This is a somewhat unique page and Gary has not seen such a page on any
other Web site so far. The primary purpose of this page is to
explain the parameters used and how you can adjust your computer to
render the pages on this site properly. A secondary purpose is to
list and explain Gary's astrological preferences that he uses in his
work. Although this latter information is for those who have
studied astrology, brief explanations of Gary's preferences are
included.
About Your Computer and How it Renders this Site
Screen Resolution is the height and width of the display on your
monitor (in pixels). This is often preset in your operating system
when you buy or receive your computer (for most computers, the operating
system is some version of Microsoft Windows) or your monitor is preset to
a particular resolution. Gary's Web site is designed to look or
render best at a screen resolution of 1024 by 768 pixels, which is the
resolution that most people are presently using. If your screen
resolution is other than 1024 X 768, the pages on this site will not look
their best. For example, the photographs on the site that are
images of circular bodies (like most of the planets and their moons)
look circular only if your screen resolution is set at 1024 by 768
and you are using a 17" monitor. Otherwise, they will look slightly
flattened or elongated. If your screen resolution is 800 by 600
pixels (the lowest resolution setting in the Windows XP operating
system), the text appears unsophisticated because it is too large and
images are so large that they seem to overwhelm the text on the page,
which is restricted to a narrow column (on the other hand, if you want to
view larger versions of the photos on this site, set your screen
resolution to 800 by 600). At lower screen resolutions, like 640 by
480 pixels, the navagation bar at the top of each page doesn't look right
(it is wider than the rest of the page). Changing the screen
resolution of your display is easy in Windows and most other operating
systems. Gary uses what is known in the Web design industry as a
"liquid" format so, no matter what your screen resolution (unless it is
less than 800 by 600), this site will fill the page and the proportions
used in its design will generally be retained. Text Size on
this site is set at 15 pixels for most text (including the text you are
reading now).
To see what your screen resolution is or to change it in Windows 98,
98SE, 98ME, 2000, or XP:
- Click on "Start" in the lower left corner of your screen.
- Put the pointer on "Settings" and a "pull-down" menu will appear.
- Click on "Control Panel" in this menu.
- Double click on the "Display" icon, which opens the "Display
Properties" window.
- Click on the "Settings" tab at the top of this window.
- In the box labeled "Screen resolution" or "Screen area" you will see
a sliding control under which is your current screen resolution.
- If your screen resolution is already set at 1024 by 768 pixels, click
"Cancel" at the bottom of this window and exit the "Control Panel"
window - no change is necessary (unless you want to view larger
versions of the photos on this site by temporarily changing your screen
resolution to 800 by 600).
- If your screen resolution is other than 1024 by 768 pixels, write
down what it is, put the pointer on the sliding control, click
and drag the control left or right until the resolution reads "1024 by
768 pixels," then release the mouse button.
- Click the "Apply" button in the lower right corner of the window.
- If you have Windows 98, 98SE, 98ME, or 2000, another "Display
Properties" window will appear that asks you to click "OK" to apply the
new settings.
- Your monitor screen will go completely black and you will momentarily
think that your computer has crashed - but don't panic!
- If you have Windows 98, 98SE, 98ME, or 2000, when your display returns
you will see a small window labeled "Monitor Settings" that asks if you
want to keep the new settings. Click "Yes" in that window before
the time expires.
- When your display returns, the "Display Properties" window and
everything else will be a different size (larger or smaller)!
- Click "OK" at the bottom of the "Display Properties" window to close
it.
- Close the "Control Panel" window.
- You can leave your screen resolution at this setting when you finish
viewing Gary's Web site or you can go through the same procedure to
change it back.
Text Size on Gary's Web site is set at 15 pixels for most text
(including the text you are reading now). If the text is too small,
you can enlarge it if you use Firefox as your browser (the software used
to access the Internet).
To change the text size in Mozilla Firefox:
- Click on "View" in the menu bar at the top of your screen and a
"pull-down" menu will appear.
- Put the pointer on the "Text Size" option and another "pull-down"
menu will appear.
- Click on "Increase."
If some of the photographs don't quite look right (if an image
has jagged edges), you may have visited Gary's site in the past and
he has since changed the size of that image. Refresh or reload
any page with a photo that doesn't look good by using a feature in your
browser (the software used to access the Internet):
- In Microsoft Internet Explorer, to refresh/reload a page
with an image that doesn't look right, click on the icon at the top
of your screen that is a small page with two, circular,
clockwise-pointing, green-colored arrows.
- In Mozilla Firefox, to refresh/reload a page with an image
that doesn't look right, click on the circular, clockwise-pointing,
blue-colored arrow at the top of your screen.
Gary's Astrological Preferences
- He uses the tropical zodiac (1) because it is defined by
specific astronomical points - the beginnning of each season, hence
the term tropical and (2) because he is a traditional astrologer.
- He uses the geocentric positions of the planets (1) because we
live out all of our lives here on Earth so it makes sense to him to
use the planetary positions as viewed from Earth and (2) because he is
a traditional astrologer.
- He is a traditional astrologer because he uses the complex
system of astrology practiced by professional astrologers from
Hellenistic Greek times through the Renaissance.
- Because he is a traditional astrologer, he uses the traditional
rulers for all signs of the zodiac (Scropio ruled by Mars,
Aquarius ruled by Saturn and Pisces ruled by Jupiter). Gary
includes the three most recently discovered planets of Uranus,
Neptune and Pluto in his interpretations but he usually doesn't
associate them with specific signs.
- He uses the Regiomontanus house system (1) because most of the
great traditional astrologers of the Renaissance like Kepler, Brahe,
Placidus, Schoener, and Copernicus used it and (2) because he agrees
with the rationale it uses to divide the sky.
- He does not use asteroids (including Chiron) in his
interpretations because (1) there are too many of them, (2) for most
of them there is very little or no mythology upon which to base an
interpretation, and (3) he has found no criteria for including a
reasonably small number of them. One exception is that he does
use the asteroid Ceres in his work. To read why, see his article
"Pluto:
Planet or Dwarf?"
Gary's site has recently been reconstructed!
Every page has a different, new, updated look. Gary created the new
banner and navigation bar you see at the top of each page. He
changed the color scheme to fit his personal color palette (based on his
hair, eyes, and skin complexion), which has many shades of purple.
He also enlarged all of the images and the text and reformatted
pages containing images. In addition, the following new
pages were added to the site as part of the recent reconstruction:
- A site map page that links to
all of the site's categories and serves as a table of contents.
There is now a link to this site map under the photo of Earth
in the navigation bar at the top of each page.
- An astrological art gallery
that lists brief descriptions of each piece of artwork on the site.
There is now a link to this art gallery under the composite
photo of Saturn and its moons in the navigation bar at the top of
each page. Gary will be adding many more pieces of art in the
near future.
- A page that details the distribution of the
most popular
services provided by Gary over the last three years.
- The page you are presently viewing.
- A page of references used in Gary's articles (accessible through links
from an article containing references).
Gary is the Webmaster. Let him know what you like and don't
like.
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