Arteliance

Blood Tests this Morning

Administrator — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:05:36 +0000

This morning I went for bloods and was reminded of all the times I went for bloods when I was sick and the results were life or death (although at the time I sort of blocked that out of my mind). For someone with leukemia the blood test results take on an almost cosmic, overwhelming importance. They become your whole world and are given daily in the hospital—even written on a poster on the wall in your room. They indicate how the chemotherapy and then the recovery are going. First, there is the CBC which gives your overall numbers: WBC (white blood count) needs to be up but not too far, RBC (red blood count) helps one not feel exhausted and platelets also have to be up high enough to keep one from just bleeding to death inside.

After the bone marrow transplant the CBC numbers indicate whether or not its working. i.e. whether the transplant engrafts. Later, the emphasis switched to ALP and ALT (liver function tests indicative of GVHD which is a complex process where you want some but not too much). I had moderate–severe GVHD which is more than you want. The numbers had to be monitored weekly and my medication adjusted accordingly. Fortunately my GVHD was responsive to medication and only flared up when I did good things like tai chi or art workshops (like I said, it was complicated).

Today’s bloods were just part of a routine checkup but the reminders of what bloods used to be like for me brought tears to my eyes.

A few interesting links from the past week

Administrator — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:35:22 +0000

How to: Scan to Evernote (on a Mac) An easy method for using Image Capture to quickly scan receipts, scraps of paper, whatever into Evernote
10 Principles of Web Sites Design Applying the rules of magazine publishing to website design
Drawing is Thinking via Acuarela “…drawing is not simply a way to represent reality, but a way to understand and experience the world.”

I so want this book.
Whether you’re for, against or apathetic about war, think about it “We need to keep honouring the sacrifice, but deploring the reasons for it.”

Photo Sharing and Workflow

Administrator — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 22:50:57 +0000

Places on the internet where I share photos:

flickr: good community
Picasa: larger images and unlimited number of albums
momentile: Alpha only (not fully open to public yet).

A momentile consists of a single image, defined only by the date it was published. That’s it. Void of explanation and free from context, a momentile is pure visual communication.

My current (beginner) work flow:

iPhoto: straightening, cropping and sometimes colour correction
Apple Preview: sizing and emailing
GIMP: more involved image manipulation, colour balancing and retouching

Plans:

Culling and tagging photos so that I can find them more easily
Learning to control my imagery even more
Start a photographer’s journal

An Effective Weight Loss Tip from my Mom

Administrator — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:09:59 +0000

Stop eating bread. That’s it.

4 or 5 years ago, I would eat a couple of slices of toast for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch. I weighed over 200 lbs. By substituting cereal for breakfast and a muffin or soup for lunch I began losing 1–2 kilos a month. I went from 95 kg (210 lbs.) down to 65 kg (143 lbs). I’m 170 cm (5 ft. 7 in.) and my BMI went from 32.9 (obese) to 22.4 (normal).

I didn’t starve myself. I eat 5 times a day and get a minimum of 2,000 calories a day. But I don’t eat bread.

Sword Packaging

Administrator — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:09:19 +0000

It is Day Thirteen of NaBloPoMo and I got nuthin’ but some really interesting packaging from my tai chi sword.

Blog Redesign: Some Blog Designs I Like

Administrator — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:27:12 +0000

Wordpress themes:

Die Neue Typographie: The New Typography a tribute to Jan Tschichold

Writing For Designers based on Veryplaintxt by Scott Wallick

Other designs:

Subtraction by Khoi Vinh

Daring Fireball by John Gruber

These are all more Minimalist than my previous sketches. Perhaps as Twyla Tharp said:

The tricky part about scratching, however, is that you can’t stop with one idea. Henry James said that genius is the act of perceiving similarity among disparate things. In the empty room you’re trying to connect the dots, linking A to B to C to maybe come up with H. Scratching is a means of identifying A, and if you can get to A, you’ve got a grip on the slippery rock wall. You’ve got purchase. You can move on to B, which is mandatory. You cannot stop with one idea. You don’t really have a workable idea until you combine two ideas.

Typealyzer - I am a Scientist (?)

Administrator — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:33:19 +0000

Typealyzer via Amy Gahran

Why I don’t wear a poppy

Administrator — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:50:37 +0000

Why I don’t wear a poppy:

The Vietnam War 1959–1975 coincides exactly with the first 16 years of my own life
I grew up with these terrible images every night and day in the media
wearing a poppy feels like tacitly approving such terrible violence

Poladroid project : the easiest and funniest Polaroid Image Maker

Administrator — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:02:02 +0000

Poladroid project : the easiest and funniest Polaroid Image Maker

Sunday Morning Angles

Administrator — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 18:46:19 +0000