Christmas is around the corner and my duct tape wallet has seen better days. I need a new wallet. I've done some research on amazon.com and the Victorinox Zip Around Wallet (black) ($28) intrigues me.

I used to carry around an ultra-ultra slim 1 GB memory card in my wallet until it fell out and became lost. This wallet zipper certainly will prevent items from falling out. However, I'm not sure if I'll find the zipper annoying every time I need to pull something out my wallet. I don't think it will bother me. It will be nice to have stuff safe and secure.

Any one have any insight into the Victorinox Zip Around Wallet? Have you seen one in person? The amazon reviews say the wallet is pretty thin. I like that idea. Have you experienced a zipper wallet? Is it nice or more trouble than it's worth?

A couple weeks ago Samsung unveiled a 0.05 mm thin OLED screen. Samsung calls it the "flapping" display because it's so pliable. Imagine how such advancements will revolutionize advertising and industry design once the costs become affordable.

I'm upset with Borders. I purchased a $40 book on October 9, 2008. The receipt clearly states "No Returns without receipt Or after 30 days". Why "Or" is capped I don't know, but that's beside the point.

I went in today to EXCHANGE the book for store credit. I immediately told the cashier that I realize it's been 42 days since I purchased the book and I can't return it. I said that I had the receipt and would like to EXCHANGE the book. They said I couldn't do it. That made no sense. The receipt said nothing about exchanges.

I asked for a store manager. He said I couldn't do it. I told him that the receipt clearly says, "RETURN". It didn't say anything about "EXCHANGE FOR STORE CREDIT". RETURNS are different than EXCHANGES. If the receipt said, "No Returns or Exchanges without receipt or after 30 days", then I'd be fine with it. I told him I could even do an even exchange right there in the store for another book. I wouldn't walk out with store credit. No dice.

I asked what the policy is for gift receipts. He said they do store credit within 60 days. I then went off the handle and said if I got a gift receipt, then I'd be able to exchange the book. It didn't make any sense. I don't understand why he just didn't do it.

I also told him today was my birthday and I can show him my driver's license. He didn't care about that. He gave me the phone number for Customer Service. I called and they gave me the same grief and they officially filed a report with the Store Manager and the District Manager even though I already spoke with a manager at the store. I was told to expect a phone call in the next 10 business days. What a joke.

Any reputable store has a clear policy for returns AND for exchanges. Borders' policy is manipulative and wrong. If they don't want happy customers exchanging items for store credit, then they need to communicate that clearly with their customers rather than keeping their dirty little exchange policy to themselves.

------------------ TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25 UPDATE ------------------
I went back to the same Borders to attempt exchanging the book again. Waiting around for a phone call that probably will never come didn't appeal to me. I gave myself a 5% change of being successful, so I wasn't going to be upset if my third attempt failed. (There always could have been a fourth, fifth, sixth... attempt.)

I gave the cashier the same speech about how I knew it was past the 30 days to return, but I wanted to exchange instead. She called over the manager (who was a different person than the first time) and she said, "we'll let you do it this one time". YES!

I still think Border's exchange policy is manipulative and they need to change the language on their receipts. But now I don't have to feel sour every time I step into a Borders store.

Persistence pays off.

In addition to being pioneers of 20th century industrial design, Charles and Ray Eames also designed a plywood elephant. I didn't know that!

"My Cardboard Life" is a mildly amusing comic strip that chronicles the life of a person made out of two scraps of cardboard. File that under, "why didn't I think of that".

This is Leo Barnett Argentina's melting man who teaches about the effects of global warming.

It's accepted knowledge that different foods can change your mood. However, I'd like to see foods take this notion to the extreme. For example, I'd like to get really really angry the second I eat broccoli. This tactic would be helpful when dealing with someone that's trying to give you the shaft. You pop in a few pieces of broccoli Popeye-style and wham, you have instant Hulk-level anger.

Rubber cement. I haven't used it in years. (My last two jobs used spray mount exclusively). I just used it on my wife's birthday card.

Rubber cement is fun. And don't start thinking about the ways you can get high from it. I really don't care about that. First, the name is very cool. Rubber is fun. Cement is fun. Combine the two and the fun never stops.

Whoever invented the brush attached to the can lid is a genius. Brillant design like this deserves greater attention in our society. It keeps the brush fresh preventing any sort of brush cleanup. You don't have to dig around for brushes to use cuz it's built into the can. And it's fun using the can lid as the handle for the brush. The fun continues as you spread the liquid cement around. Why is it fun? It's l-i-q-u-i-d c-e-m-e-n-t.

Those on the inside track know the best way to use rubber cement. It's called dry mounting. Spread a layer of rubber cement on one surface. Spread another layer on the other surface. Wait for both surfaces to dry. That's fun watching the cement turn from a transparent surface to a translucent surface.

And I have to admit the smell of the cement fumes is fun. For me personally, it takes me back to high school when my brother and I used a ton of rubber cement for our high school history day project. Once both surfaces dry, you can adhere them together.

Then, all the excessive cement that isn't touching the other surface must be removed. Now you get to create your very own rubber cement boogers. If you use a lot of rubber cement, you can get some really massive rubber cement boogers. Then you can bounce them around the room. The fun never ends.

Whatever you do, don't wear magnet shoes when walking downtown, especially over bridges.

11/11. Today tells a story like no other day. To me it's a view of two people's legs. And there's a wall falling down on one of the persons.

from designboom: “’flat bulb’ is designed by korean designer joonhuyn kim. unlike ordinary bulbs its volume is 1/3 smaller, reducing the cost of packaging and transport. its slim shape allows bulbs to be easily stacked and prevents breakage as it does not roll. his work was on display as part of 100% design tokyo.”

I wonder if it distributes even light. I imagine the light would distribute most where the flat sides are facing.

incredible paper sculpture by Noriko Ambe.

Reverend Eugene Rivers summed it up well yesterday on MSNBC:

"What's remarkable to me as i listen to the (acceptance) speech, there were two historical figures that came to mind. Number one I thought of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, because Roosevelt was a cool operator. And Obama's got a whole nother kind of cool. So you got the cool on the one hand that's very contemplative and deliverative.

Then he had that high melodic poetry with that preacher rhythm going. So you got this amazing synthesis of FDR and Martin Luther King with a little hip hop on it. Very smooth."

I like the sound of that... President-elect Barack Obama.

World history was made in Chicago on November 4, 2008 at Grant Park. And I was there for it. Barack Obama had just been elected President of the United States of America and he was making his acceptance speech at Grant Park.

I was among the crowd outside the "ticket holder" section of Grant Park. The wide range of people were impressive. Young and old, black and white, drunk and sober, sane and insane, smelly and really smelly were well-represented. Everyone I encountered was well-behaved and joyous, even the drunk college kids.

Seriously though; my entire life has been spent experiencing the terrible political effects of Richard Nixon's Watergate. Cynicism reigned supreme which peaked under Bush 43's administration which thrived on lies, fear and hate. Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton charged their political base, but were unsuccessful at uniting our nation. They were polarizing figures. America desperately needed a presidential candidate to energize and unite our nation. No one could meet that challenge... until now.

Barack Obama is changing the civic attitude of our nation and I witnessed it firsthand last night. The crowd was a true slice of Chicago. I saw black, white, asian, hispanic, rich, poor, middle class, college students, and grade schoolers proudly holding their parents' hands. It was impossible to determine a demographic majority. I witnessed no discouragement or any form of content for any political figure. The atmosphere was charged with celebration and pride not for a sports team or a fireworks display, but for the future leader of this nation. It was a cherished moment of American history.

The inspiration of Obama can be seen beyond our country's borders. I've never seen so many nations share in our country's excitement from news reports of people dancing in the streets to message board posts from French women stating that they cried in joy at the news of Obama's election. Today, our world is filled with some much needed hope.

Attending this rally wasn't for the intent of taking photographs. I only snapped a small handful which can be found on my flickr page. I simply wanted to express my strong support for President-elect Obama and be a part of world history.

My trusty Nikon 8800 camera, mini-television and headphones accompanied me on this trip. I listened to most of the speech at one of the Native American Warrior statues (the one on the north side) by Ivan Mestrovic at the intersection of East Congress Drive Plaza (just east of Michigan Ave) and Congress Parkway. The loud speakers were muffled, so I was fortunate to have my television to hear President-elect Obama's words crisply. It was inspiring to hear his speech and have the ambiance of his words bouncing off the buildings on Michigan Ave.

My iPod was fully charged in the case that I had to stand in a long line to vote. I wound up only standing behind two persons in line. The volunteers at my polling place were rocking and a bopping. While in line, the kid in front of me was asking about his registration card. I calmed his nerves and told him he was ok after I glanced at his card. I swiftly moved through the stages of getting my whatever card to sign, receiving a receipt stub, and finally my ballot complete with black Papermate ballpoint pen.

The voting booths were all full and the polling volunteers said we can vote at a table if we want. I opted for the table. I figured sitting at the table would speed things up for others who really wanted a booth. And I had nothing to hide. I wanted people to see me voting for Barack Obama. Looking back, I would have preferred a booth. Standing while making my votes is more of a powerful, symbolic gesture versus simply sitting down. However, the table I was at was round, so there's some symbolism there. Also, I shared the table with another voter who shook the table as he filled in his ovals. I actually FELT the voting process. That was cool.

And about those ovals. I overheard someone telling someone else that you can't just put an "X" in the oval and that it must be filled in. Yes, indeed. I recommend the following penmanship technique. Start by making a small mark in the center of the oval, then build on that mark. The oval will get more and more filled with your pen marking. You will quickly approach the edge of the oval. Be certain not to go outside the edge of the oval. That's why I prefer the center-out technique. You can work your way slowly to the edge. I experimented with one oval with the outside-in technique. I found that it was much more difficult to stay within the oval's boundary.

I saved the best vote for last. Obama-Biden. I contemplated filling in that oval first. However, I wanted it to be a moment I could savor. I didn't want the distraction of all those circuit courts and county this, county that stuff to overpower my Presidential vote. However, I was very nervous that I would forget to fill in my Obama-Biden vote after dealing with all the local votes.

So that leads into the situation that every voter must face. How do you vote for all the local races when you know next to nothing about the candidates? Today's Tribune gives a concise list of all their endorsements. I voted for all the Democrats that the Trib endorsed. Then when they endorsed a Republican, I only voted for the ones that don't function by a majority like Recorder of Deeds. I don't know how much power a position like Recorder of Deeds possesses, but I felt comfortable having a Republican in that role if the Trib deems it fit. Some of the Trib recommendations for local positions were for Republicans and I just left that vote empty.

The ballot had a ton of uncontested races where only a Republican was running. I was feeling patriotic and voted for all those uncontested races. In the past, I didn't want to express support for them. But this time I figured it really doesn't hurt anything. It was a vote expressing my support of the democratic system.

For the record, I did vote for Jill Morgenthaler (D) for the U.S. House of Representatives 6th District and Dick Durbin (D) for the U.S. Senate. I also voted against the Illinois Constitution rewrite. As former governor Jim Edgar said, there's no need to spend $80 million on a new Constitution. If you're not happy with Illinois politics, then change the politicians in Illinois. Having greedy and corrupt politicians rewriting the Constitution doesn't seem right.

I was quite disappointed not to receive a "I voted" sticker as I exited. However, I'm following the logic that it's good they ran out of stickers because it means that a ton of people have voted already. I casted my Obama vote at 10:40 a.m.

At one point while I was filling out my ballot, I heard the polling volunteers say they ran out of black pens and that people need to return their pens. I had an extra black pen in my pocket which I gladly donated to the pen cup.

As I was walking back home (yes, I walked to the polling place. That's one advantage of being unemployed) a man pulled up next to me and asked where the polling place was at. I directed him to its location. I was happy to help that kid with his registration card, donating a pen to the pen cup, and helping someone find the polling place. I hope my penmanship inside-out oval technique helps you in your voting.

Illinois poll hours for tomorrow's election are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

On 10/30, Chicagoist.com featured one of my paintings, "Naperville and Dinosaur"! Thanks, Chicagoist.

In case you never heard of chicagoist, it's a great site that gives ongoing daily updates to news and events in the Chicago area.

For the past few weeks, my IM icon has been the proud feller in the blue shirt shown above. Blue of course to symbolize the Democratic party and my candidate of choice for the 2008 Presidential election, Barack Obama.

Feel free to nab this USA Pride icon and display it proudly as your IM icon. Wave that flag, lil' fella. Wave that flag as much as you want. And remember... USA! USA! USA!

You can also download it at buddysite.com. They make it scary crazy to change your IM icon to any of the icons they feature on their site.

You can view every single mini-fig released by LEGO over at gizmodo.com. And they put them all on one page so you don't have to fumble around with clicking on this or that to view different sets. Hundreds of mini-figs are just waiting for you to visit. Stop by and say hello.

I want to see someone wearing these designer glasses by Giulio Iacchetti. They are called "4occhi" which is Italian for "4 eyes". They "can function as glasses and sunglasses, or combine lenses for near- and far-sightedness".

via mocolocco

nice little collection of period logos.

via deliciousindustries and notcot.org

Delicious Industries' blog is a great reservoir of vintage graphic design with a modern flair.

I'm not so much interested that Hackett Hall McKnight won the BD Young Architect of the Year award as I am interested in what the "yaya trophy" they won looks like.

'template', 1001 wooden doors and windows from destroyed ming and qing dynasty houses by ai weiwei

I'd love to see this piece in person. There's layers of complexity with this simple and striking arrangement.

Ai Weiwei also helped conceive the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing. (He collaborated with the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron)

image © galerieursmeile

another slick fish aquarium. This one is by Daniel Love.

via playmedesign

MY NEW ART SHOP
artis3letters.com has expanded its services to bigcartel.com. Currently there's four pieces in the shop. These four pieces can also be found in my etsy shop. All transactions through bigcartel are done through PayPal. PayPal accepts all major credit cards.

WHAT MAKES BIGCARTEL GREAT
What do I love most about bigcartel? Well, it's free. Everything about it is free. No shop setup fee. No product insertion fee. There's not even a fee when I sell an item. Take that, ebay! It was a breeze to set up my shop (Again, in your face, ebay). Well, I already had a PayPal business account, photos of my shop items, descriptions of my shop items, masthead and logo which makes the process that much easier. Getting everything up and running took me maybe 15 minutes. Also, the maintenance is a breeze. Editing shop settings and shop item info is very easy. (Again, again, in your face, ebay.) Bigcartel's overall appearance is clean and sophisticated. (Ebay, you don't even know what those words mean.)

UPGRADE OPTIONS
How does bigcartel make their money? They offer three levels of service:
Gold: free
Platinum: $9.99 monthly
Diamond: $19.99 monthly.

Gold gets you only 5 shop items while Platinum and Diamond max at 25 and 100. Platinum and Gold offer the following that Gold doesn't: a domain name without "bigcartel", inventory control, discount codes. The higher the level, the more customization and stats you get as well. There's still a decent amount of control over the appearance of your site with the free Gold level. I'm not complaining. It's completely free after all.

WHAT MAKES BIGCARTEL LAME
The downsides of bigcartel is that there is no search tool on the site. None. Zip. The only way you can check out the shops on bigcartel is to sort them by:
-featured stores
-new stores
-all stores
-band stores
-record label stores
-clothing stores
-record label stores
-specialty stores

So forget about trying to find something specific on the site. You'll just have to do a ton of surfing to find what you're looking for. Certainly bigcartel is trying to target the music industry judging by the categories.

CONCLUSION
The professional appearance of the default shop, ease of shop setup and maintenance, and the cost (free) makes bigcartel great. They just need to introduce a search tool and make it as robust as etsy. (Tags. Give shop owners the use of tags!)

I'm still trying to find a site similar to etsy and bigcartel whose focus is on art. This imaginary site is by invitation only to prevent unprofessional, boring art from dominating the site.

I really want these shoes. Alas, they are only available for toddlers. Lucky kids.
I came across these shoes from an ad on buy.com.

I came across this cake topper while searching Google Products for metal letters. Forget how it looks pretty and how it's on top of a cake. On a strictly formal level, this "M" struck me. Two sheets of metal begin as curling shapes and suddenly jump skyward only to stop even more suddenly and dive downward where they meet in unison. It's not often do you such movement in a symmetrical shape.

Right now this "M" reminds me of the stock market. It's wild and uncontrollable. It can shoot up for giant gains, then all of a sudden it drops for historic losses.

vdawger on youtube made the above video profiling Johannes Gutenberg. It's a bit quirky and fun with some nice stats thrown in so people could learn a thing or two. My favorite part is the voice for "Pope Pius Number Two" at the 1:49 mark in the video. I guess the entire video is made with freeware.

For years, I've wanted to infuse expired patent images into my art. Every once in a while I look into the process. I haven't been to Google Patent Search in a year or two. Since then, they've added a feature that makes it so much more fun viewing patents. You can view your search results by "images". I love it. Back six or seven years ago before Google Patent Search exisited, I'd navigate through the very unfriendly interface of The United States Patent and Trademark Office's website. Google makes things so much easier. Thank you, Google.

My brother and I were discussing fantasy football via IM and he expressed the interest for some cook-a-mainy stat system. I told him, "that's fantasy land, not fantasy football land". He told me I should blog that and here we are.