Super Ginormous

Year: 2007

  • Ryan Clark Memorial Fund

    Kim mentioned this to me last night, and Stacey’s post reminded me that I wanted to put something about this on the site.

    Ryan Clark, one of the victims of Monday’s shootings, is a native of the Augusta, GA area. The elementary school where Ryan Clark’s mother works is collecting donations to assist her with traveling to Virginia and making arrangements for her son’s body. If you would like to make a contribution, you can send your donation to the following address:

    Ryan Clark Memorial Fund
    c/o Georgia Bank and Trust
    409 Fury’s Ferry Road
    Martinez, GA 30907

  • Things To Do

    I feel disconnected from the design and web community of Augusta. I don’t really have a desire to get involved in the local AdFed, but there isn’t anything else out there in this area. Perhaps this presents a good opportunity to fill a void?

    I’m thinking about contacting Adobe to start an Adobe User Group (AUG) for the Augusta, Georgia/Central Savannah River Area. Honestly, it doesn’t even have to be an AUG. It could be something more along the lines of what they are doing in Alabama. I know of a few local designers that read my blog from time to time… would any of you be interested in getting involved in something like this?

    I’m also going to start the process of getting certified in one or more Adobe applications. Considering I’m mostly self-taught in Photoshop, Illustrator and Dreamweaver, I think going for certification in one or more of those apps would help to solidify my knowledge of the applications…

  • CSS Support in Email

    You can view a newly updated “Guide to CSS Support in Email: 2007 Edition” over at the Campaign Monitor Blog. It’s a fantastic resource for anyone who has to send HTML emails…

  • And here I thought it was my fault…

    I experienced intermittent connectivity issues with AOL Instant Messenger. I thought it was just issues with my internet connection… Seems I was not alone:

    ‘Glitch’ Keeps Some AIM Users Offline

    AOL told BetaNews Wednesday afternoon it is in the process of resolving a “technical glitch” that is affecting a limited number of AIM users. The problem surfaced early in the day, and resulted in some users being knocked off the service repeatedly.

    The company did not say what caused the problem, which seemed to hit users in various regions of the United States. “All affected AIM users will have their service issue resolved by very early morning, though for many AIM users, the problem has already been fixed,” an AOL spokesperson told BetaNews.

  • Photoshop CS2 Script for SlideShowPro

    SlideShowProIf you use Photoshop CS2 and Todd Dominey’s awesome SlideShowPro, you’re going to dig this free script from developer Matt Johnson. It takes all of the hard work out of setting up an XML file for use with SSP.

    Written in the Javascript language for the Adobe Photoshop DOM, this script quickly produces folder structures, optimized images, and outputs the XML source needed for the creation of galleries in SlideShowPro.

    Feature List:

    • Creates folder structure
    • Populates the album title
    • Populates the album description
    • Populates IPTC / Photoshop Captions
    • Custom fit-image resize using Bicubic Sharper
    • Export large and thumbnail size images
    • Saves space using “Save For Web” compression
    • Closes original images without saving changes
    • Ready to use, just publish your swf file to the same directory

    (Hat tip: SlideShowPro)

  • Proud Granny

    On the way into work today, I stopped and got gas at a station I frequent at least once a week. A new clerk was working this morning. When I went to pay, here’s part of the conversation we had:

    Clerk: You work at John Deere?Me: No, ma’am. I got the hat for free when I bought a tractor from them.Clerk: Oh, okay. I have a new grandbaby comin’ soon.Me: Congratulations.Clerk: Ya see, JCPenney’s was havin’ this sale this past weekend. They had this cute little camouflage outfit and I got for my grandbaby. It had the John Deere logo on it.Me: … (I didn’t know how to respond)

    I don’t think I’ll be wearing this hat out in public again.

  • Tragedy

    Words escape me when I think about the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech today. A Columbia County resident was among those killed. It’s hard to even imagine how senseless acts like this occur…

  • Upgrading to CS3

    adobecs3.pngCurrently I’m using Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium. On a limited basis, I’ve been testing out the Photoshop CS3 Beta and figured I should give CS3 a test drive before upgrading the rest of the guys in my department.

    I was given the go-ahead to upgrade to CS3 if I wanted to a couple of weeks ago, but I’ve struggled with what version to get. I was torn between getting the Design Premium and Web Premium versions… Honestly, I’ve been toying with the idea of not upgrading at all considering a few of the reviews I’ve read. This morning I ordered Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium (that’s a mouthful!). The source of contention in deciding which version came down to one thing: InDesign CS3.

    We do a little bit of print design at PowerServe, but most of it can be done in Photoshop and/or Illustrator without the need for InDesign. As a matter of fact, in the time I have had InDesign I have only used it for one project. (Hardly enough justification to get an upgraded version of the app.) With CS3 Web Premium I’ll gain access to Contribute CS3, Flash CS3, Fireworks CS3… which I definitely think fit in more with the kind of work I do now.

    I’m looking forward to using it, and if all works out I’ll be picking up copies of it for my three coworkers in the near future.

  • Feed

    I just finished up “Feed” by M.T. Anderson tonight. Man… what a good book! I picked it up based on the recommendation of a complete stranger, and I was not disappointed at all.

    Imagine a future where everyone’s plugged in… People have microchips implanted in their heads that connects them to the Feed. The Feed constantly delivers news, information, music, and so on based on how you feel, what you want, and more.

    I can’t help but think about how we’re inundated with so much information on a daily basis, and how much of it I choose to voluntarily consume… The book really struck a nerve with me, and really challenged me to unplug myself from the feed. I would definitely check the book out. I highly recommend it.

  • Wireless

    Well, this morning I ended up picking up a DI-624M from CompUSA, brought it home, installed it and didn’t have any problems. Then I tried to setup WEP, which shouldn’t have been a problem. But one thing led to another and the router ended up not working at all. Trying to reset the router to factory defaults didn’t work at all.

    A quick trip back to CompUSA resulted in me getting a cheaper D-Link router: the D-Link WBR-1310. It’s an 802.11g/b router with less range than my previous router, but I don’t bring my laptop outside much anyway. I was able to get my laptop, my wife’s laptop, the Wii, and the 360 all connected to the new router within about 10 minutes. I didn’t bother with WEP this time, but I may enable it at some point if I see that neighbors are leeching connectivity from me.

    What a way to kill a Saturday.