Desktop Wallpaper Design

I like beautifully designed things. I like my room to be well-designed. I enjoy graphic design. I can appreciate the design of logos.

I also like my computer background to be well designed. Given a choice, I'd like to look at something beautiful every day, and since I spend the majority of my time on the computer, you bet I care what the background is. And I just wanted to share with you the absolute best place I have found for desktop wallpapers.

If you just do a Google Image search for backgrounds, you get a bunch of ridiculous stuff. None of it beautiful. None of it inspiring. Just a vast, VAST quantity that you have to pick through. And if you want FREE wallpaper, forget ever finding a gem. I don't have time for that.

But. BUT. Enter Smashing Magazine.

Smashing Magazine is a blog dedicated to design, particularly on the web. I read it regularly through my Google RSS feed. And every month they invite designers to submit wallpapers. There is a review process, so that you get good quality in the final roundup. Designers get to be featured, and everybody wins.

Check HERE.

I love that it's a monthly feature - because every month is just about the point I get tired of looking at the same thing and want something new. And I love that it has a calendar if you want it - I like having the month at a glance (if only so I can keep track of how fast the days fly by...). And I love that there are such a wide variety of styles. I try to pick a different style, or different mood, each month.

Given that I was so busy in May, I haven't gotten around to changing my wallpaper since April. Ack! As part of my summer "pampering," I'm digging the cute, playful style of this one:

Ahh.

Summer is Here!

Whew, deep breath!

SUMMER!

I am so glad to be finished with the semester. The last month of school was really busy, and a bit stressful. I feel like I kept on top of everything I was SUPPOSED to do, and all the PROJECTS I was working on, but I had no time for all the little things to pamper myself. And I don't need a lot of pampering, but a month or so without the little stress relievers adds up.

So now, dear readers, I have:

- cleaned my kitchen

- backed up my hard drive

- changed my computer wallpaper

- painted my toenails

- reorganized my closet with summer clothes

- uploaded pictures from my camera

- bought new plants to replace last year's annuals

- exercised for a solid hour

- watched an NBA game

- spent a day outside in the sun

- ate an entire bar of Dove chocolate

And I am back among the living. And the blogging.

I can't wait to share what's been going on in life more regularly. I've been doing some cool stuff, and more cool stuff is coming up. This summer is going to be awesome! Let it begin -

Head of State

Author's Note: I promise, this will be my last post on Iceland. I know it's been over a month ago - I'm just slow getting to posts I plan to write...

One of the reasons that the entrepreneurship conference was held in Iceland is that Iceland heavily subsidized the costs. Why was Iceland so interested in getting our conference to come there? It turns out that actually, Iceland went bankrupt in 2008. The economy was built on banking, and all three of the country's major banks collapsed.

To rebuild the economy, the Icelandic people and government have decided to rely on innovation - entrepreneurship from the grassroots up. Sustainable, robust growth comes from adding value, and great minds with great ideas are the ingredients you need.

So hosting this conference was part of this plan to restructure and rise up from the crisis. Toward this end, the President of Iceland invited the organizers of the conference to a reception with him at his official residence.

I got to meet the President of Iceland at his HOUSE. I was honored.

We drove up, and there was no security - no guards, or fences, or show of military force. The Icelandic people in general I found were very eager to be open and friendly (especially to tourists, I imagine - given that they are bankrupt!). The house looked like this:

It was situated on a beautiful landscape - snow capped mountains, a river, grassy plains, and lava fields. We were led through the reception area, the Presidential office, and to a waiting room with pictures of officials and important events. Then the door opened on the far end of the room, and we each greeted the President with a handshake.

He was very gracious, and said "Welcome, Miss Outlier." I was tongue tied and said something unintellgible in response. I happened to be standing closest to the door, so I was the first one to shake his hand, so I hadn't gotten my wits straight. I meant to say "Thank you" or "Pleased to meet you, Mr. President" but I got all twisted and I'm afraid what came out was something like "Thank welcome, Mr. President Sir."

In case you wondered, Miss Outlier has never met a head of state before.

Figure: Miss Outlier is on the left, the only person over 30 is President Grimsson

I will be more prepared next time. Hopefully I will meet more important people in my lifetime so I can practice this receiving line business...

End Notes:

This is a picture taken while we were sightseeing on the Snaefellsnes peninsula. The scenic road goes around the glacier where the Snaefellsjokull volcano is. That volcano is not the erupting one - it's the famous one that Jules Verne chose as his doorway into inner earth in the book Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Figure: Yes, it was windy.

Saturdays

I don't usually go to lab on Saturdays. Most of my labmates operate the same way - it's rare to come in on a weekend. In fact, the only students I know who DO come in regularly at off-peak research times are those who have living things to take care of - cells that would die without feeding, or rats to look after.

Last week I needed to do some measurements on some parts. I made the parts on a Thursday, and was going to measure them Friday. But the undergrad working in my lab wanted to learn how to take measurements - which is an admirable thing, shows initiative, all that good stuff. And the undergrad didn't have time on Friday. I was just going to say "oh well" because Monday was too late for the data I needed, but the undergrad suggested over the weekend. I am too used to scheduling with business students - I forgot that undergrads are still willing to sacrifice their weekends....

So last Saturday at 10am, I walked over to my office to check email before the undergrad came at 10:30 to work in lab with me.

And it was an absolute beehive of activity!

I thought, why in the world are all these people here? And then I took a closer look around the cubicles, and noticed that all the people there were people graduating soon - and since half of my office is graduating, there were lots of bodies at desks working on thesis writing.

Ah well, I thought, mystery solved. I am sure normal schedules will resume after the thesis deadline passes.

But now again, here I am in lab on a Saturday.

My labmate who runs the robot needs a long run of parts for data for her Master's thesis, due this May. We tried to do it on Thursday, but were foiled by a few issues we didn't forsee. We could have done the long run starting Friday at 4pm, but by about 3:30 yesterday my brain was tired and I hated the thought of spending three hours on a long run when I wasn't fresh. Mistakes happen when you are tired, you know.

So we agreed to do a long run the next day (today, Satuday) at 1pm.

This morning at 10am, I get a call on my cell phone that wakes me up. I don't recognize the number, so I don't answer. Ten minutes later, there's a knock at my door. I stumbled over in my bathrobe, and found that it was the undergrad who works in my lab, and she wanted my key to lab so she could work on her undergrad project. I handed it over and went back to bed.

At 11am my phone rings again, and my undergrad says she left the key with her classmate, who would be around all day except 12-1 for lunch, and gave me his cell number.

Okay, people, fine, I'm up.

At 12:30 I head to lab, expecting to have to track down the classmate with my key.

But as I was walking down the hallway, I spied an officemate just opening the door. Hold it open, I cried! Well wasn't that lucky, I thought, getting here at the same time as the only other person who's around.

But inside the office, I find AGAIN lots of people at their desks. And when I walk down to lab, there is my undergrad working busily away with her classmate (from whom I retrieve my key). And then my robot-running labmate shows up, and we begin experiments.

And then I run to the bathroom, and pass two or three more students I know in the hallways. And as we've been sitting here running experiments for the last couple hours, the lab space across the room has filled up with students working on THIER projects.

What gives? Why so many people here all of a sudden? Don't you all know it's SATURDAY?

It's particularly cruel today, because it's beautifully balmy and sunny outside - gorgeous weather.

So maybe it's just me? Maybe there have been people just conducting life as usual around campus every weekend, and I just assume that my lazy days are the norm? Ack! Say it isn't so!

I'm going to convince myself it's only because it's the end of the semester - between finishing theses, finishing class projects, preparing for conference trips, and wrapping up the semester's experiments, it's no wonder people need a few more hours outside the normal work week.

Right? Right.

Blue Lagoon

While in Iceland, after the conference was over the organizing team did some sightseeing. One of the places we went was to the natural hot springs.

Figure: Ah, relaxation...

It was a little surreal. We took a bus out to the middle of nowhere, shivered in our winter coats while we hiked over a moon-like landscape of lava, and then suddenly came upon this tourist attraction built around this lake. They have dressing rooms where you can change (and everyone is required to strip naked and shower in the communal locker room before going to the water - such an odd European thing...). Then you have to run, run, run the short distance from the lockers outside to the water, and gratefully scamper into the warm water.

Figure: And when I say warm water, I do mean steaming...

The water is filled with silica, so it's no longer clear, it's a robin's-egg-blue color. You can't see the bottom, but the mud on the bottom is supposed to be good for your skin. We tried it. Some of us. Most of the boys scoffed at it.

Figure: See, I'm so white you can't even tell I'm wearing any mud...

All in all, an excellent way to unwind. And since it was paid for by the conference, it's no wonder we are smiling.... :)

Hatching an Idea

Last week, one of my classmates and I in the business/entrepreneurship class were working on the class project. After we finished our work, he tossed out this remark - "Miss Outlier, I was thinking. I have an idea I want to run by you."

I love when people toss out that kind of remark. Well, when CERTAIN people toss out that remark. This particular person I have really come to respect over the semester, (which is rare for me given my historical experience with the MBA students...). When I hear "I have a thought" from people I respect, my ears perk up. It's often those off-hand ideas that turn out to be something interesting.

In this case, he had an idea for a little widget he wanted to make. Basically, it's a specialty case for an iPhone. I thought his idea was rather neat (not going to change the world, but a cool little consumer product). He asked me how you would go about making that idea into a real product. I said, well, you need to make a prototype.

How would you do that? he asked.

Well, I said, it's actually not hard - I have the tools in my lab. I can have you a sample by next class period.

Done. Simple.

The key is that it's all in the tools - if you have the right equipment, projects become easy. What he wanted would be made out of polymer and/or rubber. In my lab I have a laser cutter which can cut polymers, and a waterjet which cuts rubber. And I have a setup and materials for casting rubber, and a micromill for making the mold for casting. And in my Craftsman toolbox, I just happen to have a variety of 6" by 6" squares of rubber. (I had a product development class a while ago, and we had to use rubber for the class project. We didn't know what kind of rubber we needed, so we bought a variety pack. I, of course, kept the extras. It wasn't like anybody else wanted rubber scraps... but see, now it might be useful!)

Figure: Variety pack of rubber leftovers. Just the sort of thing that helps me proudly uphold the engineering stereotype.

My classmate didn't know about all that, so my answer came as a surprise. He was incredulous. "Really?" he exclaimed, "Just like that? You just make it?"

Yes indeedy. That's my job. To make stuff.

"Man, I picked the wrong major." he said.

Yeah, that's what you get when you hang out too long in the business world - you get disconnected from actually PRODUCING something real. Instead of, you know, all that NETWORKING you spend your time on.

Now normally I wouldn't spend my time on a side project like this, but he was so excited and impressed that I could actually make a sample of his idea, that I kinda want to prove that I can. A bit of pride on the line here. :) It's the birth of an idea...

It's Alive!

I mentioned just briefly that I had taught a robot how to operate my machine. I'd like to elaborate a little bit. My machine looks like this:

The black box is the electronics, the thing on the right is the machine. I designed, built, and tested all of that for my Master's degree. The machine has jaws that open and close. You put a small plastic piece (a "blank") into the jaws, and the jaws close and form the part. The bottom jaw looks like this:

The plastic piece slides in underneath those little fingers.

Our lab also has a robot arm. The student in charge of the robot arm figured out how to program the robot to slide the plastic piece into the bottom jaw. So the robot could load the part, and then take it out after it was done.

But that was all done manually. The student would tell the robot to move. Then I would press buttons to make my machine go. Then the student would tell the robot to take the part out.

But now - NOW - we have done something exciting.

We have wired together the robot and my machine, so the whole thing happens AUTOMATICALLY. There is a holder that has a bunch of blanks in it, there is my machine, and there is the robot arm, and there are two laptops. I press go on my laptop, and the student presses go on her laptop.

The robot automatically picks up a plastic piece, loads it into my machine. My machine knows this has happened, and makes the part. Then my machine signals the robot that it is done - and the robot takes out the part. The robot moves the part over to a glass plate, and a camera takes a picture of the part through the glass plate. If the part is good, it goes into the "done" bin.

Then the cycle starts again - the robot picks up another blank, and we make another part.

Every FOUR MINUTES AND NINE SECONDS, a part comes out of this little factory all by itself. It usually takes grad students in other labs hours to make parts. We made 25 parts in a row - everything moving around under its own programming.

How awesome is that?

This video shows the jaws of my machine opening (there is a finished part in there). The robot arm comes in, takes out the finished part, and moves it over and sets it down on top of the camera. Then it gets a new blank, and loads it into my machine, and the cycle starts again.

This video shows a close-up of the part going into the machine:

And this one shows a global view of the robot arm:

The factory lives! It's so eerie to watch, and think, "I DID that....."