Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Thumper;

I don't mean to yell so loud but I work in a theater.  In my line of work, you often have to shout and pound your fist on the table a couple of times before people sit up and take notice of what you are trying to tell them.  You have to push people out of their "comfort zone" before they will expend the energy to do things a different way.

Okay?   

For the record, I have A.D.D. and dyslexia.
I once had a roommate in college who had O.C.D. and had to "double touch" everything he did or else he would drive himself nuts obsessing about whether or not he locked the door or turned off the lights... etc. etc. etc.
I'm sure you know the type.

The main secret to learning anything new is to divide your tasks up into small "chunks" and to learn them one at a time.  This is especially important if you have a learning difference like A.D.D., such as I have.

I divide my day up into little 15 minute blocks.  I set myself on a task.  When I find my attention wandering, I look a the clock and set a time limit for myself.  I say something like, "Okay, it's 10:50 AM.  I'll work until 11:00 and go do something else for 15 minutes."  Then, when I finish the OTHER 15 minute task, I come back to my original job and work for a while longer.  That's how I structure my day.

In order to keep myself focused on the jobs I have to get done on any particular day, I just keep a little notebook with my "task list" in my pocket.  I check things off as I get them done.

Some people think it's a quirky way to schedule my day but, for me, it gets the job done.
There are a lot of people who use "Day Timers" to schedule their work day.  They aren't considered quirky.  The only difference is that my day is divided into smaller chunks than most people.

If I may suggest...  Try dividing up your computer learning into smaller short-term tasks.  Maybe 15 minutes at a time.  See if that doesn't help you learn.

It took me almost 40 years to figure out that I had A.D.D. and how to deal with it.
If a mean, old guy like me can learn new stuff anybody can! 

This idea of "incompatibility" is nothing but a bunch of fluff!

Anybody who says one computer system is not compatible with another either doesn't know what they are talking about or else they are a liar.  Period.

I manage about 15 computers for the place I work.  There are PCs running Windows XP and Windows Vista.  There are Macintosh computers.  I have computers that run Linux.  I even have one machine that runs on Microsoft DOS.
I personally own four computers.  One is Windows ME.  One is Linux.  Two of them are Mac OS.  I also help other people in my family with their computers.  My Mother's computer runs on Linux.

If computers were incompatible with each other I would know it.  I rarely have problems sharing files and information between computers of different types.  When I do the problem is solved by making a simple adjustment about 95% of the time.  I only have real difficulty sharing information between Macs, PCs and other types of computers about 1 or 2 times her year.  Even then, I can barely remember a time when I couldn't figure out a solution.

Microsoft has a vested interest in promoting the belief that using anything else except Microsoft-based systems will cause your computer to malfunction.  IF they didn't lie to you like that people will stop buying their junky product.  They would lose money.

Apple is little better.  They would have you believe that the only thing you need to do is switch to Macintosh computers and the heavens will open, the angels will trumpet and your life will suddenly get better.  That's about as much a lie as the crud Microsoft tries to feed us.

Computers are nothing more than machines.  They require an operator with enough intelligence to read instructions and follow directions.  But, for some reason, people tend to think there is something "magical" behind that display screen that will make life fine if only we know the right incantation.

There is an old computer geek joke:  When somebody asks them why their computer won't work, we reply, "Error exists between keyboard and chair."
This is the source of about 95% of all computer problems.

I'm sorry to rant like this but I think it is necessary to shake people out of their old habits before you can teach them new ones. 

This is the point I would ultimately get across: 
Learning to use new computer systems is nothing more then learning new habits...  Unlearning old ones and learning new ones.

I don't want to hear people complaining that they "have to" use one kind of computer system or that they "can't learn" another system for one reason or another.  My MOTHER uses Ubuntu Linux on her computer at home.  Trust me when I say, if my Mom can use Linux ANYBODY can!

She used to have a Windows computer but she caught a virus and it wiped out her hard drive.  I couldn't repair the problem and she didn't have the original disks that came with the computer to restore it.  The only options she had was to buy a new computer or to clear the decks and install Linux.

I installed the new operating system the day after Christmas.  She hit the ground running and she's been going "great guns" ever since.  Now you couldn't convince her to go back!

She had a couple hundred digital pictures stuck on her digital camera that she couldn't download because she couldn't get the camera to work right with Windows.  Once I installed Linux she was able to download all those pictures and put them on the computer.  Now she's sorting through them and uploading them all to www.flickr.com.

So, if you try to tell me you can't use one computer system over another because it's "incompatible" or because you claim you can't learn a new system, I'll point you to my Mother who is using a computer converted from Windows to Linux to happily upload digital pictures and share them on Flickr.
:D

BTW:  If you have a specific question on how to make your computer work, let me know.  I'll do what I can to help. 

Get hold of your webmaster and have them look through the server logs of your website to see if there are any hits from suspicious places.  "Forward-All" any e-mails to your webmaster too.  He can use the tracking information in that e-mail to correlate with the server logs.

Many times web-crooks spoof their IP address information or use anonymous e-mail addresses but many times they don't.  If you can track them down you might be able to block the person or persons who are trying to pull this crud from accessing your site.

Further, it might be helpful to share any e-mails among the group so that others who get similar scam requests can use them for comparison.

My parents live near the woods and they had a lot of trouble with raccoons tearing down the bird feeders and squirrels eating all the bird seed.  They put out wooden boxes with hinged lids on them to divert the critters away from the bird feeders and that seems to work.

If Rocky isn't tearing up your garden or pulling down the feeder to get at the seeds inside it might be just as well to keep the status quo.

He's very cute!
He's got a look like you caught him with his hand in the cookie jar.  (You did, in a manner of speaking!  )

If you are going to continue to feed him, you should set up another feeding station that is away from the bird feeder(s).  Raccoons will damage the bird feeders and scare away all the birds you worked so hard to attract to your yard.  It'd be a shame to spend all that time and money to make your yard a happy place for birds than have the raccoons mess it all up.  :(

Two things:

1)  Raccoons breed at a rate that is directly proportional to the amount of food in an area.  The more food you put out, the more coons there will be.  By summer's end, you'll have dozens of mommas and babies running all over your yard.  Think about whether you want that or not.  Coons can cause a lot of damage, especially if you have a garden.  They can mow a garden flat in just one night!

2)  Raccoons can carry rabies!
While rabies is more prevalent in some areas of the country, there is NO PLACE in North America that is "immune" from rabies.  When somebody says, "Aw, we don't have rabies around here." tell them it's a bunch of fluff!   
Coons will spread rabies to your cats and dogs then when they come into your house, they spread it to YOU!  Even if you don't catch rabies, it would be a shame to have to put your favorite dog or cat to sleep because it caught rabies.   

I like raccoons too.  My wife and I like to take drives around the local state park in the summer time to see how many raccoons and other critters we can spot.  But wild animals shouldn't become too acclimated to humans.

Invisible fences work IF you train the dog properly...  IF.

It's not about the shock.  The collar works not on the principle of casing a lot of pain.  It works on IMMEDIACY of punishment.

If you were able to stand guard at the boundaries of your yard and yell at your dog every time he went past the white flags... the very MOMENT he strayed...  you could achieve almost exactly the same effect.

The electronic collar is designed to achieve that effect without the owner standing guard and to do it without fail.  That is why the collar works.

Yes it does hurt a little bit to get shocked but it's not supposed to be debilitating.  In fact, good electronic collars have adjustable levels so you can turn it down to match the size and temperament/sensitivity of the dog.  The BEST models of collars have buzzers in them to warn the dog BEFORE he gets shocked.

It is a fallacy to blame the collar for the fault of the dogs' owners.
The dogs got injured or traumatized NOT because of the collar but because the owner didn't understand how the thing works and probably didn't take the time to read the instructions that came with it.  Most of them come with DVDs and illustrated instructions!  You have to be pretty bad to hurt your dog like that, simply because you don't read and follow instructions.

A veterinarian is supposed to be a "Man of Science."
I understand how a vet could be against using collars to train dogs.  But I am surprised to hear of a person who is supposed to be educated placing fault on the product rather than the person who incorrectly uses the product.

That would be the same as blaming beer for causing drunk driving.  It's not the BEER's fault.  It's the fault of the idiot who got behind the wheel of the car after having too many beers!

Yep!  :)
Sounds like you program has a feature to keep the aspect ratio, too.   

Sometimes they call the "Level" dialog "Histogram."
Names of things in programs aren't very standard.  There's even one feature in Photoshop known as "Custom Filter" but it's known in other programs as "Convolution Matrix"   

You're welcome!  :)
I hope it helps.

One thing I forgot to mention...
Remember the picture's aspect ratio.  (The ratio of the width to the height.)
If your picture is 600 pixels wide and 400 pixels tall, the aspect ratio is 1 to 1.5
(600 / 400 = 1.5)
Also written as 1:1.5

Well, what if your original picture doesn't have a 1:1.5 aspect ratio?
What if your original picture is 800 pix. by 600 pix. ??  That's an aspect ratio of 1:1.33.
If you try to scale that picture down to 600 X 400 it won't fit.  You'll either have to crop some off the top and bottom or you'll have to "squash" the image.  People's faces will be all stretched out.

To prevent this, there is a check box in the "Resize" dialog called "Relative Size."

If you check that box you can type in a number for one dimension of the image and the computer will calculate the other dimension for you so that the aspect ratio is preserved.

If I have an 800 px. by 600 px. photo and I use "relative" resizing, I can type "600" into the box that used to say "800" (width) and the computer will figure out the height for me and automatically enter "450."  Then, when I click "OK" the image will be smaller but the same shape.  No cropping and no "squashing."

If you need help, send a PM.
But, once you get the hang, it's really not that difficult.
If you have anybody around your house who can show you how this is done, you'll probably look at it and say, "Wow!  That's how it's done!" 

Very good point!  :thumbup:

The gamma setting for CRT (television) monitors and LCD (flat panel) monitors is different.
"Gamma" refers to the average contrast level that a given monitor produces.  In other words, what is the point which is half way between the lightest part of an image and the darkest part of the image?

The gamma for CRTs is much darker than LCDs.  Consequently, when you view a picture intended for viewing on an LCD, it will be too dark when viewed on a CRT.  The thing is that most people don't even know what is happening.  They just make the picture look good on their monitor and assume that everybody else sees things as they do.

The wise person will realize this and try to produce pictures that look good on the widest range of computer monitors possible.  The best way to do this is to use the "Levels" dialog in Photoshop.  Move the middle slider to the left until the "midpoint" number reads approximately 1.30 instead of the usual 1.0.  This, in my experience produces a picture that reads reasonably well on most computer screens.

***

"momanimallover";

Try resizing your pictures to 72 dpi.  (Dots per inch.)
Regardless of what people think, the entire internet works at 72 dpi whether you like it or not.
If I post a picture at 1,000 dpi, no matter how well I make it, the computer at the other end will display it at 72 dpi. 

People tend to think that higher resolutions are always better.  This is one case where they aren't.
If I post a picture on a website and it's not 72 dpi, the program that makes the website work might try to automatically resize the picture downward (or upward) to 72 dpi.  In the process, the picture might end up looking blurry or jaggy or all kinds of rotten.

A good size for displaying pictures on the internet is 600 pixels wide by 400 pixels tall and 72 dots per inch.  (Or 400 wide and 600 tall.)

Try using the "Resize" dialog in Photoshop to make your picture 600 X 400 @ 72.
Unless there is something else going on that I don't understand, that should solve your problem.

We got 3025 points!   :lol:
Just line up on your target and, when you hit one, go ahead and let fly with 3 or 4 right in a row.  That's a good way to rack up the points.

Pass up Buddy, the green elf.  He's not worth a whole lot.  Go for the high value targets like the blue and red elf.
Don't waste a lot of time chasing after the Bob Newhart elf.  He's the highest value but he's too hard to hit.
You can rack up 3 or 4 hits on the red elf for every one you can get on Bob Newhart.  If he presents himself, of course, take a shot but don't waste the snowballs on shots that won't pay off.

But don't hit Santa!  That's bad!  Goes without saying!   

It's not like you're playing with cyanide or something like that. ;)
George Washington's false teeth were made from lead.  (Most people think they were wooden.)
On the other hand, if you get too much of it in your system it can make you sick.
The idea is to keep our lead exposure to a minimum so we don't have to worry about getting sick from it in the first place.

I'm a target shooter.  I shoot at little, tiny targets, about the size of a golf ball from a distance of a half a football field away.  It takes a lot of practice to be able to hit those targets.  Consequently, it takes a lot of bullets to practice.  And, since bullets are made from lead, I have to be careful.  I've been doing it for years.  As long as I take precautions, I have nothing to worry about.  But, if I get careless, I could end up getting sick.  But, hey...  It's an assumed-risk sport.  One should know the hazards before you even try it for the first time.  Right?

Anyhoo...

For a person who is NOT regularly exposed to lead, a Bear with lead in his bum shouldn't be a problem as long as it stays sealed inside.  If it's a Bear made for collectors, who will give him an occasional hug, and let him sit on the shelf most of the time...  (Except when the Bear needs a cookie!)...  There should be no problems.  The lead will never get out.  Especially, if you put the shot in little plastic baggies like you said.  No problem at all.

However, if this is a Bear meant to be given to children to play with, I would NOT put lead inside.
Chances are, nothing bad will ever happen, but if something did happen, you'd want to be as safe as possible.

Bottom line:

Collectible Bears?  Lead should be no problem.
Children's Bears?  Use something else!

Lead is more dense than steel by about 150%  You will need about 1/3 less volume of lead to make the same weight as you would with steel.

Lead is softer and more malleable than steel.  You can squash lead very easily with a hammer or a heavy object.  You can not squash steel.  It is too hard.

Lead can be mixed with other metals to make different alloys.  Different alloys of lead are used for many different things from making bullets and fishing weights to making fire sprinklers.  Different alloys of lead have different hardnesses.  Some are harder.  Some are very soft.  If you get fishing sinker lead from the tackle shop it will be a bit harder.  If you get lead shot for shotguns it will be softer.

If lead is soft enough, you can even dent it with your fingernails.
You can't do that with steel.

I also think stainless is better than regular steel.  If you can get that, it would be better.

If you want copper, go to the sporting goods store and get a carton of BBs used for BB guns.  They're cheap.
As I said above, you can also go to the fishing store and get some fishing weights.  (Split-shot.)

I can't imagine that customs would have a problem with metal inside a Bear used to weight his bum.  If it was a small amount, I don't think they'd even know.
But you never can tell...  Can you?  :(

I can't recommend enough to wash your hands when you're done working with lead.
Just some good, old fashioned soap and hot water ought to do.   

Lead is toxic.  Steel is not.
The only reason to use lead is because steel might rust.  But, if you sew the shot up in little pouches, that problem will be virtually eliminated.

There's a real easy way to tell if it's lead or steel.  Try to smash it with a hammer or something.
Lead is soft and malleable.  Steel is hard.
Depending on the kind of lead you are using, it might be soft enough for you to dent it with your fingernails.

If you decide to use lead, be sure to wash your hands after working with it and DEFINATELY before you eat, drink or smoke anything.  You can get lead dust on your fingers and it can transfer to your food when you eat.

A LITTLE bit of lead in your system isn't going to hurt you at all.
But, if you work with lead for any length of time, you stand a chance of getting it into your system.  If too much lead builds up in your body, you can get sick from it.

I vote you use steel shot or glass marbles.

I'm sorry to hear that.   

But, instead of feeling sad, maybe you can try to remember that Harley doesn't have to be sick any more.
You won't have to see Harley in poor health any more.   You'll be able to remember him the way he was instead of being reminded of him when he moped around, feeling sick and potentially in pain all the time.

It wouldn't be right to expect that you'd be happy about losing your pet but, hopefully, it's a little bit of silver lining in a dark cloud.

Ah, yes!  This does become a problem!

The Bears do like living in their special den room but there are so many of them it becomes hard to take care of them all.

This is something I have been meaning to ask.
How do other arctophiles with  large hugs manage to take care of all the Bears in their dens?

The Bears think you should make the costume with a long beard!   

It looks like "Little Joe" is lying in wait, there on top of the armoire, just itchin' for somebody to come close.
Then he'll jump down and hug the stuffing out of you!

You're welcome! 
I'm glad to help whenever I can.

The way I look at it, since most people here use the internet to advertise their business, it only stands to reason we should have basic proficiency in Photoshop.  We don't need to be experts but we should at least know which end is up.

While I'm not an expert, I think I know my way around pretty well.
If people have questions about Photoshop or just want to learn, just ask.  I'll do what I can to help. 

Edie;

Can the Bears slide the glass open from the inside?
How can they get out when they need to get a snack from the fridge?

Don't tell me you keep your Bears in jail!

We did too!   

When we were house shopping we even turned down a couple of places because there wasn't enough room for the Bears.  With more than 1,000 of them you have to!

Melanie and her friend painted the trees in Bears' room.

I spackled the walls and painted them sky blue.  Then I put the shelf rails up on the wall.
They painted the trees and the meadow.  We put in the shelves and covered them with batting so the Bears wouldn't get grid marks in their bums.    Then, finally, after about a week the Bears got to move in.

They think it's great!  They think of it like a clubhouse.   

Wow!  Nice job, edenbears!

You did a really good job of blending the unicorn into the background.   
I think I like your "bling" effect better.  It's nice and subtle.

Well...  Okay...  Here goes...   

I met Melanie in 1994.
At very first, she said, "I have something to tell you..."
I thought she was going to tell me she had a terrible disease or something like that.  But, instead she told me she had a large Teddy Bear collection.  My reaction was, "Oh?  Is THAT all?"
When I visited her house for the first time, the first three words out of my mouth were, "Oh!  My God!"
She had several hundred Bears in her collection!  We don't know exactly how many.
We lost count at somewhere between 600 and 700.

Yes, I said seven HUNDRED!   :wacko:

I have always loved Bears but never got into collecting them until we met.
I worked at F.A.O Schwarz (the toy store) during college.  During that time I bought one Bear.  The toy soldier Bear, of course.  He has always lived on the dresser in my bedroom as my "mascott" ever since.

We've been together for 14, going on 15, years now.  We've been married for 6.

Every holiday, birthday and special occasion brings another Bear or two into the Den.
For Christmas, there are at least 10-12 new Bears.  For Birthdays, there are one or two.  Wedding anniversary... A Bear.  Valentine's day...  Easter...  Sweetest Day...  You guessed it!  More Bears!

This does not include Bears that others give us as gifts.  Nor does it include "rescue" Bears...  Bears we find at places like the Salvation Army Store, etc.  Then, of course, there are the "Just Because" Bears.

We adopt, probably, somewhere between 20 and 30 Bears per year.
At that rate, we have somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 Bears living in our house!
(If you counted Christmas tree ornaments and other "Bearaphenalia", that number would be even higher!)

There are all sorts of Bears living here.  There are store bought and artist Bears.  There are Dakins, Gunds, Steiffs.  We even have a Patchkin Bear, the 1991 Golden Teddy.  She's Bear #100/100.  Signed by the artist.

We have SO MANY Bears we just don't know what to do anymore.
There are Bears in almost every room of the house!
Except for the bathroom (humidity) and the kitchen. (cooking odors)  But we do have "Bearaphenalia" in the kitchen and the bathroom is done up in rubber duckies.
(Teddy Bears need to have pets, too, don'cha know! )

One of the things we really need to do is catalog them all and get an official head count but with so many Bears, it's a difficult task.

We tried asking them to all count off, starting at one, but they all raided their paws and shouted out, "One!" at the same time.

We also really need to get a handle on "Den Management."
There are 1,000-plus Bears here who all need to be dusted, gently brushed and given some attention.

So, if any of you guys out there have large hugs, we'd like to hear your tips on Den Management.

Oh!  By the way...  Just in case you think I'm full of fluff...
CLICK HERE for a partial view of our Bear Den.

That's not all of them.
There are too many of them to fit into pictures like that.  Besides, there are a few who don't like to have their picture taken.
(Valuable, sentimental or special meaning, etc. - Of course, you're not going to see the Bears who live in the bedroom with us, either.)

I figure about 2/3 of our Bears are represented in these pictures.

The background, I downloaded off the internet.  It's actually from a couple of sources pasted together.
I didn't include that tinkering in the Photoshop file.  The forest is a single layer.  It's easier to understand that way.

The globe is just a circle with some colors added and a 3-D effect applied.

The sparkly "bling" effect was created in Photoshop.
It's not hard to do.  If you want I can show you how.

Whatever path you decide to take just remember to have fun with it.
If you try to get to serious, you'll only become frustrated.  Then, you'll give up and you wont' learn.
Go ahead and feel free to play with it.  Go a little crazy.  :D
Once you get the idea of how things work your creativity will start to come out and you'll be able to make all sorts of cool things. 

Most of you guys are Bear makers but what about Bear collectors?

We are collectors.  Melanie's mom makes Bears occasionally but the vast majority of our Bears are adopted.
Our hug has quite a few members.

We were wondering about other Bear collectors.

How many Bears live in your den?

How long have you been collecting.

Do you have a specialty?

Us Bears want to know!    

Yeah,  just install the program of your choice and play with it.
You can't really do any harm.  If you always remember to work on COPIES of your photos instead of the original it will be impossible to ruin anything.
When I work with photos I take the originals and put them in a separate folder on my hard drive.  Then the edited versions go in their own folder.
If you always keep files organized, you'll hardly ever have problems.

Google up some tutorials on the internet if you like but most commercial applications come with some kind of tutorials or "Quick Starts" right on the installation disk.  Look and see what's out there.

But the best thing to do is just fiddle with the program and figure out what makes it tick.

Added Later:

Hey guys, I had time to make another version of the photo with an enchanted forest background.

(The image is too large to attach to this message so I linked to it from my ISP account. -- Just click the image to see the full size. -- Warning:  LARGE image!)

If you want to practice using Photoshop, here is the file I used to make the picture with:

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD the Photoshop file.

Have fun!