Al B. Hard does it Pony Style

I’ve been irked for a while over the fact that lots of the images I upload to Flickr look washed out in comparison to what I see on my computer. At first I thought this was due to gamma issues and was assuming that maybe my browser didn’t recognize settings or something like that.

I finally researched it this morning, and it turns out that it’s actually Flickr’s fault. In order to save storage space (we assume), they strip color profile data from (at least) all resized images. So while the originals might look as you expected, everyone who’s just looking at the resized versions is being misled.

A workaround has been discovered by smart people well before now, however — convert your images to the sRGB colorspace before uploading. Actually, using Adobe Bridge’s workflow options make this quite easy to do in the same step that I’m already doing to convert from Canon RAW to JPEG.

Unfortunately, this convenient workaround is only useful when uploading new images to Flickr. As for the hundreds of shots I’ve already posted, the only way I can imagine to fix them is to manually re-upload and delete the existing ones. That seems like a huge pain. Maybe I can write an application using the Flickr API that will do this for me… but it seems unlikely to happen.

One highlight of last weekend was the collaborative yard sale that was held at Topher and David’s place. They had the entire front yard covered in everything from clothes to computers, and as things were sold a tally was kept of whose it was and how much it went for. But that was just the traditional part….

The fun began when they made a big batch of Pink Panty Pulldowns, a classic drink that I learned about years ago in a party far, far away. They were deceivingly alcoholic and delightfully pink, as usual. Of course, when drinking, it helps to have some unhealthy good-old-American hot dogs to grill, so you know that was in effect as well.

For most of the day Topher’s big ass stereo speakers were providing a pleasant musical accompaniment to the situation, and then it struck me: clearly, with the ready availability of turntables and records, we should be deejaying this operation. So we did. That made the fun move at twice the speed.

Experiencing all the buzz that came from such a thing made it obvious to me that a similar event needs to be happening in Atlanta very soon. We can hold it on the grassy lot in front of the Sampson Street lofts (or somewhere else, if there is sufficient space). We can have a barbecue and music and it will be all manner of fun. And maybe I can finally pawn off some of those records before I move!

Who’s with me?

Saturday night at the 40 Watt was pretty cool. DJ Epic opened things up to a crowd composed mostly of other DJs (me, Joe, Roux, Mahogany) and he tore things right down. Definitely a skilled worker, that one. Going to try to get a gig in the ATL worked out so he can visit.

Topher was next up to rock the spot, and he did, with aplomb. Unfortunately, the crowd didn’t have much net growth during this time, so the proper dancations could not seem to get off the ground. Our best guess about the lack of crowd was something about people resting up for next weekend, which is Athfest. That seems like a crock, though, because who the heck needs to rest for an entire week in advance of something that you’re staying in town for in the first place?

Mahogany definitely put down some exciting jams. Lots of disco-flavored soul and the dance moves to match. The crowd finally started dancing at this point, and after a wedding party arrived and doubled the numbers, things got pretty darn fun. It was definitely a sweaty good time.

Stay tuned for details of the potential upcoming ATL Deejay extravaganza.

I don’t know what you’re thinking of doing this Saturday night, but cancel it. Come with me to Athens for an evening of dancetastic soultacular groovin’ and shakin’ with my main man Topher and friends. From the Flagpole:

DJ EPIC, DJ ROUX & DJ MAHOGANY

(40 Watt) Tonight’s multi-tiered dance party offers a variety of sounds. Athens newcomer DJ Epic mixes anything and everything, from pop to soul to hip hop to country, smoothly blending beats. DJ Roux focuses on hip hop, dance and classic rock, and DJ Mahogany delivers his well-known mix of classic soul and funk and will work some “sweetly nasty” classic hip hop into his set. “All three of us will be spinning mostly vinyl all night long,” says DJ Mahogany. “There is a slight possibility that towards the end of my set that I will invite the other two deejays back out and we’re going to beat match vinyl literally off the cusp.”

Depending on the scene, I might even get up there and throw it down. Or perhaps I’ll play a behind-the-scenes Afrika-Bambaataa-style selector role. ZULU!

This has been a big week for ol’ Al and his economy. It all started last Saturday when I showed my Acura to two different interested parties. The first left and promised to call back later. The second, somewhat to my surprise, offered me my asking price on the spot with no haggling. Obviously I accepted.

These developments have had me pleased as punch throughout the week. Today I actually finalized the sale of the car, money-in-bank style. This will come in handy tomorrow, when I close on my new house. I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot more about that soon.

I got a call from the car’s new owner a few minutes after sitting down to lunch. He had let his redneck friend drive it back from our meeting to Conyers, and the dude was apparently not very smart. He drove it in Tiptronic-transmission mode and didn’t realize he had to shift. So there was lots of red-lining and the car generally got angry at him. But I think it’ll be OK. Not my problem either way, suckaz.

Today is opening day for Al Gore’s new film "An Inconvenient Truth" in Atlanta, at the Tara. I have a ticket for the 10 o’clock show, as do some other cool people I know. It should be fun. You should get a ticket too!

In related news, the film has been grossing more per-screen than any film in the country for the past two weeks, averaging $17,615 at only 77 locations last week. By comparison, the top grossing film, "The Break Up," averaged $12,760 per screen at 3070 locations.

I’ve also been reading the book version, which is like a coffee table book on science. I look at the pretty pictures and graphs that spell doom for humanity and am inspired. Try it!

Over the past few weeks, I have made the following recipe no less than 4 times, which is definitely a lot for me. It is very simple and always gets consumed quickly.

• 2 ripe avocadoes, peeled and diced, one pit reserved
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 jalapeño peppers, minced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped
• 1 lime, juiced

Stir together all ingredients in a bowl. Once everything is mixed well, add an avocado pit. The pit prevents the avocado flesh from browning in the rare event that this lasts more than a few hours without being eaten.

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of hauling some gear and vinyl to Athens for a jam session with my main man Topher (or Roux, as you may have seen him billed). We spent a large share of our time working on a funky soul mix, taking the opportunity to exercise a lot of my 45s. Sometimes I forget just how many good songs I have in there.

Perhaps the most fun aspect of the whole operation was having four turntables running simultaneously, each pair with its own mixer. In all the time I’ve owned my own decks, I’ve never actually done that. Be assured that I will in the future.

We got some solid ideas down on e-paper (and I made a sweet spreadsheet to keep track of everything), but we stopped short of actually recording. The decision was made to continue shenanigans in Atlanta Monday night, and we did. Unfortunately, after our delicious but rather lengthy dinner at La Casita, we had little motivation or energy left to accomplish much more than setting up the quad-deck action again. This morning, Topher headed back to Athens without much more than good times to show for it.

I guess that’s the way it is sometimes. Anyone will agree that you can’t force creativity. We’ll just have to be sure to reschedule for a not-too-far-in-the-future date.

Dear reader,

If you value your hair at all, do not use CVS Vitamin Shampoo Truly Clean™!

I made the mistake of thinking it would be similar to the Target brand (which is itself similar to the Pantene brand). I could not have been more wrong. It would have at least been prudent to smell the contents of the bottle before committing to the purchase, but no. I made an assumption.

And now, I am wallowing in the results of this series of poor decisions. In my cubicle at work, I stew, surrounded by nothing but the “fragrance” of my own hair. It is terrible. If only there were some way to transcribe the smell, you could understand the pain I am feeling right now. Perhaps it is for the best that there is no such means yet devised. The Internet is already smelly enough.