Why is my GIMP image suddenly RED????

WTF???

So it's late--perhaps TOO late--and I'm working on an image in the GIMP when suddenly, everything gets this red layer over the top of everything else. I'm no GIMP guru nor a graphic designer, so I'll not necessarily use the right terms here, but it was as if someone had added a red layer (Opacity=50%) over the top of all my other layers in my file. Like so...


I gave up and went to sleep only to be reminded of my problem when I looked at the file the next morning. I looked at the Layers dialog and systematically turned off visibility for every layer and even with everything off, there was still this red--now coloring the transparent image canvas.

Without QuickMask

I kept poking at it and was eventually on my way to creating a new image and copying over the layers from the original, when I noticed a small red box in the lower left corner of the image window I was working in.


A mouseover tool tip told me that this was enabling "Quick Mask" and when I clicked it, my red hue was gone. Halle-freakin'-lujah!

So what's this Quick Mask thing and why do I care?

Apparently, Quick Mask allows you to select parts of your image that you wish to protect, then turn on Quick Mask to select everything else and apply filters, edge effects, etc. The tutorial on it is here: http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/Quickmask/

Looks slick, but if you don't know what it is and you accidentally turn it on, it's a pain in the a$$.

Ops Mgr Management Pack Overview

Courtesy the good folks at Windows IT Pro, here's a handy little overview/introduction to the contents of a SCOM management pack.

Enjoy, with my compliments!

What Makes a Good Entrepreneur?

Great piece from VentureBeat:

http://venturebeat.com/2011/01/17/what-makes-a-great-entrepreneur/

Enjoy!