I got a Wacom Inkling a few months ago, but haven't used it much. It's a ball point pen, and I'm more of a Sharpies or Rapidograph kind of gal. I need to carry it with me and let the occasion to use it just happen. 


My pal Mats!? is one of my all time cartoon heroes- he's the arty one in a sign painters show this weekend at the Guerrero Gallery in SF. My other hero is other pal Kent Myers. His ability to render a shit ton of order and chaos in a single page, while making you both laugh and groan, is just unstoppable.

We've been using office supplies in the beginner Ruby class to act out some of the aspects of how the code behaves: post it notes, string, file cards, dropping notes on the floor when the variable points at something else...things like that.

I started my own notes due to my dislike of the class text book, and wanting to supplement my studies. I'm using a folded sheet 'zine format and have been filling them with fairly idiosyncratic notes, like cheat sheets, sort of specific to Gallery Star. They are a combination of crappy and awesome. I keep them nearby so I can look something up. There's so much to keep track of and I can't remember it all....yet.

I put the original files in dropbox so people can download them to print or modify. (Let me know if you are interested, and I'll send you a link). Some people are really excited about them, which inspires me to take it all more seriously. I've been wanting to learn Illustrator, and finally have the perfect task.

The handouts I'm making for the class will have some code, some visualized concepts, and also empty space for note taking. I don't think I can describe what I want in a study tool any better than that. Still working out my "drawing language". 


I'm less interested in "expressing myself" than in "expressing what I think is interesting and important to know and remember about Ruby"... especially as a beginner, since there is a lot to grasp all at once. I don't know Ruby very well, but I am clear that it is a programming language with a lot of "life" in it.

I was in the last generation of students to learn architectural drafting by hand, and I worked professionally for many years on some very old drawings. The sheets were mostly already filled with information, some worn through or torn. My job was to find a way to add more, or make changes without disrupting the originals.

I LOVED learning how words, numbers, dimensions and pictures can share a space. 


I love how those drawings are legal documents, expressing a hierarchy of information that a variety of people with different needs at different times will all use to build a whole new thing..

I think it's time to reconsider that extra dimension of “dimensions”...and to pay closer attention to how flexible a typed language can be.