Archive for the ‘Odds and Ends’ Category

Creating An Art Inventory

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

Portrait of Amie Digital Painting
Portrait of Amie Digital Painting

Last week I began work on creating a comprehensive inventory of my art. My first pass is to create my inventory in a spreadsheet format using OpenOffice Calc. Subsequently I expect to migrate to a database format using MySQL.

Previously my art inventory system was quite informal and inconsistent. The only formal inventory I had was of those limited edition prints that had been either exhibited or sold. That inventory, maintained in spreadsheet format, was necessary in order to provide each print a unique inventory number for use with the Certificate of Authenticity that accompanies each of my original prints.

Separately my only other inventory consisted of the information associated with the web pages for the art that is on my web site. As of this writing there are a total of 58 of my works of art exhibited on my web site.

My initial pass at an inventory wound up with 107 items being cataloged - which does represent a substantial portion of my formal output. By formal, I mean art that is destined to be framed, exhibited, sold. Excluded from this process is:

  • the net art I’ve created to illustrate my web site and blog posts (see the Web Art Gallery for some examples of this art);
  • wallpapers I’ve created for sharing (see Free IPAD Algorithmic Art Wallpaper Gallery);
  • art I created as a part of experimenting with different styles of digital painting.

This inventory made it very obvious that I have much work to do in getting my art into my web art gallery since just 58 of the 107 artworks, 54 percent, are currently exhibited on my web site. And of course my inventory is not yet complete.

The initial fields of my art inventory spreadsheet are:

Painting Title
Artwork title
Gallery Directory
Directory name on hard drive of the gallery directory.
Artwork Directory
Directory name on hard drive of artwork directory inside gallery directory.
URL
Address of the gallery page - empty for art not on web site.
Date Created
Date artwork created.
Subcategory
Photographic, Digital Painting, 3D Render, etc.
Paper Type
Paper type to be used for original limited edition prints.
Edition Size
Maximum umber of original prints to be produced.
PPI
Pixels per inch setting for printing
Pixels Wide
Image width in pixels
Pixels High
Image height in pixels
Inches wide
(calculated PPI * Pixels Wide)
Inches high
(calculated PPI * Pixels High)
Matted Size
Used to determine frame size needed.
Square Inches
Size of art in square inches (calculated inches wide * high)
Price
Print Price
Price/in2
(calculated Price/Square Inches)
Notes
Comments as needed

Once complete, my goal is to convert the two spreadsheets - the main inventory spreadsheet and my Certificate of Authenticity spreadsheet - into two tables in a relational database so that I will be able to cross reference the two.

The Illustration

The digital painting used to illustrate this post is a very tightly cropped version of a larger painting created as a test of a digital painting program that I have been working on. Titled Portrait of Amie it is based on a photo of a friend.

Closing Quote

Composition is the artist’s method of organising a subject, of deciding what to put in and what to leave out in order to make an effective picture. - Mary Acton

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A New Website Design for Artsnova

Saturday, June 4th, 2011

New Artsnova web site design screenshot
The new Artsnova web site design

Thursday night I rolled out a new version of my Artsnova web site. My primary goal in redesigning my web site was to make the site’s navigation system more user friendly. If you want to know what the original version of the Artsnova web site looked like, look no further for I had designed the templates of this Wordpress blog to provide a seamless integration between my website and blog. The only difference between the blog and web site was the content of the sidebar. On the web site, the sidebar consisted of a secondary navigation system and some internal advertisements which varied from page to page.

Whereas in the original design the site navigation was split between a horizontal nav bar below the masthead for section navigation and a vertical navigation menu in the sidebar for intra-section navigation, I combined both into a single CSS driven drop-down menu in the new design. This makes it much easier for visitors to find what they’re looking for and to move around the web site quickly.

Another benefit of the new single menu system is maintenance. The dual menu system meant that there were structural differences from one page to the next. The new single menu system combined with a standardized sidebar means that the header, navigation, and sidebar divs are identical for all my web pages. Since I am not using either a CMS (Content Management System) or SSI (Server Side Includes) to manage my web pages but am instead coding them all up the old fashioned way - by hand - this standardization can save me quite a bit of time when adding new pages or undertaking site-wide changes.

My secondary objective was to clean up and standardize my sidebar elements and add social media linkage. I recently put the addthis.com social media bookmarking tool on a few of my pages for testing. In this redesign I have added the addthis widget to all my pages. I’ve also added the Facebook feed for my Facebook page to the sidebar. The only wrinkle is the Facebook widget which tends to be somewhat erratic in getting data back from Facebook on the initial load.

My final objective was to tweak the aesthetics of the page layout. The changes I made to the divs which control the design were minor but, to my eye, improve the overall appearance of the site.

I actually had two competing designs and the design I’ve gone with is the second. The principal difference between the two designs is that the design-not-chosen uses a vertical drop-down navigation menu in the sidebar to the left of the masthead for site navigation. I really liked the way this Javascript/CSS menu looked and worked. It really created a nice compact design as you can see in the screen shot below.

Artsnova alternate web design
The alternate Artsnova web site design

In the end I decided against this design for two reasons. First I don’t like to employ Javascript for something as crucial as site navigation. If someone has Javascript turned off, while the menu still displays and functions, it does not collapse and consequently becomes a very long string of sidebar buttons. Second, the Javascript did take a small amount of time to actually build the menu and while this was going on, the raw html menu elements were exposed to the visitor - the same as if Javascript were turned off.

Overall I’m quite pleased with the way the design turned out. I hope that visitors to the site find that it is now easier to navigate from one section to the next. At some point I will need to redo my Wordpress templates in order to provide seamless navigation between the web site and blog but that will have to wait for another day.

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Stop Illinois Internet Tax Bill

Sunday, January 9th, 2011

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn

If you live in Illinois, contact Governor Quinn immediately and tell him not to sign the new Illinois Internet Tax Bill HB 3659, aka the Amazon Tax. The Internet Tax Bill was passed by the Illinois Senate on January 5 and by the House of Representatives on January 6 and is now awaiting Governor Quinn’s signature. This bill will force online businesses with affiliates in Illinois to pay taxes on every sale originating from those affiliates. According to John Cullerton’s (Democrat and Senate President) web site, this new law would give Illinois an additional $150 million in revenues and that it will "spur economic activity and job growth".

Unfortunately the reality is that the Illinois Internet Tax Bill may well result in a revenue loss for the state, a loss of income to Illinois citizens and business, and an increase in unemployment!

Point 1: In the four states that have passed similar laws (New York, Colorado, North Carolina and Rhode Island), instead of the state collecting additional revenue, the online merchants instead severed their relationships with affiliates in that state. The result was no new sales tax income for the state.

Point 2: When in-state affiliates are dropped, they no longer receive commission income on the associated sales - which means that they report less business income to the state - which means that not only do state revenues from income tax decline, but that those business’ now have less money to spend.

Point 3: Twelve other states have looked at the issues associated with similar proposed legislation in their states and wisely decided to reject the legislation.

Point 4: For affiliate businesses with employees, the business may move out of state to avoid being dropped - meaning a loss of jobs for state residents, a loss of income to local suppliers to that business, and a further loss of tax revenues to the state. At least one company located in Illinois - FatWallet.com - has stated that it will relocate to Wisconsin in order to save its business.

Unfortunately my state representative Paul Froehlich (56th district, Democrat) voted yes on this bill but fortunately Froehlich did not seek reelection and will be out of office once the newly elected representatives take their seats. Sadly my state senator John Millner (28th district, Republican) voted for this bill as well so I will be contacting him to express my displeasure with his action.

Tell Governor Quinn To Say NO To The Illinois Internet Tax Bill

If you are a citizen of Illinois, please contact Governor Quinn and tell him not to sign the Illinois Internet Tax Bill HB 3659, aka the Amazon Tax. Thank You.

Illinois Budget Background

Illinois is in dire budgetary straits. Illinois politicians are desperate as they have grossly mismanaged the state budget. Even though the state constitution calls for a balanced budget, Illinois is looking at a state budget deficit that is expected to hit $15 Billion by this summer. In addition, Illinois is ranked as the worst state in the nation when it comes to funding its pension funds. Currently Illinois’ unfunded pension liability is approaching $100 Billion! As a consequence, bond rating agencies continue to downgrade Illinois municipal bond rating - now down to an A-. This results in increased interest costs to the state as it borrows money to pay its bills.

Unfortunately for me, my property tax bill increased a whopping 30 percent from 2009 to 2010. In an act of cowardice, our incumbent politicians made sure that delivery of the second installment of the property tax bills was delayed until after the election in order to avoid voter backlash. Note that here in Cook County we had the highest sales tax in the nation in 2010! There was a slight cut back in the sales tax rate in advance of the election so I am unsure as to whether or not we still have that honor. Now the politicians in Springfield are proposing a 75 percent increase in state income tax!. Amazing since Illinois did not even have a state income tax until 1969. And now we have the creation of the new Internet tax! Frankly, given the manner in which our elected officials have thoroughly mismanaged the state budget, I don’t think that I would trust to give them another dime. In terms of spending, Illinois is now spending 30% more per person in inflation adjusted dollars than it did just 10 years ago!! This is obviously a trend that must be stopped.

Disclaimer: I am an Amazon affiliate so this legislation does affect me personally, although the financial impact is nil.

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Hubble 3D IMAX Movie

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

Hubble 3D IMAX movie
Hubble 3D IMAX movie

What a great IMAX movie. Thursday I visited Chicago’s Navy Pier to take some photographs and attend a screening of the latest IMAX movie - Hubble 3D. I had a number of free passes so I and several friends from the National Space Society met up to see the movie.

According to the theater Shuttle astronaut John Grunsfeld, who was in the movie and was one of the astronauts on the last Hubble servicing mission, was supposed to be there. However there was no John Grunsfeld. I never did ask anyone from the theater what happened.

As to the movie, the main themes were the training for the Hubble servicing mission, the actual servicing mission itself, and simulated 3D views of some of Hubble’s better known observations. The blend of shuttle launches, astronaut training, the Hubble servicing missions, and the simulated trips through the Orion Nebula and M87 kept the movie well paced.

The 3D, which relies on polarized light rather than the red/blue anaglyph, really made the movie spectacular. When the astronauts were in the Space Shuttle’s payload bay servicing the Hubble Space Telescope, it was like being there with them. One particularly effective shot was a close in view of astronaut Megan McArthur suited up prior to boarding the Space Shuttle for the STS-125 mission. She was seated and it was like she was seated only a few feet in front of me. I felt like I could reach out and give her a high-five. Megan was a mission specialist on STS-125, the 5th and final Hubble servicing mission, and worked the remote manipulator system (RMS) used to grab the Hubble Space Telescope and bring it into the Shuttle’s payload bay.

Orion Nebula

The Orion Nebula is arguably the best known and most photographed astronomical feature. Astronomically, the highlight of the movie was the simulated trip to and through the Orion Nebula, which is a stellar nursery. I’ve had an interest in the Orion Nebula, also known as Messier 42 or M42, for a long time and have in the past considered putting together a presentation on the subject. If you want to know a lot more about the Orion Nebula, I recommend the book The Orion Nebula: Where Stars Are Born.

Disappointments

There were some slow moments during the show that relied on non-3d visuals. These were primarily news reports associated with Hubble’s initial optical problems (recall that the primary mirror was ground a fraction of the width of a human hair out of shape).

I would have liked to have seen more of the movie devoted to astronomy. There were some beautiful 3D stills, like that of the Helix Nebula, and the simulated trip to the galaxy known as M87, a giant elliptical galaxy with a super massive black hole at its center. And there was more - just not enough for me.

Bottom Line

If you are at all interested in space exploration or astronomy, then this is a movie you’ll enjoy. The 3D views are amazing and the script provides a great educational opportunity. And did I mention that the 3D views are amazing.

Afterwards

After the movie we headed to Bubba Gump’s for food and drink. Bubba Gump’s wasn’t our first choice but other than Harry Caray’s, it was the only place still open. For the next hour and a half we talked some about the movie but mostly about the National Space Society and the upcoming International Space Development Conference (ISDC) - which all of us have an involvement in. For my part, I am the ISDC webmaster and am the point of contact for the Call for Papers. The ISDC is being held in Chicago this year over Memorial Day weekend and is the best space exploration conference for the general public. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, and many other space luminaries, will be attending. For more about the ISDC, check out the International Space Development Conference web site.

The Hubble 3D IMAX Web Site

The IMAX folks have a web site for the Hubble 3D movie. There is background about the shuttle missions, the astronauts, and a few movie wallpapers available. Be forewarned - the web site is heavy. If you don’t have a high speed internet connection the site will take some time to load. And if you don’t have a newer computer - well let’s just say that the site will put a strain on your browser. So for more about the movie, visit www.imax.com/hubble/.

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It’s All A Conspiracy

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Conspiracy Crowd
Are You In On It?

Yes they are all in it together. In this case they is that unknown force which has worked to arrange it so that everything that I am even remotely interested in doing is happening on the same weekend in February.

It all started with the Capricon Science Fiction Convention. I will be participating in their art show, deliver two presentations on art, and be a panelist on a number of panels. Capricon is Feb 11-14.

Along comes the Northwest Cultural Council and offers a seminar on State Of The Art Giclee Reproductions. I would love to attend but can’t because it is that same Saturday.

I was then asked if I could do a presentation for the Northern Illinois Rocketry Association at their mini-conference scheduled for the same Saturday. Would have loved to both present and attend but alas no can do.

I was also asked to speak to a school group on that Friday about careers in the aerospace, astronomical, and planetary science fields. Can’t make that one either.

Most of all I would have loved to attend the College Art Association Annual Conference being held in Chicago this year! If it wasn’t for my obligations to Capricon, I would be at this conference.

There was something else as well - I forget what it was but it was the same weekend so that was dismissed.

And oh, I forgot to mention that my older son’s birthday is, yep you guessed it, that Friday!

On the bright side - nothing else has showed up on my radar screen for the other 24 days of the month.

Sadly this seems to be all to typical for me. I distinctly remember after returning from my honeymoon with my wife - we were discussing vacation plans for the next year. Out of 52 weekends I had only one weekend blocked out - that to attend the International Space Development Conference. My wife wanted us to go to California to celebrate her father’s 60th birthday. You guessed it - out of 52 possible weekends her father’s birthday was the same weekend as the conference I was obligated to attend. So for our first vacation post-honeymoon, we spent it a few thousand miles apart.

Being powerless to stop this evil conspiracy, I’ll just shrug it off and do my best to enjoy all those other free weekends.

Jim

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A Vacation Car Rental Adventure

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Phoenix from the airplane window
South Phoenix from the airplane window

As you know from my last post, the family and I took a two week vacation in June. One of the things we had to do was rent a car. We planned to pick up our car at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport and return it there. At Sky Harbor all the car rental businesses are colocated in an off site facility that is open 24×7 with free airport shuttle bus service. There wasn’t much price difference between the several agencies I checked but fortunately for us one of them, Avis, provided a map showing the location of all their other car rental locations in that section of Phoenix.

That map played a critical role in our car rental decision. You see it was a bit of a shock to learn that even with our discount, to rent a full size car for two weeks from Avis was going to cost us $995.00 (in line with the other car rental companies I checked). That was far more than I had expected to spend. One thing I noticed in the itemized costs were a number of surcharges and taxes associated with using the airport car rental facility.

This is where that Avis location map came in handy. I had noticed that Avis had its own car rental location in a Sears Auto Center about 5 miles from the airport. On a lark I decided to see what it would cost to rent the same car for the same time only picking it up and returning it to that Sears location. Picking myself up off the floor I confirmed that the same car rental would cost me only $430.00! That is $565.00 cheaper than renting the car at the airport - an astounding price difference.

Two downsides to not using the airport car rental facility. First: the Sears Avis location was only open during normal business hours and not 24×7 like the airport location. No problem for us since our arrival and departure were during normal business hours. Second: we had to get back and forth between the airport and the Sears location. I called the Sears Avis office and found out that it was a $16 cab ride between the airport and there. The decision was made. We would take a cab from the airport to the Avis office at the Sears location and rent our car from there - saving us 60 percent off the airport car rental price.

The day we arrived in Phoenix we grabbed our bags and a cab and set off to pick up our rental car. At the Avis office we were waited on by David who was very helpful. The best bit of advice that he gave us was to point out that the terms of our car rental agreement allowed us to return our car to the airport rental facility. That way we could take the free shuttle bus to the airport - freeing us of the need to arrange and pay for a taxi ride from Sears to the airport on our return. Fantastic.

That $565.00 we saved by not using the airport’s car rental facility was a huge offset to the hotel costs that we would incur while visiting the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Zion National Park.

The moral of the story is that it always pays to shop around because you never know what kind of deal you may stumble upon.

The Illustration

I never did take a picture of our rented car - a red Chevy Impala. I did take a number of photographs out the airplane window though. I make it a point when I fly to always get a window seat because you never know when you will see something interesting. The photograph shown above was taken out the airplane window looking south - after the airplane had performed a u-turn and began its final approach. The camera raw file was processed using Adobe Photoshop with subsequent steps to enrich the colors and to deepen the blue of the sky.

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