How to Cope With the Swine Flu Scare

In these harsh times, when the world teeters on the cusp of a global pandemic, it’s very difficult not to feel stressed or overwhelmed. My solution: Cupcakes.

(I added a little "lens flare" for ya.)

They make everyone’s day brighter. I’m eating a carrot cake cupcake with cream cheese icing. Mmmm. I also gave a box of them to a colleague who was “let go” today.

Speaking of swine flu – how much do you think I could make by designing custom face masks?

Does Your Site Have a ‘FavIcon’?

If you’re like me, you’ve been wondering what those little icons are that have been showing up at the beginning of URLs. I may be behind the times, but I’m happy to finally know what they are – and how I can get one on my site.


They’re called FavIcons. Click here to generate one for your page.

Because of their small size, there are some strict pixels dimensions you have to adhere to, in order to make it show up properly. Plus, they can’t be too complex. Even though they’re pretty simple, I think they add a certain “aesthetic” to a website.

I’ll have to test it out this week.

Back in Training

I'm in a Flash CS4 class at EEI Communications. It'll run today and tomorrow. I took Flash and Director back in college, when it was still owned by Macromedia. I adored Director, but hated Flash, mostly because it was tough using action scripts.

However, this time around, the instructor Mark Snyder at EEI, is making things a whole lot easier to understand than my ol' college professors. He's a wonderful instructor, with a vast knowledge of technology that far surpasses just web applications. I'm glad there are certain aspects I remember - like how to use timelines, manipulating frames, etc. What I'd really like to learn, is how to build sites in Flash - or - at least, building a smooth portfolio of my artwork.

To be honest, Flash really is tough. The action scripting can be overwhelming. But, I think I'm going to stick with it. More and more of my freelance clients request web work, and I'd love to be able to add some nice Flash pieces to basic HTML/Java sites.

Plus, in this day and age, Flash is where the "money" is. I've noticed than may employers prefer their designers to know web applications - namely Dreamweaver and at least some intermediate Flash. I'm all about being more marketable - especially in this economy.

Will post some Flash tips if I learn anything really cool. I'm sorry I never posted those InDesign tips. It wouldn't have done the class justice. You're better off taking a class by Michael Murphy, or doing some in dept reading on his website - The InDesigner.

Washingtonian May Cover Art – Mixed Reviews

Have you seen the much talked about Obama cover for May’s Washingtonian magazine? I have to say, I’m "under-whelmed".

Some of you probably heard about Washingtonian’s May Cover Contest. In March, Washingtonian magazine asked the public to offer up ideas/concepts for their May issue. Of course, I would not do my profession justice if I didn’t send a few suggestions (11 to be exact). I didn’t care so much about the prize (free dinner with a Washingtonian food critic) – being chosen for the May cover design would have been the ultimate portfolio piece.

Obviously, I didn’t win. I’m not even sure if the cover art concept was developed by the public. I have a feeling a Washingtonian staff member came up with the final idea.

This cover is completely different from the colorful, whimsical covers the magazine usually does. I always liked the professionalism of the other covers – very clean, very inspirational. This cover just seemed like an excuse to display a half-nude Obama to the public.

I think a better cover concept could have been designed for the “Why We Love DC” theme. Washingtonian needs to go back to basics.

But if nothing else, this cover did create a lot of “buzz”. No doubt it will boost magazine sales this month, and maybe add a bunch of monthly subscriptions to the mix. That was probably Washingtonian's strategy all along...

A New DC Treat: Hello Cupcake

It seems like cute little cupcakes have taken the place of full size cakes at weddings, graduation parties, and other special events lately – and rightly so. Not only do cupcakes taste great, but since they’re petite, you don’t feel so guilty eating them.

Hello Cupcake is a cute little pastry shop located in Dupont Circle. This place comes highly recommended in the area, as I first heard about Hello Cupcake from my hairstylist. She visits this place on a weekly basis. The gourmet cupcakes here are fresh - not frozen (unlike Cake Love). There are specialty flavors each day of the week, including some gluten-free options. Hello Cupcake also caters, and can customize these little treats for your special events.

Another reason why I love Hello Cupcake? The website is well designed, and the shop interior is trendy, clean, and inviting. Great Design + Phenomenal Cupcakes = My New Favorite Dessert Spot.

Designers Rejoice - Lexmark Makes Some Great Printers

Things have been busy around here. There’s a special event going on at work that has sucked away all of my time. I just recently got back from a trip to Pennsylvania, and I have a couple freelance projects in the works. Busy Busy! That’s why I’ve neglected my blog duties lately. Sorry people.

A couple weeks ago, Aaron asked me to research a couple network/wi-fi/wireless printers for the house. My existing Hp printer is about 9yrs old, and I’m not sure why the inks are so expensive considering the print quality is horrible. I figured if I got a really nice high-performance wi-fi printer, I could save money by printing more photos at home, and printing a few freelance projects from home as well (vs. sending to print vendors).

Here’s what we got:

Lexmark 7675 Inkjet All-in-One printer
The best part about this printer – it prints DUPLEX!!!! Oh how I needed something like this in college – it would have saved me all those 2am Kinkos print runs.

The reviews on cnet and newegg were pretty mixed, but so far, I think the print quality is great. The duplex printing is fast, and the pigment inks are cheaper than my old crusty Hp.

And, this printer is only $119 right now at Staples. If you trade in your old printer, they give you an additional instant $50 rebate. Great deal huh?

RIP Dr. Kutner

If you’re an avid “House MD” fan like myself, by now you know about Dr. Lawrence Kutner’s apparent suicide on Monday’s episode. It caught me totally by surprise as he was the character least likely to die on the show. A few news articles mention that the show’s creators killed off Kal Penn’s character, because the actor will soon be working for President Obama at the Executive Offices in DC (woohoo, more celebrity stalking during my lunch hour!).

In any case, the show must go on. I wish they did more with Dr. Kutner’s character – Kal Penn is such a talented actor (have you seen the Namesake? Brilliant). And he was the next best hottie on the show next to Jesse Spencer (Dr. Chase).

So what’s even stranger than killing off one of “House MD’s” favorite characters? Fans creating actual Memorial Pages for the fictitious Dr. Kutner! Come on people – it’s just a show! Facebook truly attracts some of the most bored individuals alive. (ahem, Not me of course. I only KIT with my peeps on FB…)

The News - Things Getting Worse and Worse

Here are the headlines from CNN this morning:


Nearly everything in the news in the last few months has been pretty dismal. I’m especially concerned about the “Students Fight to Watch Porn” article. Please tell me what on earth those students are trying to accomplish?!

In the Name of Beauty

There is a skin issue that plagues my family. It comes from my mother’s side. It starts small, usually on the back and face. In some cases, it can grow to the size of a dime. What am I referring to? MOLES!

Every woman in my family has them. One family member had them removed well into her adulthood, and she had over 100+ on her face alone.

I refuse to wait and let my moles consume my face – so on Friday, I had the ones on my neck removed…well actually…burned.

Basically, because the moles are on the surface of the skin, they can only be ‘lasered’ or burned off – which means, my moles are now scabs, and I have to wait for them to fall off in a week’s time. Getting the laser was beyond painful. It was horrifying. So much so that I could not even get the ones on my face done. I made a separate appointment for that. I have a high tolerance for pain, but getting those moles burned off hurt worse than laser hair removal.

Ahh, but it’s all worth it in the end. Even the strange stares I’ve been getting on the metro because of my ‘connect-the-dot’ scabs. lol.

(Sorry, this was probably TMI)

Another Reason to 'Cash and Carry'

Wired.com posted an article about a credit card cloning scheme in the DC area.
(Click here for Wired article)

I guess this is becoming more prevalent in these dire economic times. Apparently, some local waiters/waitresses were scanning customer credit cards through a cloning device, and using the information to duplicate card account and information. In turn, the duplicates were used to make bogus purchases – which some people no doubt saw on their monthly credit card statements.

I have to admit, my husband and I were victims of this kind of scheme. A little over a year ago, my husband saw a few odd charges on our credit card. The charged amounts were small enough not to cause alarm at first, but the location of the charges didn’t add up. Someone most likely duplicated our credit card at a restaurant, and trumped up about $700 worth of charges locally, within a 2 month period. There was $40 at a gas station in Arlington, $70 at Hechts/Macy’s in Tyson’s Corner….and the red flag that we noticed immediately, $300 at a CVS in Springfield. Our culprit obviously chose Virginia as the spending ground – and was very smart to do smaller charges so as not to raise immediate suspicion.

In the end, the bank reimbursed us and did an investigation on our account. Be sure to always check your bank statements. Not just the charge amount, but the location of the charge. We go to gas stations, Macy’s and CVS – but NOT in Virginia!

And also think about taking cash to restaurants (vs. using credit cards). Nothing worse than having to do a fraud report with the bank or your credit card company. The entire process to get your money back is extremely tedious.