May 8, 2008

Wow [part 2]

One call for Mac help and I have 25 msgs in my inbox in 10 hours.

My fellow tumblrs, bloggers and readers are simply AWESOME.

‘nuff said.

~ 

::Question::

Can you Mac users recommend an image editing freeware program to tide me over ‘till I buy Photoshop again?

I’m looking for something very basic that will handle photo cropping and re-sizing. Being able to convert an image to .jpg would be a bonus.

I sadly don’t have the option of using the Photoshop on my old PC laptop because the poor exhausted 6 year old thing has officially gone kaput [it mercifully waited until I had transferred almost all of my files to the new Mac!]. 

So basically, I’ve got a huge backlog of images that I’m dying to post from The Green Living Show and beyond, but find myself without my trusty old Photoshop. Needless to say, for a blogger, this is a real dilemma. 

I’ve had some kind folks recommend the following:

I downloaded the Skitch program and right off the bat, there were major glitches in opening it. I haven’t been able to use it. I’ve sent a msg to their tech support about it. 

So before I try downloading anything else, I’d love and appreciate some feedback from my fellow Mac bloggers. Again, I’m just looking for a temporary solution, so anything basic but reliable will do.

Please drop me a line at greendesigngirl at gmail.com 

Thanx in advance!

~ 

p.s.: Can I tell you how much I’m enjoying the “tabs” feature?! The de-clutter freak in me is smitten.

May 7, 2008
TheGreenSearch.ca is a site dedicated to all things green and is affiliated with TheGreenPages.ca. Both are excellent ideas and are growing rapidly in their search results. I have found them quite useful at times, especially when I’m looking for articles or stats on a specific green issue. They can be rather efficient when compared to the gazillion search results that you may need to weed through on other engines, which have thrown me for a loop in the past with results like “leprechaun hats” and “absinthe” when looking for green products [though both can be fun].  The above green engines may be based in Canada, but they garner results from all over the globe. If you’re aware of any similar green search engines, I’d love to hear about them.  From The Green Search site: Through the power of Google, thegreenpages.ca network has created a specialised search engine that searches Canadian environment-related web sites. Rather than searching the entire web, your search yields “green” results from across Canada and around the world. Use it as a research tool, or keep up to date on the latest news, events, and trends happening in our environment.Included environment-related web sites & resources from: All levels of government (Federal, Provincial, & Municipal) Non-profit Organizations (ie. WWF Canada, Earth Day Canada, Evergreen, Greenpeace, ESAC) Research Institutions (ie. Pembina Institute, UBC Fisheries Centre, David Suzuki Foundation) Academic Institutions (ie. Environmental programs @ the University of Waterloo, York University, Trent University, Dalhousie University, University of British Columbia) International organizations (ie. EPA, UNEP) Popular Magazines & Journals (ie. Alternatives Journal, Ecologist, Utne, Economist, Walrus) Major news outlets (ie. CBC, CTV, Globeandmail, The Tyee, Canada.com) Publishers (ie. Raincoast Books, New Society Publishers, Island Press) Blogs (ie. Changeeverything.ca, World Changing, Zerofootprint)

TheGreenSearch.ca is a site dedicated to all things green and is affiliated with TheGreenPages.ca. Both are excellent ideas and are growing rapidly in their search results.

I have found them quite useful at times, especially when I’m looking for articles or stats on a specific green issue. They can be rather efficient when compared to the gazillion search results that you may need to weed through on other engines, which have thrown me for a loop in the past with results like “leprechaun hats” and “absinthe” when looking for green products [though both can be fun]. 

The above green engines may be based in Canada, but they garner results from all over the globe. If you’re aware of any similar green search engines, I’d love to hear about them. 

From The Green Search site:

Through the power of Google, thegreenpages.ca network has created a specialised search engine that searches Canadian environment-related web sites. Rather than searching the entire web, your search yields “green” results from across Canada and around the world. Use it as a research tool, or keep up to date on the latest news, events, and trends happening in our environment.

Included environment-related web sites & resources from:

  • All levels of government (Federal, Provincial, & Municipal)
  • Non-profit Organizations (ie. WWF Canada, Earth Day Canada, Evergreen, Greenpeace, ESAC)
  • Research Institutions (ie. Pembina Institute, UBC Fisheries Centre, David Suzuki Foundation)
  • Academic Institutions (ie. Environmental programs @ the University of Waterloo, York University, Trent University, Dalhousie University, University of British Columbia)
  • International organizations (ie. EPA, UNEP)
  • Popular Magazines & Journals (ie. Alternatives Journal, Ecologist, Utne, Economist, Walrus)
  • Major news outlets (ie. CBC, CTV, Globeandmail, The Tyee, Canada.com)
  • Publishers (ie. Raincoast Books, New Society Publishers, Island Press)
  • Blogs (ie. Changeeverything.ca, World Changing, Zerofootprint)
May 5, 2008
I’m testing the blogging waters with my new MacBook Pro. If you missed my last post, I’m basically in the midst of transferring 6 years of files[!] while weaning myself off a lifetime of PC/Windows behaviour. I’m in self-imposed Mac bootcamp, if you will. A huge thanx to the very kind Mac users who wrote in with hot tips and recommended resources for making the transition smoother. I’ve heard from awesome Mac-savvy tumblrs ninakix and ryansinger and quite a few GDG readers and friends who are genuinely avid Mac fans. I’ve still got a lot to learn, but with your help, I’ll happily get there sooner. Now how about the stunning image above? Click through it to land on a brilliant blog by Frédéric Gautron, a Parisian photographer living in Tokyo, which is where this photo was taken. During a time when we are all encouraged to add as much green [literally] to our lives as possible, and when the addition of “living walls” are a hot design trend, this image caught my eye instantly. I also love the sharp contrast between nature and the man-made concrete jungle below. It reminds me of my time in Japan, a place that has inspired me in my work and life in so many ways. I encourage you to check out Gautron’s blog for more incredible images like this one. zokuzoku: Made In Tokyo » Urbano-Vegetal

I’m testing the blogging waters with my new MacBook Pro. If you missed my last post, I’m basically in the midst of transferring 6 years of files[!] while weaning myself off a lifetime of PC/Windows behaviour. I’m in self-imposed Mac bootcamp, if you will.

A huge thanx to the very kind Mac users who wrote in with hot tips and recommended resources for making the transition smoother. I’ve heard from awesome Mac-savvy tumblrs ninakix and ryansinger and quite a few GDG readers and friends who are genuinely avid Mac fans. I’ve still got a lot to learn, but with your help, I’ll happily get there sooner.

Now how about the stunning image above? Click through it to land on a brilliant blog by Frédéric Gautron, a Parisian photographer living in Tokyo, which is where this photo was taken.

During a time when we are all encouraged to add as much green [literally] to our lives as possible, and when the addition of “living walls” are a hot design trend, this image caught my eye instantly. I also love the sharp contrast between nature and the man-made concrete jungle below. It reminds me of my time in Japan, a place that has inspired me in my work and life in so many ways. I encourage you to check out Gautron’s blog for more incredible images like this one.

zokuzoku:

Made In Tokyo » Urbano-Vegetal
May 2, 2008

Wow

It’s a whole new world for Green Design Girl. After years of waiting to be able to use AutoCad on a Mac [an essential program for all Interior Designers + Architects], I heard that it was finally possible. So I jumped at the chance to buy my very first Mac and I’m loving it so far, but like I said, it’s a whole new world…. just adjusting to all of the new eye candy on my desktop and trying to learn so many new things at once. I’m in total Mac immersion this weekend.

It’s also my first time using Safari and I couldn’t help but CRINGE when I saw the way my blog looked on it. More specifically, the text at the very top. The sentences seem to be all over the place and not a justified block as I had intended them to be — they looked totally fine on my rickety PC laptop while in Windows and IE mode.

Maybe it’s just the unfamiliar settings on the Mac…? …but if any of you have noticed bizarre word placement at the top of my blog, please be kind and let me know. I may just lose sleep over it. Well, not really, but hell, I can’t help but prefer a clean aesthetic. It’s in my designer genes. I know many of my fellow tumblrs will comprehend. ;-)

~ 

[edit: in case you’re interested, AutoCad can be run on a Mac using Parallels or Bootcamp] 

April 28, 2008

Thanx to pierreism for posting this vid:

Carrotmob is a flashmob-based movement with an amazingly simple but ingenious agenda: to organise mass purchases to companies that agree to make environmentally friendly choices.

I think that the brilliant folks at Carrotmob.org are really on to something. This video is SO worth watching. A fun editing job, too [watch for the hip hop spoof midway through].

“CFL’s and bourbon together at last.”  Now there’s a way to motivate peeps towards green consumerism!