Make your firefly map REALLY glow

By kate on January 11th, 2017

This fall, I attended my second NACIS (North American Cartographic Information Society) conference, which has become a highlight of my year. One talk I found particularly inspiring was John Nelson‘s presentation on Firefly Cartography. I could explain what that means, but an image makes it pretty clear.

I was excited to make my own firefly map. At the same time, I was knee-deep in roads data for my employer, the City of Seattle, and had been wondering about the public staircases I noticed there. So I seized on that theme, and created this map in a few hours, using only ArcMap.

As John noted, glowing things have a white center surrounded by opaque color, then increasingly transparent color. I didn’t take the time to make perfect gradient icons in Illustrator; instead I just repeated the layer several times in ArcMap. The staircases are classified by length, so longer stairs are greener and brighter.

After I finished I was pleased with the look, but I wanted to take it a step further and make it really glow, not just look like it was glowing. So, I had it printed on glass!

It’s easier than you might think – you can order glass prints from Shutterfly (promo codes are usually available for a discount off the list price). Now my map truly glows.

Filed under: art, handiwork, seattle | 4 Comments »

Summer trip to Asia

By kate on June 1st, 2016

This summer, I’ll be traveling in Asia for three months with Grant and Ruby. We leave on Saturday! While we’re gone, we’ll be blogging at Traveling Ruby – go there to follow our adventures.

Filed under: travel | Comment now »

Winning GIS Presentation

By kate on May 7th, 2015

This week, I attended the GIS in Action conference and competed in the Dick Thomas Memorial Student Presentation Competition. I’m excited to say that my project won first place!

We presented the work we did for the Washington Poison Center: analyzing their call data, then creating static, animated, and interactive maps they can use for outreach and fundraising.

If you’re interested to see more, my slides are here and you can see some of my maps on my LinkedIn profile.

The complete 15-minute presentation is below. I recommend following along with the slides on your own, because the video cuts them off.

Filed under: handiwork, learning, technology, work | Comment now »

Learning How to Be Better at Sucking

By kate on February 26th, 2015

It’s fun to post about things I’m good at or know a lot about (like trapeze, where I’m working on the double – very exciting). I have a much, much harder time when people see me being bad at something. I get embarrassed, upset, and self conscious and just want to hide.

I’d like to be able to change this, especially now I can see that my daughter takes after me in this regard. I want her to learn as a kid that it’s OK to be bad at something for a while, to stick with it anyway, and enjoy the fun of it. I was inspired by my friends Brian and Molly, who boldly started beginner piano lessons to demonstrate this to their kids.

So, I signed up for a beginner tap dance class. I’ve always wanted to know how to tap dance, to be one of those people who can just whip out a little shuffle-step when needed. Finding perfect tap shoes at the thrift store followed by finding a class that actually fits my schedule prompted me to finally do it.

In a class of beginners, I’m the newest and the worst. The teacher is always giving me easier variations on the steps so I can keep up. And forget about operating my hands and feet at the same time – so far that’s impossible. By the end of every class I’m thoroughly demoralized and feel like a failure.

… which is what I am trying to practice. So I remind myself that it’s OK, it’s part of the point to feel this stuff. Then I try to talk about it in front of Ruby as much as I can. Last week I practiced in front of her too, working on a step until I got it down. In June, I’m facing the horror of an actual dance recital where my class performs a tap dance number on a theater stage in front of a large number of people who are only there to see their child perform (in a different song in the same show).

This is the hardest role model work I’ve done so far.

Filed under: active, body, learning, life, parenting | Comment now »

Sexist Ads for the Seattle Times

By kate on November 6th, 2014

I’m a Seattle Times subscriber, because I like to read a local newspaper and it’s the only one left. They have their weaknesses and I don’t always agree with their editorial positions, but they still do strong investigative journalism. Recently, I started to notice a series of ads running in the Times advertising the Sunday edition of the paper. Each ad featured a “person” (I’m guessing they’re fictional) sharing their Sunday experience and how the Seattle Times is a central part of it. That’s a nice concept, but the execution started to annoy me as I realized each character was very stereotypical.

Wishing I would see some against-the-grain characters in this series of ads, I created my own. Below I’ve included five real ads from the Times so you can see for yourself how sexist they are.

 

Filed under: consumerism, current events, handiwork, media | Comment now »

How to give your kid the best lunchbox

By kate on September 3rd, 2014

In honor of the first day of school, I’d like to share an idea that will ensure your kid has the most unique and awesome lunchbox in class.

I’ve long been a fan of metal lunchboxes. The soft, insulated ones are hard to clean when new and impossible to clean once they get some use and develop tears in the lining. I shudder to think what could grow in there. In contrast, metal lunchboxes are easy to clean thoroughly with soap and water. They last most of a school year under hard use, and when they’re retired, you can see just how much damage they’ve protected your kid’s food from.

Shopping for metal lunchboxes is tough, though. Like most children’s stuff, the lunchbox selection is rife with branded characters and exaggerated gender stereotypes, things I try to avoid. Beyond that, there are a lot of retro lunchbox designs, which may appeal to parents but don’t connect with kids. I tried a personalized lunchbox from Frecklebox, but it was expensive and didn’t last long.

Finally, I hit upon the idea we’ve been using for a couple years now. I order a plain metal lunchbox ($18 with shipping) and let Ruby decorate it herself! She uses stickers and labels from her sticker drawer (and mine), sometimes drawing on or cutting up something to make it just right. Usually, the big sides are arranged in some kind of scene related to something she’s been into recently. Here are the three she’s created so far:

Once she finishes designing the lunchbox, I simply cover it with a layer of packing tape. This protects the decorations and is sturdy enough to last as long as the lunchbox does.

If you want to do this, I offer a few tips:

• Make sure your child’s name is in the design somewhere (so their name is on it).
• Keep a pair of needle-nose pliers handy. The metal hinges come loose occasionally and need a good tightening.
• When a lunchbox is retired, keep it around so you can use its parts (handles, fasteners) as spares. This makes them last longer.
• If you don’t have a lot of stickers, your child could use markers to draw on their designs instead.

 

Filed under: consumerism, family, handiwork, parenting | Comment now »

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