Ed Boaden

The temperature dropped about 10 degrees overnight, no more humidity, no more rain. Its autumn now apparently. Pretty similar to an English summer. Hoping it stays like this for another couple of months.

Off to Taipei in the morning. Interested to see if my limited chinese works there.. I think the dialect is different enough to render my vocab redundant. Heading to Taiwan Designer’s Week on Monday, hopefully to see some fresh and interesting design from Taiwan. Have a meeting on Tuesday and making a presentation about my experiences of a design nature from Beijing so far, and then have another meeting later in the week. Will take in some night markets, museums and temples, and then head to the beach at the weekend for some surfing. I am all over this!

To be honest I’m pretty disappointed by the redesign of the PS3. When the PS2 got a revamp it was super-sexy and very slimline model - and whilst this is thinner, it isn’t actually much smaller. Besides it looks a hell of a lot cheaper than the original PS3, which actually looked like a hi-tech multimedia centre - even if it was a bit of a beast.

The material and finish is much the same as the PS2, but due to the shape it just doesn’t work as well. The loss of the glossy surface and metallic detailing make it look more like a bloated PS2.

However, the material change may make it more recyclable at end-of-life (at least to the level of the PS2), although Sony hasn’t said anything to that effect.

Feeling happy about life right now. One of my neighbours brought me some watermelon because I lent him my shampoo, the same neighbour who gave me some flowers a couple of weeks ago. Never fail to be amazed by how welcoming and generous the Chinese are.

Bought some shorts today from Muji after discussing on Thursday how short shorts were ‘so hot right now’ with an italian woman in the fashion industry. She had been in Beijing for 10 years, and loved the city. Happy about finding what I was looking for after being unsuccessful in Uniqlo. Plus, its always nice when the price is cheaper at the till than on the label.

Came home and sat on my sunglasses, a bit of electrical tape sorted them out much better than I could have possibly expected.

Just watched Gladiator - I watched it at the cinema and disliked it, and have been telling people so for the past 10 years. I now wish to retract all those statements, because it is fantastic. I’m looking forward to Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel which is rumoured to be in the making.

The internet is playing up again, which is a shame… was planning to write some sarky comments on facebook. Can always blog via email tho - in your face censorship, this time I win.

Hmmm, the great firewall is catching up with me - can’t access my blog, twitter, or facebook at the mo. So apologies in advance for the limited interaction. I will be in Taiwan in a couple of weeks, so can check up on things there. By the way, if anyone is in China and has some advice on the matter (hotspot shield no longer working) please give me an email - cheers

An ashtray made of old coffee by Ryohei Yoshiyuki. The idea is that once you have made your coffee, the used grounds can form an ashtray for the cigarette to go along with your coffee. The coffee grounds absorb the smell of the smoke making it the perfect ashtray material.

Although this could be seen as reusing waste material to make a sustainable product, it hasn’t been presented as such, which I’m quite happy about. Instead, it suggests a simple harmony between elements of a morning routine. Something that is perfectly balanced within its little ecosystem, needing no additional outside inputs.

via @Dezeen

I’ve long been against cases for ipods and iphones. If something has been designed well (and Apple’s products have) then it should be shown off rather than tucked up in some protective case.  I’d rather have my iPod gain a few scratches, then be hidden from view all the time.

Jason Cooper makes some good points in his blog post on this topic. He says if the iPhone had been designed well, it should be able to withstand the rigors of everyday life. I don’t think iPods should be ‘ruggedised’ to the extent that some niche phones and laptops have - but if buying a case is mandatory, is the product really fit for use?

Jason goes on to discuss the idea that by fragile objects also have a feeling of preciousness and inherent value - which I agree with for the most part. Taking care of an object heightens the user-product relationship, resulting in greater enjoyment and longer product life. But traditionally valuable items, like jewelry, are precious without being fragile. Could I love a strong iPod? Would I feel more comfortable with it, or would I secretly hate it for not needing my care?

Well, anyway, I dropped my iPod and now the screen’s having a little flashing fit, so maybe I would have been better off with a case of some kind.