October 2010
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Yes, it has been forever.
Between derby and my 2 jobs, I am swamped. I’m slowly pulling myself out of the muck, so hopefully I’ll be back to regular updates shortly.
July 2010
4 posts
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Where are we going?
I ran across this interactive map showing the trends in moving to and from major cities. It takes forever to load, so I decided to summarize it for you based on their data (as influenced by my assumptions).
Dallas: Your gateway to even hotter parts of Texas. Seattle: Move here and you’ll never leave. Manhattan: A destination for everyone. Los Angeles: Only desirable to people from...
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It's not a purr, it's more like a scream...
Finally took a pic of my bike on one of the fantastically sunny days we had this weekend. The previous owner had dropped it a few times, so it’s missing the side fairings, but I think I’m liking it that way. It came with a full vance and hines exhaust which is pretty cool. It also has an adjustable rear suspension thing… I haven’t looked into it much, or its advantages.
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Quirky is awesome!
I recently discovered Quirky, this which is basically crowsourcing for your product ideas. You submit an idea (which will cost you $99, so it keeps out the riff-raff), and every week through voting etc. they choose a winner to make its way into production. Not only is this awesome because I get lots of ideas for things to make, it’s also great because I get the opportunity to express my...
June 2010
10 posts
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Sugru... Material Science FTW! →
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A different kind of mouth guard
I was searching for a better alternative to the options I was familiar with for mouth guards (if you missed it, I’ve recently gotten into roller derby). Something that let me talk and drink— I was considering going to a dentist and getting something professional made. But I’m cheap, and I don’t really like dentists… Eventually I ran across something that I think is pretty...
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Less is More?
Alright, usually it’s not. Most of time when I hear of people giving up all their worldly possessions in favor of a minimalistic lifestyle I laugh a little. Stuff makes our lives easier, makes it so we don’t have to deal with the boring crap. You would have to pry my appliances from my cold dead hands, especially anything that accessed the internet or washed something.
That said, this...
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On facebook and privacy...
Nothing in life is free. Fb isn’t run out of the kindness of anyone’s heart, it’s a business. Your data is the currency you use pay for the service (well one of them), if you’re not comfortable with that price it’s certainly your choice not to buy the product. But personally? If knowing who I am friends with or the stupid crap I care about lets somebody somewhere sell...
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It's about the talent, not the tool.
If you’ve looked through much of the work I’ve posted so far here, you’ll see quite a few photos with iStockphoto watermarks… I know a lot of designers who hate the site, and hate ever having to use it. Personally, I don’t mind. A lot of clients can’t afford Getty or Corbis or whatever. And why should they have to? I think if you’re a good designer you can...
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May 2010
4 posts
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It's a brilliant Monday after a great weekend
My motorcycle started this weekend (win!), I’m working on moodboards (I LOVE moodboards), it’s a dreary day (better for working), TONS of housework got done while my parents were in town (my parents are the best, I don’t think there is anything they can’t fix)… and derby orientation for the training league was so much fun.
All I need now is afteroon coffee and and...
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Bigger breasts, bigger profit
I went shopping for motorcycle gear this weekend, and I was surprised to discover that there is an industry out there that hasn’t fully exploited the income potential of women customers. Women used to make up 3-4% of riders, it’s now apparently closer to 18%. I can’t imagine the shitty gear those three percent had to deal with, because there is still a ton of tragedy in the gear...
April 2010
19 posts
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Yamaha fzr 600
I just bought my first motorcycle! I haven’t even taken the training classes yet, but then I’ve never been any good at doing things in the accepted order. I’m finding that I am frequently, and entirely randomly, muttering the word “motorcycle” under my breath. Clearly, I am excited :)
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WTF Adobe?
In Photoshop, I embed a smart object (vector) inside another smart object. Given that the original object is vector, even if it is nested inside additional smart objects, you’d think I could re-size until my heart’s content. Vector is vector, and smart objects are supposed to retain the properties of their contents. Alas no, for some retarded reason, a vector smart object inside an...
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Up and running!
I’ve got enough content in here now that I am feeling alright pushing this to my proper domain. I’ve got a ton of redirects to write, and need to customize the theme, but all-in-all I am feeling pretty confident in this whole blog plan.
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I considered being an English major...
Over the last couple of years I’ve gotten to really enjoy writing copy for my various projects. I’ve written everything from the preliminary copy for the back of FritoLay potato chips, to conceptual pitches in an attempt to get work, to brand guidelines for Microsoft. I’m not a grammar nazi. I put a bit of effort into getting it right, but only a bit. So don’t take this as...
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Par7 Vodka
This isn’t a project of mine, a friend on facebook has been working on some designs for the bottle of Par7 Vodka. While at West5 with one of my favorite people (staring at a wall filled with alcohol bottles) we got to talking about what we’d do for a design for Par7 Vodka, and how we’d make it stand out from the rest.
Yes, it’s a “high-end” targeted product,...
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That's Not the Worst Idea Ever
I can’t seem to rid myself of any phrase/word I’ve ever picked up. Sometimes a word will go into hibernation for awhile. It’s usage will become so infrequent that I forget it was even common, only to pop-out again at some ridiculously inconvenient moment.
This can be sort of a problem because I’m a language sponge. Not all language, just the weird shit you say when...
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Square is square?
I’ve got a box filled with all sorts of sentimental junk that I just can’t find it in my heart to get rid of. A few weeks ago I was doing some spring cleaning and ran across this book of collages. Something my best girl friends made for me when I left Minnesota to go to school in Vancouver. Anyway, one of the pages had just those words, cut out from a magazine. And they just struck me...
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I am so over this backend web thing...
My website was hacked again… well, to be fair it’s the same hack I had once before (caused by a wordpress install). It doesn’t do anything useful, it won’t harm your computer unless you’re on a PC using netscape navigator or some such thing… But it’s still annoying. So I removed all the affected files, but am having some other server issues that are...
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March 2010
10 posts
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A better PB&J
What’s the best part of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Well it’s certainly not the bread. Even if you’re so indulgent as to go with Wonderbread over the healthier wheat alternative… The bread is still simply a delivery mechanism for the tastiness that is the sweet & squishy innards.
So how do we improve on this my friends? Tortillas. I’ve been eating my...
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Vintage & New Letterhead Designs →
I love, love, love the Neil Diamond one, I’m assuming that’s gold ink there… And I know the aged look on Hopalong Cassidy is probably because of age and not design, but it makes the layout. Nikola Tesla, really? I love him, but wow what a nerd. There is a lot of interesting stuff here.
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Things I learned at RocketDog #1
“Business people” always seemed like a mystery, completely outside my realm of familiarity. Watching them interact with each other was like watching exotic mating rituals on the discovery channel. But RocketDog is full of business people, and interestingly enough, I’ve found that they’re not particularly complicated. Good business people have three qualities regardless of...
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A terrible pickup line for a nerd...
You’re stranded on a desert island. What movie, book, and CD did you bring with you?
My answer: Book- A guidebook on how to live on a desert island Movie- A documentary on smoke signals CD- Whichever one opens coconuts most effectively
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February 2010
3 posts
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Something from Nothing
I recently attended a Dorkbot! talk regarding rapid prototyping/3d printing technologies hosted by the UW. It was a pretty great talk on a subject that has been coming up a lot lately. Suffice it to say it left me with a few things to ponder. I love the idea behind this technology, immediate (comparatively) gratification for your designs. On top of that, I feel like it helps reconnect designers...