newmethos

@newmethos.bsky.social

1360 Followers 1674 Following

Freelance projection designer, climber, and hiker. Mixology is a habit and a hobby. Movies when I have time for them.

A video of the doors at the Jamaica Air Train station imploring passenges let folks get off the train. The dull roar in the background is rain pounding the glass over the station.
The one sheet for Pawil Pawlikowski's latest film, called Fatherland in English, about a road trip in post-war Germany that Thomas Mann and his daughter, played by Sandra Hüller, took through the country while it was still largely in ruins.
A neon sign in Dallas that has two messages depending on how the red neon lights up. This message reads: "Now is always the time for becoming."
A Bloomberg News headline that reads: "We admire great works of art, architecture and engineering. Why not debt?" The graphic is a three dimensional rhomboid tipped on its side in a room of the same pastel green and whites with a coin perched precariously on the top edge, a penny waiting to drop
A view of mid-town Manhattan from 41st St and 10th Ave. The Empire State Building is in the center, small, and also obscured by smoke.
A portion of text from Small Wars, Faraway Places, describing the movements of British Prime Minister Anthony Eden toward the end of the Suez crisis. The highlighted portion reads: “Eden and his wife left for Jamaica on 21 November for a period of medically decreed rest at Goldeneye” which is where my brain stopped. The text continues “the home of Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond thrillers.”
The shadow of a life guard station is keeping the California sun off of me as I catch the only signal I can near the campsite: Leo Carillo State Beach just outside of Malibu. Tide’s coming in. Sky as blur as can be and not even the hint of a cloud.
The squat trash compactor shape of the Kohler Smart Toilet, dubbed the Numi 2.0. This black version costs just $16,250 for a UV wand, a cleaner for the wand, and most importantly, voice control, among other features not listed in the picture but available at the link in my previous skeet.
A first person perspective of my outfit at the climbing gym: I’m wearing crack gloves, carrying a Nalgene, wearing read pants and sporting brand new Ocun Jett Crack climbing shows. Ready to test out the injured pinky after 9 weeks of rehab.
Text from an article in the Hollywood Reporter about remarks Trump made about his Secret Service detail’s response to a possible shooter: “‘They drew those guns so fast, they looked like Matt Dillon’ the president said of the moment Secret Service agents apprehended the suspect who attempted to sprint past them. The president's remark sparked some confusion online with some users on X wondering why Trump called out actor Matt Dillon as other users insisted he was referring to Gunsmoke character U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon, played by James Arness”
A map of California categories, the top 5 producers of alfalfa hay are in green. 4 of them are in the Central Valley. The fifth, all the way down on the border with Mexico and over by Arizona. It os mostly desert.
A screen shot from a climbing website that features a photo of the Ocun Jett Crack, a climbing shoe meant for crack climbing, which clearly demonstrates that this shoe has a downturn with the text asserting that the shoe has a flat profile, which is flagrantly not true.
The variety of IEC connections, polarized, unground, and grounded that make up the power connection between the transformer of an electrical device and the cable you plug into the wall. Dead center is the most traditional formal, the rounded trapezoid.
From BYU’s tutorial of Frakturschrift, a printed example of the latin alphabet in a serif font next to how the Fraktur appears when printed in three columns: print lower case, Fraktur lower case, and Fraktur upper case.
A picture of a post in a thread with Emily Bender (didn't want to quote post the user who I am about to harshly deride). The text reads: "Thank you! I really want to hear Emily Bender say 'The LLM technology is a remarkable achievement with all kinds of impressive use cases like translation [even though I disagree with how it's done].' That's it. No gotcha of any kind. Just literally concede a tiny point without any smug."
Bam Adebayo’s stat line for his record breaking game: 42 minutes, 83 points, 20 of 43 made field goals, 7 of 22 made threes, 36 of 43 made free throws.
An image of the AI summary of my obscure search for information about diffraction in Houdini's Karma renderer: Karma Physical Lens VOP node, which simulates optical artifacts caused by light bending around iris diaphragms. These spikes, which appear as thin lines extending from bright light sources, are controlled by adjusting the iris shape (e.g., number of blades) on the lens shader, typically added within a material network attached to a camera in a LOP (/stage) network. Key Techniques for Creating Diffraction Spikes in Karma • Use the Karma Physical Lens VOP: Set up a material network, create a Karma Physical Lens node, and connect it to your camera's lens shader settings in the Karma render node or camera object. • Configure Iris Settings: The number of blades in the iris diaphragm determines the number of spikes. • An even number of blades produces fewer, more intense spikes (e.g., 6-bladed iris creates 6 spikes). • An odd number of blades can create a higher number of, often more diffuse, spikes. • Adjust Lens Effects: The physical lens node allows you to control the intensity, aperture shape, and color of the diffraction, which simulates how light bends around obstructions (like aperture blades or, metaphorically, dirt/scratches on a lens). • Post-Processing/Alternative Method: While Karma's physical lens handles it natively, another approach for adding spikes is to use software like AstroAF on rendered images, which allows for post-process control over spike length, thickness, and intensity based on pixel brightness. These techniques allow for the creation of stylized "starburst" effects on bright, point-light sources within your 3D scenes.
A vivid color image of the Helix nebula taken by the Webb Telescope. In addition to the vivid orange of the gases, there are several very bright stars with an interesting effect called a diffraction spike, where something thin has obstructed the light and it has bent around it. This gives the starburst look that I am hoping to create in Houdini for an opera design.
A close up of a climbing wall that shows off the tiny edges of the orange start hold of a V6/V7 climb. The hold is marked with 8 distinct finger pad shaped chalk marks, where I had carefully placed my hands to begin the send go.
A photo of two pots on a stove top. On the left is a very old Griswold cast iron Dutch oven from the 40s full of gamjatang, a Korean potato and pork soup. There is sushi rice with a wooden spoon in the pot on the right.
4 cds in a CD case, from top left, clockwise: Marathon Infinity, original disk, Ghost Recon, Max Payne, and Civ 3 disks, all burned (and presumably a bit stolen).
A clipped screenshot of the Accuweather summary for Lincoln, NE around sunrise on Jan 23, 2026. It reads negative five degrees Fahrenheit with a RealFeel of negative seventeen degrees.
A light pole in a parking lot. It is white and sports a black sticker that reads: ABOLISH ICE
A banner under the score bug on Jan 3’s match between Bournemouth and Arsenal, being broadcast on NBC indicating where to get your news about the war the US just started with Venezuela. Sports is not a refuge from the relentless news cycle that is sure to be 2026
A Liquid IV cardboard display at the local grocery store containing the hydration brand’s holiday hydration flavor: hot chocolate
A satellite photo of a Trader Joe’s parking lot at La Brea and 3rd in Los Angeles. La Brea is on the right (east), 3rd is below (south). The gated overflow lot is on the left, accessible only through the main lot or the single vehicle alley off of 3rd.
A Duck Duck Go AI Search Assist result for a technical question in Houdini that is wrong in almost every respect.
A screenshot of the recently announced draw of the 2026 World Cup. I will add better alt text with a list of the groups when I get to my hotel. Sorry.
A portion of the Wikipedia entry on Enron, especially the part that got them into so much trouble: "Enron used a variety of deceptive and fraudulent tactics and accounting practices to cover its fraud in reporting Enron's financial information. Special-purpose entities were created to mask significant liabilities from Enron's financial statements. These entities made Enron seem more profitable than it was, and created a dangerous spiral in which, each quarter, corporate officers would have to perform more and more financial deception to create the illusion of billions of dollars in profit while the company was actually losing money.[53] This practice increased their stock price to new levels, at which point the executives began to work on insider information and trade millions of dollars' worth of Enron stock. The executives and insiders at Enron knew about the offshore accounts that were hiding losses for the company; the investors, however, did not. Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow directed the team that created the off-books companies and manipulated the deals to provide himself, his family, and his friends with hundreds of millions of dollars in guaranteed revenue, at the expense of the corporation for which he worked and its stockholders." The sentence about Special-purpose entities masking significant liabilities in Enron's financial statements is highlighted.
A banner advertising a coming performance of The Notebook: The Musical that echoes one of the famous shots from the movie. But the people are outlines revealing splattered pastel colors against a field of light blue.
Gray thunder clouds loom above the northern range of mountains in Joshua Tree National Park. The foreground is flat dirt of the trampled BLM dispersed camping nearby. The clouds mostly block the sun, but there is a strip of mountains that are starkly lit beneath that cloudy sky.
A headline from an AI generated fantasy football recap, itself a ridiculous exercise, that reads “A Fantasy Team turns M R Hall into M R Hall 0.” My fantasy team name is not “A Fantasy Team.” It did get my opponent’s team name correctly though. It goes downhill from there
2 D Cell Duracell batteries on a cutting board with 2 very different expiration dates (and eventually measured voltages). The top is March of 2029. The bottom March of 2009
Bluesky is trying to be helpful, presumably for spell check reasons and it asks me the following question: Schreibst du auf German?
Manchester United women’s team is attacking the Arsenal goal at the left. The Arsenal goal is in deep shadow compared to the rest of the pitch at Leigh Sports Village, Manchester United women’s home ground.
The Chronicle high rise in Houston, many panes of blue tinted glass reflecting the cloudy morning sky, a pane of which is being replaced the workers in the crane platform at the bottom of the image. The plane being replaced is all the way at the top of the skyscraper.
A screenshot of the One Football scores showing the Europa Conference League qualifier 2nd leg results. The team that caught my eye is the home side of the second one down: FC Noah
My entire lower right leg is encased in a fiberglass splint that’s been wrapped in cotton and then wrapped with Ace bandages because of a tiny tiny break in my heel from taking a 15’ lead fall on a crummy route in Smith Rock State Park
A view of the cliffs towering above the Crooked River at Smith Rock State Park in Oregon, pretty much every face is bolted for sport climbing. The view is from midway up the main ascent of the Misery Ridge Trail, which feels very aptly named on a cloudless day in high summer where the sun is merciless
A picture of the Colbert marquee at 53rd St, while it’s still there. Colbert’s name is in big lights arranged vertically on the facade of the building. Beneath it is a sign for Angelo’s Pizza and below that is the marquee proper with the Late Show logo.
A screen shot of the OneFootball summary of the July 9th Euro 2025 match between England and The Netherlands. The page shows the names of the 4 English goal-scorers: Lauren James, Georgia Stanway, Lauren James (again), and Ella Toone
A white Ikea plate sits on a cheap black plastic cutting board. It contains my Independence Day dinner - a heaping helping of that traditional American dish: chana dal
A crack like V4 tucked into the corner that follows the green volumes to the blue holds with a tricky finish from Movement LIC in Queens. For those who aren't climbers, it's an awkwardly shaped wall with garish colored blocks scattered over it that makes it feel like a 3D version of a Dadaist painting
A heavily defaced poster for Ghosts of Girlfriends past, a film starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner from 2009 along with many layers of the posters that came later over it. Spotted in the 50sr St E train station headed to Queens in the year of our Lord, 2025
A white ceramic bowl from Ikea is filled with a hearty helping of creamy risotto cooked according to Serious Eats No Stir Risotto recipe, topped with mushrooms and scallions. There is a spoon on the left hand side, I can’t wait to dig in.
A foot note from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago Book 1 Chapter on the Bluecaps, the arm of the NKVD/MGB responsible for arrest and interrogation of prisoners (Chapter 4). The text of footnote one reads "There is no way of sidestepping this comparison: both the years and the methods coincide too closely. And the comparison occurred even more naturally to those who had passed through the hands of both the Gestapo and the MGB. One of these was Yevgeny Ivanovich Divnich, an emigre and preacher of Orthodox Christianity. The Gestapo accused him of Communist activities among Russian workers in Germany, and the MGB charged him with having ties to the international bourgeoisie. Divnich's verdict was unfavorable to the MGB. He was tortured by both, but the Gestapo was nonetheless trying to get at the truth. and when the accusation did not hold up. Divnich was released. The MGB wasn't interested in the truth and had no intention of letting anyone out of its grip once he was arrested."
A bottle of suspiciously low priceds olive oil from Zayto, a brand I’ve never heard of with a label featuring a proud announcement of the extra virgin olive oil as “firts cold pressed,” which is not a thing
Classic Indian Creek sandstone towers with long crack features loom over you. There are two climbing ropes set up, blue on the left for the off width, green on the right for the hand crack “warm up,” which is the crack to the right of the rope. Both routes can be climbed in approach shoes by the right climber. I was not that climber.
A botle of Maestro Dobel Diamante tequila is on the left, a cocktail spoon and couple of lines separate it from the pint of Grand Marnier on the right, on a white, black, and red embroidered mat. Ignore the boxed wine, this is a classy cocktail ingreident pic.
It’s a picture of me! I’m wearing sunglasses from Zenni Optical that are 3 years old, I’ve got a new helmet from Wild Country, I’ve got a Petzl GriGri assisted locking belay device at my chest, my right hand, which is covered by a Black Diamond crack climbing glove, throwing devil horns ready to rock on the rock with my arms firmly covered by REI sun protective sleeves, time to lead rope solo under the bright blue sky in Joshua Tree National Park.
A full rainbow pops in some wispy clouds above Mindless Mound in the heart of Joshua Tree National Park on a mild sunny day in April
The cover art from HAIM's 2020 album Women in Music Part III featuring the band behind the counter of a classic Los Angeles delicatessen.
A screenshot of Google Maps showing the distance from the Dallas Morning News' offices, who are claiming they didn't know the protests were happening at Dealey Plaza, and the route to Dealey Plaza, which is less than a mile and easy walking distance. Yes, it is in German, I have my reasons!
A picture of a clear blue sky on a mild April morning above Comerica Park, the Detroit Tigers’ home stadium. You can see a red helicopter above the stadium if you squint.
A photo of the cover of the paperback edition of Mike Davis’ legendary collection of essays on politics and power in Los Angeles, City of Quartz (subtitle: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles). The title is at the top, the author’s name is at the bottom, in the middle is a lilac tinted photo of Downtown LA from above.
A panoramic view of the Eastern Sierras and the White Mountain Range across the Owens Valley taken in March of 2025 from Paul’s Backyard, a climbing area off of Movie Road in the Alabama Hills just outside of Lone Pine, CA
The paperback cover of a recent edition of Mike Davis’ classic collection of essays about Los Angeles: City of Quartz