1966 CHEVELLE STEERING WHEEL

The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life)

Finally, we are learning that simplicity equals sanity. We're rebelling against technology that's too complicated, DVD players with too many menus, and software accompanied by 75-megabyte "read me" manuals. The iPod's clean gadgetry has made simplicity hip. But sometimes we find ourselves caught up in the simplicity paradox: we want something that's simple and easy to use, but also does all the complex things we might ever want it to do. In The Laws of Simplicity, John Maeda offers ten laws for balancing simplicity and complexity in business, technology, and design--guidelines for needing less and actually getting more.Maeda--a professor in MIT's Media Lab and a world-renowned graphic designer--explores the question of how we can redefine the notion of "improved" so that it doesn't always mean something more, something added on.Maeda's first law of simplicity is "Reduce." It's not necessarily beneficial to add technology features just because we can. And the features that we do have must be organized (Law 2) in a sensible hierarchy so users aren't distracted by features and functions they don't need. But simplicity is not less just for the sake of less. Skip ahead to Law 9: "Failure: Accept the fact that some things can never be made simple." Maeda's concise guide to simplicity in the digital age shows us how this idea can be a cornerstone of organizations and their products--how it can drive both business and technology. We can learn to simplify without sacrificing comfort and meaning, and we can achieve the balance described in Law 10. This law, which Maeda calls "The One," tells us: "Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful."

ENG “Each of us lives two lives: our real life and our secret life. In our real life, we are what we appear to be. We love our husband or our wife. We care for our children. Each morning we pick up a bag or a briefcase and we do what we must to oil the wheels of our existence. We sell bonds, we clean hotel rooms, we serve beer to the kind of men with whom we would not share our air if we had a choice in the matter. We eat our lunch in a diner, or on a bench in a park where people walk their dogs and children play in the sunlight. We feel a sentimental urge to smile at the animals because of the joy they take in the simplicity of a stroll through green grass, or at the children paddling in pools and racing through sprinklers, but still we return to our desks or our mops or our bars feeling less happy than we formerly were, unable to shake off the creeping sense that we are missing something, that there is supposed to be more than this to our lives.
Our real life –anchored by those twin weights (and here they come again), our careworn friends duty and responsibility, their edges considerately curved, the better to fit upon our shoulders- permits us our small pleasures, for which we are inordinately grateful. Come, take a walk in the countryside, the earth spongy and warm beneath your feet, but be aware always of the ticking clock, summoning you back to the cares of the city.” – The Black Angel, John Connolly

ESP “Cada uno de nosotros vive dos vidas: nuestra vida verdadera y nuestra vida secreta. En nuestra vida real, somos lo que aparentamos ser. Amamos a nuestro marido o a nuestra mujer. Cuidamos de nuestros hijos. Cada manana cogemos una bolsa o un maletin y hacemos lo que debemos hacer para engrasar las ruedas de nuestra existencia. Vendemos bonos, limpiamos habitaciones de hotel, servimos cerveza a la clase de hombre con quien no compartiriamos nuestro aire si pudieramos elegir. Almorzamos en una cafeteria, o en el banco de un parque mientras la gente pasea sus perros y los ninos juegan bajo los rayos del sol. Pecando de sentimentalismo, sentimos la necesidad de sonreir al ver la felicidad de los animales ante cosas tan simples como un paseo por el prado verde, o de los ninos mojandose los pies en los estanques y corriendo a traves de los aspersores, pero seguimos volviendo a nuestras mesas o nuestras fregonas o a nuestros bares sintiendonos menos alegres que anteriormente, sin poder deshacernos del sentimiento progresivo que nos estamos perdiendo algo, que deberia haber mas que esto a nuestras vidas.
Nuestra vida verdadera –anclada por esas pesas gemelas (y aqui estan de nuevo), nuestros amigos ansiosos deber y responsabilidad, sus bordes considerablemente curvados, para que se ajusten mejor sobre nuestros hombros- nos permite nuestros pequenos placeres, por los que estamos desmesuradamente agradecidos. Ven, camina por el campo, la tierra esponjosa y calida bajo tus pies, pero ten siempre presente el tic tac del reloj, llamandote de vuelta a las obligaciones de la ciudad.” – El Angel Negro, John Connolly

The X1/9 started life in 1969 as a show concept car called the Autobianchi A112 Runabout, with styling by Bertone under chief designer Marcello Gandini. It was designed around the all-new 128 SOHC engine and gearbox from the front wheel drive Fiat 128 but used these parts in a radical way, moving the entire transverse drive train and suspension assembly from the front of the 128 to the rear of the passenger cabin, directly in front of the rear axle with the manifolds on the rear face, giving a mid-engined layout. The fuel tank and spare wheel were mounted side by side ahead of the engine directly behind the seats, thus maximising the proportion of the car's weight falling within the wheelbase. This package also left useable stowage areas both front and rear.

The car was built by Fiat in right hand drive form between 1976 and 1982 when Bertone took over production until 1989. The X1/9 was considered to have excellent handling, and was amongst the first cars to meet the abandoned late 60s U.S. safety regulations.

The prototype car featured a distinctive wedge shape and took many styling cues from contemporary power-boat design. Many aesthetic features of the Autobianchi Runabout are readily identifiable on the X1/9. The long flat bonnet (hood) with central indentation, the large front overhang, the wedge shape with prominent C pillar roll-over hoop and the car-length indented plimsoll-line all made the successful transition to the X1/9, giving it a highly distinctive appearance.

Once developed for production, the two-seater featured pop-up headlights and a removable hard top roof panel (targa top). The removable hardtop is a model of simplicity to remove and replace. The hardtop stores in the front luggage compartment, snug below the front hood, only slightly reducing the space available for front stowage. There was an aftermarket top by Saratoga available, which was made of lightweight clear-smoked polycarbonate, which today is a coveted accessory.

The X1/9 name stands out amongst the contemporary Fiat automobile names for not conforming to the standard (at the time) numerical designations. Fiats of the time were named using a basic numerical system (127, 128, 124, 131 etc) denoting their relative position in the current model line-up, with the X1/9 being the lone exception to this rule.
The name stems from the codenames employed by Fiat for their new development projects during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The 'X' projects were subcategorised as X0 for engines, X1 for passenger vehicles and X2 for commercial vehicles. Though originally envisioned as the '128 Spider', the X1/9 retained its prototype code through to production.

Our closets, our garages, our cupboards, our lives are--let's face it--cluttered. Stuff is everywhere: old yearbooks, projects we started years ago but never finished, commitments to activities that we now regret making but don't feel we can pull out of. Are you longing for space--for simplicity? Here is a book to bring you there.

Soul Care® Resources are designed to be simple, but not simplistic, guides to maintaining or recovering the life and health of your soul, that essential personhood created by God as you. In four sections Mindy Caliguire helps you discover and embrace who you are, set healthy boundaries and embrace simplicity as a lifestyle that brings freedom.

You use this book in small chunks of daily reading, covering the whole book in the course of four weeks. Also included are four guided group discussions for use with a small group or a spiritual friend.

Are you ready to start your journey toward simplicity?

Our closets, our garages, our cupboards, our lives are--let's face it--cluttered. Stuff is everywhere: old yearbooks, projects we started years ago but never finished, commitments to activities that we now regret making but don't feel we can pull out of. Are you longing for space--for simplicity? Here is a book to bring you there.

Soul Care® Resources are designed to be simple, but not simplistic, guides to maintaining or recovering the life and health of your soul, that essential personhood created by God as you. In four sections Mindy Caliguire helps you discover and embrace who you are, set healthy boundaries and embrace simplicity as a lifestyle that brings freedom.

You use this book in small chunks of daily reading, covering the whole book in the course of four weeks. Also included are four guided group discussions for use with a small group or a spiritual friend.

Are you ready to start your journey toward simplicity?