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			<title>Infra-Red/UV Video Image Segmentation Technique Theory</title>
			<link>http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2010/10/27/infra-red-uv-video-image-segmentation-technique-theory</link>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Oct 2010 23:28:45 +0000</pubDate>			<dc:creator>Mickael Maddison</dc:creator>
			<category domain="main">News and Announcements</category>			<guid isPermaLink="false">271@http://www.picotalk.com/</guid>
						<description>&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot; align=&quot;CENTER&quot;&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot; align=&quot;CENTER&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Infra-Red/UV Video Image &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot; align=&quot;CENTER&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Segmentation Technique Theory&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot; align=&quot;CENTER&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: x-small;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mickael Maddison, May 2010 &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt; Currently the movie and photography industries utilize techniques often referred to as &amp;#8220;chroma-key&amp;#8221;, &amp;#8220;luma-key&amp;#8221; or &amp;#8220;thermo-key&amp;#8221; to film subjects for the purpose of removing the subject from the background of the image.  Once the subject is removed from the background of the image, the subject can then be   superimposed on alternative backgrounds.  For example, filming an actor in front of a &amp;#8220;green screen&amp;#8221; and using the chroma-key technique to remove the actor from the green background would allow the video editor to place the actor on an image of the moon; without ever having to go to the moon.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Existing techniques for image segmentation require very careful and often expensive settings, lighting and filming techniques in addition to powerful post-production processing to achieve a quality result. This document proposes the use of the Near-infrared spectrum and optional ambient UV to replace the background; allowing for a much simpler means of extracting the desired image from an infrared background.  Using a selection of isolated IR wavelengths and CCD or CMOS digital camera technologies adapted to capture and record these isolated wavelengths while at the same time recording the standard RGB (Red Green Blue) or RGBY (Red Green Blue Yellow) visible light would allow for software and devices to be produced will allow subject(s) to be removed from backgrounds with a higher degree of accuracy while requiring far less effort and processing. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;* Adding in the detection of UV spectrum will also allow for additional processing options.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Uses:&lt;/strong&gt; Cameras equipped with combined RGB/RGBY and IR/UV CMOS or CCD sensors would have a wide variety of uses.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt; Standard Video capture and recording. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; Image Segmentation. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; Capturing and recording Near-infrared and UV used for special effects/artistic 	purposes. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; Capturing a wide range of light spectrum useful for night-vision image 	capture. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; Reconnaissance 	and security systems. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; Scientific research requiring combined access to visible and non-visible spectrum images. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; Other techniques and uses not yet considered or developed. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Technologies: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;1 &amp;#8211; CCD:  Existing CCD and CMOS sensors already have the capability to record near-infrared wavelengths.  Most cameras use a special filter to block the infrared wavelengths from being captured.  Cameras that do not have this filter in place store the infrared information in the RGB image.  Currently, CCD and CMOS type sensors capture RGB light by using a special &amp;#8220;Bayer Color Filter&amp;#8221; as seen here: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/IR-Greenscreen-Images/standard-bayer-CCD-Color-Filter.gif&quot; alt=&quot;Standard Bayer CCD Color Filter&quot; width=&quot;265&quot; height=&quot;196&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Each square represents one &amp;#8220;pixel&amp;#8221; of information captured by the sensor.  Processing techniques may vary, but in effect a square of 4 pixels are combined to create a single pixel of &amp;#8220;true&amp;#8221; color.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;The following is an example of how a new filter could be designed to allow for the capture of the additional non-visible spectrum using the existing sensors:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/IR-Greenscreen-Images/HybridFilter-1.gif&quot; alt=&quot;Visible Light plus Infrared spectrum sensor&quot; width=&quot;280&quot; height=&quot;280&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;In this sample image, instead of using a pattern of 4 pixels, the pattern is spread over 9 pixels.  The 4 existing RGB pixels are captured in addition to 5 additional pixels as represented by the white and various shades of grey boxes. The optimal configuration is subject to analysis, but for example it could be laid out like this:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Red = Red, Blue = Blue, Green1/2 = Green1/2&lt;br /&gt;White = wide-spectrum UV&lt;br /&gt;lightest grey = 840nm IR, second-lightest grey = 900nm IR&lt;br /&gt;third-lightest grey = 950nm, darkest grey = 1000nm OR wide-spectrum IR.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;As a future consideration, there are also technologies coming that could utilize the optical properties of carbon nanotubes to capture information on specific wavelengths.  Research has shown that a single carbon nanotube connected to a pair of electrodes can can measure IR radiation effectively.  This technology may be a long way from practical use, however, it provides an ongoing opportunity to continue developing and refining the technology.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;2 &amp;#8211; File Format: In addition to the filter, a new image/video file format would be created to store the captured information in a useful format.  Many cameras have built-in processors that convert the RAW pixel data from the CCD into consumer file formats such as mpeg, jpeg, tiff, etc.  A new processor may be developed to provide traditional file formats + a masking file, or for more advanced use the camera may save all the data together to allow for more advanced processing and usage of the recorded data.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;The new image/video RAW format would have more information available and would need to store unique information for each displayed pixel to be effective for image external processing.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;3 -  Software: Image and video editing software would require modifications and/or filters to be developed that would make full use of the extended information available through the new file format and/or the processing of the masking file with the video file.  This may be modifications and additions to versions of existing industry-standard software.  In addition, research may deem entirely new software should be developed to make full and wider ranging use of the data.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Some image processing systems have experimented using non-visible light to increase the accuracy and quality of the visibly produced image.  For the purpose of image segmentation, the various wavelengths of non-visible light would be used to create highly detailed &amp;#8220;mask(s)&amp;#8221; useful for cropping the background from the desired image(s).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;4 -  Non-Visible Illumination: To make the most of the technology, a wide range of  electronic devices would be developed as the technology is adopted by the relevant industries.  Some examples of devices that would be developed and produced:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt; IR floodlights &amp;#8211; wavelength specific floodlights to provide a 	suitable non-visible background. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; IR spotlights &amp;#8211; wavelength specific spotlights that could be used to segment multiple objects within a single image by using multiple wavelengths. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; IR backdrops &amp;#8211; currently most greenscreen type applications use light shining evenly onto a controlled, smooth surface.  An IR backdrop could be a &amp;#8220;screen&amp;#8221; that actually emits the light from it&amp;#8217;s surface. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; IR/RGB 	backdrops &amp;#8211; Using modifications of technologies that are hitting the market today,  large LCD screens using LED backlight technology could be redeveloped to emit a combination of visible and non-visible light, allowing a for a fully visible background while 	at the same time providing the non-visible background needed for image segmentation. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; IR absorbing and reflecting materials &amp;#8211; these could be used to 	achieve a variety of effects.  For example, the current industry uses chroma-suits to allow the segmentation of parts of a subject such as a body-less person. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Benefits of the Technology&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt; Subjects could be photographed or filmed against a variety of backgrounds and 	still be easily removed from the scene. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; Subjects could be filmed with against a background that has similar colors and textures to the scene they would be placed into.  For example, 	an actor could be filmed against a projection of a mountain scene similar to the one that will be added during post production.  This would allow for complex images such as hair to more easily be segmented with minimal artifacts. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; A single background could be used for full color filming, even if the background color matches the color of subjects being segmented from the scene. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; Shadows appearing on the background may have little or no effect on the IR mask, allowing lighting of the subject to be tailored to the final scene rather than to achieving the best separation of color from the green screen. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt; Artistic photography, such as family portraits, would be able to eliminate the need to have a wide variety of backgrounds available to photograph subjects against.  Instead, the photographer would use a generic or projected image as the background.  After (or during) the photography session, the photographer could select the actual background image from an unlimited selection of background images.  This allows the photographer to use a single quality photograph for 	any number of scenes. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Patent and related technology research:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Live Action Compositing example &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.scribd.com/doc/654481/Live-Action-Compositing&quot;&gt;http://www.scribd.com/doc/654481/Live-Action-Compositing&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Using human-IR heat for image segmentation &lt;a href=&quot;http://nae-lab.org/project/thermo-key/&quot;&gt;http://nae-lab.org/project/thermo-key/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Patents:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://ip.com/patapp/US20060066738&quot;&gt;http://ip.com/patapp/US20060066738&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=4TwGAAAAEBAJ&amp;amp;dq=6198503&quot;&gt;http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=4TwGAAAAEBAJ&amp;amp;dq=6198503&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=-iEzAAAAEBAJ&amp;amp;dq=6198503&quot;&gt;http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=-iEzAAAAEBAJ&amp;amp;dq=6198503&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=ij8dAAAAEBAJ&amp;amp;dq=6198503&quot;&gt;http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=ij8dAAAAEBAJ&amp;amp;dq=6198503&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=TPgfAAAAEBAJ&amp;amp;dq=6198503&quot;&gt;http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=TPgfAAAAEBAJ&amp;amp;dq=6198503&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;This 		is not for IR - it is a device that uses a mapped background&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=deMbAAAAEBAJ&amp;amp;dq=6198503&quot;&gt;http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=deMbAAAAEBAJ&amp;amp;dq=6198503&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=9NUWAAAAEBAJ&amp;amp;dq=6198503&quot;&gt;http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=9NUWAAAAEBAJ&amp;amp;dq=6198503&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;References:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/doi/10.1109/MCG.2004.10009&quot;&gt;http://www.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/doi/10.1109/MCG.2004.10009&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;&quot; align=&quot;CENTER&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: x-large;&quot;&gt;Practical Example of Theory&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Apparatus&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Sony DCR DVD203 Digital Camcorder used in photograph mode.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Stable Tripod.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;IR narrow-beam floodlight (wide beam would be much more effective)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Blue floor mat for background&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Doll with hair&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;A Dark room&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Computer system with Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.0&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methodology&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Step 1&lt;/strong&gt; - photograph still image of subject in Nightshot plus mode which uses NIR to enhance image visibility.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/IR-Greenscreen-Images/Infrared-Segmentation-1.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Infrared Greenscreen image&quot; width=&quot;288&quot; height=&quot;216&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Step 2 &lt;/strong&gt;- photograph still image of subject in normal RGB mode (sorry for poor quality photo).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/IR-Greenscreen-Images/Infrared-Segmentation-2.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Infrared Greenscreen image 2&quot; width=&quot;288&quot; height=&quot;216&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Step 3&lt;/strong&gt; - Open these to images into a single layered file in Photoshop (elements)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Step 4&lt;/strong&gt; - On the nightshot (Mask) layer, convert to B/W and increase contrast and in this case, with a blue background used, I adjust the blue level to get the best differential I can considering the poor lighting. You can see in this step that the segmentation opportunity is pretty good but not nearly perfect.  The beam from the IR spotlight is a little too intense and focused.  Developing proper Infra-Red lighting would not be difficult, at least in this scene.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/IR-Greenscreen-Images/Infrared-Segmentation-3a.gif&quot; alt=&quot;Infrared Greenscreen image 3&quot; width=&quot;288&quot; height=&quot;216&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Step 5 &lt;/strong&gt;- Due to inadequate lighting I will cut excess dark regions (which would normally appear as a fairly even white background with proper IR lighting) and delete to pure white to match the area around the subject. As part of this step I have increased the contrast to show clearly the mask that was created. Proper lighting and some minor filtering would remove the manual portions of this step making it easy to automate.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/IR-Greenscreen-Images/Infrared-Segmentation-4.gif&quot; alt=&quot;Infrared Greenscreen image 4&quot; width=&quot;288&quot; height=&quot;216&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Step 6&lt;/strong&gt; - Using magic wand (which would be an automated part of the process) I select all the white area and invert the selection to have the mask selected.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Step 7&lt;/strong&gt; - switch to the layer with the RGB image and copy the subject and paste into a new layer. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Step 8&lt;/strong&gt; - Turn off the visibility on all layers except the cutout of the subject.  You now have a fairly good cutout of the subject to work with.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/IR-Greenscreen-Images/Infrared-Segmentation-5.gif&quot; alt=&quot;Infrared Greenscreen image 5&quot; width=&quot;288&quot; height=&quot;216&quot; /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Step 9&lt;/strong&gt; - Insert background and adjust cutout layer as desired.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/IR-Greenscreen-Images/Infrared-Segmentation-6.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Infrared Greenscreen image 6&quot; width=&quot;288&quot; height=&quot;216&quot; /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Notes&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Due to nightshot plus mode captures IR data and incorporates this into an RGB image.  Due to this, the  Mask layer is not nearly as good quality as if an actual IR layer were saved in addition to the RGB layer.  This limitation also requires the Mask layer of the subject to be shot in (visible) darkness to generate a strong contrast.  The RGB layer is then shot in RGB mode with visible lights enabled.  If I had 2 nightshot cameras of the same type, split the image into the 2 cameras, and had a filter on the RGB mode camera to remove all IR data and a filter on the nightshot mode camera to remove all RGB data I believe I would get a much more accurate mask.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;For example, in unedited images you can see that the hair sticking up off the head is visible.  With even IR lighting and no conflicting RGB data being stored on the mask layer, this should result in an even sharper, more accurate mask layer.  The sharper, more accurate mask layer could then be used to cut out these fine details from the RGB subject layer, providing a nice crisp image to work with.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Also of note based on previous experience doing still-frame image compositing the process outlined in this document was very quick and simple to do. With proper camera(s), proper lighting, suitable software, and a good studio environment the results should be far better than this simple test.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;item_footer&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2010/10/27/infra-red-uv-video-image-segmentation-technique-theory&quot;&gt;Original post&lt;/a&gt; blogged on &lt;a href=&quot;http://b2evolution.net/&quot;&gt;b2evolution&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="CENTER">&#160;</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="CENTER"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Infra-Red/UV Video Image </strong></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="CENTER"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Segmentation Technique Theory</strong></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="CENTER"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>Mickael Maddison, May 2010 </strong></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> Currently the movie and photography industries utilize techniques often referred to as &#8220;chroma-key&#8221;, &#8220;luma-key&#8221; or &#8220;thermo-key&#8221; to film subjects for the purpose of removing the subject from the background of the image.  Once the subject is removed from the background of the image, the subject can then be   superimposed on alternative backgrounds.  For example, filming an actor in front of a &#8220;green screen&#8221; and using the chroma-key technique to remove the actor from the green background would allow the video editor to place the actor on an image of the moon; without ever having to go to the moon.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Existing techniques for image segmentation require very careful and often expensive settings, lighting and filming techniques in addition to powerful post-production processing to achieve a quality result. This document proposes the use of the Near-infrared spectrum and optional ambient UV to replace the background; allowing for a much simpler means of extracting the desired image from an infrared background.  Using a selection of isolated IR wavelengths and CCD or CMOS digital camera technologies adapted to capture and record these isolated wavelengths while at the same time recording the standard RGB (Red Green Blue) or RGBY (Red Green Blue Yellow) visible light would allow for software and devices to be produced will allow subject(s) to be removed from backgrounds with a higher degree of accuracy while requiring far less effort and processing. <br /><br />* Adding in the detection of UV spectrum will also allow for additional processing options.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong>Uses:</strong> Cameras equipped with combined RGB/RGBY and IR/UV CMOS or CCD sensors would have a wide variety of uses.</span></p>
<ul>
<li> Standard Video capture and recording. </li>
<li> Image Segmentation. </li>
<li> Capturing and recording Near-infrared and UV used for special effects/artistic 	purposes. </li>
<li> Capturing a wide range of light spectrum useful for night-vision image 	capture. </li>
<li> Reconnaissance 	and security systems. </li>
<li> Scientific research requiring combined access to visible and non-visible spectrum images. </li>
<li> Other techniques and uses not yet considered or developed. </li>
</ul>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong>Technologies: </strong></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 &#8211; CCD:  Existing CCD and CMOS sensors already have the capability to record near-infrared wavelengths.  Most cameras use a special filter to block the infrared wavelengths from being captured.  Cameras that do not have this filter in place store the infrared information in the RGB image.  Currently, CCD and CMOS type sensors capture RGB light by using a special &#8220;Bayer Color Filter&#8221; as seen here: </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><img src="http://www.picotalk.com/IR-Greenscreen-Images/standard-bayer-CCD-Color-Filter.gif" alt="Standard Bayer CCD Color Filter" width="265" height="196" /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Each square represents one &#8220;pixel&#8221; of information captured by the sensor.  Processing techniques may vary, but in effect a square of 4 pixels are combined to create a single pixel of &#8220;true&#8221; color.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The following is an example of how a new filter could be designed to allow for the capture of the additional non-visible spectrum using the existing sensors:</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><img src="http://www.picotalk.com/IR-Greenscreen-Images/HybridFilter-1.gif" alt="Visible Light plus Infrared spectrum sensor" width="280" height="280" /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In this sample image, instead of using a pattern of 4 pixels, the pattern is spread over 9 pixels.  The 4 existing RGB pixels are captured in addition to 5 additional pixels as represented by the white and various shades of grey boxes. The optimal configuration is subject to analysis, but for example it could be laid out like this:</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Red = Red, Blue = Blue, Green1/2 = Green1/2<br />White = wide-spectrum UV<br />lightest grey = 840nm IR, second-lightest grey = 900nm IR<br />third-lightest grey = 950nm, darkest grey = 1000nm OR wide-spectrum IR.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As a future consideration, there are also technologies coming that could utilize the optical properties of carbon nanotubes to capture information on specific wavelengths.  Research has shown that a single carbon nanotube connected to a pair of electrodes can can measure IR radiation effectively.  This technology may be a long way from practical use, however, it provides an ongoing opportunity to continue developing and refining the technology.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2 &#8211; File Format: In addition to the filter, a new image/video file format would be created to store the captured information in a useful format.  Many cameras have built-in processors that convert the RAW pixel data from the CCD into consumer file formats such as mpeg, jpeg, tiff, etc.  A new processor may be developed to provide traditional file formats + a masking file, or for more advanced use the camera may save all the data together to allow for more advanced processing and usage of the recorded data.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The new image/video RAW format would have more information available and would need to store unique information for each displayed pixel to be effective for image external processing.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">3 -  Software: Image and video editing software would require modifications and/or filters to be developed that would make full use of the extended information available through the new file format and/or the processing of the masking file with the video file.  This may be modifications and additions to versions of existing industry-standard software.  In addition, research may deem entirely new software should be developed to make full and wider ranging use of the data.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Some image processing systems have experimented using non-visible light to increase the accuracy and quality of the visibly produced image.  For the purpose of image segmentation, the various wavelengths of non-visible light would be used to create highly detailed &#8220;mask(s)&#8221; useful for cropping the background from the desired image(s).</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">4 -  Non-Visible Illumination: To make the most of the technology, a wide range of  electronic devices would be developed as the technology is adopted by the relevant industries.  Some examples of devices that would be developed and produced:</span></p>
<ul>
<li> IR floodlights &#8211; wavelength specific floodlights to provide a 	suitable non-visible background. </li>
<li> IR spotlights &#8211; wavelength specific spotlights that could be used to segment multiple objects within a single image by using multiple wavelengths. </li>
<li> IR backdrops &#8211; currently most greenscreen type applications use light shining evenly onto a controlled, smooth surface.  An IR backdrop could be a &#8220;screen&#8221; that actually emits the light from it&#8217;s surface. </li>
<li> IR/RGB 	backdrops &#8211; Using modifications of technologies that are hitting the market today,  large LCD screens using LED backlight technology could be redeveloped to emit a combination of visible and non-visible light, allowing a for a fully visible background while 	at the same time providing the non-visible background needed for image segmentation. </li>
<li> IR absorbing and reflecting materials &#8211; these could be used to 	achieve a variety of effects.  For example, the current industry uses chroma-suits to allow the segmentation of parts of a subject such as a body-less person. </li>
</ul>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong>Benefits of the Technology</strong></span></p>
<ul>
<li> Subjects could be photographed or filmed against a variety of backgrounds and 	still be easily removed from the scene. </li>
<li> Subjects could be filmed with against a background that has similar colors and textures to the scene they would be placed into.  For example, 	an actor could be filmed against a projection of a mountain scene similar to the one that will be added during post production.  This would allow for complex images such as hair to more easily be segmented with minimal artifacts. </li>
<li> A single background could be used for full color filming, even if the background color matches the color of subjects being segmented from the scene. </li>
<li> Shadows appearing on the background may have little or no effect on the IR mask, allowing lighting of the subject to be tailored to the final scene rather than to achieving the best separation of color from the green screen. </li>
<li> Artistic photography, such as family portraits, would be able to eliminate the need to have a wide variety of backgrounds available to photograph subjects against.  Instead, the photographer would use a generic or projected image as the background.  After (or during) the photography session, the photographer could select the actual background image from an unlimited selection of background images.  This allows the photographer to use a single quality photograph for 	any number of scenes. </li>
</ul>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">&#160;</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong>Patent and related technology research:</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Live Action Compositing example <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/654481/Live-Action-Compositing">http://www.scribd.com/doc/654481/Live-Action-Compositing</a> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Using human-IR heat for image segmentation <a href="http://nae-lab.org/project/thermo-key/">http://nae-lab.org/project/thermo-key/</a></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Patents:</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong><a href="http://ip.com/patapp/US20060066738">http://ip.com/patapp/US20060066738</a> </strong></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=4TwGAAAAEBAJ&amp;dq=6198503">http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=4TwGAAAAEBAJ&amp;dq=6198503</a> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=-iEzAAAAEBAJ&amp;dq=6198503">http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=-iEzAAAAEBAJ&amp;dq=6198503</a> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=ij8dAAAAEBAJ&amp;dq=6198503">http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=ij8dAAAAEBAJ&amp;dq=6198503</a> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=TPgfAAAAEBAJ&amp;dq=6198503">http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=TPgfAAAAEBAJ&amp;dq=6198503</a> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This 		is not for IR - it is a device that uses a mapped background</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=deMbAAAAEBAJ&amp;dq=6198503">http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=deMbAAAAEBAJ&amp;dq=6198503</a> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=9NUWAAAAEBAJ&amp;dq=6198503">http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=9NUWAAAAEBAJ&amp;dq=6198503</a> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">References:</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/doi/10.1109/MCG.2004.10009">http://www.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/doi/10.1109/MCG.2004.10009</a></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;" align="CENTER"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Practical Example of Theory</span></span></strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">&#160;</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong>Apparatus</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Sony DCR DVD203 Digital Camcorder used in photograph mode.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Stable Tripod.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">IR narrow-beam floodlight (wide beam would be much more effective)</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Blue floor mat for background</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Doll with hair</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A Dark room</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Computer system with Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.0</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong>Methodology</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong>Step 1</strong> - photograph still image of subject in Nightshot plus mode which uses NIR to enhance image visibility.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><img src="http://www.picotalk.com/IR-Greenscreen-Images/Infrared-Segmentation-1.jpg" alt="Infrared Greenscreen image" width="288" height="216" /><br /></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong>Step 2 </strong>- photograph still image of subject in normal RGB mode (sorry for poor quality photo).</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><img src="http://www.picotalk.com/IR-Greenscreen-Images/Infrared-Segmentation-2.jpg" alt="Infrared Greenscreen image 2" width="288" height="216" /><br /></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong>Step 3</strong> - Open these to images into a single layered file in Photoshop (elements)</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong>Step 4</strong> - On the nightshot (Mask) layer, convert to B/W and increase contrast and in this case, with a blue background used, I adjust the blue level to get the best differential I can considering the poor lighting. You can see in this step that the segmentation opportunity is pretty good but not nearly perfect.  The beam from the IR spotlight is a little too intense and focused.  Developing proper Infra-Red lighting would not be difficult, at least in this scene.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><img src="http://www.picotalk.com/IR-Greenscreen-Images/Infrared-Segmentation-3a.gif" alt="Infrared Greenscreen image 3" width="288" height="216" /><br /></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong>Step 5 </strong>- Due to inadequate lighting I will cut excess dark regions (which would normally appear as a fairly even white background with proper IR lighting) and delete to pure white to match the area around the subject. As part of this step I have increased the contrast to show clearly the mask that was created. Proper lighting and some minor filtering would remove the manual portions of this step making it easy to automate.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><img src="http://www.picotalk.com/IR-Greenscreen-Images/Infrared-Segmentation-4.gif" alt="Infrared Greenscreen image 4" width="288" height="216" /><br /></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong>Step 6</strong> - Using magic wand (which would be an automated part of the process) I select all the white area and invert the selection to have the mask selected.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong>Step 7</strong> - switch to the layer with the RGB image and copy the subject and paste into a new layer. </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong>Step 8</strong> - Turn off the visibility on all layers except the cutout of the subject.  You now have a fairly good cutout of the subject to work with.<br /><img src="http://www.picotalk.com/IR-Greenscreen-Images/Infrared-Segmentation-5.gif" alt="Infrared Greenscreen image 5" width="288" height="216" /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong><br />Step 9</strong> - Insert background and adjust cutout layer as desired.<br /><img src="http://www.picotalk.com/IR-Greenscreen-Images/Infrared-Segmentation-6.jpg" alt="Infrared Greenscreen image 6" width="288" height="216" /></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong>Notes</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Due to nightshot plus mode captures IR data and incorporates this into an RGB image.  Due to this, the  Mask layer is not nearly as good quality as if an actual IR layer were saved in addition to the RGB layer.  This limitation also requires the Mask layer of the subject to be shot in (visible) darkness to generate a strong contrast.  The RGB layer is then shot in RGB mode with visible lights enabled.  If I had 2 nightshot cameras of the same type, split the image into the 2 cameras, and had a filter on the RGB mode camera to remove all IR data and a filter on the nightshot mode camera to remove all RGB data I believe I would get a much more accurate mask.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">For example, in unedited images you can see that the hair sticking up off the head is visible.  With even IR lighting and no conflicting RGB data being stored on the mask layer, this should result in an even sharper, more accurate mask layer.  The sharper, more accurate mask layer could then be used to cut out these fine details from the RGB subject layer, providing a nice crisp image to work with.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Also of note based on previous experience doing still-frame image compositing the process outlined in this document was very quick and simple to do. With proper camera(s), proper lighting, suitable software, and a good studio environment the results should be far better than this simple test.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">&#160;</p><div class="item_footer"><p><small><a href="http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2010/10/27/infra-red-uv-video-image-segmentation-technique-theory">Original post</a> blogged on <a href="http://b2evolution.net/">b2evolution</a>.</small></p></div>]]></content:encoded>
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			<title>Adobe is hell!</title>
			<link>http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2010/03/18/adobe-is-hell</link>
			<pubDate>Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:55:04 +0000</pubDate>			<dc:creator>Mickael Maddison</dc:creator>
			<category domain="main">News and Announcements</category>			<guid isPermaLink="false">268@http://www.picotalk.com/</guid>
						<description>&lt;p&gt;Up until recently, I thought of Adobe as a company that was doing things right.&amp;#160; For as long as I can remember, Photoshop has been the standard in image editing.&amp;#160;&amp;#160; Although the product has always been over priced, Adobe has usually had lite or introductory versions available for a reasonable cost.&amp;#160; This has meant that professionals that make their living editing images day in and day out could take advantage of the power of the full version software while at the same time allowing casual users access to the basic tools suitable for most tasks.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For the last few years I had been testing and using alternatives to Photoshop such as paint.net and the Gimp as well as a number of others.&amp;#160; For basic stuff, these alternatives are actually fairly good but to directly compare them to Photoshop is very much like comparing rocks to lizards.&amp;#160; I had also been using a Ulead video editing suite that, although it was subject to a long list of bugs that never seemed to get fixed, was actually very nice to work with.&amp;#160;&amp;#160; When I upgraded to Windows 7 the Ulead product would not function, so I decided to take advantage of an offer from Adobe to get Photoshop and Premiere Elements with a great mail-in rebate.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I should have known I was in for a lot of pain and frustration right from the start.&amp;#160; My first clue was trying to figure out how to order these products on the Adobe website.&amp;#160; Here it is, 2010, and I couldn&amp;#8217;t believe that a company of this size could have such a terribly designed shopping cart.&amp;#160; To make it worse, their website is so slow that I was tempted to give up and drive to an office supply store to get the boxed versions.&amp;#160; We were off to a bad start, but after about an hour or so I go through the ordering process and received an email confirming my order, my payment, and assigned validation keys.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I started downloading the software&amp;#160; printed off the order confirmation and rebate form &lt;a href=&quot;/media/blogs/Compilation/pepe8_ESD_rebate_ue.pdf&quot;&gt;pepe8_ESD_rebate_ue.pdf&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;#160; As the gigs were streaming down to my computer, I read through the rebate form, assembled the required information, filled out the forms.&amp;#160; Here&amp;#8217;s where I mention that I&amp;#8217;m no newbie to online ordering and rebates.&amp;#160; Not only have I been hosting and developing websites for over 12 years, I&amp;#8217;ve ordered innumerable things online and submitted all sorts of rebate forms for everything from software to videocards.&amp;#160; Before I was done with the forms Photoshop had downloaded and I then installed the software.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Over the next few days I found time to install Premiere Elements and was excited to give it a try; It didn&amp;#8217;t take long for the disappointment to kick in.&amp;#160; As soon as I installed the software and started to try and work with some video from my live performances I had recorded on my camcorder the problems began.&amp;#160; Attempts to slice up bits of video were met with incredibly slow performance and the ocassional software crash.&amp;#160; When I got far enough to start trying to put things together, the video quality would get strange and sometimes the audio would disappear.&amp;#160; This seemed very strange as my laptop is a Core 2 Duo 2.13Ghz with 2GB RAM and a brand new Intel x25-m SSD drive with windows 7.&amp;#160; The system boots in less than 30 seconds and even before I had upgraded it was the same system that I used to edit my music videos using Ulead Media Studio.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Next I finished off the rebate form, put the information together and mailed it off to the address on the rebate form and then I filed a support request with Adobe.&amp;#160; That didn&amp;#8217;t get me very far.&amp;#160; They sent a long list of things to try, most of which I attempted, some of which was clearly pointless.&amp;#160;&amp;#160; Still having no success I uninstalled Premiere Elements from my laptop and tried it on my new i7 system with 6GB RAM and an SSD drive.&amp;#160; On a system that ranks a 7.5 out of a possible 7.9 on the Windows Experience Index - there was no noticeable difference in performance or reliability.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Having only so many hours in a day, I elected to download a trial version of Corel VideoStudio.&amp;#160; After installing the Corel software, I was able start over and get the same video work done without ANY problems or performance issues!&amp;#160; Clearly the problem is not my machine, it&amp;#8217;s Adobe.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Now the fun!&amp;#160; Adobe claims that they never received a valid copy of my invoice.&amp;#160; I got this stupid little &amp;#8220;resubmit&amp;#8221; card asking me to send an &amp;#8220;original Adobe Proof of Purchast Tab 1&amp;Prime; but no explanation of what this is.&amp;#160; I printed and included what they emailed me when I ordered the software.&amp;#160; What else could I possibly have?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;image_block&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/media/blogs/Compilation/Rebate-Resubmit-clean.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;vertical-align: middle;&quot; src=&quot;/media/blogs/Compilation/Rebate-Resubmit-clean.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;330&quot; height=&quot;197&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I see a phone number on the resubmit card and try calling the&amp;#160; 866-599-3906 number to talk to someone about the problem.&amp;#160; Well&amp;#8230; I tried from my home phone, my cell phone and my skype phone and none of these lines could seem to connect to this phone number.&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160; Finally I decide to call the phone number on the Adobe website and talk to a &amp;#8220;Michael&amp;#8221; who listened to the problems and asks me to fill out an online support request.&amp;#160; So I did.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In an attempt to be thorough I included as much information as I could.&amp;#160; I explained the problem.&amp;#160; I outlined what I had tried.&amp;#160; I mentioned the conversation with Michael.&amp;#160;&amp;#160; I mention that the phone number isn&amp;#8217;t working and that I did send the order details that Adobe sent me.&amp;#160; Their response?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;#8220;For questions regarding the status of your rebate claim, visit&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.web-rebates.com/adobe&quot;&gt;www.web-rebates.com/adobe&lt;/a&gt;  or call 866-599-3906.&amp;#8221;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Nice.&amp;#160; I already explained that the phone number isn&amp;#8217;t reachable.&amp;#160; So I reply:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;#8220;&quot;I tried calling the 866-599-3906 number from different phones and the number does not function or is not available from my area. I can&amp;#8217;t even call the number on the card to discuss the problem!&amp;#8221;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;No response until today:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;#8220;Upon checking your order #ADxxxxxxxxx it was last Dec. 10, 2009  and I&lt;br /&gt;regret  to inform you that the it is no longer valid for a rebate because&lt;br /&gt;the  promo date started last September 23, 2009 and ended October 31,&lt;br /&gt;2009.&amp;#8221;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Um&amp;#8230; the form I sent in says &amp;#8220;This rebate form is valid until October 31, 2010&amp;Prime;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Last I checked, October comes way after March???&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So that&amp;#8217;s where it&amp;#8217;s at right now.&amp;#160; Premiere Elements is useless, my rebate is stuck in nowhere land, and their support system is useless.&amp;#160; What a huge disappointment.&amp;#160; I can certainly print off the order details again, but without clarification I have little faith that they&amp;#8217;ll come through.&amp;#160; And even with that, I have a piece of software that&amp;#8217;s useless to me.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Consider this fair warning to anyone out there considering buying Adobe software.&amp;#160; You may find it&amp;#8217;s a lot more expensive than the price they charge your credit card.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;#8212;&amp;#8212;&amp;#8212; March 19th UPDATE &amp;#8212;&amp;#8212;&amp;#8212;-&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So today I get another reply asking me to cut the tab off the box and send that in.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Um&amp;#8230;&amp;#160;&amp;#160; The rebate form I used states clearly on the top:&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#8220;Official Rebate Claim Form for Adobe.com&lt;br /&gt;Electronic Software Delivery purchases only.&amp;#8221;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Where am I supposed to cut this tab off of?&amp;#160; I&amp;#8217;m not liking the idea of taking a utility knife to my LED screen&amp;#8230;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;item_footer&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2010/03/18/adobe-is-hell&quot;&gt;Original post&lt;/a&gt; blogged on &lt;a href=&quot;http://b2evolution.net/&quot;&gt;b2evolution&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Up until recently, I thought of Adobe as a company that was doing things right.&#160; For as long as I can remember, Photoshop has been the standard in image editing.&#160;&#160; Although the product has always been over priced, Adobe has usually had lite or introductory versions available for a reasonable cost.&#160; This has meant that professionals that make their living editing images day in and day out could take advantage of the power of the full version software while at the same time allowing casual users access to the basic tools suitable for most tasks.</p>
<p>For the last few years I had been testing and using alternatives to Photoshop such as paint.net and the Gimp as well as a number of others.&#160; For basic stuff, these alternatives are actually fairly good but to directly compare them to Photoshop is very much like comparing rocks to lizards.&#160; I had also been using a Ulead video editing suite that, although it was subject to a long list of bugs that never seemed to get fixed, was actually very nice to work with.&#160;&#160; When I upgraded to Windows 7 the Ulead product would not function, so I decided to take advantage of an offer from Adobe to get Photoshop and Premiere Elements with a great mail-in rebate.</p>
<p>I should have known I was in for a lot of pain and frustration right from the start.&#160; My first clue was trying to figure out how to order these products on the Adobe website.&#160; Here it is, 2010, and I couldn&#8217;t believe that a company of this size could have such a terribly designed shopping cart.&#160; To make it worse, their website is so slow that I was tempted to give up and drive to an office supply store to get the boxed versions.&#160; We were off to a bad start, but after about an hour or so I go through the ordering process and received an email confirming my order, my payment, and assigned validation keys.</p>
<p>I started downloading the software&#160; printed off the order confirmation and rebate form <a href="http://www.picotalk.com/media/blogs/Compilation/pepe8_ESD_rebate_ue.pdf">pepe8_ESD_rebate_ue.pdf</a>.&#160; As the gigs were streaming down to my computer, I read through the rebate form, assembled the required information, filled out the forms.&#160; Here&#8217;s where I mention that I&#8217;m no newbie to online ordering and rebates.&#160; Not only have I been hosting and developing websites for over 12 years, I&#8217;ve ordered innumerable things online and submitted all sorts of rebate forms for everything from software to videocards.&#160; Before I was done with the forms Photoshop had downloaded and I then installed the software.</p>
<p>Over the next few days I found time to install Premiere Elements and was excited to give it a try; It didn&#8217;t take long for the disappointment to kick in.&#160; As soon as I installed the software and started to try and work with some video from my live performances I had recorded on my camcorder the problems began.&#160; Attempts to slice up bits of video were met with incredibly slow performance and the ocassional software crash.&#160; When I got far enough to start trying to put things together, the video quality would get strange and sometimes the audio would disappear.&#160; This seemed very strange as my laptop is a Core 2 Duo 2.13Ghz with 2GB RAM and a brand new Intel x25-m SSD drive with windows 7.&#160; The system boots in less than 30 seconds and even before I had upgraded it was the same system that I used to edit my music videos using Ulead Media Studio.</p>
<p>Next I finished off the rebate form, put the information together and mailed it off to the address on the rebate form and then I filed a support request with Adobe.&#160; That didn&#8217;t get me very far.&#160; They sent a long list of things to try, most of which I attempted, some of which was clearly pointless.&#160;&#160; Still having no success I uninstalled Premiere Elements from my laptop and tried it on my new i7 system with 6GB RAM and an SSD drive.&#160; On a system that ranks a 7.5 out of a possible 7.9 on the Windows Experience Index - there was no noticeable difference in performance or reliability.</p>
<p>Having only so many hours in a day, I elected to download a trial version of Corel VideoStudio.&#160; After installing the Corel software, I was able start over and get the same video work done without ANY problems or performance issues!&#160; Clearly the problem is not my machine, it&#8217;s Adobe.</p>
<p>Now the fun!&#160; Adobe claims that they never received a valid copy of my invoice.&#160; I got this stupid little &#8220;resubmit&#8221; card asking me to send an &#8220;original Adobe Proof of Purchast Tab 1&Prime; but no explanation of what this is.&#160; I printed and included what they emailed me when I ordered the software.&#160; What else could I possibly have?</p>
<div class="image_block"><a href="http://www.picotalk.com/media/blogs/Compilation/Rebate-Resubmit-clean.jpg"><img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://www.picotalk.com/media/blogs/Compilation/Rebate-Resubmit-clean.jpg" alt="" width="330" height="197" /></a></div>
<p>I see a phone number on the resubmit card and try calling the&#160; 866-599-3906 number to talk to someone about the problem.&#160; Well&#8230; I tried from my home phone, my cell phone and my skype phone and none of these lines could seem to connect to this phone number.&#160;&#160;&#160; Finally I decide to call the phone number on the Adobe website and talk to a &#8220;Michael&#8221; who listened to the problems and asks me to fill out an online support request.&#160; So I did.<br /><br />In an attempt to be thorough I included as much information as I could.&#160; I explained the problem.&#160; I outlined what I had tried.&#160; I mentioned the conversation with Michael.&#160;&#160; I mention that the phone number isn&#8217;t working and that I did send the order details that Adobe sent me.&#160; Their response?</p>
<p>&#8220;For questions regarding the status of your rebate claim, visit<br /><a href="http://www.web-rebates.com/adobe">www.web-rebates.com/adobe</a>  or call 866-599-3906.&#8221;</p>
<p>Nice.&#160; I already explained that the phone number isn&#8217;t reachable.&#160; So I reply:</p>
<p>&#8220;"I tried calling the 866-599-3906 number from different phones and the number does not function or is not available from my area. I can&#8217;t even call the number on the card to discuss the problem!&#8221;</p>
<p>No response until today:</p>
<p>&#8220;Upon checking your order #ADxxxxxxxxx it was last Dec. 10, 2009  and I<br />regret  to inform you that the it is no longer valid for a rebate because<br />the  promo date started last September 23, 2009 and ended October 31,<br />2009.&#8221;</p>
<p>Um&#8230; the form I sent in says &#8220;This rebate form is valid until October 31, 2010&Prime;</p>
<p>Last I checked, October comes way after March???</p>
<p>So that&#8217;s where it&#8217;s at right now.&#160; Premiere Elements is useless, my rebate is stuck in nowhere land, and their support system is useless.&#160; What a huge disappointment.&#160; I can certainly print off the order details again, but without clarification I have little faith that they&#8217;ll come through.&#160; And even with that, I have a piece of software that&#8217;s useless to me.</p>
<p>Consider this fair warning to anyone out there considering buying Adobe software.&#160; You may find it&#8217;s a lot more expensive than the price they charge your credit card.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212; March 19th UPDATE &#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>So today I get another reply asking me to cut the tab off the box and send that in.<br /><br />Um&#8230;&#160;&#160; The rebate form I used states clearly on the top:<br />&#8220;Official Rebate Claim Form for Adobe.com<br />Electronic Software Delivery purchases only.&#8221;</p>
<p>Where am I supposed to cut this tab off of?&#160; I&#8217;m not liking the idea of taking a utility knife to my LED screen&#8230;.</p><div class="item_footer"><p><small><a href="http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2010/03/18/adobe-is-hell">Original post</a> blogged on <a href="http://b2evolution.net/">b2evolution</a>.</small></p></div>]]></content:encoded>
								<comments>http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2010/03/18/adobe-is-hell#comments</comments>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.picotalk.com/index.php?tempskin=_rss2&#38;disp=comments&#38;p=268</wfw:commentRss>
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			<title>Myspace and Toyota team up for record deal</title>
			<link>http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2009/05/26/myspace-and-toyota-team-up-for-record-de</link>
			<pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2009 17:04:47 +0000</pubDate>			<dc:creator>Mickael Maddison</dc:creator>
			<category domain="main">News and Announcements</category>			<guid isPermaLink="false">267@http://www.picotalk.com/</guid>
						<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://adsupport.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=rockthespace.fan&amp;amp;sproutid=FwBFshfqBVaVQdtC&quot;&gt;http://adsupport.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=rockthespace.fan&amp;amp;sproutid=FwBFshfqBVaVQdtC&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;According to the notice I received from MySpace, Toyota Music and MySpace Records are working together to connect MySpace artists and musicians with an opportunity to win a recording contract and a selection of Fender gear.   These types of online contests to select a garage or emerging rock band are interesting in that they have the appearance of bringing the internet community together with grass-roots artists.  These contests also give the appearance of being democratic in that they allow the internet community to collaborate and vote on their favorite songs to try and push them to the top.&lt;/p&gt;

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&lt;p&gt;This whole concept is a great idea, however there are some major flaws that come into play here.  First, most of these contests allow voters to vote many times, play the tracks many times, vote down other artists by ranking them as 0&amp;#8217;s, or creating automated tools to trick systems into counting illegitimate votes.  Then other systems that require voters to log in and allow a single vote and watch for voters that are attempting to create false entries have the effect of minimizing the number of people that actually sign up to participate in the voting.  Who wants to sign up at sites all the time just to vote?  We all have enough logins all over the net right?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The best part of this whole thing, is that, even with all the flaws and potential for thwarting the system through various means, that the music business is evolving and changing right before our eyes.  Over time these issues will get sorted out, and major record labels (should they survive) will adapt new ways of finding and promoting their artists to the world.  The flood of music hitting the net every day is overwhelming at best, but in the end it means more people are able to take active roles in art and that is generally a good thing.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Anyway&amp;#8230; be sure to have a listen to the cassette and use the &amp;#8220;Grab this&amp;#8221; tab to post the cassette on your website!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Mickael Maddison&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;item_footer&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2009/05/26/myspace-and-toyota-team-up-for-record-de&quot;&gt;Original post&lt;/a&gt; blogged on &lt;a href=&quot;http://b2evolution.net/&quot;&gt;b2evolution&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://adsupport.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=rockthespace.fan&amp;sproutid=FwBFshfqBVaVQdtC">http://adsupport.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=rockthespace.fan&amp;sproutid=FwBFshfqBVaVQdtC</a></p><p>According to the notice I received from MySpace, Toyota Music and MySpace Records are working together to connect MySpace artists and musicians with an opportunity to win a recording contract and a selection of Fender gear.   These types of online contests to select a garage or emerging rock band are interesting in that they have the appearance of bringing the internet community together with grass-roots artists.  These contests also give the appearance of being democratic in that they allow the internet community to collaborate and vote on their favorite songs to try and push them to the top.</p>

<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" width="300" height="420" id="spo_FwBFshfqBVaVQdtC" data="http://farm.sproutmixer.com/load/FwBFshfqBVaVQdtC.swf"><p><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="align" value="middle" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="quality" value="best" /><param name="movie" value="http://farm.sproutmixer.com/load/FwBFshfqBVaVQdtC.swf" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" name="spo_FwBFshfqBVaVQdtC" src="http://farm.sproutmixer.com/load/FwBFshfqBVaVQdtC.swf" width="300" height="420" wmode="transparent" align="middle" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" quality="best"></embed></object></p>

<p>This whole concept is a great idea, however there are some major flaws that come into play here.  First, most of these contests allow voters to vote many times, play the tracks many times, vote down other artists by ranking them as 0&#8217;s, or creating automated tools to trick systems into counting illegitimate votes.  Then other systems that require voters to log in and allow a single vote and watch for voters that are attempting to create false entries have the effect of minimizing the number of people that actually sign up to participate in the voting.  Who wants to sign up at sites all the time just to vote?  We all have enough logins all over the net right?</p>

<p>The best part of this whole thing, is that, even with all the flaws and potential for thwarting the system through various means, that the music business is evolving and changing right before our eyes.  Over time these issues will get sorted out, and major record labels (should they survive) will adapt new ways of finding and promoting their artists to the world.  The flood of music hitting the net every day is overwhelming at best, but in the end it means more people are able to take active roles in art and that is generally a good thing.</p>

<p>Anyway&#8230; be sure to have a listen to the cassette and use the &#8220;Grab this&#8221; tab to post the cassette on your website!</p>

<p>Mickael Maddison</p><div class="item_footer"><p><small><a href="http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2009/05/26/myspace-and-toyota-team-up-for-record-de">Original post</a> blogged on <a href="http://b2evolution.net/">b2evolution</a>.</small></p></div>]]></content:encoded>
								<comments>http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2009/05/26/myspace-and-toyota-team-up-for-record-de#comments</comments>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.picotalk.com/index.php?tempskin=_rss2&#38;disp=comments&#38;p=267</wfw:commentRss>
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			<title>Mickael Maddison 0:0 through 9:(-1)</title>
			<link>http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2009/04/22/mickael-maddison-0-0-through-9-1</link>
			<pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:10:22 +0000</pubDate>			<dc:creator>Mickael Maddison</dc:creator>
			<category domain="main">News and Announcements</category>			<guid isPermaLink="false">266@http://www.picotalk.com/</guid>
						<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&quot;&gt;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;0:1 Badaboom and all that superfluous greeting stuff to y&amp;#8217;all!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;1:1 Alright&amp;#8230; I haven&amp;#8217;t posted much here in awhile so I&amp;#8217;m going to post something NOW. 1:2 It&amp;#8217;s not that there hasn&amp;#8217;t been anything happening. 1:3 As a matter of fact it&amp;#8217;s quite the opposite. 1:4 We played what was supposed to be a 2 piece show at On the Rocks. 1:5 Unexpectedly, Dusty arrived in time and the virginal trio went to town on some tunes.  1:6 We ROCKED! 1:7 Stated by an inordinate number of audience members. 1:8 We&amp;#8217;ve also been practicing up.  1:9 It&amp;#8217;s not like we have only 6 songs these days. 1:10 We&amp;#8217;ve got 20+ tracks to lock down and hold under water until they come up gasping for air. 1:11 Work has also been a factor. 1:12 Yes, even rockers like us need to eat and pay for things like socks and duct tape. 1:13 This Friday I will be performing live (not dead) downtown on 300 Block of Victoria Street. 1:14 Chris and Dusty will be joining me at unknown intervals during the set as they arrive on the scene. 1:15 More airplay information to report. 1:16 More Internet radio stations have begun broadcasting the new songs. 1:17 Retrospectus?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;2:1 Further to the situation with the band, Dusty Kamps is now the official and fully tolerable drummer. 2:2 And as you&amp;#8217;ve been expressely notified, Chris Brock is not slacking in any way as he hammers out amazing bass lines and vocal harmonies. 2:3 These guys scare me, but most of all they&amp;#8217;ll scare you. 2:4 People like to be scared so be sure to come out and see us live. 2:5 Don&amp;#8217;t worry, we have a chain link fence around us to protect the audience from us carnivores. 2:6 Did someone say virginal?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;3:1 Out of order but not out of context, again On the Rocks was a great time. 3:2 Ye shall not wither and wimper because ye missed yonder show.  3:3 Ye shall arriveth forthwith on May 23rd for our cometh performance. 3:4 Come forth and be forgiven&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;4:1 This Friday is not tomorrow but the next day. 4:2 Time is 4PM to 6PM. 4:3 Location is 300 Block of Victoria Street. 4:4 That&amp;#8217;s in Kamloops, not Victoria 4:5 I&amp;#8217;m guessing I&amp;#8217;ll be across from Boston Pizza and in front of the Blue Grotto area. 4:6  It&amp;#8217;s free to walk the streets downtown so you are welcome to attend. 4:7 Although tithing is optional, we suggest 10% of your annual gross income be deposited into our clothing during the performance.  4:8 As Chris and Dusty will arrive at various times, you will get a very interesting mix of solo-acoustic through to 2 piece and 3 piece performances.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;5:1 98.3 CIFM continues to provide airplay for &amp;#8220;Sweet Misery&quot;. 5:2 I hear the truth of the matter from the lips of those who love and request the song.  5:3 I have also heard the evidence directly by mine own ears. 5:4 Continue to send your requests to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.98.3cifm.com&quot;&gt;heydj@98.3cifm.com&lt;/a&gt; 5:5 CIFM will love you for it.  5:6 And I shall love you unto the end of the earth or the end of my days.  5:7 Which will come first is debatable these days.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;6:1 The Maximum Threshold has been achieved. 6:2 If you don&amp;#8217;t follow me you should.  6:3 What I mean is, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.maximumthreshold.net&quot;&gt;www.maximumthreshold.net&lt;/a&gt; is now playing my songs. 6:4 They played them today!  6:5 These guys love indie rock and metal&amp;#8230; have a listen&amp;#8230; request Sweet Misery or Red Glaring Eyes. 6:6 Dom will thank you. 6:7 As will I&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;7:1 I am in the United Kingdom. 7:2 My divine nature allows me to be in many places at one time. 7:3 You can verify this by visiting &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.celticaradio.com/playlist.html&quot;&gt;http://www.celticaradio.com/playlist.html&lt;/a&gt; 7:4 You will find my name in the alphabetized list, most likely under M as both my first and last name begin there.  7:5 I&amp;#8217;m not sure if my parents realized that they could have named me aaarnold aaardvarkiann and that I would have been first in line for pretty much everything. 7:6 No matter.  7:7 Thanks to Celtica Radio you can listen to me on their great UK station.  7:8 We pay homage to their great support.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;8:1 At this time, my friends, I must leave you.  8:2 Not for want or desire, but for the sake of opportunity.  8:3 My humanity insists that I profess today as Earth Day.  8:4 On this of all days I sacrificed billions of billions of billions of electrons sourced from nearby rivers in order to bring you these words.  8:5 Do not wait in anguish for the coming of our next show. 8:6 Instead, prepare yourselves for my arrival.  8:7 Ye shall all know the time and place of our arrival.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;9:0  Mickael Maddison 9&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.picotalk.com/rsc/smilies/icon_sad.gif&quot; alt=&quot;&amp;#58;&amp;#40;&quot; class=&quot;middle&quot; /&gt;-1) a.k.a. Clinically Insane.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;item_footer&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2009/04/22/mickael-maddison-0-0-through-9-1&quot;&gt;Original post&lt;/a&gt; blogged on &lt;a href=&quot;http://b2evolution.net/&quot;&gt;b2evolution&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison">http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison</a></p><p>0:1 Badaboom and all that superfluous greeting stuff to y&#8217;all!</p>

<p>1:1 Alright&#8230; I haven&#8217;t posted much here in awhile so I&#8217;m going to post something NOW. 1:2 It&#8217;s not that there hasn&#8217;t been anything happening. 1:3 As a matter of fact it&#8217;s quite the opposite. 1:4 We played what was supposed to be a 2 piece show at On the Rocks. 1:5 Unexpectedly, Dusty arrived in time and the virginal trio went to town on some tunes.  1:6 We ROCKED! 1:7 Stated by an inordinate number of audience members. 1:8 We&#8217;ve also been practicing up.  1:9 It&#8217;s not like we have only 6 songs these days. 1:10 We&#8217;ve got 20+ tracks to lock down and hold under water until they come up gasping for air. 1:11 Work has also been a factor. 1:12 Yes, even rockers like us need to eat and pay for things like socks and duct tape. 1:13 This Friday I will be performing live (not dead) downtown on 300 Block of Victoria Street. 1:14 Chris and Dusty will be joining me at unknown intervals during the set as they arrive on the scene. 1:15 More airplay information to report. 1:16 More Internet radio stations have begun broadcasting the new songs. 1:17 Retrospectus?</p>

<p>2:1 Further to the situation with the band, Dusty Kamps is now the official and fully tolerable drummer. 2:2 And as you&#8217;ve been expressely notified, Chris Brock is not slacking in any way as he hammers out amazing bass lines and vocal harmonies. 2:3 These guys scare me, but most of all they&#8217;ll scare you. 2:4 People like to be scared so be sure to come out and see us live. 2:5 Don&#8217;t worry, we have a chain link fence around us to protect the audience from us carnivores. 2:6 Did someone say virginal?</p>

<p>3:1 Out of order but not out of context, again On the Rocks was a great time. 3:2 Ye shall not wither and wimper because ye missed yonder show.  3:3 Ye shall arriveth forthwith on May 23rd for our cometh performance. 3:4 Come forth and be forgiven</p>

<p>4:1 This Friday is not tomorrow but the next day. 4:2 Time is 4PM to 6PM. 4:3 Location is 300 Block of Victoria Street. 4:4 That&#8217;s in Kamloops, not Victoria 4:5 I&#8217;m guessing I&#8217;ll be across from Boston Pizza and in front of the Blue Grotto area. 4:6  It&#8217;s free to walk the streets downtown so you are welcome to attend. 4:7 Although tithing is optional, we suggest 10% of your annual gross income be deposited into our clothing during the performance.  4:8 As Chris and Dusty will arrive at various times, you will get a very interesting mix of solo-acoustic through to 2 piece and 3 piece performances.</p>

<p>5:1 98.3 CIFM continues to provide airplay for &#8220;Sweet Misery". 5:2 I hear the truth of the matter from the lips of those who love and request the song.  5:3 I have also heard the evidence directly by mine own ears. 5:4 Continue to send your requests to <a href="http://www.98.3cifm.com">heydj@98.3cifm.com</a> 5:5 CIFM will love you for it.  5:6 And I shall love you unto the end of the earth or the end of my days.  5:7 Which will come first is debatable these days.</p>

<p>6:1 The Maximum Threshold has been achieved. 6:2 If you don&#8217;t follow me you should.  6:3 What I mean is, <a href="http://www.maximumthreshold.net">www.maximumthreshold.net</a> is now playing my songs. 6:4 They played them today!  6:5 These guys love indie rock and metal&#8230; have a listen&#8230; request Sweet Misery or Red Glaring Eyes. 6:6 Dom will thank you. 6:7 As will I</p>

<p>7:1 I am in the United Kingdom. 7:2 My divine nature allows me to be in many places at one time. 7:3 You can verify this by visiting <a href="http://www.celticaradio.com/playlist.html">http://www.celticaradio.com/playlist.html</a> 7:4 You will find my name in the alphabetized list, most likely under M as both my first and last name begin there.  7:5 I&#8217;m not sure if my parents realized that they could have named me aaarnold aaardvarkiann and that I would have been first in line for pretty much everything. 7:6 No matter.  7:7 Thanks to Celtica Radio you can listen to me on their great UK station.  7:8 We pay homage to their great support.</p>

<p>8:1 At this time, my friends, I must leave you.  8:2 Not for want or desire, but for the sake of opportunity.  8:3 My humanity insists that I profess today as Earth Day.  8:4 On this of all days I sacrificed billions of billions of billions of electrons sourced from nearby rivers in order to bring you these words.  8:5 Do not wait in anguish for the coming of our next show. 8:6 Instead, prepare yourselves for my arrival.  8:7 Ye shall all know the time and place of our arrival.</p>

<p>9:0  Mickael Maddison 9<img src="http://www.picotalk.com/rsc/smilies/icon_sad.gif" alt="&#58;&#40;" class="middle" />-1) a.k.a. Clinically Insane.</p><div class="item_footer"><p><small><a href="http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2009/04/22/mickael-maddison-0-0-through-9-1">Original post</a> blogged on <a href="http://b2evolution.net/">b2evolution</a>.</small></p></div>]]></content:encoded>
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			<title>Nanaimo - Airplay - The Wolf - Sweet Misery</title>
			<link>http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2009/01/09/nanaimo-airplay-the-wolf-sweet-misery</link>
			<pubDate>Fri, 09 Jan 2009 22:07:26 +0000</pubDate>			<dc:creator>Mickael Maddison</dc:creator>
			<category domain="main">News and Announcements</category>
<category domain="external">General Interest</category>			<guid isPermaLink="false">265@http://www.picotalk.com/</guid>
						<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/1069thewolf39sfreshtracks&quot;&gt;http://www.myspace.com/1069thewolf39sfreshtracks&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#8217;s been awhile since I&amp;#8217;ve been back stomping around Vancouver Island&amp;#8230; Check this out&amp;#8230; this Sunday evening at 6pm the Nanaimo station, CHWF 1069 The Wolf  is featuring Sweet Misery during Fresh Tracks. Fresh Tracks is their Sunday night feature show, showcasing six new singles every week. On Sunday the 11th you can hear Sweet Misery smack dab between Kings of Leon and Theory of a Deadman!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#8217;d like to shout out to Music Director Jaimie Hilts for taking the time to listen to the new CD and spin this track on her great station.  Who knows, maybe if you email her at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:jhilts@islandradio.bc.ca&quot;&gt;jhilts@islandradio.bc.ca&lt;/a&gt; and let her know how much you&amp;#8217;ve enjoyed the new CD - perhaps The Wolf will continue to play the track?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Thanks everyone for all your great support&amp;#8230; Stay tuned&amp;#8230; I&amp;#8217;ve got some news about the live band coming out soon!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Mickael Maddison&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;item_footer&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2009/01/09/nanaimo-airplay-the-wolf-sweet-misery&quot;&gt;Original post&lt;/a&gt; blogged on &lt;a href=&quot;http://b2evolution.net/&quot;&gt;b2evolution&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.myspace.com/1069thewolf39sfreshtracks">http://www.myspace.com/1069thewolf39sfreshtracks</a></p><p>It&#8217;s been awhile since I&#8217;ve been back stomping around Vancouver Island&#8230; Check this out&#8230; this Sunday evening at 6pm the Nanaimo station, CHWF 1069 The Wolf  is featuring Sweet Misery during Fresh Tracks. Fresh Tracks is their Sunday night feature show, showcasing six new singles every week. On Sunday the 11th you can hear Sweet Misery smack dab between Kings of Leon and Theory of a Deadman!</p>

<p>I&#8217;d like to shout out to Music Director Jaimie Hilts for taking the time to listen to the new CD and spin this track on her great station.  Who knows, maybe if you email her at <a href="http://www.picotalk.commailto:jhilts@islandradio.bc.ca">jhilts@islandradio.bc.ca</a> and let her know how much you&#8217;ve enjoyed the new CD - perhaps The Wolf will continue to play the track?</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for all your great support&#8230; Stay tuned&#8230; I&#8217;ve got some news about the live band coming out soon!</p>

<p>Mickael Maddison</p><div class="item_footer"><p><small><a href="http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2009/01/09/nanaimo-airplay-the-wolf-sweet-misery">Original post</a> blogged on <a href="http://b2evolution.net/">b2evolution</a>.</small></p></div>]]></content:encoded>
								<comments>http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2009/01/09/nanaimo-airplay-the-wolf-sweet-misery#comments</comments>
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			<title>CD Release "In Loving Misery"</title>
			<link>http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2008/12/01/cd-release-in-loving-misery?blog=2</link>
			<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:42:42 +0000</pubDate>			<dc:creator>Mickael Maddison</dc:creator>
			<category domain="external">News and Announcements</category>
<category domain="main">General Interest</category>
<category domain="external">Press Releases</category>			<guid isPermaLink="false">264@http://www.picotalk.com/</guid>
						<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://cdbaby.com/cd/mmaddison2&quot;&gt;http://cdbaby.com/cd/mmaddison2&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Building on the successes of his debut EP &amp;#8220;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cdbaby.com/mmaddison&quot;&gt;Free&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#8220;, Mickael Maddison is releasing his emotionally charged 10 song album &amp;#8220;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cdbaby.com/mmaddison2&quot;&gt;In Loving Misery&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#8220;; both a wide-angle lense into his life and relationships, and a tribute to the memory of his father. &amp;#8220;&amp;#8230;having previewed a few tracks myself I can already attest to the evolution of Mickael Maddison. The concepts and musicality of songs like &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.projectopus.com/node/70267&quot;&gt;Forward Today&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://radio3.cbc.ca/play/band/MICKAEL-MADDISON/Sweet-Misery/&quot;&gt;Sweet Misery&lt;/a&gt; evoke sweet emotion&amp;#8230;&amp;#8221; &lt;a href=&quot;http://ckrv.com/pages/3091205.php&quot;&gt;Ara Andonian&lt;/a&gt; - &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.off-centre.ca/issues/200810/&quot;&gt;Off Centre Magazine&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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&lt;p&gt;Mickael&amp;#8217;s fusion of hard rock, Seattle grunge and coffee shop singer/songwriting gives &amp;#8220;In Loving Misery&amp;#8221; a strong flavor that makes him stand out from the crowd. Mickael explores his diverse talents, laying down his own drums, bass and lead guitar for various songs throughout the album.  His release features contributions from performing bandmates, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/sympatheticrage&quot;&gt;Jonathan Anthony&lt;/a&gt; (Bass) and Doug McCallum (Drums), as well as artists Phil Maloney, Dan Hum and James Lipoth.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The release is expected to gain radio and media support and will be available through &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.hmv.ca/hmvcaweb/en_CA/displayProductDetails.do?sku=1257634&quot;&gt;HMV music stores&lt;/a&gt;, at online stores including &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cdbaby.com/mmaddison2&quot;&gt;CDBaby.com&lt;/a&gt; (USA/Int.) and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.indiepool.com/MSM0001&quot;&gt;indiepool.com&lt;/a&gt; (Canada), and also for download on iTunes  and most major online music providers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;item_footer&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2008/12/01/cd-release-in-loving-misery?blog=2&quot;&gt;Original post&lt;/a&gt; blogged on &lt;a href=&quot;http://b2evolution.net/&quot;&gt;b2evolution&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdbaby.com/cd/mmaddison2">http://cdbaby.com/cd/mmaddison2</a></p><p>Building on the successes of his debut EP &#8220;<a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/mmaddison">Free</a>&#8220;, Mickael Maddison is releasing his emotionally charged 10 song album &#8220;<a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/mmaddison2">In Loving Misery</a>&#8220;; both a wide-angle lense into his life and relationships, and a tribute to the memory of his father. &#8220;&#8230;having previewed a few tracks myself I can already attest to the evolution of Mickael Maddison. The concepts and musicality of songs like <a href="http://www.projectopus.com/node/70267">Forward Today</a> and <a href="http://radio3.cbc.ca/play/band/MICKAEL-MADDISON/Sweet-Misery/">Sweet Misery</a> evoke sweet emotion&#8230;&#8221; <a href="http://ckrv.com/pages/3091205.php">Ara Andonian</a> - <a href="http://www.off-centre.ca/issues/200810/">Off Centre Magazine</a></p>

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<p>Mickael&#8217;s fusion of hard rock, Seattle grunge and coffee shop singer/songwriting gives &#8220;In Loving Misery&#8221; a strong flavor that makes him stand out from the crowd. Mickael explores his diverse talents, laying down his own drums, bass and lead guitar for various songs throughout the album.  His release features contributions from performing bandmates, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sympatheticrage">Jonathan Anthony</a> (Bass) and Doug McCallum (Drums), as well as artists Phil Maloney, Dan Hum and James Lipoth.</p>

<p>The release is expected to gain radio and media support and will be available through <a href="http://www.hmv.ca/hmvcaweb/en_CA/displayProductDetails.do?sku=1257634">HMV music stores</a>, at online stores including <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/mmaddison2">CDBaby.com</a> (USA/Int.) and <a href="http://www.indiepool.com/MSM0001">indiepool.com</a> (Canada), and also for download on iTunes  and most major online music providers.</p>
<div class="item_footer"><p><small><a href="http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2008/12/01/cd-release-in-loving-misery?blog=2">Original post</a> blogged on <a href="http://b2evolution.net/">b2evolution</a>.</small></p></div>]]></content:encoded>
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			<title>Promoting Oxygenic Molecules</title>
			<link>http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2008/09/25/promoting-oxygenic-molecules</link>
			<pubDate>Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:04:36 +0000</pubDate>			<dc:creator>Mickael Maddison</dc:creator>
			<category domain="main">News and Announcements</category>
<category domain="external">General Interest</category>			<guid isPermaLink="false">263@http://www.picotalk.com/</guid>
						<description>&lt;p&gt;Remember how great &amp;#8220;Days of the New&amp;#8221; first couple CDs were?  I just posted my latest track that sounds nothing like them. Anyhow, click here to breath in some &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&quot;&gt;Molecules of Oxygen&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.mickaelmaddison.com/images/MickaelMaddison-Trio-Kelowna.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.mickaelmaddison.com/images/MickaelMaddison-Trio-Kelowna.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Mickael Maddison - Live Music in Kelowna&quot; title=&quot;Mickael Maddison - Live music in Kelowna&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; width=&quot;350&quot; border=&quot;0&quot;/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Remember how sweet it was when GnR came out with Appetite for Destruction? &lt;br /&gt;
Now take a deep breath full of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&quot;&gt;Molecules of Oxygen&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
This track sounds nothing like GnR.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Remember how crazy the world was when Megadeth launched Symphony of Destruction? &lt;br /&gt;
Now take a deep breath full of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&quot;&gt;Molecules of Oxygen&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
This track sounds nothing like Megadeth.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Remember how stunned the world was when Motley Crue was spewing out their Dr. Feelgood cassette? &lt;br /&gt;
Now click on my profile pic and take a deep breath full of Molecules of Oxygen.&lt;br /&gt;
This track sounds nothing like the Crue.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Remember how Pantera left the world cold as steel with their metal chops? &lt;br /&gt;
Now take a deep breath full of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&quot;&gt;Molecules of Oxygen&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
This track sounds nothing like Pantera.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Remember how Cory Hart darkened our vision when we all started wearing sunglasses at night? &lt;br /&gt;
Now take a deep breath full of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&quot;&gt;Molecules of Oxygen&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
This track sounds nothing like The boy in the box.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Remember how Alice Cooper bit the heads of chickens and drank their blood? &lt;br /&gt;
Now take a deep breath full of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&quot;&gt;Molecules of Oxygen&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
This track sounds nothing like Alice Cooper.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Remember the time when Twisted Sister was running around causing dissent? &lt;br /&gt;
Now take a deep breath full of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&quot;&gt;Molecules of Oxygen&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
This track sounds nothing like &amp;#8220;We&amp;#8217;re not gonna take it&quot;.  Seriously.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Remember the times when Def Leppard was pouring their sugar on everybody? &lt;br /&gt;
Now take a deep breath full of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&quot;&gt;Molecules of Oxygen&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
This track sounds nothing like Pyromania or Photograph.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Hey guys&amp;#8230; what&amp;#8217;s happening?&lt;br /&gt;
Remember how Fear Factory thrashed the world with Demanufacture? &lt;br /&gt;
Now take a deep breath full of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&quot;&gt;Molecules of Oxygen&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This track sounds nothing like Edgecrusher.  It&amp;#8217;s also not Obsolete.&lt;br /&gt;
Remember when GnR had an Appetite for Destruction? &lt;br /&gt;
Now take a deep breath full of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&quot;&gt;Molecules of Oxygen&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
This track sounds nothing like Paradise City.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;item_footer&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2008/09/25/promoting-oxygenic-molecules&quot;&gt;Original post&lt;/a&gt; blogged on &lt;a href=&quot;http://b2evolution.net/&quot;&gt;b2evolution&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Remember how great &#8220;Days of the New&#8221; first couple CDs were?  I just posted my latest track that sounds nothing like them. Anyhow, click here to breath in some <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison">Molecules of Oxygen</a>.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.mickaelmaddison.com/images/MickaelMaddison-Trio-Kelowna.jpg"><img src="http://www.mickaelmaddison.com/images/MickaelMaddison-Trio-Kelowna.jpg" alt="Mickael Maddison - Live Music in Kelowna" title="Mickael Maddison - Live music in Kelowna" height="200" width="350" border="0"/></a></p>

<p>Remember how sweet it was when GnR came out with Appetite for Destruction? <br />
Now take a deep breath full of <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison">Molecules of Oxygen</a>.<br />
This track sounds nothing like GnR.</p>

<p>Remember how crazy the world was when Megadeth launched Symphony of Destruction? <br />
Now take a deep breath full of <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison">Molecules of Oxygen</a>.<br />
This track sounds nothing like Megadeth.</p>

<p>Remember how stunned the world was when Motley Crue was spewing out their Dr. Feelgood cassette? <br />
Now click on my profile pic and take a deep breath full of Molecules of Oxygen.<br />
This track sounds nothing like the Crue.</p>

<p>Remember how Pantera left the world cold as steel with their metal chops? <br />
Now take a deep breath full of <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison">Molecules of Oxygen</a>.<br />
This track sounds nothing like Pantera.</p>

<p>Remember how Cory Hart darkened our vision when we all started wearing sunglasses at night? <br />
Now take a deep breath full of <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison">Molecules of Oxygen</a>.<br />
This track sounds nothing like The boy in the box.</p>

<p>Remember how Alice Cooper bit the heads of chickens and drank their blood? <br />
Now take a deep breath full of <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison">Molecules of Oxygen</a>.<br />
This track sounds nothing like Alice Cooper.</p>

<p>Remember the time when Twisted Sister was running around causing dissent? <br />
Now take a deep breath full of <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison">Molecules of Oxygen</a>.<br />
This track sounds nothing like &#8220;We&#8217;re not gonna take it".  Seriously.</p>

<p>Remember the times when Def Leppard was pouring their sugar on everybody? <br />
Now take a deep breath full of <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison">Molecules of Oxygen</a>.<br />
This track sounds nothing like Pyromania or Photograph.</p>

<p>Hey guys&#8230; what&#8217;s happening?<br />
Remember how Fear Factory thrashed the world with Demanufacture? <br />
Now take a deep breath full of <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison">Molecules of Oxygen</a>.</p>

<p>This track sounds nothing like Edgecrusher.  It&#8217;s also not Obsolete.<br />
Remember when GnR had an Appetite for Destruction? <br />
Now take a deep breath full of <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison">Molecules of Oxygen</a>.<br />
This track sounds nothing like Paradise City.</p><div class="item_footer"><p><small><a href="http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2008/09/25/promoting-oxygenic-molecules">Original post</a> blogged on <a href="http://b2evolution.net/">b2evolution</a>.</small></p></div>]]></content:encoded>
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			<title>Molecules of Oxygen anyone?</title>
			<link>http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2008/09/24/molecules-of-oxygen-anyone?blog=2</link>
			<pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:37:47 +0000</pubDate>			<dc:creator>Mickael Maddison</dc:creator>
			<category domain="external">News and Announcements</category>
<category domain="main">General Interest</category>			<guid isPermaLink="false">262@http://www.picotalk.com/</guid>
						<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&quot;&gt;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.picotalk.com/rsc/smilies/icon_lalala.gif&quot; alt=&quot;&amp;#58;&amp;#108;&amp;#97;&amp;#108;&amp;#97;&amp;#108;&amp;#97;&amp;#58;&quot; class=&quot;middle&quot; /&gt; I&amp;#8217;m just bleeding out of the gills today.  I&amp;#8217;ve posted &amp;#8220;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&quot;&gt;Molecules of Oxygen&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#8221; (click to listen) up at MySpace so all the fanatics out there can check out another of the tracks coming up as we near the completion of my second CD - my first 10 song Album!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The guitars are twitchy, the bass is growly , they lyrics are a little odd and hey, some sushi would be nice right now.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Click above and breath &amp;#8220;Molecules of Oxygen&amp;#8221; deep into your lungs.  For dessert, try a little &amp;#8220;Sweet Misery&amp;#8221; pie.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Mickael Maddison&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;item_footer&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2008/09/24/molecules-of-oxygen-anyone?blog=2&quot;&gt;Original post&lt;/a&gt; blogged on &lt;a href=&quot;http://b2evolution.net/&quot;&gt;b2evolution&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison">http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison</a></p><p><img src="http://www.picotalk.com/rsc/smilies/icon_lalala.gif" alt="&#58;&#108;&#97;&#108;&#97;&#108;&#97;&#58;" class="middle" /> I&#8217;m just bleeding out of the gills today.  I&#8217;ve posted &#8220;<a href="http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison">Molecules of Oxygen</a>&#8221; (click to listen) up at MySpace so all the fanatics out there can check out another of the tracks coming up as we near the completion of my second CD - my first 10 song Album!</p>

<p>The guitars are twitchy, the bass is growly , they lyrics are a little odd and hey, some sushi would be nice right now.</p>

<p>Click above and breath &#8220;Molecules of Oxygen&#8221; deep into your lungs.  For dessert, try a little &#8220;Sweet Misery&#8221; pie.</p>

<p>Mickael Maddison</p>
<div class="item_footer"><p><small><a href="http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2008/09/24/molecules-of-oxygen-anyone?blog=2">Original post</a> blogged on <a href="http://b2evolution.net/">b2evolution</a>.</small></p></div>]]></content:encoded>
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			<title>Bell / Sympatico Blacklisted at UCE Protect</title>
			<link>http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2008/08/29/bell-sympatico-blacklisted-at-uce-protec?blog=2</link>
			<pubDate>Fri, 29 Aug 2008 22:06:05 +0000</pubDate>			<dc:creator>Mickael Maddison</dc:creator>
			<category domain="main">Science and Tech</category>
<category domain="external">News and Announcements</category>			<guid isPermaLink="false">261@http://www.picotalk.com/</guid>
						<description>&lt;p&gt;Over the last 2 weeks I have heard from a number of people (that us Bell or Sympatico as their ISP) that they&amp;#8217;re having problems sending mail to various networks that utilize the UCE Protect Blacklists.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.uceprotect.net&quot;&gt;UCE Protect&lt;/a&gt; provides ISP&amp;#8217;s, Hosting Providers, businesses and individuals around the world with a simple tool that helps significantly reduce the amount of spam that a mailserver ends up processing on a daily basis.  For one server I manage, I see over 185,000 blocked messages thanks to their service.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Other DNS blacklists such as &amp;#8220;Spamcop&amp;#8221; and &amp;#8220;Spamhaus&amp;#8221; contribute additional results bringing the total blocked messages into the 200,000+ range, or one day!  Imagine, over 6 million message blocked per month by these services.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Normally, if an ISP gets listed on a significant blacklist they would take quick action to track and resolve the issue, then contact the blacklist they&amp;#8217;ve been listed with for removal information.  It appears that Bell/Sympatico have not taken up this cause at this time, as the complaints continue to trickle in, and their IP address(es) continue to be blocked (see &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.uceprotect.net/en/rblcheck.php&quot;&gt;http://www.uceprotect.net/en/rblcheck.php&lt;/a&gt; to check your mailservers IP - or better yet, get your ISP to review)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.uceprotect.net&quot;&gt;UCE Protect&amp;#8217;s policy on listing IP addresses&lt;/a&gt; can be reviewed on their website. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It seems I&amp;#8217;m not the only one hearing the complaints:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.littlereport.com/node/78&quot;&gt;http://www.littlereport.com/node/78&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Anyway, here&amp;#8217;s hoping they&amp;#8217;ll take action soon.  I&amp;#8217;m sure they have a lot of clients that would prefer to have their mail sending work more often&amp;#8230;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;item_footer&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2008/08/29/bell-sympatico-blacklisted-at-uce-protec?blog=2&quot;&gt;Original post&lt;/a&gt; blogged on &lt;a href=&quot;http://b2evolution.net/&quot;&gt;b2evolution&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Over the last 2 weeks I have heard from a number of people (that us Bell or Sympatico as their ISP) that they&#8217;re having problems sending mail to various networks that utilize the UCE Protect Blacklists.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.uceprotect.net">UCE Protect</a> provides ISP&#8217;s, Hosting Providers, businesses and individuals around the world with a simple tool that helps significantly reduce the amount of spam that a mailserver ends up processing on a daily basis.  For one server I manage, I see over 185,000 blocked messages thanks to their service.</p>

<p>Other DNS blacklists such as &#8220;Spamcop&#8221; and &#8220;Spamhaus&#8221; contribute additional results bringing the total blocked messages into the 200,000+ range, or one day!  Imagine, over 6 million message blocked per month by these services.</p>

<p>Normally, if an ISP gets listed on a significant blacklist they would take quick action to track and resolve the issue, then contact the blacklist they&#8217;ve been listed with for removal information.  It appears that Bell/Sympatico have not taken up this cause at this time, as the complaints continue to trickle in, and their IP address(es) continue to be blocked (see <br />
<a href="http://www.uceprotect.net/en/rblcheck.php">http://www.uceprotect.net/en/rblcheck.php</a> to check your mailservers IP - or better yet, get your ISP to review)</p>

<p><a href="http://www.uceprotect.net">UCE Protect&#8217;s policy on listing IP addresses</a> can be reviewed on their website. </p>

<p>It seems I&#8217;m not the only one hearing the complaints:<br />
<a href="http://www.littlereport.com/node/78">http://www.littlereport.com/node/78</a></p>

<p>Anyway, here&#8217;s hoping they&#8217;ll take action soon.  I&#8217;m sure they have a lot of clients that would prefer to have their mail sending work more often&#8230;</p><div class="item_footer"><p><small><a href="http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2008/08/29/bell-sympatico-blacklisted-at-uce-protec?blog=2">Original post</a> blogged on <a href="http://b2evolution.net/">b2evolution</a>.</small></p></div>]]></content:encoded>
								<comments>http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2008/08/29/bell-sympatico-blacklisted-at-uce-protec?blog=2#comments</comments>
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			<title>Sweet Misery on MySpace</title>
			<link>http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2008/07/09/sweet-misery-on-myspace?blog=2</link>
			<pubDate>Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:48:16 +0000</pubDate>			<dc:creator>Mickael Maddison</dc:creator>
			<category domain="external">News and Announcements</category>
<category domain="main">General Interest</category>			<guid isPermaLink="false">260@http://www.picotalk.com/</guid>
						<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&quot;&gt;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So I&amp;#8217;m officially up to 7 songs finished up for the next CD.  Hoping to get a few tracks laid out before I call it an LP.  Anyway, have a visit to my &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&quot;&gt;MySpace page HERE&lt;/a&gt; and listen to one of the new tracks &amp;#8220;Sweet Misery&quot;&amp;#8230; we had a lot of fun putting that one together.&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;p&gt;Mickael Maddison&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&quot;&gt;www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;item_footer&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2008/07/09/sweet-misery-on-myspace?blog=2&quot;&gt;Original post&lt;/a&gt; blogged on &lt;a href=&quot;http://b2evolution.net/&quot;&gt;b2evolution&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison">http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison</a></p><p>So I&#8217;m officially up to 7 songs finished up for the next CD.  Hoping to get a few tracks laid out before I call it an LP.  Anyway, have a visit to my <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison">MySpace page HERE</a> and listen to one of the new tracks &#8220;Sweet Misery"&#8230; we had a lot of fun putting that one together.</p>
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<p>Mickael Maddison<br />
<a href="http://www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison">www.myspace.com/mickaelmaddison</a></p><div class="item_footer"><p><small><a href="http://www.picotalk.com/index.php/2008/07/09/sweet-misery-on-myspace?blog=2">Original post</a> blogged on <a href="http://b2evolution.net/">b2evolution</a>.</small></p></div>]]></content:encoded>
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