http://jeff.smithicus.com/ 2012-02-23T01:15:26-06:00 http://jeff.smithicus.com/ http://jeff.smithicus.com/lib/tpl/jeff/images/favicon.ico text/html 2011-09-12T09:26:09-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/publications?rev=1315837569&do=diff text/html 2010-12-22T10:13:53-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/technote:git_the_hell_out?rev=1293034433&do=diff I've used lots of different revision control tools in the past, but never really settled on the one true tool for all my needs (mostly lone programmer projects, of a prototype nature). Lately I've been intrigued by git, and so after playing around with it for a while, I've started my first git-enabled project. text/html 2010-12-16T13:08:04-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/music?rev=1292526484&do=diff Music [The Wheelsong Project CD] These original compositions were created, for the most part, within the context of my thesis research, although some pieces were composed using other, more traditional methods. For the complete thesis collection, including fragments, see the thesis music page. text/html 2010-12-15T12:28:57-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/thinklab:ideas_logs_bugs_and_wishlists?rev=1292437737&do=diff The notion of idea tracking has been on my mind for at least 10 years and in that time, I've made a number of forays and explorations into that tool space, but to date, none of it has 'stuck.' Why not? What's missing and what have I consequently learned about what would be required to make a tool that survives the vagaries of intervening life? Let's take a look... text/html 2010-12-14T12:44:37-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/thesismusic?rev=1292352277&do=diff Thesis Music These compositions were created during the course of my Wheelsong research and have been referenced in my thesis (see ). They are provided here for the convenience of those reading that document. Featured Compositions These are compositions created by me during the course of my research and which serve as featured examples of the breadth and sophistication of what Wheelsong can allow inexpert hands to achieve. text/html 2010-12-10T15:29:24-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/thinklab:the_meaning_of_resistance?rev=1292016564&do=diff That term has always bothered me. Resistance - in the electrical sense. It connotes too strong a notion of willful opposition, or conscious intent. Upon reflection, a more obvious, and less contentious term in my view would be electronic opacity. Perhaps I appear to be quibbling, but in my relatively naive thinking about electricity, a more apt label helps me to carry a more appropriate consideration for that quality through all of my subsequent thinking. text/html 2010-12-08T07:54:13-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/default_sidebar?rev=1291816453&do=diff Home Research Blog Tech Notes Publications Activities Freebies Media Output * Music * Music Docs * Images Talks Contact Me Family text/html 2010-12-02T15:41:53-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/home?rev=1291326113&do=diff After nearly twenty years working in the field of high-tech computer graphics, special effects and consumer software, I have shifted gears and returned to academia, where I am currently in the process of finishing a doctorate in computer science. I live with my wife and four daughters in Saskatoon, where, in addition to pursuing my research, I am also a writer and a community volunteer. Whenever there's any time left over from that, I also dabble in a number of visual art forms and music composi… text/html 2010-11-27T09:51:49-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/freebies?rev=1290873109&do=diff I write lots of code, for lots of reasons. From time to time, I'll write something that might be of use to others, so I'll put it here. I don't have the time and energy to set up a Sourceforge account for each one, or the interest in wading through license decisions for each one. So here they are. Public domain. If you can use them, great. But if they eat your children or set fire to you mother's collection of erotic tea cozies, don't blame me. text/html 2010-11-23T16:22:12-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/blog:video_bloatware?rev=1290550932&do=diff I've been doing a lot of video editing lately - or trying to - and this experience has brought me to the following conclusions: some tools are powerful; some tools are simple; but the the powerful ones are too complicated; the simple ones are simple in the wrong way; all of them require more horsepower than they should; and none of them support a sketching mode. text/html 2010-11-12T20:02:35-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/talks:epub:tools?rev=1289613755&do=diff By this I mean publishing tools - the software you use to take your book (in whatever form it is currently in) and turn it into a file of whatever type you've selected for distribution. The good news is that no matter what form it's in now, if it's digital there will be some way to get it into your intended delivery format. text/html 2010-11-12T12:48:07-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/talks:epub:formats?rev=1289587687&do=diff A print publisher would have done things for you like selecting a particular kind of paper, an ink, a binding method and all those other little decisions related to the physical construction of your book. The electronic world has comparable issues. text/html 2010-11-12T10:43:32-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/talks:epub:main?rev=1289580212&do=diff So you're thinking about self publishing, and with the exciting revolution in ebooks going on all around you, you're thinking that maybe this is going to be your easy access route to the teeming hordes who will one day be your fans. While this may all be true, there's one reality check hiding in your otherwise flawless plan: the word “easy.” Self-publishing is about more than just circumventing the slush pile. If you're going to take on the job of publisher - electronic or otherwise - there are… text/html 2010-11-12T10:28:08-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/talks:epub:distribution?rev=1289579288&do=diff Even after you've made the decision about which devices you want your titles to appear on, and which formats you're going to have to provide content in to conform to those devices, you still have more decisions to make. How are you going to get the books from your desktop computer into all those devices in the hands of your potential customers and readers? text/html 2010-11-12T10:26:23-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/talks:epub:devices?rev=1289579183&do=diff In some ways, e-publishing is much more complicated for the publisher. In the old days, you picked a size format, some paper stock, a font and some ink, and away you went. Your customers either bought your latest title or they didn't. The e-world has some serious entitlement issues. “Yes, I'd like a copy of Lust In The Starlight. Do you have it in Helvetica narrow on a backlit device with nine hours of battery, a 10-inch display and a feminine yet rugged chassis?” text/html 2010-11-12T09:47:55-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/talks:epub:drm?rev=1289576875&do=diff This is perhaps the single hottest topic in the world of electronic media. Copyright law and practice are going through an upheaval of almost biblical extent. Do you care? Should you care? I'm not going to offer an opinion on that. What I will say is that if you care, or if you think you might care in the future, then you may want to publish in a format that allows you to control who can read your work, and who cannot. text/html 2010-11-12T08:56:28-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/default_header?rev=1289573788&do=diff text/html 2010-11-12T08:12:00-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/talks?rev=1289571120&do=diff There are a number of topics I've given talks on - both squarely related to my research and other, less formal topics. Some of them, I give repeatedly, but I'm always hunting around for my PDF slides, or my PowerPoint when it comes time to give it again. Recently, it occurred to me that what I really should do, is prepare the talk in a web-friendly format and stick it on my web site. Then other people can get a look at the content, for whatever value it might be, and when I next need to give the… text/html 2010-11-11T20:36:07-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/talks:epub:fluid?rev=1289529367&do=diff In a fluid layout, the paragraph breaks are maintained, but the text is free to flow and wrap according to the display edges, rather than the extents of some arbitrary “page.” This comes at the cost of some loss of layout control. Might not be suitable for poetry. text/html 2010-11-11T19:57:51-06:00 jefficus http://jeff.smithicus.com/doku.php/talks:epub:fixed_small?rev=1289527071&do=diff On smaller devices, there are two ways to deal with fixed page layouts: Show the whole page... * advantage: lots of text to provide smooth reading flow * disadvantage: blindness and insanity Or show a portion of the page * advantage: legibility, lack of thorazine * disadvantage: yo-yo panning