I wonder if this is an innate, or conditioned response?

Really fine way to take a standard desk and turn it into something quite pleasing. Great stuff Ross.

Ross, glad to see you doing some solar projects. I know there some anti-solar Luddites that lurk in our forums, but I am starting to see the handwriting on the wall. There are several precursors that I recently noticed. Two large home improvement outlets here in Phoenix, Arizona carry laser aimed non contact thermometers for checking energy efficiency. When I went to buy one, both companies were temporarily sold out. I checked with a local distributor of the Sanyo double HIT solar panels that you told me about and they were also sold out (although its possible that could be traced back to Tsunami/nuclear failure shortages). Here and there I am seeing more units installed one-by-one and am seeing a lot more ads from installers. However, the one thing that bothers me is that I am not impressed with the type of installation being done. The solar units are being tightly coupled to the roof surface. The results are: The units transmit solar heat to the roof The units themselves are less electrically efficient at higher temperatures The units are not being used to create wall shade which in itself would lower electrical demand

Andrew - Fotosketcher applies adjustable filter-type effects to whatever image you bring in. It processes the image and allows you to save it. It is a simple application. Where it excels is the effects can be more realistic than the typical photoshop plugin intended to produce similar results. What you get out of fotosketcher relates to what you put in. It won't for instance remove the lines from your typical sketchup output. It can definitely be used as part of a 'Dennis' type method where individual images are overlaid. I attach a simple example featuring a holding cell. A sketchup 'colours-only' export was processed in fotosketcher. A 'line-only' export was processed with a photoshop filter (EyeCandy 'Jiggles') and they were overlaid with transparency. Regards, Ross [image: p4nD_overlays.jpg]

@ross macintosh said: Looks good Michalis. I like the rusty steel effect. Does Gimp support photoshop-compatible plugins? You need the Gimp plugin [pspi.exe] search in http://registry.gimp.org/search/node/pspi that loads/uses most PhotoShop plugins [.8bf]...

Yes - render[in] installed various files in the directory including the icons for the gui (which show in SU) and a couple of textures.

Thanks Bep. I should have read it more carefully. I was too shocked by the size of the fine.

OK, I made the Picasa album (for the time being) and split the posts off this topic: http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=328&t=29653

Dear Ross, With reference to the last point (free enterprise), perhaps the way round that is to put the running of the prison farm and market gardening out to tender. I specifically mentioning gardening as there are organisations in the UK that seek to help people with mental health issues through gardening. It seems to be quite effective. Working the soil and growing your own vegetables can be very therapeutic. Good luck with the designs. Regards, Bob

your illustrations are very clear, well done

The same here - it's just Hungary: [image: 2006_02_20_007.jpg] [image: 2006_03_01_003.jpg] How on earth do we put out the dirt to where the excavator is? [image: 2006_03_11_045.jpg] [image: 2006_03_24_011.jpg] Okay, this is archaeology... But about 70-80% of 13,000 cubic metres by hand

Gag me! I just went into diabetic shock.

[image: bcnU_Csaba-drunk.jpg]

Looks nice... To avoid moire you either have to have better texture or render it large.

@matteo said: then, thanks rodrigo for asking about it. Yor welcome Matteo. @jackson said: Sorry Ross, I'm hijacking really badly here, but it's funny that "solo" is perceived only in it's negative sense in Spanish and Italian- although it also essentially means "alone" in English, it is usually used in a positive sense, as in someone can attempt or achieve something "solo" rather than needing a team of people to assist them. Back on topic (kind of) it's very impressive what Ross has achieved "solo"! Jackson, I don`t see "solo" in negative sense, I see "solo" exactly like you say @unknownuser said: as in someone can attempt or achieve something "solo" rather than needing a team of people to assist them. becouse most of the time, I work "solo" Best Regards

and who said that crime does not pay??? well I guess it does for a while until you get caught.

John - I did find a pic of an American beer accident but it was a derailed railroad tanker car that spilled its load of beer. The spill didn't look as tragic as the others -- it was too industrial to have the same emotional response. That said, seeing beer transported in tanker cars was in itself kind-a painful. It is good to know that the craft beer industry in the USA is healthy -- so I realize the tanker indignity doesn't apply to all American beer. Regards, Ross

I'm sorry to report Coen that, sadly, my first sexual experience wasn't that exciting!

You guys are crazy...!!