John and Marta...

Another online friend becomes an offline friend! It was awesome to spend the afternoon with John and Marta... taking about anything and more specific somethings. Thanks guys for your company... it was a real pleasure to take some time out for a blether.

Picture posted with LifeCast... comments added later.

John and I...

Posted with LifeCast

Miriam

Posted with LifeCast

Loving me some Songs of Water...

Lovely!

Surfin' the 'tinterweb... so you don't have to #7 [part2]

Here's part2... kicking off with a few things I really dig right now:



The Zumreed "Rain Drop" is a wee iPod speaker for your bathroom. If you like your water hotter than your coffee... then you'll need to watch your electronics in the bathroom... too much steam in the air. This speaker system encases your iPod... allowing you to bring the tunes. Nice!



I have to admit a soft spot for C3PO... I think he is hilarious! It was quite natural for me to be drawn to this fab Mimbot USB drive from Mimco - they have loads of wee characters to objectify and drool over... for me, however, it has to be Threepio!



The last "thing" I've gotten all excited about is the Kremlin messenger bag from Crome...



It is MASSIVE... measuring 28" x 17" x 8" (flat) and holding 3000 cu. in. Way too big for me but then that's the appeal. Add to that their cool quick release seat-buckle closure and waterproof fabric... and you've got one awesome bag!

Been getting really into Biking/Messenger culture... and have loved watching these vids as I recover from my op (I am so desparate to get back on my bike):







Whilst on point... I have to say... I really love these bikes from Fixed Gear London x Benedict Radcliffe. Maybe a bit too flouro for me... but I do like the cut of their gib. Thanks to we heart stuff and notcot #18,654 for the headsup.



I wonder how long those bikes will take before they appear in copenhagen cycle chic... a nice wee blog that documents cyclists in Copenhagen.



Lastly, on a music tip... check out Songs of Water on myspace... they play some beautiful music using traditional "blue grass" instruments in a totally non-traditional manner. Here's their about for more info:

North Carolina-based group Songs of Water has emerged from the South East with a sound both ancient and modern in an inventive fusion. This six piece sextet, composed primarily of instrumental music, harbors a wide variety of cultural and stylistic influences. The uncommon use of the Appalachian folk instrument, the hammered dulcimer, melodically leads many of the group’s pieces, followed by the resonance of various acoustic instruments and a brooding foundation of heavy percussion. Combining Band Leader, Stephen Roach’s world music influence with the classical background of violinist Marta Richardson, the Spanish infused guitar of co-founder Jason Windsor, and multi-instrumentation of Greg Willette, Luke Skaggs and Michael Pritchard, Songs of Water creates a unique sound that reaches beyond the common mileu.

Lovely! Thanks to @lovefiercely for the heads up. My kind of thing.

So yeah... that's me. I hope these links inspire you. Please leave comments and links to check out.

Tx

Surfin' the 'tinterweb... so you don't have to #7 [part1]

I have loads of links to post... so this will be a two-parter!



I really like Baggu's reusable totebags - they have a stylish practicality about them and beat, hands down, all other offerings. Nice!



Whilst everyone and their granny is wetting themselves over Tweetdeck... I found an alternative twitter client called :: Destroy Twitter. It is the pet project of Jonnie Hallman and is one of 4 really useful tools that he has produced.

I wasn't taken with the name until I read his explanation...

Most of my days are spent destroying today. To destroy today is to make the most of the day—destruction as a form of creation. This is my carpe diem.

I like that attitude... and Destroy Twitter has allowed me to do exactly that... get on with what I want to do whilst making the most out of twitter. Good job, Jonnie! Thank you!



I probably shouldn't hide this article in the Harvard Business blog by Umair Haque on the edge economy... but I will mention it here and come back to it for more discussion once I have fully digested it.

Basically, he has raised 4 points that cover smart growth rather than the kind of growth we have witnessed of late:

1. Outcomes, not income. Dumb growth is about incomes - are we richer today than we were yesterday? Smart growth is about people, and how much better or worse off they are - not merely how much junk an economy can churn out. Smart growth measures people's outcomes - not just their incomes. Are people healthier, fitter, smarter, happier?
2. Connections, not transactions. Dumb growth looks at what's flowing through the pipes of the global economy: the volume of trade. Smart growth looks at how pipes are formed, and why some pipes matter more than others: the quality of connections. It doesn't just look at transactions at the global, regional, or national level -- how much world trade has grown, for example -- but looks at how local and global relationships power invention and innovation.
3. People, not product. The next time you hear an old dude talking about "product", let him know the 20th century ended a decade ago. Smart growth isn't driven by pushing product, but by the skill, dedication, and creativity of people. What's the difference? Everything.
4. Creativity, not productivity. Uh-oh: Creativity is an economic four-letter word. Why? Because it's hard to measure, manage, and model. So economists focus on productivity instead -- and the result is dumb growth. Smart growth focuses on economic creativity - because creativity is what let us know that competition is creating new value, instead of just shifting old value around.

Awesome food for thought... a set of ideas that I wholeheartedly subscribe to.

Thanks to swissmiss for the headsup.



I thought this story in psfk about a Brooklyn thrift store making some serious numbers to be very inspiring. The key element of their success has been...

the items that are taken in as donations are curated first so they can offer a better quality of merchandise to their customers../

I've been a fab of charityshops for a good while now - I love the hunt - albeit... I have also wished that some stores were properly curated so that their pearls were more obvious to folk who aren't as prepared to dig or hunt.



Last up, in this part, is the fab blog of a NYC Location Scout - I love seeing the locations... seeing stuff through the eyes of the author... seeing places and spaces that would be otherwise ignored. Lovely!

Multitasking (37/365)

Multitasking (37/365), originally uploaded by Headphonaught.

Today's pic for Project365 was easy. I just walked in on my Dayna "multitasking" with her DS & my MacBook. Using both so effortlessly.

Thank You!! (36/365)

Thank You!! (36/365), originally uploaded by Headphonaught.

I got an invite to a wedding today.

It is so sweet. I am touched.

It reads...

In the City of Memphis
just blocks from the
Mississippi River

Kerry Elizabeth Crawford
and
Matthew Brant Trisler

will pledge commitment to one another
before the people who have filled their lives
with happiness, love and laughter.

It touches me so much that Olly and I have been included in the list of people who have filled the lives of Kerry and Matthew with happiness, love and laughter.

Its kind of crazy but yet "so now" to consider I met Matthew and Kerry when I asked to use a Flickr pic of Matthew's (a Playmobile Nativity Scene) for a flyer. We connected and just clicked... watching each other's lives happen through Facebook, blogs and of course Twitter. I remember the worry when, in near real time, I watched my twitter feed helpless for news of Matthew's wellbeing after he crashed his car on the long road to see Kerry. He was alright and twitter jumped leaps and bounds in my estimation of a brilliant "thing" on the net.

Both Olly and I are blessed to count Matthew and Kerry friends... albeit... we've never met... yet.

This is the point where the "however" kicks in. We'd love to go... I'd even go on my own if I could... but, the way things are, we can't afford the flights to Memphis from Glasgow.

I know that we will meet with Kerry and Matthew sometime soon. Now just isn't the right time for us.

That is unless someone knows a millionaire philathropist... someone with excess Air Miles... or a film crew looking for a sweet "web2.0" story and are willing to pay expenses???

I am so happy that we have received this invite... and gutted we can't go.

Sorry guys.... Tx

What I listened to today...

What did you listen to?

British Design Classics :: Royal Mail Stamps

British Design Classics :: Royal Mail Stamps, originally uploaded by Headphonaught.

I finally got a frame for the stamps I bought before I went into Hospital. The Royal Mail did a series of 8 stamps celebrating British Design Classics. The set features:

* The Spitfire
* The Miniskirt
* The Mini
* The Anglepoise Lamp (my personal favourite - I collect them)
* Concorde
* The Telephone Box
* The Polypropolene Chair
* Penguin Books
* The London Underground Map... and
* The "Routemaster" Bus

A nice wee collection... Thanks goes to Olly for get me a frame and for presenting the stamps as such. Looks nice behind my side of our communal computer desk.