More Electronics Recycling! Hardware Art!

How’s this for cutting the crap?  Make use of old, outdated computer hardware by repurposing it as abstract art!  WHY NOT?  This will keep tons of silicon crap out of our landfills and provide some interesting conversation pieces.  This particular piece is an old IBM server hard drive circa 1990!  It stands on its own and reminds me of an aerial map of some metropolis we never knew about.  It also weighs about 5 pounds.  The owner tells me that it is still functional (what!), but is so outdated that nothing we have today will run on it.  Still.  This looks really cool and could even be used as a bookend.     

Just on a whim, I decided to see what other folks were doing with old computer crap they had lying around.  I googled it, and here are some of the interesting things that showed up. 

Theo Kamecke made this striking box from circuit boards.  It’s not only beautiful, but functional. Click the link to see his other stuff.  This guy is amazing.  You can also read a cool article in MaximumPC about other amazing pieces of art.     

Pretty cool stuff, right? I especially like the take on insects.  VERY imaginative.

Cut the Crap Update

I’m not the world’s worst blogger, but I really should be better about regular entries, shouldn't I?  I’m not going to promise to be better.  I’ll do what I can.  Life has a way of leaving you a little breathless at times, and only now have I gotten the chance to breathe, let alone write.

I've changed jobs, so I've been busy.  However, I thought I needed to cut the crap and get out of a stressful situation while also growing my career.  It was needed.  It was time to move on.  One of the best reasons to change jobs is to gain a broader knowledge base.  I’m doing pretty much what I was doing before, only now I’m getting paid more.  AND I’m not dealing with as much uncertainty.  I’m also learning a lot about the hosting industry right at a time when cloud management is on the rise (ahem, it HAS been on the rise if anyone has been paying attention).  I wouldn't have learned this at my last job, so I’m thankful to be on the cutting edge. 

On the home front, we are still trying to simplify our lives.  It isn't more complicated since last I wrote, but it is more full.  My son will start homeschooling with his sister this summer.  We bought chickens and intend to go completely organic with our egg consumption (I’ll keep you posted on that).  We’re sifting through our old junk and hope to get rid of it one yard sale at a time.  We are having our house painted by an independent contractor.  He came highly recommended, but we chose him in part because we wanted to stimulate the local economy. 

So… we are making conscious choices to cut the crap and make a difference in small ways.  I’ll chronicle what I can, when I can.  Stay tuned…