Toasters…

People ask me why I like toasters so much. They think it’s a strange object to love. But, when you think about it, toasters are a simply wonderful thing.

You put bread in, push a button down, and a minute or two later some toast pops up! Toast then leads to an endless number of possibilities itself. Butter. Jam. Marmalade (I suppose that’s kind of jam…). Marmite. ENDLESS!

But it’s not just toast. Crumpets. Bagels. Sandwiches. So many possibilities from that small unassuming slotted box in your kitchen.

But my fascination lies with the other things that a toaster produces. Have you ever placed your hand over a toaster during cooking? Not into, obviously, that’s dangerous and reckless… But over. It’s hot, right? LIke, really hot. Could-possibly-burn-your-hand hot. That heat is energy. Energy produced by your toaster. Energy not being used to toast your bread.

That means it’s inefficient.

And it’s not just out of the top. Look inside your toaster – there are wires wrapped around sheets of mica. All the way around. For the middle sheet it’s not too much of a problem as you often have a slice of bread on each side. But on the edges this means that some heat is being lost into the shell of the toaster! Energy is precious stuff, and I would rather not waste it by toasting the metal and plastic that makes up my toaster’s housing. And what about if you’re only using one slot? Only a small minority of toasters will shut off the heating element in unused slots – so most toasters are wasting a lot of energy.

That’s why I love toasters: they’ve been pretty much the same for many years and remain frightfully inefficient.

Of course, the issue comes with the question: “How much energy does a toaster lose to the surroundings?”. Not much really. In the grand scheme of things – hardly any. Less energy is lost over a year than would be wasted in the production of new, more efficient toasters. But the sector is by no means a lost cause. Toasters break eventually and have to be replaced. So they might as well be replaced with more eco-friendly toasters.

Now this is why I love toasters.

And marmite? Well, it’s alright – I don’t hate it… but I can’t say I love it either.

PLUG – New Tee up for Voting!

Just a short post for now, more on my teeshirts later, but I have put my most-loved tee from RedBubble up on TeeBusters for you to vote to be produced! In an homage to the IT Crowd, this tee comes from my range of ‘Keep Calm’ themed designs.

Click this link and then hit vote on the tee-specific page!

It’s been a slow week…

Finding out that you have attained 3 A*s at A Level from the local newspaper before opening the well revered (or much dreaded) ‘Results Envelope’ is nothing short of, well, odd. There you are, eating your Weetabix feeling relieved that you got into Loughborough University, checking up on everyone else via Facebook when you’re directed to a web link with a note saying “SPOILERS”.

It’s alright, I’ve read the paper today, I’ve already seen this article!

Nope, no you haven’t. There’s your name. Your name next to 3 A*s. How strange. Would’ve been nice for them to tell me first before the papers – but oh well; suppose that removed any nerves I may have had over the 2 hours between soggy cereal and walk to school.

Indeed it is true: 3 A*s in Maths, Physics and Product Design. Plus As in AS Further Maths and Chemistry (and General Studies). Woo!

In other news, other than the HUGE task of preparing myself to go off to Uni, not too much is going on. I did order my business cards though. I’ll let you know when they arrive…
(Apologies for the short post – busy busy busy at the moment despite what the title says! Oh irony, how the internet doesn’t really facilitate you…)

Waterstones – A shining beacon of sophistication in a cheap and not-so-cheerful world…

The smell of new book. The soft classical ambience. Genuinely friendly staff. There’s just something about Waterstones (and indeed most ‘traditional’ bookstores) that separates it from the rest of the high street. It’s a glorious, perfectly-bound sanctuary amid high street hell. Sometimes I go in purely to avoid the swirling whirlpool of discontent that has consumed the once bearable town centre and its high street.

What could be better than a place where every single wall is covered, head-to-toe, in thousands of gateways into new and exciting places?

Okay, so I’m not the hugest book reader ever – but I do love escaping into the design or cooking sections of Waterstones and thumbing through the array of titles they have to offer. The design section of my local store is somewhat lacking in, well, content… Most of the stuff is about street art or clothing – I’d like a bit more engineering and product design based stuff in there. But, you know, Northampton is hardly recognised for being a hub of product engineering or engineering study – and the University or Northampton does have a high-quality fashion bit.

But maybe that’s the problem? Maybe there should be more ‘STEM’ (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) based books on offer. Maybe then the UK would be on the path to regaining some more of its former manufacturing glory. The children’s section seems increasingly larger – yet less than half a shelf is now dedicated to the ‘Horrible Science’ series of books. Back when I was young, at least one shelf was full of it. They certainly helped inspire me to focus on STEM things, in fact i still have them somewhere, so maybe they (and similar titles) should make a return.

Then again, perhaps books should inspire creativity and fuel imagination. And what better than a novel? Then there are cookery books, books on gardening, business books, graphic novels. All have their place. Without them I’m certain we’d be a far less electic society. Though, Waterstones is hardly packed when I’ve visited, so I wonder how much of society has ever actually been in.

So, the next time you wander past a traditional bookshop, don’t walk past, walk in. You never know what you might find – it might even change your life. Raymond Blanc’s ‘A Taste of My Life’ has definitely altered my outlook on food and gastronomy, and my life – but more on that another time. Go on, just have a look!

Oh, and there are comfy sofas in the cooking section. Pure bliss.

Facing the Given with Intent

This is a video of a TED talk given by John Hockenberry and it forms the very vague basis of this post – so I’d suggest you have a look.

I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in February 2009. I had all the usual symptoms: needing the toilet a lot, being really thirsty, dramatic weight loss… a ‘textbook’ case as it turns out. I had to say hello to a life of multiple daily injections, finger pricking, coping with hypos (hypoglycaemia – low blood sugar – causes me to feel, well, odd), trying to work out what’s going on when I cannot find a pattern in my readings.

But, right from the start, I said I would just slot it into my life and carry on trying to achieve my goals and fulfil my ambitions. Much the same mindset as Sir Steve Redgrave: he was diagnosed in 1997 and stated “I decided very early on that diabetes was going to live with me, not me live with diabetes.” And indeed he did, going on to win his fifth Olympic Gold Medal at the Sydney games – impressive stuff for even the most perfectly healthy athlete.

Diabetes is the given. As Mr Hockenberry says: you should face the given with intent. Don’t just accept it as fate or a condemnation. Think of it as an opportunity. Don’t just assume your life will now be awful and that you can’t do what you want any more.Life is what you make of it

I once read that some kids and teenagers diagnosed with diabetes are scared because it has ‘die’ in it… Okay, sure, I can see the faintest bit of logic there, but I’m sure you’ll find that, actually, they’re scared because it is a life changing moment, scared because they don’t like needles, scared because they don’t think they’ll cope.

My best piece of advice to anyone who is struck with the news is, well, don’t be scared. Don’t let it get to you. Learn the facts, talk to the professionals, find another diabetic to help you, create a strategy. You’re life isn’t over. Far from it. In fact, a quick google will show you how many diabetics have ‘faced the given with intent’:

• Sir Steve Redgrave – 5 time Olympic Champion
• Thomas Edison – inventor of shed loads of stuff
• Halle Berry – Hollywood actress
• HG Wells – ‘War of the Worlds’
• Ernest Hemingway – the Author
• Nick Jonas – of the Jonas Brothers

And I’m sure there are far far more, but my blog isn’t a place for epically long lists. I’m sure you get my point. Diabetes isn’t the end of it all. Life is, of course, what you make of it. Yes there will be hard days, hard weeks, but there are the good days and the great weeks too. Focus on the positives as much as you can (don’t ignore the negatives, cos they’re important too, but focus on fixing the problems).

Okay, it’s not going to go away. But it certainly isn’t the end of the world.

I want to be a successful product design engineer. Four injections a day and sugar-free drinks aren’t gonna stop me doing that. They shouldn’t stop you being a success either.

Okay, what exactly is Fazackerberry?

This is a very valid question. The short answer, I suppose, is that ‘Fazackerberry’ is a brand.

Think of it like Virgin. Only not yet as big – though far more fun…

However, I feel more of an explanation is due.

You’ve probably been directed here from my website fazackerberry.co.uk. When I first bought the site, or indeed coined the name Fazackerberry, I had a whole host of ideas and wants with regard to what the name represents.

First of all, I felt that it could be a portal to a multitude of information regarding who I am, what I’m studying, the projects I’ve been working on, etc, with regard to my academic and professional studies. I’m off, hopefully, to Loughborough University in September 2012 and felt that a persoanl website would be a great way to stay connected with friends and former teachers – and a way to showcase my ability and work portfolio to potential employers. But then I began to think about what else I could use it for.

I toyed with the idea of doing graphic design for teeshirts, hoodies, mugs, etc for a while and started to actually do so – selling via RedBubble. Hence, I thought I could use the website as a promo and information tool – or even set up an actual store with bought in stock. However, I didn’t have enough time, or money, to do so still being a student. For the time being I’ll stick with RedBubble – but I could still use fazackerberry.co.uk for promotional purposes!

I also thought I could use the site to advertise my own services as a semi-amateur/semi-freelance designer for websites or printed stock – the idea being that small businesses who wanted a sloution but couldn’t afford industry prices could have someone, ie, me, who would create a solution at a lower cost – but over a longer period of time.

Lastly, I loved food, and ‘fazackerberry’ sounds very much like a fruit – so why not use the site to compile and share all of my various recipes, tips and tricks with the whole planet?

In the end, fazackerberry.co.uk became a combination of all of these ideas – perhaps focused on some parts more than others. This is highlighted by the 5 sections to my website: About Me, Portfolio, Products, Food and Contact. Of course, all of the sections are very interlinked and overlap yet there is still a fairly distinct deifinition. To find out more, simply head on over to the site and have a look! Oh, and there’s this blog too plus the Contact page: subscribe, favourite, follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Forrst.

Any questions? Feel free to contact me! How? See the contact section of my site!