tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-119850882011-07-28T14:03:03.765-07:00a box.thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.comBlogger1291100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-7818608432556934922010-09-28T15:42:00.000-07:002010-09-28T15:42:20.055-07:00

A college friend passed away suddenly from a massive heart attack.  We were not close after college, so my memories of him are as a young vibrant man, shot fast forward into a tragically brief glimpse of him as a family man. Finding out someone has died, when just yesterday we were all young and fearless. when we were young we were invincible, not stupid. now when we are blessed with lives

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-77454647593567613112009-08-04T23:56:00.000-07:002009-08-05T08:29:02.365-07:00

photo: Ivan Makarov via FlickrHere's a poem I wrote as I approached my 40th bday this summer. I just uncovered it on my laptop's desktop:When I was youngmy skin was taut.My flesh was crispand full of comeand the air smelled of fuckingApples.I pulled against the stem and felt it giveand for a moment gravity was on my sideAnd then it wasn't.Better this than this :)

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-281538377733029182008-12-24T15:10:00.000-08:002008-12-24T15:38:20.813-08:00

photo via larryncelia on FlickrI just found out the other day that this photo from Flickr was used in a post on BoingBoing, following a post on a site called Neatorama about the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum. These links caused that photo to become my 3rd most popular (which isn't saying much) over the summer, and I had no idea why until I discovered the stats page on Flickr.It's cool to have

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-64675756037363144792008-12-23T17:52:00.001-08:002008-12-23T17:58:35.460-08:00

Some going-out-of-business shopping at the local Mervyn's netted these three frames, whch self-assembled into something of an art piece once I got them home:triptych: "recession proof": 3 panels with aluminum frame, each 4ft x 4ft. Frame 1 depicts retail graphic art from Mervyn's, the defunct department store. Frame 2 depicts a blank graphic panel. Frame 3 is void of content.price: $1500Shown as

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-44018637633537152362008-12-19T19:57:00.000-08:002008-12-19T20:21:47.864-08:00

Something interesting and exciting to share:A concept I've done for an internal design provocation / project made it's first prototypical foray out into the world last night. It took a ride with passengers on a Northbound Caltrain, thanks to a couple of fellow designers with more cohones than me: Ted Howes and Adam Vollmer.The design project is challenging ourselves to create concepts around the

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-2958423370269497432008-08-25T21:51:00.000-07:002008-08-26T14:41:01.562-07:00

photo: the day after, headed to school, plus our cabinets came in, plus its trash day....(originally posted over at Rice Daddies, where only the coolest daddies hang out)Shhh, it's the last night of summer and the kids are in bed.Princess Pony is asleep, her thumb in her mouth. Tomorrow she’ll be in first grade. She’s out like a light, always calm in the face of new adventures. It helps that she

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-54498445368013176182008-04-15T22:11:00.000-07:002008-04-15T22:12:59.722-07:00

Hey, I uploaded another, this is fun!

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-89197809327047461592008-04-15T01:31:00.000-07:002008-04-15T01:35:13.199-07:00

A few years ago, it was penguin classic books set to music. Now its a Radiohead song, stripped down to a 90's ballad:

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-26029424150535294612008-04-01T11:00:00.000-07:002008-04-01T10:58:47.914-07:00

They come in threes.Good things, or bad things. Things on the left. Things falling apart.This week, one of the two light bulbs in the fixture above our bathroom sink went out. It was the left one.This week, Mrs thisislarry noticed one of my Subaru's headlights was out. It was the left one.Yesterday, I noticed a strange egg-shaped blur in my vision, and tried not to freak the fuck out. Got to

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-40442801978301022812007-08-20T21:01:00.001-07:002007-08-20T21:01:21.362-07:00

F'ing brilliant, and worth breaking radio silence for.Chicago designer George Aye proposes to his sweetheart with an elaborate guise involving a gallery, a non-existent artist, laser-cut foamcore, and the power of pattern recognition.

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-16587499416649355362007-06-13T17:52:00.000-07:002007-08-20T21:07:02.659-07:00

The Ricedaddies have gone podcast! Now I can attach voices to the handles of my fellow asian american dad bloggers.The inaugural podcast is a chat among ricedaddies Poppa Large, DISL, Instant Yang, and Henri on topics ranging from "what is a rice daddy?" to "WTF is up with Azia Kim?"The sequel, just in time for Father's Day, is a discussion between Poppa Large, DISL, Instant Yang, SoulSnax, and

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-30275285469438413772007-06-01T13:33:00.000-07:002007-06-01T14:10:38.494-07:00

Ernst Heinrich Roth (1877-1948) was a German luthier and master of a large and successful violin-making workshop in the East German town of Markneukirchen, near the current border with the Czech Republic. He was the most important figure in a whole dynasty of Roth luthiers active in Germany over many generations and to this day. (from Wikipedia)When I was a boy, my mother saved up to buy me a

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-23668993985097185382007-05-31T21:43:00.000-07:002007-05-31T22:03:44.562-07:00

I posted on Ricedaddies about how well little league was going with Rabbit Dragon. I'm really thankful that he's having a positive team sports experience. Really though, I'm just happy with this picture of RD and his team mates! I didn't notice the composition until I uploaded the shot and cropped it a bit, it reminds me a bit of that famous photo of the flag raising on Iwo Jima, with the

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-63597897209269435002007-05-31T21:21:00.000-07:002007-05-31T21:41:15.188-07:00

photo: hubwear on emyduck via flickrGeorge Aye, proprietor of Hubwear out of Chicago, sends word that:We are extremely pleased to announce the launch of our brand-spanking-new website! It has been in the works since the winter.The best, shiniest new features of the site are:* Live preview of your routes - on real shirts worn by real people.* Updated colours for mens, womens and kids.* Kids! OMG,

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-22007579061410365652007-05-20T21:14:00.000-07:002007-05-20T21:44:10.773-07:00

photo: plastigami by Andy LeeThe thisislarry clan headed up to the Maker Faire today, between our now-standard Little League game Saturday and a pair of birthday parties for friends of Princess Pony on Sunday afternoon.Stacks of mind-blowingly cool stuff, from DIY mechanical frog dissections hosted by Ambidextrous magazine, to the giant human-powered nose-picking machine, to an experimental duo

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-86797762171748717402007-04-25T21:06:00.000-07:002007-04-25T21:17:57.469-07:00

I really respect when a public figure goes out of their way to be simple and truthful. Steve Jobs' commencement speech two years ago at Stanford stands out in my mind. Roger Ebert, of the famous thumbs, says something true and simple and brave in explaining that he wont be missing his 9th annual Overlooked Film Festival even though he's battling complications from cancer:"I have received a lot

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-63977741320998282232007-04-09T22:36:00.000-07:002007-04-09T22:52:37.424-07:00

above: Calder's EagleWe were in Seattle over Easter weekend, visiting my brother R's family. He is the best host (a character trait his brother did not pick up) and somehow he knew I would enjoy going to see the Seattle Art Museum's recently opened Olympic Sculpture Park. Not only that, it was a searingly blue day, and warm like summer.I got off a few decent snaps, but looking thru the rest of

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-22176969548108933352007-04-03T23:43:00.000-07:002007-04-04T00:30:15.756-07:00

(Mrs. thisislarry, Twizzle, DISL, and Rabbit Dragon, in conference)Darn,I had just written a stunning piece of prose about how cool it was to meet Daddy in a Strange Land, La Dra and the Pumpkin, the Super Ha's and Ash, Honglien123 J, Little Goose and Sweet Pea, Kimchi Mama Twizzle and Honeybee, and writing sensei Susan Ito at Yerba Buena gardens in The City, when my !@#$% Mac froze up and all I

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-7342365743494532462007-03-30T21:20:00.000-07:002007-03-30T21:42:47.512-07:00

A friend died suddenly this last week. It was quite a shock. I didnt know him very long, but we had worked pretty closely together on a couple of projects last summer. He was a gentleman and a good person. I haven't been able to bring myself to go into the building where his office is. He had many good friends there, who I cant face just yet. That would mean moving past the willful denial

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-48336401117232007442007-03-20T21:26:00.000-07:002007-03-20T21:52:20.511-07:00

-One-I read this article in business week about the dubiousness of carbon credits, and I hate to say it but the article made perfect sense:"Nature does not fall for accounting schemes."You cant simply buy your way out of your carbon footprint. All of these celebrities and organizations claim a zero carbon footprint by throwing money at the problem, without actually changing any behaviors that

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-71692648948525071332007-02-22T17:47:00.000-08:002007-02-22T17:58:22.225-08:00

Branko Lukic, an extraordinary personality as well as a impressive IDEO alumni, once described my engineering skill as "strong, like a train." I can't say I live up to, but doesn't it sound great?Branko emailed me to tell me that the book he has been thinking about for years is coming to life:After almost 10 months of intense work (and 5 years in preparation) I am pleased to announce the first

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1170924287954100662007-02-08T00:39:00.000-08:002007-02-22T18:02:39.505-08:00

Hey, it's been a while.While I figure out what to do here, let me express my happiness that Ricedaddies is celebrating their 1st blogaversary, with a book review contest.I've been honored to be on the list of writers for ricedaddies for half that time (wow!)!And, for reasons peripherally related to my day job, I had a chance to imagine a magazine which didn't exist. I came up with this riff on

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1164224021978243592006-11-22T11:15:00.000-08:002007-02-22T18:00:50.770-08:00

Been busy here in the thisislarry tower. Not even time to give proper comments to all the good posts on ricedaddies.The project which took me travelling this summer has ended, and the new one begins next week, with a trip to Michigan, not Ohio.Some good news to write about, for a friend of thisislarry's: Hubwear, the t-shirt line promoting storytelling thru airport codes, has gone both viral and

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1160954237797574202006-10-15T16:06:00.000-07:002007-02-22T17:56:42.114-08:00

Wouldn't you know it, metacool says today starts the inaugural National Design Week, and I am in London and Munich until its over (and its already tomorrow here, so take that).And then daddytypes has to tell us about the Frieze fair, which I am missed because I didnt know what it was until Friday night, er, I mean, I opted not to attend this year ....

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1160774471506993612006-10-13T14:05:00.000-07:002007-02-22T18:03:09.813-08:00

In London this week & weekend on business, in trendy Clerkenwell to be precise, at the Zetter hotel to be absolutely precision. The weather has been exceptionally lovely, and I just got to spend the day talking up some colleagues I've not met before, capped off by beers, mojitos, and gastropub food.Stopped by the muji store to get covetous japanese design goods in the heart of the UK.On tap for

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1159066418982111532006-09-23T19:51:00.000-07:002006-09-23T19:55:00.630-07:00

Happy Autumn!I finally got a chance to put up pictures from my week in Shanghai.

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1157088042427011182006-08-31T22:09:00.000-07:002006-08-31T22:20:42.440-07:00

In my regular scan for all things Eichler, I came across a site called PrairieMod . Their mission?It's our self-described mission to show that the ideas and ideals expressed over a century ago by the Prairie School and in the case of what Frank Lloyd Wright refined and matured over his 70 year career, can and should be studied, experienced and adopted for our modern world. Those notions of

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1156804644473114272006-08-28T15:35:00.000-07:002006-08-28T15:37:24.516-07:00

(.... as related on ricedaddies....)Home with a sick first grader today. Day eight of an eleven day single-parent adventure with Ms Thisislarry being in Bangalore for work.A colleage forwarded this great list of things to know about the mindset of incoming college freshman, published by Beloit College. So, that's what's it's like to be born in 1988. Zowie, that was a year after I was a college

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1156203032526639352006-08-21T16:26:00.000-07:002007-02-22T18:02:06.848-08:00

Thanks to Daddy In A Strange Land, my fellow Rice Daddy, and via Daddy Types:Gregg Chinn made these sweet modernist alphabet cards for his daughter, who's three. Now that he's proved their effectiveness at instilling alphabetical and modernistical knowledge ["B is for Bauhaus," "J is for Jet Age," "M is for (duh) Modern," "V is for (what appears to be) Vernacular," &c.] he decided they're safe

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1155624971744857232006-08-14T23:52:00.000-07:002007-02-22T18:02:24.780-08:00

Hey hey, I just had my first post referenced by a blog cooler than me (rather low bar). Still, let me bask in the glow....Daddytypes picks up on my chopsticks post on Rice Daddies.

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1153352359629433672006-07-31T16:31:00.000-07:002006-07-31T16:14:58.526-07:00

Somehow, it has become a week (or two) of lists.1. From John Thackara at The Doors of Perception, the Power Laws Of Innovation:Don’t start from zero. Re-mix what's already out there. 2. More from John Thakera, Eight Rules on How to be Good:Hands-on or hands-off. Hungry people need posters and campaigns less than they need food to eat.3. And some rules from Nabeel Hamdi:Work backwards, move

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1153772045919264802006-07-24T12:00:00.000-07:002007-02-22T18:03:35.231-08:00

I found a great little piece of Eichler History on the Eichler Network Chatterbox Lounge. There is a 'mini' Eichler in Walnut Creek. :The owner is an original owner from 1955. Eichler created this mini version as a sales office/showroom. After all of the Eichlers in Rancho San Miguel were sold she bought this unit directly from Joseph Eichler and had it moved into her backyard.Her husand was

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1152947941649481712006-07-15T00:10:00.000-07:002007-02-22T18:04:01.442-08:00

Storytelling has become a large part of how we increase our impact as designers.It may be obvious to some but it certainly wasnt to a younger me: people build their credibility by telling entertaining, relevant stories. This is certainly true in building a good business (and I'm certainly showing my naivite by even mentioning it).One of my favorite local storytellers and businessmen is Randy

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1152947396676619952006-07-15T00:06:00.000-07:002006-07-15T00:09:56.690-07:00

I've posted a little more of my impressions of Shanghai on Rice Daddies. Being a Chinese- American dad, and going back to the motherland for the first time with that perspective has been a really great experience.

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1152845384834822512006-07-13T19:26:00.000-07:002006-07-14T00:21:46.976-07:00

I'm in Shanghai this week. The first time ever for me being in China, and the strangest part about being in Shanghai, is that it isnt so strange at all. Shanghai being the most cosmopolitan of all Chinese cities, it kind of feels like I stepped off the plane into the Cupertino borough of New York. More on that later.While I was on the plane ride over, I was lucky enough to read an advance copy

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1150137172419941552006-06-21T18:32:00.000-07:002006-06-21T18:44:36.896-07:00

Every designer secretly wishes that her or his creations become icons. But be careful what you wish for, especially if you happen to be designing small arms. Mikhail Kalashnikov is the designer behind the AK-47, the most popular assault rifle in the world, with over 100 million in existence.Kalashnikov recently lamented the icon status of his creation:"I didn't put it in the hands of bandits

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1150910875285880652006-06-21T17:00:00.000-07:002006-06-21T18:46:19.006-07:00

The thisislarry media empire appears to be expanding.Much of the headspace I've committed to my Eichler lust has gone to building up my Eichler 'lens' at Squidoo. It's turned into a secondary resource I'm actually proud of, thanks to the Squidoo framework. There are links a-plenty to my favorite primary resources, beautiful pictures, odds and ends, and even, of course, commerce. This morning,

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1149834692322462222006-06-08T22:38:00.000-07:002006-06-08T23:33:29.863-07:00

Just right for holding up that Freddy & Ma hipster purse strap, hubwear has gone beta, straight outta the ORD with nonstop flights to SFO, LGA, and LHR. Founder GA says: "The idea behind these t shirts is simple. Put two airport codes on the front of a shirt to signify a 'route' and then place the codes in reverse on the back of the shirt for the 'return' leg." Since he's based out of

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1149742397927094042006-06-07T21:38:00.000-07:002006-06-07T21:53:42.266-07:00

Not since Cara membuat air rebusan ayam atau daging have I randomly stumbled across such a delicious looking blog.The author appears to have just begun eating their way through the world, starting with Asia. For example: How to get ramen in Shinjuku. First, select the type of noodle you want, including what kind of meat, vegetable, broth...etc. Toss in your money and press the desired button,

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1149738540761593532006-06-07T20:44:00.000-07:002006-06-23T17:12:47.700-07:00

The best accessory to complement your one-of-a-kind Neighborhoodies sample sale find would be (if you are a stylish woman or dress like one) a beautiful D(esign)IY hipster handbag from Freddy & Ma's crazy cool new site. The hip end of the long tail at work.I've been in such a deep CAD pit at work, that I didn't even have the sense to get in on the grand opening (not for me. for the wife, really)

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1148060672008789302006-05-19T12:35:00.000-07:002006-05-19T16:23:11.653-07:00

Something for Daddytypes, Defective Yeti, and the Rice Daddies to look forward to:My six year old just lost his first tooth today! His bottom front teeth have been loose forever, and the new teeth were so impatient, they decided to grow in without waiting for the baby teeth to fall out. So, our dentist suggested he keep wiggling the baby teeth, which he has been good about doing.Finally this

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1147804329228077962006-05-16T12:03:00.000-07:002006-05-16T15:20:48.483-07:00

Business travel. I guess I don't do enough of it to be jaded. My friend B. from work is on the cusp of a trip to the far east to do field research. About a month ago, she had a two week stint through the US and Europe.For some reason, much of my business travel has been to Ohio. Not because of any one particular client, but several over the years. Cincinnati. Piqua. Canton. Cleveland.Funny, my

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1147537697303727362006-05-13T09:22:00.000-07:002006-05-13T09:29:56.816-07:00

Diego Rodriguez over at metacool has been talking (and teaching) about creating infectious action. Yesterday, I saw some great grass roots infectious action at the kindergarten playground, this game called ... TAG, YOU'RE IT!Everyone knows the simple rules, which makes it so infectious. You go up to a friend, tap them, and scream TAG, YOU'RE IT! Suddenly, they're compelled to chase you!

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1145423018025979062006-04-18T21:43:00.000-07:002006-04-21T16:05:34.080-07:00

There's a great article at Rice Daddies about what it means to raise a child 'authentically' asian. The seed for discussion is the topic of overseas asian kids being adopted here in the US. A thoughtful conversation has emerged in the comments, including POVs from some asian-american adoptees.I've had the weird guilty feeling before that adopted asian kids would know their 'culture' better than

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1144639500043365662006-04-09T20:09:00.000-07:002006-04-11T12:36:49.000-07:00

In honor of GA's 10,000th visit to his flickr page, I finally put my eichler pictures into a single pile and sent them off to their very own flickr photo set.Also, because some time two weeks ago, I went home mid day to grab something for work, and came across this gloriously sunny view of our empty carport.In case anyone's keeping score, the Eames chair knock-off has been replaced with a Poang,

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1143494569418660582006-03-27T13:10:00.000-08:002006-03-27T13:22:49.436-08:00

To remember:This weekend, my son and I played our first improv piano duet. He, being six years old, and me much older. We were just messing around, and suddenly, we realized we were playing together, so we kept going. I repeated a chord high up, and he started to play single notes, and chords, varying the rythm, tempo, volume, and even telling me "Daddy, keep playing when I stop" so that

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1143043217859768102006-03-22T07:51:00.000-08:002006-05-14T08:23:14.210-07:00

I've been playing with Squidoo, kind of a way to pile your web resources together. Squidoo calls these pages 'lens' as in, a lens through which to view the web.It reminds me of the early days of Yahoo, when a friend told me they were going to get a job surfing the web and posting their best picks. Yeah, I thought, that might be fun while you're waiting for a real job to come along. This friend of

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1142620835009665442006-03-17T10:29:00.000-08:002006-04-03T16:34:42.710-07:00

Neighborhoodies is now offering totally unique one-off 'samples' of their customized hoodies and other products. This has got to be the perfect use of the web. As Neighborhoodies descibes it:"Let's not sugarcoat it. You get the perfect Neighborhoodie. But maybe, just maybe, it took a few tries before we mailed it out to you that way."Okay - we have *thousands* of misspelled / wrong colored /

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1142025194996298062006-03-10T12:45:00.000-08:002006-03-10T13:13:15.050-08:00

I heard that at TED, Tony Robbins asked"How many of you have rented a movie you've seen before?"His right answer: "Get a life!" As in: don’t do it!Really struck a nerve. I have books I've read and movies I've seen dozens of times. I have songs I still enjoy after knowing them for years. I welcome the familiarity. Each time I find another nuance, or reinforce some meaning. I cant imagine

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1142014147525395602006-03-10T10:00:00.000-08:002006-03-10T10:09:39.263-08:00

Just came accross perhaps the most important parenting blog out there: rice daddies. It's an uber-blog collaboration of several Asian-American daddy bloggers. As contributor Metrodad describes it:"And although I'm a 37-year old man, husband, father and friend, I can't escape the fact that I'm also Asian-American. It's not only an important part of who I am and something I'm proud of but it's

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1141842336260569302006-03-08T09:55:00.000-08:002006-03-08T10:25:36.463-08:00

I've been really appreciating this trend of companies sending out their emails like an informal letter from the Boss. I get a weekly email from Lee at the comic book shop down the street, an occasional one from Rod at the plastic gears company, and once in a while, a message from Charles, the personality at Cook's Illustrated.Charles' newsletter is filled with great Americana tidbits about

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1138931998059399912006-02-02T18:04:00.000-08:002007-07-09T11:22:21.095-07:00

photo by CanghuixuIt is truly amazing how easy the long tail of the web has made it to turn one's beautiful dreams into reality -and commerce opportunities. For instance fans of Canghuixu's Rothko-esque photography can purchase prints of his work through smugmug.One can purchase, thru zazzle, t-shirts adorned with the scientific musings of my son or the royal aspirations of my daughter.If you

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1138229324800890912006-01-25T13:00:00.000-08:002006-01-27T13:17:55.516-08:00

One of my first posts on this august blog was about one of the most ubiquitous design icons in the world, the Kalashnikov rifle. About 2 years ago Kalashnikov put out his own brand of Vodka. Now, via Seth Godin, the BBC reports that:"The Russian inventor of the world's most famous assault rifle has turned his attention to more harmless activities, such as keeping out the rain." -L

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1137779101773402142006-01-20T09:29:00.000-08:002006-01-20T14:19:11.240-08:00

Yesterday was an auspicious day for doing it yourself.In the morning, following a research tangent I found the story of the Dead Kennedy's Pull My Strings. As told in Wikipedia;On March 25, 1980, the DKs were invited to perform at the Bay Area Music Awards in front of music industry big-wigs to give the event some "new wave credibility" in the words of the organizers. The day of the show was

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1137715402595930142006-01-19T15:54:00.000-08:002006-01-19T16:04:23.730-08:00

John Maeda of the MIT media lab mused this summer about whether its more productive to improve a product's performance, or its desirability. -whether to go down the path of what you can give the product, or down the path of finding what someone wants from the product. Metacool recently discussed this musing, and Maeda's conclusion to "do both." I dont quite agree, in the sense that I think

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1136481137030609702006-01-05T09:08:00.000-08:002006-01-05T09:16:26.103-08:00

Metacool calls dibs on 2006. Diego's staked out this year as the Year of Total Design: "Total Design is to normal design as Total Football is to normal soccer. It's what happens when you combine wickedly good design thinkers with a human-centered, business-sensitive design process. "Previous posts on design: More on ideas to realityThinker-Uppers vs Idea MassagersNavel Gazing + bad rock and

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1135276423202939762005-12-22T11:15:00.000-08:002005-12-22T11:15:25.320-08:00

With his gracious permission, here is the full quote from Chris Flink on the nature of ideas and realization, that I excerpted previously. Thanks Chris!I love this quote [from George Nelson: "Unless ideas are massaged into reality, they evaporate"]. To me, it nicely highlights the inherent fragility of even the best conceptual notions and affirms the associated importance of our build/

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1135130244160974102005-12-20T18:00:00.000-08:002005-12-20T18:02:35.716-08:00

I just had a prototype work better than expected. So, on subject of doing versus thinking, here are some thinkings on doing, versus thinking.The legendary Chris Flink at IDEO described his favorite quote from the also legendary George Nelson as seen here. Says Chris: "I love this quote. To me it nicely highlights the inherent fragility of even the best conceptual notions and affirms the

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1135043323612636822005-12-19T18:00:00.000-08:002005-12-19T18:00:32.403-08:00

OMFG. If only....Previously on Eichlers:Eichler Map Site My Brahmasthan is more Vedic than yoursDMD's Eichler Remodeling BlogThe Hole In My RoofEichler Atrum OtakuI Heart My House

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1134152421141707482005-12-09T10:15:00.000-08:002005-12-09T10:20:21.200-08:00

I had a synesthesia moment yesterday in the checkout line at Whole Foods, sampling a bite of some crappy fat free strawberry cereal bar and trying to describe to myself why it felt lacking.It was bass. Fat is bass. Fat-free is all treble and tweeters. I need the deep, throbbing, in your body there-ness of bass in my food, not the ghost tinniness of fat-deprived fakes.Some foods taste good as

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1133833720925191852005-12-05T18:04:00.000-08:002005-12-06T09:40:45.356-08:00

Well, it seems that while I was stuck in design ennui, so were a bunch of other folks. I read Bruce Nussbaum's design blog on business week for the first time in a while, and it seems I'm just another designer stuck in navel-gazing mode. Maybe its the holdays.Interesting, the whole thing seems to have stemmed from a blog entry by Design Observer, who Nussbaum knows as Michael Bierut of Pentgram

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1133372375400300662005-12-02T17:00:00.000-08:002005-12-02T17:51:07.676-08:00

It's been about two months since I last wrote anything down about design. I've been busy and frankly I havent had any real thoughts. about design, that is.In the meantime, i've started running, in a serious way not seen by my body since high school. My changes tend to be like that. They come in step-function form. Now I run 3-4 times a week, a big change from running zero times a week. Tuesday

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1129150424454965202005-10-12T13:40:00.000-07:002005-10-12T13:53:44.466-07:00

One of my favorite parenting blogs is Matthew B's at Defective Yeti, mainly because I enjoyed his writing before he had a kid, and it was amazing to read about him turning into a dad. His good humored and insightful posts about his new family bring back good memories of When We Were There.Life, however, is a bastard, and throws curves at people it should just leave the hell alone. Every story of

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1128235953808193912005-10-01T23:58:00.000-07:002005-10-01T23:53:13.390-07:00

via influx:Target's Tail Grows LongerAt a recent New York conference, Target's vide-chairman, Gerald Storch hinted at the increasingly important role the internet is playing for the company.- Its site is now the number 3 retail site on the web- ahead of Wal-Mart- The internet is allowing Target to build richer and deeper relationships with its customers. They are starting to experiment with

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1128128415142619222005-09-30T18:00:00.000-07:002005-09-30T18:02:37.476-07:00

Via metacool, a new blog on design from Bruce Nussbaum. Some tidbits:Nussbaum on Operationalizing Innovation:"So many CEOs and top execs appear to be only talking the talk but not walking the talk. They do the blah blah about innovation but don't provide the juice--or leadership--to make it happen. This is fascinating, important and revealing. It explains a lot. Check out this interesting piece

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1128126530182239152005-09-30T17:23:00.000-07:002005-09-30T17:28:50.186-07:00

Via defective yeti:One of my favorite classic family films is being re-released.Which one? The Shining, of course.Can't wait to take the kids :)

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1128057205447165712005-09-29T22:15:00.000-07:002005-09-29T22:13:25.456-07:00

It seems the design world is in a state of constant flux. Flextronics bought frogdesign a while back, to strengthen its position as an uber Original Design Manufacturer (ODM). Now (via core 77), Miami based ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky has purchased a minority stake in SF-based fuseproject. CP+B has been responsible for the latest ad campaigns of such heavy hitters as Burger King, method,

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1128055798339104322005-09-29T21:55:00.000-07:002005-09-30T18:04:10.620-07:00

Fellow Eichler enthusiast Mike Ahern sent me this via email today:I made a site showing the eichler neighborhoods of the south bay from satellite photos showing all neighborhoods and they are all easy to see from the photos.I am working on Palo Alto next.Cool! The eichler otaku is strong indeed.Previously on Eichlers:My Brahmasthan is more Vedic than yoursDMD's Eichler Remodeling BlogThe Hole In

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1126736828808178112005-09-25T21:50:00.000-07:002005-09-25T21:52:34.616-07:00

As a design worker, I'm figuring out its kind of hard to talk about the work you do, without talking about the work you're doing.The work you're doing must be kept proprietary until your client (or your company, if you're not a consultant) chooses the right time and place to announce it. If you blow that, you've just undercut a large part of your work's value. Some companies are known to be quite

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1126827970813191962005-09-15T16:45:00.000-07:002007-07-09T11:18:45.157-07:00

Canghuixu, an old friend from college, has become quite a photographer, in a Rothko- meets- Hopper- and- finds- a- camera vein.He's got some recent pictures from an extended trip to China.There are some stark and beautiful images from Factory 798. He describes it as "an artist's colony, for lack of a better term, that is developing in the ruins of a bankrupt state run company in northeast Beijing

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1126300105963013602005-09-09T13:36:00.000-07:002005-09-09T14:55:39.476-07:00

Finally, got some headspace to think about cool things, and here's what's been bubbling up::Got a link at work to the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, a series of home designs from Jay Shafer. These are perfect distallations of houses down to 50 square feet or so. And, by bay area standards quite affordable. My favorite is of course the eichler-esque shed roof XT House.I've been reading alot at

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1126023791611969202005-09-06T09:20:00.000-07:002005-09-06T09:23:11.616-07:00

Last thursday I was on a quick business trip to San Diego -fly down in the AM, meet with my client, fly back in the PM. This trip was fraught with bad electronics karma: the loaner laptop kept losing battery charge (even near the end of our presentation!), and my iPod mysteriously managed to lose all its music.In the middle of all this, I realized that I left my notebook (the pen and ink kind)

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1124685468918887902005-08-21T21:30:00.000-07:002005-08-21T21:37:48.923-07:00

I had a surreal only-near-silicon-valley moment last Saturday. It was almost like finding a long lost relative. We were in Tahoe over the weekend for a wedding, and at the local playground I saw that one of the other dads was wearing a shirt that said "Battery Ventures" on the sleeve. I stared and stared, and finally as we were leaving I had to go up to him: "Hi, I'm sorry but I noticed your

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1122957128706773202005-08-17T21:30:00.000-07:002007-05-20T21:45:35.304-07:00

[Update August 17] Totally cool, these cornholders I worked on for Zyliss were just reviewed in the New York Times, two weeks after my blog entry. Coincidence? You decide.From the article:"How is a corn holder like a sock? No, this is not the first line of an absurdist joke. The serious answer, courtesy of the product development team at Zyliss USA, a kitchen tools maker, is that neither item

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1123720538721309562005-08-10T17:29:00.000-07:002005-08-10T17:43:45.036-07:00

It's nice finding a bite-sized piece of good writing. Just enough to center you for the afternoon. Here's a slice of autobiography from Chicken Fried Life. I wish I had the skills to take a snapshot of my life like this... Tomatoes Probably the best time in summer is when the tomatoes begin to ripen. Huge beautiful tomatoes, lined up, ready for the next meal. We have enough coming in now that we

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1123635141558462482005-08-09T17:50:00.000-07:002005-08-09T17:53:44.303-07:00

(left: marpat = state of the art camo for marines)Two more clothes-related links, otherwise completely unrelated.An ex-colleage of mine and his sister are starting a fashion label, Freddy&Ma, and blogging about it.I've been intrigued by camouflage since being into army men as a kid. On my drooling camo wishlist is this wicked expensive tome on Disruptive Pattern Material.Buisness Week had a link

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1122711048997260922005-07-30T01:15:00.000-07:002005-07-30T01:17:17.516-07:00

photo stolen from erichian.comThis mouth watering post from erichian on the perfect adobo got my attention. Must be because I'm staying up way past my bedtime, plus I had dinner down the street from work at Hukilau and almost got their chicken adobo.Not only are there links to recipies (which I have to look at, once I've gotten some sleep) but Erich's special recipe for adobo, remixed: And

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1122613946044924152005-07-28T22:15:00.000-07:002005-08-18T21:21:01.576-07:00

Another business trip, another chance to read magazines. This time, I find nothing at the newsstand and am forced to read the airline mag. What karmic coincidence! I end up reading an article on Vedic architecture, apparently the basis for Fung Shui, and now a pop architectural guide in its own right, 4,500 years after its invention.Turns out, my house is, like, Vedically cool. Here are some of

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1122354176313439272005-07-25T21:53:00.000-07:002005-07-25T22:02:56.320-07:00

TylerSF has started his (or her?) own Eichler remodelling blog, after seeing DMD's Eichler remodelling blog. The Eichler otaku is a strong one, grasshoppa.Now, we'll have to see who finishes first ....

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1121835491223470062005-07-19T21:46:00.000-07:002005-07-21T17:52:38.396-07:00

A poetry prof once suggested juxtaposing words in different ways to create sense-images. The one that stays with me is "graffiti surfs the river's spine," about the sensation of riding bikes past graffiti covered walls along the concrete banks of the San Gabriel river in L.A.Anyways, via chicken fried life, here is a beautifully inadvertent (or not?) jem about birth, life, and healing at a blog

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1121491182877784782005-07-15T22:15:00.000-07:002005-07-19T21:43:33.543-07:00

My (Chinese) mom keeps telling me the kids need to learn Chinese, since obviously (to her) any day now China will suddenly find itself the leader of world. This month's Wired has an article about the Chinese company Lenovo buying IBM's PC division, and going through cross-cultural growing pains, such as trying to learn American management practices. As the article summarizes the situation,[It is]

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1121473122808982072005-07-15T17:15:00.000-07:002005-07-15T17:19:07.216-07:00

Via the Eichler boards, I've learned that DMD has started Eichler Re-Mod, a blog to "capture over a year of remodeling work on a basic Eichler. A very long year, full of pain and learning".Says DMD, to appease the surly Eichler gods:"For the purists out there I must say that there wasn't much left of the original Eichler, apart from the shell. So please don't flame me if you notice some drywall

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1121395803250720872005-07-14T21:00:00.000-07:002005-07-14T21:06:09.890-07:00

The other day, I'd somehow been pointed to Richard Kuchinsky's first pullover, a great new blog about the art and craft shoemaking. Not just any shoes, but the ultra hip sneaker. Amazing example of how every thing in one's life is somehow designed, crafted, and built. Here is Kuchinsky's explaination of the blog's title: "i am a sneakerhead, but i am also an observer. of the industry from the

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1121390119081626192005-07-14T18:15:00.000-07:002005-07-19T21:32:34.023-07:00

I gave a short presentation about myself recently, and one of the things I showed was this map I made about this interesting web of relationships that has coalesced around my car.After we moved to Palo Alto a couple years back, I took my car in to Ole's shop, down the street from the office. Ole recognized my new address immediately -he had grown up nearby, before my house was even built. He had

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1121056053812170652005-07-10T21:18:00.000-07:002005-07-19T21:30:59.073-07:00

Today, I went to visit Ms. O's blog and found nobody there. It's weird, how 'people' on the net just kind of disappear. It's not like a favorite shop that you fnd under new ownership, more like that favorite shop ceased to exist, and the neighboring buildings kind of took up the space as if it had never been there.I came across her Blogger dashboard and found her auto-obituary:Why did I delete my

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1120712582117067462005-07-06T21:57:00.000-07:002005-07-06T22:03:02.123-07:00

Via Seth Godin, I came accross the Penguin Remixed competition, a great proactive embrace of sampling. Take 30 samples of Penguin's audiobooks (especially cool cause they're like, you know, English), sample them into an audio composition, and submit it back! I submitted a ditty on bees.

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1120263103383439152005-07-01T17:11:00.000-07:002005-07-01T17:14:29.870-07:00

Sometimes, a workspace up and decribes itself.This is what happens when you re-use foamcore boardsTotally Chaotic!

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1120239909189930172005-07-01T10:35:00.000-07:002005-07-01T10:45:09.193-07:00

I just had the opportunity to read the latest MIT Technoloigy Review cover to cover while on a flight to New Jersey. Technology Review has a good article on Amish technology -not an oxymoron! -and its potential applications at the bottom of the pyramid. " Amish shops are leading suppliers of innovative implements--for example, a horse-drawn plow with an external wheel that charges a hydraulic

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1119937239880405732005-06-27T22:22:00.000-07:002005-06-27T22:40:39.890-07:00

So, it seems that Nike, owner of the world famous a vigorously defended 'swoosh' logo, has taken to ripping off an old punk rawk album cover to promote their skateboarding tour.As the article on Pitchforkmedia.com says: You don't need a degree in graphic design to notice the similarities here. They're the fucking same. Oh, wait-- one is blue, not red, one says Major, not Minor, and, uh, okay,

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1119153341283710052005-06-18T20:42:00.000-07:002005-06-18T21:54:08.006-07:00

There is a huge hole in the roof of my house. And most every house in my neighborhood. You can see them from space. But that's OK, these holes are meant to be there.These are the famous Eichler Atriums.Walk through our front door, and you're still outside, in a 200 square foot enclosed courtyard alomst completely surrounded by walls of glass. Three sets of sliding doors connect the atrium to

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1119074590736938152005-06-17T22:57:00.000-07:002005-06-17T23:03:10.740-07:00

File under: ooey gooey parenting stuff.Just came across a sweet list of a mom's adoration for their child. I'm guessing 2 years old? Sure applies to my 2 year old, and memories of my 5 year old.Counting The Ways from She Sells Sanctuary [excerpt, full list here]:The way he runs around with his purple Wiggles guitar announcing he has a “tuggar”.The way he claps for himself when he has done

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1119069125205500272005-06-17T21:25:00.000-07:002005-06-18T20:26:23.800-07:00

Inspiring words from Steve Jobs, recent cancer survivor, at Stanford's commencement. Some good excerpts:"[You] can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever."- - -"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1118775279700878202005-06-14T12:01:00.000-07:002005-06-14T11:55:47.446-07:00

I tried an interesting experiment with a blog entry. I was wondering why a certain post generated no google ads. There was nothing really objectionable about the content, most of it being a quote from a GM press release. So, was it the negative tone? So, as an experiment, I changed two words in the title of the post. So, look at the difference in the google ad coverage between- the modified

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1118773527166375792005-06-14T11:25:00.000-07:002005-06-14T11:26:59.066-07:00

Sometimes, it seems, a large company will spend a lot of time and money to do something really, really pointless. Here is an example of what happens when you forget that your customer really doesn't care how cool you think your company is."GM to add corporate badge to its vehicles - Move reflects consumer confidence in "the brand behind the brand" "My favorite excerpt: " Research tells us

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1118173132794386322005-06-07T12:11:00.000-07:002005-06-07T12:38:52.800-07:00

We got a typically IDEO email query yesterday: "What's the difference between premium and luxury?"My immediate reaction was that it was just semantics, but then the differences seemed to gel. In fact, it got me thinking the rest of the afternoon about these two classes, how often people mistake one for the other, and how much of a premium I place on Premium.In my mind, premium is something that

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1118088306215627842005-06-06T13:01:00.000-07:002005-06-06T13:05:06.220-07:00

Well, it seems that Matthew Baldwin at defectiveyeti has raised himself a little designer. A little weapons designer, that is: After some experimentation The Squirrelly found the perfect projectiles: the small mice our cats play with. He took to carrying the base of the Busy Ball Popper around the house, occasionally stopping to press the oversized red button that starts the fan, dropping a

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1117516506710380842005-05-30T22:01:00.000-07:002005-06-13T21:19:32.076-07:00

Sometimes, it seems, a large company will spend a lot of time and money to do something really, really pointless. Here is an example of what happens when you forget that your customer really doesn't care how cool you think your company is."GM to add corporate badge to its vehicles - Move reflects consumer confidence in "the brand behind the brand" "My favorite excerpt: " Research tells us

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1117513702224386582005-05-30T21:04:00.000-07:002005-05-30T21:28:22.226-07:00

Diego Rodriguez at metacool and Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind, both say that Oprah Winfrey's O magazine should be part of any design thinker's library. So, we bought a copy, and I'm not convinced.But, it did have this great quote on parenting from Jon Stewart of the Daily Show, being interviewed by Oprah:"Oprah: has parenting surprised you? "Jon: There's always talk about the red-blue

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1117342242544782682005-05-28T22:00:00.000-07:002005-05-30T22:18:04.956-07:00

You know, putting Google links on your blog is a mixed blessing. Like inviting over a modestly generous uncle who also likes to remind you of how much of a loser you are.Sure it's great to get a little extra pocket change that I didnt have before, but man, that Google can be so judgemental. Like when I rant about design, I get public service ads! How am I going to retire off public service ads?Oh

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11985088.post-1117338957049522452005-05-28T21:15:00.000-07:002005-06-13T21:15:28.780-07:00

I just read Bruce Sterling's column in Wired on innovation. Eric von Hippel at MIT/Sloan describes a successful innovation as a combination of high velocity (sales volume x profit) and drag (the cost of adoption). This model predicts that as velocities top out in any field, business models starting turning to increasing drag -making the cost of adopting someone else's innovation too high to

thisislarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04157349911656341561noreply@blogger.com0