I created two simple animations in Adobe Flash CS3.

I drew the pieces for the walk cycle in Illustrator and imported them into Flash to create the animation. The animation is very similar to my hand-drawn walk cycle; I added a background and foreground, and the high and low positions of the head and body are more exaggerated.

I drew the dancing animation in Flash using my mouse. I created it in a few minutes just to do something silly.

My animations are sort of hypnotizing, aren’t they?

My Animations on Tumblr

• Walk Cycle Animation
• Dancing Animation

I decided the time had come for me to redesign my resume. This is no little change; it’s a complete overhaul.

I shortened my resume down to one page and created two versions of it: the first version is very visual, with a background and icons; the second version has neither a background nor icons, so it uses less ink if printed.

The colour palette is made up of two shades of blue and three shades of brown. Even the body text is a dark brown colour.

My original resume was two pages long. For my new one, I cut out the profile and I shortened my experience information to a few main points. Should I have kept in that I graduated with a 3.9 GPA? It’s hard to say what counts as essential information in a resume. I’ve seen people include how much coffee they drink.

My previous resume

I did add that I’m currently taking Spanish language courses to further my education. Being able to speak Spanish is important, especially in a city like Dallas.

I also updated my LinkedIn profile to include a more comprehensive list of skills and some of my college courses.

Unfortunately, The Dark Knight Rises is riddled with plot holes and overlooked details. I’m not being nit-picky here; there were many moments during the movie where my brain interrupted with, “That doesn’t make sense.” This is called breaking the suspension of disbelief, and it’s something movies and books strive to avoid.

Of course, everyone who’s a fan of the first two films should see this movie. It’s just not the kind of movie that calls for repeat viewings, unlike other recent movies such as Inception, The Avengers, and of course The Dark Knight.

My problems with The Dark Knight Rises are numerous, but there are plenty of other reviewers around the web who will go into the specifics; you don’t need me to repeat observations that can be read elsewhere.

Instead, I present you with these ridiculous INFOGRAPHICS!

Yes, after seeing the movie, I started comparing the villains from Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, and I was able to succinctly express why Bane is my least favorite villain.

These charts are very biased and totally subjective. If you disagree, that’s fine; everyone gets something different from a movie. However, if you agree with me, these charts will fill your world with happiness and sunshine!

The first version of Christopher Nolan’s Rogue Gallery compares the main villain from each of Nolan’s Batman films: Ra’s al Ghul, Batman Begins; Joker, The Dark Knight; Bane, The Dark Knight Rises.

View Christopher Nolan’s Rogue Gallery Chart [Full Size].

Embed this Infographic:
<img src=”http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8009/7624847684_c1bf4b1f05.jpg” width=”473″ height=”500″ alt=”Christopher Nolan’s Rogue Gallery” /><br />View full image: <a href=”http://www.rycz.com/blog/the-dark-knight-rises/” title=”The Dark Knight Rises Review [INFOGRAPHIC]“>The Dark Knight Rises Review at rycz.com</a>

Other Ways to Share this Infographic:

• deviantART
• Flickr
• Pinterest
• Tumblr

The extended version of Christopher Nolan’s Rogue Gallery compares all of Nolan’s Batman villains: the three main ones previously shown plus Scarecrow from Batman Begins and Two-Face from The Dark Knight.

View Christopher Nolan’s Rogue Gallery Chart (Extended) [Full Size].

Embed this Infographic:
<img src=”http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7252/7624847460_1cf6f2bc34.jpg” width=”500″ height=”385″ alt=”Christopher Nolan’s Rogue Gallery (Extended)” /><br />View full image: <a href=”http://www.rycz.com/blog/the-dark-knight-rises/” title=”The Dark Knight Rises Review [INFOGRAPHIC]“>The Dark Knight Rises Review at rycz.com</a>

Other Ways to Share this Infographic:

• deviantART
• Flickr

Scarecrow’s defeat at the hands of a taser is my favorite bit. It’s great to see him again when he cameos in The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.

These charts were made for my own amusement, and now they’re posted on the web for your amusement, as well. Feel free to share them; just don’t alter them. Enjoy!

I’m not usually one to do fan art, but after “Fillydelphia” was mentioned in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episode “Swarm of the Century,” I really wanted to create this poster.

The design is based on the promo and packaging material for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 3). I had to compensate for the shows’ different numbers of main characters while designing my poster, but it wasn’t a problem. The most difficult part was choosing the pony heads to use, because human jaws and cartoon-pony jaws are very different: the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic characters don’t really have chins.

The packaging for the Season 3 DVD set of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Instead of mentioning Danny DeVito, I included a picture of a parasprite. I chose the parasprite because, in “Swarm of the Century,” it’s mentioned that Fillydelphia is struggling with a parasprite infestation.

I did not draw the ponies or the parasprite. The vector tracings were created by artists on deviantART (see “Credits and Copyrights” at the end of this post for details).

I did the majority of the design work in Adobe Illustrator. I used Adobe Photoshop for the finishing touches.

I’m very happy with the way my My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic “It’s Always Sunny in Fillydelphia” poster turned out. It captures the feel of the original It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia work, but it’s still cute and silly like the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic cartoon.

With a little retooling, this design would make a really fun T-shirt!

Share This on the Web

• deviantART
• Flickr
• Tumblr

Credits and Copyrights

• Fluttershy: I AM weak and helpless. by supermatt314
• Twilight Sparkle: Fastest Vector in the West: Kinky Twilight by orangel8989
• Applejack: HopingJack by SirSpikensons
• Pinkie Pie: The hell is this? by MetalBeerSolid
• Rainbow Dash: Happy Dashie by Nictendo
• Rarity: Rarity Shocked by SirSpikensons
• Parasprite: Parasprite vector by Kopachris
• My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is © Hasbro
• It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is © FX Networks

Pritt created the world’s first glue stick in 1969. The Double Stick Adhesive Roller is probably theirs.

Duck used to be owned by Henkel, the same company that owns Pritt. In 2009, Henkel sold Duck. Around that time, Duck released its “New & Improved” tape runner.

My guess is that, for one reason or another, Duck no longer has access to Pritt’s patents.

I looked but I cannot find the Pritt Permanent Adhesive Roller in Office Max (where it’s supposed to be sold). I can find it online, but the price if I were to buy it in a store is already pushing it; buying it online is stupid expensive.

If anyone knows of a similar product, please leave a comment and let everyone know!

A few weeks ago, I ran out of Duck Easy Stick Adhesive. So, I went to the nearby Jo-Ann Craft Store and bought a new 4-pack of Duck Easy Stick Adhesive Rollers at 40% off (I paid $8.99 + tax).

I busted out the new tape and… it’s “New & Improved!” (see: Adhesive Rollers from Duck® brand). Except, I didn’t know that. The package I bought isn’t marked as such at all.

It turns out “new & improved” is code for “completely different product that no one will like!”

So, here is my review for the New & Improved Duck Brand Easy Stick Adhesive Roller.

Quick Comparison Between New and Old

Both products are permanent and acid free. The tape runners and packaging look the same, except the new stuff comes with a cap to protect the adhesive while in storage.

The old adhesive was a gummy substance that was dispensed in a strip across every surface I tried.

The new adhesive is more like double-sided tape; the strip is made up of a series of tabs. It dispenses onto some—but not all—surfaces.

Because the old stuff was a gummy adhesive, I could roll my finger across it and it would ball up, allowing me to remove small (or large) amounts if I needed to. I can’t do that with the new tape.

Both the old and new tape runners can apply adhesive over a previously laid down strip of adhesive without pulling up the adhesive or getting stuck.

I never had a problem with the old tape runner getting jammed. The new tape runner has a design flaw that causes the used-up wax strip to get stuck to the unused adhesive. This happens often.

Application

The New Duck Easy Stick can easily be applied in a straight or curved line. However, when I applied it in a curve, not all of the tabs were flat. Some of the tabs were wrinkled (like they had an air bubble under them), meaning that the paper will not lie flat against whatever surface it’s adhered to: it will be bumpy.

I show a close-up of the largest bump in the curved tape strip

I tried applying the adhesive to a Hershey’s Bliss candy wrapper. The tape applied fine on the front side, but it would not adhere to the more aluminum-foil-like backside. I tried three times before giving up.

You can see the strip of tabs if you look closely

I also tried applying adhesive to a page from a book (published in 1994). The adhesive remained on its waxy backing and pulled up part of the page. If the paper had been more fragile, it would have ripped.

Adhesion

I folded the white paper in half and used a lot of pressure to make sure the two sides would stick together well. Then I slowly pulled the sheet back open.

A couple tabs stuck to the opposite side, and a little bit of the paper tore, but otherwise nothing was affected.

This could be good or bad, depending on what you’re looking for. Personally, this leaves me wondering if Duck’s double-stick adhesive will hold up to the “permanent” claims.

Corners and Edges

If I go over the edge of the paper, the adhesive acts like what it is: solid tabs of tape. It hangs off over the edge, and it has to be fixed or it’ll get other things stuck to it.

One option is to cut it off, but this method is imperfect and bad for the cutting instrument.

The other option is to remove the tabs individually, but this can tear the paper and leaves no adhesive on the areas from which the tabs are removed.

I removed a few of the tabs that were over the edge

If you want adhesive on the very edge of the paper, especially in the corners, you’ll have to be very precise or use a different adhesive.

Overlap

I can easily apply a strip of tape and then apply another strip of tape that crosses over the first. The applicator doesn’t pull up the first strip of tape, nor does it get stuck.

Defects

After using the tape runner a couple times, the used-up wax paper starts coming out of the applicator’s opening. This prevents any new tape from being applied and has to be fixed before continuing.

The tape runner has to be opened up and the “used” wheel has to be manually wound. This can be a little difficult because the roll of wax paper is pressed firmly against the roll of sticky unused tape.

The tape runner doesn’t stay fixed for very long. After a couple uses, the used-up wax paper is once again sticking out of the applicator.

I used the tape intermittently, making this defect an annoyance. For someone using Duck Easy Stick Adhesive to glue a lot of stuff down at once, this defect would be unacceptable and render the tape runner virtually useless.

Conclusion

The New & Improved product only has one improvement: It comes with a cap to keep the adhesive safe during storage. That’s really cool.

I cannot recommend the New & Improved Duck Brand Easy Stick Adhesive Roller. The tabs can apply bumpy and cause wrinkles and bubbles in the paper. It doesn’t adhere to all surfaces. The solid tape-like nature of the adhesive makes precision gluing of corners difficult. Any one of these problems would make me unhappy with the product. All three of them together mean I will never use this adhesive.

However, those problems may not bother everyone. What will bother everyone is the defect: after laying down a couple strips of tape, the wax paper comes out and the tape runner cannot be used until it is opened up and rewound.

I am not the only person who loves the original product and abhors the new version. The reviews on the Jo-Ann website were glowing up until the new product was released: Reviews on Joann.com. Users on Splitcoaststampers.com seem to feel the same way: New Duck Brand Adhesive – Love it or Hate it?

Even though I received 4 tape runners for $10, I am very unhappy with my purchase. Any money spent on a product I can’t use is too much.

Instead of getting the Duck Easy Stick Adhesive Roller, I would suggest buying double-stick tape in a normal dispenser. Until I find an acceptable replacement, I’ll be using an Elmer’s glue stick.

UPDATE 03-09-2011
I returned the Duck Easy Stick Adhesive Rollers to Jo-Ann and got my money back. They took the pack back no problems. I hope everyone who doesn’t like the new Duck Brand Rollers has been returning them; it gets the message across quicker than just not buying them again.

This year I created my first handmade Valentine’s Day card. I wanted it to be as not boring as possible, so I made it as toy-like as I could.

All the illustrations were done in Illustrator. It really simplified designing the wheel. The background was done with red watercolor paint. Everything is on card stock.

The card opens and has a “Happy Valentine’s Day” message inside.

I uploaded a video to YouTube so people can see the card at its best: in action. The card is meant to be played with; a stationary photograph doesn’t convey the interactivity.

The wheel is easy to spin but is firm enough to stay in position. It’s not wobbly or loose; it doesn’t move on its own.

I used an eyelet for the wheel. I prefer eyelets to brads for a couple reasons. First off, brads are huge. Second, while their heads are round, the prongs that fasten everything together are flat. Eyelets seem more spin-friendly. Eyelets are also easier to hide and look more professional when they’re visible.

There are nine illustrations on the wheel. The heart is the default reciprocal image, followed by hungry, happy, dead, love, quiet/sad, horror/shock, annoyed (aka the dirty look), and Boo.

I tried to make the illustrations silly while still being representational. Well, Boo isn’t really representational; he was just meant to be random.

Because this is a personal project and not for profit or promotional purposes, I traced Boo from an image so that it looks exactly like the one in Super Mario World. I did not draw it, it is not mine, Boo and Super Mario World are copyright © Nintendo.

In order to prevent any of the emotes from being dull or filler-ish, I doodled a bunch of illustrations and whittled them down based on how humorous they are and whether the images could have multiple meanings. Some of the ideas that didn’t make it are spacey/dazed, sleeping, crying, and zombified.

For example, the quiet/sad kitten emote makes a crying emote redundant while also representing pleading and “be quiet”/gagged. The dead kitten emote looks similar to a Voodoo doll. It could also represent sleeping, tired, and zombified.

Aren’t the puppy and kitty adorable? The puppy was inspired by a similar dog in a recent series of commercials. Do you recognize him?

I like having the cat’s back to the viewer, that way it makes sense when little kitten emotes appear in the speech bubble. It’d be poor presentation to show a static expression on the kitty’s face while showing a changing expression in the speech bubble.

I’m very happy with how the card turned out. I was able to do everything I wanted without having to compromise. It’s cute and fun while still being personal.

The most important thing about the card, though, is that the recipient loves it.

Last week, I talked about the unpleasant shopping experience I had on the Papaya Clothing website.

I haven’t been impressed with their customer service in the past, but their customer service this time is really unhelpful.

Customer Service at Papaya: He Said, She Said

I asked why my order didn’t go through, then updated the question to say that using a different credit card worked:

I tried placing an order on Papaya. It’s for 7 items, $77.93, with free shipping. I’m paying with an American Express card.

Every time I tried to place the order, I got an error telling me the transaction has been declined. I tried doing it in Firefox and Internet Explorer and encountered the same problem in both browsers.

I’d really like to place this order before any of the items go out of stock.

Thank you for your help.

I finally placed the order. It worked when I used a different credit card.

For some reason, your system returned Error 2:2 transaction denied when I tried to pay with an American Express card.

One, that needs to be fixed. Two, when it denied my order because of the American Express card, the website should have told me that was the reason my order didn’t go through or it should have asked me for a different credit card. Not being told what the problem was is unacceptable. The Papaya clothing website’s shopping cart and checkout system is not user friendly.

Papaya answered:

Thank you for contacting Papaya Clothing. Our records indicate that your first transaction was declined. The charge you see on your statement is a PENDING charge. Please allow up to 7 business days for the pending charge to drop. Once it drops, the funds will be released back into your account.

Thank you for shopping with Papaya Clothing.

Customer Service at Papaya: The Negative

I don’t want this to read like a rant. I want this post to show companies how not to deal with customers. I’m going to list, matter-of-factly, what went wrong here.

Their response doesn’t

• answer any of the customer’s questions.
• tell the customer why the credit card didn’t work.
  • Is it a problem on the store’s part?
  • Is there something wrong with the credit card?
• explain how to avoid this problem in the future.
• address the fact that there were about ten declined transactions.
• say that they will work to fix the problems the customer encountered.
• apologize for the customer’s frustrating experience with the store.

Customer Service at Papaya: The Positive

I do appreciate that they preempted a future question about the PENDING charge, but their response makes it sound like that’s what I asked about and it’s not. I haven’t seen my credit card statement yet, so I don’t know if that PENDING charge is actually there or not.

I also appreciate that they responded to my question the same day I asked it. Unfortunately, since their response doesn’t answer my question, it really doesn’t do me any good.

The Bottom Line

A fast response does not replace a quality response. It’s better to take a little bit longer to supply the user with a truly helpful answer.

I placed my first order at Papaya Clothing. It was a nightmare.

Shopping at Papaya: The Negative

1. Their search function doesn’t always work properly. If I search for “suede ankle,” it only returns the product “Simple Suede Ankle Boots.” But if I only search for “suede,” the products returned include “Suede Buckle Detail Ankle Boots.”

   So, if a user wants to search for something, only one word should be entered into the search field. If more than one word is entered, those words better be in that exact order in the product name, otherwise the search function won’t return the desired results.

2. Even if the user is signed in, the shopping basket isn’t saved. I can’t access a shopping basket I put together in Firefox in Internet Explorer; I have to put the shopping basket together all over again.

3. The shopping basket only stays live for a short amount of time. After that it empties, even if the customer is signed in.

4. If the user is shopping without being signed in, the basket will empty when the customer goes to check out. That’s right: hit the “Check Out” button, the site asks the customer to log in, and then the shopping basket empties. That is bad.

5. Most of the links on Papaya are javascript. That means I can’t right-click on a link to open it in a new tab.

   This is especially a problem in the shopping basket. If I keep the basket open because I can’t place the order yet, and I come back, open a new tab, and discover the basket has emptied, I can’t easily use the open basket to re-add everything.

6. Checking out isn’t even user-friendly. A shopping site wants customers to spend money there, right? Well, some don’t seem to consider that a priority, and Papaya is one of them.

   When I tried to check out, after I entered all my information and clicked the final submit button, I got a little POP-up: “Error 2:2. This transaction has been declined.”

   What?! Is that a problem on their end or my end? What didn’t their system like? I waited and tried again. I tried not using my points. After about ten different tries, I gave up, went to bed, and tried again the next morning. It gave me the same error.

   Even though I didn’t want to, I tried using a different credit card. This time the order went through.

   So, instead of asking me for a different credit card, it just canceled the transaction and sent me back to step one of the process. Instead of telling me “Transaction declined because of credit card error,” or even better telling me what that error is, it told me “Error 2:2.”

   Never leave the user to wonder what the problem is.

I am so not happy with my experience at Papaya’s website. Their physical stores aren’t much better. It’s more organized than Forever 21, but Papaya only carries shoes at a few of the stores, not all of them, and that isn’t mentioned anywhere.

Shopping at Papaya: The Positive

I like Papaya’s item photographs. They have some very nice photographs and the system for looking at those photos (and saving them so I can look for the item in stores) is convenient.

UPDATE: I received an email saying that my order already shipped. They get major points for shipping my order same-day (though that doesn’t change the fact that their website and customer service are seriously lacking).