Nancy (ng),
That was unfortunate timing on the hard drive failure, only a few weeks more
and you would probably have the new one all set up. And you are getting to
know the new one inside out, eh. Cool. A lot better than waiting for the
delivery guy to run it back and forth (and maybe dropping it a few times
along the way).
DSL....before you go to sons wedding....if you get it working you may not be
able to drag yourself away from your computer to go:)
Glad you are still there, I have missed seeing entries from you as well as
posts here on the forum.
Pete
Goodmorning forum folk ! What great images to wake up to ! Couldn't be on last night...hub needed the presario. Had to take the car to Sears yesterday for tires and allignment so there was a few hours killed. I guess I haven't really come up with 'my best' on this one...too many distractions this weekend ! The last one I did has my spedia sepia layer style along with my spedia cozy layer style ( reduced saturation) and then i put the original underneath which was in color and used a large soft eraser at lowered opacity to erase some areas on the top sepia layer. Wanted you to know that the 'cozy' spedia style looked fantastic on an outdoor image i had that was mostly green....as well as the spedia 'soft meadow' layerstyle. I still love the Spedia kiss though. Glad I was able to share these styles with so many of you. Mailed it out to 37 people so far.
Pete, glad you used them !...goodmorning
Grant, boo !
Jodi,
Goodmorning to you too! (And to everyone that might be up this fine
morning).
Pete
Good Coffee to all of you.. oops! Morning :)
Ray
Marilyn, Pete,
Good morning. Thanks for your comments. That is a pretty isolated place, only reachable by boat. There were hundreds of birds standing on the beach. Pete, it's in your neighborhood: North Captiva.
Juergen
Juergen,
I thought that looked familiar. I was thinking maybe the beach at the
north end of Bowman's. But they are all just great. Hope this weird
weather pattern gets out of here soon so I can get back to the beach.
Pete
Boo
Chuck
Boo who?
Boo Whom?
Whom boo who?
Is this like rap or is it wrap.
Grant so confused.
Grant: Boo who (or should that be 'whom'...)?
Chuck,
How right you are!!
:)
Juergen
> Goodmorning forum folk ! ... I guess I haven't really come up with 'my
best' on this one...
Good morning Jodi, I feel the same way about mine. I didn't have much free
time this weekend, almost didn't submit one. Maybe there will be fewer
"distractions" next week!
Bob
RobertHJones> (Bob)
That big fish looked pretty good to me.
Pete
Byron - Thanks for all your kind words
Susan - bit of a cheat that border, I've got dozens of pre-made and home made ones I can drop onto anything.
Bob E - It is similar to a method described by Rich C on another thread, here goes:-
Crop
Duplicate layer
Desaturate (CTRL+SHFT+U)
Duplicate desaturated layer
Invert (CTRL+I)
Change blend mode to Colour Dodge
Now have a white picture. Drop the layer opacity to about 50% and loosely select around the boats etc. Put opacity back to 100% (al white).
Feather selection 50-150 pixels-ish.
Now start using filters:
I used underpainting for inside the selection and rough pastels for outside the selection on my entry 2
On entry 1, I used gaussian blur, flatten image and copied all, stepped back in history to before the blur and did a Sumi-e brush. Created a new layer and stamped visible (CTRL+SHFT+ALT+E). Created a new layer under that and pasted the 'blur copy'.
Created a new canvas layer under that, and made a textured canvas. Created a new layer ontop of that and started painting with a stipple brush. Blurred the painting and added a border.
It sounds jumbled, and it probably was, but I didn't take notes I was playing.
Paul
Grant, I'm glad you don't have a personal counter on your site...I'd be embarrassed. Every week I look over the pages...over and over and over and.... i'm aware I need help ;)
Everyone is so gosh darn talented in this group. I have some favorites as i do every week but will refrain from voicing too much....don't want anyone to feel left out as i find genious in every single piece. I'm proud to be a part of this group ;)
Hi Guys,
I just sent my entry. Didn't have much time to work on it so I just sort of threw it together.
After sending it, I went to check in and see what was new---and to my horror--Weary had stolen my boat in a bottle idea!
Kidding of course. But just wanted Weary to know that I wasn't copying his/her idea! Plus Weary's is much better than mine. My saving grace is that the background is a photo of my "actual underwater bathroom mural" in my house and the table is something I created out of cardboard tubes and plywood.
I do enjoy it when people share their methods---Paul, I printed out your tutorial for my tips folder.
I really like the concept of everyone starting with the same image. I look forward to my improvement and learning from all of you.
Patty :)
Jodi,
Nicely stated. (on the other subject too).
Pete
Jodi,
Did I say thank you? Meant to.
Bob Warren - Thank you for the instructions for making the wave and sea foam. I'll see if I can mimic any of that, but sounds pretty complicated! Now I know why I don't do water very well :) I think I might have to stick with seals holding bottles of pop!
Marty - Thanks for your comments. My cute little niece grew into a beautiful young woman who still wears dresses but of a different kind--she decided to become a nun, lives in a monastery in Texas, and continues to be just as happy now as she appears in my picture. Her adventures there make my life seem absolutely boring :)
Marilyn
Looks like everybody has been busy this week-end. Haven't had too much time on concentrate on the challenge myself, you know what us Brit's are like:-
Grab the robes, birch twigs and goats heads and off to the nearest megalith at the drop of a Solstice.
But not me, had a barby and blew the froth off a few instead ! (I'm sure Susan will translate, if needed)
Paul
Paul - I'm actually an expat Londoner! But I do speak the local tongue when necessary, although I've never managed to lose my accent (at least according to the locals - all my students reckoned I have a very strong English accent, while my parents can never get used to my Australian twang...) It's been a bit wet and brisk for barbecues here - we were going to have one yesterday, but it was too cold and wet, so we drank chardonnay indoors instead......
Susan S
Ray, if I may translate (I speak both UK English and Australian!) Paul was initially making a reference to the druidic (pagan) rituals held at Stonehenge and other such sites on the summer solstice - (longest day of the year). A megalith is a whopping great lump of rock used to construct these temples (now if I could remember Asterix in french well enough, I would be able to translate!)
The second half of his post was written in what dwellers in England imagine to be the way that Australians speak. A barbie is not a pink plastic female person but a cast iron implement for grilling sausages out of doors. "Blowing the froth off a few" means getting drunk on beer.
Susan S
Susan,
Sorrry, you beat me to it. But you mean they don't really talk like that down under?
CR
Chris- well some people do! The wilder variants of Aussie speak tend to come from the rural areas and FNQ (Far North Queensland) - and from made-for US television "personalities". Most urban Australians speak something that is fairly recognisable as a mixture of US and UK English, but distinguished by an unfortunate tendency to shorten anything that can be shortened (Barbecue does become barbie, vegetables become veggies, sausages become snags etc)
susan S
I have to chuckle at the direction this tread has taken.
I'm of Celtic descent (Welsh) so I can relate to the Stonehenge thing. I'm
a native American English speaker but can speak a fair amount of UK English
(I have a UK house guest arriving next week). I have cousins in Canada and
Australia so I speak some Canadian English and a touch of Australian English
(Does that make me a polyglot?). And, I also have French ancestry (my great
grandmother -- my grandfather was a native French and English speaker) so I
can relate to my Canadian friends although I don't speak French.
Bob
Ray
I am sorry for the confusion, try here for an elongated explanation of the Solstices <http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/astronomy/SummerSolstice.html>.
Bob
And I thought it was bad being English, with the multitude of accents/dialects spoken in our 'little country'.
I was brought up to speak 'the Queens English', but found out she is really German with a Greek husband - how to confuse a kid.
As long as we can all understand each other, get along and have a joke now and then, then that's OK by me. Be easier if everybody felt that way.
(I really mean the Album Forum, that may be harder than the rest of the world)
:)
Paul
MARILYN LEE,
I had one Nun and 3 Priests in my previous generation. The Nuns seem to be much more content than the priests.
I hope the next Pope allows the latter to both Nuns and Priests to marry.
Marty
I was surprised that no one had used the ship in a bottle idea before me
Weary, the idea had been done on a past 'boat' subject challenge ;)) But that's OK. I'm certain it wont be the last time either. You are soooooo talented.
I was under the impression that on the summer solstice three wise British
men called Druids sacrificed a local UK virgin. This practice was abandoned
a few years back for lack of wise men and virgins.
Grant
Paul Levitt: Once again, I have to applaud your images on the Challenge -
they are really striking, particularly the middle one.
Chuck
p.s I'm enjoying all of them as usual, of course! You people are SO
talented!!
You're right Chris. My french is barely understandable by France citizens.
However, with time and practice, I can now speak both French :)
Ray
Pete...! Where have you been ? :)
Ray
Oh poor Pete !! is there anything i can do for you ? Send the sun perhaps ? You've sent it to me a few times...my turn. We had a cold rainy weekend but today was hot and tomorrow hotter..lots of sun up here now. Maybe Mommy Nature got confused.
Whattam I supposed to do with these challenges? the photo looks pretty good to me!
Conrad
Conrad
That is part of the challenge!
Grant
Pete,
You weren't kidding about how great broadband is!! No more watching my hair grow. As I didn't want to install any of the ISP's software (I only wanted the connection) it took me absolutely all night to get everything configured properly and running smoothly together with my manual install. (Definitely hitting the hay early tonight) My results far exceed my expectations...download at 1.5Mbps...whewww...that's greased lightning compared to my 1/3 of a dialup!! I am a happy subscriber to DSL. The Challenge images open instantly...they used to take well over a minute, it is so cool!
Nanny
Congratulations Nanny! The Challenge is only the beginning. Wait untill you find an interesting plugin that is 4mb... it will download in 20 seconds :)
Ray
Nancy: Welcome to the 21st century - glad the phone company came through
for you with a reliable DSL connection!
rub rub Rub it in. it ain't working. When someone starts throwing me a few bones and I start getting paid for what i do then certainly I will take advantage of speed. 45 a month is steep for this stay at home mom.
Chuck, this is also for you. ;)
Chuck, nope, no second phone line. Someone is probably trying to call me right now.. :) oh well.
Also, Pete got charged an extra arm because he did not have cable...satellite..like me....so they charge extra to install...another 45 $.
Jodi, do you have a second phone line? If so, the net cost is about half...
just FWIW
And you definitely should be paid for your creativity!!
:-)
Chuck
Nancy,
Cool isn't it. Here is a speed test site to check your speed.
http://promos.mcafee.com/speedometer/
Also Best Buy this week has a router on sale for $20. (You need one because
you are always connected to the internet. No need for a firewall with a
router but you will need antivirus software.
Pete
Hi Jodi. Have patience, you will have cable connection sometime. Did you
get the upgrade done? Have not seen you and was thinking there was a
problem?
Pete
Yep, adds up fast. I have cable, and they had to upgrade the cable from the
property line all the way into the house. Wasn't covered in the deal
price....
I had to switch to cheap booze...
PETE,
I substituted the Seal for their dog.
The girl is my daughter, guy is her husband. They live in the Chicago area but have a place on the Cumberland Lake where they love fishing.
Thanks, Pete, for looking at my picture.
I was going to tell you my favorite of yours but couldn'd decide...love all of them.
Check out my second picture which I should have in by Thursday.
Marty
Pete, $20 for a router?? Don't tell me it's wireless... I paid ~$150 for a
wireless setup to tie my son (home from college for the summer) into the
cable modem along with my machine...(does work flawlessly, though)
:-(
Chuck
PAUL B,
An unusual rendition. Where is the mountain?
WEARY,
The blue one is scary...I wouldn't want to be there alone.
Did anyone figure out your real name.
Maybe I missed it so, if you please, tell me now.
Marty
Chuck,
Nope, not wireless. It is hard wired. But I have a friend that paid $79
for the exact same router at the Apple store so I thought it was quite a
deal.
Pete
Sounds like a good deal in any case. I was pretty well forced to go
wireless here....my 'puter's on the ground floor near the front of the house
and my son's is on the second floor in the back. Mama didn't cotton to the
idea of running wires through windows, down hallways, etc., even for a
couple months...
:-)
hmmm. Grant were you working on the challenge page? Could not get in for a
while. Or maybe there is something else wrong since my mail seems to not be
working also.
But finally did get in to the challenge site; Paul Brentnall, that is a good
voyage over the mountain picture:)
Pete
PETE,
I just sent to Grant my second picture so now feel like I'm back to normal.
I don't know how to send a picture of some flowers so did this instead. Pete, can you check it out.
Marty
Marty,
Sent my first entry in for this week. Grant even gave me a new last name so now I have an alias. Ha! Didn't put one in last week as I was in and out of town quite a bit. Thought your first was pretty cool. I've surfed the waves in a fishing boat myself a few times. Grant has't posted your second yet, but looking forward to seeing it. Hope to maybe get another in myself.
Terry
Marty, re; your last one...gorgeous ! My kind of place. Although the seal looks like he might have a big mouth...he may spoil the serenity of the moment ;)
Jodi, Pete, Chuck, Ray,
I didn't have any expenses for the DSL setup, I did the 'Customer Install' route, they send you a box of hardware and a CD. $34 a month. I did the hardware and software...well, actually I didn't do the software which is why it took me a long time to configure. Had to research all the settings etc. Theirs came with an inferior product to what I have with XP's PPoE and had tons of junk they wanted you to install. They hired a Siemens subsidary to make a package for them which included on CD the setup for DSL. Problem is...made for total idiots, no control over your setup. I'm sure they realized their goal however which was to practically negate any need for tech support. So that's why I didn't want to use the CD at all. I'm much happier with my own setup, I only wanted the connection.
Presently I am using AV software and the native Firewall in XP. I think your suggestion of a router is good, I will look into something compatible for my system. Maybe wireless...I have got quite a rat's nest of wires already!
Nancy
or would a hard wired one not really add much to my wire situation??
Nancy
Nancy,
Instead of a router (which does not fully protect your PC), consider a software firewall (besides.. not wires!)
Windows native firewall is not that good. Don't feel too confident with it. I know, it's more $$$ again...
I heard that ZoneAlarm has a free version for home usage. I currently use Network Ice Defender. There are more options (Norton, McAffee and alike).
Routers sometimes makes some applications hard to use, those that use Internet connection (Messenger, some games). Videoconferencing is especially difficult to make it work behind a router.
Ray
Nancy,
And, whatever you do, don't install Connection Manager, if that's what your TELCO calls it. Even with all the work, you went the "right" way AFAIC.
Dick
Ray, ....Zone alarm is still "touted" as the best firewall. It is the only
one that will pass "all" the security checks from the Symantec site security
check that I have heard of. Bad news is that they no longer have the free
version. It is now a 30 day trial. But even Zone alarm will not provide
the protection of a router.
Nancy,
It is very small, about the same size as a cable modem. 7" x 4" x 3/4"
thick. Has the Ethernet cable and also does have a power supply :(
Hey, what's one more plug, ah?
Pete
Pete,
Perhaps I am wrong, but believing that a router is more efficient than a firewall is a false belief, I think.
The router protects your PC in the sense that it only exposes one IP address, its own, on the internet, and closes some ports, but not all.
They compliment each other, would be a better statement.
A firewall will monitor the traffic on the opened ports (as well as closing many ones), which a router will not do. If the firewall detects an attack, it will warn you or, depending on the software, immediately disable the port or block the IP. A firewall can even log evidence files and help if you want to take matters more seriously (like reporting a hacker to his network administrator).
Network Ice, btw, passed the test as well, with no problems detected. But ZoneAlarm is as good.
Finally, a router will block ports that are needed for video stuff (and games, file sharing, etc). Even port forwarding or other methods will not work with several Instant Messengers softwares. Firewall, on the other hand, are more flexible and adaptive in that manner. However, a software only based security scheme is no better than a router only.
In this insecure world of Internet, there is no better method. It's only a combination of methods that does the best job.
But, to each his or her own :)
Ray
Ray,
I think there are some new features out there on routers. Port sharing
allows games to run ok as well as file sharing. But need to get one that
has the new features I think. I know there are differences on what I looked
at on the shelf.
Pete
Pete,
The problem is with certain applications (mainly Microsoft) that require to
control the ports in order to function properly. Port sharing, port
forwarding, port unlocking wont just do the trick. I've tried everything at
home (I have a wireless router) and nothing worked. More, I can not even
send a file over Messenger or AIM. I need to unconnect the router, and
connect the cable modem directly to my computer in order to share files.
Since I'm no fan of IM or any kind, that doesn't concern me a lot (they
leave too many things exposed and your PC becomes at risk anyway).
Routers sold on shelf of big stores like Best Buys (Future Shop for us
Canadians) are usually designed with limited knowledge end-user and will not
always come with the full extent of tools requires to by pass these
problems, unfortunately. However, they do work as advertised (that is, one
Internet connection for up to 253 PCs).
Ray
Dick,
Microsoft is reknown for their applications not being able to pass through
routers, because they need to grab the physical IP ports, and they won't
work with logicial assignations the routers will provide. Perhaps they do
work with their own routers (Microsoft makes router, at least, here in
Canada we can buy Microsoft routers).
Ray
Thanks everyone for all the ideas...
I welcome any and all things people have to say on the security issue.
I will do some researching on the options.
Also want to replace the AV program. I just don't like this McAfee program which came preinstalled. It seems to be very unconfigurable (as opposed to Norton, which worked as advertised and I never had a problem with. With McAfee's (Virus Scan Online), you don't even get to choose the updates, all undisclosed components or nothing. For many years have had successive versions of Norton's, very configurable, 'Norton Antivirus' and it runs using a Proxy Server. Also ran for a few years Norton Internet Security. From my reading and input here, it seems as though I might do better with a different security software though.
Nancy
Lynn,
That sounds like buck-passing to me. You might want to take a look at programs that will allow you to see the mail on the server first before downloading. I use one called MailWasher that scans the servers and presents me with a list of headers. I can, delete, bounce, and blacklist those that I don't want to have brought into my email reader, which is Poco Mail.
That does not stop the spam, but I don't have to put up with it in the email program. Also I can delete those things that look like they could have virus potential first.
Dick
Nancy,
If this can help you, my setup is as follows :
Router
Network Ice Defender
Norton Antivirus 2003
And I agree with you, I was a McAfee fan for years but lately, their site is always trying to sell something.. I dunno... it's annoying.
Ray
Lynn,
On your first point, I have no clue as I am not using it myself.
On your second point, they are right. Many programs that are freely downloadable from the internet contain spyware code. Now, spyware checks for where you surf and transfer this information to certain companies which, in return, target their ads based upon your sufing habit. Also, spyware can make popups appears from time to time. One famous spyware software is Hotbar, an Outlook / Outlook Express add-on.
Other companies will send you spam, others will make your browser open on a different home page. All this is very, very annoying and it's an invasion of anyone's privacy.
How to get rid of it ? There are many ways to do this, but the best is to install a software that will hunt and erase those spyware. They are like anti-virus and they will let you know what softwares look suspicious.
There are other softwares that will work around this problem in other fashions. Defender calls it "Application Protection", they will prevent any unauthorized application from connecting to the internet and they'll want to confirm if it's ok or not to let it go through. This require a little knowledge from your part as many application are legit (windows update for one). Without this spyware information, companies can't have popups appearing. But, this being said, there are a certain numbers of predefined popups already on your system. So, if application protection is enabled, you might still see popups.
Again, a combination of methods is the best approach.
Ray
Hey Guys,
The contest link is repaired. I would appreciate you stopping by to vote.
I think that you'll appreciate stopping by to see the art and the tutorials!
Here is the link:
<http://www.thephotoshoplounge.com/contest>
Patty
Marty,
That latest is really cool. Glad you did not try to "stuff" more in there
(like I probably would have).
It is 'just right'!
Pete
TERRY,
Your boats look so forlorn that I'd like to take some big yellow bows down and pin them on each boat.
JODI,
Actually I had to let Mr Seal sit right on top of some flowers. As with Pete's and anyone's multiple renditions I can never find a favorite...my mood changes with each picture.
Pete,
Brace yourself, tomorrow's the big Antsy day. New Challenge -- N C ---duh...
PATTY, I chose one and Voted but truthfully I think many of our Challenge
pictures far exceed those presented
Thanks for voting Marty. No way was I trying to compare the Challenge artwork to the contest. Two different venues to start. The contest had a fixed image pack of five photos that everyone had to utilize--(option of 1 extra image for a wild-card, if you wanted).
Another thing about the contest is that I never would have been introduced to Grant's weekly challenge and I would have missed out on meeting all of you and the education I'm gaining from all of your art as well.
In the challenge venue there are no rules and restrictions, so imagination and creativity abound. Both are great concepts.
Maybe it would be fun sometime to try the "restricted palette" version. Same sort of thought process---3 to 5 images that have to be included in the final piece. I enjoy seeing where people's creativity, imagination and talent take them in both versions!
Patty
Patty, glad you mentioned that the contest had a 'fixed' image pack...i kind of figured something like that was happening when i saw that same car re-appearing. ;)
Barbara Brundage - Sorry to be slow responding; haven't logged in lately . . .
What order? Dominican
Thanks, Marilyn.
Marilyn, did you ever read "A Right to be Merry?"
Pete... so when you said my pictures were nice, you meant otherwise ? ;-)
Ray
Ray,
If I answer, you will not be able to tell whether to take that answer
seriously :-)
Pete
Got me! :)
Grant, Thank YOU all for making it load of fun!
We all appreciate the work you do getting the web page up there!
Pete
Marty - >>>I think I counted 8 legs to make it an odd looking octopus.>>> H-m-m-m; that was supposed to be a Giant Squid! I didn't like its real color (colour) so kind of fudged on that :)
Pete - Hope you saw my emoticon on the clutter comment; I try not to take anyone seriously, especially myself :)
Barbara - Have not heard of "A Right to be Merry." Will look it up.
Marilyn
Marilyn
I take you seriously:)
Pete