OK, Glass. Let’s take a break.

OK, Glass. It’s not you, it’s me. Well, it’s a little bit you.

UPS mailing carton containing Google Glass sitting atop the scale at UPS — Glass is packed up and on its way back to Mountain View.

Those of you who have been following my posts know that I was accepted into the Google Glass Explorers program back in March of this year. In July, I flew to L.A. to pick up the coveted device. The happy, heady feeling of taking part in something new and ground-breaking never left. But, alas, the reality of Glass was not the same as the idea of Glass.

The reality of Glass was not the same as my idea of Glass.

Google provided a 30-day buyer’s remorse window for their Glass Explorers. After three weeks with the device, I opted to send it back.
Continue reading OK, Glass. Let’s take a break.

I Become a Google Glass Explorer for Real

Google L.A.

I have arrived in L.A. This is my first time in California. I am here for my appointment to be fitted and instructed in the use of Google Glass. I am early. The airport shuttle drops me off in front of Google. I have to admit, the entrance makes a perfect welcome for the Glass Explorers. I am too early.

I will go exploring before my appointment. Google is in a seedy/trendy neighborhood two blocks from the beach. Venice Beach. The one you’ve seen in movies and TV shows.
Continue reading I Become a Google Glass Explorer for Real

Interactive Books Are Not Always Digital Books

Puget Sound Book Artists Show Off Intricate Creations

If you find yourself in Tacoma between June 6 and July 31, 2013, head to the Collins Memorial Library at the University of Puget Sound where the Puget Sound Book Artists are holding their Third Annual Members’ Exhibition.

Acrylic Cube with Onomotopotic Text and Ball Bearings — Resound (or Shake Me Up, Judy) by Judy Lynn

In a well-lit passageway just beyond the library desk, you will find a small, but exceptionally well-curated collection of hand-made interactive books.

The Puget Sound Book Artists use found objects, handmade paper, woodblocks, scissors, even bias tape and more to create amazing works of art that tell a story (or amazing stories that are also works of art–you decide).
Continue reading Interactive Books Are Not Always Digital Books

Homer the Espresso Book Machine at UW-Seattle Bookstore

Best Field Trip Ever!

Anna Micklin, Self Publishing Coordinator UW-Seattle Bookstore, Introduces Homer the Espresso Book Machine — Anna Micklin, Self Publishing Coordinator UW-Seattle Bookstore Introduces Homer the Book Espresso Machine

Imagine being able to read your manuscript in book form before it was submitted to a publishing service. Imagine how it would feel to hold that very first copy in your hands, caress the cover, riffle the pages, open it, sign it, hand it to someone else (maybe your mom). Imagine being able to do that in about an hour or less.

That’s the beauty of the Espresso Book Machine, the brainchild of a St. Louis inventor who envisioned a printing machine that could both photocopy and bind a book.

Continue reading Homer the Espresso Book Machine at UW-Seattle Bookstore

InDesign Hyphenation Domination, Part 3: Turn it Off

No Hyphenation; No Worries! Right?

Screen shot of narrow text column with no hyphenation enabled — Disabling hyphenation in justified text can create rivers in narrow columns

Well, yes … and no. Some discretion is advised.

If your text is fully justified, you run the risk of creating distracting rivers the width of the Amazon in the text, especially if the columns are narrow. And, be advised, in order to keep the text flowing, InDesign will force a break somewhere in a word that exceeds the column width, even with hyphenation disabled. And it will not use standard hyphenation rules to do so.

If this is your only option, there are a number of steps you can take to make the text look better. You can:

Change Kerning from Metrics to Optical
Play with the Word and Letter Spacing in the Paragraph Justification panel (more leeway = better spacing)
Switch from Paragraph Composer to Single Line Composer and adjusting the tracking (track whole paragraphs if Paragraph Composer is used; track single lines if the other option is chosen)

Continue reading InDesign Hyphenation Domination, Part 3: Turn it Off