significant colours

link: Download FileMaker VCF Export
for FileMaker Pro 9 (should be compatible with 10)

A story behind this legacy solution.

I used to work for FileMaker Inc. (formerly Claris Corp.) where I focused on web technologies. While I was at FileMaker, the company released FileMaker Pro 6. Among the handful new features in FileMaker Pro 6 was a new XML export/import feature, which allowed FileMaker records to be exported in XML format with the optional XSL transformation. As it turns out, the XSLT export feature allowed for a variety of flexible export options previously unavailable.

As the company released FileMaker Pro 6 they also provide a site to promote the XML technology: FileMaker XSLT Library (no longer available). A few of us from FileMaker Inc. contributed to the library with our own toys. I posted VCF Export as well as rss2fmp. VCF Export solution actually generated a buzz. I recieved at least a dozen emails from users with bug reports as well as thank you notes. Awesome!

Actually, come to think of it, VCF Export could have been achieved without the XML technology. You could simply create a new calculation field in your address book database and generate VCARD document in that calc field. But hey, I had a new toy (a.k.a. XML and XSLT) in my hands and had to do something cool with it.

Fast forward a few years, and I still receive occasional emails asking this solution to be updated. Ashamed to say I had to ignore some of those emails in the midst of my busy schedules. Today, I received an another such email, so decided to do the right thing for once. I’m republishing the solution in FileMaker Pro 9 format. I hope this will help a few folks out there. Enjoy!

Download FileMaker VCF Export

兼子先生のワークショップに参加している影響で、最近複数の写真を組み合わせて一つのテーマを創造するというコンセプトを追っかけています。

一番新しいのが以下の二枚です。

ウィスキーグラスに水を入れ、そこにミルクをたらす事で濁らせています。そして仕上げにＬＥＤライトでちょっと不思議な光の効果を付けて撮っています。レンズは以前に紹介した Zuiko f/1.4。これを f/2.2 に絞って使っています。撮影の際には三脚でカメラを完全に固定し、コンピューターにつなぎ、EOS Utility 経由でフォーカス合わせて遠隔撮影しました。

まだまだ自分の中で写真の組み合わせたるや何のことやら？と悩んでいる部分が多いですが、ある程度ビジョンを固めてから撮影にのぞむと、自然と撮らなきゃいけないモノが見えてくる事が分かる二作でした。

Wikipedia says,
“BuildBot is a software development continuous integration tool which automates the compile/test cycle required to validate changes to the project code base. It began as a light-weight alternative to the Mozilla project’s Tinderbox, and is now used at Mozilla.”

At work I recently started using buildbot for various projects. My experiences with Python is scarce, let alone with buildbot. I didn’t even know how exactly buildbot works until a week ago and I am figuring out as I go along. So in the interest of keeping notes, I decided to do blog entries on how to use buildbot on Snow Leopard.

If you are still on Leopard, unless you have a special attachment to XCode 3.1.x, it’s time to move on.

FYI, lines that start with “%” sign are meant to be executed in Terminal. You ask what a Terminal is? Well, it is essential that you already have some experiences with Terminal i.e. UNIX shells. If you are not sure what that means, you are reading a wrong article. Sorry, but I can’t please everyone in the world.

—–

Prelude:

Buildbot is a Python application. As such, the choice of Python installation is important. On Snow Leopard, we have a few options:

1. Python 2.6.1 installation (default)
2. Python 2.5.4 installation
3. MacPorts version of 2.6.x (latest preferred)
4. Build from source

Choices

• There is also Fink version of Python, should you choose to install one. I omitted it from the list since 1) I had negative experiences with it and 2) well, I haven’t tested it in a year, so I can’t stand behind it.
• Unfortunately, #1 is out of the question, because 2.6.1 has some fundamental deprecated code issues that blocks you from using buildbot. I am sure you can patch it up and hack it up to make it work, but you will risk everything else that depends on Python. At the time of writing, Python 2.6 branch is on 2.6.4. 2.6.1 is over 1.5 yrs old.
• #4 is recommended if you have a vested interest in keeping up with the latest installation of Python for reasons other than buildbot. If all you are doing is buildbot, then this is unnecessary.
• #3 is perhaps the most preferred of all IF you depend on MacPorts in any way.

For reasons I won’t discuss here, I had to use a built-in Python installation on the OS. That pretty much left me with Python 2.5.4, since 2.6.1 won’t work.

We are also lucky to have a fully functional installation of twisted on Snow Leopard and this is a great news. Buildbot relies heavily on twisted, so it’s important that you have a reasonably up to date version.

Installation

1. Switch default version of Python to 2.5 (via symlinking technique)
   1. % cd /usr/bin
   2. % sudo mv python python_original
   3. % sudo ln -s python2.5 python
2. Install buildbot
   1. % sudo easy_install-2.5 buildbot
   2. At the time of writing, we are using Buildbot 0.7.12
   3. you could also symlink easy_install to point to easy_install-2.5, but this is not as critical in my experiences
   4. easy_install-2.5 will install buildbot here /Library/Python/2.5/site-packages/
   5. .egg is a package management solution, much like Package Receipts

Test

Test to make sure buildbot works by following the instructions below

• % buildbot –version
  • assertion = buildbot version and twisted versions should appear
• Try and start buildbot master
  • % cd ~/; buildbot create-master buildbot-test
  • % cd buildbot-test
  • % mv master.cfg.sample master.cfg
  • % buildbot start
    • This should spit out lines of logs. The last line should read: The buildmaster appears to have (re)started correctly.
    • If you didn’t see the successful execution, something went wrong. Fortunately, these log outputs are helpful and you should be able to find out why buildbot failed to launch.
  • % buildbot stop

That’s it! In my next blog entry (which I will hopefully get to soon), I will introduce buiddbot in a more depth.

遂に出ました、Aperture 3!!!

新機能の満載です。

http://www.apple.com/jp/aperture/whats-new.html

現行 iPhoto で導入され、Aperture 2 ユーザが指をくわえて眺めていた「人々」や「撮影地」機能。これらの機能は Aperture が Lightroom や Photoshop とは一線を引いた、ワークフローマネージメントソフトである事を再確認させてくれます。

以前は破壊型プラグインでしか可能ではなかったドッジングや特別効果を可能にしてくれる「ブラシ」機能の追加、そしてブラシと併用する為に用意された新種のフィルターも見逃せません。

フルスクリーンモードではほぼ全てのワークフロー操作が可能となりました。画面のサイズが小さい方やオンロケーションでマックブックでの作業の多いプロの方々には大変便利なモードだと思います。

そして Aperture 3 ではビデオの取り込み、そして iMovie のようなスタイルのスライドショー編集まで可能になりました。

他にもここでは並べきれないさまざまな機能が追加されて、満足のリリースです。

僕も機会をみて少しづつ新機能の紹介をこのブログでしていこうかな、と思っています。

今まで Aperture 3 をサイドラインで眺めていた皆さんも、これを機に是非チェックしてみてください。無償トライアルがこちらからダウンロードできます。

http://www.apple.com/jp/aperture/download/

こちらのリンクでプロの方々の実用例が観れます。

http://www.apple.com/jp/aperture/action/

そしてこちらのリンクでは新機能の使い方がずらっとビデオで紹介されています。

http://www.apple.com/jp/aperture/how-to/

マイミク drikin 先生のブログエントリーから習った裏技。

２００９年の５月から本格的に Flickr 使いだしました。Flickr って実は操作が難しいサイトだと思うのですが、同時に隠れ機能が多くて面白いサイトでもあります。

そんな隠れ機能の一つがカレンダービュー。例えばこちらのリンクから僕の２００９年のアップロード記録が見れます。自分生活を振り返るのにとても良いメディアだと思います。もしカメラ携帯など活用して日々の生活の写真を撮られている方々は是非試されてみてはいかがでしょうか？