Knitting Masta!

Well, not yet anyway, but I love this scarf I made!(my second one)

Worthless.

My final semester of college, one word is coming to mind - WORTHLESS. I feel like so many(ok, all but one) have no depth for being upper level courses. Management 160, our first assignment was a worksheet. WTF. Worthless in class exercises and list making accompanied by elementary level discussion. In my graphic design II course we reviewed photoshop for two hours. I'm pretty sure if you don't know the program by now and use it on a regular basis, you're in the wrong field. GTFO. I want to discuss design, concepts, how to excell in the field, how to meet client needs without sacrificing your work, current trends and where the field is headed. I guess my main critism of courses is the lack of real world application (and I don't mean stupid class projects where you run your own company). Professors float around in these happy little bubbles of the previous century, and don't think past their sylabus and don't realize how much their bubbles are shrinking. Maybe it's because I am "an internet ninja" as a friend fondly calls me, and my time is spent following trends, studying the works of the best of the current designers, and taking interest in the change around me and how to keep up. I hate how I find brilliant tools, applications, and networking sites on my own, only to realize how widespread and powerful they are. Is that something students are expected to learn on their own, and that's why professors never mention them? Is that extra level of learning and discovery the difference between average and greatness? If so, I'm ahead of the game. Unfortunately, I think it's just do to the bubble world of professors and their lack of current knowledge and events. I'm just now starting to hear "Facebook" and it's business applications coming up in class discussions, though it's been in use for years. I never hear about twitter, linkedin, flickr, firefox add-ons(for web design; firebug, measureit, etc). These are becoming crucial for success and networking in a world changing at an increasingly alarming rate. With the economy as is, and the job market in such a crucial state, the naivete of those in charge of our(drake students) education is appalling. Maybe I need to start my own "Dumbledore's Army" to comp for the subpar education not preparing us for the real world. And you wonder why I sleep through half my classes . . . I'm not one to settle for just going through the motions.

Twitter giggles

Brilliant article, both for humor and context:

Before we get into the twitter conversation let’s see what HRBot would say if it were Optimus Prime from the Transformers,

Before Social Media began, there was web 1.0. We now know Social Media holds the power to create communities and fill them with life. That is how social web was born. For a time, we lived in harmony, some wanted it for good. Others, for evil. And so, began the war. Users scattered across the web, using it to do nothing but cover with filth and yet sustain a corporate life. Searching every community. Every platform. And just when all hope seemed lost, message of new discovery drew us to an unknown recruiter called ….HRBot. The bot unlike the transformers is right on time.

http://applicant.com/hrbot-human-resource-robot-that-spiders-your-social-profile/

Orange zested tillapia with coconut mango rice!

modified from foodnetwork.com. I'm no expert cook (but i'm working on it!), so this recipe is super easy!

Ingredients

• 6 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets [i used 2.5 and it was enough for leftovers tomorrow!]
  
• 6 tablespoons olive oil, plus additional for brushing
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Mango Coconut Rice, recipe follows

Directions

Place the fish in a large nonmetal dish. [Marinate in plastic bags] Whisk together the 6 tablespoons oil, the orange zest, orange juice, ginger, hot sauce, salt, and pepper, to taste; pour over the fish. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for [at least] 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare grill. [I'm in an apartment with no grill, so I used a skillet with EVOO.] Brush the fish with additional oil. Grill until fish just flakes when tested with a fork, about 5 minutes per side for each inch of thickness.

Serve alongside Mango Coconut Rice.

Mango Coconut Rice:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
• 1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large ripe mangoes, peeled and cubed

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the rice and stir to coat with the oil. Add the coconut milk, water, and salt; bring to a boil. Stir in the mango. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer about 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.

Remove the rice from the heat and fluff with a fork. Place a clean, dry dish towel over the pan, cover with the lid, and let steam for 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6 servings

Lemme know how it works out for you, or if you make any nummy changes!

New Toys!

that ad is brilliant. well designed and I totally cracked up when I saw it.

lol. I'm sooper excited to go home and download CSSedit by MacRabbit and play! But first I have to go to the grocery store, and I should probably get a haircut. Mine is reaching mullet-territory.

Google's new favicon is favugly

I'm surprised I haven't seen more about this yet. It's just plain gross. They had four designer logos to choose from, and this is the monstrosity that resulted.

new icon. ewwwww?

designed by André Resende

designed by by Hadi Onur Demirsoy

designed by Lucian E. Marin [prob my fav of the four]

designed by Yusuf Sevgen


Don't get me wrong, I love google, and think they're brilliant, but Marissa Mayer (VP, Search Products & User Experience) and Micheal Lopez (Web Design Lead) need a swift kick to their heads. Fortunately, google really wants the inputs of it's users, so let them know the ugliness needs to go!



[previous favicons]







The office is really quiet, so I'm rocking out to La Oreja de Van Gogh. Even if you don't speak Spanish, they're an awesome group! Also, I've decided I'm dragging my [older] coworkers to my favorite sushi place for lunch one day to make them try it! om nom nom!

peeksures.

Two loves in one.

Secksi kinda! a Mac in an xbox 360. rawr.


Lesson learned today . . . don't wear black jeans before washing them.

Creepy things about me . . .

Because work is a bit slow waiting for the Supreme Justice's speech to copy . . . weird facts. about me.

[1] I smell my new video games. nothing beats that fresh manual smell.

[2] I rearrange furniture when I'm stressed. I don't know if it's a zen thing, or just the feeling of change and control.

[3] I get a weird thrill out of the dissonance in design programs as they render their images from pixelated to pretty!

[4] I think I'm addicted to the internet.

[5] I have issues sitting properly. I'm 21 and my mother still nags me, but sitting crosslegged, with my legs under me, or my legs pressed against my chest are the most comfortable ways to sit.

[6] I'm scared of my potential. I'm scared I won't be good enough, successful enough, and won't live up to expectations of others and myself. It's like I'm stuck behind this force field, and greatness is on the other side.

[7] I have obscenely weird and vivid dreams. Some day I will start a blog that I update as soon as a wake up, so others may laugh and wonder if I do crack every night before bed.

[8] Scariest word in the world: eternity

[9] I ate mustard out of the bottle as a child, and now I can't stand it.

[10] I would like to be skinnier, but I like food too much.

[11] I've been high once. Off sharpies. Doing a design project. I thought I was being possessed.

[12] I loooove really bad sci-fi movies. I mean really bad. Like Leprechaun. And Tremors. And Lake Placid.

[13] I really want an ugly doll. Yes, I know they're ugly. But I still want one.



Not creepy, but I really want to create a stop motion movie. Dunno what about, though. hmmmmm.

CSS3

sad face. I keep reading about CSS3 and all the spiffy new stuff it can do. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in midevil times designing for a target group that uses IE explorer, and prob only IE7 at that. /cringe. [i'm a little bored at work printing brochures in sets of 25]

- ability to create rounded boxes solely through CSS instead of images. that's probably what i'm most jealous of.

- creating shadows around boxes is another goodie.

- of course, new font abilities. this example uses Delicious, a unique font by Jos Buivenga I've become fond of recently.

Seriously, though. IE? saaaaaaad faaaaaaace. <3 href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5081">Twitterfox - does that need explanation?
Zementa - blogging tool
Gmail Notifier - duuuuur

Web Development:
Firebug - yay source code editing!
Measureit - obsecenely helpful
ColorZilla - color picker from your screen. amazing.



I am quite aware this is turning into a design blog, but hey, I don't have that interesting of a personal life anyway. I work and do design, go home,make pitiful attempts to cook, play video games, and spoil my cat. Counting down the time till graduation, and searching for a job in Seattle.


my lists are all in sets of 3 today. it's creeping me out. 0_o




this is me right now.

From the wedding a few weeks ago

Some of my favs.

Food for the Designers Brain

Well, im effing starving and want actual food at the moment. instead, i shall placate myself with design food. look, pretty colors! [these are design sites i hit daily]

















p.s. making calzones last night demonstrated pizza crust > me

p.p.s. i beat the crap out of my thumb last night. it still hurts.

p.p.p.s. xkcd comics are brilliant.

LOL JUDICIAL VECTOR ART

They wanted a way to tie stuff together, so I illustrated the cover page image.


model:

Design Woes

ho hum. I am sad. I've been working on this magazine insert for the Iowa State of the Judiciary Speech on January 14th. I need to learn not to get so attached to my designs, because the copy always drastically changes and I have to come up with completely new ideas. Or maybe I just need to learn to build concepts that allow for more flexibility. I have much to learn.

Old Version:



New Version:




At least I'm working on a new web page, which is exciting. I have a bunch of different concepts so far.





Also, I baked amazing zucchini bread last night. I woke up this morning, wondering why Sake hadn't woken me up to feed her, and saw she had gnawed away the top part of one of my loaves. Seriously, cat? wtf.






also, it has just occurred to me that I haven't posted a picture of my first finished knitted scarf. go me. teeeheeee.