I’m a sucker for well made and well designed tools. And one of my most frequently used tools of late is my sketchbook. My sketchbook however is almost used up and in quite poor condition, So i’ve been looking around for another to replace it.

I came across These beautifully constructed Xylobooks by Container Corps. Using reclaimed woof from a local furniture factory. these 128 page books are a stunning example of handcrafted, hand-bound design. For such quality they don’t seem to be overly expensive at 45.00 per.  The selection of woods obviously varies with the availability of the resources

h/t Corre77

Tags: beauty, Design, handcrafted, houndbound, sketchbook, wood

Rethink Hanger uses plastic bottles to hang clothes. Imagine cutting down on plastic entering the waste stream and at the same time making something useful for yourself. This contraption allows you to screw two bottles into a plastic hook creating an item thatis in need.

The unit will cost 8 dollars per hanger, which is quite a nut to crack when you consider trying to fill a closet. Also you need to consider the extra room the bottles would take up over the dread wire hangers. If there was some way to melt or flatten them slightly this would be a fantastic idea.

h/t SlipperBrick

Tags: Design, Plastic bottles, recycle, thinking

Michael Deal Charts the Beatles. For a band that made a consistent hits. Its a well know fact that i have a serious weakness for Infographics and so call “infoporn” in general. I aspire to see things as these artists do.

The above chart is an example of splicing the authorship of different Beatles with color coded bars. Seeing the authorship and the control over the musical direction over the course of their run visually gives a different sense as to how the band was creatively organized. In this case it’s not just about the band, which i like, but rather the different ways of conceptualizing the information that represents the band.

Eventually this larger infographic collaboration is going to be housed at http://www.chartingthebeatles.com/ so if you’re like me and dig yourself some infographicskeep it on your radar

Tags: beatles, chart the beatles, Design, graphic design, infographics

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Live show, New Show!

With CES going on there is a ton of information flying about I’m trying to pick up the little but awesome content and relay it on to you. The problem with the tech news cycle is that much like so many other things in life its either feast or famine. Right now I’m pretty sure i missed a couple of courses somewhere.

News on the new show debuting this Saturday. I think you’ll like it. Its a work in progress. but I am going to have fun with it. Video is a hard nut to crack.

CaffiNation Live on Wednesday Nights at 11pm Eastern

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Geek Cruft:

• Techpodcasts Team is rocking the heavy work at CES again this year.
• How do you treat your voice for Podcasting. Its all about process
• Add on Sonar for your minivan
• Now we have cuddly TV?
• Fantastic idea, Prongless Usb Power
• Real life Lamborghini wireframe
• Boost your signal with a tiny beautiful amp
• Meet the Google Phone
• TV is big, Wireless HD blows the mind away
• Trek your wedding Star Trek Cufflinks
• Cuff meet link. Bright idea for light up cufflinks
• Puzzle Calendar Bricks… just don’t say lego

Food and Caffeinated Bits:

• Toddler bowl lockdown
• Chocolate trivet?
• Drink specific swizzle sticks
• Wine Cork USB Drive
• This is awesome, Winestein
• Insanely awesome Yellow Submarine Tea infuser
• Full of hot air or a cooler coozer?

Thanks and Stay Caffeinated People!

Stay in Touch: Phone 215-240-1319 | Twitter @caffination | Facebook Fan Page

Subscribe via | RSS | iTunes | Zune

Tags: back up camera, bowl lockdown, CES, Coffee, cork usb, cufflinks, Design, google phone, hd tv, Lego, puzzle, Star Trek, Tea, usb power, wireless hd

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New setup in the Lair, CaffiNation Studios Now Showing… ME!

Tonights live show hopefully showcases a new setup for the lair, we’ve moved things around added better lighting to the mix and actually read a manual to figure out how to make the camera take better video! Techs don’t read ladies and gentlemen, we usually know, which is why we’re the worst support nightmare in the world. Usually we know just enough to be dangerous.

I’ve talked before about how most news is cyclical and trends definitely appear from time to time if you look for them. Well tonight you have Coffee, Legos and Star Wars. what more could any geek want? This is awesome in a can thats what it is.

CaffiNation Live on Wednesday Nights at 11pm Eastern

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Enjoy the show!

• Back Channel: All the Cruft, non of the Chaff now with more fluff
• Where else can you find me? www.paulrjmuller.com

Holiday Cruft

• Proof of the Lego Menorah! Charity at its most awesome
• Christmas tree PC
• The inner world of Snowflakes, sans whos

Geek Cruft:

• Zombie Outbreak now with options!
• Beautiful Retro PC, think 1950’s aesthetic goodness
• Remote control paintball gun, stay off my lawn
• Build a better mousetrap and crush the mousy resistance
• Old school Xbox, Modded into Millennium Falcon
• Millennium Falcon bed, For Han’s Love Shack
• Instant Chewbacca, never gets old
• Top 10 lego creations. Thanks Norbert!
• Insane Lego Camaro with 6 speed transmission Thanks Norbert!
• Lego City, thanks K
• Teddy bear Gun
• How to kill yourself and a friend with invention. 2 seated unicycle
• Nuke Powered bugs…
• At least its not a Nuke Powered Car
• At&T Users revolt, but is it a good idea?
• Why not USB Shortwave radio

Food and Caffeinated Bits:

• Math, Pi, and why noone wants to invite a math geek for pizza
• Meatballer, for the squeamish
• Brazil harvested less coffee, this can’t be good
• I hate smores, but this makes them easy
• Yet Another Coffee Steak recipe, looks might yummy
• Coffee Gift Guide. Coffee Nate has your back

Want to contribute?

Feel free to send in any recipes, reviews or like minded articles and I’ll gladly post it with a link back to your lair!

Thanks and Stay Caffeinated People!

Stay in Touch: Phone 215-240-1319 | Twitter @caffination | Facebook Fan Page
Subscribe via |  RSS |  iTunes | Zune

Tags: camaro, chewbacca, Coffee, Design, i hate smores, instant chewbacca, Lego, lego city, meatballer, Millennium falcon, Pizza, Retro, smores, Star Wars, Xbox, yanko design

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What is WWFD? well you’ll need to listen in to find out

I’ve been slightly askew in my reading of late, so the resulting show you get is a bit more geeky and more design based than normal. I hope you enjoy these different takes on things. I also showcase a new video i made called Learning from Stupid, its exactly what it sounds like…

I make mistakes and you get to listen, laugh and hopefully learn a bit.I’ve been thinking about different ways to make the show more engaging and hopefully some of them will come to fruition in the short term. The first video is up in this episode, expect more to come after that, different things, some coffee tech, some lectures and talks i’ve done. I have a lot of things that need to be edited, i just have to make the time to do it now.Who doesn’t like free stuff? Hows about free awesome stuff?

The Podcast Madness continues, they’re now giving away an Epson Artisan 810, on a spiffy new site no less. I love Epson printers, you simply can’t beat them for clarity and brilliant colors, and these loons are giving a good printer away scott free. Well you do have to listen in to our show and the others in the mix to get you chances.

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Enjoy the show!

• Back Channel: All the Cruft, non of the Chaff now with more fluff
• Where else can you find me? www.paulrjmuller.com

Geek Cruft:

• Learning from Stupid?
• Recording Industry Bands aren’t the problem
• Google to start feeling the need for speed in ranking sites
• Archaeology A Case in Antiquities for ‘Finders Keepers’
• Split Window, pretty cars, nifty gadgets Car design Corvette Style
• IT workers the unhealthiest in the UK, probably beyond as well. We need to change this
• 10 Geeky Laws That Should Exist, But Don’t
• Map-Hole a nifty concept for city mapping
• Getting the wrong impression Bad Messages From Good Movies
• Off the wall Designs, off the wall, on the wall and part of the wall
• digital natives by Ze Frank a different Take on the topic

Food and Caffeinated Bits:

• Energy Management Tips
• Shelton’s coffee cubes
• Drink Coffee Like Its 1765
• Why do we drink coffee? Instant gratification isn’t ideal when it comes to coffee
• Banana comes with a certain a-peel

Want to contribute?

Feel free to send in any recipes, reviews or like minded articles and I’ll gladly post it with a link back to your lair!

Thanks and Stay Caffeinated People!

Stay in Touch: Phone 215-240-1319 | Twitter @caffination | Facebook Fan Page
Subscribe via |  RSS |  iTunes | Zune

Tags: Archaeology, Caffination, cocept art, Coffee, conceptual design, Design, energy, epson, Geeks, Google, graphic design, Health, industrial design, instant coffee, laws, learning from stupid, Paul Rj Muller, podcast madness, Tea

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Today’s Show:  Lego, Design, Color Theory, Adopt a Newb Day, Jobs, robots, photoshop, Mario, nesting dolls, energy drinks, sugar

Tonight’s show is shortened because I’m pretty sure everyone was outside enjoying the weekend. At least were the CaffiNation makes its lair, in Sunny Philadelphia. The family unplugged as a whole and took the city by storm, so everyone here is just plain plumb tuckered out. Tonight’s show takes only the best content and the funniest links from my travels the past couple of days online.

Consider this a small sampling of the awesomeness available. But we do have a ton of great little design tips and applications. We are taking this opportunity to announce Adopt a Newb Day 2009, a day dedicated to the idea of giving a little tech love to those less all knowing than you.  More to come in the next couple of days about this holiday and as always check back for some interesting articles on tap this week as well.

As always Enjoy the show and Stay Caffeinated!

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• Store now open, CaffiNation Outpost
• Back Channel: All the Cruft, non of the Chaff
  
• Web Presence Index www.paulrjmuller.com

Follow Along with us as we talk about…

• Blog Design Guide: Part 1 the Colors
• Adopt a Newb Day 2009 is coming! 4th Annual
• Last years Adopt a Newb was quite fun
• LaidOff Camp? Interesting Idea, not one in Philly yet

Geek Cruft

• I ain’t afraid of no Retro, T shirt
• Old School looking Robot, flash drive
• Robot Stacking Toy, is awesome fun
• Robots to teach our young? and they can get freaky angry
• Legos build Themselves a Millennium Falcon
• Incredibly expensive Photoshop and Illustrator menu Magnets
• Free and Awesome Periodic Table of Shortcuts CS3, found via
• Mario Nesting Dolls

Consumable & Caffeinated Bits

• Pepsi throwback, sugar is back
• DIY Booze Creation, possibly
• Anti Energy Drink?  Sounds pretty interesting
• My take on energy drinks, revisited

Thanks and Stay Caffeinated People

Tags: adopt a newb day, color theory, cs3, Design, Energy Drinks, illustrator, Jobs, Lego, Mario, nesting dolls, photoshop, robot, robot teacher, robot toys, sugar

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Today’s Show:  Clocks, Microsoft, Apple, Nintendo, Lego, Zombies, Cameras, Robots, Design, Starbucks and Coffee

A day after people either love being around or can’t wait till its over we find topics that bring everyone together. Walking through a who’s who and major brand name dropping we peek into the stories floating around online to see whats really behind the announcements and how they’re trying to separate you from your hard earned cash.

We’re also opening the show up to suggestions for notable charities and causes that fit into the geek culture or coffee Cruft sections. Help us spread your words. I’m also very excited to explain a new series of articles coming out in the next couple of weeks called Tech in Tough Times, we’re going to be focusing on helping you get the most out of your machine and your software. So sit back, enjoy the show and Stay Caffeinated ~!

———————-

Sponsor:  Try GotoMeeting free for 30 days! For this special offer
visit www.gotomeeting.com/techpodcasts

———————-

Enjoy the Episode!

• Store now open, CaffiNation Outpost
• Back Channel: All the Cruft, non of the Chaff
  
• Web Presence Index www.paulrjmuller.com

Follow Along with us as we talk about…

Geeks Who Care!

• Submit your Causes!
• Tech in Tough Times: Starts next week
• Great introduction to Freelancing, How to make it work for you

Geek Cruft

• Microsoft Stores?
  • How they can work, what they won’t be
• Apple the Jailbreak question
• Spiffy Nintendo Quilt
• Robotic Fist Launcher
• A clock that grows on you
• Clocks for the film camera enthusiast
• Crazy Eye Clock
• How to stand out in a crowd, with Deer Headphones
• Are you a nut about music?
• Anything can be your light
• 8 bit Awesome ties
• Robotic Overlords Control bugs now
• Lego Uzi?
• Lego Camcorder, in name only
• Webcomic Artist, and Podcaster Scott Johnson
  • Created 56 Geeks Poster
  • Starting on Zombie Poster

Consumable & Caffeinated Bits

• Cream and Sugar meet
• No more Guessing, Is it really Caffeinated?
• Fill line meter
• Instant Starbucks?

Thanks and Stay Caffeinated People

Tags: apple, Caffination, Cameras, Clocks, Coffee, Design, Lego, Microsoft, nintendo, Robots, Starbucks, Zombies

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Today’s Show:  Legos, Bentos, Zelda, Coffee, Tea, Freebasing, Steampunk, Design, Virus, Retro Trends

The dreaded daycare sweep is running through our house right now in various stages with each person. But when it gets right down to it the show must go on. There is a ton of news building up and we have swept through for only the best and brightest content. While typing may be hard with my stump of a hand, the news has been nothing if not fantastic.

I wanted to tank everyone for all their well wishes, at this point the injury is more irritating than anything else. I’ve been though this process so many times, that while painful its rarely different.

———————-

Sponsor:  Try GotoMeeting free for 30 days! For this special offer,
visit www.gotomeeting.com/techpodcasts

———————-

Enjoy the Episode!

• Planning on new features, spin offs etc

New Store now open, CaffiNation Outpost

Back Channel Content, All the Cruft that’s fit to Share

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Bentos, Caffination, Coffee, Design, Freebasing, Legos, Retro, Steampunk, Tea, Virus, zelda

It has been way too long since I posted a FoF Friday. So I’ll give you a quick hit.

If you follow me on twitter you will know that I have been trying to get back into sketching. When i was in school for archeology I did a great deal of sketching, both of artifacts and of illustrations to practice. I wouldn’t say I’m great at it but I miss doing it. So i decided to try and get back into the swing of things with some simple Illustrations. I Picked a Birch Tree, a Pansy Flower and a Mum. All plants that live on campus and make great immobile subjects for a lunch time sketching break. Nice spring day, good breeze a cup of coffee and my book.

As for the Podsafe inspiration for today’s work, it wasn’t a music number at all but rather a podcast. I have been listening to Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel a good deal recently. I’m trying to catch up to his current show but i think I’m about 2 weeks behind. Mitch has an unbelievably smooth delivery and a great way of putting any concept into clear terms. If you are in any way interested in Digital Marketing then you need to listen to his show. His rather laid back style inspired the layout and the color choices on the images below I hope you like them.

Here are the three wallpaper’s I did last night. All sketched on the same page but made for better wallpapers apart.

Birch, Mum, Pansy in that order. Enjoy

Tags: birch, Design, form over function friday, mitch joel, mum, pansy, six pixels of seperation, Wallpaper