What gives with the "Pickens Plan?"

I saw this video as an ad on TV Sunday night and it's an intriguing idea. Intriguing yes, but I'm not quite sure I trust this "Pickens Plan" or its backers. I believe that the US has to replace gasoline with every fiber of my being. Eight years of an administration that's allowed this country to be run by the interests of the gasoline producers of the world have made that abundantly clear. At the same time, I get it that a replacement for gasoline isn't going to come unless someone can make money off of the transition to and final replacement with whatever comes next. But who is T. Boone Pickens and what are his interests in all of this? His role as a shadowy figure in the Swiftboating of John Kerry give me pause to say the least. Is CNG the stepping stone to hydrogen he's claiming it to be? Or is CNG another dead end? Comb through their website and give it a think through. I'm genuinely on the fence. Think about it and leave a comment.

Mass Customization comes to me

So, yesterday I started talking about Shapeway.com's Light Poems. Today, I go in and make one for myself. Come join in on the fun!

In order to make this Light Poem, I needed some text to cut an paste onto Shapeway's web application. So I took an excerpt from an e-mail I sent to my brother. It reads: "Salt-cured capers are like vinegar-y raisins packed in coarse sea salt. I eat them like candy." Pure poetry if you ask me. so I popped that onto their site and BAM! As soon as I hit done, my poetic words appeared on their model.

So now that I had my prose uploaded, the app made some formatting suggestions so that my structure would be sound. I made the suggested changes and I ended up with something that reads: "SALTCURED CAPERS ARE LIKE VINEGARY RAISINS PACKED IN COARSE SEA SALT AND I EAT THEM LIKE CANDY." Then I selected the font I wanted to use, Gil Sans.

Then I selected the wrapping style my finished Light Poem would have. I selected "rings" over "spiral" because I like straight lines.

Then I selected my material. Because this is still a beta at this point, there is one material available for Light Poems. There will be more materials made available in the coming weeks (and more models). So my Light Poem will be made in a pure white, flexible but strong plastic.

Finally, I saved it and placed my order. Shapeways calculated the price for my Light Poem as I went through their process and they figure the price based on the cubic centimeters of material needed to make my Light Poem. So for this one, I came up with $95.11 and that includes shipping. Pretty slick.

The next product they have coming online a bowl, and you'll be able to make it in virtually any shape you want. Keep an eye on this one kids.

Mass customization arrives

A dear, dear friend of mine is someone I'd refer to (affectionately of course) as a laborious schemer. He's an idea man and keeping up with his brain children is one of the more enjoyable aspects of my life. A pet topic of his is something he calls "mass customization." Mass Customization is an idea that makes me nervous. The idea behind it is that anyone anywhere can have anything manufactured to his or her specifications whenever he or she wants it. The logistics of something like that make my head spin, and there's something about the idea that there's no expertise needed to select specialized products that rubs me the wrong way. That must be it --the idea of empowering anybody to customize whatever they want leaves me and my profession out of the loop. Well, the day of mass customization is dawning with no regard to how I feel about it. Since I can't stop it, I'm going to hype it instead.

So the dreams of my friend the laborious schemer have come true in the form of a website called Shapeways. Shapeways uses a three-dimensional printer to produce 3D images uploaded to their site and then they sell the uploader the finished product. 3D printing has been around for a couple of years. Industrial designers use it for prototypes. It's a pretty cool technology, that's for sure. Where Shapeways takes it a step further is that they are opening up access to this technology to anyone with an internet connection. 

If this were a service for the trade only, I could upload a model, they would print it out and mail me the finished prototype. Now that's it's been opened to the general public, you can do the same thing. Don't know how to use modeling software? No problem, because Shapeways has a web application that does the modeling for you. Although it's still in a beta form, their service now has a generic prototype that you can customize to your specifications and then buy for yourself. For now, their offering is limited to something they're calling a Light Poem. But what's possible in the form of that Light Poem is mind-bending.

The Light Poem is a table lamp that looks like a candle holder. It is essentially made from text that you upload and lay out with the help of web application. Here's a video that shows how it's done.

Here's what the prototype looks like and in the background on the screen is its computer rendering.

Here's how the Light Poems look in life.

Stay tuned, I just joined this website and I am going to make a Light Poem of my very own.

Fresh photography for hip homes

My title today is how photographer Jennifer Squires describes her work and I can't think of a better description for love or money. I'm mad for this woman's eye. The idea of elevating the art inherent in everything around me is a thrilling one and I love to see it expressed. Squires succeeds in capturing the beauty of every day objects in a way that seems both studied and casual at the same time. That's a tough act for a photographer to pull off, but she does it with grace and aplomb. Many times, it's easy to fall into the habit of ignoring my surroundings. It takes work like Jennifer's to snap me out of it and I appreciate her efforts tremendously.

Follow this link to Jennifer's website, and then follow this one to her shop on Etsy. If you have a patch of barren wall or a spot that needs some livening up, think about adding one or a few of her photos. 

Another cool download

I love all things Excel, it's one thing Microsoft got right (even if they stole the idea from Lotus back in the day). Well there's a great website out there called Vertex 42.

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Debt Reduction Calculator - Download a free Debt Reduction spreadsheet for Excel from Vertex42.com.

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Vertex 42 is dedicated to all things Excel and their site is loaded with live spreadsheets you can download. The debt eliminator I'm showing here is really slick and if you're in over your head with debt, it's a great tool to get a real handle on what you're up against and how to get out from under it. I know, I have been there and super-indebtedness stinks. It's easy to fall into the trap where you tell yourself that you can't get out from under what feel like insurmountable obstacles, but that's a lie. The first step toward taking control of your life is to get an accurate picture of what you're up against. Here's a great tool to help you do just that.