Glow Panel

Or possibly a red-hot solar panel.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Unexpected coffee :)

Gold Curve

Definitely an experiment. Not sure if I like the outcome.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Knowing that putting an apostrophe before a number in Excel will cause said number to be rendered as text. The fact that this 'trick' also works in google spreadsheets was a nice bonus.

Ribbons in Motion

Looking at this one for too long could make one quite dizzy.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Finally getting an idea for a cartoon for 'drop down menu' week (it's a usability thing). Once the idea arrived, generating the cartoon was easy.

Night Lantern

This one was post processed in GIMP rather than PSP.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Sushi two days in a row. It's a longish story with a tasty ending.

Fall Ball

If only this were real...

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Matzos! I don't have time to make my own this year but my dad has bought me some so we are 'good to go'.

Natural Fence

This looks like an ornate fence.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: An early night!

Gold Fern

Had fun with this one. Must definitely play with the parameters a bit more - it will be interesting to see what emerges.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: That my teacher registration has 'gone through' without any issues. It's one less thing to worry about which is good.

Copper Roots

The colouring of this one was a nice surprise. Based on this tutorial.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: A really good cluster meeting (it's a professional development 'thing'). It's always really refreshing to get to chat with colleagues from other schools who teach the same standards and have a good understanding of what is involved in teaching Computer Science / Web Design.

Curve Curl

Was interesting so it got rendered.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: That my 'Excel' workshop / presentation to colleagues as part of our school professional development was well received.

Unexpected Vortex

This one is for my dad. He knows why. Made on the day of the 'ferry incident' which we are not allowed to tease him about. Which is a pity because it was actually sort of funny.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Finding a free, unlimited alternative to Lucid Chart. I love Lucid chart but unless one pays, one is limited to 60 items in a chart which sometimes is not sufficient. Happily draw.io does most of what lucid does without any limitations. It's not as nice to use but it works and integrates nicely with google drive.

Weird Wave

Tried something totally different and got this interesting pattern. If only I could remember what I did to get to this point...

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: That 'we' (ie: the NZ cricket team) beat the West Indies in our quarter final Cricket World Cup match which means we are still in the competition and get to play in the semi-finals in due course. I don't usually follow sports but winning is always nice and it tends to make my colleagues at work happy.

Network Sphere

This one looks similar to previous works - it's been that kind of day.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: The weekend is officially here! It's been one of 'those' *very long* weeks.

Koru Revisited

Took ages to get this on 'just right'. sometimes it goes that way.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: That making this week's 'Usability Cartoon' was relatively quick. Needless to say the ability to duplicate panels and just change the text came in handy.

String Spring

As in a water 'spring', only made of string.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Having a cell phone! Was delayed in horrific traffic on my way to dance class tonight but was able to 'phone a friend' so everyone knew that I was on route. Luckily there was a meeting at the same time we dance so my group could access the hall. While they were waiting for me, they set up the gear and then danced to music that someone had on their cell phone. Everyone looked like they were having a good time when I *finally* arrived (20 minutes late). Normally I'm 10 - 15 minutes early for class so that I can set up / get organised but tonight, a 20 minute journey took almost an hour (not fun).

Firestorm

This one is a rather pretty variation on a theme.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Having an eBook to read on the way home. It made for an enjoyable journey.

Whole Thing

A new take on an old idea.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: That I was not teaching period 1 when the fire alarm went off (faulty sensor). It meant instead of standing out in the drizzle wasting time, I could go over to an area of the school where the alarm was not ringing and get a significant amount of work done. False alarms are relatively common at my school which is problematic on so many levels...

Web Flower

Sometimes lucky is better than good.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: A 'work free' Sunday :)

Shiny Spring Wave

We've been here before - but it was a while ago and I liked the design so it got rendered.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Being geeky enough to appreciate Centennial Pi Day. I've gone ahead and edited the time of this post to commemorate :)

Half Hearted

This one was a very pleasant surprise.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Being 'pretty much' up-to-date work wise. Am looking most forward to the weekend. It should be fun.

Enclosed Hole

Took a while to get colours that 'worked' on this one. Am not sure the gradient I finally chose was the best option but the process was remarkably tricky.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: No kids tomorrow! It's Teacher Only day and having a break from my students will make a welcome change. Am not too sure about the presenters who are coming in to deliver an entire day of 'school wide' professional development. They have visited before and I was not all that impressed the first time around...

Wild Wave Ride

Was not anticipating this one. Weird things happened during post processing and I'm not sure that I like the results all that much.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: 'New' dancers (as in visitors to Auckland who are new to our dance group). The fact that one of them is a Computer Science educator from the States who is here on sabbatical is an incredible bonus. Especially as said Computer Scientist is more than happy to work with me on developing resources for teaching programming to my students.

Plain Sailing

Yet another ocean scene. Some days I just can't help myself.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: A brief lull in my endless sea of marking. Most days, it feels as if drowning is imminent.

Ordinary Eight

Or perhaps that should be 'extra ordinary eight'.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: That class / ID photos have finally been done. Today was the 'big' day and the disruption was necessary but unwelcome. Am glad that it is over.

Feminine Touch

Sometimes pink can be good. Am not convinced that this is one of those times.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: That my bagels worked. I feared that the dough might be too soft but it wasn't. The best part about making bagels is getting to eat some hot out of the oven *yum*.

Tiles in Motion

Had fun with this one. Getting the colours right was not as easy as one might think.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Being unaffected by the storms currently making the rounds. Walked as usual and only experienced a slight drizzle which was short lived.

iSpy 2.0

Can you see the eyes in this one?

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Finally learning how to draw a straight line in GIMP. It turns out that GIMP doesn't have an obvious straight line tool. Instead a number of tools can be used to draw straight lines. Until I googled the problem, I did not know that simply holding down the <shift> key when you are using the pen, brush or even 'erase' tool would do the trick. Holding <shift> and <ctrl> lets one constrain the line angles to multiples of 45 degrees. It's so easy when you know how...

Bright Squinty Eyes

Maybe a bit too bright??

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Finally managing to come up with a workable idea for my 'end of week' usability cartoon. This week's rule was 'User Freedom' and it took until today to come up with the material. Happily, making the cartoon was easy and within minutes of posting it on-line, it had five 'likes' and two comments.

Purim Sameach 5775

It turns out that those 'Keep Calm and ...' signs are everywhere!

The huge version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Successful moderation. I am lucky to have an awesome colleague at a neighbouring school who is generous with his time and expertise.

Blue Strike

I liked this one because it's peaceful but not boring. Kind of like my life.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: That my students showed me a convenient (and obvious) way of zipping up specific files. This is a small thing that will make my life a lot easier moving forward.

Twin Fire

Loved the sense of motion in this one. It's probably too bright for most desktops but that's the way it goes.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: That 'remote access' into school is down. This means not being able to access the school database from home which relieves some of the pressure to work.

Infinity's Ring

Took forever to find a gradient that was 'just right'. Happily being patient and persistent paid off.

The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Managing to slog through most of my marking. Was a bit disappointed with the assessment results but am hoping my students will learn from the experience.