deke

Is that victory I smell? Smells like the waxy goodness of a 96-color box of Crayola crayons dumped out on my dining room table.

Which one of these chapter opener pages would you call "purple?" What's that? You can't quite read the label, here let me help: Read more » 

So, I know it's hard to believe, but sometimes Deke and I don't agree. I realize that I'm revealing the discordant underbelly of dekeDom, but I thought you should know. And I thought you should have the opportunity to hear both sides and align with me. So here's the first of our most recent debates, surrounding the definition of the color "purple."

As you know, or you should know if you're a true fan, the lessons in Deke's One-on-One books each have a different color scheme, rotating between four colors throughout the book, as follows:

The Photoshop CS3 book was created in InDesign CS2, and I was trying to bring the lessons up to InDesign CS3-compliance in case we ever needed them for a revision, doing all the tedious formatting drudgery so that Deke's genius mind and delicate fingers could concentrate on his brilliant content. I needed a purple chapter from the InDesign CS3 book (our current template gold standard), and called Deke to see if he could post if for me. The conversation went something like this. Read more » 

Time for a rare moment of public introspection. Yes, you're welcome.

Recently a member of this very site asked me if my real name was Deke. Answer: it is (as if I would choose a name that rhymes with eke, freak, reek, and oblique). But, to be honest, the reason I got the name is unclear. Maybe it's a Scottish nickname, maybe its a hockey thing, maybe I'm named for the grounded Mercury Seven astronaut. But after a friend forwarded me this movie, it all became clear. Quite obviously, I was named after a Hindi movie called Dil Deke Dekho. I mean, consider the facts: Read more » 

It's entirely possible that a few of you have had your fill of the "101 Photoshop Tips in 5 Minutes" piece and the navel-gazing that accompanies it at this site. (If it’s any consolation, Colleen and I are actually trying to balance things with a steady stream of content.) But if my manic performance somehow leaves you wanting more, you can listen to Chuck Joiner's audio interview with me at MacVoices.com. It’s largely my personal behind-the-scenes story of the making of the video, which as you’ll learn, wreaked havoc on my thighs. (Colleen’s article documents the day and a half of live-action shooting, but quite a bit happened before that.)

Read more »