Tuesday, November 23, 2010

USPS

The Volume of Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes vs. The Cost of Shipping 
calculated using domestic rates; maximum weight for all types is 70 lbs.

Small Box
Dimensions: 8-5/8" x 5-3/8" x 1-5/8"
Volume: 75.33 sq. in.
Price: $4.95 USD
Price per square inch: $0.0657 USD

Medium Box ONE (code FRB1)
Dimensions: 11" x 8-1/2" x 5-1/2"
Volume: 514.25 sq. in.
Price: $10.70 USD
Price per square inch: $0.0208 USD

Medium Box TWO (code FRB2)
Dimensions: 13-5/8" x 11-7/8" x 3-3/8"
Volume: 546.06 sq. in.
Price: $10.70 USD
Price per square inch: $0.0196 USD

Large Box
Dimensions: 12" x 12" x 5-1/2"
Volume: 792 sq. in.
Price: $14.50 USD*
Price per square inch: $0.0183
*special price for APO/FPO destinations: $12.50 USD


International Rates and Restrictions

Small Box
$13.45
Max. weight: 4 lbs.
Max value of contents: $400.00 USD

Medium Boxes (both)
$43.45
Max. weight: 20 lbs.

Large Box
$55.95 
Max. weight: 20 lbs.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Nahuatl

Nahuatl words for particular motifs, as gleaned from Design Motifs of Ancient Mexico by Jorge Enciso.

Xicalcoliuhqui: stepped-fret design and variations thereof
Xochitl: flower
Xonecuilli: the "blue worm", appears as an S spiral or similar
Papalotl: butterfly
Michin: fish
Tamacolin: frog or toad
Cuetzpallin: lizard
Cuautcuetzpallin: gila monster
Coatl: serpent
Quetzalcoatl: plumed serpent, also a major god
Xiucoatl: double-headed fire serpent (Xiuhcoatl?)
Chicahuastli: wooden rattle used in rituals
Itzcoatl: flint serpent, often appears in the comb form
Cipactli: alligator
Tzopilotl: buzzard
Cozcacuautli: king buzzard
Tecolotl: owl
Cuauhtli: eagle
Huitzizillin: humningbird
Huitziloxochitl: hummingbird-and-flower design
Hueitotollin: bird's head motif, which is calendar ruler for 20 days
Cojolite: "shouting pheasant" motif, likely representing the chachalaca bird
Aztatl: heron (Aztatla?)
Canauhtli: duck
Quetzalli: quetzal (bird)
Mazatl: deer
Itzcuintli: dog
Ocelotl: jaguar
Mixtli: puma head motif
Izquilpatli: skunk
Cuauhpezotli: badger
Tzinacantli: bat
Ayotochtli: armadillo
Tlachatotl: squirrel
Toxtli: rabbit
Ozomatli: monkey, also the God of Dance and ruler of the 11th day (Oxomatli?)
Ehecatl: Wind God
Tlaloc: Rain God
Ueueteotl: Old Man God
Mictlantecutli: "place of the dead"
Maitl: human hand
Patolli: ancient game similar to parchesi
Olin: the concept of movement, as a ritual design (Ollin?) - related to Xolotl
Tenamitl: turreted wall pattern
Tlalliostoc: "cave of the earth"
Macuilxochitl: "Five Flowers", a god
Xolotl: twin of Quetzalcoatl, a god with dog-like features

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Vocabulary (in progress)

abjure
abrogate
abstemious
acumen
antebellum
auspicious
belie
bellicose
bowdlerize
cacography: bad handwriting
cruet: small bottle
chicanery
chromosome
churlish
circumlocution
circumnavigate
deciduous
deleterious
diffident
enervate
enfranchise
epiphany
equinox
euro
evanescent
expurgate
facetious
fatuous
feckless
fiduciary
filibuster
firedrake: dragon
gamete
gauche
gerrymander
gravid: pregnant, full, heavy
hegemony
hemoglobin
homogeneous
hubris
hypotenuse
impeach
incognito
incontrovertible
inculcate
infrastructure
interpolate
irony
jejune
kinetic
kowtow
laissez faire
lexicon
loquacious
lugubrious
metamorphosis
mitosis
moiety
nanotechnology
nihilism
nomenclature
nonsectarian
notarize
obsequious
oligarchy
omnipotent
orthography
oxidize
parabola
paradigm
parameter
peripatetic: one who travels or is given to walking about
pecuniary
photosynthesis
plagiarize
plasma
polymer
precipitous
quasar
quotidian
recapitulate
reciprocal
reparation
respiration
sanguine
shaitan: demon
soliloquy
subjugate
suffragist
supercilious
tautology
taxonomy
tectonic
tempestuous
thermodynamics
totalitarian
unctuous
usurp
vacuous
vehement
vortex
winnow
wrought
xenophobe
yeoman
ziggurat

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Japanese Fonts

KF Studio
Home of KF Himaji, an excellent casual handwriting freeware font, among others.
ガウプラ - Gau+
Fonts and pop graphics.
あんずいろ - Apricot Color
Sweet handwriting fonts, sozai (page graphics and materials), and photos.
WAZU JAPAN's collection of J-Unicode fonts

NihongoUp article: Ten Beautiful J-fonts

Fontleech.com's collection of J-foundries

PingMag article: How to Recognize J-Fonts

Friday, May 28, 2010

Wordle

Wordle
Composes "word clouds" from input text, blog URL, or Atom/RSS feed. Excellent graphic element built from raw text.