It's Coming Together

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Explosion. I made it about a week ago while trying to create my diamond-quasars. This time, I tried to block off a part of a floodfill to keep and erase everything else. As you can see, that didn't quite work as planned- but what I got instead was quite striking. Needless to say, I saved it.

The class project is starting to come together. Two parts of it have been given over to the team leader: Mine, which covers ethics and law, and one of my team mates, who had charge of describing what workplace ethics consists of. I have to give praise to him for what he created too; It was thorough and would be easy for even a lay reader to understand. This was in spite of him having been ill for the week before too! If there is anyone that deserves a high grade, it's him. But then, I am working with a wonderful group of people.

I next need to see what I should do about the next paper I have due, and perhaps look into my next class. Five weeks is not long, and I'm looking at the end of my first five-week period in my Bachelor program already.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Team Project

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Light On Tree. It is another attempt at the image I showed you yesterday. It didn't quite turn out as I wanted, but putting it together was quite an experience in itself. My biggest problem was trying to make it come together in such a way that it wouldn't look like the components were just stuck there.

I did get my part of the team project turned in last night- but I may have to tweak it. Meanwhile, I have another project to attend to this week. Fortunately, this report is a solo one. That means that I won't have to worry about stepping on toes, so to speak. Not only that, the only person I have to fit my work in with is me, instead of me and five other people. Still, I do need to get a quick approval before I begin. Or maybe I can ask and meanwhile start gathering my material. Wish me luck!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Failure is Not An Option!

Good Evening, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Warm Light. This is a work in progress; I made it for a friend who wasn't feeling very well, and I thought a little warmth would be good for both of us.

It has been cool today- though not as much so as it has been. That has been a blessing; More of the leftover snow and ice will finish melting off now. That would be just as well, considering the rain that supposedly is headed my way.

I just finished filling in a table for my school work. That was a challenge in itself because the table I was supposed to fill in wouldn't copy and paste over right to either one of my documents or to the Reply section of the college site! What I finally did was create a table of my own and copy-paste over the assorted labels I needed. I think I went into more detail than the instructor really expected- but perhaps not, considering how much of the word count was taken up by those labels! In one of the rows the question was about setting my solution to the problem of continuing education into action. One thing I mentioned in that block was that failure was not an option.

And it isn't.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

School and Snow

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Blue Web River. This morning, I decided to give up on quasars for the moment and instead see what I could do with sunbursts- which I've not used often. The web is made of dark blue- but applies with a filter that I usually don't handle because I almost never know what's going to happen. What you see is the result.

Last night, I searched both the school library and the web for a couple of items for my part of the paper. A couple of things I looked at were interesting- but not detailed enough where I needed the information. A couple of other items were plainly biased- which is not something that should be used in a scholarly paper unless the subject is about bias! I really wanted to get a couple more things, but alas, restrictions forbade. I should be able to finish up my part and show it to my team mates this evening.

This morning as I was doing my normal Monday chores, I looked out the window- and I had to laugh! It was snowing, and I was having visions of my poor husband staring and yelling, "Gak!" I don't think we'll see any accumulation, but I'll be giggling for the rest of the day.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Teamwork

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Spin. I attempted yet again to make quasars, and again I found it didn't quite work. I do have another idea, though, which I will try later. I think part of the problem is that I'm trying to start on the base layer, and that is throwing everything else off.

After a great deal of talk yesterday in my class about procrastination and plagiarism, I went ahead and labeled a page in my pad for the project. Considering how many people the project is being divided among, I don't have that much writing to do. My challenge will be to pack the information I gather into as few words as possible- and previous solo work has not prepared me for that. But that is, after all, the purpose of the teams!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Think think think...

Good Evening, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Rose Winged. I was trying to get a starburst pattern with a red or rose-colored diamond and quasar effect in the middle. When I saw it wasn't going to work this time, I decided to run in a very different direction with the picture. You now see the results.

Today was largely quiet, other than my husband and I going to visit my mother. But in my head, I have been working on my class project. Of course, I still need to get it out and into a document that can be shared with my team mates; They're counting on me, and I've a feeling at least two of them will need assistance. I may go ahead and write up items that can substitute for them too, if they don't feel able to handle it. Two, I am sure, will have difficulty- but they are trying very hard, and that I applaud.

I will try my starburst and quasar again- then start looking up and documenting my sources. I may go back and reread some of my previous reports too. Wish me luck!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

The Home Front

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Overlaid Teardrops. There are several very strange things about this image. One is that it isn't supposed to have any green in it at all; The field that is showing as green and dark blue is supposed to be red, or reddish. The other is the feathering you can see along the edges. I think I know why that is happening, though. I think I'll keep the effect for a while; I do like seeing something besides nice neat edges once in a while.

Forgive me for not writing in yesterday, Gentle Readers; Yesterday, I was busy most of the day helping my mother. I do have some very good news on that front; The injury, while serious and painful, was not as serious as I thought at first. In fact, the attending physician is confident that the knee should be as good as new in about six months. To which I say, YAY!

About the class project; My team and I are supposed to assemble a report on business ethics and values, and the sources of them. I volunteered to cover the laws that are supposed to help with that, since that was a subject I had looked at a couple of times before. It is a crying shame that ethics and values need to be legislated at all, but certain businesses that have since fallen spectacularly have demonstrated that not everyone is learning right from wrong at home- or perhaps, those in question have chosen to ignore the question of right and wrong in favor of a quick profit.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

The Past Few Days...

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Blossom. Admittedly, while the middle field doesn't look much like the traditional petals, there is enough of a resemblance amid the green that I thought the name fitting.

Pardon my absence during the past couple of days, Gentle Readers; Between helping my mother and school assignments- which have become more intense- I've had little time to really post. I think I will have something for you soon, though; The team has begun to gel together well, so soon I will know exactly what I need to work on for the project. If it is what I think it is, we should have it done within a couple of days- Other than the final assembly, which I think one of my team mates will wish to do.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Sunday Breakfast

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Hollyhocks. I've had floodfills do some strange things before, but this was the first time I've seen it make ragged edges around the center fields, such as what one might expect on parchment. I still haven't succeeded in making the focused-in rays on purpose, but I've come closer I think. I also have a notion of how it might be accomplished.

My parents called and asked my husband and me to come over for breakfast- which was a bit of a surprise. When we went, I took my shiny new diploma to show them. which pleased them tremendously. I don't think Mom will be walking for a while. Dad, meanwhile, is getting a good close look at what goes on in the house while he's not there. Talk about an education!

I really have little else to report today. But I think I just might have something for you tomorrow.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Yee-Haw!

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Second Recursion. You will recognize the base image from yesterday, but I did decide to attempt something a bit different for changing it. I was a little surprised at what happened; I expected a few of the fields to gravitate in toward the center, instead of forming squares around it, for one thing. For another, I was looking to use a green around the field- but apparently the layer filter precluded that against the layer under it. It did make an interesting experiment.

I didn't really think I was going to have anything noteworthy to report today, Gentle Readers. But a visit from the postal carrier changed that; The lady brought my degree from the college! I wasn't expecting it until Monday at the earliest. As you probably can tell, I'm still a little bouncy. I found a shelf to display it on, but I think I'll look around for a better spot after I reorganize my other ornaments.

Yee-Haw!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Never A Dull Moment!

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Nova2. I chose that so it wouldn't get mixed up with the original Nova- which I will display upon request. When I made today's image, I contemplated whether or not to add anything else. But I couldn't think of anything that wouldn't look like an afterthought, so I left it. However, I may remake it in the future with additions; I do have a couple of notions knocking around in my noggin!

This has been a busy morning for me so far; I've had a lot of correspondence to attend to, and I will have to go to my parents' place soon to take care of the things I talked about yesterday. I might try to make something to carry over, but considering when I promised to be there that might be cutting it close. However, there is always some time this weekend for that. Also, I have a report to finish. I know the material, but the professor is going to look for a few scholarly turns of phrase, and those don't come naturally to me. So I am in the middle of rereading the needed items so I can start writing the report and have it look professional, instead of like a high school kid's paper that I had to read and critique for a class last year.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Organizing

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Flowered. It is a rather simple design with curved lines going out from a central point, laid over a starburst field.

That is not the image I was originally thinking to post today, but I couldn't find the one that I wanted! I was originally not going to make extra folders for sorting the pictures I make, but after I spent about an hour trying to locate a specific item I think I just about have to. I probably ought to anyway, if any of these things are going to be presented for sale; It will be easier for my customers, and for me. Wish me luck!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

OW!

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Shell. As usual, that's not quite what it really is- but part of the main object does bear a great resemblance to an oyster shell, so I decided to go with that.

The next few days are going to be busier than usual; In addition to my school work and other stuff, I will have to spend time helping my mother. The light snow and ice we had recently froze into a solid sheet on her porch, and she slipped and fell and really did a number on her knee. From the description she gave, she probably will have to have surgery to get everything back where it belongs. As it is, she can't use that leg at all. The real irony is that that is the leg she broke some years ago down near her foot.

Can we say OW?

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Scholarly Detective Hunt!

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Sunny Ball. The effect is really more like a flower wrapping around the ball, but I was at a loss at the time for a name. Needless to say, I ran with this.

I can only beg your pardon for my absence yesterday, Gentle Readers; I was quite busy most of the day, and ended up going to bed a bit early with not feeling so well. I am feeling much better now, other than a mild headache- and I daresay a hot cup of tea will fix that! I'll have my morning coffee later.

I just ran into my first stumbling block with my present course; The assignment requires me to use a page in the text that was not in one of the downloads, though I do have the pages on either side of that most particular one. That shouldn't be too much of a problem, though; If I'm right about the material, I have the item required in a previous course. I'll go looking for it later on. Wish me luck!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Hot Food, Cold Days?

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Rose Opening. You may notice that the very center of the image doesn't contrast strongly with its surrounding background; It really needed the surrounding fields to show well. It does give me an idea for a future image- but it will have to wait.

The snow that fell in flurries yesterday, only to melt off between times never did really amount to much. In a way that's a relief because it means that no one will have to get out with a shovel. However, it's chilly enough that nothing is melting either. I've put on a pot of bean soup, and later on I will look into some baking- or at least, some baking preparations. That pot takes up most of the counter space I use for mixing stuff.

I had been pondering how to approach making a cake with two different flavors in it, until it occured to me that I was trying too hard: What I really needed to do was get the dry ingredients sifted together in two large bowls, then work on the stuff that will give the flavors! I may want to leave a few oranges sitting out while I'm working; Galahad gets into just about everything, but that is one cat that doesn't like citrus at all. My husband and I both have been laughing at that silly cat.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Snow again!

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Wave. I first put the starburst in the background, then added the pointed oval in the next layer up and floodfilled it. I started to use the same color for a second floodfill below it, but changed my mind when I saw how that made the entire image look washed out.

Guess what? We are seeing snow again! It's not a blizzard like the last one, but the clouds aren't exactly moving on. I'm thinking that we really will see a steady drop in the temperatures during the next week. Fortunately, we do have a new snow shovel. I daresay the local stores have started carrying them in light of the unusual weather patterns. Hot cocoa and hot coffee are my friends now! In the meanwhile, my husband- who does not like snow- is not really pleased. But he does take comfort in that he's home for the weekend.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers.

Scholarly Honesty?

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Peek A Boo! It wasn't exactly planned, but I noticed there was a great resemblance between the 'opening' in the main image and the shape of a human eye. Thus, the name.

Last night in the class, we were told to use a Certificate Of Originality. This seems to be an honor-system thing to prevent students from plagiarizing or otherwise cheating, but I can't say I really like it. For one thing, adding this certificate will really play havoc with the formatting of the papers, unless I do some fancy copy-pasting instead of otherwise inserting it into the document. For another, it is a bit of an insult to honest students and will not stop the dishonest ones from lying. I will say that this certificate might make the dishonest ones think twice. We shall see what happens.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Mirror Image?

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is a fractal by Ron Venable that he titled Happy New Year! I thought it quite appropriate, and extremely cheerful.

I've got one more item to turn in for the school- but that won't take long, considering how it is- or is going to be- almost identical to an assignment I turned in a year ago. I do have to say I wonder about some of the school's staff; I point out to them that this stuff they're presenting is identical to what I saw in my first course here, but they try to tell me that it is only similar. Sorry, ladies and gentlemen; I could quote some of those passages. About all that's really different is the way that it's used. Considering how the course is compressed, that may be enough of a difference- but I don't like people trying to brush me off like that.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

How Cool is That?

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Lime Lines. There are several things about this image that are unusual even for me. One is the lines themselves: The original color of them was supposed to be pale blue, but the background filter changed that considerably. The second item was that the same filter caused another fill to become the deep black that you see, rather than leaving it the original color that I had chosen. I did like the dramatic contrast, so I left it as you see.

Yesterday, I finally got to meet my new classmates. And what a marvelous group of people they are! There are a couple of dyed-in-the-wool Irish lads and lassies, a number of people from large hard-working families who decided to go back to school when they suddenly found themselves unemployed, and one person who but narrowly avoided a similar fate, having gotten out of the housing market just before it crashed. This course I just started is going to involve actually using the learning teams that one of my early courses talked about. This could be fun!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

From the word Go!

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Waving Bright. It didn't quite turn out as I thought it would, based on what happened with yesterday's image- but I think I know why it didn't too. A future experiment will help confirm or disprove my theory. In the meanwhile, enjoy!

About 1:00 A.M., the new syllabus was finally posted. The instructor lives about an hour behind where I do, but she looks like she'll be a lot of fun to work with! I'll want another look at my schedule, now that I'm somewhat rested. Indeed, I was making a lot of typos while getting my introduction in- and that's a pretty good measure of how tuckered out I really am, regardless of what I might say. It would have been worse if I hadn't kept a file ready to go.

Wish me luck, Gentle Readers!

Until We Meet...

Back To School

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Tangles. I made it this morning using a variation of a technique I thought of a couple of days ago, then applying one of my customary deformations since I have some trouble with freehand-drawing some things. The results are promising, so I'll have to see what the original idea does.

Last night, I went to my school site to see if I just might be able to get my hands on my course syllabus. I couldn't. I'm not really surprised, since the school had decided not to let the students see what they had to do ahead of time. I thought that delay was a mistake when it was implemented, and I still do. After all, according to their own courses and workshops, procrastination is a major no-no for a successful student! So why do they encourage procrastination? I would like to see if the school's board of directors can really look me in the eye as they answer that. I do mean answer, instead of heap on the excuses.

I should be able to get them some time today, and meanwhile make a start with some of the worksheets I downloaded earlier. Some delay is inevitable since it requires cooperation with my fellow students, and they would be in the same position I am. But I do have my yellow pads lined up and ready to go!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Cold Again...

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Curios. It has been a while since I used simple bezier lines and deformations, so I tried the pink and green together. The green wasn't quite the shade I had selected- but a number of filters do that, so I wasn't surprised. Thinking later on, it did give me an idea for another image.

Last night was almost warm compared to the preceding week. That was well, since my poor husband wasn't feeling so good most of the night. He did feel a lot better by the wee hours of the morning though.

Tonight, it's supposed to get chilly again. How fortunate that most of the snow has melted! Even though it has rained most of the day and so will freeze to a skim of ice, at least we won't be dealing with thick slabs of the stuff!

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

First Day of the Year

Good Afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Pieces. I used an adjustment with my freehand brush that I normally don't to put the yellow in. I then started to use a circle deformation- But didn't like that because it added too many sharp corners and took it out. I then chose a couple of other colors to fill in the open spaces, giving the results that you see.

Happy First Day of the Year! I will be starting my new course tomorrow- which will be challenging, since it is compressed from the previous courses. I told you about this in a previous post, how the new courses from here on out will take 5 weeks as opposed to nine. I'm not sure how well I will handle that; The pressure will be quite heavy. But with luck, I should be able to handle it.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...