Some new old music...

Dug through some old music today and found this. I wanted this album when it came out about two years ago, it kind of flew in under the radar. I ended up finding it like a year later, and it was still really good. Thought I would share it with you... That Ghostly.com site made me remember it, and they have cool album art too.

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GraffCity Augmented Reality Tagging App

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Peep this new app from some of tha homies back at MRM/McCann... Some really cool AR/street view stuff in this thing. Reminds me of my time growing up in Stockton. Only thing is, I was never hard enough to actually tag anything in real life, so this would've been perfect for me as a nerdy 13 year old drawing the X-Men, and tagging people's names for trade of not getting beaten up.

Graffcity turns your iPhone into a spray can. Virtually tag everything, anywhere, at any scale. Just hold your phone up and spray. Tag a wall, deface a friend's car, or do an entire building. Nothing is off limits. Graffcity gets you as close to the real thing without breaking the law (or mother nature).

Features:
Tag Creation
-Two modes – spray can or finger paint.
-Different brush options include tip, size, drip length, and a full spectrum of colors.
-Easy to use menu and undo options.
-Crop, shrink, expand and rotate tags with backgrounds for perfect placement.
-Special filter features allow you to edit tags with special effects like blend – which gives your tag added realism.
-Save your tag as a sticker that can be reused as a signature.
Publish
-Save your tag to your camera roll, upload to your Graffcity profile, e-mail to a friend, or upload to your facebook profile.
Explore
-You can filter nearby tags by date, proximity, rating, or search user name or location.
-AR (Augmented reality) view shows tags through your camera phone on street view.

via http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/graffcity/id413109324

Blowing it out in 2011

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These are cool ideas, The 10th Annual Year in Ideas. But here's my personal list of things that should blow-up in 2011:

More unicorns. 2010 was the year of rainbows, but what is born underneath them and drinks the beautiful mist that rainbows form??? You guessed it. Extra points for unicorns with wings.

More local-ness. I've joined the Telegraph Hill Dwellers association this year and have been making an effort to be more social with my neighbors. Garage sales and building  holiday parties help. I'm planning on rocking the shit out of the 'hood in 2011. I am going to do some major local-lifestyle dialing, and exploiting the fruits of this amazing part of the world. Working within a 5 block radius has sparked a new appreciation for professional localization. NY, LA, and everywhere in between can suck it. I've lived here for 8 years for a reason. It's been a real bummer that everyone I know moved away last year, and I'm making it my personal mission to make them jealous that they don't live here anymore.

Less coupons more savings. Groupon made the worst mistake of their now short-lives by not selling to Google. Full retards. After a few years of saving people are sick of the effort it takes to take a coupon with them and want to spend money. Mobile and web based auto-coupons are where it's at this year. All of the savings, none of the effort.

Coal-fired Pizza is out, high-end, local, affordable food is in. If there were more restaurants like Don Pisto's and Naked Lunch I would be fat and broke. And BTW a $200 bill at a pizza place is totally ridic (ahem...Tony, Zero Zero, etc.).

Friendliness. Having an attitude about everything was hip and stylish in 2010, but I think that being cool and friendly will be the "it" thing to do in 2011. If you don't believe me, shut up and stay inside, and I dont give a shit about Starbucks v. Blue Bottle.

More stuff! I'm going to put fourth a major effort to make more stuff this year. I'm getting my studio dialed in with tons of goodies and some interesting found tools, and they will be put to good use in 2011. So watch your ass.

Happiness. This is the year. I can feel it, everyone is sick of it. These past few years have sucked. Working hard and getting little in return. Wasting your life, grinding it out. It sucks and it's hard. Like my wife's eternally wise grandmother in Kansas always said, "What do you get when you work your fingers to the bone? Boney fingers." Nothing excites me more than my friends and family being happy. I want to see everyone get in the zone this year. Stop putting your energy into things that benefit someone else. Put it into yourself. If you're unhappy with something fix it. If you want it, get it. If something sucks that bad, shut up and deal with it (INSERT ALL CAPS DIDDY DIRTY MONEY/MC HAMMER HYPE COMMENT HERE!!!!!!!!!11).

TypeKit. I said it before, and I'll say it again. 2011 is TypeKit's year. The internet will bow in reverence of it's power. (see software thoughts lower on page)

Knockout. While on the subject of fonts, I predict people will keep using the font Knockout for everything...

Subscription/Cloud based software. I can't afford $4000 for new software every year. But I can afford $30 a month for usage rights and more robust cloud based applications. Let's get it together Adobe. They have game systems now that can play full 3-D console games over the internet, don't tell me your servers can't handle it. I'm thinking Photoshop iPad edition.

Less video chat. Video chat isn't fun on any OS, especially not in HD (unless you have an in-house stylist). I would rather just talk on the phone, we need to keep the romance intact. At least over the phone I can imagine you looking presentable, freshly bathed, smelling good, wearing freshly pressed clothes. People look like crap most of the time. When your dad wants to buy a video phone in 2010, and you have to beg and plead with him to not buy it, you know it's not the right thing to do.

Things that will become non-issues in 2011. Digital storage. Bandwidth. Electricity. Processing Power. Your mom.

Happy 2011!

Retro design influence on Audi's new models

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I love this rear-end to end view of two famous 'sportback' Audis. The late 70's Audi 100 Coupe S, and the brand new A7. Look at the design cues. from the rear window frame all the way down to the wheels. Totally awesome, an interesting new phase in Audi's design process. They also recently unveiled a new Quattro concept car at the 2010 Paris Auto Show. Again based on the legendary Quattro of the 80's. Rumors are that it has been greenlit for production. I'm looking forward to seeing some of these new styles on the road.

Audi Quattro Audi Quattro Concept

 

Wedding Book Completed!

Here is a little project I've been working on. It's finally been printed and showed up a few days ago. There is only one copy in existence (so far). It's a beautiful full color, 12x12 hardcover, 40 page book. All the photos I used were taken by our good friend and photographer extraordinaire Mark Likosky. A great way to remember a most excellent day. Thanks again to everyone who was there, and helped out so so much. It wouldn't have been a wedding without you.

I've included a link to a pdf of the book for your downloading enjoyment. It's pretty high res so be patient.

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New England, October-November 2010

I just got back from a long-ish trip out to New England. I was doing a little work, and as pure coincidence, my wife planned a great little trip out there for my 30th birthday. She rented us an Audi and we drove up the coast from Boston to Maine, and over to Vermont. We stopped in Salem, and ate the famous clams of Essex Mass. One of the more exciting nights was in Magnolia where we stayed at a great old bed and breakfast, where on Halloween eve, we participated in a paranormal investigation. Some colorful characters came along and we had some very interesting entertainment, from possessions to seances. When in Vermont, Katelin had setup a Mercedes Benz driving experience where we took an E550 to it's limits, and unfortunately the road up the mountain had closed for the season a couple of days earlier. Next was a Land Rover Driving Experience in Manchester Village, Vermont where we took an hour long off-road course. At the end of it I received a certificate, so I guess now I can buy one and not be a loser. We basically ate and drove our way through New England, seeing the last of the falling autumn leaves, and enjoying each others company for a nice little break. Check out the pics on Flickr.

Los Angeles!

We hit L.A. to visit our peeps Alastair and Kayla two weekends ago. We did some tourist-y stuff in the 100 degree heat, explored Brentwood and got freaked out by the close proximity to O.J.'s old place on Bundy. Did some celeb hunting, bought a star map, saw some celebs (The Governator at lunch and then again at breakfast the next day). Cruised in the grandpa mobile. Skyped with tipsy parents enjoying the fruits of coastal France. Went to the Glow festival in Santa Monica. Chilled hard, installed some design-y light fixtures at our peep's new pad, and then played some Halo Reach while our wives bought lingerie. Pretty amazing I must say.

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I wonder if "advertising" people are "paying attention" to this "emerging market?"

I sure am. I can't believe the advertising industry in general isn't picking up on this yet. I think the Old Spice Guy needs one of these to cruise Oakland in. Add to this all the kids riding around on scraper bikes, sporting all sorts of crazy brand names as well, and you've got a huge opportunity.

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Mount Rainier Weekend

Took a quick trip up to Washington to see some friends and climb a big ass mountain. Two weeks in Colorado definitely helped me handle the altitude, I was impressed. The weather was gorgeous, and the wildflowers were blooming, and I didn't check my email for 2 days. Total awesomeness. When I got home everyone was talking about this. Gonna post more pictures of the trip on Flickr, and then I'm headed back to CO for two more weeks!

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