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Media Manipulation of Religion and Race
I recently discussed an incident where a Mormon couple accidentally left their child to die in a hot car for 17 hours. Did you notice that I mentioned their religion? Why do writers of such stories feel the need to attach a person’s religion to a tragedy in order to somehow make it seem more poignant? We hear it all the time. … Read entire article »
CorelDraw: So Easy a 9-Year-Old Can Use It
I’ve had the privilege of working from home for the past 7 years. My twins, who are nearly 10, have virtually grown up seeing me at my computer with CorelDraw on the screen. And the older they get, the more technically capable they get every day. Lately they have both taken more of an interest in my work and in CorelDraw. So I’ve started to let them experiment with the program. My daughter created a colorful image of her name, warped slightly with an envelope. My son created a sports-looking image with a manually-drawn baseball on it. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Graphic Arts
Warning If You Are Considering Preventive Pest Control in Las Vegas
I signed up for service for Preventive Pest Control and the service was fine until late 2006, when my normally appointed serviceman was apparently replaced by a substitute. I work at home and was always there to receive their house call. They also typically called the day before to verify that service was to be delivered the following day. They called that late 2006 day and confirmed that they would be arriving the next day. In the past, if they had shown up to my door and no one answered, they would leave an invoice stuck in my screen door to show they had been there. On that day, no one showed up. I was home and working all day. No one came to my door and my dogs never barked to alert … Read entire article »
Filed under: Consumers
Aqua Finance = Shady Business
I have a very nice Kinetico water system that I financed nearly 4 years ago. My financing was through Aqua Finance. I’ve been paying on this Aqua Finance account for nearly 4 years. I’ve paid faithfully and regularly. Sure maybe a couple of late payments over the years, but nothing significant. I received a letter stating that they were going to raise my interest rate from 17.99% to 21.00%. No reason was given. The end of the notice reads as follows: … Read entire article »
Filed under: Consumers
Corel’s Kindred Spirit: Apple
It seems that most graphic artists can be categorized in two ways. (Yes, I’m already generalizing, and yes there are always exceptions – let’s get that out of the way upfront). There are the schooled artists and the non-schooled. I don’t know if I’ve ever met a schooled graphic artist who wasn’t deeply embedded in the Adobe school. Many schooled artists don’t even consider other software. Is it too soon for an aside already? Yes? Well bear with me. I always thought it ironic that so many graphic artists used a Mac and Adobe products. They complain about how the Mac is superior to Windows yet it’s far behind in sales and popularity. And how those unenlightened Windows users would be convinced of the Mac’s superiority if only they’d give it a serious … Read entire article »
Filed under: Graphic Arts
Only Bad Parents Burn Their Children
June 16th, 2008 | Comments Off
Among the self-help and instructional material here on wafflesatnoon.com, there are moments when an angry commentary is appropriate. Like now. One of the unfortunate aspects of living in Las Vegas is hearing stories of parents who accidentally leave their children in hot cars during the summer. I’ve heard one too many of these, so here is my take on the subject. Even if you don’t live in the desert, try out this little test. Get into your car on a very hot day. Make sure the windows are up and there is no air flow. Now sit there. See if you can last one minute. I’ve done it, and after only seconds I feel an unbearable need to get out or start the car and put the air on. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Society