Contact information changed

To reach me at Iridia Creative Productions use the new phone number, (503) icp8-Amy, or 503-427-8269.

* Amy is my middle name. In the past there was a bus driver who (without knowing this fact) kept thinking my name was Amy. I told her one day, "My name is Amy only in bed." (She blushed. Cute.)

To send me a fax, continue using (206) 338-0417.

Must-have Linux software

The beauty of today's Linux is the ease of obtaining software you need, as long as you are connected to the Internet. Unlike Windows, almost anything can be easily downloaded and installed with just a little line of text in the command prompt, or if you are graphically oriented, from Synaptic.

To install any of these simply open up the "Terminal" and type
sudo apt-get install nameofthesoftware

"nameofthesoftware" is the standard UNIX name for the software programs, as listed below.

Graphic design tools
* scribus = desktop publishing and layout
* gimp = photo and image editing (often comes preinstalled)
* inkscape = drawing
* xaralx = easier drawing, nice effects, has difficulty saving as a vector file; excellent if you are only making PNG files for websites.

Internet tools
* drivel = write in your blogs even if you are offline
* FireFTP (an Add-On inside Firefox) = file transfer protocol, install from Firefox tools > add-ons
* webhttrack = copies contents of websites for offline archiving and viewing, including all images and media; great if you travel and need ready access to certain online resources

Productivity/Office
* abiword = fast word processing alternative to OpenOffice Writer
* evolution = calendar, addressbook, task list and offline email reader in one (I like this better than Thunderbird)

Media
* songbird = kind of like iTunes, except for iTunes Store function

Other neat stuff I found

*stardict = an amazing multilingual dictionary that supports many languages. While it is on, you can highlight on any word and dictionary definitions/translations will pop up. Dictionary data files are available at http://stardict.sourceforge.net/ .

* aiksaurus = this is a text-line based thesaurus. To use simply enter "aiksaurus wordofyourchoice" in the terminal prompt.
* display-dhammapada = a saying of Sakyamuni Buddha. To use simply enter "display-dhammapada" in the terminal prompt.
* pyching = throw coins and read I Ching.
* bibletime = not just bible but also comes with e-book versions of classics like John Calvin's Institute and St. Augustine's Confession. The Bible in many languages and versions of your choice.

Testing Drivel

Drivel is an offline blogging editor for Linux that works under GNOME.

To install Drivel (the last letter is lower-case ell, not one) open terminal (bash or shell of your choice) and type
sudo apt-get install drivel

or from root
apt-get install drivel

To use Wordpress

Use your Wordpress username for login (not the name of your blog)
Enter password
Select "Movable Type" (do not panick if you don't see Wordpress)
Enter blog server address as http://yourblogsname.wordpress.com/xmlrpc.php
Of course yourblogsname is the first part of your Wordpress.

Iridia Creative website glitch with some browsers

It appears that some browsers have difficulty displaying the Iridia Creative website correctly. I have been testing the site with a number of browsers on multiple operating systems, including the latest versions of Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera, Microsoft Internet Explorer, K-Meleon, Amaya, and Epiphany.

This may be due to some browsers not interpreting CSS as it should.

If you cannot see the text, if the text goes invisible or instead shows Unicode numbers (small numbers in boxes), use the no-CSS, lite graphic version below:

• Iridia Creative home


• Iridia Creative graphic designs


• Iridia Creative fine art


• Iridia Creative window paintings and signage


• Iridia Creative contact (the webmail form may not work in this version)

Also the problem may be resolved by forcing your browser to ignore CSS and use fonts of your choice (Arial, Helvetica and FreeSans should look okay). Since this problem is largely limited to Firefox and other Firefox-derived browsers in Linux, try this if you are using Linux:

Edit (Alt-E) > Preferences (n) > Content tab > Fonts and Colors > Advanced button > de-select "Allow pages to choose their own fonts, instead of my selections above"

Press OK, go back to Preferences > Content

> Fonts and Colors > Colors button > select "Use system colors", deselect "Allow pages to choose their own colors..."

Additionally, Opera 9.64 for Linux displays the site correctly but it may not be in your distribution's repository. You can download the installer file from Opera's website. (This will involve a knowledge of unpacking a .tar.gz file, then running the installation shell script by using chmod and ./ inside the shell.)

Free for all download: 10-up business card template for Scribus

Here's a template for U.S. Letter size 10-up business card sheets, such as Avery 8879.


Download here (GZipped Scribus Layout file)

Art show opening Sunday, June 28

The Five Rogues plus One

a group show

featuring
Darren W. Alexander | Troy Ennis | Larry Patrik May | Rick Miles | C. J. White

with

Sarah A. Morrigan

June 28 - August 17, 2009

Opening Reception: Sunday, June 28, 2009 - Noon

First Presbyterian Church of Portland

1200 SW Alder St

"Green Iris": Environmentally sustainable practices at Iridia Creative

Iridia Creative Productions is committed to a "green" business practice in purple iris style!

• Low-power computing equipment. The newly purchased computer consumes on average 20 to 25 watts, about a half of a typical computer, to reduce the carbon footage and thermal emission.


• Non-toxic paints. Whenever possible certified non-toxic paints are used -- especially for window painting


• Electronic, paperless billing. To reduce paper use all invoices are sent and processed electronically.


• Sourcing recycled art supplies. Many of fine art works are made from recycled or reused supplies to reduce waste in landfill and to save energy needed in production of new art supplies.


• Commitment to open-source computing platforms and commercial application of open-source software. GNU/Linux and other open-source projects help people reuse older computers. At Iridia Creative Productions almost all work is done on open-source platform.


• Encouraging bicycling and public transit use.