I've been playing with The Gimp a bit recently, using edge-detection, colorization, and some other filters on some of my photos to make vaguely-abstract desktop backgrounds. I think it's worked pretty well, so I'm posting a few of the things I made here. Well, more specifically, over at Flickr]. Let me know what you think.
Today was an absolutely beautiful day. Clear blue skies,
mid-70's temperature, low smog, completely perfect. So, like any other
sane human being, I decided to take a walk. Specifically, I hiked up to
the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park, which is a nice little place a
few miles north of campus. On the way there, I was really struck by
life in California. Here I was, walking along on one of the most
beautiful days of the year, and I didn't see more than a half-dozen
other pedestrians on the two-and-a-half mile walk up to the park. Of
course, I saw several hundred cars, trucks, and SUVs. I saw people
driving from their homes on Mills down the street to Vons and back
again. It's so weird here – on the one hand, a lot of people seem to be
"fitness freaks" and very concerned with "wellness", but on the other
hand there's this overbearing car culture…