tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20799252765331087612024-03-05T03:05:59.478-08:00Aaron Delani's ProjectsThis is Aaron Delani's Projects blog.Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-87189451852116993382014-09-11T14:01:00.000-07:002014-09-11T14:01:28.402-07:00Projects Mini Update<p>Here are a few projects that I've been working on that I have yet to write about. I've managed to do a few projects between client work. Here's part of what I do for fun.</p>
<h3 id="going-cursive">Going Cursive</h3>
<p><em>April 2, 2014</em></p>
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/15209997812" title="Going Cursive by Aaron Delani, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5584/15209997812_d116bd7b29_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="Going Cursive"></a></p>
<p>Found these nibs and a pencil extender in a thrift store. The previous owner used the pencil extender with a twig to hold the nibs in place. This has inspired me take to writing in cursive... just the way my momma taught me.</p>
<p>I journal every other day with a fountain pen now. My penmanship has improved, its become prettier... and its inspired me to change professions. I'm going back to school to become a doctor.</p>
<h3 id="the-first-zine-_-no-ideas-_">The First Zine, <em>"No Ideas"</em></h3>
<p><em>May 2, 2014</em></p>
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/15023808248" title="The First Zine by Aaron Delani, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3841/15023808248_76d4d0bbc3_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="The First Zine"></a></p>
<p>I've been a member of the Independent Publisher's Resource Center (IPRC) since March. I used to work from there. It was really motivating being there and being surrounded by creative people who were making zines, posters, pamphlets, books, and various other printed materials. After being there for quite some time, I decided to make a zine in my break time, twenty pages, nothing complicated. The problem was I had no ideas of what the zine would be about, hence the title <em>"No Ideas."</em></p>
<h3 id="the-minimalist-wallet">The Minimalist Wallet</h3>
<p><em>July 4th, 2014</em></p>
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/15024069520" title="Minimalist Wallet by Aaron Delani, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3886/15024069520_59632e9eb3_b.jpg" width="1024" height="1024" alt="Minimalist Wallet"></a></p>
<p>I've been playing around with the idea of making practical daily useful things. To start with this project, I looked at a simple object that I used every day, my wallet. I had a simple bifold, but I didn't carry that many cards or cash to begin with.</p>
<p>I designed and created three prototypes of this wallet. It is crafted out of a single piece of leather. The leather is tensioned, formed, and conditioned to the shape of the cards. It will hold up to 8 credit cards, 4 business cards, and 8 folded bills. The primary contents of the card, can easily be accessed with a simple thumb motion.</p>
<p>So far, this wallet has held up with daily use. I've designed a simpler version that has yet to be cut and stiched together. I guess I'm pretty content with the prototype I made. I gave the third prototype to a friend and he loves his.</p>
<h3 id="-rosie-">"Rosie"</h3>
<p><em>July 2014</em></p>
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/15023807547" title="Rosie by Aaron Delani, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3913/15023807547_477cfb5fd5_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="Rosie"></a></p>
<p>When a dear friend of mine told me that she was in the market for a commuter bicycle because of back problems, I started brushing up on prior bicycle repair knowledge. The bicycle that she used to commute with had a drop bars that put her in a crouched position for her more than twelve miles. After years of riding this way, it was giving her some back problems.</p>
<p>I managed to find a bicycle in the same frame size and posture as her previous bicycle. I mocked up the solution to her with simple flyway handlebars. I named the bicycle, <em>"The Visitor"</em> as it was only going to be with me temporarily, and if she didn't like it, I'd have an extra bicycle for potential visitors from out of town.</p>
<p>She loved the bicycle and helped build the rest of it. Even changing the shifters and tires at one point. She has thus named the bicycle <em>"Rosie."</em></p>
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/15023702570" title="Rosie by Aaron Delani, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3849/15023702570_938bbdf09a_b.jpg" width="768" height="1024" alt="Rosie"></a></p>
<p>Rosie and her owner ride happily together with upright regal style on the streets of Portland.</p>
<h3 id="the-visitor">THE VISITOR</h3>
<p><em>August 2014</em></p>
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/15210385475" title="The Visitor by Aaron Delani, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3852/15210385475_712d89323c_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="The Visitor"></a></p>
<p>After building <em>Rosie</em>, I was inspired to build an actual bicycle for visitors. The bicycle needed to be adjustable for a variety of heights, compact, comfortable, and has an easy carrying solution without the use of panniers. The ideal candidate would have a low top tube and "fat" tires. An easy fit was a mountain bike frame.</p>
<p>I managed to acquire an old Bridgestone MB-2 Mountain bike from 1987 at a bargain. I had it powder coated and re-built the bicycle from the ground up. Its still currently a work in progress but its in very ridable condition. Equipped with a Soma Porteur rack, it can carry up to 40lbs of cargo. Its handlebar position and seat position is fully adjustable to fit riders 5'5" to 6' comfortably. Only problem is, the taller you are, the more awkward looking the bicycle gets.</p>
<h3 id="the-mess-bag">The Mess Bag</h3>
<p><em>September 8th, 2014</em></p>
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/15023806797" title="The Visitor and the Mess Bag by Aaron Delani, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3918/15023806797_1a2beb07c8_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="The Visitor and the Mess Bag"></a></p>
<p>That's a simple bag I had commissioned a local canvas bag maker to stitch up for me. The dimensions of the bag are 12in by 12in. It fits in the porteur rack perfectly. The idea for this simple bag was to be able to throw in various things in it and have it just hold the contents. I can easily remove, stow and carry the bags with the straps that are attached to it.</p>
<p>So far, its proven really useful and easy to deal with. I've started imagining and designing a more versatile porteur bag that I'll be building myself in the upcoming months.</p>
<hr>
<p>So, that's it for now, I'll hopefully elaborate more on these projects when I have the time... or you can force me to do so by letting me know in the comments section of this post.</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com1Portland, OR, USA45.5234515 -122.676207145.1675755 -123.3216541 45.8793275 -122.0307601tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-48493250948350235542014-01-24T16:23:00.000-08:002014-01-28T18:38:34.441-08:00Playing with the Photojojo Wideangle / Macro Lens<h3>Introduction</h3>
<p>A few months ago, I received a gift from a fellow photographer. It was packaged as though my friend was sending it personally, <a href="http://www.instagram.com/p/gXSQXQSxUs/">tuckered in confetti accompanied by a little toy dinosaur</a>, needless to say I felt like it was my birthday last October.</p>
<p>This lil gadget is a set of lens. When fully assembled, it acts as a wide angle lens. When used with its primary attachment, it acts as macro lens. The primary attachment of the lens to the phone is typically made possible with small metal rings that you can attach to your phone or solid case.</p>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/11019375814" title="IMG_9585 by Aaron Delani, on Flickr"><img src="//farm4.staticflickr.com/3767/11019375814_1e02c5f01a_b.jpg" width="1024" height="1024" alt="IMG_9585"></a>
<p>I own the <a href="http://www.google.com/nexus/5">Google Nexus 5</a>, the N5 was seemingly engineered for attachments like this… the lens just attached directly to my phone without the assistance of the metal ring. Makes me think that the phone was made for photographers.</p>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/11019290916" title="IMG_9595 by Aaron Delani, on Flickr"><img src="//farm3.staticflickr.com/2889/11019290916_2f23ec3f12_b.jpg" width="307" height="205" alt="IMG_9595"></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/11019285896" title="IMG_9596 by Aaron Delani, on Flickr"><img src="//farm8.staticflickr.com/7324/11019285896_18037bda9f.jpg" width="205" height="205" alt="IMG_9596"></a>
<p>For a while, I used to think that phone attachments like this are novelties bought by wannabe photographers using their phones, making “art,” embellished by Instagram filters with selfies, diptychs, galaxies, and bad typography. By the end of the month, this lil gadget changed my mind about that.</p>
<h3>Build Quality and Price</h3>
<p>The elements and components in the lens were impressive, I was expecting some plastic or acrylic lens, as it turns out, these lens are coated glass encased in machined aluminum. it has a lens back cover and plastic lens cover. The back cover comes with a little lanyard, which works great if you like small attachments on your phone case (if the case has a little area to attach lanyards to). I’ve used the little lanyard around my finger to hold the lens back as I was using the lens.</p><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3701/11019305296_940036d36b_z.jpg" alt="">
<p>I’ve already dropped the lens a few times expecting one of the elements of glass to be cracked or scratched, or the aluminum housing to be bent or scratched as well… but so far, so good. This little thing has been abused in my pocket and laptop bag. Its so light that I forget that I have it in my jacket pocket at times. Its the perfect little size of lens to just have on you. I’ve seen other lens for phones on the market that are larger, even an intriguing one that touts professional grade glass elements, that does the job that these lens do, but I can’t justify spending over $50 on a lens set that would possibly break on the first drop.</p>
<img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2811/11019209495_8ee7e41c69_z.jpg" alt="Close up of the Photojojo Wideangle Lens set">
<p>I believe that these lens are built just right with a reasonable build quality and price at $20 for a single lens set or $99 for the complete lens set at Photojojo. Some might say that twenty bucks is kind of expensive for a set of small lens that you can buy directly from China, however, I love the idea of buying from Photojojo because their customer support is one of the best I’ve seen and talked with, and their crew is super cool; plus, Photojojo is a small independent team of developers, photographers, and people like you and me who curate such great commercial products and bring them literally to our doorstep (and apparently, with love).</p>
<h4>Usage</h4>
<p>The lens made it possible for me to take really wide shots in really tight spaces. Of course, these were test shots, very intentional test shots. Throughout the past few months, I realized, to use this lens, you have to be intentional about it. It felt somewhat similar to having to pull out the right lens for any given moment and knowing that the right lens was there for you. If you see something interesting, as a photographer, your best camera is the one you have on you. With a lens kit like this, it might just give you a better opportunity to capture life in a different way.</p>
<img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5476/11019422313_1cfb05ed9e_z.jpg" alt="Wideangle shot of a chess board">
<p>Its really easy to attach and detach the lens set because of the magnetic rings, but just like with any lens set, removing and replacing the lens can become a task that is best learned after some practice to be able to just use the lens quickly.</p>
<img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5521/11019362114_fd347e01ea_z.jpg" alt="Wideangle shot of my bike"><p>Wideangle shot of my bike.</p><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5488/11019416973_78ee1f90cf_z.jpg" alt="Normal shot of my bicycle"><p>Normal shot without the lens set attached to my bike.</p>
<p>Its always somewhat difficult trying to get pictures of animals, with the macro lens its even harder. </p><a href="http://www.instagram.com/p/jkevWFyxcd"><img src="http://distilleryimage3.ak.instagram.com/e80372f2854e11e38302122de019cc27_8.jpg" alt=""></a>
<p>The lens are sharp, but it may take some manual focusing to get the best results. I haven’t noticed the lens affect the color of the pictures that I’ve taken, they’re not very thick lenses, nor have I noticed the coating on the lenses make aberrations in any of the photos I’ve taken with them.</p>
<img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2809/12125075893_4773d4f227_c.jpg" width="256" height="171" alt="Wideangle Shot of Coffee"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5490/12124800635_c6116b5675_c.jpg" width="256" height="171" alt="Macro Shot of coffee bubbles">
<img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2889/12125074143_6a13e7db31.jpg" width="256" height="171" alt="Stumptown coffee cup wideangle shot"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2861/12125196644_72abe195a9.jpg" width="256" height="171" alt="Stumptown coffee cup stamp print macro shot">
<p>This is a fun lens set that opens up the possibilities for even more interesting phonography(phone photography).</p>
<h3>Overall</h3>
<h4>Pros:</h4>
<ul>
<li>Glass elements in lens, sharp photos</li>
<li>Aluminum housing</li>
<li>Very light (in weight) lens set</li>
<li>Small size</li>
<li>Decent Price point from a great company</li>
</ul>
<h4>Cons:</h4>
<ul><li>Twenty bucks, albeit, its reasonable pricing</li>
<li>Takes some getting used to, to know always know you have the lens right there with you</li>
<li>Sometimes you need to use manual focus, which can be tricky with some phones</li>
</ul>
<p>I give this accessory an 8.5/10; get the lens at the <a href="http://www.photojojo.com/store">Photojojo Store</a> or on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EZXS55A">Amazon</a>.</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-65993226616194271422013-03-09T10:00:00.000-08:002013-03-09T10:00:00.841-08:00New Design for the Blogs<img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8382/8540554647_85ba9bce71_b.jpg" width="925" height="682" alt="New Blog Design"><p>I recently re-designed my blogs. It follows some of the same principles that my main website has, which is simplicity, something I can be proud of, something cool. The whole theme framework is built to be responsive. It works well on modern browsers. I still need to clean up some of the code and I'm planning on progressively making updates to it.</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com0Fullerton, CA, USA33.8702923 -117.9253380000000133.764842300000005 -118.08669950000001 33.9757423 -117.76397650000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-76545626965288814292013-02-20T07:00:00.000-08:002013-02-20T07:00:01.690-08:00The Cigar Box Camera<p>I've been interested in shooting with a pinhole camera for a while. So I decided to create one... I was inspired by other people who've used cigar boxes as a base for their pinhole cameras. I've mulled around with how cool it would be to create my own, even possibly having a detachable back for 4x5 exposures or even having interchangeable lenses. I came to a point in dreaming about this to actually making it.</p>
<p>A few weeks ago, I started looking for a box. I walked into a cigar shop hoping to find a box that would fit my loose specifications, should look pretty light proof and sturdy. I found this San Luis Rey Cigar Box which happens to be abbreviated into SLR on the lid. The lid itself is a sliding lid which gave me the impression that its pretty light proof.</p>
<p>When one of my friends had heard of my project, he surprised me with a drillbit and drill... He knew me well enough to make this happen...</p>
<img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8106/8490569219_488ec590f2_b.jpg" width="900" height="900" alt="The Cigar Box Camera"><p>After I bought the box, I shared the idea with my friends. I was already excited for this project because all the rest of the work that needed to be done was just putting in a hole, light proofing the box, and getting some light sensitive paper. It was a simple idea, but that idea somewhat evolved. I thought to myself, while I make a pinhole camera, I could also use the same pinhole for another one of my cameras. Then I thought, well, why don't I mount it to the box?</p><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8088/8490569833_2497163f15_b.jpg" width="1024" height="819" alt="The Cigar Box Camera"><p>So, here it is... <strong>The ingredients:</strong></p><ul>
<li>Cigar box</li><li>Slr Lens back cover</li><li>SLR body cover</li><li>Black sheet of foam</li><li>Spray adhesive</li><li>Super glue</li><li>Aluminum can</li><li>Cardboard</li></ul><p><strong>The tools:</strong></p><ul><li>Needle</li><li>Drill</li><li>50mm drillbit (or drill bit the diameter of your lens back cover)</li><li>Scissors</li><li>Exacto knife</li><li>Ruler</li><li>Compass or circle template</li><li>Pencil</li><li>Black permanent marker</li><li>Sandpaper</li><li>Saw</li><li>Lighter</li></ul>
<p>First things first, safety first; if you're a child, please seek some assistance from an adult. When sanding and sawing, wear some goggles and a face mask to prevent inhaling dust. Be careful with the Exacto Knife as its very sharp.</p>
<p>Okay, first thing I did was measure the box and mark the center. The following picture shows the box marked diagonally to find the center.</p>
<img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8524/8490569779_6588cf9fcd_z.jpg" width="640" height="640" alt="The Cigar Box Camera">
<p>Once its marked, punch the center with a nail enough to create an indent in the box. This helps the drill to remain in the center of the box.</p>
<img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8391/8490569643_d5cae18057_z.jpg" width="640" height="640" alt="The Cigar Box Camera">
<p>Sand off the area that was drilled.</p>
<p>Now the following procedures aren't pictured... because I really got into the project...</p>
<ol type="1" start="3">
<li>Measure the thickness of the wall where you've drilled the hole</li>
<li>Clean the inside of the area where you've drilled the hole with a wet paper towel</li>
<li>Take the lens back cover and carefully place it in the hole to try the fit, sand paper if its too snug. Make sure that you mark the area where the lensback can accomodate the camera body cover <br><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8095/8490569169_bf347b1db8_n.jpg" width="320" height="320" alt="The Cigar Box Camera">
</li>
<li>Carefully saw off the area marked</li>
<li>Sand down the lens back cover</li>
<li>Superglue the lens back cover to the drilled area; make sure to not push the lens back cover too far that you can't replace the the body cover.</li>
<li>Measure the inside of the box</li>
<li>With those measurements, mark the black foam to be cut for the interior of the box. You may need to adjust some measurements for the thickness of the foam.</li>
<li>Test the fitting of the foam in the box</li>
<li>Clean out inside the box with a paper towel</li>
<li>Mask the outside of the box and stuff the lens mount with a paper towel or a crumpled up piece of paper</li>
<li>Feel like you're almost done</li>
<li>Spray the interior of the box with the spray fixative</li>
<li>Spray the foam pieces with the spray fixative</li>
<li>Remove the piece of crumpled paper towel or crumpled paper</li>
<li>Carefully place the pieces of foam</li>
<li>Carefully place the foam pieces inside of the box</li>
<li>Spray the inside of the lid with black spraypaint or use a marker</li>
<li>Take the camera body cover, measure and mark the center of it</li>
<li>Make an indentation in the center of the outfacing part of the camera body cover</li>
<li>Carefully drill the center of the camera body cover</li>
<li>Shave and sand down the center of the hole</li>
<li>Take the aliminum can, cut off the lid and bottom of the can</li>
<li>With the circle template, mark a circle and cut it out</li>
<li>Using the needle, puncture the aluminum</li>
<li>Sand down the area of the puncture</li>
<li>(Realize that this is taking so many steps)</li>
<li>Using the black marker, black out the cut out, punctured aluminum</li>
<li>Affix the pinholed piece of aluminum to the inside of the camera body cover using superglue; make sure to center the pinhole to the camera body cover</li>
<li>TADA, You're done</li>
</ol>
<p>Just realized, this post too long... don't read.</p>
<p>Use a piece of black tape to cover the hole and use it as a shutter, when mounting an SLR lens to it, use the lens cover as a shutter. You might want to measure the focal length required for your lens before using it. I created a removable back for my lens.</p>
<p>Now the next part of this project is to get some photo sensitive paper 4in by 5in, or make some cyanotypes using this cigar box camera.</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com13Fullerton, CA, USA33.8702923 -117.9253380000000133.764842300000005 -118.08669950000001 33.9757423 -117.76397650000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-9877597746965412712013-02-12T23:23:00.000-08:002013-02-12T23:53:10.042-08:00Finally Processing Film<p>After weeks and weeks of planning and hesitation, I finally did it. Today I processed film. I mixed my own chemicals; I used Kodak's D-76 solution for the developer, getting the temerature just right was a pain. I felt like a chemist. Once I got everything together, I couldn't wait to try it out.</p>
<img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8103/8470431974_e5c9fa8bfb_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="IMG_9532">
<p>These are the tools...</p>
<div style="text-align: center; max-width: 640px;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8111/8469336123_af8214cb93_n.jpg" width="320" height="213" alt="IMG_9536"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8107/8470430144_9bbf1eafa4_n.jpg" width="320" height="213" alt="IMG_9539"></div>
<p>Developer, fixer, and thermometer</p>
<div style="text-align: center; max-width: 720px;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8526/8469336457_b7f4ddfed1_m.jpg" width="240" height="240" alt="IMG_9535"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8389/8469336773_111e5fa4e3_m.jpg" width="240" height="240" alt="IMG_9534"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8092/8469335711_1f712c77ff_m.jpg" width="240" height="240" alt="IMG_9538"></div>
<p>A two jugs (one for the developer and fixer), some Kodak Photo-Flo solution, and lastly, the developer tank. I mixed everything up, in hopefully the right amounts... and I poured them into the containers.</p>
<img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8085/8470428902_76bc441b9e_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="IMG_9550">
<p>I'll post the results on the <a href="http://photo.aarondelani.com/">photo blog</a> soon. (P.S.: Last photo taken by <a href="http://www.jasonslavin.com">Jason Slavin</a>.)</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com0Fullerton, CA, USA33.8702923 -117.9253380000000133.7648418 -118.08669950000001 33.975742800000006 -117.76397650000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-54738249049647042472013-02-07T01:16:00.000-08:002013-02-07T02:15:29.925-08:00The New Website<p>This is what I've been working on for the past month or so...</p>
<img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8110/8451913225_2068885620_b.jpg" width="1024" height="514" alt="Screenshots"/>
<p>It was a fun and arduous task to design and build something simple. Every time I redesign and rebuild my site, I always want to make something I can be proud of. I wanted to make something that said something about me and my views on design. I wanted a clean break; behind all this is wanting to start all over again, wanting something simpler than what I had before.</p>
<p>I stared with how I identify with my site, my “brand,” and thought about how it feels to be me and to do the many different things that I do. The site is divided into four parts: first the <a href="http://www.aarondelani.com">landing page</a>, and three blogs (<a href="http://photo.aarondelani.com">photo blog</a>, <a href="http://projects.aarondelani.com">projects blog</a>, and <a href="http://blog.aarondelani.com">personal blog</a>). I designed for the two real aspects of the site.Trying my best to unify and simplify them.</p>
<p>When it comes to the brand identity, its not fully formed. I don't really have any idea where this kind of creativity would lead me, but its part of my job. Doing things like this, doing things for myself help me create better for the <a href="http://www.liferay.com">company</a> I work for. I design user interfaces there that are unlike this. They tend to have more complexity, that I'm trying my best to simplify with great UI experiences.</p>
<img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8102/8453050244_02210938b9_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="Prototype3">
<p>With work like that, there's just... A lot. A lot of thinking, drawing, designing, rendering, and designing; measure once, research use, measure twice, research again, think think think, study, coffee, bathroom, and repeat.</p>
<p>When I come home, I'm constantly thinking of other things to work on, projects or things to make, portraits to draw, portraits to take, my website to design. This redesign is a product of that longing to create.</p>
<h2>Under the Hood</h2>
<p>None of this would not be possible without <a href="http://www.google.com">Google</a>. The landing page is built on the <a href="https://appengine.google.com/">Google App Engine</a> and the blogs are built on top of <a href="http://www.blogger.com">Blogger</a> with a template built from scratch. The concept is about freedom. Google empowered me to create. So, thanks Google.</p>
<h3>Among the other things:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Written with <a href="http://www.sublimetext.com">Sublime</a> Text Editor</li>
<li>CSS compiled with <a href="http://sass-lang.com/">SASS</a></li>
<li><a href="http://necolas.github.com/normalize.css/">CSS Normalized</a> by <a href="http://nicolasgallagher.com/">Nicolas Gallagher</a> and my friend <a href="http://music.thewikies.com/jonneal/">Jonathan Neal</a>.</li>
<li>Javascript Library by <a href="http://www.jquery.com">JQuery</a></li>
<li>GIT</li>
<li>Icons in Adobe Illustrator</li>
<li>Initial Design in Adobe Photoshop</li>
<li>Prototype with my hands and some good old fashioned <abbr title="Hypertext Markup Language">html</abbr></li>
<li>Portrait photo by <a href="http://www.laurapartain.com">Laura Partain</a></li>
</ul>
<p>This is it for now. I'm thinking of releasing the framework for this blog theme as something that other people can use. That would be really cool. Right?</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com0Fullerton, CA, USA33.8702923 -117.9253380000000133.764842300000005 -118.08669950000001 33.9757423 -117.76397650000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-83988027680129711202012-10-06T17:08:00.000-07:002012-10-06T17:12:51.735-07:00The Portfolio Project<p>I'm currently working on gathering a body of work that I've done with my hands. A body of work that would most likely consist of photography and maybe a few sketches that I've done in the past. Its a work in progress and I've sandboxed the work in <a href="http://www.aarondelani.com/portfolio">aarondelani.com/portfolio</a>.</p>
<a href="http://www.aarondelani.com/portfolio" title="Screenshot of Portfolio in Progress by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8451/8061040388_50f66cf5e0_o.png" width="1136" height="880" alt="Screenshot of Portfolio in Progress"></a>
<p>Building most everything from scratch has brought me to discover certain challenges that comes with designing an interface that is intuitive and hopefully does not take away from the experience of the art itself. I want to create a framework that helps the artist showcase their work without disruption. I'm still in the early stages of development of a simple way of presenting this. I have a small set of requirements so far:</p>
<ul>
<li>Has to be intuitive to navigate</li>
<li>Should not distract viewer from work at hand</li>
<li>Should be a seemless and intuitive experience on various devices</li>
<li>The framework must be extensible to various content management systems including blogging applications</li>
</ul>
<p>This is a long overdue project I'm glad to have started undertaking. I'll be updating the site, changing things and continuing to prototype a possible open source framework for visual artist who would want to showcase their work in the same way.</p>
<p>I'm excited, and if you're reading this and interested in collaborating (mostly with code implementation) let me know.</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-69946768283510900702012-03-09T09:52:00.000-08:002012-03-09T09:52:54.432-08:00Eva Gardner Collage<p>Circa 2002 in art class. A collage of Eva Gardner. Each shade of gray was taken from various magazine clippings to emulate the gradations of her skin. It took me a long while to actually find pictures in magazines that closely matched them.</p><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6802635677_8b4901fd11_b.jpg" width="814" height="1024" alt="Eva Gardner">Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-3986197809036825762012-02-17T12:13:00.000-08:002014-05-16T11:12:53.323-07:00Pulling Teeth<img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7144/6802623791_035715b186_b.jpg" width="1024" height="745" alt="Pulling Teeth">
<p>Some interim art while I find time to sketch.</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-58622936041239005812012-02-07T14:00:00.000-08:002012-02-07T14:00:28.374-08:00Kristie<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/6802597521/" title="Kristie 11-01-05 by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7016/6802597521_cc5da81939_b.jpg" width="624" height="1024" alt="Kristie 11-01-05"></a><p>Kristie, November 1, 2005</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-80201010044028015942012-02-05T18:56:00.000-08:002012-02-05T18:57:25.449-08:00Sketch Project Week 1: Trying<p>So the first week fo this project came and went. I felt that fear as I was sketching. I came to a point in my first sketch where I gave up on myself and just started doing. Just sketching... sketching. I don't think like it came out like anything good. I was looking at my friend and drawing him at the perspective I was looking at Brandon. In my second sketch with Chanelle, I got a little more comfortable, but then again, the angle to which I was looking at her was slightly skewed. But as I sketched along, I got a bit more comfortable with not being perfect... and just doing. It felt good.</p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/6827149599/" title="IMG_9531 by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7173/6827149599_9ce5cdf5f5_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="IMG_9531"></a>
<p>From Left to right, Channelle and Brandon.</p>
<p>I also realized that as I was sketching, I was deciding on starting from different points in the lines I was looking at. With brandon, I started with his left eye, and with Chanelle, I started sketching from her hair. If you look at the sketches and skew them quite a bit... It would probably make for a better portrait.</p>
<p>The last two sketches from that evening, were of Jason and Jessica. I felt slightly comfortable with making the wrong strokes with Jason's lines... it ended up looking disproportionate from reality... and I guess I'm okay with that. Jessica's image was rendered with full line gestures throughout. Letting my pencil lightly touch the paper as I went along with each line.</p>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/6827205697/" title="IMG_9532 by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7173/6827205697_57e5706427_b.jpg" width="1024" height="683" alt="IMG_9532"></a>
<p>Her image came out the most accurate of the first four sketches I've done. I'm glad.</p>
<p>The next day, I decided to force myself to sketch again with some color, and also sketch some strangers at a nearby coffee shop that I used to frequent. The results are quite different but the feeling was the same. I started from right to left, the figure in the middle is Jared.</p>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/6827256947/" title="IMG_9553 by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7033/6827256947_420564716e_b.jpg" width="1024" height="683" alt="IMG_9553"></a>
<hr/>
<p>The <em>Sketch Project</em> started with <a href="http://blog.aarondelani.com/2012/02/sketch-project.html">this post</a> and the <em>Manifesto</em> is <a href="http://projects.aarondelani.com/2012/02/sketch-project-manifesto.html">here</a>.</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-42734124550179646302012-02-01T22:00:00.000-08:002014-05-16T11:12:53.326-07:00Cristina<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/6802589569/" title="Cristina 10-21-05 by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7172/6802589569_05ab48f65b_b.jpg" width="1024" height="652" alt="Cristina 10-21-05"></a><p><em>Sketch of an old friend Cristina.</em></p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-48347045551167416902012-02-01T21:54:00.000-08:002014-05-16T11:12:53.328-07:00The Sketch Project: Manifesto<p>Here's my initial draft of the <em>"Sketch Project,"</em> manifesto:</p>
<ul>
<li>Every week, I will post a sketch.</li>
<li>It can be old, or new.</li>
<li>Every week, I will write about progress or regressions toward this project.</li>
<li>Everyday I will remind myself that it's not about the mistakes I make, it's about how much I can grow and be wise about the mistakes I'm not willing to make.</li>
</ul>
<p>If you want to find out some of the personal motivations for this project, please visit this post: <a href="http://blog.aarondelani.com/2012/02/sketch-project.html">The Sketch Project</a>.</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-81692085337446803012012-01-30T20:09:00.000-08:002012-01-30T20:10:22.068-08:00Burlap Sac Seating<p>So, I've really neglected this portion of my website. When I started this log, I was really motivated to create, to make, to do... Then I didn't end up doing. It was quite misanthropic experience I had with myself, I even lost the motivation to take photographs. So, later last year, I've taken my first step. The first step involved some forrest green patterned and mustard cloth and a sewing machine. The second step started when a friend gave me two burlap sacs.</p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/6793539007/" title="Burlap Sac Seating by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7153/6793539007_2183780686_z.jpg" width="640" height="640" alt="Burlap Sac Seating"></a>
<p><em>(Pictured above are the two polyester filled pillows intended for sitting on the floor and the two recently made burlap sacks.)</em></p>
<p>When I recieved the burlap sacks, I immediately started brainstorming on possibilities for them. I was thinking about making a messenger bag out of one of them, and then making a cushion for the other. I realized how daunting and time consuming the project was so I decided to make both of them into large cushions.</p><p>It started out with the first sac:</p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/6793531001/" title="Burlap Sac Seating by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7153/6793531001_bae29960e8_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Burlap Sac Seating"></a><p>plus some polyester filling...</p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/6793526561/" title="Burlap Sac Seating by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7005/6793526561_803be2cd4b_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Burlap Sac Seating"></a><p>and some polyester coated nylon thread...</p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/6793535885/" title="Burlap Sac Seating by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7172/6793535885_face77d52a_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Burlap Sac Seating"></a><p>It took about two hours filling and stitching up the burlap sacs. They feel a little rough to the touch, but they're definitely "sit-able." I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out. Another few things about this project was that I love the character of these burlap coffee sacs, not just because I love coffee but because they gain more character the more they get worn down. In addition to this, seeing them filled up, they look like coffee bags in our livingroom.</p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/6793537755/" title="Burlap Sac Seating by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6793537755_99ab71e9a5_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Burlap Sac Seating"></a><p>Finishing this project has been really encouraging for my creative funk. I'm looking forward to working on the last burlap sac that I have... maybe I'll make that one into a messenger bag of some sort... who knows?</p><p>Have you made anything lately?</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-67692052095111612312011-01-21T14:26:00.000-08:002011-01-21T14:26:19.834-08:00"Pholkraphy"<a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dGJwU05MR3hIUkxXTEZ1NkU4SzNTdHc6MQ#gid=0" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHsVrWamvr_Q2g-VXLp3_2tBKohGCKHbpMDzyzRfaPG_mreiqH-186E92U9-KvBRMQCO-_XlPsS-B_MbpVhVIsLYeZ-VATmJcsAknKR9fEQgikJ7xfveaBSo206x0oR8BU62HgLfvEzI/s1600/pholkraphy.png" /></a>
<p>I think that in any hobby or vocation, there must be a good community behind it to help foster talents and skills within each individuals. I can imagine myself learning from other people, or even others learning from me. For about a year, I've been wanting to be in a community of photographers. I think that it's such an integral part of growth for people to be in relationship with one another, moreover when they have a particular idea in mind.</p>
<p>Enter, "Pholkraphy," (Photo + Walk + Graph... basically a photo walk. I would pronounce it as Phol-crafy) This is project based off of relationships and community. I want to kick this off small with this <a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dGJwU05MR3hIUkxXTEZ1NkU4SzNTdHc6MQ#gid=0" target="_blank">poll</a> to get quick feedback as to who's intrested among my friends and aquaintances. I'm hoping to organize a community of photographers to be able to share in this art. To pool ideas and collaborate.</p>
<p>But even in this project, I don't have a full vision of what it really is, or what it should be. I'm hoping that with this first event, we can maybe light a fire of fun and wonderment.</p>
<p>Tell me what you think. If you're interested in joining me in this project, visit the <a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dGJwU05MR3hIUkxXTEZ1NkU4SzNTdHc6MQ#gid=0" target="_blank">poll</a>.</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-62610430153802105132010-12-17T22:57:00.000-08:002010-12-17T22:57:56.631-08:00Day 5, 6, and 7 with the CR-48, a Curiosity<p>My friends know about the CR-48, otherwise known as the "Google Laptop." The question I get most often is <em>"How did you get it?"</em> My answer to that, is... I don't know, I don't know how Google evaluates who deserves such a cool and probably expensive (at least in my mind) piece of hardware. I applied and got a laptop. Right now, I noticed a curiosity toward the device among my friends, they ask, "...what is it? What is it like?" It's a piece of hardware dedicated to a browser.</p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/5262257371/" title="Hooked up the CR-48 to a 1080p TV by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5289/5262257371_4474e48560_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Hooked up the CR-48 to a 1080p TV" /></a><p>It's a great appliance for doing the web stuff that I need to do. I even hooked up the CR-48 to the TV and it worked just fine. Flash may have been a bit choppy, but it was tolerable because the tv was so large.</p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/5262258771/" title="Hooked up the CR-48 to a 1080p TV by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5042/5262258771_e4e3d85a59_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Hooked up the CR-48 to a 1080p TV" /></a><p>It was decent enough. A curiosity of a thing. The allure of something free. I don't know if they are truly interested in the product, in the Chrome OS, or what it does. I think it's a curiosity to them because the concept of a browser as an operating system is just strange.</p><p>What do you think about the Google Notebook?</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-48973508801604915272010-12-14T03:04:00.000-08:002010-12-14T03:04:36.073-08:00Day 3 and 4 With the CR-48<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/5247202262/" title="Google CR-48 by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5007/5247202262_55a34093c2_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="Google CR-48" /></a>
<p>I noticed something about my online habits after using the CR-48 for a few days. That is, in all of Chrome OS' splendor and wonderment, there's nothing magical about it. It's practical, straight to the point, and just works. I found myself turning on the computer to check my email, rss subscriptions, write a blog, watch some television programs online, or even just check a social network. I was on, and off the device moments after my task was done.</p><p>I'm not distracted by the interface as I'm viewing one webpage at a time. (Although, I would love to be able to reference two pages synchronously on the same screen at times.) I can see myself using a product like this more regularly, moreover when html5's data caching, having apps locally, even when there isn't a data connection would be ideal. Mostly, for situations when all is needed would be a word processor, I would sometimes want to just disconnect.</p><p>This is a quick screenshot of the other laptop's chrome preferences synchronized to Chrome OS.</p>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/5259998625/" title="Synchonized Preferences to Chrome OS by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5283/5259998625_82101cb063_b.jpg" width="1024" height="640" alt="Synchonized Preferences to Chrome OS" /></a><p>Maybe I'm just vaguely reminiscing the time I used to spend with the workhorse laptop of my work life. I believe that we all have some form of emotional response to the objects we interact with everyday. We associate certain companies with frustration and maybe even anger. I think about, Microsoft, in my honest opinion, this company has done an amazing job in improving their user experience. Products that come to mind are the Xbox, Zune, and Windows 7. Personally, I really enjoy each of those products. I've used each of these products and I just have had such great experience. It's been so good, the only bitter taste left in the mouth of my mind is IE6. With Chrome OS, I feel that I can use this and get off and on the internet. My experience has been great. So good, it's sometimes easy to forget the bugs.</p><ul><li>It's a little slower (than the other laptop) at times to render pages</li><li>Flash player isn't so smooth at higher/larger frames</li></ul><p>... and maybe a few other bugs. I just really hope that services like Evernote, Google Docs, Blogger, Google Reader, and Google Calendar worked offline. Overall, four days later, I'm satisfied with my user experience thus far, keeping in mind, that I'm using it as a regular user might, not as a developer.</p><p>Tell me, what do you think about having a piece of hardware dedicated for a browser? (I know that this last notion is a crude underestimation of what Google is trying to do with the Chrome OS, but humor me.) How would you build a netbook?</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-17579872581616906462010-12-11T01:00:00.000-08:002010-12-11T01:45:45.242-08:00Day 2 With the Chrome OS CR-48<p>So on my second day with the Chrome OS, I've been missing a few features from a regular desktop configuration, like being able to see the wallpaper; although there are themes, I really like being able to see, some form of personal area. It would make the browser feel more like "home."So far, from the past two days, I've been blogging from the CR-48 and the keyboard is great! I think it would be a great benefit for usability to add have a back lit keyboard. I had some issues trying to type in the back of my friend's car.</p><p>I love the fact that I was able to blog, check traffic on Google maps, see Facebook, and check my email. I mean these are things I can do from my phone but the experience is very different. I had a fully immersive web experience from my friend's car. I haven't used the available free 100mb (bandwidth) from Verizon yet. I was just tethering from my Google Nexus One.</p><p>So, right now, you're reading a post from the CR-48 typed out in the freezing Ice Palace Ice in Yorba Linda. This is an ice skating rink...</p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/5250468497/" title="At the Ice Palace in Yorba Linda CA by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5044/5250468497_c948504a23_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="At the Ice Palace in Yorba Linda CA" /></a><p>My fingers are freezing... I can really barely type. But just to test how portable and practical this thing is, I brought it. To watch my friends play ice broom ball. Oh, and that photo was taken, pre-game... while people were still playing hockey.</p><p>I was able to download the photo through my Gmail account, and then upload it using Flickr's Flash based file uploader. To my surprise, I saw this:</p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/5251072546/" title="Chrome OS File Browser by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5170/5251072546_5685724d8e_z.jpg" width="640" height="400" alt="Chrome OS File Browser" /></a><p>Which is obviously a Linux based file browser ui. So there's definitely a file browser! With this, I should be able to do many other tasks later on... maybe even changing out my login photo... hmm... Anyway, here's some video footage of the game:</p><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1h7whhXAITQ?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1h7whhXAITQ?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><p>Taken with the Nexus One</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-9986106921110641922010-12-10T07:30:00.000-08:002010-12-10T07:30:00.703-08:00Day 1 With the Google Chrome Notebook CR-48<p>Today has been interesting, I haven't been able to really play around with the notebook. Like using it, over and over and over and over again. Checking mail, doing my daily web browsing routine; social web browsing, just using it for what it is... in it's purest form... a <em>"netbook."</em></p><h3>Thoughts on Hardware</h3><p>My initial impression of the product is a good piece of hardware, not branded, well made, good keyboard and texture, bright screen, adequate keyboard controls, and intuitive hardware interface. Overall, for something to run tests on to test this operating system, the CR-48 is a great baseline piece of hardware. In my opinion, there's something about the simplicity of an object that makes me appreciate the beauty of an object even more. To me this piece of hardware isn't anything impressive, but it's simply something beautiful. It just works. I really do think that whoever worked on the hardware, with the design decisions that they took, and the intentionality of each part, it's been a pleasure working with this hardware.</p><h4>My Initial Impressions on Hardware Quirks</h4><ul><li>Single USB Port (Two Ports is good, one port is minimal... although, no ports would not be good)</li><li>VGA Port for external display(It's adequate, but DVI is also nice)</li><li>Touch Pad is strange, does not seem stable.</li></ul><p>For what the hardware is worth, it's a well designed machine.</p><h3>Thoughts on Chrome OS</h3><p>I had to change a few habits that I've formed with other operating systems. The fact of the matter is, when you boot this thing up and log in, it brings you straight to the browser. It brings you straight to the web. It's a pleasantly surprising experience to have something do really good at what it's supposed to be doing. It's supposed to bring me to the web, and it does it, in very good style.</p><p>The interesting thing is that every piece of the Chrome OS seems thought through well enough to just work. It's as if I'm reading a book, and all the characters in it just make sense. My hopes are that this furthers the development of the web as a repository for applications. I believe that browsers have the capability of being able to also house offline applications. I find that that's the case with Google Calendar, although requiring Google Gears (which Google has discontinued development of), you're able to download large chunks of your server generated data, to view, edit and later synchronize.</p><h4>Initial Impressions of OS Quirks</h4><ul><li>It seems like certain things are hidden, maybe, a little too well. For example, I didn't know that I could create a new window (CTRL + N) and have a whole new batch of tabs to deal with. That's when I found out what ALT + TAB was for.</li><li>Ability to Upload Files, maybe I just don't know how to do this yet.</li><li>Ability to change login picture</li><li>I guess, I would love a file manager</li></ul><p>I sincerely love the Chrome OS, I believe that there is a market for this. It hit's the market who just want's to get online... and get online in the most efficient way possible. I think it would make sense that Google would be good at the web.</p><h3>My Initial Thoughts About The Cloud</h3><p>Google made an interesting video about one of the benefits of having data on the cloud:</p><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lm-Vnx58UYo?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lm-Vnx58UYo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><p>Now, there's this thing about trust... can we trust the cloud? Most of the people I know have their email on a third party server. I think that there should be a clear distinction of what kind of data you'd want online.</p><p>Netbooks, in my opinion, aren't made to be a repository for pictures or memories, or notes, or any sensitive information. Netbooks are to the internet as motorcycles are to the road. Both take you in the same place, the motorcycle is just faster.</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-74843560476869162842010-12-09T10:42:00.001-08:002010-12-09T10:42:39.563-08:00Chrome OS on CR-48, Pilot Program<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/5247188178/" title="Google CR-48 by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5288/5247188178_d330cfd9e2_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="Google CR-48" /></a>
<p>I feel like I've got a golden ticket, and somehow I'm magically transported into the wonderful world of <a href="http://www.google.com" title="Google">Google</a>. As I was leaving home for work, a delivery man comes up to my car window and startles me. He says, <em>"I have a package for you."</em> Which I realize is very similar to what the delivery man in <em>Back to the Future,</em> and I felt something like Marty. I didn't order anything online, nor did I order anything from Amazon... then I thought to myself, <em>"could this be possible?"</em> So I partially opened the box right there, lo and behold...</p><p>The Google CR-48, in my hands. I partially opened the box in the car I couldn't contain my excitement as I drove quickly to work to complete the unboxing.</p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/5247189766/" title="Google CR-48 by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5084/5247189766_a77387fab2.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="Google CR-48" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/5246591523/" title="Google CR-48 by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5168/5246591523_b4deb208e5_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="Google CR-48" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/5247196676/" title="Google CR-48 by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5250/5247196676_049502044d_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="Google CR-48" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/5247202262/" title="Google CR-48 by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5007/5247202262_55a34093c2_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="Google CR-48" /></a><p>So, I'll be in the pilot program for Google, I'll double check to find out about any <abbr title="Non Disclosure Agreements">NDA</abbr> before I start posting about the netbook here.</p><p>Anyways, back to work at <a href="http://www.liferay.com">Liferay</a>.</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-70290076752913343052010-10-25T21:56:00.000-07:002010-10-25T22:02:27.340-07:00Flickr Free Icon Design<img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4125/5018174590_6be71f5259_o.png" width="1024" height="590" alt="Flickr Free Icon" />
<p><a href="http://code.google.com/p/flickrfree/" target="_blank" title="Flickr Free on Google Code" target="_blank">Flickr Free</a> is a free open-source <a href="http://www.flickr.com" title="Flickr Photo Sharing">Flickr</a> client for <a href="http://www.google.com/phone/" title="Google Phone Gallery" target="_blank">Android devices</a>. The app's icon seemed lacking to me. I didn't feel like it fully express what the app was capable of. I couldn't help but be inspired to <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/flickrfree/browse_thread/thread/7dfed62001a1b21d" title="Flickr Free Group: Icon Design thread" target="_blank">re-design the icon</a>, moreover, actually have this application on one of my phone's home screen. So I did it, I re-designed the icon based on Android Icon Design Guidelines and rendered different sizes of it for varying screen densities. Since October 25th, it's been commited in the <a href="http://code.google.com/p/flickrfree/wiki/Changelog#1.1.6" target="_blank" title="Flickr Free Changelog">product</a>.</p>
<p>You can download the app within the <a href="market://search?q=pname:com.zmosoft.flickrfree">Android Market</a> or through the <a href="http://code.google.com/p/flickrfree/" title="Flickr Free on Google Code" target="_blank">Flickr Free</a> project page.</p>
<p><em>Special thanks to rstewart the man behind Flickr Free for considering and implementing the icon design. Phone displayed is the Google Nexus One by HTC running Android 2.2.1. For more information visit the <a href="http://code.google.com/p/flickrfree/" target="_blank" title="Flickr Free on Google Code" target="_blank">Flickr Free</a> home page.</em></p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-1676565144979201162010-10-20T16:38:00.000-07:002010-10-20T16:38:36.356-07:00Morning Portraits in the Mountains and Donuts<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/3957553650/" title="Doughnuts by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3620/3957553650_f16af06f73_b.jpg" width="1024" height="683" alt="Doughnuts" /></a>
<p>A long time ago, my friends and I went up the mountain to just hang out. The air was crisp with the fragrance of the pine trees that surrounded us, the sky was partly cloudy and there was a gentle breeze. We spent some time up there and drove down to get some donuts.</p>
<p>I love impromptu portraits, I love the sincerity of who people are as they look at the camera, unprepared for it.</p>
<h4>Matthew</h4>
<div class="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/3957563136/" title="Matthew by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2435/3957563136_6c38d15de9.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Matthew" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/3957560062/" title="Matthew by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2616/3957560062_8be25815a5.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Matthew" /></a>
</div>
<p><em>Matt has a <a href="http://mattvsphotos.blogspot.com" target="_blank" title="Matt V's photo blog: Every photo has a story.">photoblog</a>.</em></p>
<h4>Andy</h4>
<div class="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/3957614068/" title="Andy by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2619/3957614068_03e5ab3aef.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Andy" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/3956778257/" title="Andy by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2511/3956778257_72ba7ee958.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Andy" /></a>
</div>
<h4>Kathleen</h4>
<div class="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/3956805319/" title="Kathleen by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2633/3956805319_75b37fb11b.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Kathleen" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/3956777087/" title="Kathleen by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2641/3956777087_be955da9b4.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Kathleen" /></a>
</div>
<h4>Jacque</h4>
<div class="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/3957582498/" title="Jacque by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2653/3957582498_7dd3a519e3.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Jacque" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/3956780039/" title="Jacque by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2561/3956780039_69b5b4e3cc.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Jacque" /></a>
</div>
<p><em>Jacque is a photographer and she also has a <a href="http://www.jacquepritchardphoto.com/" title="Jacque Pritchard Photography">website</a>.</em></p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-54482372244707940652010-10-12T15:34:00.000-07:002010-10-12T15:34:54.374-07:00The Way the Light Cascaded Through the Leaves<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/4327597376/" title="The Way the Light Cascaded Through the Leaves by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2691/4327597376_0f6b6f22f5_b.jpg" width="1024" height="683" alt="The Way the Light Cascaded Through the Leaves" /></a>
<p>I took this picture last year during my church's fall retreat. I could just remember the way the light cascaded through the leaves.</p>
<div class="center"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/4326980863/" title="IMG_9780 by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4036/4326980863_3a38b79007.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="IMG_9780" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/4327711426/" title="IMG_9779 by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2676/4327711426_5dd32a9f20.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="IMG_9779" /></a></div>
<p>Fall has always been a beautiful experience for me. I can truly see and attribute such beauty to God. I could never capture the pure color of what I had seen that day, while processing the photos, I could imagine myself leaning and editing toward a bias of my ideals and how I perceived that day.</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-37126403192888007922010-10-05T20:30:00.000-07:002010-10-05T20:30:02.107-07:00Upcoming Projects and Ideas<p>There's so many things I want to do with these projects, but I know if I spread myself out too much in these thoughts and ideas, I may not be able to continue doing these projects. So I'll be praying and tackling the many things I want to do, one at a time.</p>
<p>I know most of the projects that I've posted so far are that of photography. This is because photography is currently the only area I have organized enough to be able to display here. I'm still in the process of compiling illustrations, and designs from years past to show here.</p>
<p>Here's a fine list of things I want to add to my projects:</p>
<ul>
<li>UI
<ul>
<li>Liferay Design Rational</li>
<li>Site Design Iteration</li>
<li>Design Commentary</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Illustration
<ul>
<li>Old Illustrations</li>
<li>New Illustrations</li>
<li>Icons</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Promotional
<ul>
<li>Self Promotional</li>
<li>Client Promotional</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Art
<ul>
<li>Paintings</li>
<li>Drawings</li>
<li>Crafts</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Photography
<ul>
<li>Engagement Photos</li>
<li>Portrait Photos</li>
<li>Events</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>So, these are the kinds of projects I want to share and develop throughout the year, to foster and grow my skills and serve people. Thanks to those who've visited the website the past few days it's been open. I'm working on better designs and creating a workflow and plans to further develop this site.</p>
<p>Please feel free to ask me any questions here on this post or by emailing me at (my name)@aarondelani.com</p>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079925276533108761.post-89274624276185444762010-10-05T10:19:00.000-07:002010-10-05T10:19:07.809-07:00William Bishop Senior Photos<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/4562796214/" title="William by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3640/4562796214_ebd6bcd38f_b.jpg" width="1024" height="683" alt="William" /></a>
<p>I took some senior graduation pictures for my buddy Will.</p>
<div><a class="left" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/4562162905/" title="William by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4027/4562162905_663d2cb28d_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="William" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/4562164061/" title="William by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3037/4562164061_0d4627833f.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="William" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/4562795048/" title="William by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3340/4562795048_55d4f75d50.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="William" /></a>
</div>
<p class="clear">These last two photographs were from hanging out in 2008.</p>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/3240216387/" title="Will Bishop by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3345/3240216387_6588225789_b.jpg" width="1024" height="683" alt="Will Bishop" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamtoday/3240215151/" title="IMG_4019 by aaron.delani, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3093/3240215151_13a6e857ca_b.jpg" width="1024" height="683" alt="IMG_4019" /></a>Aaron Delanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053386358125042969noreply@blogger.com0