking is not good for a person's health. It is quite safe to repeat such claims over and over, because everyone in his or her right mind knows that it is true. So there is little risk in being attacked by people that disagree with the self acclaimed champions of such claims. In other words: they may feel an irrepressible urge to be right.

What makes the conduct of such half-wits annoying is the fact that they keep rubbing their borrowed opinions in everyone's face without end, thereby convincing people that they are not normal instead of making a useful and intelligent contribution to life. For many being annoying is some sort of birth-defect that often is beyond the ability to cure. Unfortunately the world's population is teeming with such idiots, which kind of causes society to be a pestering place to be. The only people that aren't harassed by the hordes of knuckle dragging imbeciles that seem to have swallowed a broken record player, are those that live off the grid in a remote, rural area without means of communication, like radio, TV and / or Internet.

They are those that can't read this blog, lol.... But my guess is that they do not give a flying f..k (pardon my French) about that.


Hasta luego online virtual folks.

Meta data in art - what is it?

Good question if I say so myself. Much of the art I encounter on the web today, kind of makes me go [insert long lasting flatulent dissonance]. This goes for digital art in particular. Not that I believe that I am one of the few to make proper art and most artists don't, but I just find myself being unable to pass appreciation for 'artwork' that obviously required very little inspiration, skill and commitment to create. However, somehow this type of one-horse, amateurish fiddling seems to have become some sort of standard that has gained a huge following. Portfolio sites are teeming with such rubbish and the views and likes of them suggests that the average person is quite fond of crappy tinkering. The public of course likes to be told what they should appreciate, which probably is why the circus of unaware and cheap rubble works just fine.

Most artists promptly give up creating true art, because it saves them time and effort. Boggling unskilled junk is so much easier than sweating ones balls of (pardon my French) to create something really inspired and meaningful. A consequence of such mindless conduct is that vast armies of incompetent bunglers all of a sudden are able to pretend to be artists. The sad thing is that the public actually believes that this is the case and as a result shiploads of worthless bunk is sold. Here you see a shameless example of modern ignorance.

I fear this deplorable situation isn't going to change any time soon, which is a shame in particular for artists that remain true to themselves, true to art. It is a sign of the times; impostors rule and the genuine are scorned and starve. There is of course a reason for things to develop into such a suspicious direction. For instance: Vincent van Gogh sold only one painting during his entire life, earning close to nothing from it, but today the art trade criminals make millions from selling his works. His art has become an investment rather than an inspired creation that one cannot stop enjoying by looking at it. The rich often buy and sell art for this reason. But art is more emotion than reason.

Vincent van Gogh

In Van Gogh's work an obvious style is visible like many other great artists that created art that is immediately recognizable as work painted or sculpted by them. This is the visual signature that reflects the personality of artists. Their brush strokes, palette and preference for certain styles, scenes and subjects refer to them; it is a complex combination of aspects that tell the trained observer which artist made which artwork. But such intriguing intricacy is often absent in the smelly garbage heap of today's art.

I have not studied art or art history, but I immediately recognize certain types of art. Art in which shapes are built and arranged based on the lines of the golden mean, symbolism, hidden symmetry and other subtle visual denotations to (mostly ancient) knowledge, features that many observers fail to detect. It makes the experience of enjoying art more profound and powerful, because the occult aspects were brought to consciousness. It is exactly what I notice to be absent in much of modern art. Albert Camus expressed this in an exact and eloquent way: '... a product of the untalented, sold by the unprincipled to the utterly bewildered'. In this case he spoke about abstract art, but his words apply to all sorts of useless modern rubble.

Greatest inventor of all time:
Nikola Tesla

The crux of the above is that true art often contains meta-data; information that is present, but not always easily detectable. This unobvious type of information is present in a kind of concealed way in analog art; painting and sculptures - the traditional art forms. In digital artwork it is even more difficult if not impossible to detect, but that does not automatically mean it is absent. I often assign values to drawing functions, values related to the numbers Nikola Tesla preferred (numbers divisible by 3 often) or numbers from the vortex based mathematics that were re-discovered by Marko Rodin. These aspects are too deeply hidden to be detected with the naked eye. It resembles the concealing of code in certain parts of the bible, particularly the version written in Hebrew letters. It requires advance decoding to detect, but the coding is there nevertheless. In such works the unapparent can repulse the obvious.

Marko Rodin

So, what is the use of such occult data in art? In certain scientific circles it has been established that humans see much more than they become aware of. A part of the information that the eyes detect never becomes part of awareness. It is observed and after a while sinks into the unconsciousness where it is stored in the deep dungeons of memory, which is often incorrectly referred to as being forgotten. Therefore there is no apparent use for it, but what is apparent or not can also mean the opposite when digging deeper into the way that the human mind works. In today's science it is unsafe to speak or write about consciousness, especially when it is claimed to be an entity that exists outside of the brain. But I am sure this view will change at some point in time. Perhaps that instant will be incited by an art loving scholar enjoying the splendor of a true work of art. That would confirm the significance of inspired creativity and a mind that is open to the unknown. A collaboration of features that has been disregarded too often for too long by too many.


Hasta luego online virtual folks.

The new kid on the block: Affinity Designer

I recall being floored by CorelDRAW 3 in the early 90's of the previous century. It rivaled the hallowed Adobe Illustrator, which was an act of sacrilege that the gods would punish with an unending abide in hell where the dude with the horns and the pointy stick makes life miserable after a variance with his boss got somewhat out of hand. Decades later Illustrator still hasn't relinquished its throne, but it's only clinging to that piece of furniture by desperately burying its talons in the armrests, while an other contender confidently flaunts his weapons in a baleful way. Illustrator knows it will soon have to give up its privileged position, but it refuses to acknowledge its impending defeat.

Serif's Affinity Designer logo

The contender polishes his armour and cleans his guns, positive that the forthcoming duel can't be made into a wager from which bookmakers can make a profit. Meanwhile Illustrator is guttling sedatives to subdue its fear and stop the trembling. Its advisers proposed a subscription model to make a profit while it is still possible. Panic floods Adobe's castle, the lustrous landmark that once was the proud symbol of its kingdom has turned into a smelly cauldron bursting with grave concern. Illustrator's bulky legacy code simply can't be transformed into a swift and modern program. It is too late and swarms of formerly loyal subjects started to hurriedly abandon ship. The once ravished company propaganda is heedlessly ignored. There's no one left that doesn't know it is fabricated fake news. The signs on the wall are difficult to misread. Adobe is losing support faster than it failed to offer support to its users.

Affinity Designer is the contender's name. Humble but certain of victory it strides across the battlefield, almost like it is dancing, effortlessly evading Illustrator's dire lashes, never taking a hit, patiently waiting to deal the final blow. Designer focuses on Illustrator's neck; one blow will decapitate it, sever its head. With every fleeting instant that deciding moment comes nearer. Illustrator is trying hard to conceal the fact that it is terrified, but its frown, wide open eyes and swollen arteries in its temples reveal total mental disarray. Illustrator is about to lose its head.


Hasta luego online virtual folks.

VectorWhiz Blog first entry

This is an external page in blogspot to my site: https://vectorwhiz.com, because I want to reduce the risk of corrupting my website, which is what happened to the previous site created in Pinegrow. Building a new site for tinkerers like me, approximately takes one week, before necessary corrections and tweaks are implemented. I created my website in Mobirise, which has greatly improved over the years. Probably not a tool for professional web designers, but I am not a professional web designer. I think what is on the above mentioned address is good enough to properly represent what I do.

Wolf in sheep's clothes

Stay tuned for more random raves and rants on this address in the future. I will post anything that pops up in my mind (well..., almost anything, I try not to be arrested), not just digital graphic design related stuff. Blame that on the premise that everything is connected, intertwined, non-local or whatever label you choose to stick on it. Even science' codgers have bosomed this percept, so it's quite safe to trash all other deviating views and just mindlessly sponge anything scholars invent without doing any research and thinking of your own.

moi

I feel I should warn you in advance that I may contradict myself in various blog entries, but such an oddity should be filed in the advancing insight drawer. People that stubbornly cling to whatever bunk was coerced into their comfort zone probably fear that change might kill them. I prefer to cram new bunk into my sphere of awareness from time to time to brush up my view on whatever misguided or correct notions sank into my sensory reach. Hoping of course that it may at one point cause me to see the light before my immortal soul decides to hop on the express to the next realm.

Anyway, nothing ever is certain, like the Heisenberg chap already figured out in the previous century. So don't get your panties in a twist because of what you read here; it's just how I perceive things, which is what people that write blogs tend to do.


Hasta luego online virtual folks.