I know I haven’t written anything for quite a time, but I sure have my reasons, which I am willing to explain in the following lines. I’ll try to separate this in points such as my university degree, my e-business developments, my health problems and some other stuff, so it becomes easier to read the different subjects and to detect what’s personal and what’s professional.

University:

I’ve been very busy with my university course, and as I am a member of the Student’s Association, I have to work in double. To begin, I’m responsible for the Intitute’s Blog, for all the graphic design related stuff and some other things. For example, I designed a “card” to identify the freshmen from the rest of the people in the institute, which is a parody of Portugal’s “Citizen Card”, whose first name was to be “Unique Card”. Unique Card in Portuguese is translated as “Cartão Único” and its acronym was “CÚ” which means “ASS” in English. Yeah, you’ve got the idea. You can check the work in my DeviantArt gallery. I also designed a poster for the “Mega Dinner” which is a Dinner for all the students, ex-students, teachers, ex-teachers, etc. and as usual, there will be LOTS of people in the dinner (that’s why it’s called Mega Dinner). Last but not least (the most important stuff for me) is this year’s content of the course. In this semester, the course has the following outline: Applied English, Advertising Communication, Communication and Publicity Law, Risk and Crisis Communication and Marketing Market Research.

Conferences:

I have already Two international Marketing conferences in my agenda, one of the being the “International Conference: New Answers for the Future of Consumption”, organized by the IPAM – Marketing School for Business, and the other one is the “Marketing Show: Sold Out – Tendencies and Integration in Marketing”. I’ll be taking live notes in my Netbook and make an article for each one of them.

Increasing my Knowledge:

I’ve been reading a lot of technical books in the areas of marketing, management, public relationships and publicity. I’ll try to make reviews of the books as I finish them, one by one, as well as give some tips based on what I’ve learned in my lectures.

Online Business Implementation:

In spite of the accumulation of excessive work, some things are going well. BricoDap’s new image is up and running and the results are already coming, like some nice and powerful partnerships, as well as some major clients. I’m preparing an article regarding some tips for online stores, how to improve your ROI (Return Of Investment) and increase your conversions, as well as some design tips, based on my experience of BricoDap’s market presence.

Netbook and Cloud Computing:

That’s right! I bought a Netbook (ASUS EEE PC 1000HE) and I’m trying to get myself into cloud computing. The experience has been great so far. I’m making a guide to optimize a Netbook to the maximum, and to get the best of it in every aspect, either in work or in entertainment purposes. This very article is the first one made on my Netbook, and I’ll probably catch up the lost time thanks to the Netbook, because I can easily write up some content while I’m waiting for something else.

My knee and drop foot problems:

After a year since my accident, I feel the knee has good stabilization and I have almost recovered all of my muscle mass and my whole weight. I’m just dealing with some issues with the correct patella placement, and doing therapy to maintain the muscle fibers and tendons active, because of the foot palsy problem. While I was writing this down, I was waiting to get an EMG (electromyogram) done, and after that we are going to decide what kind of surgery will be the best to try to get the leg working the most approximate to a normal leg, so that I can have an almost normal everyday life, and to avoid the use of an AFO (Ankle Foot Orthosis) to walk normally.

My Home Gym:

Another article that is coming up! My Home Gym is done, just missing some little details, like a window curtain, some decoration and getting the audio system finished, because the subwoofer broke down (I sent it to repair and I hope that I can have this finished as soon as possible). I’ve already been doing some exercise, and I have noticed an HUGE difference in my body weight, volume, metabolism, etc! I’ll try to take some pictures to post an update.

And the final words:

To finish, I just hope that with the aid of the Netbook I can manage to get my content done, so that I can keep you guys updated with some info and so that I can share some valuable information to whoever comes across my “experimental playground”. I hope the articles will start to flow and to have some more news next time! See yah!

Since my last knee injury, I’ve lost a lot of weight, mainly because of my loss of movement. This has turned me from a kind of athletic guy with a VERY active and occupied life, to a sedentary guy. The result is that I, being at 1.73m (5.66ft) have gone from 72Kg (158.7lbs) to 65Kg (143.3lbs), meaning that I’ve already lost about 7Kg (15.5lbs) mainly of lean body mass, that is, muscle. As I had a long-time project of building a home GYM, this is the opportunity to do it.

To start, I have some spare rooms in my parents’ home (which I’m also living), I have some friends willing to help and the materials to get the construction/preparation works are either cheap, free or I already have them. So… what was in fact holding me from getting the home gym started? First, to be able to get and stand on my feet! (Don’t you think this is in fact a crucial point?) And second, to be able to stand on my feet for some time without feeling a lot of pain. As I am now capable to do this for a moderate period of time, my friends came over, and with the help of my father, gave me a very big helping hand, as I almost watched them work to get this done for me.

My Home GYM project:

Mainly, I’m going to use this GYM to workout my legs (to help me with my knee problems), to correct some joint and posture stabilization problems and to work my upper body, because as I work my legs a lot, I have a lot more muscle on my legs than on my torso, arms and the rest of the upper body. I also have a sedentary work, as I almost remain on a chair for the whole day, in front of a computer, and with the GYM, I can make some cardio workout to stay fit and healthy.

What I’m planning to put inside the room:

• A cheap MP3 Stereo and a Cambridge four point surround system;
• A small piece of furniture, to put the stereo, punching gloves, speed rope and some magazines;
• A punching bag, hanging from the ceiling;
• Adjustable Bench with included Rack, barbell, dumbbells and disk weights;
• Exercise Bike;
• A Multi GYM Machine with 80kg (176.37lbs) total weight capacity;
• Short and wide straight cable bars and a one-hand cable handle;
• An 85cm Swiss Ball;

The Construction of the Room:

We’re talking about a room with an estimate size of 4m (13,12ft) x 6m (19.69ft). At first, we started to work on one of the walls, which had some serious cracks, so we had to break the superficial cement and cover it up again. Also, there was an all-around edge made in plaster that was stuck between the walls and the ceiling. It had to be removed, as it was falling apart, and then flatten the wall, because removing the plaster also removed some of the superficial cement. After that, we passed sandpaper on the walls and installed a hook to hang the punching bag. Next, we had to paint it all, with one of the walls in a different color (I chose a nice blue tone), to add some sense of depth, as the room is not very big, but enough for what I need. After the painting was all done, we proceeded to the clean up process. Also, we installed the lighting on the ceiling, because the existing lamp was purely a light bulb hanging from the cap.

I’m excited about the project, as it is going pretty well. Next step will be installing the sound speakers and verifying the electrical installation. Later, it will be to cover the floor with some kind of shock resistant material, organize the layout where the GYM equipment is going, and put it on its place.  I’ll update the info as I have some more development!

Track In My Head: F.L.G. & Funkerman – 3 Minutes To Explain

Design your way:

The Blog of Web Designer Bogdan Sandu, from Bucharest, Romania. A great source of information, freebies, tutorials, inspiration and showcases. It’s really worth the visit, so check out Design your way, or visit the feature page. Also, his Twitter is a nice source of information…

The Design Gene:

The Design Gene is a showcase of Flash, CSS and Blog websites, run by Jessica Miller, founder and lead designer at Corvus Design Studio, which shows a good example of a showcase website done with WordPress. Nice and clean, updated frequently and a nice example of good taste. Jessica also mentioned TwistedStudio as a “great website that utilizes Slab Serif fonts for accent or logo” in her blog. Once again, thank you Jessica!

E-CREATIVE.NET:

E-CREATIVE is a nice source of inspiration, where websites are categorized in titles such as fashion, automobile, entertainment and sports, and are classified according to design and colors, as well. You can also access a Forum, a Job Board, freelancer listing, recent news, etc. Visit E-CREATIVE or the feature page as “Site of the Day”.

Design Awards Gallery:

Design Awards Gallery describes itself as ” A CSS Websites Catalog aimed to provide you with the stunning collection of the most creative and inspiring CSS web designs from all around the world”. Well, there sure are some stunning websites showcased there, and their own design is really nice. Visit Design Awards Gallery or the feature page. By the way, the categories, tags and keywords were not chosen by me…

My Design Award:

My Design Award, as the name says, it’s an award giving website. Besides the award giving stuff, they review professional portfolios, publish artworks as wallpapers and logos, some free templates and even integrate a mini-social community, in a PHPBB based forum. Visit My Design Award or the feature page.

Colour Crash:

Colour-Crash is a blog in German, with Design related information. Their main articles feature free wallpapers and photoshop tutorials, but they have content like funny pictures, photos, video tutorials, news, etc. I was featured in the “Design of the week” category, among other nicely done websites.

QNT – Quandtnet:

QNT (quandtnet) is a portal site with a selection of digital art magazines and a web design gallery with inspirational sites. As it says in the about section QNT “showcases websites with outstanding appearance, new ideas and a successful perfection”. You can find sites from private and commercial sites, to experimental Homepages, all sorted by categories. Visit QNT or the feature page.

GOUW.NU – Graphic Orgasm Ultimate Portal:

GOUW, which means Graphic Orgasm Ultimate Portal is one of the oldest site submission galleries on the web. They always choose a trendy design, as they change it from time to time. The site is divided in “Cool Sites”, “Previews” and “Daily News” links, which are feed by users, and approved by their staff. As GOUW doesn’t have a page for the sites it features, but only an archive, I leave you with their redirection link to my page, which just opens TwistedStudio’s homepage.

Back in November, I had an accident which caused an injured knee. Not a normal injury, but one of the worse things that can happen to a knee: a joint dislocation. This injury was caused by a really big hyper extension, which made the knee bend just too much (to the opposite side it is supposed to bend) completely breaking the Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL), the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), and partially tearing the Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL). This also caused the Common Peroneal Nerve (CPN) to get injured, leaving me with a partially paralyzed foot, due to CPN Palsy. It was all diagnosed through MRI’s, clinical exams, an electromyogram (EMG) and damn.. this whole process hurts a lot.

Accident and Diagnosis:

The injury happened in 8th of November 2008. It was a Saturday, and I was participating in a rally paper, an university event. My team was doing really good, until I slipped, one of my team mates slipped too, falling over me, and the knee broke. As simple and stupid as that. I sat down on the floor and stood still, with my leg all twisted. I tried to put the leg straight, but I just couldn’t. First, because of the ligaments that were broken, and second, because my leg just didn’t respond from the knee to the foot. You may seem surprised, but I didn’t had a lot of pain in the moment. Me and my mates waited for the ambulance, I then entered the emergency room in my local hospital, and waited for 3 hours until something was done. (It’s more important to save a life than a broken knee, and believe me, I do care about that, by experience.)  Then, I stayed for a week in the hospital, for observation. In spite of thinking that I was going to surgery after a week, the doctors sent me home for a full month of immobilization and rest, because the knee was so swollen and full of edemas that would complicate the surgery. These sure were some hard time, as I could not bend my leg for anything, and I was always under the effect of painkillers. After the first month, I returned to Hospital for the surgery. Another week in an Hospital bed, and some more nice room mates.

Surgery and Recovery:

The knee reconstruction surgery procedure consisted of an allograft for the ACL and PCL,  that is, the transplantation of ligaments from a cadaver source. The ligaments are fixed though the use of screws. It was a surgery of about 6 hours, with lots of recovery pain. (For you to have an idea, I was on morphine for two days, after the surgery, and with heavy painkillers for about a month and a half.) After another week in the hospital for observation, I finally went home. Started physiotherapy in January, doing things like Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS), Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS),  Cryotherapy nerve stimulation, Isometric and weight exercises for muscular reinforcement, Hydrotherapy, and lots more. By the way, the nerve regeneration process causes a lot of tingling, and sometimes can even become painful, because the sensation is so strong that it feels like burning.

Current State:

I’m still dealing with this, as the recovery time for the knee is about 6 to 8 months, because of the almost two months of immobilization, which caused a lot of muscle loss (in all I lost 6Kg, or 12,3 pounds), and the recovery of the nerve can take up to two years. I’m not fine, but I feel much better, since my knee is giving its first signs of strength and although I can’t still move my foot, I begin to feel sensations as touch and temperature. To help me with the palsy situation, I use an Ankle-Foot-Orthosis (AFO) which helps to stabilize the drop foot situation. It consists on an L-shaped piece of plastic, that runs along the sole of your foot and wraps to the back of your leg, on the upper calf, by the peroneal head. My actual Orthosis is from Otto Bock, and I’m very very satisfied with it, since it is much better than the first one. With this AFO I can put on normal shoes, and with the knee getting stronger, I can now even drive. I’m still recovering, and hope to recover the most that I can, but only time will tell. By the way, I’ve been taking pictures of my recovery since the accident. Get a look at some of them on my Flickr Gallery.

Track In My Head: Slipknot – Psichosocial

Well.. This is the first post of this new version of TwistedStudio.com, that means, Version 6. This is the reborn of it all, and I hope it becomes a good start, because, sadly for me, I had the time to get this to work again, not by the best reasons. In November, I had an accident and broke my left knee. I had a transplant surgery and I still am in Physiotherapy. I now have to deal with a paralyzed foot that might have no recovery, only time will tell. Therefore, as I almost spend all my day in the hospital, I have my spare time to get this done. In the following posts, I will try to recover the time of almost 3 years of a closed TwistedStudio, and try to get you informed of what has happened to me (such as the knee injury, for example…), and some of my personal (and not-so-personal) projects, as my Home Gym, and a Portuguese E-Magazine that I am Directing. I will also try to do the usual stuff that I used to do in here, that is, to get you informed about the new tendencies in web-design, CMS’s as WordPress, and of course, free stuff to get your work done. I will also post some interesting stuff about wellness and a good lifestyle, music that I like, some cool gadgets and tech-related news… and a few more things. There’s a lot of good stuff to come, so stay tuned!

Track In My Head: Gary Jules – Mad World