Random thoughts on art, technology, stuff, and occasionally Real Estate: December 2007

Ardell DellaLoggia (one of my favorite people) posted this comment on my Friday Classics blog yesterday  "All I want for Christmas is...for CJ to give me the "Embedding YouTube into your Active Rain Post"...the "For Dummies" version. "

I know several Active Rain members have already covered this topic, but let me see if I can do some screen shots, and parse it down to "entry level" stuff.

This post will cover working with videos that are already on YouTube.  If anyone needs help getting their own personal video uploaded to YouTube, we can tackle that one a little later.

OK.  First go to http://www.youtube.com , and in the YouTube search box, type in a performer name, song title, or topic of interest:

Click Search, and YouTube will serve up a listing of all videos tagged with those search terms.  Choose one, and click on the video's title:

On the home page for the video you selected, look over in the right column.  Notice the "Embed" code?  Click right inside that dialogue box and the entire embed text will be selected.  Click Edit -> Copy.  Now that text is in your "clipboard",  and will stay there until you turn your computer off, or overwrite it by copying something else.

You can also paste the code into a text or word processing file for safe keeping.  Windows Notepad is handy for that sort of thing.

Now write your blog post in Active Rain, same as you always do.  At the end of the blog post, hit Enter a few times to insert some empty space.  (It's easier to do it now in the WYSIWYG editor than to add the space later in the HTML view).

In the Visibility section, click the drop down arrow and choose Draft.

Click Post Blog Entry.

As soon as Active Rain processes and redisplays the post, click Edit:

Click on the HTML tab:

Click Edit -> Paste to paste the embed code from Windows clipboard into the blog post.  Note I had to manually add some <p></p> tags to create some space.

I also tend to like my videos centered, so I typed in a <div align="center"> tag before the embed code, and and </div> tag at the end of the embed code.

Now click Post Blog Entry again:

Check to be sure everything looks the way you want it, then click Edit again, and change Visibility to Public or Members Only, and click Post Blog Entry one more time.

Hi Brian,

I was going to write this as a private email to you, then the thought occurred to me that it might stimulate some interesting discussion here on Active Rain.

Anyway, a bright young loan rep called on my office today, all ready with her company spiel about her lender's sign rider with an 800 number lead capture system.

I told her it against my policy to advertise any lender on our listing signs, and I didn't want the public to think we were in bed with any one particular lender.

As the conversation went on, I also told her that the only things that mattered to me were a). the lender performs on time and as promised, and b). that the lender knows their sh*t.

I asked her that if a client were to ask her advice on whether or not to lock in a rate today, what would she answer.  Luckily for me, she was a little uncertain on that one, so I didn't have to come up with any other questions.  A question about YSP was knocking at the back of my mind, but I realized I'd have to go back and re-read your YSP tutorial before I opened my big mouth.

Which brings me to the purpose of this little memo.

Brian, could you come up with some "talking points" that a real estate broker (or agent) could ask a potential lender about... for the express purpose of determining if the lender knows their sh*t?

And some commentary about each point?  I'd bet I'm not the only person here that would find it useful.

"Auld Lang Syne,"  is traditionally sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year.

Here's a little of the song's history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne

And the complete lyrcis along with a translation into modern day english: http://www.newyearfavors.com/new-years-eve-song.html

While browsing YouTube, I fell in love with this version of Auld Lang Syne played as a background to scenes from the 1940 movie Waterloo Bridge.

OK.... So, this is blatant plug to build a little link love for Charlie Fisher's Historian 4 Hire business... And for no other reason except that Charlie has given so much to the NELA community, I figured it was time for a little payback.  Charlie doesn't even know I'm doing it.

NELA locals will recognize Charles J. Fisher as a tireless advocate for historical preservation.  Charlie is a multiple-times past president of the Highland Park Heritage Trust. He was integral in establishing the Highland Park Historic Preservation Overlay Zone, participates in the Alliance of Historic Preservation Overlay Zones, and currently serves on the Highland Park HPOZ Board.

If you own an older home, you may have heard of the property tax relief via the Mills Act for owners of homes declared Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monuments.

Did you know that Charlie runs a small business called Historian 4 Hire that will assist you in obtaining the City of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument declaration, and in completing the Mills Act application?

If you need assistance in navigating the whole City of Los Angeles declaration/application process, you'll find Charlie is the best!

Isn't it interesting how once on the internet, stuff is pretty much available there forever.....

Which makes it interesting when you think about predictions made for a coming year. 

With that thought in mind, I started Googling about looking for predictions about 2007, made at the end of 2006, just to see how many were correct.

Here's a sampling:

http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2007/gradual_rise_projected_for_home_sales.html

http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2007/phs_nov06_pending_homes_steady.html

I shouldn't pick on David Lereah.

Here are a couple technology predictions:

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/12/72370

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/2007_web_predictions.php

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6178611.stm

If you come across any predictions for 2007 that are interesting now in retrospect, either because they were right on - or way off, do post a link!

While sorting through an unruly collection of saved newspapers and saved newspaper clippings -- sure I'm a packrat, but I'm a high-functioning packrat, I came across another that I thought was worth sharing. 

It's the Los Angeles Times dated September 3, 1943.  No, I don't get credit for saving it.  It was in a box of stuff found in my present home when I first moved in.

Have you noticed the icons and avatars with the Pea Theme?

Several AR members have written about the story behind the peas

http://activerain.com/blogsview/314707/What-s-Up-With

http://activerain.com/blogsview/313996/Peas-Twitter-Cancer

http://activerain.com/blogsview/315164/Let-There-Be-Peas

For anyone who wants to make a PeasAvatar, here's a quick tutorial on how to do the Pea Thing in Photoshop Elements:

First you need an image of yourself, and an image of peas.  You can search for some free pea artwork on the internet, or if all else fails, thaw out a bag of frozen peas, put them in a pan, and take a photo of them.

Open both images in Photoshop Elements.  As you open each image, click View -> Actual Pixels. 

You'll want to resize each image to work in your final composition.  In this case I'll want the head shot to be a bit smaller than the Pea background.  Click Image -> Resize -> Image Size.

I set the pixel dimensions for the Pea background at Width: 400

I set the pixel dimensions for the head shot at Width: 300

Since I checked Constrain Proportions, Photoshop automatically scaled the height.

Now you need to select your head so you can move it to the new background.  My favorite choices for selection tools are the Magnetic Lasso, the Magic Wand, and the Elliptical Marquee.  In this case, I used the Elliptical Marquee with the technique described here:  http://activerain.com/blogsview/283721/Photoshop-Elements-Selection-Tools  

In the Options menu, I set Feather to 10px

Once I had an approximate outline of my head, I clicked on the Selection Brush,

Then in the Options menu, look at Mode:, Click the drop down arrow, and switch to Mask Mode (see more here: http://activerain.com/blogsview/317155/Photoshop-Elements-Selection-Tools about half way down)  and fine-tuned the outline.

In the Options menu, switch  back to Mode: Selection.  Click the Move Tool.  Click on the head selection, and drag it into the Peas image.

Note:  Because Feather: 10px was marked in the Options menu, the edges of the head selection fade into transparency.  This is to help blend into the background.  You can experiment with higher or lower Feather settings to achieve different effects.

I think I'll ad the pink and blue ribbons, too.  Save basic technique.  Select and Move.

Once you have everything positioned where you want it, click Layer -> Flatten Image to merge all the layers. 

Crop to your taste, and resize as needed. 

Final step.  Click File -> Save for Web to convert to JPG format, and compress.

For the sharp-eyed.  Yes, I was playing around with two different Pea backgrounds.  I took some screen shots with one, and some with the other.  The final version now playing on Twitter is with the smaller peas.

Merry Christmas, Photoshoppers.  Here's a little gift for you.  :-)

I confess.  I don't even try to use the standard Lasso.  It's beyond my limited skills.

The Magnetic Lasso is a different story.  The Magnetic Lasso senses the edge of the object you are outlining, and snaps itself to that edge.

To try it out, first open the image file containing the object you want to select.

Click on the Magnetic Lasso Tool.  If you only see the standard Lasso, click on the tiny arrow in the lower left corner by the Lasso icon.  That will bring up the Lasso sub-menu.

Click on a starting point in your image, at an edge of the object you want to select.  Slowly and gently guide the cursor along the edge of the object.  Resist the temptation to click every couple millimeters.  As long as there is some contrast between the object and the background, the Magnetic Lasso will find the edge, and it will set "points" along the way as you guide it.

I find I like to hold the cursor just a teensy weensy tiny bit above the outline of the image, and let it fall to the edge. 

Note that you do not need to hold the mouse button down as you guide the cursor along the edge.

Note that you can adjust the settings for the Magnetic Lasso. 

Width tells the magnetic lasso just how far away in pixels to search for the edge. 

Edge Contrast tells the lasso just how sharp a contrast to use in finding the edge.  Use a low number for soft, low contrast images.  Use a higher number for higher contrast images.

Frequency tells the Magnetic Lasso how often to mark a point.

Just keep gently guiding the cursor along the edge of the object.  Think easy, relaxed, don't even hold the mouse button down; just let the Magnetic Lasso find the edge on its own.

If you come to a really tricky edge - like the fish's fins, you can go ahead and click to manually mark the point, but for the most part, clicking isn't necessary. 

If you make an error, stop and click the Backspace key.  Clicking Backspace will remove the most recent marked point, but note that it does not move the cursor backwards.  Gently guide the cursor back towards the edge, at this point you may want to click to manually set a point, then continue moving along the object's edge.

Your selection isn't finished until you come all the way back to your starting point.  When you get back to the starting point, click on that first point to close the selection.

After closing the selection, you might notice an area that needs a slight adjustment.  Here's a little trick to make adjustments:

With the object still selected with the border of marching ants, click on the Selection Brush Tool:

Be sure to choose the Selection Brush Tool, not the Magic Selection Brush Tool.  Why?  Because the Selection Brush Tool is the gateway to Masking mode. 

After you click on the Selection Brush Tool, look up at the Options bar.   Click the drop-arrow menu arrow at Mode, and choose Mask. 

Choosing Mask will place a red overlay over everything in the image except the object you selected.  (Trivia note:  The red overlay in Photoshop was designed to resemble the red acetate "rubylith" used by print shops when masking images the old school way.)

To add to the red overlay area, just click and drag the cursor over the area.  Note:  adding to the overlay subtracts the area from the selection.

To subtract from the red overlay, hold down the ALT key, then click and drag the cursor over the area.  Note:  subtracting from the overlay adds the area to the selection.

Does that sound odd?  Don't worry.  Just try it a few times, and it will soon make sense.

Note that you can adjust the brush size as you add and subtract to your selection

Once you have tweaked the selection to your satisfaction, back in the Options menu, click the drop down menu at Mode: and choose Selection to remove the red overlay.

The red overlay will disappear, but your edits to the selection outline will remain.  There, now you have a completed selection ready to stylize, or drag onto a new background.

Many Thanks to Barbara-Jo and Bill of Exit Realty in Florida, for the fish mailbox image!!!

Please take a minute to read this story in today's Los Angeles Times:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-me-foreclose24dec24,1,1124539.story?track=rss

Part of the story line goes:  A real estate agent told the family "They were wasting their money (on rent),  they could combine their paychecks to buy a home with no down payment." 

And .......... "They were advised to get two loans on the home, for which they paid $340,000. The first required a monthly interest-only payment of $1,436, and the second $655. Maria Debora said she asked whether two loans was a good idea, but the agent told them not to worry because they could refinance in just six months."

I find myself wondering if the agent has read the story......  And what he is thinking...........