from the gyrus...

found on Etsy...

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:51:00 +0000

I ♥ Boston

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:21:00 +0000

I ♥ Boston
Originally uploaded by blackdenimgumby

sweet watercolor...just stumbled upon this...using...stumbleupon...what a coincidence!

space invaders...

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:53:00 +0000

More random pop culture...gotta have it! Thanks @goatlady! (aka Kay Smoljak)

http://goatlady.tumblr.com/post/81063326/get-your-own-space-invader-ice-cubes-gizmodo

god bless bodie and riley and chase and muki...and mr. fisher...

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 04:08:00 +0000

and god bless stumble which brought me to this link on Salon...

A pet blessing day at a Unitarian Church in Manhattan (i think)..

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:58:00 +0000

I don't read Salon very often, but evidently Scott Bateman is a regular contributor there...

...and I'm sorry, even if you're a republican, this has to be funny...

Batemanimation 15: Hardball with Chris Matthews from scottbateman on Vimeo.

another kewl vid...

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 04:10:00 +0000

from facebook this time...

Evidently, this was removed from the YouTube by a WarnerBrothers injunction.

Here's a "big" version of it:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=60773655663&ref=nf

If you can't get to this one for some reason, you can also get it here (along with more info about Corey Vidal, the creator, lyricist, and impresario)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Corey-Vidal/8234135357

If you're not on FB..yer lame. Get an ID...you don't have to check it every day or anything! ;o)

WOW!...this is a great documentary film...for FREE!

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 04:49:00 +0000

Wow...I just can't say that enough. This is a great and award winning documentary shot in the 90's about Joe Bussard, a Maryland collector of old 78 singles. In the days before vinyl...the 20's and 30's.

There is some great music here, and it's worth watching even if you don't get to see it for free!

I just can't help but wonder. Will these be digitized for the world to hear?...I may have to follow up on this guy.

Wow...

ps...sorry it's busting the seams of the ol' blog...check it out on the Pitchfork website...

maybe i should just convert this to a vlog...

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 04:52:00 +0000

yet another great video post forwarded for your viewing pleasure!

Ode To Joy from Beaker on Vimeo.

Snoop and Larry at Roscoe's

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:24:00 +0000

A high school friend has a great blog on her new life in LA.

In her latest entry, she had dinner at Roscoe's and posted this clip from YouTube.

Classic.

yes we can...

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 21:15:00 +0000

Get LIVE at KEXP v. 4 Today!!

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:57:00 +0000

As many of you know, I practically live on KEXP...and I have all of these compilations...except for...

http://www.insound.com/Various_Artists_Live_at_KEXP__Volume_4/productmain/p/INS48984/

now this is how to treat your employees...

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:41:00 +0000

Saw this clip on Google's website a few weeks ago, and decided to look it up...and whaddya know? Now I can share it with you!

Watch CBS Videos Online

annoyed at politicians...

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:49:00 +0000

Why have I suddenly become so opinionated with my political beliefs?

I think that it's probably because of my son. I've been a father for a year now, and every day, I find myself wondering what he will inherit.

Certainly no fortune. I'll be lucky if I don't have to work until the day I die. Probably not snow. We don't get much of that these days. Pollution? Debt? Ridiculous medical bills?

I have to say, I'm at a loss.

So when I tune into the Gubernatorial debates last night, I can't make it two minutes without wanting to strangle both candidates.

DRILL, DRILL, DRILL! That's all I heard. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I had to change the channel I was so mad. I may have let slip a colorful metaphor or two.

I really think that in order to solve all of our political, environmental and economic problems in this state and country, we should really drop everything and drill...everywhere. Of course, there's just oil lying at the bottom of every drinking well, right?

Placing oil derricks off the Outer Banks is a brilliant idea, isn't it?

Take a look at the top 100 oil and natural gas fields in the US. NONE of them are in NC.

This is almost farcical. It's all a distraction. Both political parties and most major news outlets seem hell bent on focusing our attention on the most insubstantial issues of this election (Governor of NC and President of the US).

Punditry aside, I don't understand why we aren't hearing more about sound policy. Why aren't we hearing details of this New "Green" Economy?

Most of my friends know my political leanings, but where is the charge to the people? NOW is the time for all great men (and women) to come to the aid of their country.

This is the space race of our generation. If we fail to capitalize on the technology of a greener world, we will no longer be a super power. We will be the world's biggest consumer. (Until China takes that title as well.)

When will people realize that if we invest in a green infrastructure, the jobs and education and opportunities created by that inertia will more than carry our economy AND free us from foreign oil AND will help us stay on the moral side of foreign conflicts.

I'm tired of the fluff, and you should be too!

We must demand substance. We must demand details. We must demand objectivity.

dowdell's observations on workflow in today's world...

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:15:00 +0000

The gist of this message is that there is no one "right" way to handle your workflow, and essentially, this is true. However, there is one thing that is constant.

All roads lead to client interaction. Any work that is done in a vacuum is bound to fail. (or at least lead to missed deadlines and scope creep)

The key to "practical design" is frequent 2-way communication with your client!

http://blogs.adobe.com/jd/2008/06/todays_workflows.html

NOTE: My practical design website will be out soon!!

brightkite...

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 01:21:00 +0000

I just got on board with BrightKite this week...I only know of a few people on it so far. If you're on, give me a shout so that I can have more than three friends!

And, has anybody noticed the proliferation of the social noise machines lately? It must be the new wave for venture capital or something. I thought the economy was going to pot.

Twitter, BrightKite, Seesmic, etc., etc., etc....

Not to mention the escalation of feeder apps like twhirl which seem to be sprouting out of nowhere.

How do you choose amongst all the competing tech as a consumer, a user?

cruisin for flex/AIR apps to skin...

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 01:16:00 +0000

Time to scalp a new flex app for my cfUnited presentation. I'm a little bored with the samples I've been showing.

Anybody have a suggestion for a relatively small app to skin?

Dreamweaver Beta...

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Thu, 29 May 2008 02:30:00 +0000

Dowdell's post on the Dreamweaver Beta is spot on...there's almost too many good features in this build to mention.

I wish they could've included them in the last release. *sigh*

http://blogs.adobe.com/jd/

Testing the phone blog....

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Tue, 06 May 2008 01:44:00 +0000

Just testin the phone blog...

Behind the curve...

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:52:00 +0000

I was cruising around the web last night, and my little blog suggestion pop-up mentioned Google's App Engine when I went to check my gmail.

Knowing from Chris Calloway and the guys at TriZPUG that Google had snatched up a great number of Python luminaries in the past couple of years, I had my suspicions.

Of late, I've been forced to drop one of my "groups". As James Earl Jones might say, "I'm the east coast distributor of involved." With a 9 month-old, and financial impetus for freelance (as well as the 3-4 other groups I'm involved in....

Let's just say I haven't been a regular attendee...

So, I was thrilled to learn that the underpinnings for Google's App Engine was Python! I was less thrilled to find out that the limited number of developers slots are already taken. I guess I'll check out the SDK in my "spare time" to see what it's all about...but it looks quite promising.

The initial blog I read was a rail on offering services for "free" and how it sets the wrong expectations in the marketplace. I'm not sure I aggree with that, but I am curious as to what Google sees as their long-term interest in this endeavor....opinions anyone?

take a little design trip...

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:27:00 +0000

I was searching for some resources for a talk on Practical Design that I'm refreshing for CFUnited in DC this June. I've given this basic "Design for Developers" talk many times before, so some of the sites are a little stale. Time for some new samples.

One of the topics addressed in the talk is the use of color in websites. Color use is a very common tool in the "real" world when you want to reinforce themes. Analogous or even monochromatic colors (if you have a color wheel) can be used to reinforce similar characteristics between objects.

Many of you know of this as "color coding". You've seen it in grocery stores, doctor's offices, and parking decks. There's a reason it's used so widely. It works!

My example of this, was a website: N-Design Studio

Nick La is an amazing illustrator based out of Toronto. His lush, multi-layered illustrations and designs contain an amazing amount of detail. In a previous iteration of his site (see inset), he uses color as a theme to reinforce his site sections.

This is not really necessary on a small portfolio site, but for large commercial and information sites, it's very useful, but little used.

Nick has since built two subsequent versions of his personal website, and those lovely case studies in color are gone. So, I've been searching high and low for sites that utilize color coding for a fresher example. To no avail...

Have you seen any sites that use color to reinforce content types? Shout out and let me know.

BTW...take a little trip to N-Design. Follow some of the links to his side projects and collaborators. It's a fun little trip you won't forget.

Flex3 Launch a Success

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 04:48:00 +0000

A smashing success even!

The CAUG even garnered three new members.

This is mainly a surprise because we have a preponderance of Adobe graphics users at UNC, but not usually that many Adobe developers (Flash and CF). For most development meetings, only the die hard few make it out.

It just goes to show you the buzz that is being generated by Flex. I currently have no less than four emails from headhunters in my inbox for Flex developer positions in the Triangle. That's pretty impressive.

I predict that this trend will continue with financial institutions because of the much improved reporting tools and third party plugins that provide graphical libraries for 3D graphing and clever dashboard elements (meters, dials, etc.).

I'd be very interested to see if anyone leverages Adobe's Open Source model to work on a dynamic reporting framework for Flex. I know a lot of EDU folks that could benefit from that.

Flex, and confronting the naysayers...

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 02:42:00 +0000

So, it's been awhile. As usual.

I'm gearing up for CFUnited this year with two presos. One will be on Flex. Skinning your Flex apps, to be precise.

One of the greatest issues I've dealt with on campus is raising awareness about Flex. Unless you're an Adobe developer (or a member of and AUG of some sort), then chances are you will never "see" Flex. Because really it's just Flash when the user gets to it.

Like the best technologies, it's happy rockin' the UI from the background. Lurking behind door number three for Flash Players everywhere.

So, once you stick it out there, and mention that you want to program something in Flex, what do you do? How do you confront the inevitable questions that will arise when your audience begins to pick the brains of those PHP, and ASP.NET friends of theirs?

A little old, but still a great article, nonetheless...

http://www.onflex.org/ted/2006/12/top-10-myths-about-adobe-flex-20.php

Ben is coming!...Ben is coming!...

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 19:50:00 +0000

There must have been a total eclipse of the sun, and I just missed it!

Ben Forta (CF guru and chief evangelist for Adobe) is going to be in the Triangle...not to speak about CF, but to introduce the world to Flex 3.0 and AIR (aka Apollo).

This "pre-release" tour for Ben will include the usual suspects...NY, Chicago, Atlanta, etc... but the Triangle is now on the map for Adobe, who had the AIRbus make a stop here this summer...

As with that event, Ben's visit will be sponsored by the area AUGs, including the Carolina Adobe User Group (CAUG), TACFUG, and RDAUG. We'll also be welcoming a new group to the ranks of Triangle AUGs, the newly minted Flex user group, the Triangle User Experience...so this meeting will be especially important for expanding their user base in the area.

It will be Jan. 23rd from 6-9 in Cary at the offices of Railinc in Cary (map):

Railinc
7001 Weston Parkway
Cary, NC 27513

Flex Builder 2 Free to EDU!!

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 21:15:00 +0000

At last!...the lack of pay and over-work pay off!...

Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced that it is offering Adobe
Flex Builder 2 software at no cost to students and faculty at
educational institutions worldwide. The Flex Builder 2 integrated
development environment (IDE) is part of a powerful toolset for
designing and developing rich Internet applications (RIAs), an essential
part of Web 2.0.

Pricing and Availability
Adobe Flex 2 will be available to qualified education end-users for free
download on Adobe.com in early November.

Full article at:
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/071024/20071023006845.html?.v=1.

Web Wall - Secret Photoshop Shortcuts

noreply@blogger.com (j david) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 20:48:00 +0000

great tips for PS...several i didn't even know about...i'm going to go through them all to test for windows compatibility... ;)

Web Wall - Secret Photoshop Shortcuts