tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242237432024-03-13T16:05:26.130-04:00Cranial SoupPeas, carrots, green beans, and gray matter.Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-72131163353920747092017-08-17T08:17:00.000-04:002017-08-17T08:17:50.448-04:00When an Invention Doesn't Need to Be Invented<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rjr5r0UWq4Q/WZWHc73Lh4I/AAAAAAAAGeo/8FFmLB42d10-JiMI2j7gDaTgzfKQWe2OwCLcBGAs/s1600/soccer-ball-lamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="621" height="265" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rjr5r0UWq4Q/WZWHc73Lh4I/AAAAAAAAGeo/8FFmLB42d10-JiMI2j7gDaTgzfKQWe2OwCLcBGAs/s400/soccer-ball-lamp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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According to this <a href="https://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/using-soccer-to-supplant-kerosene-use/" target="_blank">New York Times article</a> from January 2010, a group of Harvard students decided to tackle a problem in developing nations, replacing dangerous kerosene lamps for indoor lighting with a much safer LED alternative, powered by the energy of children that love kicking soccer balls.<br />
<br />
This eventually lead to the launch of a for-profit company (<a href="http://www.unchartedplay.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Uncharted Play</a>) to produce these soccer balls, and a <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/unchartedplay/soccket-the-energy-harnessing-soccer-ball" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kickstarter campaign</a> to fund it.<br />
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With backing by the likes of Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Ashton Kutcher and other celebrities and philanthropists, these soccer balls were placed in the hands of poor children in Puebla, Mexico, in 2013.<br />
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<h3>
Were these impoverished children's lives changed for the better?</h3>
<br />
No.<br />
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Investigative journalists <a href="https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-04-08/impoverished-kids-love-soccer-ball-powers-lamp-until-it-breaks" target="_blank">traveled to Puebla, Mexico</a> in 2014, to talk to the children that received these soccer balls, to find out how well they were holding up and if the kids still liked and used them, a year after they were distributed. What they found out was that nearly all of these soccer balls no longer worked. Many of them stopped working within a few days to a few months after the children received them, not anywhere near the 3 years that Uncharted Play said they would last.<br />
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The cost of putting one of these stupid soccer balls into the hands of these impoverished children, was about $60 each. <br />
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<h3>
Was there a better way accomplish the same goal?</h3>
<br />
Could these impoverished people been provided with a source of light, that would be more reliable and cost effective than these silly soccer balls?<br /><br />Yes, and it did not require inventing something new to accomplish it.<br /><br />For example, you could buy a <a href="https://www.walmart.com/ip/Whetstone-36-LED-Solar-and-Dynamo-Powered-Camping-Lantern/31427748" target="_blank">36 LED solar and dynamo powered camping lantern</a> at Walmart for $15.57. <br />
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You could probably get them much cheaper if you bought them in bulk, straight from the manufacturer.<br /><br />That's more LEDs and more light than the lamp that came with the novelty soccer ball.<br /><br />And I am pretty sure that if you distributed these to the same kids that received the soccer balls, they would like the camping lanterns better, and after a year of use, there would be more kids still using their camping lanterns, than the soccer balls.<br /><br />Even better, if you had asked the families in Puebla, Mexico if they could have spent that $60 better, they would have told you that it would have cost them less than that to be hooked up to the electrical grid, which would have provided them with much more than just light, for many years to come.<br /><br />
<h3>
Think before you act.</h3>
<br />If you are going to invent something to solve a problem that has the potential to change people's lives for the better, make sure it is the best possible solution to the problem, before you begin collecting funding, manufacturing, or distributing it to those that need the solution. And make sure you involve the people that need the solution, in your research. You really can't understand their needs unless you talk to them about it, first.<br /><br />Because sometimes a better solution already exists and just needs the right people to get together and make it possible to get that solution into the hands of those that need it, rather than someone running off half cocked, to invent a brand new implementation of a useless novelty soccer ball.Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-55607479844881543742012-02-29T06:25:00.001-05:002019-01-20T00:53:54.297-05:00New Art and a New BlogI recently redesigned and moved my old <a href="http://scarytaskbar.com/art/" target="_blank">RussoGraffix</a> art site. From now on I'll be posting all my art releases there, instead of here.<br />
<br />
To celebrate the occasion, I have released 6 new CC-BY licensed works for you to use.<br />
Click the images to visit the pages and get the files.<br />
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<a href="http://scarytaskbar.com/art/2012/02/19/free-website-banner-graphic-night-sky/" target="_blank">Free Website Banner Graphic: Night Sky</a><br />
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<img alt="night sky demo" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-1SoZD2XBNfc/T04LLXxDeTI/AAAAAAAADD4/NhKVEkmr140/night%252520sky%252520demo%25255B7%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="176" style="border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="night sky demo" width="500" /><br />
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<a href="http://scarytaskbar.com/art/2012/02/23/free-psp-vector-cube-of-spheres-cc-by/" target="_blank">Free PSP Vector: Cube of Spheres</a><br />
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<img alt="cube" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Er73xEWrv1M/T04LMfXFD1I/AAAAAAAADEA/6xwK5CFhfow/cube%25255B6%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="397" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="cube" width="400" /><br />
<a href="http://scarytaskbar.com/art/2012/02/23/free-psp-vectors-dice-cc-by/" target="_blank">Free PSP Vectors: Dice</a><br />
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<img alt="dice-sample" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Xg6IMA9fcys/T04LM0j4syI/AAAAAAAADEI/DU6fy0eJVgA/dice-sample%25255B6%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="242" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="dice-sample" width="348" /><br />
<a href="http://scarytaskbar.com/art/2012/02/27/free-psp-vector-balloons-cc-by/" target="_blank">Free PSP Vector: Balloons</a><br />
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<img alt="balloons-sky" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-PQV1376wn4M/T04LNraAYJI/AAAAAAAADEQ/yh8G2Pyj1zo/balloons-sky%25255B7%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="152" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="balloons-sky" width="500" /><br />
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<a href="http://scarytaskbar.com/art/2012/02/27/free-images-gold-coins-cc-by/" target="_blank">Free Images: Gold Coins</a><br />
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<img alt="sample" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-p4wDguNvVDc/T04LOa92mWI/AAAAAAAADEY/p9bPDBtvH24/sample%25255B6%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="189" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="sample" width="276" /><br />
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<a href="http://scarytaskbar.com/art/2012/02/29/free-psp-vector-4-leaf-clovers-cc-by/" target="_blank">Free PSP Vector: 4-Leaf Clovers</a><br />
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<img alt="4-leaf-clover" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Td80WURiI2Y/T04LO8fpjuI/AAAAAAAADEg/sWdyniwLzLY/4-leaf-clover%25255B6%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="347" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="4-leaf-clover" width="355" />Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-45856953994823636272011-09-29T17:56:00.001-04:002019-01-20T00:54:56.322-05:00Free Art Download: Like Us (CC-BY)<img alt="like-us-sample" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-mu4BpKIXP9M/ToTphpVvE2I/AAAAAAAAB_I/FfzuADhzMXc/like-us-sample%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="451" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="like-us-sample" width="399" /> <br />
<div align="center">
<i>(shown actual size)</i></div>
What you get: This image with a transparent background in both PNG and PSP vector formats.<br />
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Font used is <a href="http://fontzone.net/font-details/Cooper+Black/" target="_blank">Cooper Black</a> which you will need to open the PSP vector file.<br />
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Released under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution license</a> suitable for both commercial and non-commercial use. <br />
<br />
This item has been <a href="http://scarytaskbar.com/art/2012/02/10/free-art-download-like-us-cc-by/" target="_blank">moved to my art site</a>.Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-63321460951059835852011-09-25T23:12:00.001-04:002011-09-25T23:12:46.284-04:00What Republicans Do Not Want You To Know About Poverty and Taxes<p><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="skinny piggy" alt="skinny piggy" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Rar7ukm2X1M/Tn_trdokQGI/AAAAAAAAB-4/MgLPiiuiRKw/skinny%252520piggy%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="261" /> </p> <p> </p> <p>The poverty line in 2010 for a family of four was <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/us/14census.html?pagewanted=all" target="_blank">$22,314.</a> </p> <p>The Fair Labor Standards Act, which sets the minimum wage at $7.25 per hour, is one of the most violated of all the federal labor laws.</p> <p>About 15% of all wage earners in the US are earning at or below the minimum wage.</p> <p>The average full time minimum wage worker earned about $15,000. ($7.25 per hour x 40 hours x 52 weeks = $15,080) </p> <p>She paid at least 20% of her income in taxes. </p> <p>Even though it might be true that she had no federal income tax liability, she still had other taxes to pay. </p> <p>Payroll taxes such as</p> <ul> <li>Social Security </li> <li>Medicare </li> <li>Disability </li> <li>Unemployment </li> <li>State income tax </li> <li>sometimes local income tax </li> </ul> <p>She also had additional taxes such as</p> <ul> <li>sales tax </li> <li>excise tax on fuel </li> <li>USF surcharges on <ul> <li>telephone service </li> <li>natural gas </li> <li>electricity </li> </ul> </li> <li>property taxes, even if she rents (it would be hidden in the cost of her rent) </li> </ul> <p>Additionally, she pays for her healthcare out of her pocket because minimum wage jobs do not come with healthcare benefits.  She pays a higher price for a doctor's office visit than the insurance companies do. ($75 self pay vs. $35 paid by insurance) If she ever needs to go to the hospital, it could easily cost her over $4500*, even more if she has to be admitted.</p> <p>She also does not get retirement benefits and is looking at a reduction in her income down to about $600 per month when she is too old to work and begins collecting Social Security, and will be expected to pay a portion of that to receive Medicare benefits. And that is only if there is still a Social Security system by the time she is old enough to collect. </p> <p>A typical minimum wage worker is not a teenager from a middle-class family flipping burgers for some extra pocket cash to buy CDs, movie tickets, lipstick, nail polish, and video games. </p> <p>Most minimum wage workers are women, standing on their feet all day working various jobs within the service industry. They are some of the hardest working people in this country.</p> <p>Many are single mothers with more than one child, and many of those are receiving little or no child support to help offset the costs of raising those children. They also have the additional costs of child care, if they have no family support system capable of providing free care so that they can work.</p> <p> </p> <p>And Republicans think they make too much money and need to have their wages cut, by either reducing or eliminating the minimum wage. They also want to cut or eliminate the social programs that help them to survive. They actually think this will help the poor and lift them out of poverty.</p> <p> </p> <p><em>* I do not have medical insurance. I pay out of my pocket for all of my medical care. Back in 2006 I passed out in my kitchen, which resulted in a head injury requiring 8 staples to close the wound. I was taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital, which resulted in a bill that was just over $3000. This did not include the additional charges for physicians fee, lab work, or the MRI. Those were billed separately and were an additional $1500. My town is one of the small number in this area that provides a free ambulance service to its residents, but if they didn't, the ride would have been an additional $300. </em></p> <p><em>If you don't pay these bills, the hospital may sue you, which could result in garnishment of your wages, which has the potential of knocking a minimum wage worker's pay down to about $150/week until the debt is paid off (with interest, court costs, and lawyers fees). There is also the very real possibility that instead of or in addition to garnishment, the court may seize your bank account (woe to you if you just made a deposit to pay your rent) and/or the local Sherriff may come in, seize and sell off the contents of your home, leaving you with no more than $1000 in personal assets and possessions.</em></p> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px" class="zemanta-pixie"><img style="border-bottom-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; float: right; border-left-style: none" class="zemanta-pixie-img" alt="" src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=983063d3-660d-4d13-a925-ab35b148221d" /></div> Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-67082702326389591902011-04-26T01:48:00.001-04:002020-01-16T04:13:54.778-05:00You'd be amazed at the things you can fix with a toaster oven...<em>This is a guest post by a friend of mine that wishes to remain anonymous. His only desire is that this information is shared with the public and that more people can put it to use.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<hr />
<a href="https://amzn.to/3aeohMa"><img align="left" alt="toaster-oven" src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TbZcrkMOHwI/AAAAAAAABVg/w4CTB3JyiFM/toaster-oven%5B14%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="240" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px;" title="toaster-oven" width="240" /></a> <p>I just baked BlackBerry Cobbler (a BB 9630). It came out perfect.</p>
<p>The phone took a dive into a sink full of water while its owner was doing dishes, and went unnoticed until the sink was drained. It was deader than a door nail when I received it. </p>
<p>I took it apart, rinsed it as clean as I could with tap water, and then with 97% rubbing alcohol. I let that evaporate and then placed the printed circuit boards in the toaster oven, on top of strategically-placed screwdriver bits so-as to space the board off the aluminum foil lining the oven tray. Then I set the oven for 180 F for about 20 minutes. I did not toast the battery in the oven for safety reasons. </p>
<p>Just a tip.</p>
<p>Also I have baked laptop wifi and video cards, desktop pci cards, laptop motherboards, desktop motherboards and xbox consoles with the red ring of death (the larger items in a full size oven). Quite literally, if it's toasted anyhow, what does one have to lose other than 20 minutes? Sometimes items need their solder to be reflown, and this wet-phone-drying/toaster oven reflow soldering method honestly has saved both myself and those around me a ton of cash. Reflowing solder should be done at 230 F or so for about 20 minutes. </p>
<p>Plastic bits on the board? Plugs? Wires? No worries! Heck, part of the BlackBerry cobbler I baked tonight (the 9630, that is) was more than 60% plastic, and I didn't even bother removing the camera before baking it. I kept the temp about 180 F since a solder reflow was not required, but if a reflow might benefit the item I do not hesitate to turn it up to 230 F.</p>
<p>Never leave the oven unattended, not even for a moment, just in case plastic bits start to disfigure - but they shouldn't, as plastic typically melts at a higher temperature point than solder. </p>
<p>Don't bake the outer shell of the phone though - bare boards only. </p>
<p>Never bake a battery unless it is soldered onto the board, in which case go for a higher blast of heat for a shorter period (say, broil for 7 minutes). </p>
<p>Next time your phone hits the sink (one of my older BlackBerry phones took a 20 minute trip into the clothes washing machine) or your laptop video or wifi card dies (these are prone to overheating due to poor cooling, sometimes they can flex some, breaking solder joints in the process, and can benefit from a reflow), etc, pop the circuit board into the oven for a little bit. What's the worst that can happen? I've fixed newer HP laser printers I was literally given because they didn't work, simply by reflowing their main boards. $75 a pop at yard sales is a nice profit for me simply having put my toaster oven to work. </p>
<p>When you're done, do not budge the toaster oven until it has been off for at least 20 minutes. It would suck major donkey scholng to bump a board with molten solder and have an IC with a 500+ solder ball grid array slide just enough to short circuit things even worse than they were, when some patience to let the boards cool down adequately could have had the item fixed. </p>
<p>In this day and age, when things seem so disposable and inexpensive, so much waste gets created and is disposed of. It's a shame if that little toaster goes under-utilized and our broken disposable electronics aren't even considered for repair. </p>
<p>It should be noted I do not cook, thus my toaster oven is solely dedicated to the task of baking printed circuit boards. Tin and lead vapors/molecules in or on my food doesn't appeal much to me. Then again I prefer fast food, so... </p>
<p>Give it a baking in the toaster oven before you toss it, you may be pleasantly surprised at how perfect things come out. And you'll learn how stuff is assembled and disassembled in the process!</p>
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<p><em>And for those of you that would like to use this information but need an inexpensive toaster oven, I found this one for you on Amazon:</em></p>
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=cranialsoup-20&language=en_US&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B07HSNRGH7&asins=B07HSNRGH7&linkId=b07a53f73650862032309d0c405b8bec&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
</div>
Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-1514989780201919752011-04-01T09:58:00.001-04:002011-04-01T09:58:36.741-04:00The Two Best April Fool's Pranks<p>One I did to someone else, the other was done to me... </p> <p><img style="margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; display: inline" title="1592692-org" alt="1592692-org" align="left" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TZXaCiFSDAI/AAAAAAAABSA/KLzSzJKS19s/1592692-org%5B6%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="100" height="133" /> One year, many years ago, the start of Daylight Savings Time began on April 1st. Before going to bed, my husband and I went through the house changing all the clocks. I waited for him to fall asleep and I pushed them all ahead an extra hour. He woke up that Sunday morning and rushed off to work, without ever realizing what I had done till he arrived at work and went to change the big clock on the wall. </p> <p>Now what made this one of the best pranks ever is how for 3 days of every year, whenever Daylight Savings Time begins or ends, and on April 1, my husband goes into a time panic, thinking I am going to prank him like that again. He becomes such a wreck and I just laugh. I never have to prank him again. That one time was good enough to affect him for the rest of his life. </p> <p><img style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; display: inline" title="12967-org" alt="12967-org" align="right" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TZXaDEIbjCI/AAAAAAAABSE/fzwOXCufvow/12967-org%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="240" height="160" /> Now the one that got me wasn't really a prank at all. When I was back in high school, I received a phone call very early in the morning on April 1, from someone that was trying to tell me that school was canceled because of snow. Even though I was half asleep, I was quite aware of the date, and wished her a Happy April Fool's Day before I hung up. I ended up getting ready for school and going downstairs to leave, opening the front door to a vision of about 2 feet of snow. Yeah, the joke was on me, that phone call was for real.</p> Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-17894158623527520292011-01-05T07:57:00.001-05:002019-01-20T00:56:32.470-05:00Free Art Download: Bat (CC-BY)<img alt="bat-example" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TSRqyEfjTDI/AAAAAAAABIk/IZF862CquSk/bat-example%5B5%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="293" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="bat-example" width="500" /> <br />
What you get:<br />
<ul>
<li>This image in PNG format. </li>
<li>An additional image without the background (transparent) in both PSP vector and PNG formats. </li>
</ul>
Released under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution license</a> suitable for both commercial and non-commercial use. <br />
<br />
This item has been moved to <a href="http://scarytaskbar.com/art/2012/02/10/free-art-download-bat-cc-by/" target="_blank">my art site</a>.Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-14661833358560198882011-01-05T03:11:00.001-05:002019-01-20T01:03:55.335-05:00Chop These Up and Have Some Fun (CC-BY)Here are a bunch of desktop wallpapers that I made way back when I thought 800x600 was the standard. Since desktop resolutions are much higher today, they really aren't suitable for that purpose any more.<br />
I have decided to re-release them under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution license</a>, and let everyone have some fun chopping them up and turning them into new art. Just give credit by linking back here, anywhere that you display them or works created with them.<br />
<br />
Update: these have been moved to <a href="http://scarytaskbar.com/art/category/backgrounds/" target="_blank">my art site.</a> Go there for the full sized images.<br />
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<div align="center">
<img alt="a-brick_wall" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TSQnpEz7W5I/AAAAAAAABHU/nWD_whDNXWk/a-brick_wall_thumb%5B6%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="180" style="display: inline;" title="a-brick_wall" width="240" /> <img alt="a-bubbleangels" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TSQnpnJkQaI/AAAAAAAABHc/s_Os9Vrl0Lw/a-bubbleangels_thumb%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="180" style="display: inline;" title="a-bubbleangels" width="240" /> </div>
<div align="center">
<img alt="a-colored_glass" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TSQnqpcZq0I/AAAAAAAABHk/3J9rMchsn0E/a-colored_glass_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="180" style="display: inline;" title="a-colored_glass" width="240" /> <img alt="a-eclipse" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TSQnrFE8iUI/AAAAAAAABHs/VZHpKjrZ5wc/a-eclipse_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="180" style="display: inline;" title="a-eclipse" width="240" /> </div>
<div align="center">
<img alt="a-first_mountain" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TSQnr-Hzb8I/AAAAAAAABH0/TnNGr9I91zI/a-first_mountain_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="180" style="display: inline;" title="a-first_mountain" width="240" /> <img alt="a-red" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TSQnsj3N_yI/AAAAAAAABH8/YJ9GoIQrnck/a-red_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="180" style="display: inline;" title="a-red" width="240" /> </div>
<div align="center">
<img alt="a-second_mountain" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TSQntAG0u_I/AAAAAAAABIE/8wd1GIrS9QU/a-second_mountain_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="180" style="display: inline;" title="a-second_mountain" width="240" /> <img alt="a-solunar_eclipse" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TSQntzuskKI/AAAAAAAABIM/705CzfWT1IM/a-solunar_eclipse_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="180" style="display: inline;" title="a-solunar_eclipse" width="240" /> </div>
<div align="center">
<img alt="a-space_thing" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TSQnuVDSZZI/AAAAAAAABIU/ZRPsAsUWUb0/a-space_thing_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="171" style="display: inline;" title="a-space_thing" width="240" /> <img alt="a-winter_oak4" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TSQnvUzu8HI/AAAAAAAABIc/mPbraN9r5gU/a-winter_oak4_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="180" style="display: inline;" title="a-winter_oak4" width="240" /> </div>
<div align="center">
<img alt="cc88x31" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TSQnvk3evZI/AAAAAAAABIg/O3QCLMBYWXY/cc88x31%5B3%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="31" style="display: inline;" title="cc88x31" width="88" /></div>
Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-87207244999226656652010-12-24T13:27:00.001-05:002010-12-24T13:27:00.285-05:00A full year’s worth of blog post ideas<p>I got this <a href="http://www.whiteleyenterprises.net/shopping-at-the-mall-inspires-the-best-blogging-i-have-ever-had" target="_blank">brilliant idea</a> from Chris Whitely a few years ago. You can literally buy 365 fantastic niche-specific blog post ideas, in a single pack. All you have to do is tear off the top page and write about whatever it says, each & every day. Don’t copy them word for word, just use them as your springboard to get you started.</p> <p>And if you know a blogger that is struggling with ideas for what to write about, it would make the perfect holiday gift. Just be sure to point out that it’s a blog-post-idea-a-day pack, because it might not be that obvious to them to use it for that purpose.</p> <p>To make it easier for you, I dug up these from amazon.com. If you have a blog related to any of these topics or want to start one, these will be perfect for you.</p> <p> </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl3NJHd8I/AAAAAAAABF4/MzbvS6gezu8/s1600-h/61RQw%2BrBBsL._SL160_%5B2%5D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="61RQw rBBsL._SL160_" alt="61RQw rBBsL._SL160_" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl3lgzaQI/AAAAAAAABF8/R5rU9jwUSeY/61RQw%2BrBBsL._SL160_%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" height="160" /></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004819MVK?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004819MVK" target="_blank"><img style="display: inline" title="61etVgXFYML._SL160_" alt="61etVgXFYML._SL160_" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl33qBO2I/AAAAAAAABGA/vRjk18pM2ts/61etVgXFYML._SL160_%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" height="143" /></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WRPYM2?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003WRPYM2" target="_blank"><img style="display: inline" title="61RnuX137vL._SL160_" alt="61RnuX137vL._SL160_" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl4G-HfLI/AAAAAAAABGE/ZtS6tp-ym2U/61RnuX137vL._SL160_%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" height="160" /></a> </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VI31K4?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003VI31K4" target="_blank"><img style="display: inline" title="51sC67dlIyL._SL160_" alt="51sC67dlIyL._SL160_" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl41CQocI/AAAAAAAABGI/eNLgllLGrxA/51sC67dlIyL._SL160_%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" height="160" /></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WRMB3M?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003WRMB3M" target="_blank"><img style="display: inline" title="51MtwdHcgaL._SL160_" alt="51MtwdHcgaL._SL160_" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl5a8Hn-I/AAAAAAAABGM/ZgxXHdkiP6w/51MtwdHcgaL._SL160_%5B6%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="157" height="160" /></a> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl5qCKsmI/AAAAAAAABGQ/QZA7dXMK65Y/s1600-h/51GnGh2Wh4L._SL160_%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="51GnGh2Wh4L._SL160_" alt="51GnGh2Wh4L._SL160_" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl58YRLBI/AAAAAAAABGU/FJTCx41o934/51GnGh2Wh4L._SL160__thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="147" height="160" /></a> </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0043X6SWO?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0043X6SWO" target="_blank"><img style="display: inline" title="517yB80S2nL._SL160_" alt="517yB80S2nL._SL160_" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl6IjOFPI/AAAAAAAABGY/O7Yk-hmC36A/517yB80S2nL._SL160_%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" height="135" /></a> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl6lUE9mI/AAAAAAAABGc/8T347CCOdXo/s1600-h/51ikRDND8AL._SL160_%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="51ikRDND8AL._SL160_" alt="51ikRDND8AL._SL160_" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl6_bNCHI/AAAAAAAABGg/7IPhvbuHwTk/51ikRDND8AL._SL160__thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" height="160" /></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003V1JD30?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003V1JD30" target="_blank"><img style="display: inline" title="517 rVA6hkL._SL160_" alt="517 rVA6hkL._SL160_" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl7JOWE_I/AAAAAAAABGk/Xw7n7GDUC0A/517%2BrVA6hkL._SL160_%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" height="155" /></a> </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761157816?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0761157816" target="_blank"><img style="display: inline" title="51tSamEgtDL._SL160_" alt="51tSamEgtDL._SL160_" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl7Tg-DDI/AAAAAAAABGo/qJR0vOcwDhY/51tSamEgtDL._SL160_%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" height="160" /></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761157700?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0761157700" target="_blank"><img style="display: inline" title="61p5SsQzpmL._SL160_" alt="61p5SsQzpmL._SL160_" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl7iBQeqI/AAAAAAAABGs/uo39OcqVeGY/61p5SsQzpmL._SL160_%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" height="160" /></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761157360?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0761157360" target="_blank"><img style="display: inline" title="51xfeh 01iL._SL160_" alt="51xfeh 01iL._SL160_" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl71_r3-I/AAAAAAAABGw/275GTrotm14/51xfeh%2B01iL._SL160_%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" height="160" /></a> </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761158057?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0761158057" target="_blank"><img style="display: inline" title="51HYRYjz6gL._SL160_" alt="51HYRYjz6gL._SL160_" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl8AFloxI/AAAAAAAABG0/V7xc3-rFJVY/51HYRYjz6gL._SL160_%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="134" height="160" /></a> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl8lhSHxI/AAAAAAAABG4/sfnlYUKrQBU/s1600-h/51hEYGjCQlL._SL160_%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="51hEYGjCQlL._SL160_" alt="51hEYGjCQlL._SL160_" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TRTl87cFRkI/AAAAAAAABG8/n467khQKt9s/51hEYGjCQlL._SL160__thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="160" height="160" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> Yes, they are affiliate links and Amazon will throw me a few cents if you buy through my links, but it won't cost you any more than if you had just gone to the site and found the calendars on your own. And if none of these calendars interest you or you don't like the prices, you are free to look elsewhere. <div class="zemanta-related"> <h6 style="font-size: 1em" class="zemanta-related-title">Related articles</h6> <ul class="zemanta-article-ul"> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://blog.valuebookshop.com/2010/2011-blogging-calendar/">2011 Blogging Calendar</a> (valuebookshop.com) </li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.blogworld.com/2010/12/14/12-writers-writing/">12 Days of Blogging 2010: 12 Writers Writing</a> (blogworld.com)</li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.webmanmarketing.com/blogging-on-the-brain/">Blogging On The Brain</a> (webmanmarketing.com)</li> </ul> </div> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px" class="zemanta-pixie"><img style="border-bottom-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; float: right; border-left-style: none" class="zemanta-pixie-img" alt="" src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=a7b1aee6-3be4-4603-a1a6-a9d21deaa774" /></div> Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-23356868659457177552010-09-07T12:56:00.001-04:002010-09-07T12:56:28.530-04:00The Single Most Important Book I Was Ever Exposed To<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316789720?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0316789720" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; display: inline" title="Ed Emberley's Make a World" alt="Ed Emberley's Make a World" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TIZuu9V_RrI/AAAAAAAABFA/Iq9s3pOdf0I/61Sb5CXRA5L._SL160_%5B10%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="124" height="160" /></a><img style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; margin: 0px; border-top-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=freeprogeboo-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0316789720" width="1" height="1" /> When I was a kid, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316789720?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0316789720" target="_blank">Ed Emberley's Make a World</a> was a library book that my younger sister and I monopolized. One of us would check it out, and keep it for as long as possible, renewing it for the maximum number of times allowed. Then the other would grab it before the librarian could put it back on the shelf, and repeat the process. </p> <p>We did this for years. I am really surprised my parents never bought us a copy, but to their credit, they remembered this and bought my daughter a copy when she was about 5 years old. </p> <p>Ed Emberley teaches that if you can draw a few basic shapes (circle, square, triangle, lines, dots, and a few numbers and letters), you can draw anything that you can imagine. From building a heart shape from two circles and a triangle to more complicated things like castles, dragons, and even the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_flag" target="_blank">Canadian flag</a>, Ed shows how easy it really is.</p> <p>But it's not "just a drawing book"...it's a whole lot more. It's a child's first technical how-to manual. It sets them on the right path for acquiring the skills needed to self-educate. </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/93243688@N00/3024269066"><img style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; display: block; border-top: medium none; border-right: medium none" alt="Ed Emberley's Drawing Book: Make A World" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3040/3024269066_985b627666_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" /></a></p> <p style="font-size: 0.8em" class="zemanta-img-attribution" align="center">Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/93243688@N00/3024269066">Austin Kleon</a> via Flickr</p> <p></p> <p>It's really good for teaching kids how to follow step-by-step instructions, especially ones that contain no text...a skill that will come in handy later in life if they have to build IKEA furniture. </p> <p>It also teaches a valuable life skill by changing how you look at the world. It teaches that anything in life that seems too complicated and hard to do, is made much easier when you analyze it and break it down into much simpler parts. The earlier in life a child learns this, the more doors will be open to them, and the list of possibilities greatly increased. </p> <p>It's not enough to tell a child that they can accomplish anything in life that they set their mind to. They need to be taught how, and this book is a great place to start.</p> <p> </p> <p><em>Purchasing this book through my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316789720?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0316789720" target="_blank">Amazon affiliate link</a> will not increase your price and is a great way to show your appreciation to me for introducing you to this book.</em></p> <div class="zemanta-related"> <h6 style="font-size: 1em" class="zemanta-related-title">Related articles by Zemanta</h6> <ul class="zemanta-article-ul"> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.coolhunting.com/culture/ed-emberley-fri.php">Ed Emberley and Friends</a> (coolhunting.com) </li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2010/07/23/draw-a-sasquatch-the.html">Draw a Sasquatch the Ed Emberly Way</a> (boingboing.net) </li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://laist.com/2010/08/04/last_week_to_see_ed_emberley_friend.php">The Creatures, Devils and Weirdos of Ed Emberley & Friends at Scion Space</a> (laist.com) </li> </ul> </div> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px" class="zemanta-pixie"><img style="border-bottom-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; float: right; border-left-style: none" class="zemanta-pixie-img" alt="" src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=28a5b637-0c11-4b28-b64d-fd0d7d8c4e70" /></div> Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-26717937140866068212010-07-28T18:14:00.002-04:002010-08-26T08:27:34.900-04:00CaSe Matters<p><img style="margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; display: inline" title="abc" alt="abc" align="left" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TFCr20HoErI/AAAAAAAABEk/GzsEXyn3xuk/abc%5B9%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="125" height="125" /> Budding young web designers and developers usually learn this pretty quick, when creating a page on Windows and not using the same case as the files and folders they are linking to. They often will use lowercase in all the URLs, regardless of the case of the actual file and folder names. And this will work fine when viewed on their Windows machine. But as soon as they upload it to a server that is running something else, like Linux, it stops working. Their page is full of broken images and dead links, because they used something like <b>mypicture.jpg</b> in place of the actual file name of <b>MyPicture.jpg</b> and <b>about.html</b> in place of the actual file name of <b>About.html</b>.</p><p>Or they upload an <strong>Index.html</strong> and wonder why when they visit their site they still see the default <strong>index.html</strong> page provided by their web host and why when they check on the server there are now two index files and not one.</p><p>For the domain name part of the URL it doesn't matter. That part is not case sensitive.</p><h4 align="center"><b>example.com</b> is the same as <b>Example.com</b> is the same as <b>EXAMPLE.com</b></h4><p>For the rest of the URL it could matter, depending on what operating system is being run on the server that is hosting the site.</p><p> </p><p><img style="margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; display: inline" title="windows-logo_c" alt="windows-logo_c" align="left" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TFCr3Sdw73I/AAAAAAAABEo/uxqLfjQ5f1c/windows-logo_c%5B9%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="32" height="31" /> If the server is running <b>Windows</b>, case doesn't matter. The reason for this is because you can only have a single file or folder of a particular name in a folder, regardless of the case used in that file or folder name.</p><h4 align="center"><b>index.html</b> is the same as <b>Index.html</b> is the same as <b>INDEX.html</b></h4><p>All three will lead to the same page.</p><p>In Windows, adding a file or folder of the same name with a different case to a folder, <i>overwrites</i> the original. Only one can exist.</p><p> </p><p><img style="margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; display: inline" title="linux-penguin-full1_2" alt="linux-penguin-full1_2" align="left" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TFCr3zffy0I/AAAAAAAABEs/pwi8knY5Zq0/linux-penguin-full1_2%5B11%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="30" height="30" />If the server is running <b>Linux</b>, case matters, as you can have multiple files and folders of the same name within a folder, each having a different case.</p><h4 align="center"><b>index.html</b> is not the same as <b>Index.html</b> and not the same as <b>INDEX.html</b></h4><p>In Linux adding a file or folder of the same name with a different case to a folder, <i>does not</i> overwrite the original. Linux will allow all three to exist in a folder, and each are considered different. If you change the case of a file or folder in the URL path and the server is running Linux, and that variation does not actually exist on the server, it will result in a <a title="Wikipedia: HTTP 404" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_404" target="_blank">404</a>.</p><p>And if you upload a file of the same name but a different case, it will not overwrite the original. You will have both on the server, and lowercase is the default index file. This is the reason why the place holder <strong>index.html</strong> supplied by your web host is still seen, even though you have uploaded your <strong>Index.html</strong> file, and why you see two index files when you view it in your FTP client.</p><p> </p><p>It is always best to assume the server runs Linux when creating links to pages on the web and when typing URLs into the addressbar of your browser. It is the only way to ensure that if case matters, that you are using the correct URL.</p><p>It is also best to use all lowercase in the folder and file names of your website when creating the files and folders, regardless of what operating system you are using locally. Always assume the site will be run on a server that is case sensitive. That way there is a set standard of practice you follow that leaves less room for error. </p><p>Step 1, before you begin coding, should always be to fix all your file and folder names so you won't have to worry about it later.</p><!--22f8a5fa64cd4b4aae91aa92d7fc4e2a-->Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-22940904267156885542010-07-20T01:03:00.002-04:002019-01-20T01:05:43.911-05:00Free Art Download: Blame Game (CC-BY)<div align="left">
<img alt="sample" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TEUuPm5uoDI/AAAAAAAABEc/pG6T1LWz_6A/sample%5B6%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="250" style="display: block; float: none; margin: 25px auto 0px;" title="sample" width="500" /></div>
What you get: This image, about twice the size, without the watermark text, on a transparent background, in both PNG and PSP vector formats.<br />
<br />
Released under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution license</a>, suitable for personal, non-commercial, and commercial use.<br />
<br />
This item has been <a href="http://scarytaskbar.com/art/2012/02/10/free-art-download-blame-game-cc-by/" target="_blank">moved to my art site</a>. <br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-49941583884471095822010-07-11T10:49:00.001-04:002012-03-05T16:24:07.479-05:00Free Image: Instant Photo (CC-BY)<img alt="instant-photo-sample" border="0" height="436" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TDnZ8Zh9v5I/AAAAAAAABEY/awNASogi_GU/instant-photo-sample%5B6%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="instant-photo-sample" width="431" /> <br />
What you get:<br />
<br />
This image (drop shadow is included), about twice the size, without the text, on a transparent background, in both PNG and layered PSP formats.<br />
<br />
On the layered PSP, you can easily insert the image of your choice over the black area.<br />
<br />
Released under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution license</a>, suitable for personal, non-commercial, and commercial use.<br />
<br />
This item has been <a href="http://russograffix.blogspot.com/2012/02/free-image-instant-photo-cc-by.html" target="_blank">moved to my art site</a>. <br />
<br />Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-49980778673936813862010-05-24T07:36:00.001-04:002010-05-24T08:13:15.217-04:00Thank you, Henry Ford, for another fine product.<p><a href="http://www.kingsford.com/about/index.htm" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0px 15px 0px 0px; display: inline" title="Charcoal_bag" alt="Charcoal_bag" align="left" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S_pkxH9AbAI/AAAAAAAABCQ/qOyTHz7EjPc/Charcoal_bag%5B10%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="141" height="176" /></a>Henry Ford didn't waste anything. Wood and sawdust byproducts from automobile fabrication were used to make charcoal. </p> <p>While he didn't invent the charcoal briquette (<a href="http://www.hpba.org/consumers/barbecue/fun-facts-about-barbecue" target="_blank">Ellsworth B. A. Zwoyer</a> did, in 1897), he did found the Ford Charcoal company, which later became the <a href="http://www.kingsford.com/about/index.htm" target="_blank">Kingsford Company</a>. </p> <p>When E.G. Kingsford, a relative of Ford's, brokered the site selection for Ford's new charcoal manufacturing plant, Ford Charcoal was renamed to Kingsford, in his honor. </p> <p>Creative thinking and frugality turned a waste disposal problem into a money making opportunity, leading to the founding of a company that today manufactures about 80% of the charcoal briquettes sold in the US, and recycling about 1 million tons of wood scraps, each year.</p> <p>Thanks to Henry Ford being such a frugal guy, and a smart one at that, Americans have come to enjoy the ritual tradition of going outside on a beautiful summer day and cooking our food there, with a smoky barbeque, rather than in our kitchens and heating up the whole house. </p> <div class="zemanta-related"> <h6 style="font-size: 1em" class="zemanta-related-title">Related articles by Zemanta</h6> <ul class="zemanta-article-ul"> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://notecook.com/main-course/chicken/simplest-way-to-barbeque-chicken-wing/">Simplest Way to Barbeque Chicken Wing</a> (notecook.com) </li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://notecook.com/main-course/meat/barbecue-recipes-the-best-which-you-can-ever-think-of/">Barbecue Recipes: The Best Which You Can Ever Think of!</a> (notecook.com)</li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703880304575236511225717650.html">The Grill Looks East</a> (online.wsj.com)</li> </ul> </div> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px" class="zemanta-pixie"><img style="border-bottom-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; float: right; border-left-style: none" class="zemanta-pixie-img" alt="" src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=bf0e319d-a5a3-4e60-939d-9abec968b070" /></div> Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-2909287954194704402010-04-18T00:48:00.001-04:002010-05-08T15:43:17.087-04:00Bit.ly is Harmful to Your Reputation<p>It all started with a simple innocent tweet. As <a href="http://twitter.com/vwadhwa" target="_blank">Vivek Wadhwa</a> was finishing up his excellent post on <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/17/should-tech-startups-outsource-product-development/" target="_blank">outsourcing</a> he tweeted about it and I replied with a tweet of my own: </p> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/app103/status/12254993302" target="_blank"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="my original tweet" alt="my original tweet" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S8qPH07cFOI/AAAAAAAABAo/GYCL7M2RpYU/Screenshot%20-%204_17_2010%20%2C%201_16_32%20AM%5B7%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="439" height="228" /></a> </p> <p>Note the URL I tweeted to him was shortened using the <a href="http://xrl.in" target="_blank">xrl.in</a> service. </p> <p>Now, Vivek is a <a href="http://www.tweetdeck.com/" target="_blank">TweetDeck</a> user, and TweetDeck uses <a href="http://bit.ly/bgtDBv" target="_blank">bit.ly</a> to shorten links, even links that don't need shortening, like mine. So what do you think happened when he retweeted me and responded? </p> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/vwadhwa/status/12255054933" target="_blank"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="Vivek's retweet" alt="Vivek's retweet" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S8qPIk8Y0cI/AAAAAAAABAs/yKyNJA7k5sY/Screenshot%20-%204_17_2010%20%2C%201_11_22%20AM%5B6%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="439" height="230" /></a> </p> <p>That's right, my already shortened link was reshortened with bit.ly. </p> <p>Now what do you think you see when you click that link? The site I was trying to link to? </p> <p>No, you see a warning page that implies that my original link leads to a malware, phishing, spam, or forgery site. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S8qPJfJ-FKI/AAAAAAAABAw/Y_Vdvz9bF3U/s1600-h/bitly-warning%5B5%5D.png"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="bitly-warning" alt="bitly-warning" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S8qPKJAP2BI/AAAAAAAABA0/AlMtOaz0Z9c/bitly-warning_thumb%5B3%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="439" height="236" /></a> </p> <p>So my link to a reputable site is being called a bad site by bit.ly because I used a competing URL shortening service in my original tweet. </p> <p>Note that there is an email link to report mistakes on bit.ly's warning page. What do you think happens when you click it and report a mistake? Do they check the link and remove the flag if the site is ok? </p> <p>No, they don't. They told me to make a new bit.ly link and give it out to people, as if that would undo the damage that was done, change the links in other people's tweets, and prevent others from retweeting the bad reputation damaging bit.ly link that I never made in the first place. </p> <p>Then they apologized and told me some day their service will be better, still not removing the reputation damaging flag from the link.</p> <p><a href="http://appsapps.info/blog/bitly-email.png" target="_blank"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="bitly-email" alt="bitly-email" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S8vV4t1-j5I/AAAAAAAABBI/khq1baVSHow/bitly-email.png?imgmax=800" width="439" height="732" /></a> </p> <p>Can something like this affect you and your website? You bet it can. </p> <p>If you or anyone else ever tweets a link to your site using a competing URL shortening service, and that link gets retweeted with any twitter client that shortens all URLs with bit.ly (whether they need it or not) the resulting link to your site will be flagged as a bad site. </p> <p>What happens when the average person clicks that link and sees that warning page? Well, the average person believes it and won't visit your site. And if your name is on the original tweet, it will also be on the retweet, giving you the reputation of passing out links to bad sites. </p> <p>Will a smart web savvy user believe the bit.ly warning page? Maybe, maybe not. But the average person probably will. As a developer I have seen the average person believe a lot of things that were not true, placing their complete trust in things like that bit.ly page and other false positives, and believing the worst, even spreading the word about it as if it were the truth, telling others that a website or application was harmful. They think that companies don't do things like this without ironclad proof, so they believe every word of it.</p> <p>What alarms me the most is the attitude of bit.ly with regards to this problem and how they refuse to remove the flag from innocent links. They don't care if your reputation is damaged. </p> <p>And it is in the best interest of bit.ly not to fix the problem, since it makes more people use their service, worried that if they use another service and get retweeted, they could end up with a reputation damaging link to their site. So this whole problem serves to make more people use bit.ly, out of fear, rather than convenience or because they have a better service. </p> <p>I am not a bit.ly user because it is not convenient for me. I have a browser plugin that uses xrl.in, that with a single click of a button, copies the shortened link to whatever page I am on to my clipboard, ready to paste anywhere I want. </p> <p>Other links in the stuff I tweet use ff.im, because they are cross-posts from <a href="http://friendfeed.com/" target="_blank">friendfeed</a>. I was pretty sure if I post something on friendfeed, cross-posted to twitter and it gets retweeted, reshortened with bit.ly, it will result in one of those warning pages, too. </p> <p>But I was wrong, it doesn't. In fact, there are a few other shorteners that don't get warning pages either, probably because they are so popular that they would get noticed pretty quick if bit.ly decided to pick on them. </p> <p>Bit.ly does white list the following shorteners: </p> <ul> <li>ff.im </li> <li>youtu.be </li> <li>goo.gl </li> </ul> <p>There is no reason why bit.ly can't white list the rest of the popular shorteners if they can white list those. But those others are competing services and they don't feel like being nice guys about it. They would rather ruin the reputations of innocent people like you and me. </p> <p>So what can you do to ensure you won't become a victim of bit.ly's "bad site" interstitial page? </p> <p>There are only 2 things you can do: </p> <p>1. Always use bit.ly to shorten your links and make sure everyone else in the world does too. (highly impractical, because you can't control what other people do.) </p> <p>2. Let bit.ly know this is unacceptable. Tell them to play fair and white list the other shorteners. The choice of url shortener you use should be yours and not theirs, and you should not be punished with a reputation damaging warning page because you use a competing service. (easy to do) </p> <ul> <li>Send them an email: <a href="mailto:support@bit.ly" target="_blank">support@bit.ly</a> </li> <li>Tweet them: <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Hey%20@bitly%20play%20fair!%20Kill%20the%20interstitial%20page%20and%20just%20don't%20allow%20reshortening!%20Stop%20damaging%20our%20reputations!%20http://xrl.in/53zh" target="_blank">@bitly</a> </li> <li>Spread the word by tweeting this post </li> <li>Share this post on social networking sites </li> <li>Blog about it </li> <li>Tell your friends </li> </ul> <p>Don't stop making noise about this till bit.ly stops damaging the reputations of innocent people. </p> <p> </p> <hr /> <p><u><strong>UPDATE May 8, 2010:</strong></u> Bit.ly has changed their interstitial page, slightly. Instead of the top banner saying "WARNING - visiting this website may harm your computer" it now says "Stop - there might be a problem with the requested link"</p> <p>But it goes on to say</p> <blockquote> <ul> <li>Some URL-shorteners re-use their links, so bit.ly can't guarantee the validity of this link. </li> <li>Some URL-shorteners allow their links to be edited, so bit.ly can't tell where this link will lead you. </li> <li>Spam and malware is very often propagated by exploiting these loopholes, neither of which bit.ly allows for. </li> </ul> <p> <br />The link you requested may contain inappropriate content, or even spam or malicious code that could be downloaded to your computer without your consent, or may be a forgery or imitation of another website, designed to trick users into sharing personal or financial information.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S-W-cd4hOuI/AAAAAAAABB4/5Y8l3TExLKk/s1600-h/bitly-warning2%5B12%5D.png" target="_blank"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="bitly-warning-new" alt="bitly-warning-new" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S-W-c5ICU1I/AAAAAAAABB8/IKan4J7g_Vo/bitly-warning2_thumb%5B10%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="439" height="291" /></a> </p> <p>I still consider this unacceptable. If bit.ly can detect a shortened link at the time someone clicks, they can detect it at the time someone submits it for shortening, and just not allow it. That page is completely unnecessary and can still be damaging to someone's reputation.</p> <p> </p> <p>Come on, bit.ly, just do the right thing! How hard is it to just not reshorten?</p> Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-77666643490911928092010-03-27T05:59:00.001-04:002014-06-09T05:06:45.963-04:00Tons of Free Stock Photo Sites – Commercial Use OK – No Attribution RequiredWhen you are a blogger, web designer, developer, or creating a product for resale, you might need photos for your posts, templates, and other designs, but you can't just use any photo you find on the internet. That would most likely violate someone's copyright and get you into a heap of legal trouble. <br /> <br />So what are you supposed to do if you don't have a camera or any photography talent? <br /> <br />Stock photos? Sounds good, but most stock photos cost money. <br /> <br />Creative Commons licensed photos from Flickr? That could be good too, but that requires a link back and there may be restrictions against commercial use. Can you imagine having to put a long Flickr URL on every t-shirt and mousepad you make? How would you go about giving proper credit on a small 125x125 ad? And if you are making web templates it might not be the best idea to trust people that use your templates to keep the attribution links intact. <br /> <br />So where can you get a whole bunch of great photos to use, that don't require an attribution link, won't cost you a dime, and allow for commercial use, too? <br /> <br />Fortunately for you, I have done some research into this and found quite a few sources. <br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="width: 601px;"><tbody>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><a href="http://us.fotolia.com/FreeContents" target="_blank"><img alt="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_16_30 AM" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S63W9SDei_I/AAAAAAAAA-4/GTbsgmUQ2kQ/Screenshot%20-%203_27_2010%20%2C%205_16_30%20AM%5B5%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="121" style="display: inline;" title="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_16_30 AM" width="240" /> </a></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><a href="http://us.fotolia.com/FreeContents" target="_blank">Fotolia</a> has a section on their site where they give away free stock photos. The selection is limited, but they change the photos offered on a regular basis. Good for web use. Files must not be displayed in a size bigger than 640x480 pixels. Can not be used in items meant for resale (no printed t-shirts, web templates, etc). Free membership is required. <br />
<br /></td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><a href="http://www.freestockphotos.biz/"><img alt="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_18_37 AM" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S63W9-61_lI/AAAAAAAAA-8/QTV40fP-Zsw/Screenshot%20-%203_27_2010%20%2C%205_18_37%20AM%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="140" style="display: inline;" title="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_18_37 AM" width="240" /> </a></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><a href="http://www.freestockphotos.biz/">freestockphotos.biz</a> has tons of photos with varying licenses, many of which allow for commercial use, including items meant for resale. Check the license terms included on the page with each photo.</td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><a href="http://www.burningwell.org/" title="http://www.burningwell.org/"><img alt="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_20_34 AM" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S63W-eESBOI/AAAAAAAAA_A/WlIFIBCI0vc/Screenshot%20-%203_27_2010%20%2C%205_20_34%20AM%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="124" style="display: inline;" title="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_20_34 AM" width="240" /> </a></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><a href="http://www.burningwell.org/" title="http://www.burningwell.org/">BurningWell.org</a> has nothing but public domain photos. You can do anything you please with them, including items for resale.</td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><a href="http://www.creatingonline.com/stock_photos/" target="_blank"></a><br /></td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><a href="http://www.crestock.com/free-image.aspx" target="_blank"><img alt="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_23_11 AM" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S63W_XLFJdI/AAAAAAAAA_I/ATvCq-2IAig/Screenshot%20-%203_27_2010%20%2C%205_23_11%20AM%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="143" style="display: inline;" title="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_23_11 AM" width="240" /> </a></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><a href="http://www.crestock.com/free-image.aspx" target="_blank">Crestock</a> gives away one free stock photo each week. If you hit the site every week, you can build quite a nice collection. Sometimes they even give away a vector instead of a photo. All material they give away is covered by their <a href="http://www.crestock.com/legal.aspx" target="_blank">standard license agreement</a>. Free membership is required.</td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><a href="http://www.freemediagoo.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_25_30 AM" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S63XAgsbPUI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/1kEvebdrvKA/Screenshot%20-%203_27_2010%20%2C%205_25_30%20AM%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="194" style="display: inline;" title="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_25_30 AM" width="240" /> </a></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><a href="http://www.freemediagoo.com/" target="_blank">Free Media Goo</a> provides free images, audio files, textures and flash files that you can pretty much do whatever you please with them except use them in propaganda, pornography, or anything suggestive, according to <a href="http://www.freemediagoo.com/gooinfo.asp" target="_blank">their license</a>.</td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><a href="http://freerangestock.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_26_39 AM" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S63XBJ9I5-I/AAAAAAAAA_U/6w8XF1oSz4A/Screenshot%20-%203_27_2010%20%2C%205_26_39%20AM%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="174" style="display: inline;" title="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_26_39 AM" width="240" /> </a></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><a href="http://freerangestock.com/" target="_blank">freerangestock</a> offers photos you can use for just about anything. They request that you give credit, but they also say it isn't required if you don't want to. There is a credit and link requirement if you use their photos as part of a web template, though.</td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><a href="http://www.imageafter.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_27_59 AM" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S63XBlBguuI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/wrzlHItlB5A/Screenshot%20-%203_27_2010%20%2C%205_27_59%20AM%5B6%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="152" style="display: inline;" title="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_27_59 AM" width="240" /> </a></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><a href="http://www.imageafter.com/" target="_blank">Image*After</a> lets you do anything you want with their photos, as long as you don't use them to set up a stock photo site that competes with theirs.</td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/free_image.php" target="_blank"><img alt="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_29_21 AM" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S63XCIeHkUI/AAAAAAAAA_c/dymjFodNKNA/Screenshot%20-%203_27_2010%20%2C%205_29_21%20AM%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="148" style="display: inline;" title="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_29_21 AM" width="240" /></a></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/free_image.php" target="_blank">iStockPhoto</a> gives away one free stock photo each week, under their <a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/license.php" target="_blank">standard license</a>. They also give away a free vector, video file, and audio track each month. Free membership is required.</td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><a href="http://www.keystockphoto.com/keystock/" target="_blank"></a><br /></td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><a href="http://www.morguefile.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_31_46 AM" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S63XDPPyE-I/AAAAAAAAA_k/mT5ePeHR5ZE/Screenshot%20-%203_27_2010%20%2C%205_31_46%20AM%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="194" style="display: inline;" title="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_31_46 AM" width="240" /> </a></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><a href="http://www.morguefile.com/" target="_blank">Morguefile</a> has some very <a href="http://www.morguefile.com/license/morguefile/" target="_blank">generous license terms</a> that even allow you to sell the images, as images, as long as you have altered it so that it isn't identical to the original.</td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><a href="http://www.pdphoto.org/" target="_blank"><img alt="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_32_59 AM" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S63XD_Vk83I/AAAAAAAAA_o/BDLzAYfrjCg/Screenshot%20-%203_27_2010%20%2C%205_32_59%20AM%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="172" style="display: inline;" title="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_32_59 AM" width="240" /> </a></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><a href="http://www.pdphoto.org/" target="_blank">PDPhoto.org</a> has some really nice images that you can do whatever you please with, as they are all dedicated to the public domain. There are a few sections containing photos that are not public domain, but that collection is a rather small part of the site.</td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><a href="http://www.photogen.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_34_00 AM" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S63XEre_TuI/AAAAAAAAA_w/X8YO5kCs9nQ/Screenshot%20-%203_27_2010%20%2C%205_34_00%20AM%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="191" style="display: inline;" title="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_34_00 AM" width="240" /> </a></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><a href="http://www.photogen.com/" target="_blank">Photogen</a> has images that are good for the standard commercial uses that don't involve redistribution or printing on products for sale.</td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><a href="http://www.photorack.net/" target="_blank"><img alt="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_36_21 AM" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S63XFAn_IkI/AAAAAAAAA_0/wrhatWJqp_A/Screenshot%20-%203_27_2010%20%2C%205_36_21%20AM%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="162" style="display: inline;" title="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_36_21 AM" width="240" /> </a></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><a href="http://www.photorack.net/" target="_blank">Photo Rack</a> says there are no limitations on the use of their images.</td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><a href="http://www.pixelperfectdigital.com/free_stock_photos/" target="_blank"><img alt="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_37_23 AM" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S63XFYWCE3I/AAAAAAAAA_4/4gk7hcpXIdw/Screenshot%20-%203_27_2010%20%2C%205_37_23%20AM%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="143" style="display: inline;" title="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_37_23 AM" width="240" /> </a></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><a href="http://www.pixelperfectdigital.com/free_stock_photos/" target="_blank">Pixel Perfect Digital</a> has lots of great images, but you can't use them for items for sale or redistribution, and that includes not using them in web templates.</td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><a href="http://www.public-domain-photos.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_38_40 AM" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S63XGFqea0I/AAAAAAAAA_8/u5O9Mc_NqCk/Screenshot%20-%203_27_2010%20%2C%205_38_40%20AM%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="184" style="display: inline;" title="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_38_40 AM" width="240" /> </a></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.public-domain-photos.com/" target="_blank">Public-Domain-Photos.com</a> has images you can do anything you want with, no restrictions.</div>
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<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><a href="http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/" target="_blank"><img alt="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_39_44 AM" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S63XGs1z3QI/AAAAAAAABAA/wARWr8RP-FA/Screenshot%20-%203_27_2010%20%2C%205_39_44%20AM%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="120" style="display: inline;" title="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_39_44 AM" width="240" /> </a></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/" target="_blank">PublicDomainPictures.net</a> is a repository for free public domain photos. You can do anything you want with them, but keep in mind that none of the photos have model or property releases. If you want that type of photo, they do sell some cheap, in the bottom section of the main page.</div>
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<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><a href="http://www.unprofound.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_41_22 AM" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S63XHFMtKjI/AAAAAAAABAE/ekPu364Oz0s/Screenshot%20-%203_27_2010%20%2C%205_41_22%20AM%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" height="188" style="display: inline;" title="Screenshot - 3_27_2010 , 5_41_22 AM" width="240" /> </a></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><a href="http://www.unprofound.com/" target="_blank">Unprofound.com</a> was created by designers, for designers and will pretty much let you do anything with their photos except redistribute them as stock photos. The only payment they want is the pleasure of knowing what their work has become. All they want in return is to be able to see what you have done with them, which means either sending them a photo of your product, screenshot of your software, link to your website or template, or whatever other way you can show them what their images have become part of. </td> </tr>
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<a href="http://www.pixmac.com/free-pictures#/page/1/obj/12" target="_blank"></a><br /></div>
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<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.norebbo.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ro9nBDoQT34/UY-CEno3BHI/AAAAAAAAEPk/xkwXNUhe-dM/s1600/Screenshot+-+5_12_2013+,+7_47_47+AM.png" /></a></div>
</td> <td valign="top" width="377"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="actorName"><a data-ft="{"tn":";"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=123021734544742&extragetparams=%7B%22hc_location%22%3A%22stream%22%7D" href="http://www.norebbo.com/" id="js_2" target="_blank">Norebbo</a> has some great 3D renderings that would be perfect for illustrating technology related blog posts, creating web templates, Powerpoint presentations, and many other types of projects. The free images are ENORMOUS compared to similar free images offered by other artists. Norebbo</span> has some very generous terms of use for his free images, too. You may use them any way you wish, except redistributing them, as-is. And while a link back to his site is appreciated, it is not required.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>And if you need even larger versions than Norebbo is offering for free, you can buy them in his <a href="http://www.norebbo.com/store" target="_blank">shop</a>. <br /> </span></span></td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="225"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.sxc.hu/" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Screenshot - 7_25_2013 , 9_07_04 PM" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Yz0CYK7KMWk/UfHUqv4rj2I/AAAAAAAAEqQ/JYBjypwiDTE/Screenshot%252520-%2525207_25_2013%252520%25252C%2525209_07_04%252520PM%25255B9%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="206" style="display: inline;" title="Screenshot - 7_25_2013 , 9_07_04 PM" width="240" /></a> </span></span></td> <td valign="top" width="377"><a href="http://www.sxc.hu/" target="_blank">Stock.xchng</a> offers lots of high quality stock photos, free of charge. Their <a href="http://www.sxc.hu/info.phtml?f=help&s=7_2" target="_blank">licensing terms</a> allow for commercial use, with only a few limitations. If you'd like to use a photo for certain uses (web templates, print on demand items, etc.), you will have to contact the photographer and ask for permission, first. Some photos also require you to notify the photographer that you plan on using it for something that will be displayed, publicly. So, for example, if you plan on using it for a blog post, contact the photographer and give him a link to your post, so he can see it. Some photos may have additional terms, set by the photographer. Check the page before downloading. And be sure to rate and leave comments on the photos you use. Photographers love getting feedback on their work. Free membership is required.</td> </tr>
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Do you know of a stock photo site that I might have missed that will allow you to use their images commercially, without attribution? Leave me a link in a comment.Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-77657801979838591192010-02-07T13:12:00.002-05:002011-06-10T02:01:44.847-04:00Become a Jazz Fan<img align="left" alt="00007194" height="240" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S28CfTv0T8I/AAAAAAAAA8A/y9S-rSg_e80/00007194%5B5%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;" title="00007194" width="192" /> I wasn’t born a jazz fan, but I did form an instant “addiction” at age 13. How does that happen to some one? <br />
So you heard some music you liked and were told it was jazz, and you wanted to hear more, and you did. Bang! You’re a jazz fan! <br />
But that wasn’t the whole story. Many years later you wound up with a collection of thousands of albums by ten times that many musicians. And now you’re a serious jazz fan. “Back in the day”, that was a hit or miss proposition, but now there’s a mountain of resources to get you there. So here is the shortcut path. <br />
First, there’s radio. Chances are your area doesn’t have much jazz radio on the FM band, although there are many full-time jazz stations around the world. Many colleges in the US support part-time jazz programming, and if you live near a college or university, that may be a resource. Fortunately, many of these stations are also on the Internet and you can find them from New York to Vladivostok and Tokyo and many cities in between, all in a day’s search (or less). My smart phone has an application called <a href="http://www.wunderradio.com/" target="_blank">WunderRadio</a> [sic] that can pick up in excess of 35,000 Internet stations (I have managed to bookmark 27 full-time jazz stations, without having to even look hard). <br />
Unfortunately, fulltime jazz stations are usually listener supported and consequently have to appeal to the largest possible audience. As a result they tend to exclude almost all but the most widely popular music, which is not always the “best” in jazz. <br />
If you truly want to broaden your interest, you must dig deeper. One example of true excellence is WKCR (<a href="http://www.wkcr.org/" target="_blank">www.wkcr.org</a> Columbia University) that has had continuous jazz programming since the 1940’s (the oldest jazz station in America). Although they only broadcast jazz on a part-time basis, their programming covers the entire spectrum, and they run many specials where they sometimes focus on a single player for 24 hours straight or more. Their music is streamed over the Internet, and they also have archived music for your listening enjoyment. <br />
<a href="http://www.allaboutjazz.com/" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Screenshot - 2_7_2010 , 12_21_39 PM" height="145" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S28CfhLVY1I/AAAAAAAAA8E/-30_Q6br_y4/Screenshot%20-%202_7_2010%20%2C%2012_21_39%20PM%5B5%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px;" title="Screenshot - 2_7_2010 , 12_21_39 PM" width="240" /></a> Another good starting point, <a href="http://www.allaboutjazz.com/" target="_blank">www.allaboutjazz.com</a> describes itself as the web’s premier resource for jazz-they are, without question, the largest Internet site devoted entirely to the music. They publish news and reviews and conduct forums and include a streaming service. AllAboutJazz also publishes an excellent hard copy jazz newspaper that you can subscribe to for the cost of postage. Like WKCR, they believe in a full spectrum approach. <br />
Internet jazz pages seem almost endless-and not just American music. Run searches for German Jazz, French jazz, Japanese jazz…-you’ll be amazed by how many countries you can come up with. Two of my favorites are Norway and Poland where jazz has really taken hold in a big way. <br />
Many musicians and groups now have their own web page, and, if you develop any favorites, be sure to look them up. In some cases you will find samples of their music along with complete discographies of all the albums they have performed on. <br />
You can also find tons of material on sub-genres of the music, all the way from Dixieland to free jazz and the avant garde…and, subjects you might think would be obscure, like who was the most famous bass clarinet player in jazz or what was The October Revolution of 1964. The answers to these and a myriad of other questions are usually covered in extreme and extraordinary detail. <br />
There are also numerous discussion groups on the Internet devoted to jazz where you can meet other fans and musicians and chat about the music. Some of them can be quite informative, and you will also have a chance to ask knowledgeable people direct questions to broaden your understanding and interests. The largest and most active of these forums that I am aware of is on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/tag/jazz/forum/" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a>.<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471768448?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0471768448" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Screenshot - 2_7_2010 , 12_24_23 PM" height="127" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S28CgJIF2vI/AAAAAAAAA8I/AHfbAA1EfZw/Screenshot%20-%202_7_2010%20%2C%2012_24_23%20PM%5B8%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;" title="Screenshot - 2_7_2010 , 12_24_23 PM" width="100" /></a> Want to read a book? You could start with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471768448?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0471768448">Jazz For Dummies by Dirk Sutro</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=freeprogeboo-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0471768448" style="border-style: none ! important; margin: 0px;" width="1" /> . Beyond that, there are history books galore and encyclopedias, some of which categorize the music by sub-genres with discographies bursting from every page. If you need an exercise program and you don’t mind weight-lifting, you might want to build a reference library. <br />
Here are some books I have found useful over the years: <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/087930717X?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=087930717X" target="_blank">Vladimir Bogdanov - All Music Guide to jazz</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=freeprogeboo-20&l=as2&o=1&a=087930717X" style="border-style: none ! important; margin: 0px;" width="1" /> <br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0826429726?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0826429726" target="_blank">Alyn Shipton - A New History of jazz</a> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=freeprogeboo-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0826429726" style="border-style: none ! important; margin: 0px;" width="1" /> <br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1843532565?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1843532565" target="_blank">Ian Carr - Jazz The Rough Guide</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=freeprogeboo-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1843532565" style="border-style: none ! important; margin: 0px;" width="1" /> <br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0879100036?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0879100036">Nat Hentoff - Jazz Is</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=freeprogeboo-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0879100036" style="border-style: none ! important; margin: 0px;" width="1" /> <br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195183592?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0195183592" target="_blank">Bill Kirchner – The Oxford Companion To Jazz</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=freeprogeboo-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0195183592" style="border-style: none ! important; margin: 0px;" width="1" /> <br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/019532000X?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=019532000X" target="_blank">Leonard Feather – The Biographical Encyclopedia of jazz</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=freeprogeboo-20&l=as2&o=1&a=019532000X" style="border-style: none ! important; margin: 0px;" width="1" /> <br />
Even if you don’t read them, a collection like this will impress the hell out of any vagrant musicians who happen to be visiting you. <br />
So, after all these years, what are the resources I use most? Well, for one thing, whenever I run across a new musician I particularly like, I check out the other members of his group to see what they’ve recorded. I also look into what other musicians they have previously played with. <br />
My smart phone also has two Internet stations I find invaluable: <a href="http://last.fm/" target="_blank">LastFM</a> and <a href="http://pandora.com/" target="_blank">Pandora</a>. With both of these you can create your own “stations” by feeding in the names of a few musicians you like. These websites then stream back to you music that is similar to that played by the musicians you selected, often introducing you to players you never heard of that match your taste perfectly! (Personally, I think that what appeals to me about jazz is that it expresses the entire range of human emotion-the good, the bad, and the ugly-on a truly grand scale.) <br />
And last, but not least, there’s live jazz. I live near New York City so it’s easy for me to find entertainment that suits my tastes. I don’t travel much, but I still attend a festival occasionally where large groups of musicians get together to play-sometimes as long as a week or more at a time. Most large cities today have at least a club or two where live jazz can be heard. Some even have “house bands” that perform regularly. <br />
Jazz musicians often find it difficult to make a living and many of them teach at local schools or take on individual students. In any case I feel these guys deserve whatever support I can give them. They have given me so much. <br />
Oh, and in case you are wondering how a jazz musician can end up with a million dollars? The answer is, by starting out with ten million dollars. <br />
<hr /><i><img align="left" alt="dan-bresnahan" height="50" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S28Cgjc28MI/AAAAAAAAA8M/VUwUKfXlRs8/dan-bresnahan%5B6%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;" title="dan-bresnahan" width="50" /></i><i>This has been a guest post by Dan Bresnahan. Follow him on </i><a href="http://twitter.com/dmbtiger" target="_blank"><i>Twitter</i></a><i> or </i><a href="http://friendfeed.com/dmbtiger" target="_blank"><i>Friendfeed</i></a><i> and let him know if his article has helped you. You can also read and subscribe to his blog, <a href="http://outtolunchjazz.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Out to Lunch Jazz</a>.</i>Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-3306970718826633922010-01-21T06:17:00.001-05:002012-03-05T16:25:37.310-05:00Number Icons (CC-BY)Big, beautiful, and easy to read, these icons will dress up any application or website, where you need some number icons.<br />
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Included in the set are the numbers 0-9 in PSD, PNG, ICO, BMP, and PSP formats.<br />
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The layers are preserved in both the PSP and PSD files, so you can use the color changer in your favorite graphics editor on the lower layer, to customize them to suit your needs.<br />
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The ICO files show big, bold, and beautiful in just about all versions of Windows, including good old Win9x.<br />
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These are actual size screenshots from Explorer (they also look great in the system tray):<br />
<img alt="number icons" height="186" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S1g337qTbkI/AAAAAAAAA7Y/j_2UXqhjhoM/SNAG-00238%5B6%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" title="number icons" width="62" /> <img alt="number icons" height="300" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S1g34e-EcJI/AAAAAAAAA7c/l2Fmr45FGFg/SNAG-00239%5B5%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline;" title="number icons" width="327" /> <br />
<img alt="number icons" height="425" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/S1g35IWGKmI/AAAAAAAAA7g/JQu6kiRwDHM/SNAG-00241%5B5%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline;" title="number icons" width="493" /><br />
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Released under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution license</a>, they are suitable for both commercial and non-commercial use.<br />
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This item has been <a href="http://russograffix.blogspot.com/2012/02/number-icons-cc-by.html" target="_blank">moved to my art site</a>. <br />
<br />Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-24976566143347482082009-12-09T10:35:00.001-05:002009-12-09T10:35:33.566-05:00It started with a piece of string...<p><img style="margin: 0px 15px 0px 0px; display: inline" title="string" alt="string" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/Sx_DxLa1WfI/AAAAAAAAA6U/aGnsPMmN_18/string%5B6%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="240" height="160" /> Then evolved into a short elastic strap with a set of snaps at both ends. This was my solution to a problem. </p> <p>What problem was that? </p> <p>When my daughter was just a baby, back in the mid 80's, she kept throwing her pacifier out of the stroller and then would holler like hell, and I couldn't give it back to her to shut her up because it was now dirty. So I tied a string on it and attached it to the stroller. It didn't stop her from throwing it, but it did keep it from hitting the ground and getting dirty or lost. </p> <p>But the string didn't work well for bottles, and untying knots was a real hassle, and something that couldn't stretch restricted her from being able to drink her bottle while lying down in the stroller. A string only worked well while she was sitting up. </p> <p>Elastic and snaps...it was perfect. Other mothers saw what I had done and wanted one for their kids' bottles, too. I made a bunch and kept them in my purse, individually sealed in little zip-lock bags. They cost me less than $1.00 to make, and I sold them for $2.00 each. </p> <p>Then a good friend of mine suggested I get a patent for it and find a company to mass produce them and make mad amounts of money on royalties. </p> <p>He put me in touch with a company that supposedly specialized in helping inventors get their products patented and bringing them to market. </p> <p>Word of advice: Don't deal with these companies. They will do nothing to help you. It will cost you a lot of money and you will get nowhere. </p> <p>After paying $400 for a rather poorly written "market study report", they managed to talk me into paying another $5000 and entering into a 5 year contract with them, promising to contact manufacturers and pitching my idea to them, and if a company was interested, they would get them to pay the cost of patenting it in my name, and I would get a royalty on every single copy of my invention that they manufactured, regardless of whether they actually sold any. </p> <p>They convinced me that it was far cheaper to let them handle it, since they had offices all over the world and could set up meetings with company executives. They said my cost in air travel alone would exceed the $5000 if I tried to do it myself, nevermind hotels, paying for expensive lunches, drinks, etc. They also said they were experienced and knew what to say, so I would have a better chance of getting a deal. And they had their own contract lawyers, specializing in royalty agreements, to protect my interests. </p> <p>I fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. I took out a personal loan to cover the cost, from a financing company that turned out to be owned by them. It took me 2 years of high monthly payments to pay it off. </p> <p>And what did they actually do for me? Did they contact all the big name baby product companies like <a href="http://gerber.com" target="_blank">Gerber</a> or <a href="http://fisher-price.com" target="_blank">Fisher Price</a>? No, they contacted publishers, like the one that produces <a href="http://parents.com" target="_blank">Parents magazine</a>. </p> <p>They mailed out form letters to the editors of magazines targeted at the consumer that would be most interested in my product. They never contacted a single manufacturer. Those "inventors help" companies do this all the time, for any and every product idea that comes through their doors, no matter how good or bad the product idea is. The magazine editors are used to it and know it's all crap and toss every letter in the trash without ever opening them. </p> <p>And they tied my hands for 5 years, preventing me from doing all the work myself, otherwise I'd still have to give them a large cut of my royalties if I succeeded in finding a company willing to manufacture it, on my own. </p> <p>So I decided to wait till the contract expired. There was no way I was going to let these swindlers have another dime. </p> <p>Before my 5 year wait was up, a conversation with someone made me realize that my great little invention had no hope and would cause the death of many innocent babies that had idiots for parents. The more popular my invention was, the greater the potential for it to kill, because stupid people that don't watch their kids properly and don't follow instructions, would end up using it in cribs and playpens and leaving their children unattended for hours, or using it in car seats while they were driving and unable to pay attention, resulting in strangulation deaths. </p> <p>It was perfectly safe for use by parents that actually watched their kids and only used it in a stroller where they could watch what was going on. </p> <p>If my invention had made it to market, I would have no control over it and no way to stop stupid people from buying it and killing their children with neglect. My product would be blamed and not the neglectful parents, and if it became a popular product the <a href="http://cpsc.gov" target="_blank">CPSC</a> recall could have been huge, costing whatever company that produced it enormous amounts of money in recall costs and defending lawsuits, and ultimately, cost me a fortune, too. </p> <p>And I would have these deaths hanging on my conscience for the rest of my life. I would never get a peaceful night's sleep ever again. </p> <p>So that is why you can't buy my invention and why I never became filthy rich.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p align="right"><em>Photo credit: </em><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/88249458@N00/3008475029" target="_blank"><em>außerirdische sind gesund</em></a></p> Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-69122729908046752802009-12-04T15:41:00.001-05:002009-12-04T15:41:01.689-05:00Free FTC Disclosure Graphics from Louis Gray and Jeannine Schafer<p>Ever since the FTC announced <a href="http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm" target="_blank">new disclosure rules for bloggers</a>, which went into effect on December 1st of this year, many have been wondering how do it in an easy to handle manner. </p> <p>If you are still fretting over exactly how to go about disclosing your relationships to the companies and products you write about and review, and do it with style, you can stop now. </p> <p><a href="http://blog.louisgray.com/" target="_blank">Louis Gray</a> and <a href="http://jeannineschafer.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jeannine Schafer</a> have come up with a great tongue-in-cheek set of FTC Disclosure graphics that you can use for your blog posts. </p> <p>A couple of examples: </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://blog.louisgray.com/2009/12/ftc-disclosures-made-simple-for.html" target="_blank"><img style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="ftc_gadgets_250" alt="ftc_gadgets_250" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/Sxlz2pMs6dI/AAAAAAAAA5k/rIHsjqV2604/ftc_gadgets_250%5B6%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="216" height="240" /></a> <a href="http://blog.louisgray.com/2009/12/ftc-disclosures-made-simple-for.html" target="_blank"><img style="display: inline" title="ftc_book_250" alt="ftc_book_250" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/Sxlz3BS_AWI/AAAAAAAAA5o/M7O94-bge4I/ftc_book_250%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="216" height="240" /></a></p> <p>To see the rest, the best, and download the entire collection (in various sizes), <a href="http://blog.louisgray.com/2009/12/ftc-disclosures-made-simple-for.html" target="_blank">visit Louis Gray's blog</a>.</p> <p> </p> <p>And while you are at it, follow <a href="http://friendfeed.com/louisgray" target="_blank">Louis Gray</a> on Friendfeed and <a href="http://twitter.com/neenerbot" target="_blank">Jeannine Schafer</a> on Twitter for lots of interesting news, discussions, and other cool stuff.</p> Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-7161018144173016052009-11-26T20:17:00.001-05:002012-03-05T16:28:38.300-05:00Free PSP Vector: Puzzle Piece (CC-BY)<img alt="sample" height="240" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/Sw8ovz1L0iI/AAAAAAAAA5U/vYsbZqjf8Po/sample6.png?imgmax=800" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="sample" width="238" /><br />
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This is a simple puzzle piece vector in PSP7 format that can be used in a variety of creative ways. You can use it in logo art, or other projects. As a vector, you can easily change the colors and it can be enlarged as much as you want, without losing any quality.<br />
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Released under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution license</a> (CC-BY), it is suitable for personal, non-commercial, and commercial use. All you have to do is link back here to give credit.<br />
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Here are a few quick examples of use:<br />
<img alt="logo" height="88" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/Sw8owYBpO1I/AAAAAAAAA5Y/PgFYTzGuYTU/logo5.png?imgmax=800" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="logo" width="114" /><br />
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<img alt="funky" height="206" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/Sw8owo4Dj9I/AAAAAAAAA5c/KN-qzkz43gk/funky6.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" title="funky" width="200" /> <img alt="creative" height="206" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/Sw8oxFvbQnI/AAAAAAAAA5g/zgYzLJidzLM/creative6.png?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" title="creative" width="200" /></div>
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This item has been <a href="http://russograffix.blogspot.com/2012/02/free-psp-vector-puzzle-piece-cc-by.html" target="_blank">moved to my art site.</a>Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-73251105777108188022009-11-14T01:36:00.002-05:002009-11-14T03:37:42.815-05:00A question to ponder<p>I picked this question out of a list of <a href="http://blog.seattleinterviewcoach.com/2009/02/140-google-interview-questions.html" target="_blank">140 Google interview questions</a> and thought I'd post it along with my answer. </p> <p><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="village" alt="village" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/Sv5P5pRskUI/AAAAAAAAA44/o4WAdg9ns8A/village%5B9%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="240" width="400" /> </p> <blockquote> <p>Every man in a village of 100 married couples has cheated on his wife. Every wife in the village instantly knows when a man other than her husband has cheated, but does not know when her own husband has. The village has a law that does not allow for adultery. Any wife who can prove that her husband is unfaithful must kill him that very day. The women of the village would never disobey this law. One day, the queen of the village visits and announces that at least one husband has been unfaithful. What happens? </p> </blockquote> <p>My answer: The queen is executed. </p> <p>Here is why... </p> <p>Each woman, including the queen knows this truth: If all the men that they know about die, (assuming the innocence of their own husband) there will be at most only one man left in the village. They also know it is possible that all the men in the village will die, leaving no men at all for any of them. </p> <p>Each woman in the village is faced with this question: Knowing that at least 98 husbands have cheated (the queen doesn't know about the king's infidelity and the women all assume the innocence of their own husbands), why would the queen announce this unless she wanted all of them to die? Would it be better for the village to kill off so many men or for the women never to tell each other about what their husbands have been doing? </p> <p>In the end, they come to the conclusion that the only woman that deserves to be alone for the rest of her life is their evil queen. But if they all go and tell her who her husband, the king, has been sleeping with, she will see that they will not tell each other the truth and have instead plotted against her. And after killing the king, in retaliation, there is a strong possibility she may tell them all that their husbands have cheated.</p> <p>To save their village, they decide not to tell each other and not tell the queen about the king. Instead they tell their husbands what evil plans the queen had in mind for the village. Then angered, knowing their queen is dangerous and unfit to rule, the whole village gets together and kills her. The king, knowing the entire village has just saved his life, doesn’t try to stop them and is forever grateful to the women of the village.</p> <p>Do you agree with my answer?</p>Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-72083791600533655102009-08-17T01:41:00.001-04:002019-01-19T23:58:14.261-05:00Adding RSS Feeds for Labels on Blogger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P-vjqqhm4tQ/XEP-zAJSuhI/AAAAAAAAHb4/1W7CfIHcdgIDAx3v9BePj2--m3gnxkQYwCLcBGAs/s1600/SNAG00100%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="162" data-original-width="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P-vjqqhm4tQ/XEP-zAJSuhI/AAAAAAAAHb4/1W7CfIHcdgIDAx3v9BePj2--m3gnxkQYwCLcBGAs/s1600/SNAG00100%255B1%255D.png" /></a></div>
If you take a look at the bottom of this page, you will see that in my Labels section (I called it Categories) that each one has its own feed icon.<br />
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If you would like to know how to have feed icons like mine, I have recently written an easy to follow tutorial to explain how.<br />
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What is especially nice about having individual feeds for your labels is that it allows your readers to subscribe just to the content they are interested in most and nothing more. <br />
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It also allows each individual author of a multi-author blog to each have their own personal feed, if you tag the posts with the author’s name.<br />
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<a href="http://appsapps.info/2019/01/20/adding-rss-feed-icons-for-labels-on-blogger-updated-01-19-2019/" target="_blank">Adding RSS Feed Icons for Labels on Blogger</a>
Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-47332275779474209482009-06-15T13:25:00.002-04:002012-03-05T16:29:45.695-05:00Free Buttons: Top Ten (CC-BY)A long time ago I created a set of buttons for use on my old art website, to number pages.<br />
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Back in those days, I was kind of careless and stupid concerning saving the original templates for my artwork. Instead I saved one blank button with a black background, to match that site, which means I can only use those buttons on sites with black backgrounds.<br />
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I really liked those buttons a lot, so I recreated them from scratch today, in much better quality than the originals.<br />
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<img alt="sample: Top Ten buttons" height="220" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/SjaD9lfBIwI/AAAAAAAAA1U/8PfrfxQ8TSA/sample%5B6%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="sample: Top Ten buttons" width="275" /><br />
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<i>(shown actual size)</i></div>
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With transparent backgrounds, they can now be used on any color website. I also made a set with a slight drop shadow, so they would stand out more on lighter backgrounds.<br />
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Released under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution license</a>, suitable for both personal and commercial use. Just give credit by linking back to this site on any page that you use them, or in your about box if you use them in a desktop application.<br />
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Besides using them to number pages, I think they would be great for numbering items in all those “Top 10” lists that so many bloggers seem to be fond of.<br />
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And in case you want to do a top 20 list, I have included .psp and .psd source files of both versions, so you can edit and make more buttons (or change the font).<br />
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This item has been <a href="http://russograffix.blogspot.com/2012/02/free-buttons-top-ten-cc-by.html" target="_blank">moved to my art site. </a><br />
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<i>font used on buttons: <a href="http://www.dafont.com/adorable.font" target="_blank">Adorable</a></i></div>Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-30072603646774990602009-06-13T18:21:00.003-04:002012-03-05T16:32:00.901-05:00Free Bird Icons (CC-BY)Perfect for linking to your Twitter profile or any other purpose in which you’d need a bird icon.<br />
In 16 assorted colors, so you can dare to be a little different and match the colors of your website.<br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/SjQmbB1-pJI/AAAAAAAAA0M/rCFYuI6JuEI/s1600-h/birds-sample%5B20%5D.png"><img alt="birds-sample" border="0" height="407" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/SjQmcJR38TI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/8n3CEuzgz3Y/birds-sample_thumb%5B18%5D.png?imgmax=800" style="border: 0px none; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="birds-sample" width="454" /></a> <br />
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Also included in the full set, are the original Paintshop Pro vectors (.psp).<br />
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Released under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution license</a>, suitable for both personal and commercial use. <br />
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This item has been <a href="http://russograffix.blogspot.com/2012/02/free-bird-icons-cc-by.html" target="_blank">moved to my art site.</a><br />
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<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/blue_bird_tshirt-235140191799591205?gl=app103&group=mens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238629786245461135"><img alt="Blue Bird shirt" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/blue_bird_tshirt-p235140191799591205azgw0_125.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/blue_bird_tshirt-235140191799591205?gl=app103&group=mens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238629786245461135">Blue Bird</a> by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/app103*">app103</a><br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/custom/tshirts?rf=238629786245461135">Make a custom t shirt</a> on zazzle</div>Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com5