Regional Hotdogs!

If you've read the blog before, you know that I wear many hats: designer,  graphic design instructor, dad and husband, music lover, movie fanatic, D.I.Y.'er, and avid foodie. I try and share food items that students (who are often on a budget) can relate to.

I've oft posted about Pizza. Pizza is the food I most associate with my college years (in addition to Ramen), and have a post that deals with all the regional variations of Pizza (of which btw, Detroit style has come into popularity in my house).

This post is about another great college staple--Hot Dogs. Sonic restaurants have recently added a couple of regional Hot Dogs to their menu. Even local grocers have become aware of the  cache of the 'tube-steak,' now offerring Nitrate/Nitrite free, low fat Angus versions (like costly brand The Frohman and the more ubiquitous Oscar Meyer Premium Selects Angus).

The regional varietals can have an altogether different composition to the sausage (like the east-coast dog that has a snappy-casing), but what often makes the regional variety is the  topping and bun. Around these parts, we tend to be partial to the Coney (bean-less chili topped--wit' onions and cheese please) or the Chicago (poppy roll, chopped onion, irridecent relish, mustard, celery salt, tomato and pickle wedges, and a port pepper on top).

Behold the magnificence of: The Sonoran (from AZ), the Southern-style Slaw dog, or the Hawaiin Puka Dog. Mmmm...pass the mustard (but no catsup please).

REGIONAL HOTDOGS

iPAD apps for designers

A fellow blogger who posts professional design issues posted this great list of  iPad apps for Graphic Artists. In no particular order (I think some of the productivity, mockup, and productivity ones are most essential), here is the compiled list:

30 iPad Apps for DESIGNERS

SAVE WEBPAGES AS PDF FILES

Have you ever wished you could save a webpage as a document? As a student, this could be a great way to supplement your notes with web content, or create e-docs.
Or, perhaps you are someone putting up a webpage who would like to make the content accessible as PDF files?
The two sites below offer free conversion, and while they are not perfected, they do a pretty good job of making HTML content into PDF files. They are almost identical (based on the same program). Check 'em out...

html-pdf-online

PDF my URL

BOKEH Photography

BOKEH? Extreme manipulation of the depth of field (either mechanically, via post-production, or both), further pushed by the selective use of optical equipment.

The term bokeh is derived from a Japanese word which means “blur.” Bokeh is the aesthetic quality of the blur, or the effect of the out-of-focus regions of an image in order to make the main subject stand out in the photo.

From the FUNSPILL site (a great site for graphic designers), comes 72 amazing photos.

72 GREAT BOKEH

ONLINE (CLOUD) IMAGE EDITORS REDUX

As we've said a million times before, Photoshop is the undisputed champion amongst image editors. The sheer diversity of uses and plethora of tools (including prepress industry standard tools) just make it a fact.

There are, however, a huge pack of second tier programs that include open source, freeware, and "the cloud" as it's been coined. These are often more than sufficient for the needs of the casual user, and with legitimate copies of Photoshop costing up to 600 dollars, the price of FREE can't be beat!

Even Adobe realizes this, as one of the first items on the list is the (marketing genius)  referentially named "PHOTOSHOP.COM."

A few weeks back, I was working on a friend's computer and needed to do a fast edit on a photo before uploading. Alas, with no PHOTOSHOP on the computer I was sunk. Then I went to one of the image-editing sites and was able to make short work of it. I'm sure you'll find one that meets many of your needs nicely!

Free Image Editors

GREAT IDEAS are the SIMPLEST

Check out this slick idea for pizza boxes. Simple, yet great. This guy deserves a huge chunk of cash. Nuff said.

GENIUS BOX DESIGN!

SO YOU WANNA WORK IN ADVERTISIN'?

Advertising is a love-hate type of thing for most visual designers. It can be a fast-track to success for a young and talented designer, yielding a very upward mobile track for those who have the skill and ability to play things right.

Theres a wonderful blog entry from a recent arrival in the world of Advertising...and if its an area you are considering you should take a peek.

So You wanna work in advertising?

BACK IN THE GOOD OL' DAYS...

It's always been said that you need to know where you've been to know where it is you're going. The whole study of the history within subject content areas is partially in testament to that fact. For those in Graphic Communications, you've likely heard tomes from older faculty about "the way things were in the good ol' days." Especially noteworthy was the process of creating mechanicals, which took 3-5 employees, and sometimes hours if not days. It now takes one employee a fraction of an hour in a modern design studio setting.

CAL-FULLERTON has a site dedicated to sharing this with you. It typically went a little like this:

• Copywriter would compose manuscript on a typewriter, and forward it to the production artist. 
• Production artist would word count characters/copy-fit layouts based on manuals and specimens.
• Production artist would markup manuscript and send it to a typesetter (typically via a courier).
• Production artist would create keylines on pasteup board to prepare for production board.
• Line Camera artist would shoot (placeholders) Position Stats and Line art items on a stat camera
• Production artist would run the photostats through a waxer that applies a thin adhesive layer of wax that can be repositioned on the back.
• Production artist would proof galleys from the typesetter (if mistakes they would mark them up and send back to typesetter for correx). If OK, they'd wax the galleys, cut them, and position them on the pasteup boards.
• Keyline boards would be sent to the prepress house for litho stripping (making films for prepress).
• Films would be used by prepress to make plates that would then be mounted on the press.

That's a lot of steps, a lot of eyes double-checking, a lot of artisans trained in their craft, all in synch...now replaced potentially by one guy with a computer. So that one guy now has a lot of responsibility to get things right.

The old newsroom
The old ways of Typography
The old ways of the Press

"HUMAN TRICKS"

Painless Shots
Put pressure near the spot that’s about to get the needle and you’ll feel it less. Just make a circle with your thumb and forefinger and push down a few seconds before the shot. This technique overrides nearby nerves, making the shot feel more like a gentle poke.

Hiccup Relief
Nothing can be more aggravating than nonstop hiccups. Fortunately, your body has a built-in remedy: Take your deepest breath and hold for 10 seconds. And then, without exhaling, breathe in more air and hold for another 5 seconds. Then, one more time, breathe in as much air as you can, hold for 5 seconds, and breath out—hopefully without any more hiccups.

Heart-Calming Breeze
If you’re feeling anxious and can feel your heart racing, call your thumb into action. By blowing on your thumb, you can get your heart rate back to normal.

Throat Tickle Cure
To relieve that constant feeling in the back of your throat, tickle something else…your ear. Touching the area around your ear creates a reflex in the throat that eases the annoyance.

Stuffed Nose Cleared
Your body has a natural mechanism to unclog your nose. Just push your tongue against the roof of your mouth, then press between your eyebrows with a finger. Keep it up for about 20 seconds and your sinuses will start to drain.


see all of them at the link to the original site:

HUMAN TRICKS

FREE E-BOOKS

There are a variety of sources for free e-books, audio books, and children's books (and some go well with the e-book converter that I posted about also). The author of Northern Cheap$kate has assembled several sources in one convenient location. Check it out.

Collection of e-books