The 2010 Winter Olympics just ended, but it wasn’t until tonight that I stumbled upon a showcase of the Vancouver designs. Did you know that the Olympic medals were made using bronze, silver, and gold reclaimed from old computer motherboards? I didn’t know either! Check out FastCompany’s slideshow of Olympic designs.

As a designer, I enjoy the odd variety of things on which I get to work. Above is a Flash interface that I created for an IT support center. The company had been receiving a lot of calls concerning the task of adding paper to their new multi-function devices, and they thought that a poster and interactive interface might help. So, I completed both. The interface above went onto their support website, and the poster shown below (small image) was printed and mailed so that it could be posted above each and every machine. It’s harder to see when it’s this small, but hover your cursor over the drawers and then click the darker text beneath the machine. It’s super simple programming, but it got the job done. I’m told that the call volume has dramatically decreased, which happily means that my design was successful. Same information, two very different formats. I created the illustrations and the poster in Adobe Illustrator. The interface was created in Adobe Flash.

I was contacted last week to create a “wheel of fortune” type Interface for the Kroger Company. They specifically requested that I use “really bright colors” and that I make it “super eye-catching”. So, to fulfill those requests I designed this to resemble a cross between a game show and a midway game. Lots of colors and lights. I created the illustration in Adobe Illustrator and then tweaked it in Flash as I programmed the interactivity. It’s really simple in it’s function, but I thought it turned out rather nice. The user pushes the “Spin” button and the wheel starts spinning, gradually coming to a stop on one of the pie slices. The arrow jumps up and down as if being met with resistance by the spinning wheel. The wheel spins a random speed and distance with every new spin. This interface will be used to give away gift cards at an event this weekend. Attendees will win something just for spinning, but anyone that lands on the gift card spaces will win one worth about $10 to $15. Please note that I’m not giving away anything except opinions and stories.

I get a kick out of “Man vs. Wild” and “Survivorman”, and I must admit that I chuckled to myself when I watched Les Stroud, the host of “Survivorman”, as he struggled to build a Figure 4 Deadfall trap in an attempt to acquire food during one of his outings. Snares and traps are a common topic for many people interested in outdoor adventures such as camping and bush-craft. I’ve been honing my outdoor skills lately in preparation for camping trips this summer, and in that process I’ve been watching a lot of very informative YouTube videos. One of those videos prompted me to create the illustration above. This illustration serves several purposes: allows me to practice my illustration and design skills, helps me better understand the form and function of this mechanism (I can now build one from memory), and allows me to make the transfer of knowledge from myself to others a little easier. The video below was my inspiration. Where Les Stroud struggled, Paul Scheiter succeeds. This rather well-crafted video was produced by Paul Scheiter, who owns and operates HedgehogLeatherWorks.com. Paul has performed a root-cause analysis of many problems related to blade sheaths and by applying Industrial Design principals to leather, he’s significantly improved the design of the leather sheath. I appreciate Paul’s approach and his dedication to excellence in his leather works and his videos. If you appreciate outdoor activities such as camping and hiking, or are interested in disaster preparedness or wilderness survival, then you may enjoy Paul Scheiter’s other video’s.

This new CNN opinion poll reveals,

“Fifty-six percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday say they think the federal government’s become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens.”

A comment by Jake on the View from the Porch Blog stated,

“What boggles my mind is that they couldn’t even slant it to get away from the .gov being an immediate threat. Not a ‘potential’ threat, or even a ‘growing’ threat, but an immediate threat.”

I honestly agree and consider myself part of the majority in this case. Read the CNN article here.

About two years ago I started writing a short story about a battle between humans and aliens that takes place in the streets of a medium sized mid-western city. I thought it would be awesome to have house-to-house, street-level combat, similar to the combat that our forces encountered in WWII when fighting in Europe. However, several months after I began my story, as I was still developing the plot and characters, I read an article about a new movie that was being scripted that involved my basic premise. I was bummed. Well, that movie has finished some of its principle photography, which was being filmed in Louisiana. I just found a YouTube video of a guy that drives through part of the town as it’s being cleaned-up by a construction crew after the film crew had left. I love it when the cop tells him to put the camera away.

The photo above was taken a few days ago during the first series of storms that Ohio received. I’ve just learned that my county is under another Winter Storm Watch (I think it’s the third or fourth one in two weeks). The average snowfall amount for my area in February is less than an inch. So far this year we’ve had about four or five snow events, with at least two of them happening this month. Each snow event brought several inches of snow. The first big storm brought about ten inches, then we had snow and flurries for a few days that added about another three or four inches. Although there’s been some settling of the snow and, despite the sub-freezing temperatures, there has been some melting, the current standing snow outside my front door measures about 8 inches . The weather report this morning is predicting another three to five inches of new snow by tomorrow night. As if that news wasn’t bad enough, this morning the temperature is six degrees. Six! I am very eager for Spring to arrive!
UPDATE: As if it matters to you, the weather service is now calling for seven to nine inches of new snow over the next 12 hours. Oh, goodie.

I was asked by several people, friends and family alike, to reduce the number of economic and political posts on my Blog because they just weren’t fun. And, I’ve done that. I’ve tried to shy away from those topics. However, it’s extremely important that we don’t forget how our choices, or lack of them, will affect us as we age and drastically affect the prosperity and happiness of our children. This Newsweek article honestly and truthfully discusses the dangerous state of our nation’s economy, and it places a call-to-action on the current administration to be honest and open about this situation to the public. If you want to pretend that things aren’t going to get worse and that the prosperity of the past will soon return, then you are setting yourself and your family up for a very uncomfortable and perhaps dangerously rude awakening. To quote President Obama, “We have lived through an era where too often short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity; where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election … All the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some other time or some other day. Well, that day of reckoning has arrived, and the time to take charge of our future is here.” But, as the Newsweek article states, politicians don’t want to ask voters for sacrifices in order to correct economic troubles. It’s political suicide to ask voters to accept tax increases or cuts to public aid. So, politicians hide the truth. Obama talks a good game, but he’s failing to act. He’s failing to speak the truth and time is very quickly running out. We only have a few years left before the choices disappear and we are left with nothing but grief and a very large bill with “balance due” printed across the top. The article discusses how the government is working to postpone the inevitable. But, reminds us that there is no free lunch. Here’s a quote from the Newsweek article: “But what happens when the time really does come? When the debt is piled too high, when the economy threatens to sink under the weight of accumulated obligations that have been put off too long? There are more than a few signs that those times are not so far away for the federal government, and that in some big (and big-spending) states, the day of reckoning is now.”

I just thought of that title and I immediately imagined Ed Sullivan announcing that name in the same way he used to introduce Topo Gigio.

Did you know that Michael Jackson had plans to create his own theme park? Sure, he made his backyard into a small theme park, but he had much bigger dreams than that. He actually hired Disney Imagineers to design a much larger, Disneyland-sized park based on the story of Peter Pan. I found a Danish website (translated via Google) that offers the story and provides some very interesting images, such as a set of very detailed plans for the layout of the park. Check it out!

I suppose if someone lived in a severely less developed nation or in a nation where the government was notorious for taking people in the middle of the night because they thought you were a dissident (you know which countries I’m talking about), then this folding machine gun that can fit in your back pocket may be necessary. Otherwise, it looks like something that should only be seen in the movies. However, I have to admit, it is kinda cool.

CANADA’S second-oldest magazine, “The Beaver”, is changing its name after 90 years because the title is too often censored by online porn filters, preventing it from reaching new online readers. Via PerthNow, an Australian news source.

MSNBC is offering their picks for the best Internet memes of 2009. I’d forgotten about that Banff squirrel, and I loved, LOVED , the 3-wolf moon shirt meme. Ah … good times. If it weren’t for the downward spiraling economy, the uncontrolled government spending, impending pandemics, war on several different fronts, and constant speculation that the world was about to end, I think 2009 would have been an okay year. Here’s hoping that in 2010 we’ll see financial gains, fiscal responsibility, health, peace, and long life!

You’ve probably heard of this, and I’m just a little slow to catch on. I first heard about “lock bumping” last year, but I didn’t fully understand what it was. “Lock bumping” is a method to unlock a door deadbolt, the kind you probably lock every night, without picking it or using force. I thought it was used only on certain lock types, not 95% of all locks! This morning I stumbled across a YouTube video of a news broadcast that explains and displays “lock bumping”. I’m going to Lowes this afternoon.

I love Illustration. I love doing it and I love looking at what others have done. I especially love older illustrations. I like the ones that focus on the sensitivity of the human heart, the love of family, the culture of America’s past … just good old fashioned Americana. I love intelligent illustrations, where the composition is so carefully considered and implemented that you focus completely on the concept and the subject matter, and you don’t even notice that your eyes and your thoughts were being gently guided. Well, this morning I discovered a Blog that discusses illustration in a loving and refreshingly technical manner. If you are an illustrator, or just love good illustrations, I highly recommend visiting http://todaysinspiration.blogspot.com. However, don’t just look at the pretty pictures. The text is full of great stuff too, like interesting facts about the paintings and artists; good discussions about the technique, design, and composition; and candid interviews from the artists and their families.

I am not fond of the latest three Star Wars films. I’ve even written a few reviews about different plot points and failings of the films over the years. However, I’ve never written anything longer than about 500 words. The other day SlashFilm posted links to a set of videos that collectively make up a 70 minute review of The Phantom Menace. That’s right, 70 minutes! And, I must say, it’s definitely worth viewing. It is absolute genius. Although I don’t agree with every single point he makes, I agree with about 95% of it, and some of the observations he makes are mind boggling. I highly recommend watching the review, courtesy of SlashFilm.

Some people say Ronald Reagan was bad for this nation’s economy. Many say that Dubbya was bad for this nation’s economy. Well, you should read this article from the Wall Street Journal. It compares the economics of the 80’s with those of today. The message is good.

I believe it was late 1983 that I first played the Don Bluth animated laser disc arcade game, “Dragon’s Lair”. It became an obsession to complete the game. I only had a few dollars per week to spend from my paper route earnings, and I spent every quarter I could scrounge. Eventually, in early 1984, while mounds of snow still hampered my efforts to deliver the daily paper, I finally completed the game. It was an amazing experience. Several friends were there to cheer me on, including my best friend Chris. It took me hours of playing and dozens of cups of hot chocolate, but seeing Princess Daphne express her gratitude in all her sexiness was well worth the struggle. A couple hours ago I discovered that a version of “Dragon’s Lair” is available for download to my iPod. It’s a beautiful and faithful rendition, and I absolutely love it! And the best part; it only costs $4.99. If you have iTunes installed you can click this link to read about and to download the application. For me, it’s a wonderful way to relive a very happy time in my childhood. “Lead on adventurer, your quest awaits!”

Forbes website offers an opinion piece by Ron Paul on the economic state of this nation. It is an article worth reading.