J.C. Thomas's Blog
June 7, 2015
Why my new phone is an LG G4
I love HTC phones.
I adored my Thunderbolt until Verizon rolled out an Android update that rendered its hardware obsolete. Everything was working; post-update, most apps were taking a minute or more to open. I think this was somewhere in the Android 2.x era.
I replaced the Thunderbolt with Verizon's rendition of the One M8, the Droid DNA, and I loved that phone just as much as the Thunderbolt.
The DNA lasted long enough for me to get out of contract with Verizon, but the battery died shortly the...
I adored my Thunderbolt until Verizon rolled out an Android update that rendered its hardware obsolete. Everything was working; post-update, most apps were taking a minute or more to open. I think this was somewhere in the Android 2.x era.
I replaced the Thunderbolt with Verizon's rendition of the One M8, the Droid DNA, and I loved that phone just as much as the Thunderbolt.
The DNA lasted long enough for me to get out of contract with Verizon, but the battery died shortly the...
May 7, 2015
#SaveFCPS Part 2 - Teachers Make Too Much Money
Teachers make too much money?
While I would certainly disagree, there are plenty who think teachers make too much money. Teacher salaries are the largest part of the FCPS budget, after all. The largest part of the projected shortfall for the 16-17 budget is teacher compensation - get rid of the compensation increases, and the problem is solved, right?
Nope.
It doesn't matter if FCPS teachers make too much or not enough. What matters is that FCPS teachers make less than surrounding school distric...
While I would certainly disagree, there are plenty who think teachers make too much money. Teacher salaries are the largest part of the FCPS budget, after all. The largest part of the projected shortfall for the 16-17 budget is teacher compensation - get rid of the compensation increases, and the problem is solved, right?
Nope.
It doesn't matter if FCPS teachers make too much or not enough. What matters is that FCPS teachers make less than surrounding school distric...
May 6, 2015
#SaveFCPS Part 1 - The Shortfall isn't that Much
Well, it's been four months. Uh, sorry?
The topic bringing me back to my blog, away from a bunch of works in progress, is the Fairfax County Public School budget crisis.
For the 15-16 school year, FCPS faces a shortfall of a little more than seven million dollars. While that might not seem like much, here are some things the school system could buy with 7 million dollars:
35,000 Chromebooks14,000 iPads280,000 books for school libraries (and that at my absurdly overestimated price of $25 per book...
The topic bringing me back to my blog, away from a bunch of works in progress, is the Fairfax County Public School budget crisis.
For the 15-16 school year, FCPS faces a shortfall of a little more than seven million dollars. While that might not seem like much, here are some things the school system could buy with 7 million dollars:
35,000 Chromebooks14,000 iPads280,000 books for school libraries (and that at my absurdly overestimated price of $25 per book...
January 25, 2015
Preview: What's in the Works?
In my last post, I mentioned a project I'm currently working on that's not Ninja Mouse. Well here it is:
That's right, the next project is about boats.
But not just any boats - big metal boats with giant guns.
But not just any big metal boats with giant guns - the first big metal boats with giant guns.
I'm creating these images through a workflow similar to that of Ninja Mouse: 3D models, rendering, and then photoshopping.
The text is nearing completion, which means the whole thing should be done...
That's right, the next project is about boats.
But not just any boats - big metal boats with giant guns.
But not just any big metal boats with giant guns - the first big metal boats with giant guns.
I'm creating these images through a workflow similar to that of Ninja Mouse: 3D models, rendering, and then photoshopping.
The text is nearing completion, which means the whole thing should be done...
January 22, 2015
What's next for Ninja Mouse?
Another question I get asked a lot is, "When's the sequel to Ninja Mouse coming out?"
Let it be officially known here first: there is going to be a sequel to Ninja Mouse, and I am working on it now.
But there are a few caveats.
One of them is that the next title I release will probably not be the sequel to Ninja Mouse. Instead, it will be completely unrelated. I'll be dropping a preview of it soon, but for now, I'm only willing to say that it is completely unrelated to Ninja Mouse. The slowly gr...
Let it be officially known here first: there is going to be a sequel to Ninja Mouse, and I am working on it now.
But there are a few caveats.
One of them is that the next title I release will probably not be the sequel to Ninja Mouse. Instead, it will be completely unrelated. I'll be dropping a preview of it soon, but for now, I'm only willing to say that it is completely unrelated to Ninja Mouse. The slowly gr...
January 10, 2015
How I use Class Dojo
Class Dojo is an amazing tool that I've been using in my classroom for several years. You can find out more about it here, but basically it's a positive behavior reinforcement system and parent-teacher communication tool. According to their Twitter profile, Class Dojo is "the positive feedback platform connecting teachers, parents and students" and it "helps kids develop the behaviors and skills they need for success." There are a lot of ways to use the app. With several important behavi...
January 9, 2015
What will teachers and librarian do with donated copies of Ninja Mouse?
Or, why would anyone request more than one copy?
Teachers and librarians might need several copies of the same book for any of several reasons. The first, and perhaps most obvious, is that schools and classrooms have more than one student. It's possible that more than one student wants to read a book at the same time. This is possible with multiple copies.
Second, and perhaps just as obvious, books get damaged. Even books that are well-cared for get damaged. A teacher or librarian might need mo...
Teachers and librarians might need several copies of the same book for any of several reasons. The first, and perhaps most obvious, is that schools and classrooms have more than one student. It's possible that more than one student wants to read a book at the same time. This is possible with multiple copies.
Second, and perhaps just as obvious, books get damaged. Even books that are well-cared for get damaged. A teacher or librarian might need mo...
January 7, 2015
How I Make Ninja Mouse
A question I get asked a lot is, "How do you make the illustrations for Ninja Mouse?" or "You drew that?"
You may or may not be disappointed to know that no paper is used in the creation of any of the art until printing. Everything is digital, and I use a wide variety of software (read: convoluted workflow) to create the illustrations.
Each illustration begins in a program called DAZ Studio, which is a free 3D design application. Ninja Mouse is based on the base mesh of the free Genesis 3D...
You may or may not be disappointed to know that no paper is used in the creation of any of the art until printing. Everything is digital, and I use a wide variety of software (read: convoluted workflow) to create the illustrations.
Each illustration begins in a program called DAZ Studio, which is a free 3D design application. Ninja Mouse is based on the base mesh of the free Genesis 3D...
January 6, 2015
So I think I'm going to do this actually
Starting now, I am going to blog. Call it a New Year's resolution of sorts. I will try to update this thing at least once a week.
There, that wasn't so hard.
There, that wasn't so hard.
