international energy efficiency

it's not a website, conference, or email....it's an experience i just had in my travels to the coba ruins near cancun, mexico. after climbing the tallest mayan temple and hiking our way past vendors, bicyclists and locals we took in the local crafts. much like you can see anywhere in mexico, hand crafted wooden masks, dolls, plaques, etc...but what caught my surprise what the lighting. EVERY BULB IN THE PLACE WAS A LOW ENERGY "SQUIGGLY" BULB! i cant even say that about my own house in atlanta. i am ashamed. to make me feel even more guilty, all the bulbs were run off of solar power. okay okay, what if there are a string of cloudy days? well, then they pull energy from their wind generating field of propellers. WHA?!? or more so WTF-AID?!?!?! (what the fruitloop am i doing?) i completely rely on "the atlanta grid" and not on what is freely given to me.... enough said, change needs to happen and oh yeah, i am trying to buy myself a little mexican villa (300k, leverage the atlanta davis estate for capital...HA)

here is where i am staying...casa behla, run completely off of solar power (until the battery runs dead, then it's a generator)

Links Galore!

We have now established a del.icio.us account for rm9. It's called, as might be expected "Rm9." You can find it here and in the new links bar to the left.

There are a fair number of useful links on a whole variety of topics of interest to RmNiners and to designers in general: art and design resources, design blogs, tutorials, design companies, and some Georgia Tech specific links. There's even a tag specifically for free stuff. Check it out and bookmark it. You won't regret it.

Rob will maintain it and keep it up to date. If you would like to assist, have suggestions for further links to add, or see a problem, let Rob know. Also, if you have a del.icio.us account already, you may just want to add Rm9 to your network and share your own useful links.

Happy Browsing!

connections....

ritesh lead me to the thought of connections (bringing the beach to piedmont part) and recently i came across something i am sure y'all have already seen on core77. mark ovenden's book, transit maps of the world has a london underground feel to it, mapping out the entire world on one simple transit system. if it is this easy to think of connecting the world, or connecting a community (beach), why hasn't something this drastic occured? are our current "escapes" places like ice rinks? the botanical garden? high museum? maybe it has and i dont know / utilize its potential (internet, email, blogging, mass information sharing, and lets not forget the telephone and written LETTERS!)

my rhetorical question...how do i bring experiences closer to me without sacrificing too much quality/detail AND without breaking the bank?? how do i fully appreciate the lourve even if i cannot visit it this weekend? how do i experience the beach without going? we have successfully brought too much information to our fingertips...now how do we synthesize it?

joseph kosinski

referencing the IDEO+INTEL post below reminded me of the work of art director, joseph kosinski. a friend of mine, topher, owner of portland, oregon graphic design firm 'make like' served as assistant art director for the project called "les jumelles" for nike, on the website, during the days he worked at nike outside portland.

2x4

just wanted to post the link to this company that i find sweet:

2x4.org

Useful Link: BittBox

I find this particular link extremely helpful. It's a website called BittBox that offers up a wide variety of useful tidbits for the aspiring graphic designer. Right now he's not posting often enough to merit a daily check, but I've got it listed in my RSS feed and find something useful almost every time he updates. Sometimes it's a quick lesson on Illustrator or Photoshop, sometimes it's a cool new font he's discovered, sometimes it's free vector art to use in your own work (or any of a variety of other free bits and pieces from button designs to art brushes). Sometimes it's just a link to something that inspired him (I'm less interested in those, since his inspirations don't quite seem to mesh with my own style, but that's just me).

Check it out, there's lots to like.

recycled building?

yeah yeah, i know we are supposed to put bad products up here but i had to share this one. i am looking to purchase a shipping container for my mom (long story) but i ran across the coolest thing ever. freitag, a company that manufactures messenger bags etc. out of recycled plastic banners (advertising signs, billboard signs, trucking signs) has put together a shop purely made from these shipping containers. here is the flickr link....

on your marks....

talking is grand but doing is so much more fun don't ya think??

this has been started because a group of design nerds want a little more out of design school, design work, design play and design life. just like a brainstorming session this blog hopes to spark good conversation, hot debates, and a view into the design souls of its creators. who are its creators? they are overworked, underfed, design junkies that love thoughtful creation, abstract expression, and beer.

the rules:

rule number one: you always comment on what you post
rule number two: you ALWAYS comment on what you post
rule number three: if someone says "no need for I.D.", goes lame, taps out, the blog is over
rule number four: all people can talk at once
rule number five: one fight at a time
rule number six: clothing is optional
rule number seven: comments will go on as long as they have to
rule number eight: if you enter rm9, you have to add to the collective