Matthew Petroff

Google Summer of Code 2013: Inkscape Units

Posted on May 31, 2013

I was accepted into Google Summer of Code 2013 and will be working with the Inkscape project. My project involves two phases: first refactoring Inkscape’s existing unit handling support into one place, then extending said unit support to properly support real world units such as millimeters. More details are in the full project proposal. I plan to document my progress here and post summaries to the inkscape-devel mailing list. I have created a public repository for the first phase of the project. Once the first phase is completed, the branch will be merged back into the trunk, and a new branch will be created for the second phase.

Posted in GSoC | Tagged Google Summer of Code, GSoC, Inkscape, units | Leave a comment

Hawk

Posted on May 22, 2013

After stepping outside, I heard birds making lots of noise. As I was about to get in the car, I saw what they were concerned about; a hawk was perched on a street light. I got my camera and telephoto lens instead. The other birds went as far as diving at the raptor, although it didn’t seem to care.

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Posted in Photography | Tagged bird, photography, street light | 2 Comments

Saguaro National Park

Posted on April 23, 2013

I was in Tucson, Arizona this past weekend for the AIAA Design Build Fly competition. One can find photos from the competition on Flickr. While there, I visited Saguaro National Park one afternoon after the competition.

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Posted in Photography | Tagged Arizona, Cactus, National Park, photography, Saguaro, Saguaro National Park, Tucson | Leave a comment

Map of Baltimore

Posted on March 10, 2013

Since living in Baltimore, I’ve wanted some sort of map of the city to hang on my wall. Unfortunately, I never found anything I liked. Something I did like is Stamen Design’s Toner maps. However, in its most easily available form, online map tiles, it is not well suited for high-resolution printing nor does it show the city limits. Fortunately, the style is open source. After cloning the repository, adding a rule to make an outline of Baltimore, rendering it to SVG, and clipping and editing the map with Inkscape, I was left with something I liked.

A vector-based PDF version suitable for high-resolution printing is available here. The map data is copyright OpenStreetMap contributors under the ODbL. The map itself is CC BY-SA Stamen Design (and me). Here is a photo of the map on my wall. Feel free to get the PDF printed.

Posted in Design | Tagged Baltimore, design, map, OpenStreetMap, toner | 1 Comment

George Peabody Library

Posted on February 14, 2013

During intersession, I took a class at the George Peabody Library that afforded me the opportunity to extensively photograph the gorgeous building. Designed by architect Edmund Lind and completed in 1878, the building is considered one of the most stunning libraries in North America. It houses part of the special collections of Johns Hopkins University’s Sheridan Libraries. Here are a selection of those photos.