http://www.investopedia.com/articles/retirement/03/012203.asp

The 2009 contribution limit is $5,000. It appears you also have to have AGI of less than 53,000 (if an active participant) to be eligible for the full tax deduction. I need to look into what kind of fees I’m paying on my old 401k and whether or not I should investigate rolling over into a new plan.

Originally, I set out to make Sebastian out of paper mache, and ended up with a pretty strange looking mask (which I have yet to finish). The idea was to create a representation hybrid representation of myself and Sebastian. His head poking out of the bottom of the mask wasn’t entirely successful, but I wanted to incorporate more than his shell into my mask. I do believe if I were to finish the painting of his shell, and detailing of his head more of his personality would come through and then the neck/head combo wouldn’t be so offputting.

Realizing paper mache was going to be too labor intensive to complete defining Sebastian’ character, I resorted to sketching. However, upon sketching, I immediately realized it was almost impossible for me to give Sebastian a personality without making him look/act like a cartoon character. Unfortunately, even if Finding Nemo wasn’t a direct source of inspiration, those surfing turtles made their way into my attempts at sketching out Sebastian. I must say, I think personifying animals is a bit troubling. Is there a good way to go about it? To be honest, knowing what a loggerhead turtle eats and where it lives gives very little insight into what it thinks and what type of personality it would have. I felt anything I projected on Sebastian was rather beneath a totem/protector or any real animal, for that matter. How can we, as humans, give animals a voice without making them say what we want we want them to say?

Interestingly for third part of this assignment, I worked with my classmates Aly and Leisje to figure out an ecosystem for Sebastian and their animals an Amazonian Parrot named Riley, and a Pygmy Hedgehog named Imke. Aly actually has a parrot named Riley, and he is able to speak and express his wants/desires to her. So, I guess it is possible to put words in an animal’s mouth without them being totally fictitious. Together, we made an imaged ecosystem to meet the needs of our drastically different animals. We each sketched and colored a floor within the apartment building and then put everything together to create the finished result. It was fun drawing and coloring this imagined building in New York City (sort of like HBO Voyeur for animals) where only animals live, but, at the same time, it also seemed a bit silly to do so. We had to get so far from the idea of a real animal to create something which worked for our own chosen familiars. However, I think the result (despite a few consistency issues), could make for a vivid and engaging children’s pop-up book. We did try to incorporate as much factual habitat information about our animals while still making the apartment work so that the image could serve as a rough guide about the needs of our specific animals.

If I were to continue this project, I would definitely try to inject a bit more reality into the representations of our animals and their ecosystems. I would also probably move to less digital format like the pop-up book.

February 16 – 22, Writing

February 23 – 28, Research & Writing, Prototype

March 1 – 15, Prototype

March 16 – 31, User Testing

April 1 – 15, Data Visualiziation

April  16 – 30, Writing, Draft Presentation

May, Final Presentation

Che-Wei and Taylor have more pictures and information on their blogs which is definitely worth a visit.

Thermochromic Display

Questions:

We are very interested in learning about the process and hardships of running a successful tech toy company. Any stories or advice you have will be great learning tools for us. Don’t worry about answering these questions formally. I just wanted to give you an idea of the types of questions we’ve been considering on our end. Looking forward to chatting soon.

1. What was your strategy to reach economics of scale in manufacturing and how did you manage your costs early on?

2. How did you find your manufacturing partners?  What are some things to keep in mind when looking for a manufacturer?

3. Which retailers/distribution channels would carry our product and how do we start building relationships with those retailers?

4. How did you handle testing and quality assurance for your products?

5. We’re hoping to eventually price Blogicks similarly to the Lego Mindstorms product. However, we are targeting the parents of younger children rather than teens and adults. Are expensive toys for younger children a viable option? Based on your experience with WowWee, where would you recommend pricing Blogicks?

6. In your experience, what kind of margins are necessary on the production costs of a tech toy in order for it to be a worthwhile venture?

7. Blogicks is made up of a number of smart blocks, and central building mat. What would the estimated injection molding tooling/manufacturing costs be for such a product?

8. How are toy sales being affected by the U.S./global economy? Are toy sales affected more so than sales of other products?  Are expensive toys affected more or less than regularly priced toys?

9. What are some challenges you have faced while running WowWee?

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Frank Lloyd Wright, from In the Realm of Ideas, edited by Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer and Gerald Nordland

“As a process, architecture is the activity of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures by a person or a machine, primarily to provide socially purposeful shelter.”

Wikipedia

THE WISDOM OF THE WAR ROOM: U.S. Campaigning and Americanization by Margaret Scammell

There is a trend in all human work to remove any traces of the human process. The living spirit which Wright spoke of years ago is being strangled by the tools which we take on to improve the efficiency of our processes. There is a direct trajectory in our current era for technology to move from tool to framework to standard without consideration for the sacrifices along the way. There is increasingly less room for craftsmanship in a world where humans give up control to the tools they invent. A balance must be struck between technology and the creative human soul or humanity may render itself obsolete. The Avant-garde must be mindful of their quest. New does not imply better. New implies consequences, and these consequences must always be weighed against the benefit of the incorporation of the new. Efficiency has no conscience. Efficiency has no soul. Efficiency does not consider the tapestry of human evolution and achievement. Efficiency only respects the improvement of a singular moment in the continuum of constant change.

Architecture is currently in a struggle to redefine itself in light of the technologies which have developed around it. Yet, architecture’s struggle is only a manifestation of a greater epidemic. Similar symptoms are easily found across the spectrum of human professions. In a world where technology is king, the technologist has penetrated all layers of the human social system. Specialization stands to destroy tradition even if said tradition is based in the foundations of human thought and reason.

For me, the beauty of architecture has always been in the differences of shape, function, and decoration discovered when visiting new cities. The pastiche of architecture across the world speaks to the unique cultures and histories of the people who created the architecture in the first place. Efficiency stands in opposition to uniqueness and promotes the creation of a world dedicated to nothing but efficiency itself.