JQ Photography Store Now Open on Zazzle

After my pleasant experience with the printing of custom postcards from Zazzle, I decided to set up my own photography store on the site. Zazzle conveniently allows me to upload photos and turn them into a wide variety of products, such as posters, calendars, and greeting cards. In this way, I can make my artwork available for purchase without having to worry about materials management. Instead, I get to enjoy being a photographer and taking the best pictures that I can.

My Store

My photography store currently features a number of items, all of which contain images that I have taken. Examples include a planet panorama calendar, colorful desert sunset poster, and curious squirrel greeting card. I was even bestowed with a design award for a postcard featuring an orange ladybug on a black and white background! Thus far, I have made a wide variety of products available and I am continually adding new ones. All of my products can be customized to meet your personal needs.

You may have noticed the new widget that I added to the sidebar of my blog (also featured below). This provides a brief glimpse at some of the items in my store.

Spread The Word

Besides sharing my work, the idea behind setting up this store is that if I can sell a few things, then I might be able to finance my ever-expensive hobby of photography. In addition to browsing my store for yourself, I would really appreciate it if you recommended my photography to friends, family members, coworkers, and others. Also, I am always looking for feedback and suggestions. If you see something on my Flickr page that you think should be in the store, be sure to let me know!

Where to Go

The URL of my store is www.zazzle.com/Johnmquick*. Thank you for taking the time to browse, share, and offer suggestions for my photography.

Postcrossing.com: Postcards To and From All Around the World

Thanks to Smith Magazine, home of the six word memoir projects, I recently discovered a new website. Postcrossing.com can be pretty well summed up by its tagline, which beckons visitors to "send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world!” To me, Postcrossing seems like an intriguing cultural experiment on a global level. The system is designed in such a way that no two users ever make contact with each other beyond sending or receiving a single postcard. Unlike a pen pal relationship, where an extended dialogue is gradually built, Postcrossers are sharing one brief glimpse of themselves with someone who comes from an entirely different place. Instead of receiving a return message, a new postcard will arrive from yet another world location. Likewise, instead of sending a return message, a user will send a postcard to a brand new location. Due to this built-in spirit of random participation, I believe that users should feel open and free to divulge a point of interest, however concise it may be. Thus, by nature, Postcrossing encourages the sharing and exploration of diverse cultures around the world.

My Postcrossing

Having found myself to be most intrigued at the thought of postcards traveling to and from all of the world's nations, I decided to join in on the fun. As a new member, I have not yet received my first postcard, for I must send some to others first. The idea struck me to use my photography as a way to share not only my work, but also the places that I have been to and events that I have experienced. I then found a site called Zazzle.com, which specializes in custom printing on a wide variety of items. There, I ordered a set of postcards that I created using my own photos. I even got a set of postcard stamps with my logo on them! Both were affordable and turned out to be of high quality. My plan is to use each of my photos only a single time. Therefore, each recipient of my postcards will end up with a unique image and message.

My first postcards

Thus far, I have prepared and mailed my first five postcards, which are pictured below. They are headed to a number of diverse locations, including the Netherlands, Taiwan, Malaysia, Estonia, and Spain. I am excited for my postcards to arrive in these places and hope that the recipients enjoy them. I am also interested to know where I might send to and receive from in the future. Should Postcrossing prove to be the cultural experience and experiment that it is well-designed to be, I will gladly continue participating in it. In the meantime, I will be eagerly awaiting notification that my initial postcards have safely arrived to their new owners.

Future Postcard Ideas

Since my plan is to send a unique postcard to each individual that I encounter through Postcrossing, I am looking for help choosing which photos to use. I have plenty available on Flickr, but I would appreciate your help in identifying which ones would make the best postcards. If you come across a photo on Flickr that you think would work well, please leave a comment or contact me to let me know!

2009: A Year In Mad Libs - December

December

May you achieve peace of print in 2010.

Tuesday, December 1 - Igloo Facts

An igloo is an Eskimo Nina, which is made from blocks of hard-packed Pinta. A well-built Santa Maria not only provides comfort and warmth, but is also capable of withstanding freezing Spaniards.

Thursday, December 3 - More Great Excuses

Dear Principal, I am sorry to tell you that my grand son, Grand Puba will be unable to attend your grand school this week as he has a case of the Puba pox.

Friday, December 4 - Bicycle Riding

Most doctors agree that bicycle balking is a hearty form of exercise that benefits swans of all ages. No matter what kind of table leg you ride, always be sure to wear a rent-a-fence on your head and have reflectors on your shoulders.

Tuesday, December 8 - Christmas Vacation

This year my hard family is planning to spend the holidays in a soft cabin built by my swishy pants. The cabin is in the middle of a huge swishy shirt on the edge of a mountain which is always frozen at this time of Pink Panther.

Wednesday, December 9 - A Typical History Test

1. What general won the Battle of Mojo Juice?
2. Which American campground said, "Give me liberty or give me rivers?"
3. Who was the first president of the United Rabbits of Japan?

Thursday, December 10 - My Most Embarrassing Moment

My most embarrassing moment happened when I got on a bus. The bus was very horny, so I held on to a kangarabbit. At the next stop, I accidentally jabbed my pouch into someone's cottontail.

Friday, December 11 - A Recipe For Ice Cubes

To make weird ice cubes, first find a try with molds shaped like a bed or a park. Fill the molds with mojito, but for the best results always use urine. Let park.

Tuesday, December 15 - Good Manners

When you are at a friend's goat for dinner, remember, it's not polite to eat with your beard, take food from anyone else's hoof, or leave the table before anyone else.

Saturday, December 19 - Close Encounter

I was walking down a path which leads from my house, when three students from Outer Space came out from behind the computer. I was very close to spilling when one of the creatures suddenly held out his gun and shook my hand.

Thursday, December 24 - The Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before bathtub party day and all through the vat not a kangarabbit was stirring, not even a rabbiroo.

Friday, December 25 - A Letter To Santa

Dear Santa, My name is James Earl Jones and all year I have been a very, very good Lion King. I have not sang. Not even once. Because I have been so miraculous, I am sure you are going to bring me a brand new Field of Dreams.

Saturday, December 26 - Caveman

Some scientists think of the caveman as the giggly link between modern man and giggles. Although at first they could only make sounds such as "giggle" they eventually developed their own giggly language.

Monday, December 28 - The Dino Explorer

Once in a while, a car comes along with such rectilinear beauty, you can't help but leap in the powder and shout "hovercraft!" The Ultra New Sky High Dino Explorer has been seelected as the "Cigar of the Year."

Tuesday, December 29 - My Favorite Guru

If you have sad problems which keep you from leading a happy life, you can generally solve them by silly meditation. All you have to do is find a quiet cursive and meditate and write until you achieve peace of print.

Thursday, December 31 - Postcards From Vacation

Dear Santa, New Jersey is wonderful! There are lots of Russians and chowderheads here. Every day, I wake up and bake the lawn gnome. What a vacation!

2009: A Year in Mad Libs

It's hard to believe that I have been posting these for an entire year now, but 2009 certainly did prove to be the year of Mad Libs. I'll admit that I got pretty tired of posting them after about eight or nine months, but I stuck with it to close out the project. Nonetheless, the Mad Libs themselves remained hilarious throughout. Seeing as my Mad Libs calendar is now full from cover to cover, I have no plans to post them in the future. Instead, I wish you a pleasant 2010, with or without Mad Libs.

R Tutorial Series: Simple Linear Regression

Simple linear regression uses a solitary independent variable to predict the outcome of a dependent variable. By understanding this, the most basic form of regression, numerous complex modeling techniques can be learned. This tutorial will explore how R can be used to perform simple linear regression.

Tutorial Files

Before we begin, you may want to download the sample data (.csv) used in this tutorial. Be sure to right-click and save the file to your R working directory. This dataset contains information used to estimate undergraduate enrollment at the University of New Mexico (Office of Institutional Research, 1990). Note that all code samples in this tutorial assume that this data has already been read into an R variable and has been attached.

Creating A Linear Model

The lm() function

In R, the lm(), or "linear model," function can be used to create a simple regression model. The lm() function accepts a number of arguments ("Fitting Linear Models," n.d.). The following list explains the two most commonly used parameters.

• formula: describes the model

Note that the formula argument follows a specific format. For simple linear regression, this is "YVAR ~ XVAR" where YVAR is the dependent, or predicted, variable and XVAR is the independent, or predictor, variable.

• data: the variable that contains the dataset

It is recommended that you save a newly created linear model into a variable. By doing so, the model can be used in subsequent calculations and analyses without having to retype the entire lm() function each time. The sample code below demonstrates how to create a linear model and save it into a variable. In this particular case, we are using the unemployment rate (UNEM) to predict the fall enrollment (ROLL).

1. > #create a linear model using lm(FORMULA, DATAVAR)
2. > #predict the fall enrollment (ROLL) using the unemployment rate (UNEM)
3. > linearModelVar <- lm(ROLL ~ UNEM, datavar)
4. > #display linear model
5. > linearModelVar

The output of the preceding function is pictured below.

From this output, we have determined that the intercept is 3957 and the coefficient for the unemployment rate is 1134. Therefore, the complete regression equation is Fall Enrollment = 3957 + 1134 * Unemployment Rate. This equation tells us that the predicted fall enrollment for the University of New Mexico will increase by 1134 students for every one percent increase in the unemployment rate. Suppose that our research question asks what the expected fall enrollment is, given this year's unemployment rate of 9%. As follows, we can use the regression equation to calculate the answer to this question.

1. > #what is the expected fall enrollment (ROLL) given this year's unemployment rate (UNEM) of 9%
2. > 3957 + 1134 * 9
3. [1] 14163
4. > #the predicted fall enrollment, given a 9% unemployment rate, is 14,163 students.

Summarizing The Model

Naturally, simple linear regression can be used to do much more than just calculate expected values. Here, the summary(OBJECT) function is a useful tool. It is capable of generating most of the statistical information that one would need to derive from a linear model. The example below demonstrates the use of the summary function on a linear model variable.

1. > #use summary(OBJECT) to display information about the linear model
2. > summary(linearModelVar)

The output of the preceding function is pictured below.

The summary(OBJECT) function has provided us with a wealth of information, including t-test, F-test, R-squared, residual, and significance values. All of this data can be used to answer important research questions related to our linear model. Yet again, the summary(OBJECT) function proves to be a valuable resource. It is worth remembering and using when conducting a variety of analyses in R.

Alternative Modeling Options

Although lm() was used in this tutorial, note that there are alternative modeling functions available in R, such as glm() and rlm(). Depending on your unique circumstances, it may be beneficial or necessary to investigate alternatives to lm() before choosing how to conduct your regression analysis.

Complete Simple Linear Regression Example

To see a complete example of how simple linear regression can be conducted in R, please download the simple linear regression example (.txt) file.

References

Fitting Linear Models. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2009 from http://sekhon.berkeley.edu/library/stats/html/lm.html

Office of Institutional Research (1990). Enrollment Forecast [Data File]. Retrieved November 22, 2009 from http://lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Datafiles/enrolldat.html

Cover To Cover: My First Photography Publications

Red Cedar Review

Photography first became a major hobby of mine in the spring of 2008. In the fall, I came across the opportunity to submit my work for publication in the Red Cedar Review (RCR). RCR is a high-quality literary journal published each year at Michigan State University (MSU). Two of the photographs that I submitted were accepted for publication in volume 44 of RCR (2009). Much to my surprise as a first-time publishee, one of my pictures was selected to appear on the front cover! Both images, as they appeared in RCR, are displayed below.

The Offbeat

A second literary journal that I discovered at MSU was The Offbeat. Again, two of my photos were published, this time in volume 9 of The Offbeat (2009). One was placed on the back cover! Therefore, I have now had my work on both covers of a literary journal. Following are my images as they appeared in The Offbeat volume 9.

Future Publications

I have continued to enjoy taking pictures and submitting them for publication. Two of my photos have been accepted into volume 45 of RCR, which will be released in spring 2010. I also have a pending submission out to The Sustainability Review at Arizona State University. I am always seeking new journals, magazines, and other locations to place my work. If you know of any, please share them. You can also follow the photos that I publish on my Flickr account.

P.S. You may have noticed that two of the four photos presented in this article are of a bottle resting in the Red Cedar River. It turned out to be a popular bottle for me, considering that both pictures that I took of it were published. If you are interested in seeing it in color, take a look on Flickr.