Saw this ad in a brochure that dropped in my mailbox today. So basically it’s this swimming pool place, and it looks like a place I would want to be at this time of the year. Only problem is: where is it? Well the ad lists a website URL, maybe I could log on and see if there is an address? Or I could call the phone number in the ad. If you notice to the right of the ad though, you will find… GPS coordinates! Yes, GPS coordinates – but no address. If this is how companies will start branding themselves, then I might have to pick up a unit for sure. Punching it into Google Maps and making a printout would just seem terribly old-fashioned…

After struggling for a few days, I finally managed to put together a theme (or style as they are called in NNW) for NetNewsWire, the RSS reader I assume most Mac users rely on. You might remember earlier I made a theme for Cyndicate. Back then, I also made a theme called “Apples and Oranges”.

This theme made the basis for my new theme: I Like Candy!

I started out creating a pink theme, but ended up putting together a total of 3 different color schemes, and thus the following themes were born:

I Like Pink Candy

I Like Lime Candy

I Like Aqua Candy

Click each thumbnail for larger view.

Feel free to make any changes you wish to the themes. Redistribute to your hearts content. If you make any changes I would love to see what you did, so I’d appreciate it if you let me know.

Thanks to Alex Hong and Nicholas Shanks for help with some CSS issues.

Download all three versions.

Just wanted to share a couple links today.

The first is a simple tutorial on how to use any flash movie/file you find on the net as a screensaver in OSX. The second is a couple clips from South Park taking on the YouTube craze. Re-discover the Star Wars Kid, Numa Numa and Dramatic Chipmunk (or whatever it is).

So I went to see a dentist today. Gotta admit I was a bit scared. Only had one hole though, so it wasn’t as bad as I expected. You know how those dentists are though, always telling you to brush your teeth, and to swap out the cola for coffee. So I did. Wonder what my dentist says to a cup of overly sweet caramel coffee with not one, not two, but a handful of marshmallows I say yum!

Some Brazilian “animation studio” (if that’s a suitable name for something like this) has made quite a few notable movies, which just seem all too familiar…

Ratatoing

The Little Cars

Little Bee

Gladiformers

[via Capn Design]

Adobe today released the first beta of Photoshop Express, a free, web-based version of the Photoshop image editing software. I have to say: as a beta, it’s pretty good. Sure you don’t get all the features of the real deal, but it’s a start. Photoshop Express is probably more like iPhoto or Picasa than Photoshop for now.

There are no layers, no pens or brushes. You do get basic stuff like cropping and rotating, controls for exposure, red-eye removal, sharpening and focus, white balance, and some filters like distortion and black & white and hue controls.

You get the full history of every step you do though, so you can go back at any time, even after saving and logging out for weeks or months. Sort of like Lightroom.

It also integrates with Facebook, Photobucket and Picasa (what, no flickr?)

Overall, a good start. It will be interesting to see where they take it from here, and whether or not the service will stay free.

Yet more from my new apartment. Today will unveil a bit more, though the focus of this post will be a coffee table. Right now, the table is about the only thing in the apartment that I made myself. I hope to change this in time, but it’s a lot of work and all that

So it all started with a sheet of glass that I had lying around from an old cabinet. I thought to myself, “I wonder if this could work as a table?”. After some more thinking, I put together a rendering like so:

The plan was, the whole time, to make the table black, not wood colored (because it would be made out of MDF or something similar). You can also just barely see the glass in this rendering.

I then realized the sheet of glass had some pretty big holes in it (from handles). So I scrapped the glass, and then instead opted for glossy paint. I really wanted a piano black finish, but to be honest, making that happen is near impossible with a regular paintbrush and MDF.

As least from a distance the finish is kind of glossy. Get closer though, and it’s not quite as nice. Not saying it’s bad though, several coats and lots of sanding did SOMETHING.

The table also ended up being a bit higher than I had planned, something I didn’t realize until I got it into my apartment (which is not where it was assembled). I think it would have looked better if it was lower, but higher is definitely more practical. It’s just the right height for resting your feet when watching tv

If you’re interested in seeing the table belly up, click here. I don’t think it’s quite complicated enough to warrant a instructable.

More to come. Oh, and don’t mind the curtains, they’re practically gone already

Continuing my series on nifty things to put in a (my) apartment, how about a place to put your magazines? Granted, if you don’t read a lot of magazines, this is not for you. And if you read boring looking newspapers, you might also be better off with a basket of some sort. If on the other hand you read stuff where someone went to great lengths to make the cover look good, why stove it away? I mounted mine right next to the sofa so I don’t have to get up in order to grab something to read

The rack is from the same company that made the invisible bookshelf.

It’s been quite a while since I posted anything here. A lot has happened over the last couple months. Getting a job, finding an apartment. Things are starting to set in now though. Got what I need in my everyday life in the apartment, but that doesn’t mean by any stretch that it’s finished. I’ll probably be posting pictures and design-related topics over the next few weeks as things unfold. If there is anything you want me to post about, anything at all, please let me know.

For now though, I wanted to share the invisible bookshelf.

The shelf is manufactured by Umbra, and they also make a version for towels

Today was my first day at work. It also happened to be the day when I got an apartment. These two things are what have consumed a lot of my time lately, and probably will for a few more weeks. Just so you know that I’m not dead. I’ll post more info on both when I get the time.