Archive for June, 2006

06-25-2006

Japan, Betty Boop, and Anime Eyes

I ran across the Japan SAQ (Seldom Asked Questions) via populicio.us. The page collects a wide variety of questions and answers about various aspects of Japanese culture. One of the questions gives some detail about the origin of big Anime eyes.

Q. Why do anime characters have such big eyes?
A. The practice of drawing anime characters with unusually large eyes dates back to the art form’s founder, Osamu Tezuka. When he started drawing his most famous creation, Astroboy, he was inspired by the famous cartoon character Betty Boop and her enormous eyes. After the success of Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy), other manga and anime artists began to copy Tezuka, and a trend was born.

The list is pretty fascinating reading. I wish there were similar SAQs to cover the obscure aspects of all cultures around the world. The closest I’ve seen are the The Xenophobe’s Guide book series.

Posted by Matt in movies, reading | 1 Comment »

06-22-2006

37% Rule: A Shortcut for Decision Making

I ran across an interesting article via populicio.us recently about the mathematics of evaluating options and making optimal decisions. The article offers the following handy heuristic and details the math used to derive it:

At the British Psychological Society’s conference in April 1997, on Dr Peter Todd, of the Max Planck Institute in Munich, spoke about the best (optimal) strategy for finding a partner. He also drew a parallel with the employer trying to find a suitable new employee from a range of applicants, and quoted the 37% rule. Once you have seen 37% of the application forms, “a coherent picture of the ideal employee is built up and the next person to fulfil these criteria gets the job”.

Posted by Matt in business, general, lifehacks | No Comments »

06-14-2006

An Easy Way to Support Open Source Software

I’d like to share some information on how you may be able to support open source software with very little effort. Though dates can vary, the fiscal year for some organizations ends on June 30. To help justify budgets, managers often scramble to spend every last penny by the close of the budget cycle. It may be an opportune time to suggest a donation to support open source projects. To help justify a donation, you can point to specific foundations that support the software your organization uses.

This year I tried to get money donated to some of the open source projects in use where I work. Though management liked the idea, this year’s budget surplus will go instead to cover other budget shortfalls. However, I’d like to share the information with others, in the hopes that it might help someone else arrange a donation to their favorite open source projects.

Below are links to information about donating to various open source non-profits. All of these foundations are IRS 501(c)(3) non-profits, according to their respective websites.:

If you manage to arrange a donation by your employer, I’d be interested in hearing about it in the comments.

Posted by Matt in money, tech | 2 Comments »

06-11-2006

Custom Sketches for Only $1

I can’t remember where I first stumbled across Sketch-It, but I’m very glad I did. For just $1 you can have a custom sketch created by one of several artists. You can submit an idea, such as “ugly tie” or “baby shower.” Or you can submit a photo you’d like to see rendered as a sketch. The resulting sketches are released under a Creative Commons license.

I recently submitted a photo of my dog and I’m very impressed by the results, especially for just $1. In looking over some of the other submissions, the results can vary quite a bit, but if you’re disappointed with a sketch, you can simply pay another dollar and resubmit your request. Or you can contact individual artists who contribute to the site to find out about custom work.

Daisy photo

Daisy sketch from Sketch-It

Posted by Matt in cc, creativity, photography | No Comments »

06-10-2006

DIY Poster from 1910 Austin Panoramic Photo

My office at work has no windows and is pretty stark. I’ve been needing something to spruce up the walls.

For years I’ve been wanting to order a print of a 1910 panoramic photo of downtown Austin that’s on the Library of Congress Website. However, the price and/or the hassle has kept me from doing so. It turns out the LOC site has a much easier system for ordering prints now, but I have already taken matters into my own hands.

I used a program called The Rasterbator to convert the image into a series of 8″x11″ sheets that fit together to make a poster that’s over 7 feed wide. I used Scotch Clear Removable Mounting Squares to mount the individual sheets on my office wall. I’m very happy with the end result. Click on the photo below to see a larger version.

Austin panoramic cropped

Posted by Matt in Austin, photography | No Comments »