Entries Tagged 'Projects' ↓

Friendly and Fun by Tojosan, on Flickr

Trying to fit in? Not these two ladies. I met them during a visit to Borders, where they were browsing magazines across from me. Sure you see some strange dress there, but usually it’s the goth kids or the grunge crowd.  These ladies were bright, high energy, and happy.

Colorful people are a treasure. Really!  You swear you want your kids to grow up to be successful but often along with that comes ‘normal.’ Ordinary has become the new black as families go. Everyone wants it.

Sure, the ordinary gets us by, but it’s the colorful parts that make our memories. How often do is the colorful dismissed though or pointed a finger at and looked upon with a smirk.

These fine young women will always be a reminder that color isn’t something to fear, it’s to be embraced. It’s an essential part of us, a driving force of our inner desires. Sure you can squelch it, but is living in a grey world really the end goal of life?

My tribute to color? My hats. I’ve shrugged off the notion that grown, adult men should wear ordinary and calm hats. By golly, I’ll wear if it makes me or anyone else smile.

So cheers to color, these ladies, and a life filled with breaking out of the dull and grey.

(This article was inspired by What I learned from Colorful Characters on Middle Zone Musings.)

The complete What I learned from Colorful Characters roundup. Please retweet:

Check Out the What I learned from Colorful Characters roundup http://bit.ly/cx5M4J

Bonus social networking tip: Stand out. Be unique. Wear your own ‘hats.’

this is not COD Magazine-Hilary McHone and Rick Baker

So a few years back I run across this lady on Flickr, Brooklyn Hilary. She’s crazy, funny, and has more energy than a room of kindergartners.

She’s still crazy after all these years.  Now Hilary has indoctrinated her rather artistic husband Rick and they’ve gone COD. COD Magazine that is.

I’ve grabbed a quick snap shot of their page. Just click on the picture and go. It’ll blow your mind or make you laugh. Either way, it’s great stuff.

Hilary’s primary project these days is History with Hilary.

Origami Envelopes by Tojosan, on Flickr

Origami envelopes, who knew right?  These were folded according to the Daisy’s Envelope diagram on pg. 81 of The Origami Bible (affiliate link).  Shown are my first four attempts.

Crafted with A4 size paper, these were actually quite easy to pick up.  There are only six folds or so. When completed, you have a working envelope. The picture doesn’t indicate the size well.  WHen done, they are about the size of an index card.

As part of an experiment in practical origami, and social networking, I’d love to send you, yes, you whoever and wherever you may be, a letter inside one of these envelopes.

Complex? Not at all. You simple drop me a line in the comments below indicating you want a letter from me and I’ll contact you to confirm the mailing address. I’ll be taking the first 10 or so folks that jump in.  If those go well, I’ll do what I can to get to everyone that would like one of these.

So jump into the comments, make sure from the comment I can find your email (automatic for Disqus registered users) and I’ll contact you this week to get your address. No promises that the letters will be interesting.

NOTE: I’d love in the first 10 to get at least one person outside the US.

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• Amazing origami mushroom video (makezine.com)

child and dog looking through the glass door

What I learned from children

Children see all creatures big and small, human or not, as having feelings, intentions, and some sort of intelligence.

D, our youngest granddaughter, really exemplifies this with pet dogs. She wants to greet each one with a hug and a kiss, as she likes to be greeted by loved ones.

When the granddaughters call, they always ask after our pet, both Gizmo, and now Charlie. They’d often times ask to talk to him on the phone. Each wanted to tell him they loved him.

This behavior extends beyond making pets into playmates, they’ll take anyone as a playmate, now matter how young or old. It’s awesome to see them involving their great-grandpa into reading books and playing board games.When visiting the in-laws, they immediately invite even the littlest baby to play with them.

I’m not sure it’s innocence or naiveté that allows these behaviors. I’d like to think it’s wisdom and acceptance, perhaps two qualities we tend to give up on as we age.

What have children taught you?

(This article was written as a contribution to Middle Zone Musings: What I learned from children, part of the monthly groupwrite series.)

self portrait of Todd R Jordan - click to see on Flickr

It’s that time again; time to bring in a new year. I’m ringing in 2010 by taking the 365 challenge again.  Nanna J will be taking self portraits as well.

Help me celebrate the new year and the photography challenge. I’d like to give away a Flickr Pro account to one of my readers.

It’ll be simple. Leave a comment with a link to your Flickr profile and add me as a contact on Flickr.  I’ll randomly pick a commenter to receive the Pro account.

All comments must be in by Midnight Central Time on Sunday January 3rd. Random.org will be used to pick.

Well, No One Said it Had to Be 50,000 GOOD Words…

(Posted using ShareThis)

Deep into your Nanowrimo writing? Struggling to make 50,000 words and make it good? You’re not alone. Kristen is struggling as well.

I’ve crested 37K tonight and am anxious to be a winner. Reading this actually helps to keep up my spirits. So why not click through on the link above and help her along or share her frustrations.

Cheers,

I’m tojosan on nanowrimo.

Scrivener Trial NaNoWriMo message

Every day I see this message pop up. It’s the Scrivener NaNoWriMo 2009 Trial message. This software is my success story for this year’s National Novel Writing Month.

Scrivener is a Mac native application geared especially towards novel and scriptwriting. It allows easy organization of work into projects, manuscripts, parts, and subdivisions, such as chapters or scenes.

Research notes are kept in the Scrivener as well. The same interface allows not only keeping text in your research section but also images and links. It’s as handy as drag and drop.

Search has a Mac native feel, a la Spotlight.  Start typing in the search bar and the left hand bar immediately responds by only showing subsections (in my case chapters) that have that search word included. In turn, the search word is highlighted in each section. I’ve found this feature especially useful for name use. Don’t want two characters with the same name right?

Search has more than just simple text searching. Here’s a snapshot of the search drop down.

Full Screen mode is nice. A single column down the center of the screen is the initial set up. Configuration is adjustable to place the column, set the column width, and the transparency of the background. Many writers will find this their preferred mode I think. It blocks out distractions well.

Document exporting is robust. Microsoft formats are selectable, as well as PDF, RTF, and plain text. Selection is allowed at differing levels, allowing any part of the document to be exported. This feature allowed easy email off to my wife of the novel.

Scrivener has other features I’ve been enjoying. It doesn’t have a couple of features I’d love though.

• Web publishing
• One click email sending

Will I be purchasing Scrivener at the end of the trial? Right now it seems a sure bet. Its interface is straightforward. There are plenty of ways to customize and export. Support is built in for CSV version management. (computer geeks will get that)

Find the Scrivener NaNoWriMo deal.

Find me as tojosan on NaNoWriMo.

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November is coming up, and you know what that means: warm up your word processors, refill your fountain pens, gnaw at your pencils, sharpen your quill nubs, and set the espresso machine to overdrive because it’s NaNoWriMo time!

It’s that magical time of year where writers from all over the world hunch down in their favorite writing corners to produce a 50,000 word novel. Some will succeed, some will fail, but most everyone should be able to get Chapter 1 done—and that brings us to this month’s contest!

Submit the first chapter of the NaNoWriMo novel you’re writing to enter our NaNoWriMo ‘09 writing contest. It won’t be your best work ever (after all, 50,000 words in 30 days is a lot to write), but that’s the point. We want to see your raw, unedited writing. Everyone will be on the same playing field, so don’t be shy—let’s see what you’ve got. Good luck!

That’s the gist of Sribophile’s National Novel Writing Month 2009 contest.  There are prizes as well.

1st Prize:	$50 Amazon.com gift card
2nd Prize:	$25 Amazon.com gift card

Read more about the contest, including contest rules and submission guidelines.

Hot off the presses:

Don’t miss out on this great–and free–opportunity to increase your computer skills! Today, Governor Jay Nixon announced that thousands of Missourians will receive free access to innovative e-learning and certification programs through a public-private partnership with Microsoft’s Elevate America. These cutting-edge modules will build the technology skills that will help job seekers like you compete in today’s economy.

The process is easy: Log on to www.mo.gov and click on the “Elevate America” link to fill out the simple form. Missouri has a total of 24,750 e-learning vouchers to go around–and they must be activated by January 31, 2010. Be one of the first to claim a voucher and start building your technology skills right away!

Received this via Mo/Il IT Guys Group on Facebook.

Slideshow is from the St. Louis NaNoWriMo Kick-off party on October 24th. Jennifer, @etoiline, organized, while a couple dozen of us showed up to hang out, get some good eats, and chat about our novels-to-be.

Signup was more than just jotting down our names. After recording our names, and forum IDs, Jennifer asked us to create “plot ninjas”. A plot ninja is basically a sentence or idea recorded on an index card. These will be used later to help folks through writer’s block. In exchange for filling out a plot ninja card, novelists received a gift bag.

Conversation wasn’t just about novels. We talked about jobs, current and past. People shared past NaNoWriMo experiences, including what helped and what didn’t. Personal histories were shared as well, such as trips to foreign countries, family stories, and music they love to write to.

A quick survey netted a range of novel themes, from horror, to chic lit, and several folks planning a sci-fi novel. Me? I’m leaning towards horror/thriller. Dean Koontz will be a heavy influence either way.

Next up is the Halloween Pre-Party leading into the first write-in, at midnight.

Can’t wait to get writing!
Cheers,
Todd
Find me on NaNoWriMo and friend me.