"Friday in Review"

Ran up and down stairs while testing fire alarms. All of them work. Climbed up into two apartment building attics. Carefully maneuvered over, under, and around beams and joists. Not as easy as it sounds. Rather exhausting too. Fixed a few ventilation ducts. Did not fall through any ceilings. Wedged myself behind a washer/dryer appliance in order to fix the air duct. Silenced my growling stomach with a tasty dinner at Old Country Buffet.

Came home. Tired. Went to bed. Slept for an hour before Kelli called. Talked to her on the phone for a bit. Sounded as tired as I felt. Finished the phone conversation and went back to bed. Couldn't fall back asleep. Got up. Attempting to wear myself out completely before heading back to bed.

-Jon
posted by Jon Baas at 11:51 PM |

"Bad Apple: A Stop-Motion Music Video"

As most of you know, I love being creative. And I love sharing the same that I find in others. So, that said, this is something you've gotta see!

It's a clever music video of the song "Bad Apple", performed by Nomico. But what's unique about it, is that it consists entirely of stop-motion animation. Each frame is printed, and features numbers ticking away at the bottom to prove it. ... [video]

Give it a watch, and let me know what think.

-Jon
posted by Jon Baas at 1:54 AM |

"Model Photos"

What happens when you combine miniature model-making with creative photography? You get these: Fantastically realistic model photos by Michael Paul Smith! Enjoy!

-Jon
posted by Jon Baas at 11:31 PM |

"Star Trek Nominated for 4 Academy Awards"

Earlier today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for the 82nd annual Academy Awards, with the 2009 Star Trek movie picking up four nominations. The categories are: Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Makeup. Although there there was a bit of buzz, Star Trek did not pick up a Best Picture nomination.

The Academy Awards airs live on ABC on Sunday March 7th at 7 pm (CST).

-Jon
posted by Jon Baas at 11:14 PM |

"Quote of the Day"

"I am firmly convinced that all difficulties are just a kind of school bell ringing to tell you it's time to learn something." -- Jeff Baas

(And yes, I'm quoting by dad. Check out his blog.)

-Jon
posted by Jon Baas at 3:07 AM |

"Jon Baas on Facebook"

Come join me on Facebook! Become a fan. Stay in the know.

-Jon
posted by Jon Baas at 2:51 AM |

"When Star Wars Attacks"

This is what happens when you give sci-fi geeks a video camera. It's a fun little short film put together by Lamb Productions. Enjoy! :: When Star Wars Attacks ... [video]

-Jon
posted by Jon Baas at 2:35 AM |

"Till the Last Shot's Fired"

"Till the Last Shot's Fired" -- A musical performance in honor of our wounded warriors. May their service and sacrifice never be forgotten. And may we always remember: We are free, because braver men stood their ground. ... [video]

-Jon
posted by Jon Baas at 11:39 PM |

"Virtual Piano"

Take a moment and play some music on this virtual piano. Just be sure to read the instructions first, though. This thing can do a lot more than you realize. Enjoy!

It kinda makes me wish I knew how to play the piano.

-Jon
posted by Jon Baas at 11:25 PM |

"28 Creative Drinking Fountains"

Drinking fountains are another of those daily conveniences we take for granted and don't often pay much attention to. Most fountains are pretty industrial in nature and design, but some are pretty neat looking. Here's a collection of photos featuring 28 creative drinking fountains! Enjoy!

-Jon
posted by Jon Baas at 12:36 PM |

"Celebrity Phone Book Carvings"

Alex Queral is a Philadelphia sculptor who carves old phone book pages into the faces of various celebrities. Some of his sculptures include Barack Obama, Jack Nicholson, Frida Kahlo and John Goodman. The process takes at least a couple of weeks to complete.

Here are 20 unbelievable examples of his carvings.

-Jon
posted by Jon Baas at 11:49 PM |

"The Ultimate Tree House"

There's the tree house your Dad built for you in the backyard, and then there's the tree house Robert Harvey Oshatz built in the forests of Portland, Oregon. Designed in 1997 and completed in 2004, the Wilkinson Residence is in perfect harmony with its surroundings.

Built on a steep sloping lot, the living space resides amongst the forest canopy, making your morning coffee most enjoyable. With more curves than Lombard Street, the Wilkinson Residence is a property you have to see to believe.

-Jon
posted by Jon Baas at 2:07 PM |

"Blog VB3 -- Egg Shaped Mobile Living Space"

Here's something intriguing: It's the blob VB3, a polyester mobile living space. It holds all the necessary the items one could possibly need, such as a bathroom, kitchen, lighting, sleeping space and several niches for storage. Plus, the nose can be opened automatically to function as a porch. When closed, it blends into a completely smooth blob.

It's different, but nonetheless creative and unique.

-Jon
posted by Jon Baas at 1:58 PM |

"Internet Numbers in 2009"

What happened with the Internet in 2009? How many websites were added? How many emails were sent? How many Internet users were there?

Pingdom answers all of those questions and many more. I've provided a selection of some of their data, for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

EMAIL:

• 90 trillion –- The number of emails sent on the Internet in 2009.
  
• 247 billion –- Average number of email messages per day.
  
• 1.4 billion –- The number of email users worldwide.
  
• 100 million –- New email users since the year before.
  
• 81% –- The percentage of emails that were spam.
  
• 24% –- Increase in spam since last year.
  
• 200 billion –- The number of spam emails per day (assuming 81% are spam).

WEBSITES:

• 234 million – The number of websites as of December 2009.
  
• 47 million – Websites added in 2009.

INTERNET USERS:

• 1.73 billion – Internet users worldwide (September 2009).
  
• 18% – Increase in Internet users since the previous year.
  
• 738,257,230 – Internet users in Asia.
  
• 418,029,796 – Internet users in Europe.
  
• 252,908,000 – Internet users in North America.
  
• 179,031,479 – Internet users in Latin America / Caribbean.
  
• 67,371,700 – Internet users in Africa.
  
• 57,425,046 – Internet users in the Middle East.
  
• 20,970,490 – Internet users in Oceania / Australia.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

• 126 million – The number of blogs on the Internet (as tracked by BlogPulse).
  
• 350 million – People on Facebook.
  
• 50% – Percentage of Facebook users that log in every day.
  
• 500,000 – The number of active Facebook applications.

IMAGES:

• 4 billion – Photos hosted by Flickr (October 2009).
  
• 2.5 billion – Photos uploaded each month to Facebook.
  
• 30 billion – At the current rate, the number of photos uploaded to Facebook per year.

VIDEOS:

• 1 billion – The total number of videos YouTube serves in one day.
  
• 12.2 billion – Videos viewed per month on YouTube in the US (November 2009).
  
• 924 million – Videos viewed per month on Hulu in the US (November 2009).
  
• 182 – The number of online videos the average Internet user watches in a month (USA).
  
• 81.9% – Percentage of embedded videos on blogs that are YouTube videos.

-Jon
posted by Jon Baas at 1:50 PM |

"100 Fascinating Futuristic Design Concepts"

I love new and innovative ideas, so, these were just too hard not to share.

These are concept designs. They're not on the market yet, but they do still have the ability to inspire and imagine. Some my not be all that practical, but the intent is to share the idea behind them, and see what grows from there.

That said, here are 100 fascinating design concepts to whet your imagination! Enjoy!

-Jon
posted by Jon Baas at 1:22 PM |