Seriously

We the Robots: comics by Chris Harding

Security Patterns

Even as a kid, I've always been fascinated by security patterns found inside envelopes. Now, as an adult, finding these little charms even makes bill day a bit nicer. The patterns are so strange and complex and always have weird little imperfections. I've always had a want to start a collection and come this morning, I found out someone already has. Yay! And the Sweetie Pie Press even sells button sets that are going on my Christmas list pronto.

Flickr group: worldwide collection
Sweetie Pie Press: interesting store with a good blog

Project Three: Visual Map

It seems a little too simple, but I've looked over it a few times and can't really see what else it would require. I'm wanting to have a nice little intro animation as well as an ending animation. So hopefully that's not to ambitious.

Emmanuel Polanco

I love this artist's work. It's strange, playful and disturbing all at the same time. And his colors are pretty and nostalgic. Working freelance in Paris, Emmanuel Polanco's work reminds me a lot of MisprintedType. Their work seems so random yet symbolic which makes for a really interesting mix.

Emmanuel Polanco: website

Mustachio

This morning, while doing some online Christmas browsing, I kept running across mustaches. Sure, I knew mustaches were cool. But I had no idea they had taken over. I found mustaches on vases, mustaches on purses and cosmetic bags, even a mustache on a stick. I don't know how I feel about this. Sure they are cute, but how many mustached items can one own before it gets weird?

Side note: I had no idea mustachio was a legitimate word. But it is.
mustachio : noun
A mustache, especially a luxuriant one.

Just ran across this compiled list from Neatorama. It's never ending.

Cute Animation

I'm a sucker for cute. And this animation is definitely adorable. The newspaper even has a mustache. Aww. This style would work great for project three...too bad it's exactly what I'm trying to stay away from. Sad.

Morris & Essex

Mmmm...purdy colors. These hand-printed greeting cards are the perfect mix of organic and geometric. Morris & Essex is the studio of Eliza Jane Curtis. Living in Argentina, she pulls inspiration from the city's art deco architecture and memories of childhood daydreams. Her work is charming and warm and of course her website is super cute and I wish I could buy everything on it.

Morris & Essex: i need money

You Wish We Were Related

Last year marked a milestone in my family. A new holiday tradition was forged. A tradition which brings us together to celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus. A tradition which forces all family members to group up and submit a video for presentation on the eve of Christmas.

As a rookie, I teamed up with my brother and his girlfriend to produce, what I consider, a fine piece of work. And although it took second place due to its pure ignorance of forgetting the subject of Christmas, I still have a certain sense of pride every time I think of it.

With this year's holiday season fast approaching, I've already been thinking about a concept for this year's trophy taker. Although I may still be hard-up for ideas, I have confidence that we will be victorious.

Finished Website Designs

My website designs for Sunken Treasure Scuba are finally finished. The site still has a bit of work to be done, but I'm really happy with where it's going. Rollovers are still in the works and I'm thinking some quirky little gif animations for the images might be in order.

Sunken Treasure Scuba: hooray!

Project Three: Teach Someone Something

Making Crystals: exert from The Dangerous Book for Boys
Having a crystal growing on your windowsill can be good fun. With food coloring, you can make them any color you wish.

The problem is finding a suitable chemical. You may have seen copper sulfate and potassium permanganate in school. Both can be quite toxic and are therefore not easily available in local drugstores. Your science teacher may allow you to have a sample, if you ask very politely.
For this chapter, we decided to use potassium aluminum sulfate, better known as alum powder. It is a non-toxic substance that used to be used to whiten bread. As with any household substance, you shouldn't get it in your eyes. It is available from the following website: www.sciencecompany.com. It is also commonly sold as foot powder. 1 ounce will cost you about $3 at the time of writing, not including postage. That is enough for crystal making, but alum can be used for fireproofing and tanning skin—as discussed in other chapters. It also works as an astringent on small cuts, or the crystals can be used as an underarm deodorant. You might want to get more. Alternatively, you can grow crystals with common salt or sugar.

You will need:

• 10 grams of potassium aluminum sulfate (alum)
• a glass tumbler
• a clean Popsicle stick
• warm water
• thread
• small stones, preferably with sharp edges

Method

1. Make sure stones are clean—wash them thoroughly in running water
2. Put enough warm water in the tumbler to cover the stones. (About a third of the cup.) Do not put the stones in yet.
3. Add the alum and stir furiously with the stick until it stops dissolving easily. You may be left with a few grains at the bottom. Ignore them. You can either put the stones straight in or, for the classic look, tie a thread around a small stone and the other end around the stick, as in the pictures. We did both.
4. If you are intending to add food coloring, do it now. Show proudly to parents, who will pat you on the head for being a "little genius."

Evaporation is the key for these small crystals, so make sure it is in a warm place. It will take a few days for the first ones to appear, and the full effect can take a few weeks. Larger crystals can be made by repeating the process—after tying a small crystal to the thread.

The crystal you see here is a picture of the one we grew—the one on the left, not the enormous thing. The huge circle came from the bottom of the glass and in many ways is more impressive than the actual crystal. It took about six weeks in total, and we refilled the alum once.

Last One

Last election post. I just couldn't pass this one up.

CNN Hearts Touch Screens

Watching CNN last night, I couldn't help but be occasionally mesmerized by all the slick graphics. How sexy were those touch screens? How clear were those maps? And did anyone see the holograms?! Okay. That was kind of lame. But the rest was awesome.

2008 Election Maps: a collection of race result maps