Raines Custom Design

Google Earth and Topo Maps

Ryan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:32:07 +0000

Google earth is a fairly cool and somewhat detailed way to see the world. Google earth has helped me find places to find critters in the past… Aerial photos are great, but topo maps can come in really handy as well. Enter the USGS google earth overlay that I found the other day. It adds an image overlay layer to your places. It’s positioned perfectly. It does take a minute or two to load from time to time, but it’s not overly painful. Thanks to the know network for this gem.

WPA security for your old wireless laptop.

Ryan — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:49:47 +0000

This is just a really quick note that I hope helps someone…
I had an issue connecting an old laptop to a WPA secured wireless network. As it turned out the driver for the wireless card did not support WPA security. It was an Orinoco card and the driver was written by Agere systems.

It took a little while to dig up the updated drivers with WPA support… So here’s another link just in case someone needs them.

ftp://ftp.3logic.net/pub/wireless/Agere/

Download the windows drivers zip file and extract it to a temporary directory, then go to device manager and find your wireless card. Update the driver and point the update utility and the temp directory you created from the extracted zip file. Bingo…

You should be able to connect to your WPA secured wireless connection. Have Fun!

Your Geek,
Ryan

Create Ring tones from your music collection for free!

Ryan — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:27:55 +0000

I found a tool that allows you turn your music library into .mp3 ring tones. The basic version is free, there is a pro version that you have to buy…http://www.tonethis.com/

I used it with a few different files and had great luck. Have fun!

Your Geek,
Ryan

Adobe Bridge CS3

Ryan — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:53:51 +0000

I have had trouble with this application in the past… But, a new found hobby has shed some light on the value of this file browser on steroids. My experience with this heavy lifting application has been riddled with random crashes and poor performance. I saw little need to endure that type of trouble, and windows explorer isn’t much worse anyway, right? Wrong.

RAW
My Rebel XSi produces .CR2 files that aren’t supported inside windows explorer. There is an xp powertoy that is supposed to be geared toward the photo pro, and enable windows explorer to thumbnail and preview many RAW image files. If you have a need and have no hope of acquiring bridge, You can check it out here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/Downloads/powertoys/Xppowertoys.mspx
I may share a bit more about power toys later, there are a bunch of them, some are pretty cool, and they’re free…

If you aren’t familiar with bridge, check it out here: http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/bridge/bridgehome/

Your Geek,
Ryan

Weekend at Archery World.

Ryan — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:17:56 +0000

Marking the completion of a project is always a good and bad time. Basically it means a few things. First, it’s rewarding to see all the hard work that went into a project visible on the web and being utlized by your client. Second, it’s great to hear the positive notes and reactions from the sites visitors. Third and sadly, it means that the day to day conversations with some really great people are coming to a close. Thankfully though, these relationships don’t ever go away completely.

This past weekend marked one of those times. Route 157 Archery World’s open house was a great success, with many archers gathering to celebrate the first official day of business for an awesome, 16,000 square foot archery facility in Venus, Pennsylvania. As far as I can find, this is the largest indoor 3D range in the country! They are planning to be open 7 days a week for the next 5 months and will have a host of events scheduled in coming weeks. There are also going to be classes available for new archers, and tough competition that will challenge even the most experienced archers. Check it out! www.route157archeryworld.com.

While I was at the open house I ran into a local photographer by the name of Brett Whitling www.brettwhitling.com. Our great conversation about digital photography made clear my lack of skill. Thankfully he was very willing to help this DSLR newbie and I picked up a couple tips.

All in all this was a great event, and I look forward to shooting at Archery World again. I’m sure there is going to be more chatter about this great 3D range in the near future.

Archery World SignPart of the range.Part of the range.

PC Keyboard Shortcuts I use all the time…

Ryan — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:29:22 +0000

There are way too many for me to list them all… But, here are a few common windows shortcuts that I use regularly.

Abbreviations:
ctrl = the control key
wkey = the windows key

Shortcuts:
ctrl+w - closes the active window.
wkey+e - opens windows explorer.
wkey+m - minimizes all windows.
wkey+r - opens the run command.
wkey+l - returns you to the login screen and leaves your applications running. This is also referred to as locking your computer.
print screen - copies everything displayed on your monitor to the clipboard.
alt+print screen - copies only the active window to your clipboard.
alt+d - activates (highlights) the address bar when browsing the web.

You can also create your own keyboard shortcuts… I’ll have to get back to that at another time.

Have an awesome day!

First Post

Ryan — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:13:52 +0000

This first post is going to be short because I have other things to do…

I’m pumped in general. The long awaited archery season begins saturday. It looks like this year is going to have me running around the Northeast climbing trees all over the place. I can’t wait. I can use the time to think too.

I’m gathering ideas for 2 new designs and trying to make sure that I finish the 2 others that I’ve been working on. In about two weeks I’ll start work on the January/February issue of “The Christian Bowhunter” magazine. Tiffany and I are going to bring a fresh perspective to this magazine. We’re going to have a ball pre-reading all the material and I’m going to love doing the design work. Let me know if you would like a copy, I’ll make sure one gets to you…

I’ve gotta do some house work before youth group tonight, so, I’m done for now. More later.

Have an awesome day!