iBlog: putting the "blah" in blog since the new millenium

April 09, 2008

Change 2.0

It is interesting to see how the ordinary citizen has had an effect on coin design in the last few years. The US Mint is in its tenth year of releasing five new state quarters each year. Each state has had input from its citizens to some degree or another, resulting in the most popular set of coins the mint has released.

And now the British Royal Mint has revealed new designs of all their coins, from the £1 down to the 1p. These are beautiful coins and they were designed by Matthew Dent, a 26 year old graphic designer. The way he used the Royal Shield of Arms to unify the coins is genius, and the result is nothing less than a stunning work of art.

(Hit tip to H&F-J, via Daring Fireball)

P.S. Check out the video to see which computer he used to create the designs…

Posted by Mark at 07:08 AM in: design | Comments (0)

March 18, 2008

Two Minutes, Twice a Day

I recently had a dental exam. The hygienist commented on how little plaque had accumulated on my teeth, and how good my oral hygiene was in general. In fact she asked if I used an electric toothbrush and seemed incredulous at my answer of, “no, just a regular brush.”

So it is on this authority that I post my tooth brushing routine.

First, begin with a non-fluoridated toothpaste. This may seem counter-intuitive, but there is good reason to believe that fluoride actually contributes to tooth decay.

Next, you’ll need to brush for at least two minutes, twice a day (or more). You can get a two-minute timer to make sure that you are brushing at least that long, but there is more to effective oral hygiene than just time spent with a brush in your mouth. You need to make sure that each tooth is getting an effective amount of time with that brush while it is in there, rather than randomly.

Continue reading “Two Minutes, Twice a Day”

Posted by Mark at 10:31 PM in: meta | Comments (2)

January 17, 2008

Milestones

2007 was a year with many interesting milestones for our family. We paid off our house (and eliminated all debt) in early February. In April our second foster son joined our family. He is a full sibling to Daniel, our first foster son, and came to us at two days old. That makes 5 kids all together, and our car is full (all seven seats). A two hour trip to Phoenix early in the summer pointed out the need for more space, so we purchased a 15 passenger van. It’s a bit more than we need, but there are not really very many choices that are larger than a 7 passenger minivan for large families. The van came just in time for a vacation to Southern California and then up to Yosemite and my aunt and uncle in Merced. Shortly after we got back, our adoption of Daniel was finalized! We had him dedicated at church the day before the adoption, and had a big celebration afterward where we were able to tell his story. Then in December, Moriah and I travelled to Nairobi, Kenya, Africa to make a video for DOOR International, a missions group that reaches the Deaf around the world. That trip garnered some local press both before we went, and after we came back. We also posted pictures of the trip on flickr.

It was a busy year, to say the least! This year will likely be just as busy (I’ve already travelled to Austin for an Astronomer’s conference), but I hope to take some more time to post here and at some of my other blogs. That and take and post more pictures.

Posted by Mark at 06:34 PM in: family

December 22, 2007

Kenya 2007

My daughter, Moriah, and I went to Kenya earlier this month. You can read about it and see pictures on our blog, Kenya 2007.

Posted by Mark at 07:51 PM in: family

August 29, 2007

GASP! A new entry

Don’t get too excited, this is more of a test than anything else. My host updated the server this site sits on and my MT installation broke. Trying to get it working again and this is a test to see if i have succeeded.

But who knows — if it works, I may start posting again…

Posted by Mark at 05:59 PM in: meta

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