Setbacks in setting up
I've been trying to push the project forward with a few things over the past couple of weeks. Interestingly, most of them didn't involve biodesign but were more related to general life and administrative matters. Since there isn't much progress to report on, and in the spirit of transparency, I wanted to share a few setbacks that turned out to be time-consuming distractions this past week. Strangely enough, these setbacks were related to recent purchases that were meant to simplify my life.
First, I got myself a new laptop to replace my ancient 2014 MacBook Pro. This time, I opted for a brand new gaming laptop that greets me with a sword swooshing sound whenever I power it on. It's quite a leap into uncharted territory, equipped with an RTX graphics card and a Ryzen 9 CPU that handles software like Rhino, Fusion 360, and Blender like a dream. However, a ridiculous problem emerged – the shift button kept falling off. This seemingly minor issue turned into a couple of days wasted on trying to sort out a courier that never showed up as promised.
As if that wasn't enough, I also invested in a fancy new camera to capture the biodesign process involving the mealworms and make them the stars of cinematic footage. This time, I decided to buy from a traditional brick-and-mortar store to avoid potential hassle with returns. But, lo and behold, within just 5 seconds of using the camera, the lens jammed, rendering the entire camera useless. Back to the store it went.
But let's be clear, this isn't about making excuses. It's more about shedding light on the fact that things can go awry despite our best intentions. Looking ahead, the shed I mentioned earlier is en route, and once it arrives, I can set up the mealworms and get this project moving.
On a positive note, I've taken on some freelance design work with Kai Labs and Rheon Labs. Feel free to check them out. It's quite satisfying to be paid for design engineering work after taking a significant career switch.
I’ve also been nominated for a few awards and exhibitions which is helping to validate the “big switch”: The Arts Foundation Futures Awards Fellowship Programme, Olymp’Arts, Helen Hamlyn Design Awards and London Design Festival.
Hopefully less setbacks and more worms in the next edition. Until next time!