alien drifter

2025-08-18T12:38:00.000-04:00

Sunday Morning Playlist

Lovely and mellow. Feel the breezes, listen to the birds, hang out, chill. Works well on "Shuffle" setting.
Journey to a Rainbow, Chuck Mangione, The Best of Chuck Mangione, Jazz
Break of Dawn, Karsh Kale, Liberation, Electronic
Watermark, Enya, Only Time: The Collection, New Age
Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars), Stan Getz/Laurindo Almeida, Bossa Nova for Lovers, Latin
Morning, CBS Masterworks Dinner Classics, Breakfast In Bed, Classical
Wave, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Bossa Nova for Lovers, Latin
Love Theme (From Bladerunner), Vangelis, Themes, Electronic
Vivo Sonhando (Dreamer), Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto, Bossa Nova for Lovers, Latin
Daybreak, CBS Masterworks Dinner Classics, Breakfast In Bed, Classical
I Feel Free, Cream, Fresh Cream, Rock
O Grande Amor, Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto, Bossa Nova for Lovers, Latin
Aqua, Moncef Genoud, Aqua, Jazz
Beau soir, Frederic Chiu & Joshua Bell, Voice of the Violin (Bonus Version), Classical
Elegie, Secret Garden, Once In a Red Moon, New Age
Monk Meets Poulenc (medley), Paul Cantelon, Falling Water, New Age
Rose, Jan Garbarek, Manu Katchu, Marcin Wasilewski, Slavomir Kurkiewicz & Tomasz Stanko, Neighbourhood, Jazz
Cherry County, Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon, Sixty Six Steps, Rock
Retrograde, Leo Kottke, One Guitar, No Vocals, Folk
I like how all the genres mix together so well. It doesn't really matter in what order you play them.
(Repost from 2011)

102 Hats, so far

2025-04-12T13:37:00.000-04:00

I’ve made 102 hats. Some knit. Some crocheted. Some as gifts. Some donated. Of those that remain in my home, I regularly wear about 10 of those hats.

So, what is the point? I don’t know. I craft yarn things to keep my fingers busy, and to free my brain to contemplate. Sometimes, I make something deliberately as a wearable. More often, I feel like trying a technique or construction type, or I find a yarn I can’t resist. Sometimes a funky new pattern will get me going.

The journey has been about discovering what I will actually make, what I will actually wear, how gauge works, what kinds of yarn I prefer, and how to finish a project. Every one should give it a shot.

Water under the bridge

2025-01-21T10:19:00.000-05:00

The Playground Version

A lot of water has passed by since I decided to stop posting. I now live close to the ocean, on the Chesapeake Bay, in fact. Like living outside Washington D.C., I rarely visit the main draw for this area. The first time I walked on the Norfolk beach I thought I would never leave. I did a lot of traveling after that and then came back here. At my age, 73, it’s difficult to think about moving for a lot of reasons. I remind myself I am never satisfied and that the sirens of emergency vehicles don’t sound all day and/or all night. So, I stay where I am.

Now that Mom is in a parallel universe, I feel a bit untethered. Technically, I’d like to feel totally untethered. While Mom was a rock, she was also a bit of a prison.

I have no goal for this post. I’m checking my options and attempting to discover if there might be some value in returning to previous activities.

No Longer Updating This Blog

2015-10-28T16:35:00.002-04:00

Find me at www.heartwind.com or on my Facebook page. Thanks for stopping by!

Going Home

2014-04-28T12:42:00.000-04:00

This blog serves little purpose. In the beginning it was a lot of fun. I dumped all sorts of random stuff here and my life is better for it. I might be all dumped out. Time to go home.

After healthcare.gov

2014-03-30T12:17:00.000-04:00

The strange and annoying healthcare.gov error
that no one understands and which is keeping me from enrolling.

I've spent a month, off and on, trying to get past a site error and #getcovered. I've talked to about five official HealthCare.gov workers. I haven't spoken to any unofficial ones but I have posted to the Facebook page and tweeted. Don't bother. Whoever is running the online presence is stuck in broadcast mode.

Anyway, I managed to get on the call-back list today. This means I am now a number on what I presume to be a very long list indeed. I no longer have to worry about the deadline because healthcare.gov will call me back at some point to enroll in healthcare.

The application is finished*. I got that far before the website crapped out with some weird error that no one understands or knows how to fix. Asking for a supervisor got me to "send us income verification." I mean, come on, this is the FEDERAL government. They have a record of my income going back to my first job ever. I sent it in, though. Gotta cross all those T's and dot those I's. heh

Friday I was on hold twice before giving up. Once for 20 minutes after which the call spontaneously aborted. Then for 30 minutes and I hung up. It just wasn't happening.

Meanwhile, I wonder just how good my coverage deal will be. I'm am discouraged by hundreds of reports from those at the Facebook page about high deductibles ($12,000 per year) and high premiums. I keep thinking about the poor soul who continues to pay cash for medical care in addition to having (basically) useless healthcare.gov coverage. Because they can't afford a non-insurance penalty on top of all the bills.

Thankfully, I've worked through to the point where I can do no more. It's all on the government now.

_____________
*It's a two-part process. You apply, after which you get a notice of eligibility, and then you enroll in coverage. I'm stuck at the enroll part because I get a tax credit which generates the above error.

Anti-Static (playlist)

2014-02-11T15:33:00.000-05:00

Because of winter and dry hair and that other kind of static. Momentarily addicted to space music with ethereal overtones also sometimes called "Ambient." Good for writing.

24 songs, 3 hours

Song, Album, Artist, Time (minutes)

1 Om, Signatures On Water, Maneesh De Moor, 9:51

2 Iceblink, Le café abstrait by Raphael Marionneau, Vol. 10 (Deluxe Edition), Pass Into Silence, 5:08

3 Birds Fly By Flapping Their Wings, Dropsonde, Biosphere, 6:35

4 Black Sands, Black Sands, Bonobo, 6:49

5 Colour My Dream, Colour My Dream, Tony Gerber, 9:22

6 Dream_Blue, Colour My Dream, Tony Gerber, 16:52

7 Dream_Aquamarine, Colour My Dream, Tony Gerber, 11:10

8 Dream_Ochre, Colour My Dream, Tony Gerber, 6:10

9 Dream_Gold, Colour My Dream, Tony Gerber, 7:24

10 Road To My Dream, Colour My Dream, Tony Gerber, 7:27

11 Dream_Leaf Green, Colour My Dream, Tony Gerber, 2:32

12 Instinct, Liberation, Karsh Kale, 5:43

13 Break of Dawn, Liberation, Karsh Kale, 7:26

14 Love Theme (From Bladerunner), Themes, Vangelis, 5:01

15 Try Quiet, AirDaeh, D.E.D., 24:35

16 Feather Hammer, AirDaeh, D.E.D., 17:20

17 Journey to a Rainbow, The Best of Chuck Mangione (Remastered), Chuck Mangione, 7:01

18 Calm, Continuo, Avishai Cohen, 3:16

19 Quiet Rising, I Can See Your House From Here, John Scofield & Pat Metheny, 5:29

20 Lullaby, Neighbourhood, Jan Garbarek, Manu Katché, Marcin Wasilewski, Slavomir Kurkiewicz & Tomasz Stanko, 6:09

21 The Big Empty, Empty Sky, Deuter, 4:06

22 Waltz For A Blissful Goddess, Mirror of the Sun, Sambodhi Prem, 4:52

23 Aldebaran, Only Time: The Collection, Enya, 3:07

24 Watermark, Only Time: The Collection, Enya, 2:27

Beer: Especially Good for Women

2014-02-05T17:11:00.001-05:00

Enjoyed this infographic? Check out www.WearYourBeer.com.

Lunar New Year in Farmville 2

2014-01-24T17:48:00.002-05:00

There are a lot of animations in FV2 that go largely unmentioned. The new Lunar New Year lantern stand is an example.

Here's a couple of screen shots of the kick off for the Lunar New Year lantern tasks.

Free lit lanterns bobbing on the river in the night.

The lanterns rise up into the sky and fly away.

Also, every time you make a lantern in the lantern stand and a neighbor "buys" it, they take the lantern to the river where it floats and then flies away.

But wait! There's more! There are other many little animations that no one seems to mention. For example, you can hover over mushroom lamps (if you have them) and they light up. There are a couple of wood fires that light up when you hover over them. As a remnant of an owl task, there is an owl tree with a tiny owl house where the owls peer out when you hover over the tree.

And there are constant special animations to kick off new tasks. A recent reward animation was a sleigh ride with four friends. The entire screen was animated with my farm in the background.

As an old school computer user I am amazed by the work put into this free game to make it fun and attractive. They should win an award.

Floating in Second Life

2014-01-10T22:52:00.000-05:00

Here are two screen shots showing the kind of stuff I like in Second Life and mostly what I do there: stuff you can't do in First Life. Here I am (as an avatar) in a floating world simulation. Part of the fun is the duck boat that you ride down a slide. At the end of the slide the boat disappears and your avatar falls underwater.

My avatar (wearing a freebie fish head gifted to me at the site)
powering a traveling, floating contraption. Everything is easy here (see
the destination address in the slot at the top of the screen shot).
Just "sit" and you'll find your avatar doing all sorts of things.

My avatar floating in the sky. This trick takes advantage of
the building technique where one side of an object has a
texture and the other side is transparent.

Why be normal or ordinary, indeed!

If you have a membership, you can go directly to Rafts.

Playlist of the Day: Sugar, Sugar

2013-12-18T18:16:00.000-05:00

Unrelated to anything at all is today's playlist based on Sugar, Sugar generated by iTunes Genius with my outtakes. (Some of the songs Genius suggested weren't happy enough.)

CD Cover, also generated by iTunes

Song Title, Artist, Album, Genre

Sugar, Sugar, The Archies, Sugar, Sugar, Pop
It's Getting Better, Cass Elliot, Dream a Little Dream: The Cass Elliott Collection, Rock
Good Morning Starshine, Oliver, Days of Flower Power, Rock
Go Where You Wanna Go, The Mamas & The Papas, The Mamas & The Papas Greatest Hits, Rock
I'll Be Your Mirror, The Velvet Underground & Nico, The Velvet Underground & Nico, Rock
If I Can't Have You, Yvonne Elliman, The Best of Yvonne Elliman, Rock
Free Man In Paris, Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell, Hits, Pop
Send In the Clowns, Judy Collins, 24 Classic Songs, Singer/Songwriter
Alive and Kicking, Simple Minds, Once Upon a Time, Rock
The Rain, the Park and Other Things, The Cowsills, The Best of the Cowsills, Pop
Everything Is Everything, Phoenix, Alphabetical, Electronic
Something About You, Level 42, World Machine, Rock
All Because of You, U2, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, Rock
Colours, Donovan, Fairy Tale, Folk
Help Me, Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell, Hits, Pop
Just Like Heaven, Katie Melua, Piece By Piece, Pop
Harvest Moon, Neil Young, Neil Young: Greatest Hits, Rock
40 Day Dream, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Up from Below, Alternative

I make these lists periodically, or ask Genius to make them, to see if there's any logic behind them. They are never all the same genre. Most of them don't have beats per minute information. Often they come front the same era, like the sixties. Aside from that, some of them are quite random. I don't know how Genius works. Does anyone? Humans make better lists. Or, at least, I make better lists. Genius is faster, though.

Cross Post: Summing Up My NaNoWriMo Experience ... again

2013-11-25T12:42:00.000-05:00

You can read all about it on my other blog, the one where I write mostly about the creative process and the stuff I make.

This year, the process was more time and resource consuming because my goal was to reach 50,000 before Thanksgiving. I was hoping for an earlier "win." Say, around the 15th of the month, because that would give me a better chance of finishing the story by the end of the month. I have trouble with motivation in months that don't involve NaNoWriMo.

Maybe in December I'll go back to my usually bi-weekly updates. It's not like I don't have anything to write about or show you. My impulses have been satisfied with a daily word count goal of 2000. (Previously 2800.) Not sure what that means, if anything. Wonder what life would be like if I wrote 2000 words every day?

The Best Free Game No One Plays: Hidden Shadows

2013-10-24T11:34:00.000-04:00

"Surgeon's Stable" scene from the
"Doctored Death" episode.

Zynga's Hidden Shadows game on Facebook is a hidden picture adventure with everything: beautiful art, crime stories arranged like episodic TV, interstitial graphic novel panels, achievable goals, a moderately increasing difficulty level, intuitive interface, and (most important for me) the capability to play without "neighbors" or a whole bunch of friends.

You also get a good run for your basic supplies of energy and easily earn the materials you need to speed up investigations or make more energy. Not a whole lot of materials, of course. Zynga still wants you to buy stuff and energy. And there are two annoying screens to click through asking you to invite friends. However, there is enough to keep going at a critical juncture or if you just can't wait 12 hours for lab results.

The mild disadvantages are that Badges needed to move forward can take a long time to earn and if you choose to investigate the wrong evidence (when you have a choice of two) you'll find yourself spending a lot of time earning Badges. These take progressively more energy to earn and max out at five per scene. New scenes are opened up from analyzed evidence.

Even though this game has "everything" none of my friends play it. For a short time, in order to win extra stuff for Farmville 2, a couple of friends played it. They got the booty and quit. I can't stop.

The items you search for are varied (although they have a thing for hats) and usually in plain sight. As you level up the items blend in more, are hidden in shadow, and sometimes are only partially shown. If you can't find the item or wonder what a generic word like "bat" means, you can hover over the word and see the image. This distinguishes between the animal and the wooden variety. You also get a hint from seeing the image because you see exactly what the item looks like in the scene. I can tell from the size and angle approximately where in the picture the item is hidden.

Hints are quickly available. In the screen snap above, in the lower left corner is the Hint counting up. In a matter of seconds you have a Hint available. One is all I've ever needed. Hints are available for purchase (of course) and you can make them from the raw materials generated by successful completion of scenes.

Achievable objectives and earnable materials, yet no one plays this game. I have one friend who plays a couple times a week and that's it. I don't get it. Why would no one enjoy the pleasant passing of time with a pretty, moderately challenging game?

Opening screen. Pretty or what?

Notification to complete more scenes to analyze
the evidence you find in a scene.
Badges are earned by completing scenes.

Make Speed-Ups and Energy (but not Badges)
from materials gathered (automatically) in scenes.
As you can see, I have a lot of materials.

Season One - completed.

Season Two - in progress.

Human heart or graphic heart? Prevent errors.
Hover over the word and find out!

Documentaries for Breakfast

2013-08-05T13:12:00.001-04:00

A 13th Century map of England from
Ian Mortimer's book, "The Time
Traveler's Guide to Medieval England."
There are no dragons or troglodytes here.
They're on another map.

What's really happening is not so much laying fallow as collecting material or storing up images and sensations. Documentaries about ancient Africa, Alexandria, and eastern religions (particularly Yoga, Hinduism, and Buddhism) are what interest me. And a book: "The Time Travelers Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century" by Ian Mortimer.

This interest emerged years ago when I read most of the books in the Sister Fidelma series; as accurate a depiction of the Celtic world as Perry Ellis (aka Peter Tremayne) can make. He's a serious scholar and authority on the period of the Celts. I still think of how his heroine traveled and lived in those fictions. Because, although the stories are fiction, the way she and her contemporaries lived is based on as much fact as can be garnered from history.

So, I can't say it's all about history because I'm not obsessed with dates and politics. I'm obsessed with how people lived and what they thought and believed. And how those thoughts and beliefs evolved.

One of the most telling chapters of "The Time Travelers Guide to Medieval England" is the one on Health and Hygiene. Medical practices were an amalgamation of astrology, superstition, and badly transmitted ancient knowledge. There's a lot of blood letting. A fun segment of a Saturday Night Live episode (Season 3, Episode 18 - April 22, 1978) shows what a pastiche of concoctions such treatments were. Steve Martin, as doctor, suggests treatments which patients are lucky to survive. Ian Mortimer presents the same case in his book; that you are healthier without a doctor in the middle ages.

A time of collection is a known part of the creative process as explained by Julia Cameron in her book "The Artist's Way." Although I had lived through this phase previously, I hadn't isolated it as part of a process before doing the 12 week self-directed workshop using her book. If I had, momentarily, acknowledged my laying fallow it was with a lot of guilt about "doing nothing." Which might be why I'm doing so much knitting and crocheting. Keeping my hands busy and feeling productive while letting my mind wander. Collecting.

My collecting process is more like stocking
an antique/junk shop than filing things
away neatly.

Make Your Own Divination System

2013-07-21T15:29:00.000-04:00

I have discovered that the universe will talk to us in any language we understand. All you have to do is define your language. It can be as complex or as simple as you like. The important point is to make it meaningful to you.

I've used Tarot cards, runes, I Ching (coins and sticks), Ouija, astrology, the flight of birds, ordinary playing cards, random signs, crystals, and the pendulum. I've consulted mediums and gone on Shamanic journeys. Except for the crystals and the pendulum, they all worked for me.

Probably the best example of variable meanings is Tarot cards. Over the years, I've used three decks: Rider Waite, Motherpeace, and Circle of Life (which is the one I use now). I learned a lot about the meanings of the decks. And you should. Deck creators have specific symbols and meanings in mind when they make the decks. Also, you should study the cards to get clear on what the images mean to you. As my understanding or interpretation of a Tarot card changed, so did the answers I received.

There's a great book for delving into your personal meaning of the cards: The Heart of Tarot a book by Amber and Azrael Arynn K. For plunging into historical symbol construction try The Ancient Tarot and Its Symbolism by David LeMieux. There's an online class offered through DailyOm, Create Art for Your Soul, that guides you in constructing your own cards from contemporary images.

Symbols
Choose symbols that mean something for you: stones, cards, pictures, sounds, odors, the direction of the wind, etc. Important to get in touch with your intention. When you develop this language for the universe, you need to be clear on what the symbols intend. Think of Lyra and the Aleithiometer. One symbol, a bee, can stand for industry, community, communication, food, etc. Don't lock down your symbols. Leave a little fudge factor because language is imprecise.

Yes/No
A simpler system is yes/no or heads/tails. You could use coins, sticks, or beads. Those prayer beads commonly used by Buddhists are divination devices as well consulted by shaking, random grabbing, and counting down (an odd number remaining means "no" and an even number means "yes"). Yes/No divination is what the I Ching is based on (yin and yang lines). You can do Yes/No with the Tarot by pulling three cards at random and letting the appearance of a Court Card mean "Yes." No court cards means "No." And there's the old standard flip-a-coin: heads=yes, tails=no.

Get Answers
Once you have your system, find a way to let the symbols come to you randomly. This opens your system to the universe so it can use your language. A caveat about answers: they are not final or inevitable. You always have choice. Think of your answers as warnings, advice, hints, or possibilities. Use the knowledge wisely. Don't over ask or ask the same question repeatedly. The universe may give you garble out of frustration. And don't ask a question to get a particular answer. Keep your mind open to possibilities. As a friend once said to me, "Sometimes the answer is neither A nor B but Q."

Full Bloom: Too Many Hazards

2013-06-26T22:55:00.001-04:00

Full of blooming screens!

I once introduced a friend to Mille Bornes by stating the objectives as 1) get as many miles as you can, and 2) stop your opponents from traveling. He got it really good. In four moves all of us were stopped. Including my friend who had (of course) raised the vengeance of us all.

Full Bloom is a Facebook game that reminds me of that friend. Obviously someone told them that the game is merely a draw, so they throw up as many screens as possible before you get to the actual playing board: invite friends, play a special pre-game, get a gift, give gifts, find a special butterfly, and a news screen. If that isn't enough, when you get to your "garden" there's a big yellow arrow pointing to the news button. Then, you can click on the game button to go to the playing board.

Full Bloom also sucks up CPU usage. I know because I've played it on a Windows laptop and had warnings. It's a simple little match-three game with no need for tons of CPU. So, what's it doing with the CPU? Is it just lazy programing? Or perhaps malicious surreptitious tracking? Could it possibly be checking my hard drive?

The game itself is nicely made: pretty, logical, levels up in small increments, adds interesting hazards. Too bad it's all larded up with crap that makes it frustrating to begin playing. Also, the add-ons are outrageously expensive. It's about $1.00 to add on 5 moves in the middle of a game (if you run out of moves or time). Other options are equally expensive. Really silly when you consider that you could buy a "real" game with endless playing time and unlimited moves for $10.

I like the game. In spite of the detractors I play it a lot. I've never paid to play and I never will. It's not worth it.

One of three pre-screens to click through before you
get to play the game.

You arrive here after the preliminary screens.
After this you can go to the playing board.

After the garden, on the way to the playing
board - a little detour.

Following a Pattern

2013-06-17T23:27:00.000-04:00

Back on the left. Sleeve on the right.

I can't believe I have knitted the back and one sleeve of a sweater. I usually struggle to finish caps and scarves. I've fallen into crochet and knitting the way I fell into spending days with my grandchildren and making day trips to Yogaville. It's the only path open to me.

Sure, there are other things I can do and have done. I still have novels, poetry, blogs, landscapes, and other art. Somehow, none of those activities are as compelling. Handcrafts seems more important to do right now. Like spending time with my grandchildren was important. The way falling into a variety of spiritual experiences was important.

Like knitting and crocheting, tending children and practicing spirituality are crafts that accrue through small accomplishments over time. The relationships builds as does the practice. Slowly accruing anything has been near impossible for me.

Jumping to conclusions, seeing the big picture, dreaming, visioning—all of these are easy for me. I can see things coming a mile away. Or even further.

I'm enjoying looking closely and seeing what is right in front of me; taking it one step at a time.

So, anyway, I have two parts of a sweater now. I've been helped along the path to steady accruing by the Lion Brand Knit Along which I followed on Ravelry. Thanks to the Lion Brand instructor (who offered a lot of excellent tips) and all of the other participants (who offered a lot of great photos of their progress and more great tips), I actually finished a vest that fits. I got the correct gauge and only made one serious mistake: a dropped stitch on the back and I was able to fix that.

I don't know where crocheting and knitting will take me. It simply seems important to do right now.

Summer Planting

2013-04-29T14:46:00.000-04:00

Dianthus in pots. One ended up in a bed
along the side of the house.

Officially, it is spring. At least in the calendars widely published. In nature it is the cusp of summer—a fulcrum of transition. I planted a few petunias and dianthus.

Officially, I've given up on the seed thing because I can't make it work anymore. I think of my grandmother standing in my teen room, indicating a pot of hard soil, and saying, "What's that growing in cement." I had no clue on how to grow plants. I am mildly improved after 45 years of trying.

I reached my apex a few years ago when half of the impatiens seeds I planted grew into viable flowering plants. That was when I realized I took no joy in the labor any more. And my policy is to avoid (as much as possible) activities that do not bring joy.

I'm not experienced in growing in this kind of climate, a sort of half-desert. It can be 80 one day and then drop to 39 by morning. This is spring. I'm told in the summer it's unrelenting heat punctuated by tornadoes.

Looking forward to it.

Petunias and a survivor of my seed experiment.

My Favorite Quotes from GoodReads

2013-04-17T12:16:00.000-04:00

Refresh for a new one.

quotes Elaine likes

"The trouble was that he was talking in philosophy but they were listening in gibberish."— Terry Pratchett

Goodreads Quotes

The Elaine Report

2013-04-09T09:50:00.001-04:00

Today's items of interest, variously posted, and now here all in one place for your browsing pleasure.

Digital Product Placement and the Rise of MiriAd
21 Tips to Keep Your Shit Together ...
Chowder Clam knitting pattern Cuteness break.
Severe Weather Forecast for Topeka
Saudi Arabia Denies Paralysis Punishment
Gulf of Mexico Deep Cleans Itself
Easy-to-make tasty frozen drink. Just in time for summer!

And a late addition: How to Really Manage Creative People.

I signed up for 3 Coursera Classes

2013-03-07T17:21:00.000-05:00

Know Thyself (already in progress) because it offers a wide-ranging view of what a self can be.

... viewpoints of philosophy, psychoanalysis, experimental psychology, neuroscience, aesthetics, and Buddhism.

Writing II: Rhetorical Composing because it's a "II" and I'm impatient with long introductions and I missed "I." I also like the attention to "rhetorical", a word I've long wanted to have pinned down.

to help you become a more effective consumer and producer of alphabetic, visual and multimodal texts.

It's visual and multimodal that's appealing.

Design: Creation of Artifacts in Society because I'm always willing to learn more about design. Karl T. Ulrich, the instructor, has a wide-ranging view of design and artifacts and he offers a free book to match. After reading the first chapter, I signed up for the class.

Creativity, Innovation and Change because these are my favorite topics. There are three instructors. I'm hoping to get some far-ranging views as well as some practical application in work and life. Wish it started sooner.

All of the classes are free. Registration was the most pain-free account creation ever as was registering for multiple classes. It really is one-click. Good thing I've learned a bit of restraint along the way or I would have signed up for ten classes.

Neon Birthday

2013-02-27T12:37:00.000-05:00

for my niece

With a bit of help from this tutorial for the "21" and sign gradient. The other neons were made with standard Illustrator styles. I saved some time by using a standard dot fill from the basic dot swatches. The entire design took over an hour to complete.

That tutorial is a good way to learn a lot about the Appearance palette menu.

pastel tropics

2013-02-26T12:11:00.003-05:00

I've started investigating color with concentric circles. Here is today's favorite.

I was into circles briefly during the 70's. Since Bryce is now broken on the iMac, I'm back to basics. Fundamental basics.

Perhaps this could be another nice Make Something 365 project?
(Not linking to Bryce is intentional. No point linking to something broken, is there?)

nasty

2013-02-20T18:05:00.000-05:00

Here's a real mess and I don't care.

Assignment in Eternity audiobook

2013-02-13T12:10:00.000-05:00

I am going apeshit over Bronson Pinchot's narration expertise. Because, yes, I have been under a rock. What an amazing voice and what excellent characterizations! I particularly enjoyed the humorous New York/Jewish accents in Jerry Was a Man. Another example of how excellent narration elucidates a story.

What the library tells us (with no mention of Bronson Pinchot being an award-winning narrator). Assignment in Eternity: Robert A Heinlein is widely and justly regarded as the greatest practitioner of the art of science fiction who has ever lived. Here are two of his greatest short novels: Gulf, in which the greatest superspy of them all is revealed as the leader of a league of supermen and women who can't quite decide what to do with the rest of us. Lost Legacy, in which it is proved that we are all members of that league—or would be, if we but had eyes to see.

All you need is Overdrive Media Console (for desktop and phone) and a library account. I hope your library has this and many other Pinchot narrations.