So this weekend, I had tryouts for the Rat City Rollergirls. I only started skating (as an adult) a couple months ago… Maybe 2 months tops. So I wasn’t really expecting to be picked up, let alone by the Throttle Rockets (my favorite team). So I’m pretty stoked, and trying like hell to come up with a decent name… I’ve also got Makin’ Bacon Derby Camp going right now. Many fun new things going on this summer!

So this weekend, I had tryouts for the Rat City Rollergirls. I only started skating (as an adult) a couple months ago… Maybe 2 months tops. So I wasn’t really expecting to be picked up, let alone by the Throttle Rockets (my favorite team). So I’m pretty stoked, and trying like hell to come up with a decent name…

I’ve also got Makin’ Bacon Derby Camp going right now. Many fun new things going on this summer!

Where are we going?

I ran across this interactive map showing the trends in moving to and from major cities. It takes forever to load, so I decided to summarize it for you based on their data (as influenced by my assumptions).

Dallas: Your gateway to even hotter parts of Texas.
Seattle: Move here and you’ll never leave.
Manhattan: A destination for everyone.
Los Angeles: Only desirable to people from Manhattan.
Chicago: You’d rather live anywhere than here.
Washington: You’ll probably go back to where you came from.
Detroit: Nobody lives here anymore.
Miami: In with the old, out with the new.
Atlanta: Collecting the least-southern southerners.

It’s not a purr, it’s more like a scream…

Finally took a pic of my bike on one of the fantastically sunny days we had this weekend. The previous owner had dropped it a few times, so it’s missing the side fairings, but I think I’m liking it that way. It came with a full vance and hines exhaust which is pretty cool. It also has an adjustable rear suspension thing… I haven’t looked into it much, or its advantages.

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Quirky is awesome!

I recently discovered Quirky, this which is basically crowsourcing for your product ideas. You submit an idea (which will cost you $99, so it keeps out the riff-raff), and every week through voting etc. they choose a winner to make its way into production. Not only is this awesome because I get lots of ideas for things to make, it’s also great because I get the opportunity to express my opinion about things that are wrong with products before they even make it to market.

Each product gathers “influencers” through its dev cycle, and these influencers are compensated based on their contributions. Funny enough, I found the site and was thinking of submitting that tea cup concept I came up with ages ago. Only to discover moments after I signed up, that the same idea was just enterting the production phase. Not that I’m annoyed, whatever, it was a marginally good idea. I needed a new idea to make feel better about losing out on that one though, so I came up with one. I’m doing research now, but plan on submitting it shortly (and then I’ll share!).

Sugru... Material Science FTW!

The first (roughly) finalized piece of collateral for JeffreyM, employees will have their pick of color. These cards will have some pretty good weight to them, I’m planning on going with Fitch Fine Double Thick Cover, Fine Finish, 160lb Cover (or match).

A different kind of mouth guard

I was searching for a better alternative to the options I was familiar with for mouth guards (if you missed it, I’ve recently gotten into roller derby). Something that let me talk and drink— I was considering going to a dentist and getting something professional made. But I’m cheap, and I don’t really like dentists… Eventually I ran across something that I think is pretty cool.

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Bakery Nouveau came to the table with a complaint. Their customers would leave with a cake in a standard cake box (you know, those plain square ones). But because the box was so awkward to carry, they’d inevitably tuck it under an arm to open doors and carry purses… Then when they’d get home, some of them were astounded to find their cake had slid, crashing into the side of the box and losing its beauty. Shock!Though originally tasked to just throw a sticker on a standard box, after some consideration, I decided I could solve this problem. So I was inspired to design the prototype shown here. There are 2 primary design features that make it superior to existing box designs 1. The handle. You can carry it and still have one free hand. 2. It folds completely flat, so when you get the cake home, you don’t have any issue getting to the treats inside. (Added bonus, they stack flat!)These boxes were designed in several aspect ratios, including one with the proportions of a lunch box that is capable of holding either a sandwich and chips, or 2 pastries. And yes, they are sturdy! I walked around downtown Seattle with a 12” cake and no problem at all. The jury is still out on production, because the client is only looking at a small run, production costs are higher than they were looking to spend. One possibility I’ve been considering is creating a series with “generic” graphics and selling the boxes on their own. But it depends on whether or not there is interest.

Bakery Nouveau came to the table with a complaint. Their customers would leave with a cake in a standard cake box (you know, those plain square ones). But because the box was so awkward to carry, they’d inevitably tuck it under an arm to open doors and carry purses… Then when they’d get home, some of them were astounded to find their cake had slid, crashing into the side of the box and losing its beauty. Shock!

Though originally tasked to just throw a sticker on a standard box, after some consideration, I decided I could solve this problem. So I was inspired to design the prototype shown here. There are 2 primary design features that make it superior to existing box designs 1. The handle. You can carry it and still have one free hand. 2. It folds completely flat, so when you get the cake home, you don’t have any issue getting to the treats inside. (Added bonus, they stack flat!)

These boxes were designed in several aspect ratios, including one with the proportions of a lunch box that is capable of holding either a sandwich and chips, or 2 pastries. And yes, they are sturdy! I walked around downtown Seattle with a 12” cake and no problem at all.

The jury is still out on production, because the client is only looking at a small run, production costs are higher than they were looking to spend. One possibility I’ve been considering is creating a series with “generic” graphics and selling the boxes on their own. But it depends on whether or not there is interest.

This is a “RocketDog” branded wine, a gift given to clients on project completion. The printing possibilites for the label were quite limited given the small run. So to make up for it there is a set of tags around the neck—inspired by dog tags (both for animals and the military, oh the punnery!)—which reads “LOST? CALL…”

Less is More?

Alright, usually it’s not. Most of time when I hear of people giving up all their worldly possessions in favor of a minimalistic lifestyle I laugh a little. Stuff makes our lives easier, makes it so we don’t have to deal with the boring crap. You would have to pry my appliances from my cold dead hands, especially anything that accessed the internet or washed something.

That said, this guy did it in a way that I find quite inspiring (and adorable). If you’re going to get rid of everything you own, the things you should make sure you have are: your Lambo, and your guns to defend it. Oh! And your mohawk. Richard Jordan, we seriously need to hang out.