Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor 4:16-18
My colleague showed me this awesome site to share high res graphics, running on Microsoft Silverlight. The user-interface is amazing. Here is a random sampling of my rendering and design work that i did over the past 5 years.
Here is my entry for the Design-it Shelter Competition by Guggenheim and Google Sketchup. The idea is to pick a site anywhere in the world using Google Earth, and build a maximum 100sf shelter appropriate to that site. It is meant to be basic, no electricity, gas or water. You are allowed 70 words, four images and one animation to explain the idea.
Lagoa Azul Shelter: Between Water and Sky
Lencois Maranhenses is a vast desert that is transformed into hundreds of turquoise lagoons during the rainy season. Made primarily from native wood, the shelter is anchored in a lagoon on galvanized steel piers and shaded by a fabric roof which channels the heavy rainfall into a wooden storage tank for drinking and washing. The shelter’s deck and walls float independently of the piers, registering the seasonally changing water level.
With the cold weather, we've been looking for places to take Sofia during weekends. Today we tried an indoor playspace in the basement of a church in Belmont, on Belmont Road.
This is the outside of the church. Plenty of street parking. The playspace is open from 9-12 (for kids up to five years old only). It costs $10 per child, or $45 to become a member for the whole season (it is a co-op so you also have to commit to do 3 ninety minute shifts manning the desk and cash register)
This is the first room - it has a lot of toys, train sets, a couple of kitchen sets, and a box of dress up clothes. At 9 am there is nobody there yet.
There is also a little area for crawling babies.
In the next room is the gym. There are lots of balls, and riding toys. Sofia liked riding around on the tricycles and playing with the balls. The roof is leaking in one corner. This photo is taken around 11 am and the place is full of kids.
This part of the gym is full of climbing sets and plastic slides. Sofia spent a lot of time here.
This is a cool toy rollercoaster. Sofia enjoyed playing with this.
I was very impressed how many toys they have, and that all the toys are in decent shape and clean despite the heavy use. The other kids were all well behaved, although the boys tended to be more boisterous. We noticed more than 75% of the kids were boys, and only a handful of dads around. They also sell diapers, wipes, snacks, and slippers at the front desk (no shoes allowed inside the rooms). It was great, well worth $10. Highly recommended.
One pressure mounted gate given away on internet - 0.00 One pressure mounted baby/pet safety gate from Target - 24.99 Full night's sleep - priceless!
Hooray! With two pressure-mounted gates stacked on top of each other, Sofia was unable to climb over. We heard her get up at midnight and there were heart-wrenching cries of "Mommy... Daddy... Open... Open..." Loud gate rattling. Then dead silence for a while... she was in process of trying to climb. Then the crying resumed. We didn't go out, and eventually she quietened down. Two hours later she started again. This went on till morning, but with the door closed we managed to sleep pretty well. I kept one ear open for any noises that might mean she had pulled the upper gate down or cries of pain in case she hurt herself climbing, but nope - just cries for attention.
In the morning i went out, and she was sleeping on the floor right by the gate, clutching her blanket for a pillow. We opened the gate and she bounded out in a very good mood, grinning and ready to play. She watched some TV, ate lots of cereal, and was eager to get ready for school. I was rather surprised she was so happy and didn't seem emotionally distressed at all by her night, but hey that's all good.
The trip (in spite of the travel horrors) has done wonders for her mental development, perhaps due to the new sights and people she was exposed to. She is now speaking in pseudo-sentences, although half the words are still gibberish. Her vocab and physical abilities have increased. She says things like "one video" (with finger raised), identifies objects around the house and their owners "daddy bag, mommy coat..." and gives a running commentary on everything we're doing such as "mommy blah blah blah fasan" (mommy is making pasta).
