Kitties, Geeks, and Books

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Snowdrifts and Tree. I made it last night while attempting to create an illusion of falling snow. It worked rather well, and it seems appropriate for the last day of November.

On to our traveler's tales...

Once we reached our destination, we were greeted by a pair of Sheltie dogs: Brogan, a old dog, and the much younger Natchez. My husband and I had met Brogan before; It was funny how he tried to herd us around when one of us strayed away from the others. But he doesn't do that now, between age and hip dysplasia. The problem with his hips looks painful- but he never complained.

We also met an extremely talkative feline named Megan. Later on, even her much shyer brother Shawn made himself known.

I said Megan was extremely talkative. The truth is that she is far more vocal than both of mine put together- especially when she wants attention. Which happens to be a lot. She was very much pleased when our hostess' parents arrived; This charming couple is just crazy about cats.

It also impressed and amused me to see that the gentleman could out-geek some geeks. He, my husband, and my husband's brother spent quite a lot of time huddling over old malfunctioning computers, and having the time of their lives.

For myself, I got to sink my teeth into some of my brother-in-law's literature. He used to work in microbiology and genetic sciences. While I never did as such, biology was one of my first loves. Needless to say, I never got bored!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Travels of the Tigger

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Blowing Bubbles. As you might guess, I was experimenting with blurring the lines as well as overlays. The name is really more of a placeholder than anything else.

I promised to tell a few more traveler's tales, so here goes.

The night before we were supposed to hit the road, my husband tried to get some directions from Googlemaps. Note I said tried; A number of key elements were missing especially toward the destination, and nothing was mentioned about the detours. Of course, the map makers can't be expected to keep track of road construction, so that was no big deal.

However, they did suffice to get us most of the way to our destination. I was interested to see that some of the traditional billboards had been replaced by computerized boards that could switch out ads. I see both an advantage and a disadvantage to this; On the one hand, fewer billboards will be needed for the same amount of advertising space. On the other, people may find it hard to gather the pertinent information from the ads before the next one rotates in.

I-85 was the worst part of the trip; It tended to split a lot, and not give any indication of which was the right 85 for the traveler to follow. In fact, my husband and I refer to that as the schizophrenic road. Fortunately, it wasn't as bad coming back- though I will never really like it.

We didn't quite make it to our destination on the first day, both because of the road and because we got a later start than we planned. Other than our minor adventure with the motel that I spoke of yesterday, though, there was little in the way of adventure.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

America's Best Inn isn't.

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is a fractal by Ron Venable that he titled Enjoy Thanksgiving. He used to share these and other fractal images a lot before his previous computer died. These days, we keep what we can for him.

I mentioned yesterday that I would talk about a motel we stayed at on the way down to South Carolina. I should say that I'm not going to detail all the problems I saw there- But I will say that if I had tried to get away with as shoddy a cleaning job as was done there, I would have been chewed out- and rightly so.

If you are near the border between North and South Carolina, don't stay at this place if you have a choice. One of the first thing I personally noticed was the rule list.

There was nothing wrong with the list in itself, but a number of the rules were quite unnecessary- unless there had been trouble at the place in the past.

I also noticed a hand-written sign proclaiming a 90% sanitation rating and a no refund notice. In themselves, these would have been nothing to worry about either, though they do raise questions.

However, whoever wrote the sanitation rating sign didn't look at the rooms. There were used grounds in the coffee maker, the towels had stains on them, the toilet was running- which is a pretty good indication that something needs to be looked at, and the microwave oven was sitting on the floor rather than at least on a table where the client could use it easily.

There was also a problem with the curtains; They weren't quite wide enough to cover the windows. The front grill on the air conditioning unit had been broken in the past, and it could be seen where the plate to a chain lock had been removed from the door.

I do have to say that these people did give a small room safe and card key locks on the door. However, considering everything else I saw, I'm not sure I would store valuables in the said safe.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

The Return of the Tigger!

Good Evening, Gentle Readers!

In honor of the recent holiday, I decided to dig this picture up from the depths of my archives. It is one that I used for inspiration some years ago when I decided to start collecting family recipes into a cookbook for those without ready access to some of the gourmet foods that are often featured on the cooking shows.

Other than a couple of slow-traffic areas, and once getting very lost near our destination, our trip was fairly uneventful. However, the police were quite active during the week, starting last Saturday, when several vehicles blockaded a local bank! I've not found out what the story behind that was, but it wouldn't be the first time that an area bank was robbed. We also saw at least one accident on our way down to South Carolina, and legions of people sitting in front of those flashing blue lights. I can only say Wow!

This is the first in a small series of traveler's tales, and will include even a motel review. Sadly, I can't honestly say many good things about the place. But that is a post for another time.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Just a note before I go

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is simply titled Hot. I was going to try to have a yellow inclusion in the main image, but the color simply wouldn't come out the way I wanted it to so I took it out. The pink wings work better without it anyway.

I have very little news this early in the morning, but I did want to leave a note before I disappeared for possibly a week.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Tying up loose ends...

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Split Circles. I wasn't going for this specific effect at all when I made this picture: I was hoping more for a spectrum effect in the circle. However, the image does have a certain energy. Thus, it got saves. Perhaps I'll get my spectrums in another attempt.

Boy do I have my work cut out for me today! I've got an assignment or two two try to get turned in, and a cake to bake so my husband and I can take it with us to share with my brother and sister in law, and her parents. I've been wanting to bake that cake for some time, but it wasn't a good idea with all the candy laying around the house. Too, there is the fact that Randy and I couldn't hope to eat it by ourselves in a reasonably amount of time. It would be much better to share it, I think. We'll be down for about a week, so that'll give us all the time we need.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

New Lock

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Pyramid. This is a first venture into the world of three dimensions via a computer graphics program. Eventually, I will try something more elaborate- but I suspect that if I want curves I'll have to use a program I'm not really familiar with.

Last night, I finally went ahead and called a locksmith to install a new lock on our back door. The people that sold me my present abode never did give me the keys to the old lock- and that really should have been a simple matter. Like many things, though, the simple matter was made far more complicated than it needed to be. Since my husband and I are going to be out of town next week, we really did need to do something so my parents could get in to take care of the cats but we meanwhile could still keep the place reasonably secure.

I was quite impressed with the locksmith; The previous door latch had been hammered into an opening too small for it, but he wrestled it out again. No wonder my husband and I couldn't get the thing out ourselves! Anyway the gentleman from Entry Solutions and I both tested the new lock and pronounced it satisfactory, and he offered a reasonable price for it. I highly recommend him if you need assistance in matters concerning locks.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

What Was the School Thinking?

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Unexpected- Largely because it is. I forget exactly what I was trying for, but the circles anchoring the corners weren't quite what I wanted. Still, it does have a certain glow. I'm going to try to reproduce that with this year's series of winter images.

Last night, I made quite a lot of progress with my note-taking. But when I opened that last chapter to see what I would have to do with it, I got a surprise that I'm not sure I like; It's even bigger than the ones I had already noted! What was the school thinking, wanting us to read and note all of that in less than a week?! I'll probably be burning a lot of midnight oil again. Fortunately, I seem to have the hydrological cycles down, though I did need to make notes of specific terms just in case the professor was looking for certain words rather than layman's descriptions.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Where did THAT come from?

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Spotlights. As usual, it didn't quite come out as planned. I think I know what went wrong and how to fix it, though. Meanwhile, I thought something cheerful was in order.

I took a look at the rest of my required reading for the week for Geology- and I gawked! Three more chapters to go! Still, the geology chapters tend to be shorter than those for accounting, so that won't be too painful. It's even possible that a couple of them are required for next week; That has happened a lot during this block of classes. Time to invoke the Power of the Pad!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Busy Busy!

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is Silver Glitter 2. I intended to display this sooner, but I had saved it in the wrong format for the blog- so I had to tweak it so you could see it.

What a busy morning! I had my normal Monday chores, of course. And now, I'll have homework, a nice big cake to bake that I had intended to make a couple of weeks ago, and other nefarious plans to lay!

One thing I need to do is lay out an exercise program of some sort; My space is limited, but I'm getting way flabbier than I like. Given where I want to go, I'm going to have to change that. Perhaps I'll break out the CDs; I've not played them in a while. I also need to finish assembling my web site and start getting some income there; I think that represents the best chance I've got of getting Randy and me to our location of choice in a hurry. That means that I'll have to start learning about HTML; The last time I tried using it, I had no luck at all. I guess that means I'll have to study that as well as my courses! Fortunately, my husband brought a bunch of books about that with him when we got married.

Never a dull moment!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Catching up?

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Encased Gold- though, as you can see, there is really very little gold in it. I made my original line diagonally and applied the first flood fills, then applied a series of deformations and yet more fills until I was satisfied with the results. I may change the name later, but right now I think I'll just keep it as it is.

One more week to vacation! I still haven't really got things caught up as I want them, but I'm enough ahead that I'm reasonably comfortable. I still am not happy with the accounting course; I thought I understood somewhat about keeping track of money, then I started trying to learn the rules. Eww! Learning rules by rote just doesn't work, whatever textbook writers might think. It's not even their fault; They have to get down what they know somehow. Still, all I can do is keep on plugging. I've said it before: The work isn't going to go away by itself!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Accounting Up The Wall!

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Starlit. The sparks aren't quite as large as I had hoped for at first, but in all it does give a good impression of a night sky with a contrail across it.

Well, last night I finally used a tool in my Open Office file that I hadn't touched before, except in the worksheets that were already set up: The one set up for ledgers and accounting journals. I still am not certain that what I did was what the professor wanted, but it was an interesting experiment to say the least. I also am not sure I did that last item of homework correctly. Fortunately, I haven't turned it in yet. I do have one more thought to try out with it, after I look the text over one more time. But that new starting trial balance is driving me up the wall!

Until We meet, Gentle Readers...

Holidays

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Silver Glitter. I have a second, far more dramatic silver glitter image as well- but it needs a little work before I publish it.

Yesterday was a solemn occasion as we thought of the soldiers, many of whom didn't get to come home to their families. Today, we can turn our thoughts to more cheerful matters; The upcoming holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve.

Any more, Thanksgiving is pretty much a forgotten holiday, except by retailers who are ramping up the sales of food and gift items. At one time, it was considered important. It still should be, as it is a celebration of a good harvest, though many of us don't farm like those who created the holiday did. It is still considered a time to gather, though, and maybe even watch football or whatever the family does. While I personally don't enjoy the sport, I can appreciate a good play.

The modern version of Christmas is a wild conglomeration of many winter solstice holidays, with a little spice of Christianity even though reliable scholars don't think the event it was supposed to celebrate happened until spring. Still, I have spent hours watching the lights and decorations.

New Year's Eve is yet another hodgepodge of traditions. Many cultures believe that it is lucky to bring in the New Year with love and laughter, though. Certainly, it is a very good way to make a new start of any sort!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Veteran's Day

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Red, White, and Blue. This isn't what I originally intended to display today. However, this day has been set aside in honor of our veterans. In light of that, I believe this is a far better choice than what I was originally considering showing.

I'm sure many of you have veterans in your family. My grandfather was one such, though he seldom talked about World War II. He was a mechanic, and even after he left the service to start a family, the love of tinkering followed him. When I was growing up, he had whole sheds and even barns full of projects. I was forever poking around in them to see what he was doing.

During the Vietnam War, my husband went out for the draft. He was one of the fortunate ones; A health problem kept him out of the service, so he wasn't one of the soldiers protested against by the generation of young people who stayed at home. His father, however, was a vet in World War II as well.

There are others, of course. But these are the ones that stick in my mind the most. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Armed Forces, I Salute You.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Eek!

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Swirling Drops. For those of you familiar with my work, the twisting effects tend to appear with certain deformations. I've pretty much given up on most manually-controlled curves, but I can do a lot with the tools.

Right now, one of my accounting assignments is driving me up the wall! I've got the numbers all in the right places I know, but they simply aren't adding up as they should! I may want to clear everything out and try it again from the start- but it is driving me bonkers. Wish me luck!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Random Holiday Thoughts

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Sparkle Ball. And yes, I finally did figure out how that worked! I'll need to repeat this in silver too, and I may try other things with it. But I call this a success!

Boy, yesterday was I ever feeling icky- especially toward evening! I did manage to get part of my homework done, though, and to uncover a few places where I need to pay a bit more attention. Over all, it was a productive night in spite of the headache and unhappy insides.

My husband, bless his heart, brought home a dozen roses and a box of chocolates for our anniversary! The flowers now grace a counter where (hopefully) Galahad the oversized kitten will leave them alone. We'll be going out of town, so I'll consider that our 'present'. Meanwhile, I ought to think about what to do about the gift-giving season; Money is tight, like it is for most of us, and so is space. I'll think of something; I always do.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Finding Knowledge

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Cats' Eyes. It's not exactly a cat's eye marble, there being several inclusions in the main figure But the shape of the inclusions is the same, and I did use a disolve figure to give a bit of a speckled effect.

Last night while I was taking notes, I noticed that a lot of the stuff I was noting was already included in previous reading. That doesn't mean I stinted, of course; I was very careful not to just in case I missed something earlier! But it does mean that the language isn't quite as alien as it used to be.

I am going to have to find out about the rocks where I live; I need it both for a project and for an assignment. I've been finding it very difficult to find what I want, though I can find all kinds of stuff that dances around the issue!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Time Change and Studies

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Time On My Hands. I may remake it later. I did assemble it as a reminder for those who haven't already done so to turn back their clocks.

When I looked at the reading for next week's accounting class, I found that a large part of it was done last week! Not that re-reading it will hurt anything, of course. But that will save a lot of the note-taking that I otherwise would have to do. I'll have to go back over those notes, of course. I've lost track of how much stuff I could have sworn I wrote down that I wasn't able to re-locate- at least, not until well after I no longer needed it.

I also need to go back over references to Pangaea and tectonic plate tracks; Some time ago, I read an item about Africa crashing into North America and pushing up the eastern mountain ranges. But if I want to write a report on this stuff, I need more than a vague recollection. Wish me luck!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers....

Details, Details...

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Reaching. I wasn't really sure what would happen when I made this using a dissolve filter- but this is one thing I found that can make sparkles, and indeed the picture is why I thought it would work. Thinking about it, I do have a couple of ideas that I will try later on today.

I thought yesterday that narrowing down my base for my end-of-term project would simplify matters. But last night, I came to the realization that it didn't do quite that- though it did give me an honest-to-goodness starting point! I need to go back to the first web site I found, I think. I'm sure I can find what I want there. Wish me luck!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

There's The Sunshine...

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Angel-Winged. When I made this image, I wasn't pleased with the huge fields of pale washed-out gold. A number of flood-fills fixed that, though!

Yesterday and the day before were down-right gloomy. I didn't want to do anything but sleep! In light of what I had to accomplish, though, that was not a complete option.

I did manage to get that final essay for my accounting class turned in- after I plowed through well over 150 pages of textbook to find some of the notes that I needed, including a few items that I could have sworn I had taken notes on, but couldn't find. Still, after I found that, I was quite pleased. And the cats swore I was nuts with the way I was dancing around! Needless to say, I did yet more note-taking. I now have three days to finish that, along with starting notes and assignments for next week. I also have two weeks to try to get stuff turned in so I'll have a relatively easy time while my husband and I are away on vacation.

Things are looking very good!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

More about Assignments

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

And a wet one it is- Though not sopping. I'll say more about that later.

Today's image is titled Angles. I used a deformation that I had not used solo for some time, then flipped the image- with a result that I wasn't really looking for at all! I then added a couple more flood-fills to help delineate the main object.

The fall rains, it seems, have started. So far, we're only seeing a gentle sprinkle. That may be all we will see for a few days too. It is excellent sleeping weather- which is why I didn't wake up around 4 AM like I did yesterday!

I spent about half of the night running numbers for an accounting assignment and uncovering what I kept doing wrong. Talk about some hard work! But by the time I was done to my satisfaction, I had the numbers where they belonged! At least, I think they were where they belonged. There were a couple I wasn't sure of, but they balanced so I'm not going to argue with it.

I even had an inspiration concerning my geology's end-of-term. An entire state is really too broad a subject for one power-point presentation to adequately cover, especially considering the topography of the state in question. Now that I have that, I have a web site to start pulling information from. Speaking of that, I might want to set up a document with my resources in alphabetical order, rather than waiting until the project is done. That has worked wonderfully well for past projects that otherwise were royal pains.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Early Morning

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled X Marks the Spot. I used a filter that I normally wouldn't for the layer that has the black petals in it, then installed the broad X in the top layer. I wasn't really sure what would happen- But the green is showing up far better than I thought it would!

The next few days should be busy. The time change is coming up soon, of course. And there is Thanksgiving- which, sadly, will be but little more than a footnote to most stores. Instead, they will be gearing up for the kick-off of the Christmas shopping season.

I know at least two parties who will not be pleased by the time change: Galahad and Egraine, the cats, happen to like their meals on time or even ahead of time, if they can get it. They're part of why I'm up now and have been for several hours. Right now, though, the covers are looking mighty good!

There is one advantage; At least I've taken care of a number of chores so they won't be in the way of anything else I might wish to do today!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Cool Night

Good Morning, Gentle Readers! Or perhaps I should say afternoon.

Today's image is titled Moth Wings. I don't often try to use gold as a background color, and didn't try to use it by itself today. However, it was perfect against the oranges and reds, and just a hint of pink and green.

Well- I did manage to take notes on a whole chapter last night, and healthy fraction of a second. Toward the end, though, I was making a lot of mistakes with my writing and having difficulty concentrating. So I decided to call it a night, though I did think a lot about the stuff I had read.

I almost expected to see frost this morning! Not that it happened, but it was cool enough that I didn't try to get a light long-sleeved shirt. I almost didn't get up out of my nice warm nest either, though a few times I started to overheat until I fell back asleep again. Wood smoke has become a common smell around here now. I imagine my parents are happy they have their stove and a huge stack of firewood. I won't be too surprised if we really do see a dip in temperatures; My friend from Canada has already reported snow. She's not pleased about it either, but at least she has a better place to live in now than she did last winter.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Cold, Kitties, and other things

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Lens. You can see the unusually-colored flames in the background. however, I've never tried using a radial floodfill over flames before, especially not confined as this one has been. It is an unusual effect.

I have one word for the temperatures this morning: BRRRR!!! While we don't quite have frost yet, we aren't that far off. I hope I warm up with the Monday cleaning. Otherwise, I just might have to grab a sweater after all!

I did see something amusing yesterday. My husband left his sweater laying on the bed, and the cats were arguing over who would get to lay on it for all the world like a pair of human siblings! It was pretty laughable watching how fast the other cat would claim The Sweater when one got up for whatever reason.

I'll have to do some hard and fast note-taking today; Last night, after I finished with the one chapter, I found I had two more to go. Eww! Fortunately, they are relatively short- especially when compared to the accounting texts. Not only that, geology isn't quite as completely a foreign language to me as accounting. I was amused to see that one kind of volcanic eruption was called Strombolian. I will never view food the same way again!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...