Anvil Graphics Blog

Throughout our lives there are waypoints along the path, things which occur that mark special occasions as well as the passage of time. This past week has included a major milestone for myself and our family. My son Brandon has gone off to join the new freshman class at Colorado State University. We went to Fort Collins to help him move into the dorms, and saw all the other parents there; some tearful, some full of advice, some concerned, but all hopeful. A milestone is set along the highway, it measures the miles behind, when we watched our children take their very first steps or learn to ride a bike. Those miles in the midst when we walked our child to the first day of kindergarten, hand in hand and hopeful. Those memories of painful orchestra concerts or dropped balls on the field, those times when others hurt them and we could not do anything but comfort and encourage them, and know that time would heal this wound too. Today that marker along the edge of the road is like a starting line, chalked on the pavement for 4000 freshman students to line up and wait for the starters pistol to fire. Bang! Go! It is your turn to mark the milestones along the journey of life, to create memories, to be hopeful. We are always there for you, watching from a distance now, but keenly interested in the life you make for yourself, and still hopeful that you make the most of this and every opportunity.

Yesterday our family purchased new cell phones, which is really pretty exciting for us. For the first time ever we have text messaging and the ability to send photographs to one another. We have teenagers who will now be able to actually communicate with others in the teen text vernacular. Cathy and I also actually bought decent phones for the first time ever. We had considered the iPhone, but in the end the could not justify the additional cost of the phones and the monthly data fees which accompany their usage. So, in the evening after picking up our phones we went to play a relaxing round of miniature golf. Sure enough, a mom in a group near ours spent considerable time checking her phone, and texting people. She was there with what I assume are the most important people in her life, yet mentally disconnected from her family and the fun game at hand. I would like to think that her attachment to the phone was necessary, perhaps she was waiting for her doctor to contact her with a test result, or maybe she had a young daughter on a date an she was waiting for confirmation that she had returned home safely. That is what I hope, because she was distancing herself from those nearest to her. Be in the moment, enjoy the company of those around you, give into their lives. You can check messages later, it will wait.

I worry very much about people driving cars and texting or talking on the phone, it is foolish and dangerous. Most of us can barely be dialing a number without hitting something or driving off the road. So now there is a new menace behind the wheel: People trying to operate and follow their GPS mapping system. I am the first too admit that GPS systems are way cool and can serve a great purpose to drivers. The problem is that people are driving and trying to fool around with this thing. Recently I was in north Denver in an area I was unfamiliar. I had a good folded map, but that still required a quick stop to fold it into a small package and to study the turns ahead. I submit that a GPS unit would best be operated with the same quick stop. People just don’t multitask as well as they think, and driving is getting more and more dangerous because people are doing all these different activities while trying to drive. Lets face it: It is hard to tune the radio, drink a coffee, text a friend, put an address into GPS, eat a sandwich, slap the kid in the backseat, apply make-up, sort coupons, check out the hotty in the next car over, read online headlines and still maintain any control over a moving 2500 lb battering ram. We all are just not that talented (yea I know, you are different – probably the same guy texting while tailgating me at 78 mph). Relax, take it easy, arrive alive, it is more fun that way.

It is import to know the difference between raster and vector art. Raster images are like photographs, they are made up of many colored dots/pixels that make up the image. Vector art is like mathematical coordinates and in between each coordinate is either a line or curve. Because of vector art’s mathematical basis it can be scaled to any size without loss of quality whereas, raster images have a limited ability to be scaled up before loss of quality occurs. Read the rest of this entry »

We all know that Al Gore invented the internet in the 1970’s. The truth is that the concept of the internet was introduced in 1974, and by 1983 there was a solid working internet of governmental research and educational computer networks. The World Wide Web was established in 1989, with the first web browser in 1990. eCommerce, the ability to shop online, was introduced by Michael Aldrich in the UK in 1979, however commercial use of the internet was restricted until 1991. 1994 was a watershed year for eCommerce, with the ability to order pizza online from Pizza Hut. The following year saw the introduction of E-Bay (AuctionWeb), Jeff Bezos’ Amazon.com and the first online bank. E-commerce sales in 2008 exceeded $204 billion.

While I have mixed feelings about increasing the national debt and a massive (what is a trillion anyhow?) budget deficit, I am happy to see Colorado getting some of the funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. We noticed signs along C-470 about projects on that stretch of highway. There are other projects going on all over Colorado. For more info on how funds are being spent, visit www.colorado.gov/recovery .

Recovery spending in southwest Colorado – Cortez Journal

Time and again we are in the middle of a project and just don’t have quite the right photo. There are several options available to get a great picture to complete your project. 1) You can shoot it yourself. We all own digital cameras, how hard can it be? Unless you are a talented and knowledgeable advanced photographer, this is probably not a very good option. Poor lighting can ruin the best intentions, but so can blurry shots or bad exposure. Often times hobbyists do not provide images with sufficient resolution for high quality printing. 2) Swipe them from a web site. While this is fast and easy, most likely the image is copyrighted or coming from a copyrighted web site. The resolution of a typical web image is about 1/4 of that needed for a printed brochure or catalog. Also, web images tend to be cropped closely to the subject, making them difficult to compose. Read the rest of this entry »

I have to admit I have a bad tendency to talk too much and listen too little. Or worse yet, think about what I am going to say next while the other person is talking, so I don’t really hear what they are saying. Becoming an active listener is a great skill. There are things we can do to pay better attention to a speaker and to demonstrate that we are engaged in the conversation and receiving what is being said. Here are  a couple of tips to improve your listening skills: • Look at the other person and really focus • Sit up and lean forward, get on the edge of your chair • Shut off distractions like radios or TV • Take notes • Ask follow up questions to the other persons remarks • If you have a problem hearing, avoid loud environments , or pull the person aside to a quieter corner • Show interest in the subject and see if you can learn something new or valuable • As a courtesy, don’t take phone calls during a conversation. Becoming a good listener takes practice, but anyone can do it.

Congratulations City of Evans, here in Northern Colorado. Leashed dogs have been allowed in Evan’s parks for sometime now, filling a huge gap left by Greeley’s no dogs in the park rules. Now Evan’s has built a beautiful dog park which allows dogs to run free off the leash. The dog park is divided into 4 different areas, one for timid and tiny dogs, two for larger dogs and an obstacle course training area. The dog areas are filled with green grass and new trees, and are large enough to allow throwing frisbees and balls for man’s best friend. In the commons area there is a unique drinking fountain for both human and canine users. We appreciate Evan’s efforts at quality of life issues important to many people. We look forward to visiting the Evan’s city pool at the end of summer, when dogs can take a swim. Bow WOW.

My dad pointed this out to me the other night, and I simply couldn’t believe it. In the U.S. bank TARP fund passed last fall, our benevolent government has given Captain Morgan, yes, the rum distiller, $2.7 Billion to move from Puerto Rico to the U.S. Virgin Islands. How stimulating is that? Oh there’s more…

Captain Morgan is profitable, has over 20% of the global market for rum, and is the world’s largest liquer distiller. Captain Morgan is owned by a British company, based in London. Why are we paying a British company to brew rum in a different location? Check out this article at Bloomberg. What’s next, paying Exxon/Mobile to locate to Canada.