troubledin
I have two root cellars in separate rooms with concrete walls off to the sides of my main cellar. I was thinking about preparing one of them in case of an emergency situation like a pandemic or other catastrophic event where my infant daughter and I would be stuck inside my basement for some time. Neither root cellar has any windows, just concrete walls and one currently has boards covering the dirt floor. I would very much appreciate the help and advice. Thanks!
Oh, and I live in CT, if that helps.
Answer
One of the reasons why root cellars are so effective in preserving food is the exposed dirt services of the floor and walls. What happens is that there is a gas exchange between the earth and the air, keeping the levels of gases that the fruits and vegetables give off from building up. Fruits and vegetables give off these gases (usually acetylene or carbon dioxide) to determine if they are in an enclosed space, if the gases build up, the fruits germinate, vegetables and the food portion of fruits decompose. This is why they sell those green bags to keep fruits and vegetables fresh longer, they are porous to the gases that the fruits and vegetables give off.
The problem about preparing for emergencies is that you can't predict in advance what the emergency will be and when it will occur. With the current pandemic risk, arrangements to telecommute, face masks, hand cleaners and some tinned foods should be plenty. Your child isn't school age and so long as she's kept out of daycare, she won't be a vector for the flu. Just avoid places where people gather such as movie theatres, schools, universities, malls, and mass transit.
Not everything stops during a pandemic so the worse case would be ordering MRE's over the internet and having them dropped off on your porch by UPS. If you have a business, you have to prepare for having as much as 30% of your work force unable to report to work hence telecommuting becomes important.
Graphics jobs for a 16-year-old?
Ryan
I'm looking to attempt to start a graphic design career, and I need some advice on what to do. I want to get a job relating to my interest field. Does anyone know anything I could do? And if you have any other suggestions for things I could do to jump-start my career, any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.
Answer
Hello
The two things I've learned that are the basics for breaking into graphic design are education in design principles and education in technology.
You really need to start with the basics. A good short college course could cover that. I spent four years in college, but I know plenty of good designers that went to art school or even community school. Here you will learn principles of design, color and art. I wouldn't be afraid to pick up a drawing class, either. You would be shocked at how often you will have to draw (with vector programs) in a print production job.
Secondly, familiarize yourself with the technology. This will help you transition your art knowledge into the workspace of Illustrator, CorelDraw or what-have-you. Get time in front of both Macs and PCs if you can. Learn how to get the mouse to create what you have envisioned.
The mistake that I see a lot of young designers make is that their egos get in the way of being objective about their own work. They think they are all that and a bag of chips and will not accept critique on their work. This, however, is one of the most important parts of becoming a good designer. I got torn down so many times in colllege by my art teachers that it forced me to pull myself up to the level they wanted me to be at. I'm all the better for it. When I went into college, I thought I had a grasp on everything. I was about as far from it as I could have been.
The best thing I've done for my career was to get a job at a small print shop. Seriously. At a small business, you will be expected to take on a number of roles, all of which will give you different fields of experience and will make your portfolio massively diverse. In my position I do production art for textiles, design catalogs and create the websites. I also am given personal projects from sales. This is surely a trial by fire, but it gives you an inside look at a lot of different facets of graphic design. In addition to this, you get to see a lot of logos come through and you will quickly learn what logos are good and which logos aren't.
Also, the other graphic designers at said small company will be able to train you and educate you in anything you need help with. I had no print production experience before I came here, but now I know that it is what I want to do with my career. I learned all about seperations, using spot color, four-color process, trapping and more while on the job. Learning things hands-on is much more useful than learning from a textbook, IMHO.
Finally I think that it might be important to take all of this "process," "communication" and "sensibility" stuff with a grain of salt. Yes, it IS important and should be developed while you are learning the basics. In the end, however, the customer will either know exactly what they want (even if it is a bad design) or they will just want it to "look pretty."
The real talent comes in taking the dual priorities of sensibility and pleasing the customer and then combining them and creating a great product.
Hope this helps to shpe your future
thanks
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