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Southlake Town Square
181 Grand Ave, Suite 206
Southlake, TX 76092

817 428 4248
design@firewheeldesign.com

Copyright © 2001-2006
Firewheel Design Incorporated
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September 2006

Sparkplug : September 2006

New Site Launch: DSicons.com

2006 September 11 by Josh

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DSicons.com Preview Say hello to DSicons.com, the latest website from Firewheel Design. Here's the deal: We've become Nintendo DS junkies around the Firewheel office. We play a good bit of inter-office Mario Kart, and we all agree that Keegan cheats. Keegan also prefers to race with Peach, but we won't go there at this juncture.

Several weeks ago I started playing around with creating a custom Firewheel logo-inspired icon for my Kart, when the idea hit that we should create a site devoted to creating icons on your Nintendo DS. Several DS games have icon (aka emblem) design capabilities so you can customize your character or kart or whatever. So for kicks and grins, we're happy to announce the launch of DSicons.com today.

DSicons.com is home to a plethora of icon designs for your favorite Nintendo DS games (namely Mario Kart DS right now). All of the icons are available as 32x32 GIF files and include a large template image that gives you a decent idea of how to redraw the icon on your DS. New icons are posted daily blog style and are tagged for easy browsing. Here are a few of my current faves:

And even if you don't own or care about the DS, you can still use the icons on your website, in iChat, AIM, or wherever. It's also a lot of fun to see up close and personal how these pixel creations are put together.

If daily icons aren't enough for you, you can also purchase a huge collection of 100 Nintendo DS icon designs for $5. Or you can even order a custom icon from us based on your logo. This helps us offset the cost of running the site a little, we're grateful in advance for your biz.

Check out DSicons.com today. If you're a Mario Kart fanatic, we think you'll be thrilled. If you're not, at the least you'll be mildly amused at our creative meanderings. Enjoy.

Bragging Rights

2006 September 11 by Josh

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Eva Noelle Williams I've been out of the office the last week or so, and with good reason. The Firewheel Family is just thrilled to welcome it's newest member, Eva Noelle Williams, to the fold. Eva was born Tuesday, September 5 at 11:15am, weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces, and is 20 inches long. She's such a sweetie, and a huge reason for me to work from home for a while! Rachel is doing great, and both mom and baby are healthy. We couldn't be happier. If you're itching to see more photos, here ya go.

"What's in a name?"

2006 September 5 by Brian

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Those same words that Bill Shakespeare put in the mouth of the lovely Juliet still hold a lot of wisdom today. Even we remarkably enlightened gentlepeople at Firewheel (ahem) were dismayed when Nintendo announced the official name of the new console. After five months, however, "Wii" feels comfortable and natural. Why? Don't know. Just does. And not having to live up to being the Che Guevara of home video game systems (Revolution) is probably a load off the minds of the Nintendo management. This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home, this little piggy had roast beef, this little piggy had none, and this little piggy played Wii, Wii, Wii until he fell asleep on the couch.

September's Plugs

Cow abductions to date: 0,154,493

2006 September 29 by Brian

You must forgive me if sometime in the past I've already linked to this brilliant animated creation by Joel Trussel, but I think it may be my most favorite music video ever - and it just won some sort of award.

2006 September 29 by Brian

Old school versus bling with a vengeance.

2006 September 29 by Brian

Gonna be getting cold soon. Better get yourself some very loud, retro-video-game-inspired winter accessories.

2006 September 29 by Brian

Buy laser-etched ad space on a woman's laptop. Okay, she might get that MacBook Pro for free or nearly so, but it's going to be the dog-ugliest MacBook Pro the world has ever seen.

2006 September 28 by John

Up for auction, the Elizabeth Hurley fembot.

2006 September 28 by Brian

The music of Atari ... or, actually, music that sort of had something to do with Atari.

2006 September 28 by Brian

"No Snakes On A Plane for Japan"

2006 September 28 by Brian

"Luke, I am your mallard."

2006 September 27 by Brian

Don't tie a string around your finger to remember an important date, let the Remember Ring do the job by burning you.

2006 September 27 by Brian

She's not on earth, but she's on Flickr.

2006 September 27 by Brian

10 reasons why you need a PS3. Umm, that's it? I'll pass.

2006 September 27 by Keegan

Look to hire quality design and development help? Looking for work? Authentic Jobs can hook you up.

2006 September 26 by Josh

When primetime TV product placement goes awry.

2006 September 26 by Brian

James Bond on a budget.

2006 September 26 by Brian

Not a game. There's no goal. Yet drawing a path on which a tiny person rides a sled is oddly satisfying.

2006 September 26 by Brian

Have you seen our MySpace page for DSicons.com? Won't you be our friend?

2006 September 25 by Josh

The latest iPod ads are OK, but are pretty much the same approach Apple's been using for awhile. The marketing for Microsoft's yet-to-be-released iPod killer is, however, much more fascinating.

2006 September 25 by Brian

The Muppet Matrix

2006 September 25 by Brian

"World's Worst" describes the comic books, not the museum: - World's Worst Comic Book Museum

2006 September 25 by Brian

For only the most skilled do-it-yourselfers: how to transform an Altoids tin into an MP3 player.

2006 September 22 by Brian

The acoustical liberation of books in the public domain. You know it's worth your attention when someone like Bierce is included.

2006 September 22 by Brian

In case you didn't know, it's called an Anglepoise. And now they've built a giant one.

2006 September 22 by Brian

When mediocre design explodes! Engadget reloads with a hurking big logo, dynamic image sizing, and more advertising than before. Not sure whether I should be amazed or reach for the back button.

2006 September 21 by Josh

Gloriously fashioned from injection-molded plastic, sci-fi spacecraft from the 1960s and the 1970s.

2006 September 21 by Brian

"This is just hideous. The trolling and flaming will be beyond belief", states one commenter. I tend to agree.

2006 September 21 by Brian

An outstanding and often hilarious pixellated ad campaign.

2006 September 21 by Brian

VW shows us that it's never been so cool to be a commercial truck driver. Pimp my FedEx? Yes, please.

2006 September 20 by Josh

Bilbo Baggins lived in the Shire. So did Frodo. And so can you.

2006 September 20 by Brian

Axialis has a great little tutorial on how to customize toolbar icons in MS Office (Windows, of course). The tutorial is pretty schnifty, especially since they make great use of some IconBuffet originals.

2006 September 19 by Josh

Tickle Me Elmo, epileptic edition.

2006 September 19 by John

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day, me hearties!

2006 September 19 by Brian

Junk in space. Engineers not amused.

2006 September 19 by Brian

Indpenedent labels shun DRM and sell tunes in Motion Picture Experts Group Layer III.

2006 September 19 by Brian

OK Go filmed their music video on treadmills.

2006 September 18 by Keegan

This Cartoon Is Going To Go Viral

2006 September 18 by Brian

"Attached to the letter is an Arwing!" ... One Nintendo DS game promotes another.

2006 September 18 by Brian

If you thought that music videos were designed to encourage the purchase of CDs, you'll scratch your head wondering how low-fi YouTube fare is cutting into anybody's profits.

2006 September 18 by Brian

Looks like everyone is having a bit of fun with DSicons.com.

2006 September 15 by Josh

eBay + Animal Crossing = NookBay

2006 September 15 by Brian

If you're unhappy with baby's lack of hair, get wiggy with it.

2006 September 15 by Brian

The Stormtrooper Effect and Inverse Ninja Law

2006 September 15 by Brian

Steer clear of busy intersections when on your Segway.

2006 September 14 by JC

I've got high hopes that the blonde Bond will bring back the magic.

2006 September 14 by Brian

Is there any future in Futurism?

2006 September 14 by Brian

Papercraft handguns are much safer than the real thing, but PLEASE don't carry one into your local bank or convenience store! (original Japanese page)

2006 September 14 by Brian

The perfect addition to the new iPod nanos announced yesterday: the iPod breathalyzer.

2006 September 13 by John

I have a confession. Occasionally I, too, succumb to one of those criminally cute animal-themed things one finds on the web.

2006 September 13 by Brian

Yes, everyone misses Steve Irwin, but I've yet to stop missing Bob Ross.

2006 September 13 by Brian

As I wipe the sleep from my eyes I present you with 12 noteworthy examples of creativity and famous discoveries attributed to dreams.

2006 September 13 by Brian

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish, and several advertising illustrations.

2006 September 11 by Brian

"Bid on these items not in conceit, but in humility. They are worthy." The farthest-out electric guitars you'll see all day.

2006 September 11 by Brian

VROOOOOM! Steering wheel attachment slated for Wii controller.

2006 September 11 by Brian

Westworld, Tron, Veggie Tales, and Final Fantasy: Timeline of CGI in film and television

2006 September 8 by Brian

I've often wondered just how many people actually meet their "soul mate" online and how many end up regretting ever having employed an e-anything to look for love.

2006 September 8 by Brian

Sure, you could buy one of those bluetooth gadgets that wraps around your ear, but a Hulger handset snaking from your pocket or purse is exponentially cooler.

2006 September 8 by Brian

You're already playing with power, but now you can stylus with style.

2006 September 7 by John

Retro arcade memories rescued from the dumpster.

2006 September 7 by Brian

An extremely brief history of Russian mice (not the rodents).

2006 September 7 by Brian

The Most Complicated Video Game Controller Ever Devised

2006 September 7 by Brian

Parking Perfection lets you practice your parking skills, virtually.

2006 September 6 by John

Behold the pithy, pseudomathematical observations that are indexed.

2006 September 5 by Brian

For your viewing pleasure, Nigerian email scammers busted.

2006 September 5 by Brian

Do you see any flippin' sasquatches around here? Scroll down to the bottom of the page for some Utah State Fair TV ads with Napoleon and Pedro.

2006 September 4 by Keegan

The manifesto of a political party born as a reaction to copyright law.

2006 September 1 by Brian

10 years of Homestar Runner (with stuff on sale).

2006 September 1 by Brian

A well balanced, mindless little game.

2006 September 1 by Brian