Thursday, March 20, 2008

What is.... AA & AF




What is Antialiasing??

anti-aliasing is the technique of minimizing the distortion artifacts known as aliasing when representing a high-resolution signal at a lower resolution. Anti-aliasing is used in digital photography, computer graphics, digital audio, and many other domains.

Anti-aliasing means removing signal components that have a higher frequency than is able to be properly resolved by the recording (or sampling) device. This removal is done before (re-)sampling at a lower resolution. When sampling is performed without removing this part of the signal, it causes undesirable artifacts such as the black-and-white noise

In signal acquisition and audio, anti-aliasing is often done using an analog anti-aliasing filter to remove the out-of-band component of the input signal prior to sampling with an analog-to-digital converter. In digital photography, optical anti-aliasing filters are made of birefringent materials, and smooth the signal in the spatial optical domain. The anti-aliasing filter essentially blurs the image slightly in order to reduce resolution to below the limit of the digital sensor (the larger the pixel pitch, the lower the achievable resolution at the sensor level).

anisotropic filtering (abbreviated AF) is a method of enhancing the image quality of textures on surfaces that are at oblique viewing angles with respect to the camera where the projection of the texture (not the polygon or other primitive it is rendered on) appears to be non orthogonal. Like bilinear and trilinear filtering it eliminates aliasing effects, but introduces less blur at extreme viewing angles and thus preserves more detail. Anisotropic filtering is relatively expensive (usually computationally, though the standard space-time tradeoff rules apply) and only became a standard feature of consumer-level graphics cards in the 1990s. Anisotropic filtering is now common in modern graphics hardware and enabled either by users through driver settings or by graphics applications & video games through programming interfaces.

please click image for futher image sample...



Sunday, March 16, 2008

Tanah Lot




Tanah Lot, one of the most popular places of interest in Bali, is located on the coast of West Bali, at the village of Beraban in the Tabanan Regency.
It is also called Tanah Let which means ancient land and also Tanah Lod, which means the land to the south.

The temple Pura Tanah Lot, simple in its construction, is dramatic in its ocean-front location and is one of the main temples in the worship of Balinese gods.

Tanah Lot has a long history in the world of tourism.
The temple itself is built on a small promontory which is only accessible at low tide.
During high water the rock takes on the appearance of a large boat at sea, such is its shape.

Poisonous snakes live in the nearby caves to 'guard' the temple and contribute to the temple's dangerous reputation.

Sunset is the best time to visit Tanah lot, when the golden red skies frame the temple and waves crash into the rocks.
It is advisable to avoid the tourist crush here as it can be severe.

The Trendy Double Six Beach

It’s all about soaking up the sun in the trendiest beach in Bali. Double Six Beach is the perfect beach to show off that gym-enhanced form, accompanied by an adorable Chihuahua and a bottle of ice-cold beer. Frequented by European expats and tourists, the Seminyak area is arguably the hub of style and fashion in Bali… and the Double Six Beach proves that.

If you’re looking for a light cardio workout, simply walk to the Double Six Beach from Kuta, which is about 30 minutes away. Just stroll along Kuta beach and head north. Alternately, it’s a 10-minute drive by car. Despite the proximity, the beach is void of the usual beach scene; no pushy street sellers offering jewelry or beach sarongs, no vendors hawking Bintang Beer T-shirts or Balinese souvenirs. Those are replaced by a row of comfy restaurants and bars facing the beach, some of which have been there for years.

To reach the Double Six beach, you will have to pass through Arjuna Road (also known as Double Six road) and at the end of the road, turn left. The beach stretches from the Jayakarta Hotel to the Double Six Club. However, a livelier route can be found along the Jayakarta Hotel to the De Ja Vu Club, right in front of the restaurants. Double Six Beach’s calm waters are great for swimming and wading children. However, during the rainy season (between December to February), the waves often bring in seaweeds from the ocean, which makes the beach look rather murky.

To truly feel the beach’s vibe, I suggest you to come here in the afternoon, around 4 pm . By that time, you will find motorbikes and several cars parked near the beach and most of the restaurants nearly full. And since you have two more hours before the sun sets, why don’t you go to one of the restaurants and grab a bite? One of my favorites is the Blue Ocean restaurant; their margarita pizza is just perfect. Sit down, enjoy the sun’s warmth, and watch people pass by while having a glass of beer.

The restaurants offer a laid back ambiance; think open air eateries with big trees and lush green plants to make you feel right at home. Plus, the cool breeze and the vacation feel make it easier for people to meet new acquaintances . The last time I went to the Blue Ocean , I met a group of French students who were vacationing in Bali during their long summer break. They seemed to truly enjoy their holiday!

After finishing your drink, walk down the beach and opt to do one of several beach activities; be one of the sun worshippers lying down on the benches scattered along the beach, surf and catch some waves, play volleyball or just swim. Rent the bench (around Rp 20,000/ hour), and listen to the crashing ocean waves. The beach maybe full at this time of day, but still not as full as Kuta. The sunset can be a glorious moment; a magnificent blend of colors, gently fades away as the sun bids you goodbye at the end of the horizon.

Double Six Beach
Arjuna Road (Double Six Road ), Seminyak, Legian, Bali , Indonesia

Bali's "Mother Temple"

High on the slopes of Bali's Mount Agung sits Pura Besakih, widely referred to as the "Mother Temple" of Hinduism in Bali. Pura Besakih, or Besakih Temple in English, is the largest of the island's 11,000 or so Hindu temples; its 35 shrines and halls draw devotees from all over Bali in massive numbers each year.

The world is lucky to have Besakih. In 1963 Mount Agung, a volcano, erupted and destroyed several nearby villages. Besakih was untouched.

The temple is generally agreed to date back to prehistoric times in Bali. It is named for Naga Besukian -- the dragon-god thought by pre-Hindu Balinese to inhabit this, the highest mountain in Bali. But at the beginning of the 11th Century Besakih became the state temple at a time when Bali was no mean kingdom. It has remained the state temple in some form or another ever since and is state supported today.

Like most Balinese temples, Besakih is not a closed building but a mostly open-air affair. It is made up of courtyards with altars and shrines devoted to a number of gods. And those gods have better things to do than just hang around a temple; the Balinese believe that the gods visit a temple on particular dates -- and on those dates the Balinese hold festivals to honor (or placate) the gods. Of all the temples on Bali six are "supremely holy:" Pura Besakih, Pura Lempuyang Luhur, Pura Gua Lawah, Pura Batukaru, Pura Pusering Jagat, and Pura Uluwatu. Of these, Besakih stands higher than the others -- not because it sits some 3000 or so feet above the ocean on the mountain's side, but because it is more sacred to the Balinese. It is said to be the only classless, casteless temple on the island where any Balinese Hindu can come to worship.

Bali's Hinduism is unique. Many scholars believe it gives us a view of Hindu beliefs much as they existed 1500 to 2000 years ago. Hinduism was once the dominant religion in much of Southeast Asia and empires in the region where ruled by god-kings -- empires like Funan, Sri Vijaya, Angkor, and Bali.

The Hinduism of Bali is less fragmented than that of modern India. Balinese are generally said to worship one god, Brahman, who manifests himself in various forms or personalities.

Lee Arnold, in his article on The Temples of Bali, quotes an anonymous Balinese who explains their views: "I am just one person; someday I might be a farmer, another a driver, yet another a cook, but I am still only one person." In the same way the Hindu "gods" Siva and Vishnu (Siwa and Visnu in Balinese) are really just different manifestations of the one god, Brahman, in Balinese theology. While this may be true, temples generally end up serving as places where one of Brahman's manifestations is worshipped; and Besakih is dedicated largely to Siva worship.

While the Hinduism of Bali may provide a glimpse into the religion's past it is by no means pure. Balinese religion has kept Islam at bay, but has absorbed aboriginal animism and Malay cultic ancestor worship along with aspects of Mahayana Buddhism.

The temple's anniversary, Odalan, is an excellent day to visit if you are looking for pageantry. But you should expect a crowd of several thousand people. That ceremony comes in the tenth month of the Balinese calendar, usually in April.

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