Robert Wenger's Computing and Tech Blog

Ocean Images – How to Make Water in GIMP

July 10th, 2011

Recently, a thunderstorm knocked out our internet for 11 days. Given that I’m a blogger, forum administrator and somewhat of an all-around tech guy, I felt under-equipped without the Internet. Every few minutes, I thought “I wish I could Google that…”. I felt disconnected from the world, especially when seeing things on TV I hadn’t heard online first (that’s unheard of). So what does a computer guy do when he loses internet? He fires up GIMP and learns something new by himself.

Ok, so before I show how to create water, let’s take a look at what I did when I was Internetless.

Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple by Robert Wenger

The Ocean by Robert Wenger

The Ocean 2 by Robert Wenger

The Ocean 3 by Robert Wenger

Ok, so let’s make some water! Start with an empty canvas.

First, we need to add some substance to the water. Without adding a little bit of texture, the water is just smooth ripples and waves on one color. The effects just aren’t going to work well without some sort of texture. So let’s add some. Starting with a simple, white canvas, click “Filters”, “Noise”, then “Hurl”. Pick a randomization between 25 and 50. I picked 27 for this example. Now, click “Colors” and “Desaturate”. I usually desaturate by luminosity, but you can play around and try whatever you want with this setting. Here’s something similar to what you should have so far:

The first step to making water in GIMP

It’s not very impressive yet, but we’re getting there. Next, click “Colors” and “Colorize”. Decrease Hue a little bit so you get a nice dark blue-green color. Remember we’re aiming to get the color of the ocean. Increase Saturation so that the color is somewhat “stronger”, and decrease lightness so the colorize tool will colorize the white space too. For this tutorial, I’m using a hue of 175, a saturation of 63, and a lightness of -51.

Next, we need to make the noise a little less distinct. Apply a Gaussian Blur with a horizontal and vertical radius of 2. It’s under “Filters”, “Blur”, “Gaussian Blur”. It’s starting to look a little bit like a water texture now:

Step Two of Making Water in GIMP

Before we add the finishing touches, it helps to have something to contrast the water against. When we add some turbulence to the water, we need a different color to compare it against. I like to use a radial blend from transparent to black. To do this, make sure that black is your foreground color, then select the blend tool (mouse over tools in the toolbox to find the blend tool), change the gradient to “FG to Transparent”, click the reverse box next to the gradient, then change the shape to radial. Then, click in the center of the image and drag the blend tool to the edge of the image to add a black area encircling the water. The water should appear to be a sphere, like so:

Step Three of Making Water in GIMP

Now we need to add the motion to the water. This motion is the ripples and waves. Appropriately, the filters to create these effects are titled “Ripple” and “Wave”. They can both be found under “Filters”, “Distorts”. First, add ripples. Try an amplitude of 10. Then, add waves. I used 8 for the values for both the amplitude and wavelength. Now, there’s only one thing left – add some lighting and make the water stand out.

Step Four of Making Water in GIMP

To add lighting and the finishing touches on the water, we need to use some lighting effects. Lighting effects can be found under “Filters”, “Light and Shadow”, then “Lighting Effects”. Move the little dot in the image to just a little bit above the canvas, then click the “Bump Map” tab. Click “Enable bump mapping”, then click ok. Now, you should at last have some pretty cool looking water that looks something like this:
Step 5 of Making Water in GIMP

Now that you’ve got the basics down, try doing some other effects with the water. Try implementing water in another image. I discovered how to make water by experimentation, so if you experiment on your own with your own ideas, you should come up with some unique effects that you like better.

Let me see your creations!

Posted in GIMP | 1 Comment »

Using Drafts – Streamlining Writing

July 6th, 2011

Anyone who does any type of semi-regular writing, whether it be in school, for a regular publication, or (like me) for a blog or website, knows the drill when it comes to creating a (hopefully) masterful literary work – think of an idea, try to remember these ideas, write the piece/paper, check for errors, then finally submit your work to show it off to the world. Without a plan to keep this process flowing smoothly, you will probably find it very difficult to write anything that’s well-organized and carefully thought out. If you don’t have a plan, here are a few tips I’ve found that help me write better blog posts.

I refer to writing blog posts using WordPress a lot in this post, but this approach to writing will work with any type of writing in any form you choose. Whether you write novels or nonfiction, on a computer or on paper, or in a notebook or on a napkin in a restaraunt, these tips will work.

Using Titles – Wait until later

Wordpress really is an all-in-one solution for writing and managing a blog. The draft functionality is my best friend. When I get an idea for a blog post, I don’t write the idea down or stick it in my phone unless it is absolutely necessary (I lose blog post ideas like I lose socks in the dryer). Instead, I go directly to WordPress and I add a new post. The first thing I do is skip the title input area and go straight to the main textarea for the body of the post. I do NOT add a title. I try not to add a title at first for multiple reasons. After writing down a title, I feel limited by the requirement of conforming my writing to a specific title, and if I have other ideas for where I could go with my writing, they get surpressed by the constraints of the title. Also, if I do wander off topic, my title won’t match my blog post any more. I get annoyed when I read something expecting something which is not in the article at all to be mentioned just because of a misleading title. I don’t want to mislead my readers the same way. Lastly, I feel more creative to write down all of my ideas down if I already have a title. I end up focusing on coming up with something related to the title rather than putting down what’s on my mind.

For example, when I first drafted this post, I initially intended the post to be about how to save blog posts as drafts in WordPress. After a little thought, I realized that I could make the post relative to writing in general. Just focusing on saving drafts in WordPress seems pointless to me – it doesn’t really get to the heart of being creative and being a better writer.

Ok, so far I’ve just said to not write a title when you first start. Actually, I like to write a title after I finish writing a blog post or at least have enough of the post written and drafted so that I know I won’t change my mind about the content of the post. One thing I do is I put the general topic I’m writing about in the title area. That way, I get to look at a general topic to constrain myself to, but it also gives me something to draw ideas from.

Saving Your Ideas

When actually writing down my ideas for a blog post, I write any thoughts that I can muster related to the subject. First, I write “intro/why: ” at the beginning of the body. I write the focus of my blog posts after the prompt. This one line, sometimes a sentence or just a phrase, gives me a good starting point from which I can create an introductory paragraph. When I see the word “Why?”, I tend to answer the question in my head. I write down my answer, and that answer typically helps me jump-start my post and give me plenty to write about.

After writing down the focus of my post, I try to list all of my thoughts on the subject. I try not to limit myself, and sometimes I just don’t end up writing about an idea once I come back to my draft. However, most of the time listing every idea I have can help me remember how I want to fill out the rest of the post. Sometimes, seeing an idea I had before helps me think of a different idea that I never saw coming. Other times, I only keep one part of an idea while going off on a barely-related line. If nothing else, having a number of ideas present themselves to me when I sit down to write prevents me from having the blank page “writers block” type of effect.

Try ommitting nonessential words from your list of thoughts. I find writing a complete thought as a topic I want to talk about to be VERY limiting. When I sit down to write, I typically try to make the most of what I have already created. If I already have full sentences written, I tend to use them as sentences in my finished product. However, I try to be general when writing the thought down so I can convey to myself the whole thought. Since I’ve already covered the whole thought in that one sentence, the thought is dead before it even has a chance to evolve and grow into something larger and more in-depth.

As an example of how my draft inspired this post, look at the last paragraph. The last paragraph was inspired by one phrase I wrote down – “write few thoughts”. I didn’t exactly mean to develop that thought into the paragraph I ended up writing, but the result ended up being a better paragraph than what I originally intended. A quick glance down at another thought (I ended up not including it in this post) supplied me with “omit words”, and I remembered that I was avoiding using sentences in drafts for the purposes mentioned above. The paragraph was born. Compare this post with the screenshot below.

Draft of this post

Finally, I don’t try to generate any ideas for a conclusion paragraph when I’m drafting a post. When I have good content, I tend to have a feeling when it’s the “right time” to end the post. Generally, I only have one or two more thoughts to write about, and writing any more would just drag the post along unnecessarially.

When I don’t have any more ideas, I don’t try to start writing right away. I leave the actual writing of the post for another time. Leaving the post alone lets me think about what I want to say before I actually start writing. My ideas seem to get better with time and thought. The same thing applies to proofreading and editing a post. If I wait a few days before revising what I’ve written, I do a much better job than if I read what I’ve written right away.

When you’re done, save your draft for later. Think about something else, do something else, or maybe even write something you already drafted. When you come back to finish what you started, you’ll be well-prepared and ready to create your masterpiece.

Posted in Blogging, WordPress, Writing | No Comments »

Decluttering Your Email – Master the Mess

June 27th, 2011

Have you ever had your email build up so much that the very sight of your inbox becomes a frightening premonition of a long, difficult task? Once clutter of any form piles up to a certain point, it seems to take over – it seems unmanageable. What’s the best way to tackle email clutter? I believe it’s head-on, followed by maitenance.

When I was getting rid of a lot of my emails (personal experience prompted this post), I sat down and deleted 600 emails in one go. I just used the newer, scrolling Yahoo interface (no preview) and made generous use of the delete key. First, I focused on the unread messages, then I made my way to older, unimportant emails. As a result, my inbox seems much neater and I can find things more easily. What if you’re not using Yahoo? If you’re using Gmail, you can check the checkboxes in your emails by hitting tab twice to move on to the next checkbox, then press space. To skip over another checkbox, hit tab twice more. You should be able to see when the checkbox is selected (especially if you’re using Google Chrome). Note that you have to click one textbox (and unclick it if you don’t want it selected) to be able to move on to the next one.

Every time you open your inbox, chip away a little more at the clutter. Maybe you don’t feel like cleaning them out at the moment, so you just get rid of the ones you received since you last checked plus two or three more. That’s ok. You will still make progress towards your ultimate goal of an uncluttered inbox. Just deleting 3 emails per day (along with managing your incoming email) means you will delete 1,095 emails in one year!

What about keeping your inbox under control once you have it cleaned out? I try to go through every email as I receive it, then delete everything I received unless it’s of utmost importance. When you stumble over something you need to save, put it in a folder. Not only will you keep your inbox clean, but you will be able to find any email you might need by simply opening the appropriate folder.

The key is persistence. Keep plodding away – maybe tweak the method to suit your needs and/or email provider – and stick to it every time you check your email.

Tags: efficiency, email
Posted in Internet | No Comments »

How to learn SEO

June 24th, 2011

These days, everyone and their brother wants to learn Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. Everyone wants to get their website listed by the mighty search engines that can drive traffic to their website like nothing else can, but they seem to be looking for people to spoon-feed them the “secrets” on how to become the number one website for any and every search term. If you’re looking for the “secret” to SEO, you’re wasting your time. There’s no magic procedure you can follow to make your site instantly appear atop the search results. Most of the “secrets” of SEO are not secrets – they are freely discussed, shared, and implemented. So, how do we learn these “secrets”?

How do we go about learning? Think about college or high school. We (1) read textbooks, review notes, and listen to lectures, we (2) consider facts, visualize the problem, and make sense of the procedure(s) that return the correct answer, and (3) do homework, perform experiments, do labs, and eventually use the skills we learned as we work. Looking back at that list, we can construct a 3-step approach to learning SEO: Read, Think, Try it.

1. Read about SEO

One of the most important things to do when learning SEO is to get your information from the correct sources. With every webmaster clamoring for the best ways to develop for search engines, false information is everywhere. SEO is big business, which means that everyone wants to throw their opinions around. Finding great sources for your information is critical. Keeping up with sites you find to be informative is just as important, because finding a great resource and not being able to go back to it is worthless.

Therefore, if you don’t already have one, start a SEO bookmarks folder. Also, download Slick RSS for Google Chrome (excellent feed reader extension). Finally, remember when you find a blog or forum, comment on it and use your real name. Not only will you get a few decent backlinks, you will also gain recognition as a webmaster, and as you learn more and more, as a SEO. Check back for replies too – you never know what kind of friend or partner you could make from a simple conversation.

Of course one of the top SEO blogs out there is SEOmoz. SEOmoz is one of the premiere sites for SEO software and has a great blog with a number of contributors (most of whom have their own blogs that are worth following). Check out their tools, their blog, and their community. Most importantly, keep checking their stuff – SEOmoz is a great resource.

Matt Cutts is the head of Google’s webspam team, which means he knows a lot, if not most, of the inner workings of the Google algorithms. If he says something revealing about Google’s algorithms or how to make your website rank more highly, you had better listen closely. You may also be able to pick up things from points he emphasizes heavily as things you really should focus on. He doesn’t often say too much about specific things to do on his blog (there are lots of good videos of Matt giving SEO advice on YouTube), but when he does, pay attention.

Search Engine Watch has a lot of interesting articles on the search engines, but it isn’t my favorite. To their credit, they have majorly upgraded their site design recently, and they have no shortage of articles. If you’re in the SEO field or trying to enter the SEO field, take a look at their website.

Some SEOs follow SEOBook, majorly authored by Aaron Wall, but I find his anti-Google bias to be offputting. Still, the blog warrants mentioning as many people read him and find it useful.

Other blogs of note which I do not follow myself are HubSpot, Search Engine Land, and Search Engine Journal.

Forums are another great forum of information sharing, and they are often used to share information about SEO. However, be wary of forums as SEO tools. Realize that the majority of people on SEO forums are not very successful. Also realize that the same majority of people tend to quote the same SEO strategies back and forth to each other with different wordings, phrases and reasoning behind their statements. Do the math, and you’ll realize that some of the strategies mentioned on SEO forums are often outdated or largely unsuccessful (or usually, both). Go ahead and seek out a SEO forum of your choice – I say forums are awesome and fun to use for just about any topic – but be very careful with how you use its advice.

Lastly, look to the search engines themselves. What better place to find insights into the inner workings of the search engines than the search engines themselves? Check out the Google Blog and the Bing Blog for announcements from their respective search engines. In particular, check out this blog post from the Google blog. In my opinion, this post contains some of the most important SEO advice. A webmaster should consider those questions at all times when doing something with his site whether actively trying to do SEO or not (particularly “is this site worth sharing?”). Using those questions should have you well on your way to developing a successful site that your visitors will love.

2. Think about what you’ve read/what you’re reading

Think? Isn’t there a magic formula for ranking highly? Yes, there is a magic formula, but Google owns it, and they’re not sharing. If you want to get an edge on all of your fellow blundering webmasters, you have to figure out what works and what doesn’t for your particular type of website.

Always think about what the user wants first. Thinking about the user first means that you won’t be thinking of manipulating the search engines. Search engines want you to do things for your visitors, not for them. If you see advice that doesn’t help the user’s experience at all (or even hinders it), you probably aren’t reading from a reliable source. Naturally there are some things that have nothing to do with the user’s experience (such as information in your head tags, not including the title), but most changes should help the user.

Also, think about what the search engine can use to develop rankings. Links, content, social media, etc. are all included. Try thinking about ratios too. Maybe they use an ad to text ratio as a ranking factor. Maybe they use keyword to text ratios. Think about all of the data a search engine can gather about your site through a little bit of thoughtful programming, then try to optimize those factors. The factors I mentioned aren’t necessarily the factors you should focus on; rather, they are just examples to show you what they could be looking at. Think about how the search engines can decide whether your site is a “quality” site from these factors. Aim to become a “quality site”. Search engines are increasingly looking for quality, and you would be wise to give it to them.

While you’re reading someone’s advice on SEO, think about how much you trust the information. Think about whether the advice helps your visitors’ experience, helps improve factors that search engines could use, helps the search engine index and crawl your site, or whether it is from a reliable source. Is the content from a trusted source like SEOmoz, Search Engine Watch, or from a highly regarded SEO blogger? Does this advice go along with the paragraphs mentioned above (changes help the visitor, changes improve quality, etc)? If the advice seems to go against your intuition, find out more about the topic before implementing any changes.

Finally, see how you can implement the advice you’re given. Being the most knowledgeable person in the world on a particular topic is useless unless you know how to use that knowledge. “Content is king” is thrown around all the time as a SEO guideline. It’s a very good guideline, and it’s very true. But how do you go about generating quality content? Hearing “content is king” is useless if you can’t generate quality content. “Build links from authoritative sites” is another quotation I hear often. It is another good, true statement, but you have to know how to build links in order to use what you’ve learned. Finally, realize that you’ll have to learn some things on your own. If you knew a surefire method to quickly “build links from authoritative sites” every time, would you tell everyone else?

3. Try it out.

Arrow pointing up representing SEO success

You could know everything there is to know about any subject, but you’re never going to become successful until you try it out, improving (and eventually perfecting) your technique as you go. You could know all of the rules of a sport and understand every technique, but unless you practice, you’re going to fall on your butt when you try to do anything you see the pros do. The same thing applies to SEO – it probably won’t work [very well] the first time you try it. Just keep trying – you’ll get better.

To bring it full-circle, I think we can summarize by saying that SEO is the process of showing off a website created for visitors to the search engines. If you write good content for visitors, show it off to the search engines, be professional, and tell everyone you come in contact with about your website, you’re bound for success.

Posted in Internet, SEO | No Comments »

Horrible Spammers

June 18th, 2011

The spammers to this blog (every blog and forum has them) are ridiculously out of date with their tactics. Check out this recent spam comment:

I feel that is a fascinating point, it made me suppose a bit. Thanks for sparking my considering cap. Now and again I am getting such a lot in a rut that I just really feel like a record.

If anyone can tell me what that is supposed to mean, you probably have a much greater command of the English language than me. Actually, give it a shot. I would like to see what type of interpretations you can come up with.

Posted in Internet | 2 Comments »