This just sounds awesome. Put this to music.

Nanoparticle-assisted high photoconductive gain in composites of polymer and fullerene : Abstract : Nature Nanotechnology

Polymer–inorganic nanocrystal composites1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 offer an attractive means to combine the merits of organic and inorganic materials into novel electronic and photonic systems. However, many applications of these composites are limited by the solubility11 and distribution of the nanocrystals in the polymer matrices. Here we show that blending CdTe nanoparticles into a polymer–fullerene matrix followed by solvent annealing12 can achieve high photoconductive gain under low applied voltages. The surface capping ligand renders the nanoparticles highly soluble in the polymer blend, thereby enabling high CdTe loadings. An external quantum efficiency as high as approx8,000% at 350 nm was achieved at -4.5 V. Hole-dominant devices coupled with atomic force microscopy images show a higher concentration of nanoparticles near the cathode–polymer interface. The nanoparticles and trapped electrons assist hole injection into the polymer under reverse bias, contributing to efficiency values in excess of 100%.

Let me translate though. Your very expensive digital camera you own today will be a Model T in about two years. Actually, more of a horse and buggy.

I am not a fan of buying a camera every year.

Gallery: Happy Accident Opens Door to Cheaper, Higher-Resolution Cameras

"The original purpose [was] to make a solar cell more efficient," says Chen. "However, during the research we found the solar cell phenomenon [had] disappeared." Instead, the test material showed high gain photoconductivity, indicating potential use as a photo sensor.

Thanks to this lucky mistake, a new breed of camera sensors that are cheaper, higher-resolution and have lower distortion could be on the horizon. Click through the gallery to learn how this new breakthrough works and tour the labs where the magic happens.

Hmmm... interesting...

Interactive Video Object Manipulation on Vimeo

This demo illustrates our research to bring interactivity to video editing: Our system analyzes videos using computer vision techniques, enabling interactive annotation, browsing, and even drag-and-drop composition of new still images using video footage.

I honestly can't say what that I am buying this whole convergence of video and stills... Perhaps I am getting old, but a still image has a different thought process then a video. Maybe you will see wholly commercial applications, like bundling still and videos for weddings. But I see both mediums suffering for the other if you straight up combine them into one shoot. I dunno.... I spend a lot of time thinking about this right now.

Post photography post in the universe

STREET BONERS and TV CARNAGE » PHOTOGRAPHY IS FOR JERKOFFS

“…shot by Terry Richardson.”

Ohhhh, these four little words just get my clit into a kykewrench.

I’ve never been able to tolerate this sentiment - it’s like a pretension and shit sandwich on a chalkboard: The idea that it matters one iota who TAKES a photograph of a supermodel’s tits (as long as they meet a certain standard of technical competence that is roughly equivalent to what it takes to operate a gmail account) is just beyond offensive. This abortion of artistic justice cannot stand- it is therefore my duty to explain why… PHOTOGRAPHY IS FOR JERKOFFS.

Now: The modern practice of Photography belongs to a genre of psuedo-art that I refer to as “Auto-Pilot Jizzcock.”

Hands down, best post about photography on all the internet.

I agree. Fully.

Bad Technology: A Call for Revolution Against Beta Culture

I'm tired of this. This sense of permanent discomfort with the technology around me. The bugs. The compromises. The firmware upgrades. The "This will work in the next version." The "It's in our roadmap." The "Buy now and upgrade later." The patches. The new low development standards that make technology fail because it wasn't tested enough before reaching our hands. The feeling now extends to hardware: Everything is built to end up in the trash a year later, still half-baked, to make room for the next hardware revision. I'm tired of this beta culture that has spread like metastatic cancer in the last few years, starting with software from Google and others and ending up in almost every gadget and computer system around. We need a change.

On a similar note, I have CS 4 here which I simply can't run. It crashes at least 10 times a day. So I spent 600 bucks on a upgrade I don't use. Fuck you Adobe.

Bruce Sterling's "The Last Viridian Note"

In earlier, less technically advanced eras, this approach would have been far-fetched. Material goods were inherently difficult to produce, find, and ship. They were rare and precious. They were closely associated with social prestige. Without important material signifiers such as wedding china, family silver, portraits, a coach-house, a trousseau and so forth, you were advertising your lack of substance to your neighbors. If you failed to surround yourself with a thick material barrier, you were inviting social abuse and possible police suspicion. So it made pragmatic sense to cling to heirlooms, renew all major purchases promptly, and visibly keep up with the Joneses. That era is dying. It's not only dying, but the assumptions behind that form of material culture are very dangerous. These objects can no longer protect you from want, from humiliation -- in fact they are *causes* of humiliation, as anyone with a McMansion crammed with Chinese-made goods and an unsellable SUV has now learned at great cost.

Furthermore, many of these objects can damage you personally. The hours you waste stumbling over your piled debris, picking, washing, storing, re-storing, those are hours and spaces that you will never get back in a mortal lifetime. Basically, you have to curate these goods: heat them, cool them, protect them from humidity and vermin. Every moment you devote to them is lost to your children, your friends, your society, yourself.

It's not bad to own fine things that you like. What you need are things that you GENUINELY like. Things that you cherish, that enhance your existence in the world. The rest is dross.

Do not "economize." Please. That is not the point. The economy is clearly insane. Even its champions are terrified by it now. It's melting the North Pole. So "economization" is not your friend. Cheapness can be value-less. Voluntary simplicity is, furthermore, boring. Less can become too much work.

The items that you use incessantly, the items you employ every day, the normal, boring goods that don't seem luxurious or romantic: these are the critical ones. They are truly central. The everyday object is the monarch of all objects. It's in your time most, it's in your space most. It is "where it is at," and it is "what is going on."

It takes a while to get this through your head, because it's the opposite of the legendry of shopping. However: the things that you use every day should be the best-designed things you can get. For instance, you cannot possibly spend too much money on a bed -- (assuming you have a regular bed, which in point of fact I do not). You're spending a third of your lifetime in a bed. Your bed might be sagging, ugly, groaning and infested with dust mites, because you are used to that situation and cannot see it. That calamity might escape your conscious notice. See it. Replace it.

Best directions for a composite shot ever

The Photographic world of Drew Gardner: The anatomy of a location composite shoot

5 GOLDEN RULES FOR MAKING A COMPOSITE SHOT WORK

1. Plan, plan and plan again!

Great composites happen BEFORE the shoot, not after.

If you apply just a little thought beforehand and come up with a basic plan of how you want the final image to look all of a sudden it is not so difficult to place the models with great precision.

Seriously, read this, bookmark it and follow it like it is word from god. Or buy me a new car with the cost of your retouching bill... hold up here....DELETE THIS POST!

The Frontal Cortex : The Cognitive Benefits of Nature

Thoreau would have liked this study: interacting with nature (at least when compared to a hectic urban landscape) dramatically improves improve cognitive function. In particular, being in natural settings restores our ability to exercise directed attention and working memory, which are crucial mental talents. The basic idea is that nature, unlike a city, is filled with inherently interesting stimuli (like a sunset, or an unusual bird) that trigger our involuntary attention, but in a modest fashion. Because you can't help but stop and notice the reddish orange twilight sky - paying attention to the sunset doesn't take any extra work or cognitive control - our attentional circuits are able to refresh themselves. A walk in the woods is like a vacation for the prefrontal cortex.

Damn....

Memoirs of a Space Engineer - Leadpencils

And that video was interspersed amongst all that telemetry data. So in fact the video data rate was very slow. 40,000 pixels per 8 hours, 5,000 pixels per hour, 83 pixels per minute, 1.4 pixels per second.

Being nosey buggers as we were, we just had to do something about this. So we got a large sheet of graph paper and marked it out into 200 x 200 squares. Each square was divided up into 4 smaller squares. And we armed a team of 8 people each with a lead pencil. As the data came back, according to the video data value we would shade in a number of the squares. When viewed from a distance it gave quite a representable picture.

Pic is Here.

Well, we live in a trailerat the edge of town You never see us 'cause we don't come around. We got twenty five rifles just to keep the population down. But we need you now, and that's why I'm hangin' 'round. So you be good to me and I'll be good to you, And in this land of conditions I'm not above suspicion I won't attack you, but I won't back you.

Well, it's so good to be here, asleep on your lawn. Remember your guard dog? Well, I'm afraid that he's gone. It was such a drag to hear him whining all night long. Yes, that was me with the doves, setting them free near the factory Where you built your computer, love. I hope you get the connection, 'cause I can't take the rejection I won't deceive you, I just don't believe you.

Well, I'm a barrel of laughs, with my carbine on I keep 'em hoppin', till my ammunition's gone. But I'm still not happy, I feel like there's something wrong. I got the revolution blues, I see bloody fountains, And ten million dune buggies comin' down the mountains. Well, I hear that Laurel Canyon is full of famous stars, But I hate them worse than lepers and I'll kill them in their cars.

Revolution blues, Neil Young.

Damn, I like the rain. I really do. Something about it just puts me in a good mood. Hell if I know why. Random thought last night while I stare at the ceiling trying to sleep:

"Why" and "What does it mean" are chains for the creative process. Anyone who says differently is a critic or a PHD. Don't fall for that bullshit.

Now, back to my coffee...

Photoshop CS4 crashes.

Photoshop CS4 sucks some serious ass. I am getting like 10 crashes a day since upgrading. This is awesome. I love paying hundreds of dollars for "new" software only to have it eat shit on every image I work on. Not frustrating at all.... Damn it.

As a firm believer in the separation of Science and State I just simply had to cast my vote for Palin today. Now, where is that sarcasm html tag...