links for 2008-06-30

• Following the follower
  “Sounds crazy? You should try it.”

Working Holiday

I’m in Romania on what’s supposed to be my ‘holiday’ after exams and instead I am working. Because I am a masochist and it’s a really good feeling. I love it.

links for 2008-06-26

• Cancer gene test ‘for all women’
  “It is becoming feasible to work out whether a woman is at “low”, “moderate” or “high” risk of cancer by looking at which combinations of these [BRCA1/2 genes] she has. “
  (tags: cancer science discovery genes humans)

links for 2008-06-25

• Wind charges phones at Glastonbury Festival
  Measuring more than 7 meters tall, the free-standing recharge pod is a self-sufficient unit that taps into a wind generator and solar panels to charge as many as 100 mobile phones per hour
  (tags: business innovation mobile orange)
• The Li Pengfei Scandal: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned
  “The moral of the story for all you gentlemen out there? Never piss off a lady with a digital camera. Or one that knows how to create websites.”
  (tags: stupid china people relationships)
• Are You Breaking The Law of Focus_
  “Look at me! I’m a serial entrepreneur.” Or maybe I was just full of myself.
  (tags: advertising business management focus)
• Cooking With Booze: The Blog
  via russell davies
  (tags: interesting2008 booze evolution history presentation)
• How Airports Profit From Your Wait – Forbes.com
  “Due to a maintenance problem, your flight has been delayed three hours, care to rent the Transformers movie?”
  (tags: money travel airports industry)

Thoughts for the Evening

I’m a very happy person. And it’s bloody great because I haven’t been this happy in a long while. And oh, yes, it just gets better and better. I love it!

Prize Draw!

The other day I was walking down the street when some survey person came up to me and asked me a few questions about what mobile phone operator I’m using at the moment and whether their service pleases me or not to be included in some sort of prize draw so I figured why not, I’ll only be spending about one week more at this address and will be getting a contract phone so by all means, complaining would be fun!

Few days later, I got a phone call from one of their call centres presumably to confirm the data I gave them, the basic house number and post code and was asked a few extra questions which made me wonder what the overall purpose is and who is doing the research – have I taken out a loan, will I be taking one out, when was the last time I was involved in an accident and/or required an operation, have any of my friends been involved in accidents and such. Now that’s one big stretch from the mobile thing so nothing comes to mind right now but who cares really. I just love the UK where I don’t have to change my ID card every time I move somewhere new! It’s as if I’ve almost never been there.

The loan thing amused me though, the operator sounded very surprised when I told her I don’t want to take out a loan in the future. If at all. “Really?” – “Really!” It’s like in school when our teachers used to tell us that if it’s not ours we shouldn’t be spending it! My dad seemed to approve of the idea!

Summer of Packaging Design

I’m not exactly talking about new shapes and sizes necessarily but a few posts from friends and emails from other people reminded me that there have been so many interesting designs (some of them available to the great public) for the dull products that make our every day life.

• Pepsi – which I’m not a fan of but who held a contest called ‘Design our Pepsi Can‘, inviting just about anyone to design a new can for their old products, Pepsi and Pepsi Light/Diet, doing the same for Mountain Dew (which sadly isn’t available in the UK) with their ‘Green Label Art’ (found out about this US thing from a guy that hangs out on an old design/nonsense forum, Chuck Anderson)
• Coca Cola – who have released Diet Coke special editions designed by Patricia Field (with Sex and the City) in Selfridges & Co stores. Some interesting stuff going on for Coke Light (EU Diet) in Belgium all around this fashion thing. Like the ‘Coke Light Style’ from Romania a while ago. Some pictures of it over at psalmplasma if I’m not mistaken, along with a 30″ video. Also in Belgium, this artist called Wim Devoye has been doing some can designs…pretty creepy, yes. Obviously goes against all the stuff Coca Cola has been doing.
• Beck’s – “that German beer” that’s been all about choices and you holding the key and such, with a ‘what would you choose’ campaign in various countries.
• Absolut – Again, exclusive to Selfridges with ‘Show Your Colours‘

Then if you fancy seeing a neat Q-Pack design for a beer bottle in Romania, with a football included:

Any others that I’ve missed? I don’t remember any special designs seen in supermarkets but if you know any, would you kindly point them out?

I am Bored

It was Rob’s birthday yesterday so in case you forgot to send your wishes, well TOO LATE, go away.

I’m flying away to Romania and Bulgaria next week to enjoy some hot temperatures for a while, take my brother out for a belated birthday drink (his is tomorrow), meet up with Julia from NYU and possibly drive to the beach (did I mention 35 degrees outside?), meet up with Tara and get some fancy expensive juice somewhere. Might go see all these people although I’m scared of the Nouvelle Vague live performances (sound good in studio versions, some live ones make me want to grate my brain slowly and painfully) but somehow looking forward to the Stereophonics one and curious about Manic Street Preachers! All for £52 quid. I’m happy not to be going to Radiohead which would have cost me £52 alone.

Need to get my BlackBerry sorted next week before I leave.

Might be doing some stuff with the lovely people at Grapefruit (branding and interactive media agency).

Exciting times!

Weight of the World

In this high oil price thing, it’s amusing to see who blames who and for what. Everyone is blaming OPEC for high oil prices even though they only control 40% of the market, not 70% or more like they did in the past. And this blame shows that, in a way, people like to blame something they can put their finger on and name. Despite the fact that when they increased production by about 200,000 bpd the prices remained unchanged.

Fascinating science of blame!

links for 2008-06-09

• Gender wasn’t what undid Clinton – IHT
  “There is a substantial gender gap in political ambition,” they concluded. “Men tend to have it and women don’t.”
  (tags: politics women clinton us elections)
• Story of Fish Fingers
  ”Britain’s favourite childhood food”
  (tags: fish food consumers)