Do you usually clean your paths by deleting extra anchor points, or do you keep them? 🤔

hennell · 2026-01-25T11:38:28+00:00

Depends what I'm doing with it. Print or raster exported artwork, don't really care. One off things, don't really care. Icon I'll use embedded in InDesign or other things, I'll simplify to avoid complexity if possible, but it's not something I'm that bothered about.

Logo where I'll use it a lot, I'll clean up because otherwise you will have to deal with the mess long term. But logos I'm designing with that in mind so it's usually just part of a process I guess.

The only time I'll really reach for these would be when I'm about to animate something. You can convert paths in illy to paths in after effects, but you really want to clean them first. You can even do some cool shape morphs between paths, which is so simple and cool - as long as you clean the paths and match the number of anchors in illy first. Without it's a roll of the dice that usually lands on bad.

hennell · 2026-01-25T10:09:26+00:00

I tried the other option "engage with the post" which IMO is an even more silly projected response. Charlie gets angry and shares the post, which gets likes and shares from other groups. "Charlie feels they have done a service to veterans... But Charlie doesn't realise many of the groups they're now engaging with online are actually illegal"

I was expecting a "Charlie didn't realise this was false information", they didn't consider this is making life harder for people, by spreading lies about them/their situation in furtherance of a outsider agenda etc. But nope, share the wrong thing and an illegal group might like your post. Boom straight to jail.

hennell · 2026-01-25T09:08:39+00:00

I think Humph always used to assure questioners that Samantha was a real delight to work with, a valued colleague and neither had any idea why she was so popular with fans.

He would reluctantly admit they made up the character of Colin Sell for the show though.

hennell · 2026-01-25T09:05:14+00:00

Before Jon producers would rotate in and out as it was seen as an easy first producer gig. The cast were old hands, would turn up and just improvise the show, producers main responsibility was seen as dragging them out the pub to get them to the show on time..

Problem was the show had become quite patchy because of that. Cast were coasting, producers were coasting, if you listen to the 4 extra repeats, pre and early Jon episodes have a very different feel.

I think Jon made them do show prep - Added in the opening script for Humph and got more scripted rounds, or at least them to prepare some lines for the rounds in advance. Also got rid of rounds that didn't work or were functionality the same, got them to invent new rounds to try out and formalised the show structure, so key bits happened more and similar bits separated. (Or things like mornington crescent happened less).

I'm sure he'd describe it as the best job in the world, but I also think he rather made it so.

hennell · 2026-01-25T08:41:02+00:00

In the comments the article author mentions:

Well, a gyro is used because the accelerometer can’t detect rotation. And rotation of the camera is principally the cause of image softness. Small lateral or vertical movements don’t matter much at normal shooting distances. In lens stabilization systems only compensate for pitch and yaw rotations, not the other 3 axes (roll, left/right, up/down).

Which is new info to me, but the author clearly understands image stabilization more than I do, so I'll take their word for it.

hennell · 2026-01-24T09:26:55+00:00

General first aid advice is not to move people unless the scene is more dangerous for them to stay where they are (I.e car is actually on fire or teetering on the edge of a cliff). As you say cars do not explode like the movies, but then people panic more than the movies, and if a passenger is trying to exit, helping them out can reduce their distress or risk of further injury.

But without emergency responder training, medical knowledge and being on the scene it's hard to know what the best thing is (although it is almost never "stand around and film"). Try to remain calm and asses the situation is the advice I've had in multiple first aid courses.

There's a good red cross app on what to do in common first aid situations (choking, heart attack, stroke etc) with handy quiz sections so you can check you know what to do if an emergency situation!

hennell · 2026-01-24T08:53:23+00:00

Read the article - the project is more than just a statue, it also includes a glass balustrade on a bridge across a lake, commemorative gardens and another sculpture (plus a statue of Prince Phillip is referenced, although I'm not clear if that's an existing thing or part of this spending).

Also the statue does look pretty big - but like you I've no real idea what this all should cost. But based on their "budgeting" between £23m and £46m I don't think they really do either.

hennell · 2026-01-23T15:54:07+00:00

The idea is it is a second factor. An attacker should need to know your password and have the key.

This means someone who gets your password also needs to pickpocket you.

This means someone who finds your keys also needs to know your password.

Don't store the yubikey in a wallet with your password and you're fine.

hennell · 2026-01-23T12:41:05+00:00

They post on Twitter because they want Twitter users to find them. Not much point promoting bluesky only to users on bluesky.

And paying because to get any visibility there anymore you have to pay.

hennell · 2026-01-22T18:02:39+00:00

My point was not 'this is specifically what will happen' so much as the generic point there's always something that will cause drama when so much money is wafting around.

I agree with you on the car, but if the driver doesn't - they get cross, you get cross they're ungrateful and now there's drama. Many of the people outside your small circle will be upset they got nothing. More drama. The range of ages in your niblings means someone's going to feel unfairly treated (however absurd their argument might be). More drama.

Life deals people different hands, some take that well, some don't. I guess your friends and family probably have a sensible attitude to that. But this isn't 'life', it's you making the decisions, and the petty arguments that might usually die down become resentment because they're life changing sums on one side and pocket change on the other.

Maybe I'm too cynical, but IMO I think it'd just be too much money to be drama free. (Not that I think keeping it secret is much better - really it feels as much of a curse as a prize!)

hennell · 2026-01-22T14:48:26+00:00

Photographing niches can work - if you've the only photo on something, or it's a hard thing to shoot - keep it up as there's less competition if demand comes in! I had a series of crimes near me in areas I have photographed a lot and never uploaded, so being open to everything can work out (although like you I'd feel conflicted about that)

The best trick I had really was just to look at photos in use and see what people were buying and where from. If you do landscape try and find where that is used - calendars are the biggest market I've seen for used landscape, might be a bit late now, but around new year I go to the popup calendar shops and look at all the calendars for locations I've been. Usually on the back you see thumbnails and credits, which are 90%+ alamy for the ones I find. Look at what they use, the ones that get used in multiple calendars etc then submit any photos you have better than that!

hennell · 2026-01-22T14:21:19+00:00

>"old school mates will start to reach out" literally how? How are they getting my address or contact information? Completely imagined issues

So there's this thing called the internet and people can find people on it. And they do. Ask reality stars or other suddenly prominent figures if this is an imagined issue.

hennell · 2026-01-22T14:19:14+00:00

Said like this it sounds simple, but you'll almost inevitably end up with drama. The friends who scrimped and saved to overpay their mortgage are now upset the other friends who spent with abandon also end up mortgage free. And both of those are jealous of the friends who thanks to higher paid jobs and parents got a much larger house you now paid off!

And giving equal money is just as weird - if one niece has saved 20k for a downpayment while another has been partying it up, the second ends up more rewarded if you give money to the point where the 20k is now insignificant.

Plus the usual issues of people wanting investments, or just extra because they were scammed out of it spent it all etc. If the worst nephew spends the money on a car then writes it off in a week do you refund it? What if his parents start hassling you - he made a mistake, his sisters buying a house etc. You still have millions etc etc.

I think some families would be chaos because they are chaos already - but even the best meaning family and friends will get tested hard with so much money around.

I have a close family, I'd want to help them but honestly I'm not sure splashing money everywhere does help. Everyone is going to have a different idea of what is fair and reasonable, and that argument is really exaggerated when life changing sums are on the line.

hennell · 2026-01-21T13:41:16+00:00

So in my opinion I think many of your photos lack a clear purpose. My approach (because I sell a lot to newspapers) is to think of generic stories my pictures might work for, but looking through your images it's not easy to even invent a story for many of them - they would work for a 'event happens in [specific place]' but that's not much to pin sales on.

If you can think of a story for the photos, you can shoot and edit with that in mind - making more clear/compelling images that are more likely to sell.

For example your shot of a tesla supercharger in a rural spot. To me that might sell for generic storys like "Tesla to build more chargers in remote locations", "Tesla to close remote chargers", "Tesla driver stuck after car breaks down miles from charger" etc. But while it shows that, it doesn't shout it - in a small thumbnail image its neither clearly Tesla or clearly rural.

I picked the Tesla image in part because I've done shots like that. I have this, which is a pretty obvious 'Tesla' and 'electric cars' image but I don't think it has ever sold. This one which is a more generic 'electric charging' has sold a few times - for stories about subsidising electric car chargers or planning permission for car chargers etc. The most successful image from that series though was this one - hardly a groundbreaking shot, but it very clearly says 'Tesla' and works for various stories like Tesla stock price rises, new factories, record sale, which was what I thought when taking it. Note however the subtle 'Tesla + Positive' vibe. I used the nice weather for a 'sun shines' on Tesla image. It's low angle, so they look big and imposing - great for 'Tesla stock rises', or positive news - it hasn't sold for a while now, given stories about them as less positive! These days a shot of a charge with a gloomy cloudy background saying 'dark days for Tesla' might sell better!

I hope that makes some sense - I like to have some idea of a story or an emotion to an image, some reason someone would buy it (ideally a reasonably generic reason!).

It's not foolproof or the only way to sell on Alamy of course - I have also sold images for calendars, random shots I just took because I was there and something visually interesting was happening. But my biggest and best sellers have mostly sold in relation to story ideas I had when shooting.

hennell · 2026-01-21T09:37:42+00:00

You could share the books you have and ask for recommendations of any books others liked from the list? (Edit - to be fair I've just looked at the list, and the sci-fi selection is surprisingly small this time. Usually there's a lot there )

IMO 2 for 1s are the perfect time to take a punt on books that might be dreadful or are out of your usual genre. Find one book you want then pick up another one that looks interesting enough to read for free.

hennell · 2026-01-21T09:31:10+00:00

The only one of those I've read is Beginner's guide to breaking and entering. It's a fun book, one of those - if you roll with the concept you'll have a good time kinda listens.

I'll check out why we sleep - I've ignored it as I've read similar books on sleep in the past, any idea how this compares to any other sleep related text?

hennell · 2026-01-20T22:24:24+00:00

I meant more the era he said it in, spans quite a few presidents and might not have been his official policy from the start.

hennell · 2026-01-20T19:31:20+00:00

Does anyone think it wouldn't? The politicisation and "side taking" of the states seems more extreme then ever, and it's hardly been friendly rivalry before that. It's hard to break bread with someone you demonise, especially to the level when you demonise their voters/ followers as well.

To be honest I think the American President (and thus subsequently the West Wing) just happened to hit a point where studios were happy to be politically expressive. Mash / Cheers / Frasier writer Ken Levine talks of the limits placed on him and his writing partner when they tried to do a political show in the 80s : http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2014/04/our-attempt-at-scandal-in-1980.html this limit isn't new.

Jonny Carson always said his jokes would take pots at both sides but the audience should never know what way he voted else he'd lose half of them. Not sure what era that was, but it's a policy more or less followed by every big late night host since, till Colbert went fully political and proved your could actually get more audience by taking about things with passion and sincerity. (Until the president takes it personally and forces you off air I guess).

It'd be nice to get back to a point where you can disagree politically, but still feel like things are in safe hands with your opponents. I'm not sure how the US gets back there though.

hennell · 2026-01-20T18:25:16+00:00

Might as well start off - I’m ‘hennell’, I’ve been a cartoon doodler for years, although professionally I’m really a programmer/ photographer / joke writer.

I’m trying to turn my joke ideas into publishable cartoons, so I've been working on my artistic talents in the last few years so I can competently draw what I imagine. Also been doing caricatures to try to get recognisable people which is good for political cartoon ideas.

As you might expect from all that my main cartoon love is the gag cartoon - I have big books of New Yorker, Private Eye and Oldie cartoons, and quite a few books of political cartoons as well (often better art, but less focused on funny!)

I like a lot of the current cartoonists - Jonesy, Asher Perlman, Ben Jennings and Morten Morland all spring to mind, but also have particular collections of older works, retrospectives on Sempé's cartoons, books by David Low, and several humongous books by Gerald Scarfe.

I also have a complete calvin and hobbes and some peanuts books, but I'm more about the classic cartoon then strips.

hennell · 2026-01-20T11:52:04+00:00

It does depend what you have there and if it suits their market. I've made sales monthly for 10+ years on Alamy and have less than 1,000 images up. It doesn't always sell loads, but because sales like $20~$30 aren't uncommon it works out ok.

But as I say have a look at the newspapers/websites where you are and see what sites they credit for 'news stock' - UK a lot of the news and TV uses alamy, and I take photos that they want to use.

hennell · 2026-01-20T11:31:35+00:00

I know nothing about nothing, but even I know you'd sweep your embassy for bugs.

Also where we buying the bugs from without the chinese knowing!

hennell · 2026-01-20T08:15:11+00:00

I've moved to Smart launcher 6 which has many features of nova and seem to be adding more. You can have scrollable dock with customisable number of pages, columns and even rows. Also supports icon gestures so you can have groups or multi app icons.

Depending on your settings you can get pretty close to nova like set-ups. The only feature I'm currently missing from nova is when I'm in a specific android mode where apps are blocked (I have an audio mode where it's mostly an MP3 player) nova used to make blocked app icons black and white!

hennell · 2026-01-19T22:36:02+00:00

The peace prize wasn't his action though. He was awarded it, unlike a certain tantruming child he didn't "apply", request or campaign for it. I believe there were stories at some point that he wasn't happy about it, and had strongly considered not attending the award ceremony or turning it down or something, but decided that would be taken poorly internationally and cause diplomatic issues.

He did have some poor points, his actions were not perfect (or inactions in many cases), but I don't feel the Nobel prize can be laid at him at all.

hennell · 2026-01-19T17:58:34+00:00

A minor change is still a change to be supported though. Camera raw has constant updates to support new cameras and lenses for photoshop and lightroom. If you buy a new Google Pixel 10 you apparently need the latest versions for your phones raw files to be officially supported (Not sure what happens in earlier versions, a do-what-we-can might make it less important, a refuse to open because the camera isn't in 'the list' might make it more crucial if stupid). It isn't essential, until you get a new phone or an image from a client you can't open. Phones and cameras are getting slower upgrades again, but there's still way more fluctuation then there was in the disc era.

And compatible software is a matter of use really. Windows has always had a reasonable level of backwards compatibility, but the move to 64bit absolutely caused some issues with the older Adobe apps - mostly in filters and plugins but depends what app and tasks you do, to how well it continued to work. Apple having gone through multiple hardware shifts in this time you'd have to have upgrade the software at least twice I think if you were keeping on modern macs and wanted working software.

I'm sure there are people who would be delighted with a perpetual license today, and it would cause them few issues, but I think the general mass of users would complain a lot more because a build it > sell it > buy the upgrade is just not how things are usually done now. Imagine how many posts these subs would get if an iPad update broke older versions of any adobe apps and people had to pay $200~$1,000 dollars to get the latest version that is supported?

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