Photoshop Tool

The channel is probably the best tool in Photoshop, the ability to stack images on top of each other and use them to create your final piece is probably one of the stand out features of Photoshop.

From the Adobe web help portal:
About channels

Channels are grayscale images that store different types of information:

• Color information channels are created automatically when you open a new image. The image’s color mode determines the number of color channels created. For example, an RGB image has a channel for each color (red, green, and blue) plus a composite channel used for editing the image.
• Alpha channels store selections as grayscale images. You can add alpha channels to create and store masks, which let you manipulate or protect parts of an image. (See About masks and alpha channels.)
• Spot color channels specify additional plates for printing with spot color inks. (See About spot colors.)
  An image can have up to 56 channels. All new channels have the same dimensions and number of pixels as the original image.
  The file size required for a channel depends on the pixel information in the channel. Certain file formats, including TIFF and Photoshop formats, compress channel information and can save space. The size of an uncompressed file, including alpha channels and layers, appears as the right-most value in the status bar at the bottom of the window when you choose Document Sizes from the pop‑up menu.
  Note: As long as you save a file in a format supporting the image’s color mode, the color channels are preserved. Alpha channels are preserved only when you save a file in Photoshop, PDF, TIFF, PSB, or raw formats. DCS 2.0 format preserves only spot channels. Saving in other formats may cause channel information to be discarded.

Basically what this tells us is that you can break your image into 56 distinct parts and use them to create different effects with each subtle portion of your design. Which in turn opens a huge level of possible creativity.

Start layering your ideas to create something new.

Value Proposition, the selling yourself argument...

Value Proposition 

Its essential to break down somethings into relevant pieces, a value proposition for example is a great thing to dissected into the If, Then argument. In this case I have displayed the argument below:

If:
Consider that you were a organization in need of training or development, what kind of a person would you be looking for? 

• Capable
• Motivated
• Passionate
• Relevant
• Experienced
• Articulate
• Versatile 

All of these might be just words, however when applied to a person they portray an individual who has real down stream experience with front end consumers, in house training environments, rapidly changing and diverse platforms, multiple organization models and leadership structures. An individual who has a passion for data validation, security both digital and physical, and maximum up time. 

Then:
After 12 years of serving our country in some of the most extreme environments, learning how to rapidly assess the needs of each platform and user requirement, I have developed a skill set that has prepared me for the relatively stress free environment of graduate school. 

 I have proposed a specific skill set and a persons traits, with a possible outcome. I did all of this with out begging or the popular, "Hi my name is Tim and I want to attend your graduate school."

IFTTT

While we are on the topic of if then statements, I have discovered IFTTT thru lynda.com. IFTTT takes approximately 40 social media sites and ties them together with simple if this then that statements in a minimalist and simple graphical interface. This allows a user to attack social media from all sides with tweets, Facebook posts, images, videos, and blogs simultaneously. Its powerful.

Beautiful Day

Today is beautiful. Forty's this morning, a crisp clear sky. 

Unfortunately more violence here at home this week. 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/17/us/navy-yard-shooting-knowns-unknowns/index.html

My fear is that this is simply a distraction from the presidents failure with the Syria situation. I pray that these killing are not a political tool. 

While I do enjoy my classes I was extremely irritated today with my English Literature professor. On two separate occasions while discussing Angela Carter's "Snow Child" with the class, she incorrectly cited events in the two page story. This drove the dialogue down a different assumption path than the facts  were indicating. 

The story is Angela Carter's prose on the fairy tail of Snow White. Her thoughts seem to indicate that women are valued only as sexual tools and are devoid of any real substance. However, the hour we spent discussing the minuscule text seemed to lead us around the central point without actually discussing it.  

When the professor made her second incorrect statement I interjected that she had the details incorrect. She responded with, "that is what the text says."  I was more than happy to read directly from the text. 

The Count picked up the rose, bowed and handed it to his wife; when she touched it, she dropped it. 

'It bites!' She said. 

The professor was trying to insinuate that the countess refused to accept the rose. But clearly the text says the she takes possession of the rose even though the rose hurts her. The professor asked me what I thought Angela Carter was trying to indicate with my supposed difference without any sort of correction or acceptance of the information that I presented. My only real concern was accuracy to the original text, without any concern with the fine intricacies of this specific point.  We then spent five minutes discussing the countesses lack of or acceptance of the rose. I am so baffled as to the intentions of this class and its direction. Onward and upward. I'll pass this class regardless. 

Capitalizing on Technology

Besides the humor in this text, "There's a widely shared image on the Internet of a teacher's note that says: "Dear students, I know when you're texting in class. Seriously, no one just looks down at their crotch and smiles..."  a valid question being addressed in this article over on WSJ: Should Students Use a Laptop in Class? I seriously love my iPad, iPhone and '07 Macbook. These devices have been my tools for the past 5 years, they allow me to do everything. As a career MIS professional who has been in the industry for 12 years, I doubt that I could be as effective with out all the interconnected apps and programs.

I am going back to school at Penn State, The Behrend College. I am exclusively using legal pads and pens in class for my notes. Everything I do gets written down and then later I transposed to digital medium. The reason for this is my thought process, I find that my hand/pen/paper combination is not as efficient at to attempt to do the same thing digitally.

A good example is outlining, I may be writing down unassociated items in class and writing down key words in the margin (something I haven't figured out how to do on my devices). I realize that the items are associated. At this point I start outlining them by adding the relevant leading letters and numbers with quick simplicity and a few short strokes.  However, this same task digitally would take all of my concentration on the laptop or iPad. WHich would prevent me from focusing all of my attention on the professor. 

I don't know if there is a reasonable, effective, direct and precise note-taking tool as there is with paper and pen. I am also comfortable with that.

This is not yellow, and other things on the internet

Our brain is able to be misled.
Please watch the video to see what Vsauce has to say about it...



How class could have started for some of us...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wqks_R90ykI

Oxford Dictionary Online, Twerk, words and lazyness, food baby, srsly...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3oGYIBJdGjc

See you monday!

Tuesday Trends: 'Indie Cindy', Nokia/MSFT, Stephen Elop, Isreal Missle-X, Diana Nyad

My morning started with a quick 2 mile run, a walk in the rain, and a look at the trends on social media. Let me explain, "trends" refers to the trending or most used topics on social media. Twitter is my go to for this but I am researching a better analytic tool to see a more broad range of social media. Today's topics include:

• 'Indie Cindy" a new track from the Pixies is out today for your viewing pleasure, I feel like there is some anti-american sentiment in it so if you don't like that then avoid it please. 

• Nokia just confirmed a sale of a small portion of their business to MSFT (Microsoft),  small being $7.2 billion, and just the cell phone device portion of Nokia. Bloomberg - Microsoft to Buy Nokia's Devices Unit for $7.2 Billion
• Also at the large firm of MSFT, Stephen Elop is going to be named the new "devices" guy.  Stephen Elop Returns To Microsoft
• Our Conservative friends in the middle east are ready to go on the offensive with their missile test over the Mediterranean sea. Not ones to mess around, the Israelis are showing their muscle with joint missle tests with our military in the Med Sea. Unannounced Israel-U.S. missile test fuels jitters over Syria
• Daina Nyad talks about her experiences swimming from Cuba to Florida. 'Never, ever give up:' Diana Nyad completes historic Cuba-to-Florida swim

MSFT seems to be making big changes in their design as they try to remain the top of the mass market software and solution provider.