2.5 Gigapixel image !?
Tuesday, November 16, 2004, 04:16 - Miscellaneous
TNO (the Dutch applied physics research institute) has created what they call a 2.5 gigapixel zoomable picture of Delft (where I live) and The Hague in the background (where I work). It's a panorama photo created from 600 regular digital pictures that they took from the tallest building in Delft: the faculty of Electrical Engineering (where I got my MSc) of the Delft University of Technology.

They created an automated setup that took the pictures in 1 hour and 20 minutes. It then took 20 hours to fit them together, and 3 days on 5 high-end computers to create the composite.

I think it's a really cool picture, especially because it's all known territory to me.

(If the zoomable image on above link is not loading, use this mirror.)


Cuddle Party
Monday, November 15, 2004, 02:48 - Miscellaneous
I just read an article about Cuddle Parties. Apparently this is the trendy response to a world getting colder and harder.

At a cuddle party, people get together in their pajamas and lie against and on top of each other in a puppy pile, caressing, massaging and kissing each other. There are a few ground rules one should obey and therefore there even is a cuddle lifeguard on duty. Sex is strictly forbidden and I especially like Rule #7: "No Dry Humping" :)

It seems to be very big already in New York City and is spreading around the world. I myself have never been to such a party and I doubt that I ever will. I'm just not a very cuddly person myself. But we'll see....



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