Category: community


tees for degrees

I’ve said before that I have amazing friends, Well, meet tees for degrees.

My friends, Sean and Fernando, looked around last fall at the challenge one of our other friends was facing paying for his education at UCR. They decided that they could use their talents with graphic design and making things happen to create a way to raise money for college scholarships.

And tees for degrees was born.

They sell limited edition, eco-friendly t-shirts with original designs screen-printed on them. There’s also cool packaging and a ton of odds and ends included with the shirt.

Best of all, they only keep the cost of production and pool the rest into the scholarship fund. And they’re super ethical about the whole process, which is good because I wouldn’t be friends with jerks.

The first design is now out in the wild for sale, and it’s awesome. It’s really fun to see how excited they are about their product, and its launch. I’ve been making fun of them for weeks now as each piece came together to create their line. But I’ve really been entertained and couldn’t be more proud of or happy for them. (but don’t tell them; I’d never hear the end of it)

So check out their site, and order a shirt. They’re still working out the kinks for shipping, but they’ll get one to you if you want it. If they still have any. They’re selling really well, so pick one up soon. Seriously, you don’t want to miss out on this.

E-readers are the new hot thing, in case you’ve been living under a rock.

But there are a billion choices. Which, puts me in a conundrum. But I’ve looked through a few and narrowed (for the moment) down to 2 choices that seem like they will be the best fit.

Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color and Amazon’s Kindle Fire.

They seem pretty similar, at least on paper.

What I like about the Nook Color – It’s available now; it’s epub compatible along with more file types (which means it’ll be more useful for my desired field of study); it seems easier to make my own outside of the app store.

What I’m not so much a fan of – The store isn’t the first with books; it’s a little heavier than the Kindle Fire; it has a slower processor.

What I like about the Kindle Fire – It’s more of a tablet without belonging to Apple; it’s got a faster processor; it has more books in it’s bookstore.

What I’m not so much a fan of – It’s got Amazon’s wonky DRM without a plausible workaround; it’s not as versatile in its file reading; it’s not available yet (which means that there’s no regular person reviews and I have to wait).

I’m leaning toward a Nook Color, and taking the hit on the hardware, because it comes with less technical annoyances than the Kindle Fire. But I’m not decided, because they aren’t particularly cheap, and I’m looking for a reader that will be the most versatile and provide the most help for trying out new media formats for reading.

So I’m posing the question to you, the readers. Which e-reader/tablet will be the best bet for the money? Leave your thoughts, including other readers I may have overlooked, in the comments! Thanks!

LBCC – Day 1

I survived the first day!

Although I arrived later than I planned, and missed one of the panels I would have liked to see, I did get to see the Womanthology panel, which was fantastic. I went to several others, and I learned a lot about the publishing side of the industry, mostly from Indie publishers.

The day felt rather like this at the outset:

Flooring of madness (1)

But after sitting through a few panels, getting a better feel for the Exhibit Hall, buying some comic books, and drinking some coffee, I started to feel more like this:

Atrium of peace (2)

I will be writing more about the presenters who stood out to me, and my overall experience. Just wanted to share the pictures of my initial feelings for the day.

I’m quite excited for tomorrow, when I will (hopefully) use the bravery inspired by the second picture to make some helpful contacts. We’ll see what the day brings.

Long Beach Comic Con

Long time nerd; first time Comic Con attendee.

And I’m headed to Long Beach to hang out at the Long Beach Comic Con. Because I hear it’s small and a good place to start the whole con experience.

Plus they have several Guild panels and a Womanthology panel. I couldn’t pass those up!

So for the first time in my life, I will be at the con and not merely following other people’s experiences. I’m a little nervous about being there alone, but I think if there’s any place where that’s not going to be a super weird thing, it’s a con.

Check back here or my twitter feed or my tumblr, if you want to follow my experiences at a con.

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