My new site layout....

I'm still heavily working on the new version of my site, but I find myself in a quandary. There are pros and cons to both versions of the header banners that I have rotating randomly. Please do me a favor - just spend a couple minutes rotating through (by way of refreshing the page) and tell me which you like better - banners with the dark ivy, or banners where the ivy is light - like the rest of the image in the banner. [Poll #977923][Poll #977923]

Do You Buy Art?

(ed. note: I tried posting this the other day, but there was some kind of glitch that made the poll function improperly, so if you've already seen this, I apologize...)

So I got to thinking about art and the sale of art the other day.  My thoughts turned to the fact that art seems to be a dying beast. Maybe not completely. I feel confident that there will always be a market for art in (at least) the entertainment industry. Concept art seems the most profitable (for artists) line of 'traditional' art out there, while funding for music is dropped from public school budgets every year.

Anyway - the thought occurred to me - "Who cares about art anymore other than those who produce it or those who stand to profit from its production?"

And so I turn to you, Dear Reader, to answer that question for me.

(And before anyone feels the need - yes, I do understand that you can care about art without spending money on it. However, that would likely put you in the category of 'one who produces art' or worse 'someone who cares- just not enough'. And while I wholeheartedly agree that there are a lot of other forms of art that I haven't covered here, I am specifically asking about these forms of fine art because they apply directly to me personally.)

Poll #xxxx Do You Spend Money On Art?
Open to: all, results viewable to: none

Do you spend money regularly on art? (Once a year or more.)

Yes
No

If so, what kind of art do you buy? (Check all that apply.)

2D - Originals
2D - Prints (limited editions)
2D - Posters (ie- not limited editions)
Sculpture
Other (Please explain in comments.)

Where do you buy your art? (Again - please check all that apply.)

Online through a distributor (ie an art reseller)
Online through individual websites (through the artist's site)
Locally - through a frame shop or other reseller.
Just sorta 'stumble on it' wherever you are.
Other (please explain in a comment)

How often would you say that you buy artwork?

Once a week or more.
Once a month or more.
Once a quarter of more.
Once a year or more.
Less frequently than once a year.

Is there something that you think is 'right up my alley' but that you haven't seen me offer?

Yes (please let me know in a comment!)
No - you pretty much have offered everything that I think you can do.

Getting in Touch with My Inner Geek

So I'm doing data entry (yawn) and part of that data is serial numbers. Every so often I land on one that includes the series "MXL". This has a special place in my heart because my first 'real internet account' (ie -not an 'echo' through a BBS) included that same series in my user id. I found myself actually smiling when I saw that.

There are times when I'm so nerd-tastic it hurts me.

TPS Reports...

I just did my expense report for last month. I generaly don't have many expenses, so I often don't do an expense report. I always had the mindset: "If I don't get paid back for the $0.50 I put in the meter, I'm not going to sweat it. I expensed my phone bill every couple of months (for both months) and that was that.

One of my coworkers started at the bank recently, and he's kinda a wiz at this stuff. So he pointed out that I should be charging the company for travel either to and from my house or to and from our office to the bank - whichever is more. He also nudged me about not getting reimbursed for the parking fees I had been acruing (though I had already planned for that).

Add in two months worth of phone bill, and... well... let's just say that the Netherlands just got a whole lot more comfortable. :)

It's funny, but I kinda think that these things are like calories in a diet. It's amazing the 'little stuff' that just sorta has a way of 'slipping by'.