Sky View Photoshop Elements Experiments

Make Time for Small Reflections

I'm headed for class
so I'll add Haiku when I
return home later ...

Smartfix above, Linear Burn below

Back from class I am
adding Haiku as promised
earlier today

13 different
looks at just one photograph
using Photoshop

Top left below is
the original photo
straight from camera ...

Blending modes ... filters
alter basic images
creating effects

like what you see here
playing can be fun but it's
quite time intensive

especially 'til
I gain more experience
with what each one does

Auto Levels above
Brightness 12, Contrast 100 below

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Thursday Thirteen,
Midweek Blues, Color Carnival,
Haiku Friday and Sky Watch Friday

Small Reflections ... Smile Back

Thought for Today
"Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever achieved." Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Christmasy Video Experiment with YouTube

After enjoying so many video presentations on other's blogs, and discovering THIS hilarious Christmas Countdown video at Lins Honeyman's blog through His Girl Friday's recommendation this morning at Wellied on Life ... I decided THIS was worth the effort to teach myself what I need to know to do this thing for myself here. Perhaps I was foolish, because the clip took forever to load there ... but what the hey? It's worth the wait to laugh yourself silly! Seriously!!! If this doesn't work, you can click on either link to find and watch the clip ... but I've got my fingers crossed.

Hooray! It worked for me ... so it should work for you. Warning ... it DOES take a bit of patience, so while it's loading from YouTube, get yourself a cup of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, eggnog, or whatever you choose ... and give yourself a "break" enjoying "Frank Kelly's 12 Days of Christmas." If you encounter difficulty, check out Melissa's advice from Part of Everything that I've added below the YouTube screen and leave a "thank you" at her blog.

For slow or choppy online videos, try the following:

• Click the "play" button.
• Once the video starts to load, click the "pause" button and let the rest of the video load.
• If you watch the status bar at the bottom of the video, (the bar with the pointer that tells you how far into the video you are) you can see the bar filling up.
• Once the status bar is full and the video is loaded, click "play" again and the video will usually play through much better.

This will work for most online videos regardless of how old or slow a computer is. The key is to wait until the video has fully loaded before attempting to view it. Try it!

FeedBurner Links, Photos, and Christmas Stuph

My Head is Pounding,
but I've got a FeedBurner Link
and a picture by my name
so ...

After beginning early this morning with good intentions, I find it's well into the afternoon before I've return to write and publish this. Once again, Kara saved the day by helping me clean up the mess I made and finish the installation. Thanks my friend! :)

I've jumped on the RSS FeedBurner band-wagon. After finding links like this on other blogs useful to me as I've wandered the Blogosphere, I decided to experiment here. I'm not sure exactly how all this works, but since I've used a "reader" for a while now (thanks to Annie), if linking up like this makes it easier for others to keep track of things, I'm willing to give it a go. So ... you'll notice the RSS "Subscribe" logo in my Sidebar. Hopefully this makes it simpler if you use a "reader" and wish to subscribe. If you encounter problems, please let me know so I can make modifications as necessary.

While I had Kara on the phone, I asked her to help me add a picture to my profile (something I've been trying to do for a couple of weeks now without success because I couldn't figure out WHERE to add it) but she directed me to the Bloggers Dashboard. Yes, it was there all along in the upper right hand corner ... clear as day! EDIT PROFILE (duh). I've searched every menu in Settings and Layout multiple times on numerous occasions, but it never occurred to me to check the Dashboard. Sigh! I don't think I've looked at that page since late October when I created my blogs. Doesn't the holiday wreath Mary made for me look festive? I'm happy to add that I've already passed this information on to another blogger seeking help a little while ago, and share it here for anyone else struggling with this challenge.

I'm pleased to report that I've been keeping things under control finally with Google Reader by choosing the "Mark all as read" option every time I add a new blog ... something I could have done all along, but for some reason couldn't make myself do until "rambling" about this dilemma recently at Sacred Ruminations and deciding to take action. MSN is another matter.

And finally (as promised previously) here are the "now you see them, now you don't ... oh there they are again" holiday decorations in my neighbor's yard. It seems these little Christmas Critters scurry to take cover when the rains come, but return to their places when the sun comes out again. Only in Southern California, right?

Last Call!

Christmas Carol lyrics will be posted tomorrow morning, so if you haven't done so already, be sure to email your Christmas Carol Quiz answers to me before you turn off your computer tonight. Remember, it's not necessary to have all ten. Send what you've figured out and celebrate the fun! My e-address is: smallreflections@gmail.com

Visual Scribbling #3

Well ... here's installment three of my early Palm V-Multi-mate "experiments" to see how it worked. I'm hoping it'll be readable like the first one. Guess I'm about to find out when I publish this post. It looks a little "ghostly" so perhaps I missed an opportunity to publish it on Halloween? I wonder if I'll happen upon one that looks like a turkey?

Video Experiments -- Molly plays with her friends, Sassy (the black Lab) & Lucy (the Golden Doodle)

I've got a nifty collection of video clips of Molly, but have never been able to share them with others, because the files are too big for email. Today I'm checking out whether or not they'll upload and run here. It's taking a long time to "process" but I'm hopeful it will all come together if I'm patient.

Guess I should have centered the image (and perhaps made it larger?) Live and learn. This process is taking longer than I care to repeat, so there will be no "do-overs" today to fix anything. After all, it's an experiment.

Okay ... it's been about 30 minutes (maybe more) and I'm about to give up. I'm tired of waiting for something to happen. How long can it take?

YEA!!!! It seems to work. Just when I was about to give up and chuckitall because I couldn't make anything work in "Preview" mode, I decided to press "Publish Post" on a whim ... and there it was ... working fine. I'd forgotten my neighbor was carrying on a conversation with someone as I filmed it. Such is life ... humming "I'm not perfect and I know I never will be..."

So ... the image size looks fine. Centered might be better, but I won't quibble. I'm just happy my efforts yielded results. Aren't they QTs? Molly's not quite 3, Sassy's 8, and Lucy (the Golden Doodle) is about 8 months in this clip. She's gonna be a moose!

On a different topic -- where in the world
did the "fish tank" screen saver
on my desktop come from?
That's really wierd!

Blogland Discoveries and Busy-ness

If you haven't discovered Talking Bear at Sleepy Bear Hollow, may I suggest you begin with When Bulls Teach Bears How to be Men, a personal story with a powerful message that I'll remember and share with everyone who will listen for a long time to come. His humorous piece about the two duck hunters from Wisconsin will have you laughing out loud. (Thanks again to Annie for telling me about Google Reader so I can read his posts dark on light which is easier on my eyes.)

When you have a few minutes, I highly recommend Thailand Gal's Blog Blast for Peace -- If not now, when? manifesto. It's certainly generated lots of comments on her site, and I've had several discussions with neighbors & friends about the issue it raises today. I suspect those conversations will continue.

I enjoyed the Cleaning Poem by Paul and birthday greetings to Senior Writer on the Elders Tribune. Happy belated birthday to Marlys. I'm catching up you see. :)

Reminders to self:
Here are a few ideas I'd like to remember and tackle eventually (but not now because I'm doing enough already ... as witnessed by the email message sent by my friend M today ... offering HER advice as follows:

"I think you are one busy little girl! Remember to eat right and get some exercise or we will find you sprawled out on top of your computer -- that is my motherly advice for today."

Rest assured M, I'm eating right, getting enought sleep, and Molly keeps me well exercised. You needn't worry. Right now everything is new and fun. As long as that's the case, I'll be fine.

But I digress ... so to continue with reminders to myself ...
-- I don't know where Olivia gets the energy to do so much, but she's setting an exemplary example with her month-long One Thing- Be Brave video documentary. (How does she DO this? There's so much I don't know!)
--Now I see she's doing NoMoWriMo also. You can check out her progress on more video at Happy Luau. I love to write too, but 20,000+ words on a novel in 4 days boggles MY mind! You go girl!
--Methinks I'll save MY first novel attempt for NEXT November. I have, however, left posts on each of my sites every day. I think that has a name too, but it escapes me right now.
--Start reading Eat, Pray, Love
--Check out Picasa: re Visual Scribblings for future posts
--Find a magnifying glass so I can decipher Visual Scribblings #2
--Return to Rainbow Dreams and follow the links to get acquainted with members of that Virtual Circle
--Figure out how to write a response here and link back there
--Explore some of the "writer's links" like Sunday Scribblings and Writers Island to get acquainted with how they work, who's out there, what they're writing, and consider joining in the fun.
--Don't mess with posts once they're published. Leave them be ... just as they are. (Don't ask!)

Now you know why the previous post has the title it does, but that's enough for so ... so I'll stop.

Visual Scribbling #2

By popular request, I've decided to check out & share another long lost graphic piece created in 2001 with the help of MultiMate on my now defunct Palm V (may it RIP with all the data it consumed). Long live my Palm Life Drive. :)

As before, I have no idea what it says ... but this time I'll know enough to click on it once I publish this post and see (thanks to Deborah at Spiritual Anecdotes).

Enjoy!

Addendum: Well ... I hope YOUR eyes are better than mine, for even when clicked on, these old eyes can't decipher what it says this morning. I wonder if I have the "original" around here somewhere? As I recall, the MultiMate left a paper trail in addition to an electronic one. (either 5x7 or perhaps 4x6. This piece IS visually reminiscent & representative of the larger 8x12 pieces in my collection created by hand with pen & ink. Those might be more easily read once scanned ... but I have no time to spend with Picasa or Flickr today ... so they'll will have to wait for now. Consider this an appetizer (or teaser?) ... your choice.

Progress and Setbacks

This weekend I managed to add the three pictures (taken by me this summer in Taos) to the top of column at the right. I'm not sure why I wasn't successful previously (because I don't thing I did anything different this time) but perhaps it was some small step I skipped. I'm just glad today it all works the way I intended. In addition, I managed to fix the "What Color is Your Aura" information (originally unreadable) just above the list of Quotes near the bottom of the right column ...(the only think I couldn't do was "center" the picture)... and I added another link entitled "What Color is Your Goddess" just after the list of Quotes. The links will let you take brief quizzes to determine your answers to these questions. Wandering this virtual world leads to interesting discoveries. :)

Surprised by the interest generated by my "Visual Scribblings" post, I've decided to make learning more about Picasa a priority (and/or get Flickr to work on my laptop and learn about it). Unfortunately, the lingering smoke in the air here in Southern California has taken it's toll on my throat & sinuses. Although I've been drinking lots of water, taking extra Vitamin C, and generally being good to myself (eating healthily, getting more rest, etc.) ... I suspect I'm coming down with a cold because I'm running a fever and my throat is raw. My mind doesn't work well when I'm sick, so this new learning may take longer than I'd like. I've learned the hard way NOT to push myself in such circumstances.

“Flow with whatever is happening and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.”
~Chuang Tzu

I'm grateful I can give myself time to recover instead of rushing off to work. Retired life definitely is good! ;)

Visual Scribblings

Here is an example of the kind of writing I've done for years. This brief, simple piece is something I created experimentally using a gift from M. It was a device that linked electronically to my now defunct Palm V ... allowing me to write with my hand yet transfer the results to my computer. I don't recall what it says and don't know if it will be readable once I publish this post, but I offer it here today simply as a reminder to myself and sample of what's to come.

Once I learn how to scan what M refers to as my "graphic poetry" and save it in a readable format, I intend to post some of them here. In Taos, both Suzanne & Jen encouraged me to do so. This is a first step.

Photo Experimentations

Well ... I downloaded Picasa today (after trying unsuccessfully to make Flickr work this morning) and am experimenting now (using my usual trial and error methods) because of the frustrations I've experienced with adding pictures to previous posts. I've seen cool photo layouts on other Blog sites and I want to do that too.

I've managed to create a collage grid of some of Molly's puppy pictures taken by me in April of 2005 ... with Ms. Kitty watching from the deck above the garage and the fence top ... wondering who the white "intruder" is. Way back then, the neighborhood kids called her Nuvolina and when I asked why, their mom explained it means "White Cloud" ... so Molly's full name became Molly Nuvolina.

I suppose this is a satisfactory first step, but it's clear to me there's much for me to learn about uploading pictures to my Blogsites. If anyone cares to help me out, I'm open to any and all information so feel free to leave comments.

Might this be me?

I found this information on Spiritual Anecdotes ... took the test ... and received this feedback that DOES seem to "fit" so I'll go with it at least for now. You can click on the link at the bottom of the page to check out YOUR Tarot reading. My thanks to Deborah for sharing.

You are The Hierophant

Divine Wisdom. Manifestation. Explanation. Teaching.

All things relating to education, patience, help from superiors.The Hierophant is often considered to be a Guardian Angel.

The Hierophant's purpose is to bring the spiritual down to Earth. Where the High Priestess between her two pillars deals with realms beyond this Earth, the Hierophant (or High Priest) deals with worldly problems. He is well suited to do this because he strives to create harmony and peace in the midst of a crisis. The Hierophant's only problem is that he can be stubborn and hidebound. At his best, he is wise and soothing, at his worst, he is an unbending traditionalist.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Beginnings

With encouragement and support from friends, I'm venturing out into this public space for the first time after making a promise to my Taos Writers Retreat "Buddy" yesterday that I'd post something before our next weekly call. I've been a "closet writer" for decades, only occasionally sharing anything with a few trusted friends so this is a BIG STEP.

"Today I choose to embrace changes. I open my heart to its hidden but abundant blessings."
(from Transitions) by Julia Cameron

I'm a "newbie" to Blogs ... jumping in with both hands and all my fingers to see what happens this morning. Because I usually journal with my favorite mechanical pencil in hand ... darkening the page with whatever crosses my mind as honestly and fluidly as I'm able, composing at the keyboard is a new experience for me. I've long created some unusual "visual" pieces that I've framed and given to friends as gifts. I'm hoping I'll figure out how to upload a few here eventually, but for now ... just posting something will have to be good enough because I've procrastinated far too long already.

"Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two." Octavio Paz

With gusty winds blowing and devastating fires burning all over Southern California, I'm grateful to live where I do in a relatively "safe" flat area of the southland near the ocean ... though the closest fire is less than 20 miles away burning out of control. Smoke and particulates fill the air making breathing difficult, but the only actual challenges I'm facing today are the huge palm fronds littering my yard, my front patio furniture blowing into the neighbor's yard, the awning on my 2nd story patio deck flapping precariously as it threatens to self-destruct and fly away, my feral cat hiding out, my Labrador Retriever pup driving me crazy indoors because walking is not an option at the moment, and my lovely garden being sucked dry.

I'm praying for all those affected by these fires and am hoping that the weather will calm down enough to get these infernos under control quickly with minimal destruction. May we each go about our day gently and compassionately, gratefully counting our blessings and generously giving of ourselves as we're able.