Shared posts

11 Jan 00:57

DIY knitted deadcat microphone windscreen

by James Gurney

Here's a do-it-yourself project Jeanette came up with that we haven't seen anyone else do on the internet.
Wind noise is the bane of outdoor audio recording, because even with those foam microphone covers, pesky little vortices of wind will slam into the microphone element, creating a noise that's hard to remove in post production. What you need are soft little tendrils to break up the air movements.

Hence the invention of the fuzzy (or "dead cat") windscreen. Unfortunately they often cost more than $25 if you buy them as accessories. Some people make them out of scraps of fake fur, but the fake fur often has a heavy backing that can interfere with the audio.

A cheap and effective solution is to knit a custom sock for the microphone from novelty yarn. At a craft store for less than $5, we found Lion Brand Fun Fur, sometimes known as eyelash yarn, in the "Silver Fox" color. Here it is on Amazon. 

Now here's Jeanette with the details for a nice looking windscreen that is custom fit for a Zoom H1 digital audio recorder (she's going to make one for my lav mike next):

I decided to knit the windscreen in-the-round on 5 needles, like a sock. I needed a slightly heavier plain yarn for the edge of the cuff, so I started with a bit of Red Heart "Sport" acrylic yarn that I had in my stash. With the black acrylic yarn, I cast on 16 stitches, onto 4 size 5 US double-pointed needles. I did 4 rounds of Knit2-Purl2 ribbing. Then I switched to the furry yarn, and stockinette stitch (all knit) and to size 8 US double-pointed needles. At 3", I combined the 16 stitches onto 2 of the needles, then did a 3-needle bind-off. Took about an hour at most. 
08 Jan 22:17

Quarut

by noreply@blogger.com (Joe Sparrow)
Blackmoogle

so cool

Some rare spells are of such power that they are legendary among spellcasters - spells that have the potential to alter the very structure of the universe, such as the infamous Wish.

Quaruts are Inevitables - mechanised beings from the lawful plane of Mechanus which are tasked with the upholding of natural order - and are among the most powerful even of these. Within their custody lie all such magicks that might meddle with space and time - their objective is to hunt down such spellcasters that use them and restore a relative balance to the universe.

Quaruts are some heavy stuff, clocking in at CR 17 - meaning you're getting close to epic level in order to take them on. And with good reason - despite their desire to eradicate all manipulators of space and time, they themselves have no qualms about chucking about spell-like-abilities like Time Stop and Limited Wish. The former allows it to literally stop time locally for a few turns (giving it ample room to imprison you safely in a pocket dimension) and the latter allows it access to literally any spell of up to 6th caster level. The lesson here is: don't mess with spacetime, kids!

We always like to put up holiday-themed monsters, but some of them are pretty hard to figure out an appropriate creature for. Blanca made a big list of potential "New Yearsy" beasts, and then we picked two that we liked and did those. I haven't drawn an Inevitable in ages, which is surprising because I really like 'em. The clock motifs in this one are a little hammy and I nicked the eyes from Sahaquiel of Evangelion and Senketsu from Kill La Kill. Man, I enjoy Kill La Kill! Literal guilty pleasure but there are very few animes around with such artistic class to them (outside of the boob's 'n' butts).

Also this being almost two weeks into the new year is my fault.
08 Jan 06:25

Friend Request

by Reza

friend-request

08 Jan 06:24

A Reflective Palace of Rainbows by Kimsooja

by Christopher Jobson

A Reflective Palace of Rainbows by Kimsooja rainbows mirrors light installation architecture

A Reflective Palace of Rainbows by Kimsooja rainbows mirrors light installation architecture

A Reflective Palace of Rainbows by Kimsooja rainbows mirrors light installation architecture

A Reflective Palace of Rainbows by Kimsooja rainbows mirrors light installation architecture

A Reflective Palace of Rainbows by Kimsooja rainbows mirrors light installation architecture

A Reflective Palace of Rainbows by Kimsooja rainbows mirrors light installation architecture

Created in 2006 by multidisciplinary artist Kimsooja, To Breathe – A Mirror Woman was an elaborate installation at the Palacio de Cristal, Parque del Retiro, in Madrid. Originally built in the late 1880s to house a collection of flora and fauna from the Philippines, Kimsooja transformed the Palacio de Cristal into a multisensory sound and light experience. A special translucent diffraction film was used to cover the windows to create an array of naturally occurring rainbows which were in turn reflected by a mirrored surface that covered the entire floor. Additionally, an audio recording of the artist breathing was played throughout the space to further enhance the experience. The installation was on view through the end of the summer and you can read much more about it here.

Kimsooja most recently wrapped the Korean Pavilion with a similar film treatment at the 2013 Venice Art Biennale. (via My Amp Goes to 11)

07 Jan 05:09

OpenEmu Emulates Nearly Every Classic Console on Mac

by Thorin Klosowski

OpenEmu Emulates Nearly Every Classic Console on Mac

Mac: OpenEmu is an all-in-one video game emulator where you can emulate your games, create collections, set up controllers, and plenty more.

Read more...


    






16 Dec 22:46

Keep Dice from Rolling All Over the Place with a Toy Container

by Melanie Pinola
Blackmoogle

GENIUS

Keep Dice from Rolling All Over the Place with a Toy Container

Here's a quick and simple tip for game night: Keep dice in place with a toy container you get from those quarter machines.

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11 Dec 20:40

The Best Way to Wrap Your MacBook's Power Cord

by Melanie Pinola

The Best Way to Wrap Your MacBook's Power Cord

Entrepreneur J Cornelius posted this picture on Twitter, and it's a pretty ingenious tip. Instead of wrapping the big power cord separately, wrap it around the power brick and use the small cable to hold it in place.

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09 Dec 05:00

Make Your Own Cold-Brewed Tea in a Jar

by Mihir Patkar

Make Your Own Cold-Brewed Tea in a Jar

Your office probably doesn't have a cold-brew system or a fancy kettle, but that doesn't mean you can't get a batch of cold-brewed tea while you work. All you need is a jar, tea bags, water and some time.

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31 Oct 03:19

Inktober day 28. I am almost caught up…! *V*

Blackmoogle

so awesome, cute and perf





Inktober day 28.

I am almost caught up…! *V*

12 Oct 18:34

Hark, a Vagrant: Black Canary



buy this print!

Of course the metalheads would be into it!

Rock on, rock on always.

04 Oct 23:28

Vancouver

by Marian
Blackmoogle

places to try out? gorgeous illustrations either way.

lemonade

elysian

Just a quick post, to point out that I’ve finally updated the Vancouver section. I’ll add more places at length, but here is a nice, hefty start.


26 Sep 02:02

Classes

by Marian

classes

I’ve been doing an odd thing, over the last year or two; I’ve started to create mage characters in videogames, and not just as an afterthought on some bored fourth play-through, but for actual preference. This might sound like an “odd thing” only in the sense of “why the hell is this worth mentioning”, but if you are like me, and prefer to express your complex personhood via well-ruled-out fantasy conventions, then you will understand that a change of class is like a change of identity.

Since I must compact things into nice, tidy theories, I have noticed that this class-switching happens roughly once a decade. When I was a teenager, I invariably went for the warrior-type. In my twenties, it was always a thief. I’m embarrassed to say that during these eras, I viewed mages as the default girl-class, as if that was a terrible, shameful thing to be avoided at all costs. So now my sudden interest feels almost subversive. Like, ooh, a mage, can I get away with it? Will nobody stop this brazen act of rebellion? Will I be able to find robes that don’t look like a prom dress?

Maybe my theory will hold another decade, and it will all come full circle. I like to imagine myself at 40, going a little overboard with the shield-bash. Or maybe at that point, we transcend the basic classes, and get into rangers and paladins and other shady stuff. We’ll see. In the meantime, here are some character class-exemplifying goblins. I’m not sure why a thief would have a falcon – I just wanted to draw one.


18 Sep 22:14

Hail Stan







16 Sep 18:44

Some Weird Animal






11 Sep 05:21

Lucky Penny - 065

by Aido
Blackmoogle

WHEEZING

Lucky Penny - 065
penny tells it like it is
09 Sep 23:34

ツボとも ceramic friends





ツボとも

ceramic friends

06 Sep 17:22

Lucky Penny - 064

by Aido
Blackmoogle

HOWLING IN LAUGHTER

04 Sep 04:19

The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tonight: Far Away

by Andrew Tarantola

The moral of the story: making friends is easy, so long as you are a magical wizard with a sweet mountaintop laboratory that would put Dr. Frankenstein to shame. The rest of you schmoes will just have to develop some personality.

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23 Aug 19:58

WD-40 No-Mess Pen Draws on Lubrication

by Adam Dachis

WD-40 No-Mess Pen Draws on Lubrication

You don't always have WD-40 when you need it—unless you strap a can to your belt before heading out each day. Not all jobs require the power of the full spray. If you need to lubricate a squeaky hinge else, or anything else the stuff calls for, you can pick up this pocketable pen.

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10 Aug 21:50

DJ Milk Problems and m.c. sleepy






28 Jul 23:37

Lenstag Registers Your Expensive Camera Gear in Case It Gets Stolen

by Melanie Pinola

Lenstag Registers Your Expensive Camera Gear in Case It Gets Stolen

Thieves are always on the lookout for camera equipment. Like jewelry, cameras and lenses are easy to resell, portable, and net a high price. Lenstag is a free service that aims to combat photography gear theft.

Read more...

    


07 Jul 07:30

Slow Motion X-Ray Footage Reveals the Secrets of Bat Wings

by Eric Limer

Slow Motion X-Ray Footage Reveals the Secrets of Bat Wings

If you happen to see a bat flying around you in real life, it's easy to panic and not see much of anything but a vague blur as you cover your head and cower. But they're actually pretty graceful when you really look at them. And new slow motion, x-ray footage just goes to show it in even greater detail, all while revealing one of the creature's high-flying secrets.

Read more...

    


28 Jun 22:34

BUZZ!

by Ananth
Blackmoogle

woah I forgot about this it's been so long

Hey guys! Most of the time the posts here are short - we're always saying we're working on something or other - and usually we can't talk about it right away. WELL, I'm happy to finally be able to share something with you!! I talked about this on Twitter and Tumblr recently but here's the first advance solicit for BUZZ! with words by me and pictures by Tessa Stone, from Oni Press

 

BUZZ! - Advance solicited for November 2013!

Written by Ananth Panagariya, art by Tessa Stone.

 Webster is a bundle of nerves headed into his first day of high school, but whatever academic and social horrors he feared are nothing compared to what’s in store for him as he stumbles into an unsanctioned street level spelling bee! And this ain’t no staged production, either ñ letters fly like jump kicks and the losers leave bruised and beaten more often than not! Soon he’s propelled into the fast-paced world of competitive spelling by the mysterious Outlaw King and his cohort the Black Queen. Does Webster have what it takes to get the spelling world buzzing? Find out in this word-based battle royale from web-sensations Ananth Panagariya (Johnny Wander) and Tessa Stone (Hanna is Not a Boy’s Name)!

I'd mentioned it before but I'm happy to finally bring you some official news! Here's the first advance solicit for BUZZ!, a book in collaboration with the brilliant Tessa Stone! I'm really thrilled to be working with her - her art is vibrant and kinetic and I could go on forever about it. She's amazing! SO PUMPED!

22 Jun 04:05

Toy Bird Dr. Ph. Martin liquid watercolours + 90lb Watson...





Toy Bird

Dr. Ph. Martin liquid watercolours + 90lb Watson paper

Video of stream

18 Jun 06:33

Simple mixed media commissions Top Row: James  Middle Row: Kat...









Simple mixed media commissions

Top Row: James 

Middle Row: Kat D. , myousa

Bottow Row: kurisquare

Watercolour + brush pen + 90lb Fabriano paper

13 Jun 05:25

A Softer World

07 Jun 05:45

LinkedIn Just Added Two-Factor Authentication, So Enable It Now

by Melanie Pinola

LinkedIn Just Added Two-Factor Authentication, So Enable It Now

LinkedIn has just jumped on the (very important) two-factor authentication wagon. You can, and should, now enable this enhanced security layer for the professional network.

Read more...

    


03 Jun 20:03

Vine, the app that lets you share 6-second, GIF-style video clips, is now available for Android.

by Thorin Klosowski
Blackmoogle

YESSSS

Vine, the app that lets you share 6-second, GIF-style video clips, is now available for Android. Head over to the official page to download it, and check out the Vine blog post for more info.

Read more...

    


03 Jun 20:02

SanDisk SSDs, SD Cards, and Flash Drives Are 60% Off Today on Amazon

by Eric Ravenscraft

SanDisk SSDs, SD Cards, and Flash Drives Are 60% Off Today on Amazon

SSDs are a great way to upgrade your desktop and they've never been a better buy. Well, except when they go one sale like today, along with some sweet deals on SD cards and flash drives.

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21 May 18:41

Nothing Beats Cookies Fresh From the (Cardboard) Oven

by Andrew Liszewski

Thelma's, an Iowa-based cookie delivery service named after the founder's great-grandmother, contracted Saturday MFG. to create this utterly brilliant packaging that not only keeps the treats warm, but also gives the impression that they're fresh from the oven.

Read more...