Dex Recommends: Google SketchUp

When I first came across Google SketchUp, I was instantly hooked and eventually spent a few hours playing with it. As a self-confessed frustrated architect, I found in SketchUp an excellent outlet to vent my ‘frustrations’. Hehe. For those not familiar with SketchUp, it is a 3D modeling program distributed by Google, that is designed for professional architects, civil engineers, filmmakers, game developers, and other related professions.

Its relatively easy to use, flexible and intuitive interface also makes it widely used by kids, mainly as entertainment software. In Google SketchUp you can create 3D models of almost any object, most commonly houses and buildings. It uses a wide range of drawing tools and interactive functions that lets users create 3D models from scratch, ranging from the simple to the complex, complete with colors, textures, scenes and animations.

The best part about SketchUp is that it integrates seamlessly with Google Earth – which means you can create 3D models of existing buildings and display it on Google Earth or upload it to the Google 3D Warehouse, the library of 3D models created in SketchUp by users all over the world.

For my first SketchUp project, I attempted to create a 3D model of my school (elementary and high), St. Agnes’ Academy, since I have a fairly accurate memory of every nook and cranny of it, having spent more than 10 years there. It’s basically just a simple 3D model of the buildings' layout within the campus. However, it is not accurate since I did not rely on exact measurements of the campus’ dimensions but on the satellite imagery provided by Google Earth. It's not even finished yet - it lacks doors, windows, and other architectural details which I may not have the time and expertise to accomplish. Still, I think my 3D model fairly captures the distinct shapes and dimensions of the buildings.

St. Agnes' Academy

Simple 3D Model of St. Agnes' Academy

I uploaded my SAA model to the Google 3D Warehouse. When I have more time to waste I'll try to refine this model and maybe even create more 3D models. Currently, there are only five 3D models of buildings and landmarks in Legazpi City. The other models are by Neil, my co-forumer in SkyscraperCity. You can also check out other Philippine 3D models created using SketchUp. If you have the interest to create 3D models, and more importantly, if you’ve got a LOT of time in your hands and a ton of patience, try Google SketchUp. It’s fun!

Proudly Pinoy!

Last June 12, 2007, ProudlyPinoy.org launched a competition to design a logo that can be displayed on Philippine websites and blogs. Basically the idea was to "create a logo which expresses the pride of being Filipino, and which will allow a web site to elegantly declare its Philippine identity".

Hundreds of entries were submitted and it seemed that finding the best one was daunting, considering the excellent entries posted. Iba talaga ang galing ng Pinoy. The entries were superb! Finally, the competition wrapped up last July 19. The winning logo, designed by Joe Talisic, is a simple but beautiful design depicting a stylized Philippine flag. I like it and I think the judges chose the right logo. The runners-up were also top-notch! I'm digging that "Rizal as Clark Kent/Superman" logo. Haha

The judges' comments about the logo: This logo has it all. It is perfectly balanced, has excellent visual impact, yet remains elegant and graceful. The Filipino identity is immediately obvious. The message is fairly clear - one gets a sense of warmth and caring, and love, which, unlike in other nations, are attributes that are considered more important in the Philippines than any other character trait. Hence the logo superbly expresses what makes us proud to be Filipinos.

So if you are proudly Pinoy and you have a website or blog, express your pride and use this logo now. Click here to get a copy of the logo. Spread the word to your friends too and ask them to support this project and show their pride by using this logo. :-)

Is it the End of the Line for Harry Potter?

Well, technically it IS the end of Harry Potter, or so the author says. Deathly Hallows is the last book in the series and J.K. Rowling has no plans of writing about a middle-aged Harry. But as the world waits with bated breath for the launch of the seventh and the last book (tomorrow, July 21 to be exact) speculations on the boy wizard’s ultimate fate have reached fever pitch. Especially after J.K. hinted at the possibility of killing her main character.

Will Harry die in a climactic battle with Voldemort or will he finally triumph over his nemesis? Who are the two major characters who will meet their end in the hands of 'pure evil'?

Personally, I’d rather see Harry live. I mean it wouldn’t be worth all that trouble he went through from Book 1 to 7 just for him to die in the end. On the other hand, I actually wouldn’t mind if he dies, perhaps in an ultimate act of sacrifice for his friends. I think that would really make an impact. If it does happen, I just hope J.K. will handle his death in a way that will justify everything that the lightning-scarred, bespectacled hero suffered. I can just imagine millions of wide-eyed kids bursting into tears if that happens. lol

The best thing that can happen though is if he does triumph over Voldemort, finally vanquishing He-who-must-not-be-named in a spectacular battle, and then accidentally trips and falls over his wand which stabs him directly in the heart, thus leading to his demise. Haha. Kidding.

Anyway, as much as I want to know the fates of Harry, Hermione and Ron as soon as possible, I think I’ll skip the spoilers and stick to reading the books until the very last page of the very last book - even though I might get my hands on a copy of Deathly Hallows months after everyone in the world has read it 5 times over.

Art by Deanna Molinaro

Dex Recommends: Free Image Editing Software

Do you find MS Paint's functions too basic and you need more image editing features when working with your photos? Are you a wannabe photographer like me who needs an easy-to-use but costless photo editing and manipulation software? If you don't have access to, or have very limited knowledge in Photoshop and other professional image manipulation software you can opt for more user-friendly but effective software you can download for free. Here are some image editing software I use:

Picasa - If you need an idiot-proof and very easy-to-use image editing software and photo organizer, Picasa is highly recommended. It is a freeware application now owned by Google which helps you clean up your digital photo collection by easily locating and organizing the photos in your computer. The best features Picasa offers are the basic photo editing tools such as color enhancement, red-eye reduction, cropping and many more. You can also add effects that can transform your photos from ordinary to exciting in just a click of a button.

Neat Image - Does your digital photo look grainy and rough? That's called image noise. Unless you intentionally want a grainy looking photo, these visible image noise can be quite annoying. Now, you can reduce image noise in your digital photos with the help of one application: Neat Image. This app makes your images look better by reducing the visible noise and grain. You can even use it to even out skin tone or smoothen your portraits for a picture-perfect finish. Just don't overdo it or you'll end up looking like a very smooth balloon.

Paint.NET - Do you want a less costly (Read: free) alternative to Photoshop with most of the functions you need right at your fingertips? Then you should definitely try Paint.NET. I have been using this app for two years now -- basically for minor editing tasks -- and it works like a charm.I have yet to unlock the full capability of Paint.NET, though, since I still have limited knowledge of most of its functions. But it's definitely a permanent fixture in my list of must-have applications.

The GIMP - Short for GNU Image Manipulation Program, GIMP is another top-notch photo retouching and image manipulation software that offers almost all the functionality of Photoshop but none of the cost. GIMP can process digital graphics and photographs with excellent results. I have yet to fully use GIMP's features though. Anybody want to give me free lessons on how to use GIMP? Hehe

FastStone Photo Resizer 2.4 - Want to protect your photo from plagiarism? Add a text watermark to it using FastStone's Photo Resizer/image converter. It also lets you rename, resize, crop, rotate and change the color depth of your photos in a quick and easy batch mode.

Picture Resizer 2.0 - This is a no-fuss, easy to use Photo Resizer that takes up very little space in your computer. Simply download the file to your desktop, which appears as a simple icon, then drag and drop your image files on the application icon to resize. By default, the app resizes pictures to 400 pixels but you can change the size by renaming the icon -- for example, rename to Photoresize200.exe to produce 200-pixel images.

So there, all these applications are freeware and they're readily available on the net. Just click on the links I provided. If you have other image editing software in mind, don't forget to leave a comment. :-)

Pinoy Transformers

If you think the latest Transformers movie rocked, wait till you see the Pinoy version. haha. Check out BumbleJEEP. Sarao pa gayud ini. Eat your heart out Chevrolet Camaro! I like StrICEsCREAM and OptiBUS Prime na Victory Liner. Olops, my colleague forwarded these to me earlier. Credits to David, of course, whoever he is.

More after the jump

StrICEsCREAM

OptiBUS Prime

MegaTRIKE

FrenZYKAD

BarriCART

Web Finds: Photographs that Changed the World

Life Magazine, established in 1936, was one of the most popular publications that put emphasis on photojournalism. In fact, it was the first all-photography U.S. news magazine. Over the years, Life has published in its pages thousands of photographs from all over the world that captured both the mundane and the profound; both the fleeting and the unforgettable; and both the insignificant and world-changing.

One website I encountered while browsing for Photography (one of my passions) resources is The 100 Photographs that changed the World, as published in Life Magazine. Although the claim that these photographs indeed changed the world is dubious, It cannot be denied that these photos captured the interest of the public all over the world and may in one way or another influenced actions and decisions. Another remarkable site on the same topic is Slate.com's Pictures that Changed the World.

Although the two sites featured less than the supposed 100, the selection of photos presented were undeniably powerful. It's mind-boggling how a simple photo of a wide-eyed, rather plain-looking girl can be called world-changing. But if it's a photo of Anne Frank, one understands. Most of the photos explicitly showed the sordid reality of human folly and its effects.

War, famine, death, terrorism and injustice are condensed into a few photos - from the shocking photo of a dying Igbo child afflicted with a degenerative disease to a photo of a lynching mob looking grotesquely happy while their two black victims hang dead on a tree. As one of the captions says: the images remind us that we have not come as far from barbarity as we’d like to think.

Still, there are positive images that reminds us of the heights we have reached over the last century - from that old photo capturing the moment when the Wright brother's strange contraption realized man's millenia-old dream to fly all in a few seconds, to the amazing image of our planet, shining amidst the pitch black of outer space, captured by astronauts on the moon.

I hope you take the time to check out these two sites and appreciate the value of these images just as I did. The photos may or may not evoke something. Because in the end, the power of a picture is in the mind of the beholder.

About my new Layout

Technically, it's not really a new layout.

I simply tweaked the CSS code of Blogger's classic Rounders Template. I'm not really proficient in CSS but with the help of trusty old Google and common sense, I managed to change the background image, made the header, body and sidebars translucent, and changed the color of the texts and links. I have a little problem though, how do I make the images opaque in a translucent box? Somebody help me! hehe. It's still buggy -- works perfectly fine on IE but is a bit sluggish on Firefox 2. It might be all these translucent boxes that's dragging the layie down. Hmm, i'll try to fix this when I have more time.

*Update: I ditched the translucent effect on the body. Sa header and profile box na lang. hehe. For some reason the translucent effect doesn't work on IE. Tsk. Dipisil ang dai tatao, trial and error lang. hehe

By the way, many thanks to Vladstudio for my new background image. It's called Terre Lointaine, (whatever that means). I chose it because it looks great and has that eerie, artsy-fartsy, Tim Burton-ish vibe to it. The colors are cool, too.