NFTRW Weekly Top Five

Here are the top five comment generating posts of the past week:

16 Signs You're Headed for Burnout

The Muse: I’m normally a morning person, even on the weekends, so when I realized I had been dragging myself out of bed around 11:30 AM for the last few Saturdays in a row, I knew there was a problem. But I haven’t always been so good at recognizing the signs of burnout. At one point (as my good friends will tell you), I was basically a zombie who didn’t want to do anything except work, but wasn’t very effective when I did. I couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t focus, and really couldn’t enjoy anything I was putting my energy toward (or, well, attempting to).

Posted by David at 8/29/2014 09:26:00 PM  

Spooky handmade puppets bring this short horror film to life

The Verge: Puppets are just about the creepiest things around, and that's why a new short horror film called "The Mill at Calder's End" looks like it will be a real winner. Hollywood puppeteer and special effects artist Kevin McTurk (who's previously worked on films such as Batman Returns, Jurassic Park, and The Aviator) is leading the project, which was funded on Kickstarter last year. The film's called a "Victorian ghost story," and McTurk says the work is inspired by such literary giants as Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft.

Posted by David at 8/25/2014 11:56:00 PM

Disney thinks it could turn drones into flying TV screens and puppet masters

The Verge: Disney has never lagged in animatronics or high technology for its shows and theme parks — they're more or less tiny, high-tech surveillance dystopias with classic rides, exorbitantly expensive food, and all your favorite TV and movie characters from childhood. But a handful of patent applications pointed out by MarketWatch are particularly interesting

Posted by David at 8/28/2014 02:50:00 PM

Fine-Art Students Get Lessons in Business

WSJ: The Juilliard School, the Berklee College of Music in Boston and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music have embraced programs or courses aimed at developing students' business acumen alongside their artistic skill. Entrepreneurship is also a hot topic in courses at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, while the certificate program in design entrepreneurship at Pratt Institute of New York has been in such high demand that the school is expanding the program to accommodate more students.

Posted by David at 8/26/2014 11:36:00 PM

3 Questions Amazon's CEO Asks Before Hiring Anyone

The Muse: Amazon has forever changed the way people shop online, but it wasn’t always the juggernaut that it is today. In fact, once upon a time it was just a tiny startup with a big vision. So, how did it end up as the giant online retailer that it is now? It’s hard to say, but one thing founder Jeff Bezos was very intentional about was how he hired for the company. In fact, in his 1998 letter to shareholders, just four years after Amazon was founded, Bezos wrote, “It would be impossible to produce results in an environment as dynamic as the Internet without extraordinary people… Setting the bar high in our approach to hiring has been, and will continue to be, the single most important element of Amazon.com’s success.”

Posted by David at 8/26/2014 09:23:00 PM

Shop Talk (Aug '14): Automotive Grade Coatings for Signs

Signshop: Sign manufacturers are very interested in color, durability, and process improvement in their coatings systems. These are also the three pillars that automotive coatings were built upon. Let’s examine why you might choose automotive coatings for your sign manufacturing line.

5 Ways To Spot A Bad Boss In An Interview

www.forbes.com: A great boss can make you feel engaged and empowered at work, will keep you out of unnecessary office politics, and can identify and grow your strengths. But a bad boss can make the most impressive job on paper (and salary) quickly unbearable. Not only will a bad boss make you dislike at least 80% of your week, your relationships might suffer, too.

DeWalt TSTAK Trolley and Cart

Tools of the Trade: A year ago this spring we published a story about modular tool organizers and in it author Greg Burnet said of the TSTAK boxes, “a dedicated cart with a means to secure boxes would be a welcome addition” to the system. A few months later at media event the TSTAK product manager showed me some prototypes of a trolley and cart that were under development. The TSTAK Trolley (DWST178888) and TSTAK Cart (DWST17889) are now both out—and are proving to be welcome additions.

Aurora Theater Should Have Predicted Mass Shooting, Judge Rules

Hit & Run : Reason.com: The 2012 mass shooting in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, was "foreseeable," a federal judge ruled last week. That decision came out of an attempt by the theater's owner to demonstrate otherwise, thus ensuring that lawsuits brought forth by the attacker's victims would be dismissed.

In The Studio: 4 Tips For Better Gain Staging

Pro Sound Web: Maintaining proper levels throughout your signal chain is important for achieving great tone. This is an important discussion for guitarists and engineers. I think pretty hard about my gain staging when I’m tracking. It has great affect on your sound.

Thinkbox Sequoia May be Fastest Processor of Big Point Clouds

The CAD Insider: I had a preview of Thinkbox's point cloud processing software last year at SIGGRAPH; this year it is announced, and next year it ships. Thinkbox wants to be the biggest, fastest processor of point cloud data for the CAD industry, and they spent a whole year talking to people who work with such data, before starting to program. Which means the software has some pretty nice functions

Incredible Tricked Out Tool Cart

Tools of the Trade: My company specializes in the installation of cabinets and millwork, tasks that require the use of many different tools and supplies. To avoid running back and forth to the truck for missing items, I outfitted a rolling cart to carry everything needed to do the job.

Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre offers up eclectic mix of performances

New Pittsburgh Courier: The Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre is always trying to cultivate Black playwrights because there are so few of them. “We have a treasure trove of Black playwrights in Pittsburgh and I’m trying to help develop more African-American playwrights,” said Mark Clayton Southers, Playwrights Theatre founder and producing artistic director.

Patrick Woodroffe – Taking a “Fascinating Journey” in Light

CHAUVET® Professional - Lighting Insights Newsletter: Internationally acclaimed LD Patrick Woodroffe describes his longtime association with the Rolling Stones as a “fascinating journey.” It is an apt description indeed… both for his relationship with the rock icons as well as his entire career.

Metropolitan Opera Reaches Settlement With Last Unions

NYTimes.com: The Metropolitan Opera announced Thursday night that it had reached labor settlements with the last of its unions, including those representing its costume and wardrobe departments, hair and makeup artists, scenic artists and designers, camera operators and others.

Mécanique Technique

Signshop: At press time, the artificial intelligence Skynet system had yet to launch its line-up of Terminators to take over the human race, nor had the robotic Cylons attempted to track us down. However one creative sign shop is taking a cue from the Borg and proving that, when it comes to imaginative sign design, “resistance is futile.”

How I Combined My Two Passions and Landed My Dream Job

The Muse: Our mission here at The Muse is simple: to help you find your dream job. So, there’s nothing we love more than hearing about it when you do! Today, we caught up with Nicole Cloutier, who landed the perfect gig at communications agency Praytell Strategy working as a social strategist with a focus on gaming. Her MFA in writing coupled with her love of gaming made her the perfect candidate to help shape the copy and public voice of some epic gaming companies and ultimately help them get really meaningful online followings.

What's on OSHA's radar?

JLC Online: With an increase in job-site injuries and fatalities, OSHA will be targeting construction sites, especially companies using

16 Signs You're Headed for Burnout

The Muse: I’m normally a morning person, even on the weekends, so when I realized I had been dragging myself out of bed around 11:30 AM for the last few Saturdays in a row, I knew there was a problem. But I haven’t always been so good at recognizing the signs of burnout. At one point (as my good friends will tell you), I was basically a zombie who didn’t want to do anything except work, but wasn’t very effective when I did. I couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t focus, and really couldn’t enjoy anything I was putting my energy toward (or, well, attempting to).

Clair Bros Spins Off Unit for AVL Industry

www.avnetwork.com: Clair Bros Audio Systems has unveiled a new trade name and logo for its audio, video, and lighting (AVL) integration division. The trade name, Clair Solutions, will serve as the company’s sole representation in the AVL integration industry

SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify Movie-TV Contract

Variety: SAG-AFTRA members have ratified a three-year master contract with production companies covering movie and primetime TV work. The deal received 92% support from the approximately 22,000 who cast ballots following a campaign by union leaders touting a $200 million increase in compensation over its term. Little opposition emerged to the new deal, which was reached by negotiators on July 4.

8 Tips and Tricks for LinkedIn Power Users

mashable.com: You have hundreds of connections, stacks of skills and endorsements, a killer review of your experience and a flattering but professional headshot. Your LinkedIn profile is all set up for some seriously productive networking, and you're ready to build up your brand online as you climb the ladder of success. But don't you wish you could get a little bit more out of LinkedIn? While having an extensive network is a big advantage, there several little things you can do to help make the most of the website — and a lot of them are free.

California Incentives Bill Urges Tariffs to Curb Poaching of VFX Jobs

Variety: An amendment to proposed legislation to expand California’s film and TV tax credit urges trade action as a response to countries that have lured visual effects firms away with the promise of generous subsidies. The amendment calls call for a strategy that has been previously opposed by Hollywood studios, which have benefited from the availability of post-production subsidies in Canada, Great Britain and other countries. In late May, for instance, Sony announced that its Imageworks special effects facility would be moving to Vancouver, further eroding the once-thriving visual effects industry in Southern California.

Tech Basics for Active, Collaborative Learning

Campus Technology: Classrooms designed for active and collaborative learning are transforming the teaching and learning experience for students and faculty. While every active-learning classroom is unique — based on the physical space itself and the needs of students and faculty — there are features common to many of them. Typically, the instructor has a podium at the center of the room. Surrounding the podium are large, round tables that each seat six to nine students. Movable chairs allow students to easily shift between small groups of three to larger groups of six or nine. Each student table may have its own large display or interactive whiteboard for collaborative work and sharing, and many of the rooms also feature writable walls, where students can collaborate on virtually any vertical surface in the room.

It's all in the details: these miniatures changed movies

The Verge: Perhaps it’s having grown up in the ’80s and a hearty dose of nostalgia in the face of overwrought visual effects in modern movies, but there’s something indescribably powerful about the special effects in films like Blade Runner, Alien, and Dark City. It was an era before CG took over, a time when nearly a century of practical special effects culminated in whole armies of craft workers and artists that knew how to bring the audience to another world or dimension.

Announcing the Laser University Channel

Signshop: Learn how to do basic laser engraving techniques (such as color filling or using foil) by watching a video on the Laser University Channel on YouTube. See videos packed with CorelDRAW tips for laser owners such as how to scan artwork and make it into a laser-cutting project.

Facebook friends answer call to party -- in real time

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: At 3:55 p.m. Saturday, this message was posted on Charlie Humphrey’s Facebook page, along with a photograph of a tented party space at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts: “Be here. Now.”

To Work Better, Work Less

The Atlantic: Between 1853 and 1870, Baron Haussmann ordered much of Paris to be destroyed. Slums were razed and converted to bourgeois neighborhoods, and the formerly labyrinthine city became a place of order, full of wide boulevards (think Saint-Germain) and angular avenues (the Champs-Élysées). Poor Parisians tried to put up a fight but were eventually forced to flee, their homes knocked down with minimal notice and little or no recompense. The city underwent a full transformation—from working class and medieval to bourgeois and modern—in less than two decades' time.

Idiot-proof wake-up alarm: Screaming Meanie

Boing Boing: When I travel I often use earplugs at night (E.A.R foam are my preferred brand) to mute the sounds of strange places and get a good night’s sleep. Only problem is, the pathetic “eep eep” sound of a typical travel alarm cannot penetrate the earplugs. For years I have searched for a truly heavy-duty portable alarm, and finally found a good candidate at the Petro Truck Stop in Kingman, Arizona: The Screaming Meanie.

Watch a Time-Lapse of the Phoenix College, Nanolumens Install

www.avnetwork.com: In the depths of the Great Depression President Franklin D. Roosevelt promised the American people a “New Deal.” From 1933 through 1943, a constellation of federally sponsored programs put millions of jobless Americans back to work and helped to revive a moribund economy. These programs produced a rich landscape of public works across the nation, often of outstanding beauty, utility, and craftsmanship.

North Carolina Film-TV Incentives Sliced Amid Conservative Tide

Variety: North Carolina legislators have ditched the state’s longtime film and TV incentives program amid a conservative push to cut back on such government support. “We knew that this would be an uphill battle and we were cautiously optimistic,” said Johnny Griffin, director of the Wilmington (N.C) Regional Film Commission. “The problem was that a lot of legislators were philosophically opposed to any incentives, period. So we were absolutely not surprised.” North Carolina has been home to 800 productions over the past three decades.

What's The Difference Between A Logo And A Symbol?

Co.Design | business + design: The misuse of the word "logo" is one of those things that gets many design-minded people practically purple-faced with anger (a sibling to debate over "fonts" v. "typefaces"). A logo, they say, is not the same as a symbol, which in turn is not the same as a combination mark.

Disney thinks it could turn drones into flying TV screens and puppet masters

The Verge: Disney has never lagged in animatronics or high technology for its shows and theme parks — they're more or less tiny, high-tech surveillance dystopias with classic rides, exorbitantly expensive food, and all your favorite TV and movie characters from childhood. But a handful of patent applications pointed out by MarketWatch are particularly interesting

Carnegie Mellon Photo Editing Tool Enables Object Images To Be Manipulated in 3-D

Carnegie Mellon News - Carnegie Mellon University: Editors of photos routinely resize objects, or move them up, down or sideways, but Carnegie Mellon University researchers are adding an extra dimension to photo editing by enabling editors to turn or flip objects any way they want, even exposing surfaces not visible in the original photograph.

Here's What Sin City Looks Like Before They Add Any Special Effects

gizmodo.com: It takes a whole lot of special effects to bring a comic book to life on the big screen. So what does a movie like Sin City: A Dame for Kill look like before all the after effects are applied? The answer is basically nothing like the actual film.

8 Misleading And Really Tough Questions You Could Be Asked In Job Interviews

www.lifehack.org: Knowing how to deal with tough interview questions properly can put you miles above the other candidates. Your body language, voice and content of your answers are all factors that play into you getting hired. This article will detail some tough and misleading questions that generally confuse potential employees and will help you get an insiders view on what employers are looking for in your responses.

Eagle-inspired Public Artwork Takes Flight with Gatorfoam

Signshop: Not unlike its artistic inspiration, community spirits soared at the June 7 unveiling of the new “Eagles in Flight” public artwork in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, as part of the city’s 2014 Pitt Meadows Day and Centennial celebration. The cubed-shaped mural installed in the city’s Harris Road Park is a collaborative effort of Pitt Meadows’ resident and internationally recognized artist Brad Dinwoodie and community residents.

arboreal lightning by atmos studio responds to musical performances

www.designboom.com: to enhance a series of musical performances, atmos studio has designed and installed an interactive tree-like network of LEDs in london’s camden roundhouse venue. titled ‘arboreal lightning’, the illuminated sinuous form responds to sound input, producing a dynamic lighting event to activate each show. the project was initially undertaken to complement the four-day ‘reverb festival of contemporary classical music’, aimed at showcasing technological innovations. the piece was commissioned in part by musician imogen heap, and will complement her on a year-long world tour.

Rock 'n' Roll's Company Town

WSJ: This town of 9,400 people in Amish country tells the story of the modern concert industry. In 1968, when Frankie Valli and his group rolled in for a show, two young brothers who did sound for local dances turned the Four Seasons into one of the first music acts to tour with its own speaker system. The brothers built a reputation on the road, but they never moved out of Lititz. Their company became an anchor for a cluster of businesses that now supply the sound and spectacle for many of the world's biggest acts.

New Grad? Learn These 4 Differences Between School And Work Now

www.thegrindstone.com: Everyone says that high school prepares you for college, and that college, in turn, prepares you for the real world. But there are some huge differences between school and work that you really need to drill into your head before you start going on interviews, because otherwise, you’re in for a really rude awakening.

Six Inventive Materials to Outfit a Space

EcoBuilding Pulse: Innovations that render everyday building materials more sustainable are exciting to follow, but they can be slow going and varied in scale. This week, we’re tracking developments across the industry in this product smorgasbord—from a finish that turns hardwood flooring into a VOC buster to a structural concrete masonry unit containing half the typical amount of cement, and to a slightly-more-sustainable way to manufacture glass-fiber furniture components.

Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival welcomes crowds to medieval re-creation

TribLIVE: Fans of “Game of Thrones,” “The Quest” or “Lord of the Rings” may never get to journey to the flat-screen worlds of Westeros, Everealm and Middle Earth. But beginning Aug. 23, they can immerse themselves in some of the gentler, less perilous aspects of those cape-and-crown kingdoms with a day trip to the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival.

The Secret to Creating a Great Company Culture

PowerTips | Remodelers Advantage: On this week’s episode, Victoria gives you tips you can use to help ensure you have a fantastic company culture. And if you’re thinking, “why should I worry about that?” consider this: A great culture drives happy employees. Happy employees turn customers into raving fans. And raving fans, my friend, drive referrals.

Test: Amazon's Used Book Prices Are Consistently Low

Shopping - Consumer Reports News: College students shopping for used textbooks online this semester should first check out Amazon. In Consumer Reports' first-ever college-textbook shopping test of five popular websites for college textbooks, Amazon's used-textbook prices were consistently low. Barnes & Noble generally posted higher prices for used textbooks.

Los Angeles Darkening Outlook as Home for TV

Variety: Los Angeles is in grave danger of losing even more TV drama series because of the limits of the state’s production tax incentive program, a new report asserts. FilmL.A. disclosed Wednesday that Hollywood has seen a 34% decline in TV dramas shot in Los Angeles since 2006-07 from 73 to 48 currently. Additionally, 13 of those 48 one-hour shows are receiving the state’s production tax credit — which did not exist in 2007.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's Ballet Under the Stars showcases next generation

TribLIVE: “I would stack them up to any ballet in the country,” said Suzanne Kendig, who was joined by her husband, Thomas, for the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's annual Ballet Under the Stars on Aug. 17 at Hartwood Acres.

A Legendary Sign

Signshop: Some signs are legendary, and the Banshee identity sign for the new roller coaster at Kings Island amusement park in Mason, Ohio lives up to the mythological creature it was named after. Hardly a harbinger of doom, the Banshee sign actually proved to be a good omen for Exhibit 3 Fabrications, LLC (www.e3fab.com) of Erlanger, Kentucky.

SAG-AFTRA Members Approve TV Contracts

Backstage: SAG-AFTRA members overwhelmingly approved the union’s new contracts with producers. With over 92 percent voting in favor, the membership approved the three-year contracts covering theatrical, primetime, and basic cable television production under the 2014 SAG-AFTRA Codified Basic Agreement and the 2014 SAG-AFTRA Television Agreement. Only 16 percent of the union’s some 137,000 eligible members voted.

Fine-Art Students Get Lessons in Business

WSJ: The Juilliard School, the Berklee College of Music in Boston and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music have embraced programs or courses aimed at developing students' business acumen alongside their artistic skill. Entrepreneurship is also a hot topic in courses at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, while the certificate program in design entrepreneurship at Pratt Institute of New York has been in such high demand that the school is expanding the program to accommodate more students.

3 Questions Amazon's CEO Asks Before Hiring Anyone

The Muse: Amazon has forever changed the way people shop online, but it wasn’t always the juggernaut that it is today. In fact, once upon a time it was just a tiny startup with a big vision. So, how did it end up as the giant online retailer that it is now? It’s hard to say, but one thing founder Jeff Bezos was very intentional about was how he hired for the company. In fact, in his 1998 letter to shareholders, just four years after Amazon was founded, Bezos wrote, “It would be impossible to produce results in an environment as dynamic as the Internet without extraordinary people… Setting the bar high in our approach to hiring has been, and will continue to be, the single most important element of Amazon.com’s success.”

How Shadowing Coworkers Can Make You Better At Your Job

Fast Company | Business + Innovation: Work4, a social recruiting company, discovered the key to making employees more productive and improving communication between departments was to answer this question.

Review: Front Porch's 'Parade' marches to obvious conclusion

TribLIVE: Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown's “Parade” is a musical I wish I could love. With themes of justice delayed and denied and the abundance of intrigue and political posturing surrounding a historic murder trial, the possibilities for drama would seem to be endless.

CHAUVET, Santana, and Buddy Guy — Lighting Legends!

CHAUVET® Professional - Lighting Insights Newsletter: Ask any music critic to make a list of the most influential guitarists of all time, and it won’t take long before the names “Santana” and “Guy” appear. Carlos Santa and Buddy Guy have garnered 16 Grammy Awards between them and for one magical night this summer, the two guitar virtuosos performed on stage at The Greenwich Town Party under the light of 22 Legend 230 SR Beams from CHAUVET Professional.

Sound mixers and sound editors honored at Emmys

Dolby - Lab Notes: When the lights go down on the Nokia Theatre stage in Los Angeles for the 66th Primetime Emmy® awards ceremony on Monday, August 25, millions of people across the United States will tune in to NBC to see whether their favorite TV shows and actors receive the coveted awards. But for sound mixers and sound editors, the big awards action took place at the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony, held on Saturday, August 16, at the same location.

Your Phone Is Key To The Future Of Concerts

⚙ Co.Labs ⚙ code + community: Imagining the future can be tricky, but one thing’s awesomely clear about the future of concert-going: It won’t include paying a “convenience” charge to print your own ticket at home. More and more, seeing your favorite band play live revolves around your mobile phone. Now Ticketfly, a venue and promoter ticketing platform, is announcing the acquisition of WillCall, a point-of-sale platform and consumer app that aims to define the new concert experience.

No Exit at bubble:PGH

Theater Reviews + Features | Pittsburgh City Paper: Recently, Carnegie Mellon School of Art students Max Hawkins and Robb Godshaw designed and built a giant white plastic bubble held up only by the output of a large air-blower. Not about to let a good thingamajig go to waste, a clutch of Carnegie Mellon Drama students calling themselves bubble:PGH have invaded the contraption and are presenting Jean-Paul Sarte's classic drama No Exit.

Spooky handmade puppets bring this short horror film to life

The Verge: Puppets are just about the creepiest things around, and that's why a new short horror film called "The Mill at Calder's End" looks like it will be a real winner. Hollywood puppeteer and special effects artist Kevin McTurk (who's previously worked on films such as Batman Returns, Jurassic Park, and The Aviator) is leading the project, which was funded on Kickstarter last year. The film's called a "Victorian ghost story," and McTurk says the work is inspired by such literary giants as Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft.

Mergers? No Thank You, Programmers Say

c2meworld.com: It would seem that the media industry’s merger fever has broken, based on the comments made by top executives at programming companies during earnings calls in the past few days. When Rupert Murdoch called off 21st Century Fox’s bid for Time Warner it was time for other programmers to ask shareholders to have faith in corporate strategy to push stocks higher rather than dream of buyout profits.

College dorm shopping? Make a registry - Jul. 30, 2014

money.cnn.com: Move over brides and expectant moms: Now college-bound kids want to be showered with gifts also. Gift registries have long been popular for lots of big life events, and now we can add college to the list.