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Presenting Baby C

This is what we’ve been up to these days:

Mixed Metaphor of the Year 2008

From a story on Andy Kennedy’s alleged assault on a cab driver:

“The guy’s back is up against the wall because he got caught red-handed, so he’s coming out with his guns blazing.”

Ouch.

Let us go to Burger King

I’ve been sitting on this for a few months, found in the songbook rack in church.

I love the formal tone, like a little poem.

Let Us Go to Burger King

ShapeLock: First Impressions

I bought myself some ShapeLock recently.

ShapeLock logo

From their website:

What is ShapeLock?
-ShapeLock is an Ultra-High Molecular Weight Low Temperature Thermoplastic.
-What does “Ultra-High Molecular Weight Low Temperature Thermoplastic” mean in laymans English?
-ShapeLock is a super strong plastic similar to Nylon or Polypropylene in toughness.
-However, unlike the two former plastics it does not need high temperatures or high pressures to form into useful shapes.
-ShapeLock is easily hand-formed into shape at just 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

I could not put this stuff down. My first-run creations below are lame compared to some of the incredible uses that others have found.

Here it is as raw material after being melted down from beads, smoothed out with a rolling pin, and cut into squares and slivers. I found squares and slivers much easier to work with than beads:
raw ShapeLock

Here are some first attempts at making something useful: A stand for an iPod touch.

First attempt, hand-smooshed:
iPod stand 1

Here it is in action:
iPod prop 1 (in action)

Functional but ugly. We tried again, using a similar design. Here’s #2 in action. Still a little bulky and unshapely:
iPod prop 2

But I like the design, so we simplified it. Here’s #3:
iPod prop 3

And here’s the simple one in action:
iPod prop 3 (in action)
iPod prop 3 (in action (b))

We could probably even simplify it further. Meanwhile, we also created a back scratcher, version 1:
back scratch 1

Here’s version 2:
Back Scratcher 2

Version 3 will probably use much less material and maybe have a different, less representative shape.

One of the first things I did was melt a big ball of ShapeLock and smoosh it down over an aluminum can to make a can lock. It worked amazingly well:
ShapeLock Can Keeper

Here’s what it looks like on the inside:
ShapeLock can keeper (inside)

ShapeLock is a LOT of fun. Put some on your Christmas list.

For more inspiration, check out Creatrope. Or just Google “Shapelock” or “Friendly plastic.” This stuff has been around for years.

More designs to come, perhaps.

Smell ya later

I’m not blogging much these days, at least not here.

Most of my internet activity is taken up in Twitter and Facebook, both for work. Join us on our Southern Growth Studio Facebook group to share links and join conversations about marketing and product innovation.

And stay tuned for the inevitable revival of this blog, to be followed by another painful month of neglect and posts about how I don’t post anymore. It’s the circle of blog.

But I may surprise you yet.

Here’s one of Daisy for the road, looking jaded at how lame this blog has become in recent months:
NewDaisy

You may not know this about Sarah, but she’s a shopping genius. Most recent example: Today she turned $30 worth of yard sale books into $180, all in 30 mins. Neighbor across the street is having a yard sale with textbooks, Sarah stops by to browse and chat, comes back to the house and clicks around the ‘net a bit, heads back over with $30 in hand, and returns with $180 worth of books. Simple as that.

And here’s the best part: No eBay or Half.com to deal with. We just box ‘em up, print a free shipping label, and receive the check in a month. We’ve done it many times before. You don’t get as much, but you also don’t have to wait for textbook season to roll around, send emails to buyers, pack the books individually, run to the post office each time you sell one, etc.

Way to go, baby!

We should use the money to build a sweet soap box racer for Booneville’s upcoming Soap Box Derby.

This looks so awesome. Description from the site, where you can also download some plans:

The Booneville Lions Club Soapbox Derby is set for Friday, May 23.
Please click the link below for detailed rules, regulations and the official Soapbox Derby entry form. If you have any questions call Tommy at 662-416-9444 or Ed at 662-728-8800.
Must be at least six years old to race.

Who wants to be pit crew?

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