Non-uniform distributed random numbers

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Creating non-uniform distrubed random numbers is not straightforward. Usally programming languages like C provide functions like rand() which returns an integer random number between 0 and RAND_MAX or drand48() with returns a double random number between 0 and 1. The numbers returned by these functions are uniform distributed meaning that if you run them very often you get each number by the same amount.
If you want random numbers in other ranges, these can be rescaled easily. For example, if you need integer random numbers between 1 and 10 you simply could get a random number x from rand() and apply the function \(f(x) = 1 + 9 \cdot x\) to it.

But what if you want to distribute them in a non-uniform way? Continue reading →

Webfont rendering on different browsers/platforms

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Yesterday, I updated my blog to use webfonts. As I was curious how they look on different platforms in different browsers I made some comparisons. I tried to cover all major browsers on various operation systems. As a rendering example I took my blog post about AirPlay Simultaneity as it uses three different fonts within the first paragraph.

For each browser/platform combination I made an image consisting of an overview of the rendering and a detail view. On the left side of each picture you can see a simple screenshot which is displayed in such way that it is scaled by one over device-pixel-ratio. That means, that all PC screenshots are displayed 1:1, where as the iPad 3 screenshot is display at 50 % and the Nexus 7 at 75 %. On the right side is a zoomed view of a few characters of each font used. It is displayed with a magnification factor of 4 for the mobile devices and 5 for the PC devices. Continue reading →

Finally: Webfonts and new layout

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It has been a long time since the last layout update of this site. Originally I planned updating the layout around July last year when I was experimenting with web typography for the first time. I tried several different themes with custom fonts and even almost finished a own layout based on bootstrap and some free fonts from the Google web fonts. I wasn’t totally convinced of my new layout so I decided it to postpone after my trip to Costa Rica, but as usual I never reactivated the project again.

A few weeks ago, I read the #webtypobuch by Gerrit van Aaken which reignited my flame for typography and again I started to try different web fonts and changes to my layout. Yesterday I read an article about web typography from hukl which finally convinced my to get it done.

So here it is! I adapted the Twenty Eleven theme from WordPress which I like for its simplicity and did several tweaks to adapt it to my needs. I removed several of my self-written plugins for recent comments, recent posts and similiar posts to keep it clean. Although it requires a monthly free I decided to give fonts.com a try for the webfonts. Right now, I’m using Neue Helvetica for the plain text in a 45 Light version and 65 Medium/46 Light Italic for bold/italic text. The headings are written in Avenir in 65 Heavy and 85 Heavy for bold. For quotes I use PMN Caecilia as an serif font in the 45 Light/46 Light Italic version. For monospaced text I use the Helvetica Monospaced Roman.

I tested the layout on OS X and Windows running the major browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer) and all seem to work quite well. As the layout is responsive it also looks great on iPhone or iPad.

f-stop Guru and Loka

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When I was planning my trip to Costa Rica earlier this year I searched the web for days to find a suitable backpack for my photo equipment.

I already owned two Tamrac backpacks at that time: The large 5588 Expedition 8x and the smaller 3385 Aero Speed Pack 85. The 5588 is fine my for macro tours where I want to bring all of my equipment including a huge tripod, but it is way too large for a holiday trip and offers not compartments to store food, rain covers or spare cloths. The 3385 is fine for lightweight travelling if you want to bring your body with one or two lenses and some extra room for other stuff. I used this on my trip to Yellowstone National Park, where I brought my Canon EOS 7D together with a EF 16-35mm/2.8, EF 24-60mm/2.8 and a EF 70-200mm/4.0 and no tripod. Continue reading →

Costa Rica – Pura vida

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Da mein Vater zur Zeit in Costa Rica wohnt, war es selbstverständlich das ein Besuch in diesem doch völlig anderen Land Pflicht ist. Ende Juli ist es dann nach komplizierten Planungen endlich soweit. Nach langem und anstrengenden Flug kommen wir abends in San José an. Auf der kurzen Fahrt über die “Autobahn” und durch die Stadt bekommen wir schon einen ersten Eindruck, was uns so im costaricanischen Verkehr die nächsten Tage erwartet. Nach einem leckeren Abendessen in der Casa Müller geht es aber erstmal ins Bett. Continue reading →