Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

That's "High FUR!"     

I think the lighter one needs another stop of exposure.

They are called "The Wrong Size."

An acrobatic and aerial performance company.  I guess it would be something like Cirque but smaller.

http://www.wrongsize.co.uk/

Stilts would look better:

Waving Bye-Bye!

Cute! 

I have always wondered why women continue to wear high heels when their feet hurt so much.  This is just ridiculous!

But, as some people have said, Ginger Rogers was a better dancer than Fred Astaire because she did everything he did only backwards and while wearing high heels! 

Judging by the design and by the photo of the model wearing them, a person could not even stand up straight while wearing these shoes, let alone walk.

Artistic or autistic?

It's hard to tell!

Link:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/20 … finds.html

A recent study performed by Japanese researchers shows that looking at photos of cute animals improves your productivity!

Keep those cute pictures coming!          

Every morning our squirrels wake us up just after sunrise.

They run along the telephone wire, jump off to the roof of our house, scamper across the peak of the roof, scale the mast of the TV antenna then use the antenna as a springboard to leap across to the nearby tree branch.

I'll be laying in bed in the morning and I'll hear, "Thump!  Scamper...scamper...scamper... TWANG!"
That's how I know the squirrels are awake and it'll be time for me to wake up and get ready for work, soon.

I got FileMaker only because I used it for work.  I needed a copy on my own computer in order to work at home.
My boss bought the 5-seat license package.  They were only using four of the seats.  We made a deal.  He gave me one of the licenses in exchange for occasionally being able to ask me to work at home.

I know that FileMaker can import files from Bento but I don't know about Bento's ability to import FileMaker databases.
I THINK it can work, provided you don't use any FileMaker features that Bento doesn't understand.
I'd have to check to be sure.

Don't know exactly how it works on the iPad but, on my desktop, FileMaker can import photos from any source that your computer can read.

Typically, I take photos with a digicam then store them in a folder on my hard drive.  Then I put those into FileMaker.
FileMaker can either "embed" the photo (store it as part of the database file) or "link" to the file.  (store only a reference to the original file which lives some place else on your computer.)  The difference is that embedding the photos makes your database file get really large.  Linking the files makes for smaller files but, if you ever move those pictures to another location or, God forbid, the ever get deleted, you lose access to those pictures through FileMaker.

I don't see why you couldn't take pictures with the digicam in your iPad and store them as part of your iPhoto collection then link to them from Bento or FileMaker.
That way you save space on you iPad and you can still look at them using iPhoto.  You'll be able to make double use of those pictures, then.  Just transfer them to a gallery or folder that you know not to delete, rename or move.

Bento for iPhone might be able to import directly through the iPad's digicam but I don't know for sure.  That's something we'd have to research before I can give an answer.

FileMaker Pro is a desktop application but it can publish your database as an HTML/web page.
Anybody on your local, in-home network can access your data and edit if you give permission via passwords.

There is also a companion app for the iPad called "FileMaker Go" which allows you to share FileMaker databases on your iPad.

I have experience making and using databases in FileMaker Pro and I have experience sharing them via HTML.
I'm sorry but I don't have direct experience using Bento or FileMaker Go.  I have only read about them.

FileMaker costs $299.00 and up, depending on the features you want.  FileMaker Go is free with the purchase.

Bento for desktop only cost $49.99 and Bento for iPad only costs $9.99.

I'm guessing that you need to make a basic "flat" database.
You don't need to make a "relational database."  Correct?
You don't need to use web sharing or multiple users.  Right?

It seems to me that you don't need the full feature set of FileMaker and that Bento would probably give you everything you need.
If you don't need to use your database on a desktop/laptop computer, I bet Bento for iPad would do the job you need.

We don't really have an accurate count of our Bears but we know that there are at least 1,000 of them.

On a couple of occasions, we tried to count them but never got all the way through.

We told them to count off, one by one, and 1,000 little paws went up into the air and they all shouted, "ONE!"   

I don't know all the features and specs of Bento.  I use FileMaker Pro.  It does the same thing but with different features.

Bento might be able to use the iPad's camera.  I don't know for sure.

Bento does allow you to create and edit databases on the iPad.  There are lots of templates to get you started.

Yes, no matter what application you use, there is going to be a lot of work doing the setup and data entry.  There's really no way around it.

If you have a lot of data in another format, CSV text file, for instance, you can import that data into Bento/FileMaker but you'll have to massage the data into the right format before importing and you'll probably have to tweak your data afterward.

Once the main work of designing the database and entering the data is over, you ought to be able to do anything you want without a lot of work.

I show the Meerkats movie at the theater where I work!  :)

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/vid … d-trailer/

I'm in charge of "The Big Green Screen."  :cool:

http://www.trecpi.org/

There is a program called FileMaker.
It is a database application for cataloging and organizing information.  It does the same thing as Microsoft Access only it's a lot easier to use and it's better, too.

If you're not familiar with the concept of how a database works, imagine a card catalog in a library.
You have a series of cards in a drawer.  Each card has specific information on it, written in a standard format:
Author, Title, Description, Catalog Number, Location, etc.
To find a particular book, you go through the card catalog and search for an author's name, for instance.  When you find that card, you can use it to look up information about that book and, if you want to read that book, you can see where it is located in the stacks.  You can organize cards by any of the categories, by author, by title, by type of book, etc.

Now, take that concept and translate it to the computer.
Each card in the catalog is called a "record."  Each record contains lines of information called "fields."
To manage your database, you create a new record for each item you want to keep track of and enter the pertinent information into the fields.  When you have a series of records, the computer keeps track of them and allows you to search, sort, select and organize your data by any criteria you want.

Using our card catalog analogy, if you only want to see records for books whose genre is "fiction," you can select that.  If you only want books by a certain author, you select that.  If you want books with certain words in the description, the computer will show them to you.  You can also select books by multiple criteria such as "books by a certain author with a particular word in the title."

If you have ever used the computer at a library to find a book, you have used a database program.  In fact, most libraries, these days, don't use card catalogs anymore and, if you want to find a book, you have to use the computer.

So, let's translate this to wrangling your Bear collection...
Your database will contain records (virtual index cards) which, in turn, contain a series of fields to hold information about your Bears.
Let's say...
Bear's Name, Manufacturer, Style Number, Size, Color, Fur Type, Date Adopted and comments.  If you want to add a picture, there is a way to add that, too.

Once you enter all your Bears into the database, your "Bear Family Album" is complete.  Now, you can search by any criteria.  You can select, sort, view and edit your list.  If you add new Bears, you can create new records.

FileMaker is a program that allows you to create such a database and format it any way you want.  You can determine what information is in the database.  You can determine how it is laid out.  You can create multiple views of that information for accessing your data for different purposes.  (e.g. "Browse," "Edit," "Print."

FileMaker started out as a program for desktop and laptop computers but they have versions for iPad and iPhone.
The app I believe you want is called "Bento for iPad."

See it here:  http://www.filemaker.com/products/bento/for-ipad/

Bento can be a fairly complex program to learn and operate but you can use ready-made templates to get started with.  You can edit those templates to suit your particular needs.  If you have a desktop/laptop computer, you can even share/sync your database between devices.

FileMaker/Bento is a paid program but I believe it is the best application for keeping track of things.

I use it to catalog my camera collection.
I have over 100 cameras in my collection and several hundred photography related items, too.
I can recall information on any of them and I know where everything is stored.  It know the condition and value of every item.  I would never be able to manage my collection without FileMaker.

We also have a catalog for our Bears.
If I need to know anything about a Bear, when we adopted him, where he came from or anything, I can look them up in a few minutes.

You will need some time to learn the program but it is the most powerful and flexible database system out there.

Do check it out! 

Pudge was adopted at a local shop called "Hidden Treasures" which has since gone out of business.

I have several photos of Pudge that you can see on my Flickr site:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=7577383@N04&q=bear

Pudge would be happy to share a hug with you! 

Bears in a red convertible!  :cool:
Could you imagine the look on a cop's face when he pulled that car over?!    

Paris to Brussels, first class!  The only way to travel!  :D

Melanie went on a trip to Seattle to visit her aunt and she got Melanie an upgrade to first class on the plane.
Of course, a Bear always goes on these trips.  It was Muffy VanderBear.
So, Melanie got up to use the bathroom and, Muffy stayed in her seat.  When Melanie got back she found the flight attendant brought Muffy a package of cookies!   :)

P.S.  Pudge is a Gund Bear.  He also has a little brother.

What?  You keep your Bears locked up in the house all the time?  Bear Jail!!

Okay, some of our Bears prefer to stay home but there are some who like to go out.
Pudge is probably our most adventurous Bear.  Here are a few pictures from Pudge's trip to New River Gorge:

I probably had half a dozen people ask me what I was doing with a Teddy Bear on that trip.
I looked each of them straight in the face and said, "I'm taking a picture of my Teddy Bear."

Don't tell me you never took your Bear out for ice cream?

Isabella, the Bear, got to go out to Sunday brunch at a French cafe!
(One of the fanciest joints in town!  )
Here is a picture if her having some Creme Bear-lee.

No problem taking Bears on airplanes!  A lot of our Bears have been through airport security.  Melanie takes Bears on trips all the time.
They just have to go through X-ray.  The Bears will grimace a bit but they don't mind THAT much.   

Yes, we heard it on the news, this morning.   
All of the pandas in our panda preserve are feeling sad, too.     

This is the reason why they don't name new baby pandas until they are 100 days old.
Prior to reaching 3 months of age, panda mortality is very high.

Although it's not a happy thing, it was not totally unexpected.   

I bet you're better than you think you are! 
So many people get hung up with the equipment that they forget to concentrate on the picture.

There's the shutter and the aperture and the focus and all the other gadgets and gewgaws.  By the time they get finished playing with all those buttons and knobs, they forget what they were trying to take a photo of in the first place.

I can teach you to take photos with only an empty beer can and a roll of duct tape for a camera!

The same concept goes for Bears.  I bet people get hung up on the sewing and the cutting and what technique is used to make each part of the Bear that they forget what they were doing in the first place.

I bet that's why a lot of people feel burned out after a while.

While I need to concentrate less on the camera and more on making photos that tell a story, Bearmakers should concentrate on making Bears that say, "I love you," instead of all the sewing techniques.

Theoretical mumbo-jumbo aside...  Glad to see you're back in the saddle! 

Too many people fail to understand that you can't turn creativity on and off like a water faucet.

I'm a photographer and I often talk to people who think I can make a photograph any old time they want me to.
Aside from the fact that the time has to be right, with the right lighting, the right subject, the right setting and I have to have my equipment ready, I have to be in the right mood to do it.

I don't know how many time's I've walked the same stretch of beach on Sunset point without exposing a single frame of film.  Then, one day, I'm standing on the shore, shooting the bull with somebody and BANG!  A photo practically hits me in the face!

I had been standing there for nearly half an hour, just talking to some people about random stuff.  We were all watching those kids the whole time.  One guy's wife even hollered at them to be careful playing on the rocks in case they might get hurt.

We all decided to go home and, besides, I wasn't getting any good pictures.  I turned around to wave goodbye and there it was!  I HAD to grab it.

Many people seem to think I should get shots like that every time I pick up the camera and it's just not true.

I can only imagine what it's like to make Bears.  Not only do you have to have the creativity to design and make a Bear, you need to have the concentration to do good work.

I can't tell you how many rolls of film have sat on my shelf for weeks, waiting to be developed but I just didn't have the gumption to develop them.

I don't blame you for not feeling up to the task of making Bears or even putting Bearmaking aside for a while.
How are you supposed to make the best Bears if your heart isn't in it?

Use the following tags:

[color=red]Type the text you want to be in color here.[/color]

You can make your text appear in many colors:  RED - ORANGE - YELLOW - GREEN - BLUE or VIOLET.

You can also use white but, since the background color is often white, it won't show up.
That could be cool for making secret codes but it's not good for general reading.
This is text is hidden because it is white!

Have fun!      

First, don't use a comb on plush.  Use a soft brush like one use for brushing a baby's hair.  It's best if it's never been used to brush a human.  Get a new one from the store and designate it as the bear brush.

Build-A-Bear Workshop sells bear brushes.  They are only $3.00 apiece.  At that price, you could buy two and still have enough money left over to take your Bear out for ice cream.  ;)

Yes, you might see a little fur come off in the brush but you shouldn't see a lot.  There are always a few loose hairs left over from the manufacturing process.  A few of them are bound to come out.  Just brush gently with short strokes.  If too much fur comes out, stop.

You could also use a hair dryer on the "cool" setting to fluff your Bears.  That's good for getting dust out of their fur.  Then, gently brush their fur back down until it's neat.

When you have a lot of Bears to take care of, there's the vacuum cleaner!
Take a cardboard tube, like the core from a roll of bathroom tissue, and fasten a piece of cheese cloth over one end using a rubber band.  Place this assembly over the end of the vacuum hose.

First, the cheese cloth will prevent any of the Bear's ribbons or decorations from being sucked up in the vacuum cleaner.  Second, if the vacuum is too strong, you can adjust it by punching holes in the cardboard tube to let in some "bypass air."

If a Bear's fur is matted or has junk stuck in it, it's best NOT to brush him.
Use clean water and a Q-Tip or a sponge to gently remove the foreign material.  Don't soak the Bear!  Just use a damp sponge.  Gently, carefully dab and clean JUST the sticky spots lest you cause the foreign material to spread.

Once you have the gummy stuff out of the way, you might want to give the Bear a bath.  Again, B.A.B.W. has the product.  Follow the directions and SURFACE WASH, gently with a sponge or cloth.  Let the Bear dry then fluff and brush.

If the Bear is vintage or is made from mohair, you might be better off leaving him be.  Sometimes it's better to leave a Bear a little bit disheveled than to damage him.  Teddy Bear collectors will accept a certain amount of wear from being loved.

To a Teddy Bear, being "love worn" is a badge of honor!  In that case, it's better to leave him as-is.