We’re so retro!

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SIA '08 AdSean Flanagan, a graphic designer working on an ad campaign for the upcoming SIA08 (SnowSports Industries America) conference, contacted me ask permission to use an old family photo of ours for one of the ads. In his words…

I am…working on a new ad campaign for SIA (Snowsports Industies America) a non profit association in DC that educates people about snow sports and works to increase snow sport participation each year. We are working on a new ad campaign for their upcoming annual show, with the theme “One Family. One House.” I recently came across your family portrait (circa 1982) on a google image search for retro family portraits. [The ad] will only appear in industry trade magazines like Ski Press, none of your main stream consumer magazines, since SIA is a trade organization and they only deal with the local shops, not the riders or consumers.

Thanks for your time, the picture has a great retro feel and would be perfect for the ad, and the theme.

After passing it around to the rest of the family, we’ve given our okay, and Sean was kind enough to give me permission to post the ad here. Thanks much, Sean!

Addendum: I was curious as to where Sean found the photo, since I couldn’t find it either in my Flickr stream or on my website, so I did a quick Google Images search for ‘retro family portrait‘, and what do you know — that photo is the third hit! Oddly, it comes up as part of a forum thread on Archinect, a site for architectural designers. They’d hotlinked the image from an entry on Dad’s website. I’m glad Sean was able to track us down, circuitous as the route might have been.

Happy Easter

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Easter Daffodils

Or, if you don’t happen to be an Easter person, just enjoy a nice spring day. Whichever works best for you.

BlueJ to Xcode translation?

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Update: Never mind, ignore this post — I never even thought to check for a Mac OS X version of BlueJ. Now I just feel dippy….

Might there be anyone out there with experience developing for Java within Xcode who has a few minutes to spare helping me figure out how to translate this page into something useable on my computer? I’ve gotten as far as getting Xcode installed, but…well, after that, I’m kind of stuck, as I have no idea what the majority of what I’m looking at is, and all the documentation/help files seem to be written for people who have at least some background in programming.

I have figured out that in Xcode, choosing File > New Project… and picking Java Tool seems to be equivalent to creating a New Project within BlueJ (as outlined on the first homework assignment). However, I don’t know how to set up the class’s two required libraries as a permanent part of the Xcode enviroment (as detailed in Step 3 of the Working at Home page), so things aren’t exactly compiling. Essentially, while I know that I should be able to use Xcode to do everything that BlueJ will do, I don’t really know how concepts or methods map between the two environments — or if it’s even worth attempting. Since the whole class is going to be taught as if we’re using BlueJ, perhaps I’d be better off just sucking it up and installing BlueJ under Virtual PC (ick)?

Anyway, if anyone’s able and willing to toss a few words of advice my way, I’d greatly appreciate it. If I can’t figure out how to use Xcode within the next couple days (the first homework assignment, which proves we’re at least up and running, is due Friday), it’s going to be BlueJ under Virtual PC and/or using the computers at school for all my CSC142 homework…and that just seems like such a waste when I’ve got this shiny and perfectly capable computer right here at home!

Random Updates

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A few random things, since I haven’t updated anything here for a little bit…

  • Last quarter’s grades: 
    WIN07    ENG   120         CONTEMPORARY WORLD LIT         3.7          5.0     
         HUM   200         READING THE MEDIA              3.7          5.0     
         MAT   102         COLLEGE ALGEBRA                3.5          5.0     

Qtrly:     Gpa Cr  15.0  Cr Earn  15.0  P/S Cr   0.0  Grpts   54.5  GPA 3.63   

Cum:       Gpa Cr  45.0  Cr Earn  50.0  P/S Cr   5.0  Grpts  167.0  GPA 3.71   
Clvl:      Gpa Cr  40.0  Cr Earn  40.0  P/S Cr   0.0  Grpts  152.5  GPA 3.81

    No Dean’s List anymore, but I thought that might happen. I’m just thrilled I managed to pull a 3.5 in my Algebra class!

  • Prairie and I did our version of going to the beach for Spring Break last week. In our case, it was meeting up with her dad Lon down at Long Beach, on the Washington coast. Grey and windy, so this wasn’t exactly MTV’s Spring Break Miami (or whatever), but it was gorgeous, and we had a good few days. I’m still working my way through the pictures, but everything I’ve posted so far is in this photoset. More pictures will be appearing as I find time to work through them.

  • I went to the last night of Confessional with camera in hand, intending to take photos. However, lighting both within and without the Mercury is damn near nonexistent, and since I didn’t feel like lugging the flash around, I just put the camera away and enjoyed the night. Evidence of my appearance has popped up here, thanks to gravesme.

  • I was going to go get pictures of the Utilikilts 7th Birthday Bash down in Pioneer Square last Saturday night, but a head cold kept me at home instead. A bummer, but since school started on Monday, I figured staying home and resting was the better plan.

  • Spring quarter has started. This quarter I’m in PHI101 (Introduction to Philosophy), CHE101 (Chemistry), and CSC142 (Programming). Looks to be a fun (if busy) quarter.

  • This upcoming weekend is Norwescon. I’ll be heading down there as soon as classes get out on Friday, and spending Friday afternoon/evening and all day Saturday at the ‘con. I’ve also been asked by spitkitten to shoot the Fannish Fetish Fashion Show on Friday evening — really looking forward to that! Of course, I’ll have camera in hand the rest of the time I’m wandering around down there as well.

And…yeah, I think that about brings me up to date.