everyday observations of regular people

the dinner i made is better than the emmys. [Flickr]

jratlee — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:54:16 PDT

jratlee posted a photo:

right now, at least. adapted from ad hoc at home by t. keller (didn't have curry powder, used herbs de provence instead of fresh tarragon). gift from kate's fam. broke into the case of snoqualmie my fam. got me.

jersey shore. [Flickr]

jratlee — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:35:33 PDT

jratlee posted a photo:

in PA.

top flight security. [Flickr]

jratlee — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:35:31 PDT

jratlee posted a photo:

pesh shadin'.

posterity is important. [Flickr]

jratlee — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:35:28 PDT

jratlee posted a photo:

so great that there are two photos of these shirts.

view from hilton garden inn, cleveland. [Flickr]

jratlee — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:35:26 PDT

jratlee posted a photo:

stunning.

"For the digitally excluded, the route to the world wide web is via the heart, not the brainbox. We..."

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:46:20 -0400

“For the digitally excluded, the route to the world wide web is via the heart, not the brainbox. We just need to work out what they love. Then show them how to find it”

- Broomeshtick — FirstPlaces. A prototype thing for digital inclusion.

This is one of my favorite paragraphs on the internet right now.

Alone, it could be titled “Why Curation Matters”.

I love it when the commentary on a link is just as clever and insightful as the post it links to.

(via patrickrhone)

what he said.

SXSW 2011 PanelPicker - No Excuse: Web Designers Who Can't Code

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:24:00 -0400

SXSW 2011 PanelPicker - No Excuse: Web Designers Who Can't Code:

In a recent interview, Jonathan Ive said “It’s very hard to learn about materials academically, by reading about them or watching videos about them; the only way you truly understand a material is by making things with it.” He’s talking about product design, but the principle is just as relevant to the Web (if not more so). “The best design explicitly acknowledges that you cannot disconnect the form from the material—the material informs the form…. Because when an object’s materials, the materials’ processes and the form are all perfectly aligned…. People recognize that object as authentic and real in a very particular way.” As our industry grows and roles get more specialized, it’s possible to become a “web designer” without more than a cursory understanding of the fundamental building materials of the Web: the code. Is this just the price of progress? Are the days of the web craftsman soon to be in the past? Or is a hybrid approach to web design and development something worth preserve?

my perspective on “south by” and if i’ll ever actually go aside, this panel rings true to me. not because i design for the web or code for the web. sure, i’ve done both and both together but it’s not my formal profession. it’d take many more years of practice and application to get to that point.

however, the road that’s taken me to where i am now started with both coding & designing for the web. learning absolute building blocks of something, today, that’s so much more to so many people. part of my job is understanding attention and helping people find what they’re looking for. on the surface, “academically,” it seems relatively simple. you tweet? you’re on facebook? you can read a web page? SIGN HERE. but that’s half the story, i think. you’re attacking a problem from the outside - in, instead of of the inside - out. does this mean i’m smarter than someone who doesn’t have a history of code & design for the web? no. does it mean i can do my job better? no. does it mean i have unique insight and perspective? yes.

that’s a huge point of difference. your final product, no matter what it is, will always reflect from where it came from.

what’s your starting point?

"Do you spend too much on unnecessary household purchases? Blame your television set."

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:10:23 -0400

“Do you spend too much on unnecessary household purchases? Blame your television set.”

- TV Ads Work. Ask a Debtor. - Economix Blog - NYTimes.com

i can see how this is true. sometimes, even if there is something on that i’d watch, i purposely turn my tv off.

there are days i miss not having it.

bunch: It turns out that our consumerist impulse stimulates the...

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 12:46:22 -0400

bunch:

It turns out that our consumerist impulse stimulates the same part of the brain that fires when we’re on the trail of a great idea. As we go through the trial and error of executing an idea – What if I tried this? Ah! Now what about this? – we’re using those same wanting, hunting, getting instincts but in a nobler pursuit.

-Jocelyn Glei, Is Consumerism Killing Our Creativity?

Weekend Essay by Jonah Lehrer: How Power Affects Us

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:59:15 -0400

Weekend Essay by Jonah Lehrer: How Power Affects Us:

Perhaps the corner office could use a few more windows.

swissmiss | Plantly peep the predictions visualizer. beautiful...

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:40:24 -0400

swissmiss | Plantly

peep the predictions visualizer. beautiful stuff with plain, straight-forward language. either sharebuilder or mint should pick these guys up and let me run my investments through this UI.

Cynical-C | Red Eye this is essentially a placeholder for all...

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 23:20:30 -0400

Cynical-C | Red Eye

this is essentially a placeholder for all the things i didn’t get done tonight: figure out birthday plans, buy tix for aziz & louis c.k. (fall is looking good w/ those & ladies u.s. open final), re-cap cleveland and send friends photos i took of them doing a triathlon.

but hey, i cooked a good steak, brett favre still sucks and tomorrow’s first alarm always goes at 5am.

glass half-full.

kratlee: the inside of the cake that the unicorn shat on! while...

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 20:31:42 -0400

kratlee:

the inside of the cake that the unicorn shat on! while cutting there was some double-rainbow-esque screaming happening. i try my hardest to incorporate internet memes into birthdays.

so, my sister is awesome. great celebrations with the family this weekend. welcoming 28, later this week, with such great people in my life warms the heart.

Inside the secret world of Trader Joe's

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:50:00 -0400

Inside the secret world of Trader Joe's:

The Albrechts, who own Trader Joe’s through a family trust, have generally stayed out of the business. They visit the U.S. operation about once a year, and word around the office spreads that “the Germans” are coming.

how can you read that and not think of el guapo?

"And this post shall be tagged: “We know we want to be famous. We don’t even know why anymore."

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:15:00 -0400

“And this post shall be tagged: “We know we want to be famous. We don’t even know why anymore.””

- Style

i know it’s hip to move your brand to the next big thing but, what’s even hipper, is doing it well. it’s not just about being “different” in terms of voice, content, etc. from your parent publication - it’s about smart accessibility.

kudos to WaPo.

putthison: Put This On Episode 3: Work iTunes / Vimeo /...

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:27:55 -0400

putthison:

Put This On Episode 3: Work

iTunes / Vimeo / YouTube
Clothing Credits
Funding Credits
Related Posts

less about the actual clothes and more about the psychology behind getting dressed for your occupation. the two are closely tied (had to, sorry) and once you understand “why,” the “how” becomes a joy instead of a burden.

for a bit, i also did what paul feig mentions around the shift to casual in the office. on fridays, casual fridays, i wore full suit. it probably annoyed the crap out of people but what’s better than ending a week feeling good about yourself and the work you did that day?

davidcho: NiceKicks: NIKE FILES PATENT FOR AUTO LACING SYSTEM...

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:24:16 -0400

davidcho:

NiceKicks: NIKE FILES PATENT FOR AUTO LACING SYSTEM PATENT A LA MARTY MCFLY

OH SHITTTTTTTTT

More pictures of the patent filed if you click the image -

f’ jet-packs. this is where it’s at. now we’re really living in the future.

soxiam: Geckoboard - Realtime Business Status Board so there...

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:30:01 -0400

soxiam:

Geckoboard - Realtime Business Status Board

so there is a fun, navel-gazing post about how today is my 28th birthday and whoa is me/white man troubles but hey, let’s keep it light for now. as much as i’d love one of these in my office, i think i might try and set one up for my life. uptime of my site, e-mails i have to respond to, calls i have to get back to, the “honey do” list into basecamp.

it can happen. and then i’ll try for a walk-on roll for big bang theory and the face time percentage with my girlfriend will probably go up. ;)

slantback: UBS analyst Neil Currie had been looking at...

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:45:09 -0400

slantback:

UBS analyst Neil Currie had been looking at satellite data on Wal-Mart during each month of 2010, and he’d concluded that there was enough correlation between what he was seeing in the satellite pictures of Wal-Mart’s parking lots to the big-box chain’s quarterly earnings, that he was ready to incorporate that data into UBS’ report on Wal-Mart (via New Big Brother: Market-Moving Satellite Images - CNBC)

damn, that is serious business.

nevver: Otis Redding Motivational Poster

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:39:29 -0400

nevver:

Otis Redding Motivational Poster

stammy: giantrobotlasers: Steve Jobs on branding this is...

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:07:34 -0400

stammy:

giantrobotlasers:

Steve Jobs on branding

this is introducing the think different campaign, but that doesn’t really start until the last two minutes. what comes before is an extremely succinct argument on how to be successful - not just in marketing and branding but, really, in general. hold on to the people you find in your life who understand and operate like this.

“we’re not going to get a chance to get people to remember much about us…”

35 Life Hacks You Should Know

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:10:39 -0400

35 Life Hacks You Should Know:

(via azspot)

all very good. some i’ve heard of before, most i haven’t.

rock ‘n blast 2010. following up, here’s a pretty...

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:40:00 -0400

rock ‘n blast 2010.

following up, here’s a pretty cool video if you’re the kind of person wishing an entire major league ballpark was shooting off fireworks while you were singing “free bird.”

more photos from the trip (do what we did, on duffel) and, before that, the pequannock sprint.

upcoming - aziz ansari: dangerously delicious tour, u.s. open women’s singles final, a wedding, maybe vermont again and louis c.k., “word.”

finally, and most importantly, several family celebrations in this mix.

"I only bring this up because I’m fascinated by the degree to which brains have evolved to become..."

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:27:03 -0400

“I only bring this up because I’m fascinated by the degree to which brains have evolved to become more powerful than guns. Society’s founding geniuses engineered a social system that encourages the young people who have guns to shoot at each other instead of robbing old people. Forgive me for calling that awesome. Arguably, the most important function of human language is to protect the smart from the strong. Humans use words to create sentences, and sentences to create concepts, such as our notions of duty and honor. Powerful concepts control behavior. Without our language and concepts, the strong would kill the smart, and humans wouldn’t evolve to be any smarter. I think you could say that human evolution is being guided at least partly by the power of ideas.”

- Scott Adams Blog: Future Generations Steal from Themselves 09/01/2010 (via peterwknox)

jstn: This is something I’ve been working on for a long time,...

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:36:29 -0400

jstn:

This is something I’ve been working on for a long time, and now that we’ve reached the height of hurricane season I’m excited to reveal it.

radarmatic:

Radarmatic is a weather radar visualizer. It uses HTML5 and its own API to draw radar images with live data from the National Weather Service.

The white dots on the map represent 155 radar sites across the US. As you drag it around, the radar closest to the center of the map will light up with its most recent data. The colored areas show where precipitation is occurring at varying levels of intensity. Pushing play will animate the last few hours.

The imagery is not pre-generated, but rather drawn in-browser with Javascript. For this reason it can be processor intensive, especially while animating. Safari and Chrome are recommended over Firefox.

I’ve always wanted to do something with radar data. The NWS creates an incredible wealth of information available every day about the physical world around us, but it’s locked away in an obscure binary file format developed long before the web. In order to visualize the data the way I wanted to, much bigger and in crazier colors than I’d ever seen used for weather radar before, I needed to translate it to a format I already understood.

After many hours of research and fumbling around with a hex editor, I wrote a program in C called radar2json to convert the binary product files from the NWS into JSON (and which I’ve open sourced under the MIT license). I built a web service around it that anyone can use.

From a user interface standpoint, I set out to make something that puts as much focus as possible on the imagery itself and drastically reduces the friction of moving through it. Every other interface to radar data I’ve seen so far is scientifically oriented and does a poor job of being tactile and interactive, which I think is important for making a rich impression of what’s happening in our physical environment.

Give it a try and let me know what you think. And keep your eye on the Carolinas in the next 24 hours!

sam champion eat your heart out.