Photoshop’s “Content Aware Fill” for Free in GIMP (a.k.a Heal Selection)
April 5th, 2010 - by: admin
You may have see the amazing demo of an upcoming plug-in for Adobe’s Photoshop called “Content Aware Fill”. Unfortunately, it’s not a plug-in for existing Photoshop versions, but for the upcoming CS5. The demo is amazing, though check it out:
I don’t even work in Photoshop much, but I want that functionality. What a time saver.
Good news, everyone! It’s already available for the free, open source, Photoshop alternative GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/). GIMP is available for Linux and Windows. It’s free and does most of what Photoshop does including filters, masks, and layers.
I came across a blog entry about the GIMP “Heal Selection” plug-in that accomplishes what the upcoming Photoshop “Content Aware Fill” will do. Here is the link to the blog post. The instructions are dead simple.
So, here is what I accomplished in seconds after installing the plug-in & script for “Heal Selection.” Pretty amazing, I left the default settings.
In the image above, there is a crane ruining the view. Now, normally this would take a while to remove by zooming in and carefully using the clone stamp and other tools.
Using the plug-in in GIMP, all I did was a quick select using the lasso tool. Then right click, Filters, Enhance, Heal Selection. And that’s it. And the results:
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Resume website
January 26th, 2010 - by: admin
I decided to do a simple HTML resume that is brief and printable. It’s the homepage for scott-alan-olson.com. Thanks for looking.
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Cash in those rebate cards or preloaded credit cards
December 8th, 2009 - by: admin
In the good old days, just a couple years ago, when you mailed in that rebate offer the company would redeem the rebate in paper check form. Now the popular model is for the company to redeem the rebate via a preloaded credit card. It may seem like the overall cost would make the preloaded CC less attractive, but that’s not the case. These cards expire within just a couple months and unless you are careful, you may leave some change on the card’s balance. Hundreds of consumers leaving $0.93 cents on their cards adds up.
When I let it slip that AT&T recently sent me a $50 card from a rebate offer on my new phone (Nokia e71). My friend suggested using it at a restaurant for the $50 and paying cash for the difference.
A nice plan, but with the Holidays fast approaching I had a better idea. Send myself a $50 Amazon Gift email-card and apply that to my Christmas shopping. Presto. I’m sure I’m the last person to figure this out.
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How to get a new laptop or PC without manufacturer installed bloatware
November 30th, 2009 - by: admin
I know you know that feeling. You’re about to add that new Dell, HP, Acer, or Lenovo to your shopping cart but you know in the back of your mind you will spend the first hour with that shiny new laptop in the Add/Remove window getting rid of unneeded bloatware and crapware installed at the factory.
Sometimes listening to the techy podcasts pays off. Recently both TWIT and Windows Weekly spilled the beans about buying factory direct without the bloatware.
Apparently all the PCs sold through the Microsoft Store are sold with a minimal Windows 7 + drivers installation and none of the demo/trial software usually bundled. It seems this is part of some contractual agreement between Microsoft and the vendors. Want to be showcased in the Microsoft Store? OK, then. Don’t install crap that may make Windows 7 look bad.
So check it out, http://store.microsoft.com. The prices seem to be right in line compared to ordering direct from the factory. And you get a cleaner install so you can get right to enjoying that shiny new laptop or box.
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Most blogs don’t get readership, so why bother?
November 30th, 2009 - by: admin
Earlier in this summer, I left a small business and the partners, got rid of overhead (phew!), formed my own company and kept doing what I was doing – brokering CPA/CPL lead generation and other affiliate advertising deals. Taking advantage of existing relationships I reaped the low hanging fruit. But now what?
Working from home quickly becomes tiresome and I began to miss the team atmosphere of the office place. Soon after my closest friend moved away to pursue more affordable schooling out east (miss you Kimberly!), I realized it’s time for me to get back on the radar, back to W4 employee land.
But what to do when my recent work history consists of several small business partnerships in the online marketing arena? Of course I garnered a wealth of experience as COO or Managing Partner here and there, but everyone knows that in a small company run by 3 to 6 people, titles are self assigned and purely for business card meet and greats. Sure, I have plenty of professional references coast to coast, but not a one of them could actually be called an employer – clients, vendors, partner companies, but not an employer among the lot.
So because my self run venture pays the bills, I have the luxury of time to prepare for searching out the right company, the right position. I need a web presence in addition to facebook/myspace/twitter. My company website needs fleshing out (I’ve been busy, no excuse, but I’m juggling all the balls). And, I need to write my first resume in 6 years.
Will anyone read this?
Does it even really matter so long as it’s here to be found? Just in advance of putting fingers to keyboards to start getting my content up on my domain, I came across Copyblogger’s post The 7 Harsh realities of Social Media and couldn’t agree more with #1, “No one is reading your blog.” I already had that in mind when I registered the domain and installed Wordpress a week ago. There are hundreds of thousands of blogs covering every topic imaginable, so why bother?
As soon as my resume hits a HR desk, I know my name and business will be googled and binged. So I need to make sure I have a representative sample of myself and personality up for view. I feel putting up a respectable looking blog with content that is interesting to me will be a better barometer of my capabilities and personality compared to only owning a facebook or myspace page. And so it goes. Onwards and forwards.
TL, DR: I’m bored with working for myself from home and have the itch to join a team effort again.
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Pandora
November 30th, 2009 - by: admin
I hope everyone knows and loves the free, ad-supported, streaming radio service Pandora. I’m so happy they were able to settle the RIAA suit and integrate ads on the home page along with occasional audio ads to turn themselves in to a real, sustainable business model.
From xkcd.com
Pandora is better than last.fm at suggesting music, adding artists and managing “stations”. And, now they have this nifty blog widget: