The easiest way to tell the content of the fabric is to perform a burn test. This is the second-best way of identifying fabrics - the best is to examine the fibers under a microscope.
Before you perform the test, prepare a fireproof surface (a flat dinner plate will work) and make sure there is a container with water near by just in case.
Clip a long thin piece of the fabric, put itin the center ofa plate,and burn one endof the fabric.
Cotton's fibers (made from plant)ignite easily. If the fabric is pure cotton, nothing will remain butgray ash that easily disintegrates. When ignited it burns with a steady flame and smells like burning leaves.
Linen fibers (made from plant) takes longer to ignite than cotton. The fabric closest to the ash is very brittle. Ash crumbles easily.
If the fabric is pure silk (made from protein), the fabric will be hard to ignite and will give out a smell of burned hair. The flame is not steady. The ash is easily crumbled. The flame is not as easily extinguished as cotton or linen.
Wool (made from protein)is harder to ignite than silk. Wool weave islooser than silk. The flame is steady but more difficult to keep burning. The smell of burning wool is like burning hair.
Polyester (polymer made from coal and petroleum) melts and burns at the same time. the burned edge will have small hard plastic globules, synthetic materialmeltsrather thanburns. The smoke from polyester is black with sweetish smell. The ash is hard.
Rayon burns much as cotton does, as it is cellulose and is hard to tell from cotton with a burn test. It burns fast and leaves crumpling ash. The burning smell is close to burning leaves.
Nylon (made from petroleum) melts and burns rapidly. It smells like burning plastic.
Acrylic (made from natural gas and petroleum) burns readily. The ash is hard. The smell is acrid and harsh.
Acetate (made from cellulose wood fibers) burns rapidly with flickering flame and cannot be easily extinguished. It drips and leaves hard ash. The smell is similar to burning wood chips.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Protecting Your Images and your Art work Online
So many people seeking the one true answer to the one true question. How can they can protect their images online? How? How indeed. There are no true ways to stop images from being stolen from your website. However, there are a few ways to slow them down. However, to understand this you most first understand your foe. How are thieves getting the pic from your website? Below I have listed some of the top 8 ways to steal pics and animation/movies. You must first understand that nothing you put on line is truly protected.
How they are Stolen
1."Save Image As" with the right click mouse action.
2. Saving the page in Internet Explore Five (IE5) grabs all images on the page including backgrounds.
3. Directly linking to where the image is stored on the server and dragging pic out of window
4. Open the image from browser cache located in the Temporary Internet Folder
5. Screen capture programs and PrintScreen.
6. Taking an actually digital picture of it with camera and photo editing it in photo Shop
7. Recording flash movies or animation that is copy write protect on to your camera and then upload it to the PC and covering AVI or MPEG in to Flash files. Ready to use.
8. Siting down and drawing art work from site
9. Downloading the entire web site on to your hard drive.
How to Protect Images
Now that we know how most images are being stolen, it's good time to learn how to protect them from Internet thief's.
Watermarks
Placing your trademark or name on your image is one way to protect it. This can be done by using programs as Paint Shop or Corel Painter. Another good program to use called Digiarc (http://www.digimarc.ge/). Sigimarc embeds into your image so it can then be tracked across the net. Pretty cool, but its futile. Just like when the music industry were hunting down kids and the elder for downloading music illegally. That was a saw of time. They should have been looking for the people mass producing and bootlegging. The image once marked can be tracked for a fee. One advantage/disadvantage is there is no visible type to interfere with your image quality. Digimarc plug-ins are available for several different graphics programs including Photoshop and Corel.
As include a copy write notice at the bottom of each page. Some people like to emboss the on their image or make it look official. I've seen many people brand their name over the entire pic. A lot of arts do it. It's just stupid, because you can easy remove it in Paint Shop. It's just a pain to do it someone has their name about 50 times on a picture, but it can be done.
When making a water mark, it is best to but it in the picture and somehow make it look apart of the picture. I suggest to many artist that they do this in the their art. Some that is seen, but is not understood or seen by the wood be thief.
Beside side see the Word Copyrighted by MR. Stinky or something other is pretty annoying and takes away for the image your selling. Many people just might look some place else for a cleaner image so they can get a good look at the protect. They may figure that your trying to hide something.
Roll Over And Java Script
Roll over images are easy. When your mouse is moved over the image, a second appears. The second unseen image is rolled over the first. On the second image you can use your copy right image.
The right clicking mouse is one of the mouse gemon to grab an image. Deactivating this action is an obvious solution . There are several Java Scripts that can be used to disable the right click action. You will need a different script to protect you from other browse for the same script doesn't work in all the browsers. One trick is not to use Java, but normal scripts. Because this script does work if the user has Java script disable. Also a lot of the script do not work on Mac platforms
Table Method/Layering
The table method is similar to the roll over method, however it works like a layer. Start by making a table that is the same size as the photograph you want to protect. Insert the photo as the table background image. Then create a a table with in the first table. The tab second table should be the same size as the first table. In the second table you will insert a nul image.
To create a null image is easy. Open a new transparent document in your image editor and set the dimensions to those of the picture you are hiding. Save the image as transparent GIF file, then place the null/empty image with in the second table. What have you done. you may asked? You have copied over the first image with a see through image. Now it appears that you can right click and grab the image. But the truth is that you'll be grabbing the empty GIF or null image file.
The draw back to have this many table some times cause funny effect on your web page. But worst the image your attempting to hide is located in the browser cache. And you can take the image by taking by locating the file name in the image source code. A whole lot of work for nothing.
IDP - Image Directory Protection
Here's one important step that many people often over look. Most web designers place images and graphics in a separate image directory. Browsers look for an index page with in each subdirectory. If there is not one there, a geplete list off all your images and grab anything they want. The best way to stop this is to place an index page in some directory where you have placed your images.
This slow some people down, but they can just as easy now download your entire website on to their hard drive. Saving them a lot of trouble and can look in your info at any time they please.
Java Slide-Show
Some of the best affects are done with Java. Using Java Slide show is a great way to display your images. But the draw back is the slowing loading process. My favorite program for this are applets with can be found at http://www.anfyteam.ge/ .You can also assign link to each picture. My favorite has always been water effect and rain.
Browser Caching
You can prevent the browsers from caching the images on your web page. Insert the following code between the
How they are Stolen
1."Save Image As" with the right click mouse action.
2. Saving the page in Internet Explore Five (IE5) grabs all images on the page including backgrounds.
3. Directly linking to where the image is stored on the server and dragging pic out of window
4. Open the image from browser cache located in the Temporary Internet Folder
5. Screen capture programs and PrintScreen.
6. Taking an actually digital picture of it with camera and photo editing it in photo Shop
7. Recording flash movies or animation that is copy write protect on to your camera and then upload it to the PC and covering AVI or MPEG in to Flash files. Ready to use.
8. Siting down and drawing art work from site
9. Downloading the entire web site on to your hard drive.
How to Protect Images
Now that we know how most images are being stolen, it's good time to learn how to protect them from Internet thief's.
Watermarks
Placing your trademark or name on your image is one way to protect it. This can be done by using programs as Paint Shop or Corel Painter. Another good program to use called Digiarc (http://www.digimarc.ge/). Sigimarc embeds into your image so it can then be tracked across the net. Pretty cool, but its futile. Just like when the music industry were hunting down kids and the elder for downloading music illegally. That was a saw of time. They should have been looking for the people mass producing and bootlegging. The image once marked can be tracked for a fee. One advantage/disadvantage is there is no visible type to interfere with your image quality. Digimarc plug-ins are available for several different graphics programs including Photoshop and Corel.
As include a copy write notice at the bottom of each page. Some people like to emboss the on their image or make it look official. I've seen many people brand their name over the entire pic. A lot of arts do it. It's just stupid, because you can easy remove it in Paint Shop. It's just a pain to do it someone has their name about 50 times on a picture, but it can be done.
When making a water mark, it is best to but it in the picture and somehow make it look apart of the picture. I suggest to many artist that they do this in the their art. Some that is seen, but is not understood or seen by the wood be thief.
Beside side see the Word Copyrighted by MR. Stinky or something other is pretty annoying and takes away for the image your selling. Many people just might look some place else for a cleaner image so they can get a good look at the protect. They may figure that your trying to hide something.
Roll Over And Java Script
Roll over images are easy. When your mouse is moved over the image, a second appears. The second unseen image is rolled over the first. On the second image you can use your copy right image.
The right clicking mouse is one of the mouse gemon to grab an image. Deactivating this action is an obvious solution . There are several Java Scripts that can be used to disable the right click action. You will need a different script to protect you from other browse for the same script doesn't work in all the browsers. One trick is not to use Java, but normal scripts. Because this script does work if the user has Java script disable. Also a lot of the script do not work on Mac platforms
Table Method/Layering
The table method is similar to the roll over method, however it works like a layer. Start by making a table that is the same size as the photograph you want to protect. Insert the photo as the table background image. Then create a a table with in the first table. The tab second table should be the same size as the first table. In the second table you will insert a nul image.
To create a null image is easy. Open a new transparent document in your image editor and set the dimensions to those of the picture you are hiding. Save the image as transparent GIF file, then place the null/empty image with in the second table. What have you done. you may asked? You have copied over the first image with a see through image. Now it appears that you can right click and grab the image. But the truth is that you'll be grabbing the empty GIF or null image file.
The draw back to have this many table some times cause funny effect on your web page. But worst the image your attempting to hide is located in the browser cache. And you can take the image by taking by locating the file name in the image source code. A whole lot of work for nothing.
IDP - Image Directory Protection
Here's one important step that many people often over look. Most web designers place images and graphics in a separate image directory. Browsers look for an index page with in each subdirectory. If there is not one there, a geplete list off all your images and grab anything they want. The best way to stop this is to place an index page in some directory where you have placed your images.
This slow some people down, but they can just as easy now download your entire website on to their hard drive. Saving them a lot of trouble and can look in your info at any time they please.
Java Slide-Show
Some of the best affects are done with Java. Using Java Slide show is a great way to display your images. But the draw back is the slowing loading process. My favorite program for this are applets with can be found at http://www.anfyteam.ge/ .You can also assign link to each picture. My favorite has always been water effect and rain.
Browser Caching
You can prevent the browsers from caching the images on your web page. Insert the following code between the
Dreamsicles Purchasing Items Marked Signed
Though difficult to photograph
this is an example of a signed by Kristin piece. On the bottom of this piece you will find her "STAMP" and the "STICKER."
Dreamsicles are sculptures designed by artist Kristin Haynes. They were originally manufactured by Cast Art Industries, but are now being manufactured by Willits.
The Dreamsicles manufactured by Cast Art all were stamped on the bottom with the artist's first name, Kristin. That does not mean that she signed every piece. However the stamp is a copy of her signature. She also engraved I guess you would call it on many pieces her name, Kristin. This also does not mean that she personally signed or carved her name on each piece. Frankly it would be impossible for her to do so and create new pieces at the same time.
My point, in all of this, is a level of frustration I have found when shopping here for these cute little statues. Some that are for sale are actually signed personally by the artist. She used to have appearances around the country and called it a signing day. Much like you see with authors with a new release book. She sometimes signed her name and the year she signed it, not the date of the release. And, if you were very lucky she signed a little moto to go with the piece. Like, follow your dreams, etc.
Please do not pay extra or purchase a Dreamsicle that you think is personally signed by the artist if it only has the bold stamped signature, Kristin and the year. This is done at the factory.
Also something to look for on your Dreamsicle is the sticker that in later years included the name and number of the particular Dreamsicle. The early years just had a generic sticker that was more black and for the serious collector is important to see. The carving of her name on pieces is gemon in the beginning as on, The Flying Lesson as well as some of the later pieces. This is sweet, and it was nice that she included that but it is not a signature.
Just as you might purchase a print of an oil painting that is signed by the artist on the original painting, you do not assume that, that signature is only on your print. However, if you are fortunate enough to meet the artist and he/she signs above it on your print...Then, you have an autograph.
I hope this makes this clear. It is upsetting for the sellers of Dreamsicles that are actually autographed to see that there are sellers claiming their pieces are also signed. Signed can mean many things. I hope this has made it clear to the collectors out there that really want a unique Dreamsicle.
this is an example of a signed by Kristin piece. On the bottom of this piece you will find her "STAMP" and the "STICKER."
Dreamsicles are sculptures designed by artist Kristin Haynes. They were originally manufactured by Cast Art Industries, but are now being manufactured by Willits.
The Dreamsicles manufactured by Cast Art all were stamped on the bottom with the artist's first name, Kristin. That does not mean that she signed every piece. However the stamp is a copy of her signature. She also engraved I guess you would call it on many pieces her name, Kristin. This also does not mean that she personally signed or carved her name on each piece. Frankly it would be impossible for her to do so and create new pieces at the same time.
My point, in all of this, is a level of frustration I have found when shopping here for these cute little statues. Some that are for sale are actually signed personally by the artist. She used to have appearances around the country and called it a signing day. Much like you see with authors with a new release book. She sometimes signed her name and the year she signed it, not the date of the release. And, if you were very lucky she signed a little moto to go with the piece. Like, follow your dreams, etc.
Please do not pay extra or purchase a Dreamsicle that you think is personally signed by the artist if it only has the bold stamped signature, Kristin and the year. This is done at the factory.
Also something to look for on your Dreamsicle is the sticker that in later years included the name and number of the particular Dreamsicle. The early years just had a generic sticker that was more black and for the serious collector is important to see. The carving of her name on pieces is gemon in the beginning as on, The Flying Lesson as well as some of the later pieces. This is sweet, and it was nice that she included that but it is not a signature.
Just as you might purchase a print of an oil painting that is signed by the artist on the original painting, you do not assume that, that signature is only on your print. However, if you are fortunate enough to meet the artist and he/she signs above it on your print...Then, you have an autograph.
I hope this makes this clear. It is upsetting for the sellers of Dreamsicles that are actually autographed to see that there are sellers claiming their pieces are also signed. Signed can mean many things. I hope this has made it clear to the collectors out there that really want a unique Dreamsicle.
Creative Inspiration for Painters
As a painter, our best work is done when we are inspired. But how do we get that inspiration? Here are some of the ways I gain my inspiration. Hope this guide helps you to get over the "creative block "hump" or be even more inspired!
1. Observe the world. I love the water and also big cities. So I can get inspiration by visiting a new vacation spot or city. Where are some of your favorite places to be? Using photos you've taken or other's have given you permission to paint from, create your own happy place..chances are it's someone else's too.
2. Hobbies. What do you like to do? Sailing, Golfing, Animals etc can be great inspiration.
3.What are others creating and how can you make their style fit for you? Go to museums, galleries and visit okay art.
4. Movies and Books. What are your favorites and if you where asked to design for a set or cover what would you paint?
5. Meditate or Think On It. This may sound corny but sometimes just sitting and thinking about your creative dreamcan bring wonderful new ideas.
6. Just Do It. Sometimes the simple act of putting a brush to paper can inspire you.
Hope you have some wonderful inspiration gee your way soon.
Warm Regards,
Pam
1. Observe the world. I love the water and also big cities. So I can get inspiration by visiting a new vacation spot or city. Where are some of your favorite places to be? Using photos you've taken or other's have given you permission to paint from, create your own happy place..chances are it's someone else's too.
2. Hobbies. What do you like to do? Sailing, Golfing, Animals etc can be great inspiration.
3.What are others creating and how can you make their style fit for you? Go to museums, galleries and visit okay art.
4. Movies and Books. What are your favorites and if you where asked to design for a set or cover what would you paint?
5. Meditate or Think On It. This may sound corny but sometimes just sitting and thinking about your creative dreamcan bring wonderful new ideas.
6. Just Do It. Sometimes the simple act of putting a brush to paper can inspire you.
Hope you have some wonderful inspiration gee your way soon.
Warm Regards,
Pam
Bidding on International/Foreign Currency Auctions
Bidding on and winningan auction that originates outside of the United Statescan bejust as easy to geplete as a domestic auction if youare educated abouta few things --language, currency, and shipping/customs.
Language. Many sellers outside of the United States do not speak English. That should not prevent you from bidding because numerous (free) online translators abound and can help just enough with gemunicating. One translatorI use on a regular basis and with reasonable success isvia babelfish. (okay prevents me from putting the entire link in this guide.)Initially, it's a matter of copying and pasting the auction descriptionand picking the language you wish to translate. Don't expect a grammatically perfect translation (sometimes the translation will make you laugh) but it'sdefinitely good enough to get by.
Currency. There are also numerous sites for currency conversion. Use them, because when you're perusing the international sites, you will not automatically get conversion to U.S. dollars or other currencies.In addition, currencies arealways fluctuating and can even change during an auction's lifecycle. For example, when the euro was born a few years ago, it was worth about 80 cents against the U.S. dollar. Now it's worth considerably more than the dollar -- upwards of $1.30. The British pound is about double the value of the U.S. dollar. Also, don't forget which currency the seller is using when youconsider placing a bid otherwise you may be gemitting to a higher bid than you wanted to!
Not every seller accepts PayPal so you may have to mail their native currency or international money orders via snail mail.Both options have added costs. International money orders (the one and only time I tried it) was an additional US$20! I've purchased euros at American Express offices (they have numerous other currencies available) but, they too, have additional fees, which add up pretty quickly. American Express does not deal with coins, only paper money. But I've found most sellers will mail the change with the auction item. Sometimes the seller will accept U.S. dollars. It doesn't hurt to ask if they will.
Shipping. An important thing to remember when viewing international auctions is that not every seller is willing to ship outside of their country or region. Ask. Just don't assume that they will ship outside of their country. A sad fact is that manysellers will overcharge on shipping (unfortunately, domestic sellers as well) so be perfectly clear on this aspect of the auction before you bid. As a personal example, I won a tiny stuffed animal that couldn't have weighed more than a few ounces, yet the seller wanted to charge the equivalent of US$30 for shipping it from Germany. I backed out of the auction. If I had been smart, I would have asked about shipping ahead of time. I would have never bid on that auction, no matter how much I wanted the item.
Customs. In this post 9-11 world, packages sometimes take longer to arrive at their destination because customs officers open and examine packages more frequently. It's not to your benefit to lie about a package's contents because it may be confiscated and even destroyed. Keep in mind, too, that many countries charge extra customs fees when an item originates outside of their boundaries.
Conclusion and Personal Experience. Get all questions answered ahead of time, especially when it pertains to shipping costs. While okay is cracking down on excessive shipping costs, as you may have read, don't rely on them to rescue you if you get in over your head. If you're not satisfied with the seller's answers, listen to your gut. Don't bid ... no matter how much you want the item. Allow sufficient time for the item to reach you. Airmail from Europe to the United States can take as little as a few days or as long as three weeks. Shipment by sea can take six to eight weeks. Australia seems to be a little quicker. The one item I won that was shipped from Romania was here just as quickly as any European shipment. (But, boy oh boy, I was sweating on that one because I hadn't dealt with that country before!)
I hope this guide helps and eases your fear about bidding on international/foreign currency auctions. Please email if you have any questions, concerns, or would like to see this guide expanded in areas. Thanks and have fun!
Language. Many sellers outside of the United States do not speak English. That should not prevent you from bidding because numerous (free) online translators abound and can help just enough with gemunicating. One translatorI use on a regular basis and with reasonable success isvia babelfish. (okay prevents me from putting the entire link in this guide.)Initially, it's a matter of copying and pasting the auction descriptionand picking the language you wish to translate. Don't expect a grammatically perfect translation (sometimes the translation will make you laugh) but it'sdefinitely good enough to get by.
Currency. There are also numerous sites for currency conversion. Use them, because when you're perusing the international sites, you will not automatically get conversion to U.S. dollars or other currencies.In addition, currencies arealways fluctuating and can even change during an auction's lifecycle. For example, when the euro was born a few years ago, it was worth about 80 cents against the U.S. dollar. Now it's worth considerably more than the dollar -- upwards of $1.30. The British pound is about double the value of the U.S. dollar. Also, don't forget which currency the seller is using when youconsider placing a bid otherwise you may be gemitting to a higher bid than you wanted to!
Not every seller accepts PayPal so you may have to mail their native currency or international money orders via snail mail.Both options have added costs. International money orders (the one and only time I tried it) was an additional US$20! I've purchased euros at American Express offices (they have numerous other currencies available) but, they too, have additional fees, which add up pretty quickly. American Express does not deal with coins, only paper money. But I've found most sellers will mail the change with the auction item. Sometimes the seller will accept U.S. dollars. It doesn't hurt to ask if they will.
Shipping. An important thing to remember when viewing international auctions is that not every seller is willing to ship outside of their country or region. Ask. Just don't assume that they will ship outside of their country. A sad fact is that manysellers will overcharge on shipping (unfortunately, domestic sellers as well) so be perfectly clear on this aspect of the auction before you bid. As a personal example, I won a tiny stuffed animal that couldn't have weighed more than a few ounces, yet the seller wanted to charge the equivalent of US$30 for shipping it from Germany. I backed out of the auction. If I had been smart, I would have asked about shipping ahead of time. I would have never bid on that auction, no matter how much I wanted the item.
Customs. In this post 9-11 world, packages sometimes take longer to arrive at their destination because customs officers open and examine packages more frequently. It's not to your benefit to lie about a package's contents because it may be confiscated and even destroyed. Keep in mind, too, that many countries charge extra customs fees when an item originates outside of their boundaries.
Conclusion and Personal Experience. Get all questions answered ahead of time, especially when it pertains to shipping costs. While okay is cracking down on excessive shipping costs, as you may have read, don't rely on them to rescue you if you get in over your head. If you're not satisfied with the seller's answers, listen to your gut. Don't bid ... no matter how much you want the item. Allow sufficient time for the item to reach you. Airmail from Europe to the United States can take as little as a few days or as long as three weeks. Shipment by sea can take six to eight weeks. Australia seems to be a little quicker. The one item I won that was shipped from Romania was here just as quickly as any European shipment. (But, boy oh boy, I was sweating on that one because I hadn't dealt with that country before!)
I hope this guide helps and eases your fear about bidding on international/foreign currency auctions. Please email if you have any questions, concerns, or would like to see this guide expanded in areas. Thanks and have fun!
Horse riding airbag safety jackets and vests
AIRBAG Safety jacketsHorse sport riders now have a range of new safety jackets available with a built-in airbag system. In an accident, when the rider is thrown from the horse an airbag built into the jacket or vest is activated by a short lanyard (coil wire) fitted to the saddle D-ring or monkey bar. The airbag protects the riders chest, neck, shoulders, back, spin and bottom instantly. This is a new level of protection against injury or death. The HIT AIR system has been used successfully since 1985. The airbag system is reusable if it is not damaged, and can be reset by the rider within 5 minutes. The CO2 gas cartridge costs $20AUD and the vests around $600AUD. Jackets range from $750AUD.NOTE: This guide is based on the Airbag jackets and gloves by HIT AIR from Japan (Mugen Denko Co Ltd) which have been on the market since 1985 and have a proven safety record. HIT AIR is the market leader with
several thousand units sold throughout Asia, Europe, Australia and
now also the US. We are the exclusive Australian distributors of this product and wish to provide this advice for
okay users as we are strongly interested in the safety of riders and
pillions.
several thousand units sold throughout Asia, Europe, Australia and
now also the US. We are the exclusive Australian distributors of this product and wish to provide this advice for
okay users as we are strongly interested in the safety of riders and
pillions.
Non-Paying Bidders Suck! Get Even!
Every month I get 2 or 3 non-paying bidders. Many sellers just take the loss and forget about it, relist the item, and life goes on. This is a bad practice. It gives the deadbeat bidder a chance to continue screwing the sellers. I feel they should be reported, 1 to let others know they do not pay, and 2 to get your final value fee refunded. I personally have made it my policy to file a non-paying bidder geplaint and leave negative feedback. These deadbeats need to be kicked off okay.
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