Housecleaning

Everonward may be in a state of flux for the next few days…or weeks. I have upgraded to the latest version of WordPress and find myself tinkering around with some different layouts and looks. While the precious content will remain consistent, the site’s appearance may not.

Ave Maria

Tonight was a relatively brief night out for me to the local establishments, and I found myself finishing off the evening at a bar known for its live entertainment and animated patrons. By animated I mean youthful, I think, or wanting, or both; at the very least, responsive to the rhythms and lyrics emanating from the band, even if such animation stemmed largely from liberal consumption of alcohol. Whatever their motivation or justification, the crowd was boisterous tonight.

Nearby a man vomited at his feet, the ensuing odor trumped in short time by the stench of an absorbent material meant to contain it. Some would consider such an environment the dregs of a community; I felt quite at home. Looking around me, amidst the staggering strides and slurred sentences, I saw purpose. Foreign, yet intimate, embraces presented an outward manifestation of raw emotion: a vital, human baseness we are often instructed to avoid; the desire for acceptance, affection, acknowledgment. In a world and city suffocated by self-righteousness and starved of altruism, people strain in a conflicted, desperate search for validation.

As the band fades and lights rise, there is a great bustling for the door; a din comprised of shuffling feet and raucous laughter is gradually overcome by a final song played over the loud speakers: Ave Maria. Full of grace. With all our faults, in all our frailty, it seems that at some primal level, it is absolution from each other that we seek.

Merry Christmas.

PDF: Windows vs Linux File Size

I’ve recently switched to Linux (Ubuntu 8.10) as my main operating system. I find it’s a more effective workspace for most of my tasks. Check it out if you haven’t already; Linux really is growing up. I do keep Windows around for a couple tasks, mainly gaming, but Linux is closing the gap on that, too, through the latest implementations of Wine.

One thing I’ve noticed, though, that I haven’t been able to pin down a reason for, is that PDF file sizes in Linux seem high compared to those generated in Windows. I know, this is a somewhat generic statement given the fact that, Linux or Windows, the process is dependent on the software doing the compression. Yet there seems to be a consistent discrepancy between the two operating systems when it comes to PDF file sizes. Looking around online, my observations seem to be somewhat validated. A popular solution on forums is to use the DjVu compression scheme, but I’d prefer sticking with the fairly universal PDF file format. To its credit, DjVu seems to match or better PDF when it comes to black-and-white documents, but it falls behind in grayscale.

So I ran a little test, scanning the front page of my offer letter for my new job. It consists of a company logo at the top and a full page of text. It is somewhat indicative of what I archive. All scans were done in black-and-white or grayscale. Results (file size in bytes):

18474 150dpiLinuxDjVu-BW.djvu
241812 150dpiLinuxDjVu-Gray.djvu
55298 150dpiLinuxLZW-BW.pdf
813876 150dpiLinuxLZW-Gray.pdf
50213 150dpiWin-BW.pdf
29172 150dpiWinG4-BW.tif
34410 150dpiWinG4-Gray.tif
58947 150dpiWin-Gray.pdf
47280 150dpiWinLZW-BW.tif
1304736 150dpiWinLZW-Gray.tif
29229 300dpiLinuxDjVu-BW.djvu
688967 300dpiLinuxDjVu-Gray.djvu
113726 300dpiLinuxLZW-BW.pdf
2670089 300dpiLinuxLZW-Gray.pdf
81978 300dpiWin-BW.pdf
59188 300dpiWinG4-BW.tif
73842 300dpiWinG4-Gray.tif
114967 300dpiWin-Gray.pdf
5024631 300dpiWin-Gray-300dpiPDF.pdf
5024632 300dpiWin-Gray-600dpiPDF.pdf
5040863 300dpiWin-GrayThenPDF.pdf
8955576 300dpiWin-Gray.tif
132170 300dpiWinLZW-BW.tif
5577814 300dpiWinLZW-Gray.tif
759067 CNNLinux.pdf
237794 CNNWin600dpi.pdf

In order of size:

18474 150dpiLinuxDjVu-BW.djvu
29172 150dpiWinG4-BW.tif
29229 300dpiLinuxDjVu-BW.djvu
34410 150dpiWinG4-Gray.tif
47280 150dpiWinLZW-BW.tif
50213 150dpiWin-BW.pdf
55298 150dpiLinuxLZW-BW.pdf
58947 150dpiWin-Gray.pdf
59188 300dpiWinG4-BW.tif
73842 300dpiWinG4-Gray.tif
81978 300dpiWin-BW.pdf
113726 300dpiLinuxLZW-BW.pdf
114967 300dpiWin-Gray.pdf
132170 300dpiWinLZW-BW.tif
237794 CNNWin600dpi.pdf
241812 150dpiLinuxDjVu-Gray.djvu
688967 300dpiLinuxDjVu-Gray.djvu
759067 CNNLinux.pdf
813876 150dpiLinuxLZW-Gray.pdf
1304736 150dpiWinLZW-Gray.tif
2670089 300dpiLinuxLZW-Gray.pdf
5024631 300dpiWin-Gray-300dpiPDF.pdf
5024632 300dpiWin-Gray-600dpiPDF.pdf
5040863 300dpiWin-GrayThenPDF.pdf
5577814 300dpiWinLZW-Gray.tif
8955576 300dpiWin-Gray.tif

Make note of the file extensions; there are actually three different file types in those listings. The file names lead with resolution, with the exception of the two starting with “CNN.” Those two were PDF’s created by printing cnn.com’s cover page to PDF in Linux and Windows (using PDF Creator). The cover page contained slightly different content but not enough to explain the file size difference. After the resolution in the file name comes the operating system, followed by compression algorithm where applicable. Immediately after the hyphen is the grayscale/black-and-white indicactor and in those cases where there is a second hyphen, it indicates the file was post-processed with a PDF printer at the stated resolution.

For Windows, where a compression algorithm is not listed, I used the software included with my Canon LiDE 50 scanner, which saves directly to PDF. In Linux, I used the popular gscan2pdf GUI. Having OCR on or off did not seem to make much of a difference, as far as file size. For gscan2pdf, the file was also processed with Unpaper, which should optimize the file further (it also creates blockiness in the document’s whitespace that is undesirable to me, but it’s fine for archiving documents).

So there you go. The difference is significant. One would have to dig into the underpinnings of the software, I think, to expose the reason for this, but I’m definitely curious. Again, DjVu pulls close and surpasses PDF when it comes to black-and-white scanning, but even it falls short when using grayscale (which happens to by my method of choice). I’ll admit I don’t relish the idea of booting into Windows simply to archive documents.

I’m Wondering…

…why I have this compulsion to wash an old pair of boxers after wearing them for the last time, before throwing them out. Why can’t I approach the event with a “one last time for old time’s sake” mentality, then toss them? On some level, do I value the opinion of anyone who happens to go through my trash? Is it simple consideration for those downstream of me in the chain of garbage collection? I…just…don’t…know.

Emily…

…you were right. As much as I enjoy disagreeing with you, the atmosphere after you left tonight shaped up to be pretty much what you predicted. I was surrounded by fairly unintelligible, inebriated patrons whose slurred speech surely must have been the only obstacle between me and the philosophical epiphanies they espoused.

For lack of a better target, I found my gaze drifting toward the mirror on the back wall of the bar, where I locked on to my own eyes. I am familiar enough with social decorum to realize the air of narcissism commonly associated with staring at one’s own image, but as I proceeded to casually, spuriously, redirect my attention, I came to an equal counter-realization: perhaps we do not stare ourselves down quite often enough.

And so I sat at the bar those next few minutes, looking myself in the eye, wondering what I was still doing there. I never did come up with a very good reason. At that moment I came to understand that what mattered to me had walked out the door several minutes before, and that I should have followed.

Leave it to me.

Fire Prevention Week

I just returned from a morning trip to Cleveland Metro’s burn unit, where an attractive nurse-type figure redressed the upper-second-degree burns on my left hand.

“At least the basket of puppies is okay.”

Something tells me she wasn’t going to fall for that line. And let’s be honest: neither are you. I can claim no such honorable deed.

You know it was a decent Friday night when you find yourself in the ER during the wee hours of the next morning. Evidently, I had to relearn what most must know as obvious fire safety. So the following list of nuggets will come as nothing new, but here they are:

Fire is hot.

If you must use candles, picture that candle burning all the way down and make provisions as if that’s exactly what it’s going to do.

Fire is hot. And it hurts.

Make sure any candles are not in a position (*cough*nightstand*cough*) where something can land on top of them. This…this is where I failed.

You are not going to believe how hot fire is until you use your hand to swat a pile of burning debris out the door.

Do not use your hand to swat a pile of burning debris. In fact, use about anything OTHER than your hand. Why? a) You use your hands for just about everything, including swatting, and you’d rather it not get taken out of commission; b) I hear hands have a high density of nerves, and I believe it.

Make sure your smoke detectors are present and functional.

Have a fire extinguisher conveniently located in your house

Finally, fire is hot. I generally suggest not touching it. You will regret it.

See? All pretty simple notions, right? Keep them in mind and you may very well lead a more comfortable life. As for me, aside from some momentary discomfort, a bruised ego, and perhaps a jeopardized future in hand modeling, I’m going to be just fine.

Intolerance

I just do not have tolerance for it anymore. It could be that time has eroded my patience or altered my perspective or simply made me angrier, I don’t know; but I can feel within me that silent objection is no objection at all and instead stinks outwardly of implied condonation. And I’m not okay with that.

I anticipate exciting things to come since the intolerant often don’t respond well to…umm…not being tolerated.

Priorities

What are yours? How long have you had them? When was the last time you gave them an honest reassessment?

I wonder how faithfully the priorities upon which the average person acts reflect what he or she actually wants in life. I think it’s tempting to simply adopt a set of priorities and use them as an intractable architecture upon which to base our life’s pursuits, neglecting to evolve them according to how we want to live; the cart leads the horse. Imposing such stability on one’s goals can be enticing at first, hasty glance.

What if you are deceiving yourself? How much time – how many years – have you wasted?

It should go without saying that we ought exercise vigilant scrutiny of our so-called life priorities, and yet I think that is easy to forget. Once begun, the lure of a chase can be perpetual and deceptively gratifying, however misguided.

Is it too late?

I see little nobility in the blind pursuit of empty priorities – I fear many are – and I pity those of us who lack the timely, vital discernment required to see.

Holla Back

On my drive home today, I was scanning the airwaves and stumbled upon “Hollaback Girl” by Gwen Stefani. I’m not a huge fan of the song so I continued searching stations, but it got me thinking: what was the meaning of these lyrics? If you’re not a “hollaback girl,” as Gwen so craftily phrases it, does this mean you will not return my phone calls? It strikes me as kind of strange. I mean, I’m a nice enough guy, I think, and I thought we really hit things off. I have a genuine desire to see you again, and it’s pretty conventional for a guy to coordinate with a romantic interest via telephone, possibly even leaving a voice message which common courtesy would suggest returning. Why does this somehow make me bananas?

Restraint

Once in a while I am presented with empirical evidence that suggests, at least to a degree, I must be maturing. I know, I know…I think it’s strange, too.

Last week I was at Fitworks in Rocky River performing the mindless exercises that remind me of my mediocre physical condition. In the middle of four sets of straight-legged dead lifts (Romanian dead lifts – RDL’s – if you’re an OU wrestler…sounds more exotic that way, I guess…adding “Romanian” in front of anything makes it better), I stepped away for a drink. As I returned I saw a couple of guys eyeing my workout cage. I’m always pretty cordial when I see this happen. I asked, “You guys want to work in?”

“No, I don’t do *that* kind of weight,” the one replied smugly. This was by no means a hat-tipping to the amount of weight I had on the bar.

Restraint Demonstration #1: Resisting the urge to say “What, want me to peel some off for you?”

By that, I mean that’s what I DIDN’T say, and I’m not sure why; I normally have few reservations about running my mouth. Maybe it was a combination of the facts that a) this guy had about 50 lbs. on me; and b) I was within arm’s reach. Yeah, maybe that’s it, but even those two factors would be powerless to alter my behavior without receiving some acknowledgment by me, acknowledgment in the form of restraint. This is where I begin to arrive at the somewhat unsettling notion of impending maturity.

At any rate, in my mind I was facetiously thanking him for the moral support as he and his friend found a spot nearby in which to work. The talker of the duo was visually a fairly typical specimen one expects to see in a weight room: meticulous year-round tan, bravado more than compensating for any thinning hair, donning square pieces of fabric held together by shoulder straps. Imagine my surprise when I see him set up a few feet away from me and begin working out with the same exact amount of weight I was using.

Restraint Demonstration #2: “Whew. Good thing you don’t do *this* kind of weight.”

Again, a comment I did NOT make. And again, I lack explanation for my reservedness. I’m as appalled as you are. Maybe it was something I ate that day, maybe it was something in the air, but for whatever reason I just chuckled, kept my mouth shut, and went on my merry way.