Fandom: Downton Abbey

I LOVE Downton Abbey. And from this love, this GIF of the Dowager Countess staring down Lady Mary was born. 

Some possible captions I came up with (feel free to submit your own in the comments section!):

• If looks could kill, Downton Abbey would be a minefield. 
• No one stares as well as Dame Maggie Smith. No one.  
• I'm not sure what intimidates me more--the Dowager Countess' fortune or her stare. 
• When I have children, I will reproach by stare rather than words. 

(And for those of you who love it soooo much, because obviously it's that adorable, and are tumblr-ers instead of bloggers, you can repost it from my very dusty rusty tumblr site. Yes, my attempt to become viral is about as successful as a bacteria's.)

The process of making a GIF is pretty easy (figuring out how though was the time consuming part). 

A quick and dirty summary (sorry I don't have time for the lengthy little numbers I normally do on Take a Tech Tip.

How to make a GIF using Image Stills

Tools you need

• Mac OS X's Preview program
• Adobe Photoshop Elements (or the full version if you're lucky enough to own a copy) -- my Elements v8 came with my Wacom Bamboo Capture tablet 

Files you need at your disposal

• Images from a scene of choice 

What you gotta do

[1] Get your images down to around the same size (either in Preview by eyeballing or in Photoshop where you can use more exact image and canvas resizing techniques). 

[2] Open a new file in Adobe Photoshop with the dimensions of your aforementioned images. 

[3] Copy and paste each of your scene images into the .psd file. Doing this will result in a new layer for each image. Make sure they're in the right order. Click on the image below to see a larger version that shows you the Layers palette and how the layers order corresponds with scene ordering. 

[4] Move and alter as desired, although little will have to be done if all you want to do is play the images in sequence. (Some people like to make fancy GIFs with zoom effects or some more motion. That's all doable, but involves a little more tweaking). 

[5] Go to File > Save For Web

[6] Make sure the settings are appropriately set. Click on the image below to see the full size version and its accompanying key:

[7] Press OK and you're done! Now you can share your GIF as you please.

Comics: Hark! A Vagrant

Recently, I found myself reading strip after strip of Hark! A Vagrant on my computer. As much as I love the strip, I wanted a more 'efficient' way of reading consecutive strips (less clicking allows for more laughing, you know), and so I figured out an elegant and simple way of doing so in Google Reader. But the easiest way to enjoy the comics are actually on your iPad (if you've got one). Read on to learn how!

For those who aren't familiar with Kate Beaton's work, you're missing out! If you've ever wondered what figures such as Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, or Sherlock Holmes would be like in comic form, here's your answer!

Beaton makes smart little pieces that usually get a laugh out of me (and quite a lot of others too).

Linked from The Mary Sue

I get a lot of the literary, science, and pop culture references, but not a lot of the history ones. And even though I'm not a history buff, it's not a problem because Beaton always provides a little note/entry for each comic post in which she often explains the origin of the joke (Clearly, history was not my strong point in school).

Here are some of my favorites (I've also included links to the original comics below each strip in case you want to read her own notes about the strip. I highly recommend it for context and humor!).

See annotation here below the comic

See annotation here below the comic

See Beaton's notes here below the comic

Now, for those who are interested, Beaton recently published a book with some of her strips. You can view it here on Amazon.com.

But, you'll be glad to know that while it'd be awfully nice for you to buy this book and support Beaton, you can read all her comics online for free!

If you're interested in viewing them by topic, you can click here and choose strips accordingly. Or, you can read them in the order they were released by viewing the chronological archives. 

After a couple of minutes hours of reading her comics, I found out a better way to take in Beaton's little masterpieces. The secret? Google Reader! Using the right settings, your laptop can become the perfect for-personal-use comic strip theater!

How best (I think) to read Hark! AVagrant! on your computer (and iPad!) with Google Reader:
[1] Go to http://www.google.com/reader


[2] Log in with your Google username and password.

[3] On the top left corner, click on Subscribe and type in http://www.harkavagrant.com. Click Add.

[4] Now, Hark! A Vagrant should appear on your main page. Click on it.

[5] Go to Feed Settings... at the top of the page, and click on View in Reader Play.

[6] The window should now appear with a black background, and the comic will likely appear zoomed out. At the bottom of the window is a side scrolling row, which gives previews of all Beaton's posts in reverse chronological order.



However, if you leave the reader in this setting, the comic is too small to read! Do not fret, however! This probably can be easily solved.

[7] To make viewing easier (why waste time clicking when you could be reading?!), click on the Book icon on the left hand of the screen (see rectangular figure outlined in pink above). At this point, each comic will fill the width of the screen, giving you a more readable comic.

Update: After experimenting with Google Reader some more, I have found out what exactly the icons do. The Book icon shows the scrolling row at the bottom of the page. Clicking it will either open or close that row. The Eye icon zooms in on the strip. This is what makes the image fit the width of the screen. 

To make the viewing experience even more whiz-bang-wow, go to View > Enter Full Screen (depending on your browser, the exact steps may vary. I use Chrome, so those are the menu options I have.)



In this new format, you can easily scroll up and down along the strip. Then, after you've finished reading the comic and the commentary that follows, you can click on the right hand arrow to move to the next strip. It's so easy!

Look how nice and big it is! A simple scroll can move us down the page. 

Ta-da! Scrolling!

Finished with this first comic? All you gotta do is click on the right hand arrow...

...and now you've quickly jumped to the next comic! 

[8] And for those of you with an iPad, reading Beaton's comic is even easier than doing it on your computer.

Update: After playing around, I've learned that Google Reader only shows the last 10 entries for the site. This isn't that fun. The other trouble is that using Google Reader on the iPad is actually slightly problematic. A simple swipe left or right (even one that's tiny!) will move you between comics. Your best bet for reading the comic on you iPad is simple to visit the site URL in Safari. 


With that, I'd advise to disregard the directions below. However, there are some links to interviews at the bottom of the post! Skip down to check them out! 


All you have to do is log in to Google Reader (http://www.google.com/reader) in Safari, and the comics  fit the width of the screen, and you easily scroll down to read more. When you finish the strip, you simply click tap on Next entry back at the top of the page, and it brings you to the next comic! And then you can read for as long as your heart desires.

Open Safari. Log in to Google Reader on your iPad 

Click on any of the posts.

Enjoy current comic, and then tap on Next Item to move to the next comic. 

And voila! You can continue your uninterrupted stream of comic goodness.

And that's it! Now you can enjoy Beaton's comics with the greatest of ease on your computer's browser or your iPad. 

For those of you who are interested in hearing Beaton talk about her work firsthand, you can read her interview with The Onion A/V Club, or listen to the MaximumFun.org Sound of Young America podcast (If you follow this blog, you know how much I love this show!)


The Sound of Young America

Take a Tech Tip: Wireless Syncing for iOS devices

Do you often find yourself in a love-hate relationship with your iOS device's little white USB cable? Well, fret no more! iTunes 10 allows for wireless syncing of your devices.

Click here to read the full post.

Take a tech tip: iOS 5 & the Notifications Center

I work out the kinks in iOS 5 Mythbusters style. For those frustrated with the iOS 5 Notifications, you may actually be closer to the party than you think.

Read my post here. 

Play Mythbusters theme. Image courtesy of Mattson Creative. 

Take a tech tip: Moving Calendars from Google into the iCloud

Interested in making the move from Google to iCloud? Virtual moves across cyber country are way easier than real world cross-country moves. Read my post here!

Take a Tech Tip: iOS 5!

Read about my initial reactions to iOS 5 here! 

Take a Tech Tip Post: Spotify!

Interested? Read more here at my other blog.

Tech: Renting Movies on iTunes for a Plane Ride

Ever wondered if you could play a rented movie (via iTunes) on a plane without WiFi? To find out more, click here read my post on my other blog, Take a Tech Tip. 

Tech: How to Publicize Your Blog

In this new age of 'social media,' you need to be on multiple platforms and interfaces to maximize your audience base. Back when I started this blog a few months ago, I was interested in how to get my site 'out there.' After a couple hours of research and some trial-and-error fun times, I managed to customize my site in the following ways:

1) Allow for email subscription for interested audience members
2) Create automated tweets announcing new posts
3) Establish an RSS feed that people can subscribe to

If those sound like things you're interested in, click here to read my post on my other blog, Take a Tech Tip.

The Soup: iCloud

Steve Jobs recently announced the creation of the iCloud, Apple's attempt to corner the Cloud space world. For those who don't know, the Cloud is a shortened reference to Cloud Computing, which means storing files on a server rather than on a harddrive (such as the one found in a desktop, a laptop, or a phone). As a result, you can access files anywhere you have access to a network connection.

Apple previously had MobileMe, but as good as it sounds, the server was pretty weak. I did have a MobileMe account (and still do), but the inconsistent syncs and the abundance of offline time frustrated me, so I left. Now, I use Dropbox! Dropbox is free for the first 2 GB, and I highly recommend it! You are alotted 2 GB of space on Dropbox's server under your specific account, and your Dropbox folder can be accessed from anywhere you have wireless (or even 3G if you have it on your phone). Okay, enough with the Dropbox plug. Where was I...

Oh yeah! The Cloud! Apple promises to allow for easy syncing. (There have been too many times I've wondered which way the auto syncing goes and out of paranoia set things to manual sync...I hope Apple addresses this issue). Subscribers will be able to access all their documents and media files (music, TV, movies, etc.) through Apple's server. With all the files in the cloud, this means lots more harddrive space!

The Soup made a funny video about the 'potential' of the iCloud, and it's pretty entertaining. They address issues of using the iCloud to store illegally downloaded music and the 'dark side' of sharing. I can think of another potential 'problem' they didn't cover. What would prevent individuals from sharing an iTunes account and then just pooling together all your items? But, maybe that's not a real issue. What do you think about Apple's dip into Cloud Computing?

Virtual Arts & Crafts: Coat of Arms for Em&M

So this past week, in celebration of M + Em's Baking Reunion, I decided to make them a Baking Coat of Arms! Armed with my Mac, Microsoft Powerpoint, and a sturdy Logitech mouse, I made this after 1.5-2 hours:

A guide to the thought behind the coat of arms:
1. A spoon and whisk! These originally came up in conversation partly as a joke. I thought it'd be hilarious if M & Em crossed spoon + spatula upon greeting. Something akin to when Ted & Marshall fight with their decorative wall swords in the How I Met Your Mother episode 'The Duel'. These are part of any good baker's tool kit. I'm not a very good baker, because I don't normally use a whisk--just an old school wooden rice spatula.
2. The molecule? Sucrose! It's more commonly known as granulated white sugar. Bakers run out of sugar fast. God forbid if a baker doesn't have sugar in the pantry at baking time... ;)
3. Butter!!!! The second main ingredient of most nummy things.
4. Cinnamon--because M loves cinnamon. You can tell by reading this post, this post, this post, and (phew!) this post from Em&M's blog.
5. 'Butyro Fidimus'--Latin for 'In butter we trust.' I wanted to put 'in butter and sugar we trust' but it seems that the word for sugar didn't exist in Roman times. The word zuccarum means sugar, but it came to be a little later during Medieval times. And so because I couldn't find the word for sugar in Ecclesiastical or Classical Latin, I dropped it from Em&M's motto. Using my very rusty Latin knowledge and Google, I came up with 'butyro fidimus.' I'm open to changing the verb--I myself was not sure whether fido, fidere; confido, confidere; or credo, credere would be a more appropriate choice. Classics majors, let me know! :)
6. Blue and green--because that was M's color scheme of choice.
7. The M & Em on the spoon and whisk, respectively--think of these as virtual monograms. :)


While puttering away on my computer, I made two pretty cool discoveries: 
1. You can do most of what you'd want to do in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator in Powerpoint. True,  having one of these softwares would make my life a lot easier (and my wallet a lot lighter). However, the only Adobe product that I own is Adobe Reader, the PDF viewer. And consequently, I got to have some major bonding time with Microsoft Powerpoint.

If you need a Pen tool but don't own Adobe Illustrator, just go to Powerpoint! For those who aren't familiar, the Pen tool allows users to make curved shapes by clicking and applying points. This allows you to draw smooth curved lines.

Go to Insert > Shape > Lines + Connectors > Curve 

Each time you click you put down a point.
 Location of the next point determines the curvature. 

After you draw your curve, you can edit points!

If you want, you can add and delete points! Just like in Illustrator! 

2. The other really cool thing I learned (And this is unique to Macs, I'm pretty sure)-- Macs let you order your 'layers' in powerpoint! It's does the exact same thing as the Layers tool in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator! But I think that Mac presents it in a way more intuitive way. Take a look!

Right click on one of the objects in a region with lots of other objects. 

This window comes up! You then click and drag your layers into whatever arrangement you'd like. 

This was by far the best surprise I discovered during my project. It made my work so much easier because I often had 4-6 things layered on top of each other, and it was hard to click on individual shapes.

For the flag at the bottom of the Coat of Arms, I went to trusty Google and searched 'coat of arms'. Given the shape of the crest I decided upon and the motto I had in mind, I found one flag to be perfect for my project. It belonged to New Zealand's Coat of Arms.

Making the flag and motto
1. First, I dragged the flag into Powerpoint.

2. Next, I used the Curve tool to start tracing bits and pieces of the flag.

I traced the little pieces on the image's left individually. Then, I copied and pasted each of them, after which I horizontally flipped the copies to keep my picture symmetric. After rearranging the layers as necessary, it looked like this:

 3. After changing the color scheme, it looked much nicer and less like a blueberry.

In order to give the impression of some depth, I applied a Gradient Fill on my shapes. 

After you select your object, go to Fill > Fill Effects. 

You'll see this window:

(A) Make sure you're on 'Fill'

(B) Select 'Gradient'

(C) Choose the 'Linear' gradient (There are other styles if you want)

(D) This will be the color at one end of your shape. It can be changed.

(E) This will be the color at the other end. 

By dragging D + E along the strip, you can change how
much of each color your shape will have. 

4. Adding the text was a bit tricky. At first, I tried just writing each word and superimposing it on the flag, but that didn't look too nice. 

The word was too straight against the nice curve of my banner.

If I had Illustrator, I would be able to type text onto curves. The next best solution in powerpoint? Draw a curve that you want your letters to sit on. Then, type each letter in a new text box, so the bottom of the text box is tangent with your temporary curve. It should look like this: 

Unfortunately, when I was writing out the motto, I had underestimated how much banner space I would need. It wasn't too much trouble. All I had to do was pull the banner horizontally to make it wider, and redraw a new curve, and adjust the letters accordingly.

Time? Letter space? As usual, I underestimated...

5. And finally, it was done!

And the best part....putting it all together! 

Thanks to Em&M for giving me reason to get artsy and crafty again! 

Tech: Instapaper

Ever feel like your webpage is cluttered with ads and banners? To avoid those unnecessarily gaudy advertisements, use Instapaper, a free web-based program that allows streamlined reading of online articles. Read more about it here.

In your normal browser, without Instapaper...

In your browser, with Instapaper!