Insider Info: istockphoto.com

At my job, I work heavily with the graphic development and content layouts of new websites. The stock photography service that our company mainly uses is istockphoto.com. They have a massive library of royalty free stock photography. However, anyone that deals with stock photos knows that they are not always cheap. In fact, when developing a multi-paged site or working with a larger scale collateral project (large brochure, etc.), photos can get down right expensive.

I know some of you are citing free photo services in your mind, but trust me, with a little bit of investigation into paid vs. free photo options, you can very quickly see the advantages to paid services. They just have more photos...not only that, they tend to be A LOT better conceptually and resolution-wise.

Now, as I stated before, even a more affordable option can still get expensive. However, istock has a neat little area called the "Dollar Bin". This area brings photo options ranging from 1-4 dollars for the various resolutions of any particular photo (higher resolutions of any one photo bring a higher price tag). For anyone interested in an affordable way to give their site a professional look and feel, this is amazing. Don't believe me? Take a look at the price tags on photos at places like Gettyimages. (I recently priced out ~$1800 for a client to use a handful of their images...for a year)

All and all, it's a good way to get your feet wet in terms of leveraging legal, professional imagery on the web or in print design.

Bonus Tip: most images you use on the web (about 90-95%) will be in the small-medium range. You shouldn't have to go larger than that (circumstantially of course). Print...that's a different story and the size of photo should be judged on a case by case basis.

Christmas Parties Are For Losers

Recently we had our office christmas party up at Sundance resort. Great place with classy people. The theme just happened to be Casino Royale. (I think Tasha [or T Kubb] made up for my frumpiness with her stellar looks.) The nights goal was to make as many chips as you can in 2 1/2 hours, then translate those chips into drawings for our raffle. Games: Bingo, Texas Hold 'Em, Black Jack, and Craps.

Tasha and I are regular Texas Hold 'Em players (free hold 'em players... :) ), and when we found out what the theme was, we thought it would be a good opportunity to put our 'skills' to the test....in the end, not the most strategic move we could do. We took the last two open seats at the hold 'em tables, which happened to be next to our CEO (photo: my left).

Now...it was not for lack of skill that I ended up left with only the shirt on my back (I had to fight for my pants), but a severely lucky hand. My betting strategy was perfect, but accounting for luck is apparently not a strong suit of mine, and 'all-in' really translated into 'all-out'.

While T Kubb won more than she lost (she's a great player), we ultimately walked away with about half the chips of when we started...my no chips didn't contribute too much.

Next year, given a similar party theme, I'm gonna stick with black jack...especially since most of the people that walked away from those tables hauled in a cool $40k (We each started with $1k). My new years resolution?...find and kill my bad luck.

Heavenly Night Light

Late last night Tasha and I were about ready to go to bed and I had just got done taking our dog, Piper, outside to do her pioneer style business ('The Final', as we call it). I had come inside and set about my bed-gett'n-ready routine, when Tasha, who was in the living room, came hustling back to the bedroom and asked, "Was it raining outside?"

Initially I thought piper had somehow gotten wet and I was about to be charged with the task as to how on earth that happened. I then responded, "No. Why?" Tasha then proceeded to anxiously tell me that she saw what looked like lightning outside...but not lightning...just light...a BRIGHT light.

I could tell she was unnerved by this experience, but I thought...I have no idea what to do about this. Ultimately, I said I have no idea, but I was sure it was nothing and proceeded with my sleep preparations.

It wasn't until this morning when I overheard one of our programmers talking about a 'bright light' that I did some additional investigation into the previous nights events. That's when I came across the video below. This is one time that I am actually glad to hear that a meteor came violently crashing into the Earth's atmosphere. Now I can let my wife know how crazy last night actually was. And that there is an explanation to what happened.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Now You Can REALLY Love Your Food

Haven't you ever wanted to hug a good Japanese meal? I know you've all thought about it. Dreamed about it in fact. Well now your asian-snuggling fancies can become a reality, thanks to ThinkGeek.com's very own Plush Sushi invention. It is interesting to note that ThinkGeek considers them collectables for 'adults 14 and over'. Firstly that 14 year olds are considered adults, and secondly, why can't the little ones enjoy squishy --but not sticky-- goodness? They say choking hazard, but the kids that I know don't have reptilian-like, dislocatable jaws. That's like saying that pillows and blankets aren't intended to be used by sub-teeners. In any case, it is my view that this invention is fun for the whole sushi-rollin family. View the product at the read link below.

Read

I'm Not As Much Of A Geek As I Thought

This is a circumstance that I don't know whether to wince or applaud. I have always wanted to be a DIY'er, but never had the money or the space (no offense 550 sqft apt...there's a reason why I rent you). When I see projects like this, I admittedly get a little jealous. Not because I personally want my own personal Starfleet Shuttle Simulator, but rather that you know they have to be die hard fans and had to have loved the construction process. Heck. I like ginger bread houses and have a blast when I build em (hey...it was the best personal example I could come up with...).

In any case, a cheers is in order for the uber geek echelon. Click the Read link for more...

Read

"IT'S SWEATIN' TIME!"

Ain't Halloween grand? Where you get to dawn your best pair of shaved legs and let their sheen warm the souls of all those who have the pleasure of basking in their glory. Okay...maybe your Halloween doesn't play out the same way, but that's how mine does...surprisingly often...and not always on Halloween...and sometimes on stage...and it may or may not be for money......BUT you get the point. *ehem*

This year I led the Creative Service team in some Richard Simmons antics. And of course they were the rest of the "Sweatin to the Oldies" crew. Check out some additional pica's after the break.

(And I know...the wig is pretty bad...)

UPDATE: (And yes I did get both a Ruva and spray on tan for this. And no I did not pay for it.)

Richard's response:

Hulu: My Best Friend

It's not that I don't have any friends, causing me to hand out the "BFF" title to the first thing that holds my interest for more than ten seconds (like many geeks I know). It's just that when something like Hulu comes strolling along, your life -nay- reality changes. While there are many internet movie/television hubs out there (and I'm sure you all know about them to some degree), hulu is easily the front runner in what is sure to be the next phase in TV watching. Pat yourselves on the back, ladies and gentlemen. We are one step closer to a couch potato utopia. Don't kid yourselves by saying you haven't contributed to the mayhem (youtube ring a bell?). All-n-all I consider this both a small step and a giant leap for mankind. I've been warming up my "Stay-putt'n Char" for a few years now. Just waiting for the ideal way to be spoon-fed my everyday media. Take that ABC! You and your smug network shinnanigans. I watch TV on my own time! (You too TiVo! I already bought my computer!)