Okay, so I talked to Debbie today and August is not the best time to visit her in Seattle. She might be staying with friends. We should visit her for Christmas though! Maybe we can all go as a family.
Soooooooo, I think that I'll go home for 2 weeks instead of 3 then. My friend Cecilia might come out and visit for a weekend.
I went and got acupuncture on Thursday for my eczema. It really helped. I'm going back next week and also getting an herbal formula prescribed to me. The needles didn't hurt (one was put in my forehead!) though there was some minor discomfort. I was scared to move though for fear of accidentally lodging one of the needles into some crazy pressure point that would leave me debilitated.
Anyway, I got a new fridge. (Yay!)
Are we taking a family trip?
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
unoriginal title
Hi all,
How's it going? Em, the Mocca link you sent looks cute. What's the guy's name that just got his comic book out?
Viv, Comicon is from July 26-29. I don't think they have good food there. That's not the main attraction. I think there are probably hotdogs and pizza if even. They kind of rely on us to fend for ourselves. I might have Owen bring you something if we can. Maybe something from Extraordinary Desserts. ;)
I'm going home this Friday and leaving on July 4th. I haven't decided about the road trip. I have no plans for vacation this year so I do have the hours. Are you guys planning on renting a car?
How's it going? Em, the Mocca link you sent looks cute. What's the guy's name that just got his comic book out?
Viv, Comicon is from July 26-29. I don't think they have good food there. That's not the main attraction. I think there are probably hotdogs and pizza if even. They kind of rely on us to fend for ourselves. I might have Owen bring you something if we can. Maybe something from Extraordinary Desserts. ;)
I'm going home this Friday and leaving on July 4th. I haven't decided about the road trip. I have no plans for vacation this year so I do have the hours. Are you guys planning on renting a car?
Thursday, June 21, 2007
drooping eyelids....
I'm so tired right now. been looking for dining set for staging. did I mention we've moved up the listing date? We're aiming for early July. Our new real estate agents said list before July 15th or not until after labor day weekend.
Would love to get tile in all baths, but depends on pricing. I'll email you guys some of my priced-out options to get your opinions. Em, with the main bath, it would be either the blue floor tiles or vinyl with either the blue or green 1x1 backsplash. So basically the same floor regardless. Do you have a preference for one backsplash over the other?
I'll inquire about mommy's health or the lasting effects of shingles. One of the ladies I work with is a general practitioner.
Viv, I think you should go to the family dinners maybe once a week or once every other week. I'm sure it's no fun to hear them bicker, but em's right. I'm sure gunggung really likes to see you.
I'll write more during the weekend, but for now..zzzzzzzzz...
Would love to get tile in all baths, but depends on pricing. I'll email you guys some of my priced-out options to get your opinions. Em, with the main bath, it would be either the blue floor tiles or vinyl with either the blue or green 1x1 backsplash. So basically the same floor regardless. Do you have a preference for one backsplash over the other?
I'll inquire about mommy's health or the lasting effects of shingles. One of the ladies I work with is a general practitioner.
Viv, I think you should go to the family dinners maybe once a week or once every other week. I'm sure it's no fun to hear them bicker, but em's right. I'm sure gunggung really likes to see you.
I'll write more during the weekend, but for now..zzzzzzzzz...
Throat of Sand
I've acquired allergies and they suck. My body feels like it's weighed down by sandbags while my head tries to float away. That and my throat feels like it's swallowed the Mojave.
Viv, I sent out your CS2 disc in the mail today. I have some copies of your pics, not all, but a lot. You sent me ones of the family, San Francisco, you and your friend Hilda and the ones from the abandoned railroad in Brisbane. I can burn you a disc or just get them from me the next time I see you.
Serins, some comic book thing is going on in New York this weekend as well: Mocca. I might go. This guy that subletted from me before just got his comic book published.
Trying to save money.
Viv, I sent out your CS2 disc in the mail today. I have some copies of your pics, not all, but a lot. You sent me ones of the family, San Francisco, you and your friend Hilda and the ones from the abandoned railroad in Brisbane. I can burn you a disc or just get them from me the next time I see you.
Serins, some comic book thing is going on in New York this weekend as well: Mocca. I might go. This guy that subletted from me before just got his comic book published.
Trying to save money.
- II -
I'm okay. really. I got a little lucky with my files. I forgot I had burned discs of all my portfolio work so I actually don't have to recover any files...although I did lose all my music and my pictures. But I guess those are not as important. I'll just have to re-enact scenes to recover all the pictures I''ve taken. Serves me right for not developing like I was thinking about the other day.
I'm up for the road trip as well as the TATE Museum, depending on how much money I have in the next few months. I'm definitely up for the Tate Musuem. Only if is for those 7 minutes of movie time.
Serina when is Comicon? I know you're gonna kill me for asking that again, but its at the end of the month right? I don't think I'm gonna make it but takes Owen and take pictures. Do they have good food? Send Owen back with good food, please.
Hubert should be alright in a few days. I sent him to the Apple store and the hot Mac guy promised me he'd keep him in one piece. Apparently hard drives do crash on their own sometimes. Some other guy had the same problem. I know I know I'm at fault for dropping my comp. but it makes me feel a little better that it could happen on its own.
Alright talk to you guuys later
I'm up for the road trip as well as the TATE Museum, depending on how much money I have in the next few months. I'm definitely up for the Tate Musuem. Only if is for those 7 minutes of movie time.
Serina when is Comicon? I know you're gonna kill me for asking that again, but its at the end of the month right? I don't think I'm gonna make it but takes Owen and take pictures. Do they have good food? Send Owen back with good food, please.
Hubert should be alright in a few days. I sent him to the Apple store and the hot Mac guy promised me he'd keep him in one piece. Apparently hard drives do crash on their own sometimes. Some other guy had the same problem. I know I know I'm at fault for dropping my comp. but it makes me feel a little better that it could happen on its own.
Alright talk to you guuys later
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Bathroom responses
Deb, I like the standard shower tiling but not the standard bathtub tiling. I like the neighbor's option bathtub tiling better - with the rectangular, smaller tiles all around. Is it more expensive to choose the neighbor option?
I agree with Viv on your paint choices. They're all neutral but I think that's nice. You can add brighter colors with window treatments and furniture. I know you have some artwork as well and that will personalize things.
I'm slightly confused about the main bath hall choices. So the large blue floor tile/small 1x1 blue backsplash tile/white sink tile is one choice OR green backsplash/cream sink tile. BUT....here is my question, if you choose the green option, what color are the floor tiles? Is it what's pictured below? The vinyl? And, if I can make a suggestion, if at all possible, I would advise against vinyl flooring. If you have to reprice the master bath options to afford tile flooring for the main hall bath, I would. Vinyl is a pain and looks cheap. It buckles and you'll end up replacing it with tile in the long run anyway.
Onto other things, I didn't mean to imply that Owen was out of control and in no way mean to put the responsibility on you, Viv. Skippy, after reading your post, I can only shake my head. Are you okay? They should make seat belts on office chairs for you. As for Hubert, you are going to have to find a data recovery tech person/company to recover everything unless you have a friend that can do it for you. You should be able to recover everything albeit at a cost. I'm buying an external hard drive for all my files as well. Try checking these out. Your profs should've been telling you to "Back up, back up and back up all of your work." You don't have to send me the CS disc immediately. I'll send you the CS2 disc first and once you get that, you can send me the CS disc back.
As for Mommy, I think everyone can attest to the fact that I am the least equipped to communicate with her successfully. So I have no tips for you. Except don't stomp away from her in the middle of the street in front of Gong Gong's old friends. Or leave her in a museum in a strange neighborhood - she will not call you back. As for Deb's suggestion? I don't know that talking will do anything but I suppose it can't hurt. I always opted for the side door and alcohol. Perhaps I'm exaggerating a little bit but honestly, the less I brought up with her, the less I had to argue with her. Debbie does have a better relationship with her though; maybe it will help to talk about harmless things with her, things you won't fight about - new restaurants, Gong gong, YiYi, crafty things, traffic. Otherwise drinking will look more and more appealing to you. I have a beer belly. I should post a picture. I'm going to draw a face on it and make it talk and post a video. And, no, I am not drunk now. I've made a resolution to stop because I want to be less bloated for summer. I've also started playing tennis with my roommate Dennis. I am getting...less bad.
Back to Mommy, I talked to her today and she seems to be looking forward to her trip to Seattle. I'm a little worried about her health though because she said that after finishing the antibiotics the doctor gave her, she still had some pain and itching. She felt that the American doctor couldn't help her (she said he told her "It's always going to be like that") so she's seeing a Chinese doctor. She said the Chinese medicine is helping but I don't want her to stop getting checked up by the American doctor. I think communication is the biggest hurdle for her. Do you guys know of anyone that can recommend a Chinese-speaking doctor that practices American medicine?
Back to Viv and her post, why do you want to stop going to the family dinners? I know they're not always fun, but I think Gong Gong does appreciate your company.
As for me, I've been without a working refrigerator for the past 3 weeks and being unemployed and always at home and constantly hungry, it's been inconvenient for me. My landlord said he would get us a new fridge today but of course, he has not shown up. Again. Like the last 15 times he's said he'd come over..to fix the fridge, to take a look at it. Why would I think he would actually come to replace it? Just because he said he would?
As for jobs. Bah. Fie on them. They all suck. Unless I want to be a foot model for foot fetishists. Which is apparently all Craigslist has to offer me.
I agree with Viv on your paint choices. They're all neutral but I think that's nice. You can add brighter colors with window treatments and furniture. I know you have some artwork as well and that will personalize things.
I'm slightly confused about the main bath hall choices. So the large blue floor tile/small 1x1 blue backsplash tile/white sink tile is one choice OR green backsplash/cream sink tile. BUT....here is my question, if you choose the green option, what color are the floor tiles? Is it what's pictured below? The vinyl? And, if I can make a suggestion, if at all possible, I would advise against vinyl flooring. If you have to reprice the master bath options to afford tile flooring for the main hall bath, I would. Vinyl is a pain and looks cheap. It buckles and you'll end up replacing it with tile in the long run anyway.
Onto other things, I didn't mean to imply that Owen was out of control and in no way mean to put the responsibility on you, Viv. Skippy, after reading your post, I can only shake my head. Are you okay? They should make seat belts on office chairs for you. As for Hubert, you are going to have to find a data recovery tech person/company to recover everything unless you have a friend that can do it for you. You should be able to recover everything albeit at a cost. I'm buying an external hard drive for all my files as well. Try checking these out. Your profs should've been telling you to "Back up, back up and back up all of your work." You don't have to send me the CS disc immediately. I'll send you the CS2 disc first and once you get that, you can send me the CS disc back.
As for Mommy, I think everyone can attest to the fact that I am the least equipped to communicate with her successfully. So I have no tips for you. Except don't stomp away from her in the middle of the street in front of Gong Gong's old friends. Or leave her in a museum in a strange neighborhood - she will not call you back. As for Deb's suggestion? I don't know that talking will do anything but I suppose it can't hurt. I always opted for the side door and alcohol. Perhaps I'm exaggerating a little bit but honestly, the less I brought up with her, the less I had to argue with her. Debbie does have a better relationship with her though; maybe it will help to talk about harmless things with her, things you won't fight about - new restaurants, Gong gong, YiYi, crafty things, traffic. Otherwise drinking will look more and more appealing to you. I have a beer belly. I should post a picture. I'm going to draw a face on it and make it talk and post a video. And, no, I am not drunk now. I've made a resolution to stop because I want to be less bloated for summer. I've also started playing tennis with my roommate Dennis. I am getting...less bad.
Back to Mommy, I talked to her today and she seems to be looking forward to her trip to Seattle. I'm a little worried about her health though because she said that after finishing the antibiotics the doctor gave her, she still had some pain and itching. She felt that the American doctor couldn't help her (she said he told her "It's always going to be like that") so she's seeing a Chinese doctor. She said the Chinese medicine is helping but I don't want her to stop getting checked up by the American doctor. I think communication is the biggest hurdle for her. Do you guys know of anyone that can recommend a Chinese-speaking doctor that practices American medicine?
Back to Viv and her post, why do you want to stop going to the family dinners? I know they're not always fun, but I think Gong Gong does appreciate your company.
As for me, I've been without a working refrigerator for the past 3 weeks and being unemployed and always at home and constantly hungry, it's been inconvenient for me. My landlord said he would get us a new fridge today but of course, he has not shown up. Again. Like the last 15 times he's said he'd come over..to fix the fridge, to take a look at it. Why would I think he would actually come to replace it? Just because he said he would?
As for jobs. Bah. Fie on them. They all suck. Unless I want to be a foot model for foot fetishists. Which is apparently all Craigslist has to offer me.
Dali and Disney movie showing at Tate Modern
Destino , the abandoned film by Walt Disney and Salvador Dali has been resurrected and completed and can be seen at the Tate Modern until September 9. I want to go.
What do you guys think?
I was thinking of flying back August 8th through 27th. And spend one of the weekends driving up to Seattle. Road trip anyone?
Monday, June 18, 2007
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Hi There
This is from both me and Viv. She's inputing via phone as her computer is down.
Debs, we both have some agreeements:
We definitely like the first two pics over the second two.
Viv has a critique about all of them though. She wants to know if you have the option of stacking the tiles differently like this: http://plato.acadiau.ca/courses/educ/reid/Geometry/brick/Stack_Bond.jpg
That's her suggestion.
Viv's asking if the 2nd option for the kitchen has the baby tiles as diamonds or squares? We think diamonds look better, which is probably the case. :) She's also saying that she thinks you should go with a darker carpet choice as her logic is, if you spill something, it won't be so noticible. "Seeing how it's wall-to-wall carpeting, it'll be harder to replace. I know you can clean it, but in the long run, blah blah blah blah blah." She also says, "Isn't your wall paint kind of neutral too, so won't the whole room just be neutral? but if you're going for that look, I say go for it!"
As far as the bathrooms, I like the blue combo. Vivian likes the green but she doesn't really like the flooring choice.
I have no comments about the kichen yet except that they both seem nice.
okay ttys!
Debs, we both have some agreeements:
We definitely like the first two pics over the second two.
Viv has a critique about all of them though. She wants to know if you have the option of stacking the tiles differently like this: http://plato.acadiau.ca/courses/educ/reid/Geometry/brick/Stack_Bond.jpg
That's her suggestion.
Viv's asking if the 2nd option for the kitchen has the baby tiles as diamonds or squares? We think diamonds look better, which is probably the case. :) She's also saying that she thinks you should go with a darker carpet choice as her logic is, if you spill something, it won't be so noticible. "Seeing how it's wall-to-wall carpeting, it'll be harder to replace. I know you can clean it, but in the long run, blah blah blah blah blah." She also says, "Isn't your wall paint kind of neutral too, so won't the whole room just be neutral? but if you're going for that look, I say go for it!"
As far as the bathrooms, I like the blue combo. Vivian likes the green but she doesn't really like the flooring choice.
I have no comments about the kichen yet except that they both seem nice.
okay ttys!
Friday, June 15, 2007
Sorry, Viv...
You don't sound very happy. I died laughing about the bruised bum and bruised head--I can't believe you hurt them both twice! If you were seriously hurt, I would be sad..but you're not, so it's quite funny.
I am sad about the other stuff you mentioned: car, computer, Owen, job.
For the car, find another mechanic. You really don't want to wait for it to break down completely. And yes, he probably is waiting for it to completely die so he can make more money. "don't drive up hills"--you live in SF for goodness sakes--he is just biding his time. I can try to call my old auto teacher to see what he can do or recommend. What were you thinking asking Mommy to warm up your car for you? She doesn't drive stick.
Computer--at least Mac is replacing the hard drive.
Owen--he seems out of control. Are we able to cancel the internet at the house without Daddy throwing a fit? I know you probably need it, Viv, but you can probably pick up on some else's wireless. If not, there are plenty of internet cafes around with free Wi-Fi. What is he actually doing on the internet--does anyone know? We should be more than worried if he's hanging out in Chat rooms.
Em, I can't really put any fear in him when we live in different states. A phone call is not going to cut it. I'll try to talk to him, but the best I can probably do is ask Mommy not to nag and indulge him at the same time or anytime. He needs motivation and he's not going to get it when he's given money on a daily basis and has unlimited time on the computer/PS2/Nintendo DS.
As for being jobless, Viv, can't any of the people at your internship give you recommendations or ideas? You should ask your supervisor if you haven't already. You should at least find a job in the architectural field; whether it's being a secretary, receptionist, the coffee girl. Btw, have you updated your resume yet with all the new stuff you've been doing and learning? That's really important.
Em, unemployment is nice but eventually you're going to be bored and poor. I would look for a part-time to begin; it makes the transition back into full-time a lot easier. But if you have the money, keep playing until you become bored or poor. Eventually, you'll be wanting a job again.
I don't take Evening Primrose oil regularly. I don't know if it actually helped or if it was psychological. James didn't know why I was taking it--a little embarassed to tell him (I don't like to admit that I'm impractical when I'm moody). And he really doesn't believe in any of the herbal stuff or Eastern medicine. We huge disagreements when we get into discussions about Eastern meds; it's best to save the fights for the big ones (issues).
You don't have to differentiate b/w the Jameses; I can follow. I think as long as you warn James ahead of time of the family and that he might see another side of you that won't exist when it's just you two, it should be fine. I brought both my boyfriends home and one of them married me still, right?
I love to see pics of Gung gung in NY-send them!
Viv, you're going to have to grow a thicker skin with mommy. Just keep saying "yes, yes,.um-hmm...yes.." and keep doing what you want. She's use to being a mother of five and now she only has two to mother. Because of all the ridiculous things she's nagging you about, I'm thinking she just wants to have some quality time with you. Between your schedule and her schedule, you probably don't see each other much. Why don't you set aside a couple hours a week to spend with her? It could be dinner at home, invite her to a movie or play, take her to Filoli's or Golden gate park, etc. Or find a class you can both do together once a week. Also, sit her down and tell her that she's being too critical of you. Tell her you're a good kid; tell her all the bad stuff you could be doing but aren't; tell her you're busy working on a career path. You might want to ask her what exactly is bothering her, like why she get's ansy then a friend comes over or why she gets bothered when you've only been out twice a week. Do you tell her where you're going ahead of time? It might help to relieve some of her stress and therefore her nagging. You can also tell her eating before 7:30pm is healthier than eating later at night. If you eat earlier, there's more time for your body to digest b/4 bed and also, you'll be able to burn some of those calories with activities rather than have them stored as fat while you sleep.
I recommend running the Susan G. Komen 5K (breast cancer); I believe it's in the fall. Pretty easy run with no hills.
Sagey is a very light green; I picked out by matching a paint chip to my neighbor's bathroom walls. There are sliding doors in the diningRM/kitchen that look out on the greenbelt. The light coming in which isn't much will reflect the green from the trees and leaves, so it will look greener than it is.
Viv, is this the kitchen opt you like:
And what 1x1 green tiles were you talking about, the ones in the above pic or the ones for my bath vanity?
Em, you like this master bath opt the best?
Over this:
What do the rest of you girls think? How about carpet color--any opinions?
James' parents volunteered to come out and help. Mommy volunteered once she heard what they were doing. I don't think she really thought of it until then. But they're retired and she' not, so i don't blame her. Don't worry, I'll make sure they've felt like they got a vacation.
Okay, off to bed. I'm tired.
I am sad about the other stuff you mentioned: car, computer, Owen, job.
For the car, find another mechanic. You really don't want to wait for it to break down completely. And yes, he probably is waiting for it to completely die so he can make more money. "don't drive up hills"--you live in SF for goodness sakes--he is just biding his time. I can try to call my old auto teacher to see what he can do or recommend. What were you thinking asking Mommy to warm up your car for you? She doesn't drive stick.
Computer--at least Mac is replacing the hard drive.
Owen--he seems out of control. Are we able to cancel the internet at the house without Daddy throwing a fit? I know you probably need it, Viv, but you can probably pick up on some else's wireless. If not, there are plenty of internet cafes around with free Wi-Fi. What is he actually doing on the internet--does anyone know? We should be more than worried if he's hanging out in Chat rooms.
Em, I can't really put any fear in him when we live in different states. A phone call is not going to cut it. I'll try to talk to him, but the best I can probably do is ask Mommy not to nag and indulge him at the same time or anytime. He needs motivation and he's not going to get it when he's given money on a daily basis and has unlimited time on the computer/PS2/Nintendo DS.
As for being jobless, Viv, can't any of the people at your internship give you recommendations or ideas? You should ask your supervisor if you haven't already. You should at least find a job in the architectural field; whether it's being a secretary, receptionist, the coffee girl. Btw, have you updated your resume yet with all the new stuff you've been doing and learning? That's really important.
Em, unemployment is nice but eventually you're going to be bored and poor. I would look for a part-time to begin; it makes the transition back into full-time a lot easier. But if you have the money, keep playing until you become bored or poor. Eventually, you'll be wanting a job again.
I don't take Evening Primrose oil regularly. I don't know if it actually helped or if it was psychological. James didn't know why I was taking it--a little embarassed to tell him (I don't like to admit that I'm impractical when I'm moody). And he really doesn't believe in any of the herbal stuff or Eastern medicine. We huge disagreements when we get into discussions about Eastern meds; it's best to save the fights for the big ones (issues).
You don't have to differentiate b/w the Jameses; I can follow. I think as long as you warn James ahead of time of the family and that he might see another side of you that won't exist when it's just you two, it should be fine. I brought both my boyfriends home and one of them married me still, right?
I love to see pics of Gung gung in NY-send them!
Viv, you're going to have to grow a thicker skin with mommy. Just keep saying "yes, yes,.um-hmm...yes.." and keep doing what you want. She's use to being a mother of five and now she only has two to mother. Because of all the ridiculous things she's nagging you about, I'm thinking she just wants to have some quality time with you. Between your schedule and her schedule, you probably don't see each other much. Why don't you set aside a couple hours a week to spend with her? It could be dinner at home, invite her to a movie or play, take her to Filoli's or Golden gate park, etc. Or find a class you can both do together once a week. Also, sit her down and tell her that she's being too critical of you. Tell her you're a good kid; tell her all the bad stuff you could be doing but aren't; tell her you're busy working on a career path. You might want to ask her what exactly is bothering her, like why she get's ansy then a friend comes over or why she gets bothered when you've only been out twice a week. Do you tell her where you're going ahead of time? It might help to relieve some of her stress and therefore her nagging. You can also tell her eating before 7:30pm is healthier than eating later at night. If you eat earlier, there's more time for your body to digest b/4 bed and also, you'll be able to burn some of those calories with activities rather than have them stored as fat while you sleep.
I recommend running the Susan G. Komen 5K (breast cancer); I believe it's in the fall. Pretty easy run with no hills.
Sagey is a very light green; I picked out by matching a paint chip to my neighbor's bathroom walls. There are sliding doors in the diningRM/kitchen that look out on the greenbelt. The light coming in which isn't much will reflect the green from the trees and leaves, so it will look greener than it is.
Viv, is this the kitchen opt you like:
And what 1x1 green tiles were you talking about, the ones in the above pic or the ones for my bath vanity?
Em, you like this master bath opt the best?
Over this:
What do the rest of you girls think? How about carpet color--any opinions?
James' parents volunteered to come out and help. Mommy volunteered once she heard what they were doing. I don't think she really thought of it until then. But they're retired and she' not, so i don't blame her. Don't worry, I'll make sure they've felt like they got a vacation.
Okay, off to bed. I'm tired.
-l-
Hi guys,
I have to agree with Serina, at first you confused me with the article em because there seemed to be some indication that you wrote it in the beginning and then it trailed off to a whole other author. ok sorry, i had to add my 2 cents in.
If I'm looking at the schemes on your blog correctly Debs, I really like the second alternative scheme for the kitchen and the little 1"x1" blend of small green tiles. I love that you get to choose. Have you been stumped yet by any of the choices? I haven't looked at your paint colors yet though but I did hear Behr was the best.
I've been having a bit of bad luck for a little bit. I had asked mommy to warm-up my car once when I was in Seattle, apparently she caused one of my cylinders to misfire so I have to tune up, but the stupid mechanic won't make specific appointments. He claims I can drive it but just not uphill which I already couldn't do very well. I think he's secretly scheming so that I'll get stuck some where, but who knows.
Hubert (my Mac) is also down, which almost made me cry. I tripped on a wire and he came tumbling down and I broke his hard drive. I went to the genius bar and the man tried to fix it, but to no avail, but I do have a warranty so they will replace the hardrive for me. I just have to check out data recovery places before-hand because all my portfolio work and regular pictures were on that computer. Apparently its gonna cost me... it was one of my saddest days. It was ironic too because I just bought a flash drive the day before so I could save all my Architecture stuff and whaddya know... Do you need the Adobe Photoshop disc 1 immediately, em?
I also fell down the flight of stairs this week and bruised my head and my butt. Owen laughed at me until he realized I was seriously hurt. Remember the yellow fuzzy slippers Serina? Never get yellow fuzzy slippers!
Ending up my list. I switched cubicles/desks today at work for a project and the desk I switched to had a rolling office chair. I guess I was sitting too close to the edge and it slipped out from under me. I fell to the floor and the chair bounced off the metal file cabinets behind me and hit me on my already bruised head. Needless to say there was a major crash and all the workers turned to look at my mess of a commotion. So there went my dignity along with my bruised ass and bruised head.
I tried to engage Owen into other activities but he refuses and seriously I'm sick of trying. So if he wants to play the computer 24/7 so be it! I'm not his mother and I'm sick of all the back talk, lying, and denile like "I didn't play that long!" when you know he's been on there for like... 18 hours. I really don't know what he eats because he doesn't like what I make him or he's not hungry. Sometimes he doesn't eat at all when he's on the computer. I know I'm not the greatest sister, but hell he's not the greatest brother. If you want him off, you can call him. Do not call me to get him off! I will hang up on you!
Mommy is driving me a little mad recently. She claims I go out too much which I haven't been doing. I only went out twice this week other than work. I went to go visit my friend in the hospital who just gave birth and then i went to a birthday dinner, apparently that doesn't justify me going out at all. I don't drink. I don't get into any trouble and I rarely go out late. If I bring a friend over (so i'm not actually going out) she gets all antsy. So what's the deal? You tell me. (I throw my hands up in the air). Frankly I really don't care anymore because according to her I shouldn't have any sort of quasi-life. Also she got on my case about a letter I was going to send that week, but I couldn't find. And guess why I couldn't find it... because she took it. And then she said when I told her this, "well you didn't tell me you were looking for an envelope." I need a pinata. Can somebody get me a pinata? It's not the candy (although it's a perk)...it's the bat and everything associated with the bat. Also my eating schedule bugs her because apparently if I make myself something to eat when I'm hungry which is before 7:30 when she gets home I'm unhealthy. I do NOT recommnend living at home em! If you find a place down here expect me to be scratching at the door.
I'm a bit worked up now, but moving on to other things. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself em and I really like the bonus room debs. Actually what are you going to do with the bonus room? How are you Serina? Did you like DC? Are you still dancing?
About the primrose stuff, according to the article I linked, you need to take quite a bit of it to actually get results.
My internship is nice. Its very relaxed and flexible. I can get to work anytime between 8:30am to 10am. I have an hour lunch and my days can be switched to my preference. I'm learning Autocad still and I'm quite slow but I'm getting there. Right now i just finished floor plans for a theater for the African American Culture Center, once its printed out I'll scan it and post it. Its actually a really cool space. So I mainly just draw up hand drawings on CAD and sometimes I go and run errands with the architects, like dimensioning buildings or going to the Building Inspection Office.
Do you guys think I would hurt Gong Gong's feelings if i stopped going to the family dinners?
I can't find a job, so I'm back at the bookstore in July, for night shifts and probably the school year.
I'm also going to try to run a lot more. i really want to enter some kind of running thing, like a 5k. So I'm trying to run Lake Merced or Sawyer Camp Trail 3 times a week.
I'm sorry this must be an eyesore to read, but my life seems to be brimming with events even though it doesn't seem so when it happens. Hope you all had a good day. Good night!
I have to agree with Serina, at first you confused me with the article em because there seemed to be some indication that you wrote it in the beginning and then it trailed off to a whole other author. ok sorry, i had to add my 2 cents in.
If I'm looking at the schemes on your blog correctly Debs, I really like the second alternative scheme for the kitchen and the little 1"x1" blend of small green tiles. I love that you get to choose. Have you been stumped yet by any of the choices? I haven't looked at your paint colors yet though but I did hear Behr was the best.
I've been having a bit of bad luck for a little bit. I had asked mommy to warm-up my car once when I was in Seattle, apparently she caused one of my cylinders to misfire so I have to tune up, but the stupid mechanic won't make specific appointments. He claims I can drive it but just not uphill which I already couldn't do very well. I think he's secretly scheming so that I'll get stuck some where, but who knows.
Hubert (my Mac) is also down, which almost made me cry. I tripped on a wire and he came tumbling down and I broke his hard drive. I went to the genius bar and the man tried to fix it, but to no avail, but I do have a warranty so they will replace the hardrive for me. I just have to check out data recovery places before-hand because all my portfolio work and regular pictures were on that computer. Apparently its gonna cost me... it was one of my saddest days. It was ironic too because I just bought a flash drive the day before so I could save all my Architecture stuff and whaddya know... Do you need the Adobe Photoshop disc 1 immediately, em?
I also fell down the flight of stairs this week and bruised my head and my butt. Owen laughed at me until he realized I was seriously hurt. Remember the yellow fuzzy slippers Serina? Never get yellow fuzzy slippers!
Ending up my list. I switched cubicles/desks today at work for a project and the desk I switched to had a rolling office chair. I guess I was sitting too close to the edge and it slipped out from under me. I fell to the floor and the chair bounced off the metal file cabinets behind me and hit me on my already bruised head. Needless to say there was a major crash and all the workers turned to look at my mess of a commotion. So there went my dignity along with my bruised ass and bruised head.
I tried to engage Owen into other activities but he refuses and seriously I'm sick of trying. So if he wants to play the computer 24/7 so be it! I'm not his mother and I'm sick of all the back talk, lying, and denile like "I didn't play that long!" when you know he's been on there for like... 18 hours. I really don't know what he eats because he doesn't like what I make him or he's not hungry. Sometimes he doesn't eat at all when he's on the computer. I know I'm not the greatest sister, but hell he's not the greatest brother. If you want him off, you can call him. Do not call me to get him off! I will hang up on you!
Mommy is driving me a little mad recently. She claims I go out too much which I haven't been doing. I only went out twice this week other than work. I went to go visit my friend in the hospital who just gave birth and then i went to a birthday dinner, apparently that doesn't justify me going out at all. I don't drink. I don't get into any trouble and I rarely go out late. If I bring a friend over (so i'm not actually going out) she gets all antsy. So what's the deal? You tell me. (I throw my hands up in the air). Frankly I really don't care anymore because according to her I shouldn't have any sort of quasi-life. Also she got on my case about a letter I was going to send that week, but I couldn't find. And guess why I couldn't find it... because she took it. And then she said when I told her this, "well you didn't tell me you were looking for an envelope." I need a pinata. Can somebody get me a pinata? It's not the candy (although it's a perk)...it's the bat and everything associated with the bat. Also my eating schedule bugs her because apparently if I make myself something to eat when I'm hungry which is before 7:30 when she gets home I'm unhealthy. I do NOT recommnend living at home em! If you find a place down here expect me to be scratching at the door.
I'm a bit worked up now, but moving on to other things. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself em and I really like the bonus room debs. Actually what are you going to do with the bonus room? How are you Serina? Did you like DC? Are you still dancing?
About the primrose stuff, according to the article I linked, you need to take quite a bit of it to actually get results.
My internship is nice. Its very relaxed and flexible. I can get to work anytime between 8:30am to 10am. I have an hour lunch and my days can be switched to my preference. I'm learning Autocad still and I'm quite slow but I'm getting there. Right now i just finished floor plans for a theater for the African American Culture Center, once its printed out I'll scan it and post it. Its actually a really cool space. So I mainly just draw up hand drawings on CAD and sometimes I go and run errands with the architects, like dimensioning buildings or going to the Building Inspection Office.
Do you guys think I would hurt Gong Gong's feelings if i stopped going to the family dinners?
I can't find a job, so I'm back at the bookstore in July, for night shifts and probably the school year.
I'm also going to try to run a lot more. i really want to enter some kind of running thing, like a 5k. So I'm trying to run Lake Merced or Sawyer Camp Trail 3 times a week.
I'm sorry this must be an eyesore to read, but my life seems to be brimming with events even though it doesn't seem so when it happens. Hope you all had a good day. Good night!
Blue over green
Sorry! I got the master bath mixed up with the main hall. I prefer the blue tiles, though I think the green and cream are nice too. The green and cream are more neutral.
As for the master bath, I like the standard options the best. I know it seems simple but keep in mind that you're seeing these rooms completely empty. You'll have towels and bathroom furniture and accessories when you actually settle in. Also those small 1x1 accent tiles are a b*tch to clean. I think the alderwood has a nice finish. I love that you're recruiting from all across the country (James' parents and Mommy) for house help.
I looked up Patience (nice) and Sagey (sounds green, but is not). I like them both. What color trim are you going to get? I don't know if James has a preference for paint brands, I can ask.
I haven't bought my ticket home yet. I have a free roundtrip voucher from Jetblue to fly anywhere they fly and I'm debating using it to fly home or for a vacation trip (they fly to Aruba and Dominican Republic and Mexico). I will probably use it to fly home though because I should save money. I think I'll be back August. James might visit as well. His dad lives in Nevada, near Reno or Tahoe (I forget) and he sort of invited me to go visit him. It's sort of hazy right now. We're both sort of saving up money right now (Asia really wiped me out) and if he comes to SF I still have to figure out where to stay. I want to be at home but I don't know how it'll be. You know. Might be a bit of a shock. He's fairly normal with normal family. He's extra super laid back though. You guys would like him.
Anyway, I know I should be looking for a job but I haven't been really. I like unemployment. It's horribly scandalous after working so hard and going to school and all but I could let my brain go to waste if I got to eat for free all day. I made leg o' lamb last night with asparagus and mini roasted potatoes. Speaking of, I talked to O yesterday and was just wondering, when he makes his own food - does he only eat pasta? Also, he's rebelling against getting a job because "Mommy and Vivian keep on telling [him] to." I tried the logic angle but I think it's time to put the fear of God in him...Debs?
Viv, I'm going to send you the CS2 disc James gave me. My computer doesn't have enough RAM to install it. (So frustrating). Can you send me back the CS disc I sent you? Your internship sounds so rewarding, I'm really glad you're getting a lot out of it.
Serins, good observation about the design article. I didn't even notice. Everyone thinks I wrote the article so next time I'll just link to the web page. Anyway, you can find that article and more on design and culture here.
I haven't been taking my Evening Primrose Oil regularly either. There's supposedly studies that it helps with the symptoms of PMS, like moodiness, as well as with eczema but of course, there's just as many people who say it doesn't work. Did it help with your moodiness? Is that what James said? Is it confusing that I speak of James and James without differentiating between the two? I feel like I should post a picture of James (the one I'm with) whenever I refer to him.
Did I ever send you guys the pics of Gong Gong's visit? I'll post on a slideshow and email it as well. Viv, can you show Mommy for me?
Deb, I'm not as updated with what's going on in the market. I'll ask around.
I suppose that's long enough. Thank you all for your time and patience. Ouvre.
As for the master bath, I like the standard options the best. I know it seems simple but keep in mind that you're seeing these rooms completely empty. You'll have towels and bathroom furniture and accessories when you actually settle in. Also those small 1x1 accent tiles are a b*tch to clean. I think the alderwood has a nice finish. I love that you're recruiting from all across the country (James' parents and Mommy) for house help.
I looked up Patience (nice) and Sagey (sounds green, but is not). I like them both. What color trim are you going to get? I don't know if James has a preference for paint brands, I can ask.
I haven't bought my ticket home yet. I have a free roundtrip voucher from Jetblue to fly anywhere they fly and I'm debating using it to fly home or for a vacation trip (they fly to Aruba and Dominican Republic and Mexico). I will probably use it to fly home though because I should save money. I think I'll be back August. James might visit as well. His dad lives in Nevada, near Reno or Tahoe (I forget) and he sort of invited me to go visit him. It's sort of hazy right now. We're both sort of saving up money right now (Asia really wiped me out) and if he comes to SF I still have to figure out where to stay. I want to be at home but I don't know how it'll be. You know. Might be a bit of a shock. He's fairly normal with normal family. He's extra super laid back though. You guys would like him.
Anyway, I know I should be looking for a job but I haven't been really. I like unemployment. It's horribly scandalous after working so hard and going to school and all but I could let my brain go to waste if I got to eat for free all day. I made leg o' lamb last night with asparagus and mini roasted potatoes. Speaking of, I talked to O yesterday and was just wondering, when he makes his own food - does he only eat pasta? Also, he's rebelling against getting a job because "Mommy and Vivian keep on telling [him] to." I tried the logic angle but I think it's time to put the fear of God in him...Debs?
Viv, I'm going to send you the CS2 disc James gave me. My computer doesn't have enough RAM to install it. (So frustrating). Can you send me back the CS disc I sent you? Your internship sounds so rewarding, I'm really glad you're getting a lot out of it.
Serins, good observation about the design article. I didn't even notice. Everyone thinks I wrote the article so next time I'll just link to the web page. Anyway, you can find that article and more on design and culture here.
I haven't been taking my Evening Primrose Oil regularly either. There's supposedly studies that it helps with the symptoms of PMS, like moodiness, as well as with eczema but of course, there's just as many people who say it doesn't work. Did it help with your moodiness? Is that what James said? Is it confusing that I speak of James and James without differentiating between the two? I feel like I should post a picture of James (the one I'm with) whenever I refer to him.
Did I ever send you guys the pics of Gong Gong's visit? I'll post on a slideshow and email it as well. Viv, can you show Mommy for me?
Deb, I'm not as updated with what's going on in the market. I'll ask around.
I suppose that's long enough. Thank you all for your time and patience. Ouvre.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Hey girls...
Been busy with the old house. We just had the interior painted--I'll post a pic soon. And we're having the exterior painted. This is all on the current house, not the new. The paint colors are: interior=off-white/cool neutral; exterior=warm beige-brown with white trim and dark red accents.
Anyways, i'm pretty much finished with the design meetings so I won't have too much more option pictures to post other than my neighbors' houses. I won't decide b/w the vinyl and tile until I get the pricing back. It's an upgrade to go to tile in the main hall bath.
The blue that you're talking about, Em, is actually the scheme for the Main Hall bath. I didn't change it; maybe you just need to scroll down more. I forgot to post the scheme for the Master; I'll do that next. Which color of the little squares do you guys like better for the Main Hall bath: the monotone blue or the greenish mixture? These little tiles will be for the Main Hall vanity backsplash as pictured in the first 3 pics of the 'Standards- bathroom sink tile work' post.
The cabinets will be alderwood with a dark reddish finish, like in 4th pic of the 'Standards- bathroom sink tile work' post. We are having Cherry wood priced out in place of the alderwood, but it might be too expensive.
For the Master bath, I will have my neighbor's scheme priced out: pics #2, 4, 5 of the "Neighbor upgrade choices". I will also get a cool neutral tile scheme priced out; I'll post it soon. I don't really like the standard master tile for the bath/shower--it's too big and plain. The standard master tile for the floor and vanity are fine. But it really just depends on the pricing.
Please feel free to give me your thoughts/opinions on all the standards/options.
I've changed my paint choices. I'm going with Patience for all the interior walls, except in the kitchen/dining room which will be Sagey. The ceiling we are going to have left white or the same as our trim color. We're required to use Sherwin Williams. Does James have a preference for a particular paint company? If yes, what are the reasons for choosing that one. My James like Behr b/c of Consumer Reports.
Okay, enough about the house-I'm seriously consumed with it. How are all of you? Em, have you bought your tickets for SF yet? How is James? What have you been doing? I thought you wrote the article as well, but then I reread the beginning and realized it was someone else. Are you still coming to Seattle this summer? What are your plans?
Serina, have you looked more into buying a car? Let us know if you want us to do more research for you--the car dealers have only recently stopped calling us. How is your living situation coming along?
Viv, glad to hear you're enjoying the internship. Have you heard any more from the one that was going to pay you? How cool is that to design some of the buildings! Are you allowed to post your design layout on the blog so we can see?
James' parents are here; they will be staying till 6/27 to overlap with mommy's visit some. They've only been here two days, but have got so much work done. They made this trip specifically to help us ready the current house for listing. I'm going to take them out to have some fun too. I'll have mommy help with the garden work when she gets here.
Em, I heard interest rates went up 0.50%. Do you think it will go down in the fall? We're not locked into anything yet because it's too soon.
I take Evening Primrose as well but not of late--forgetful. It's suppose to help with moodiness, so I take it to give James a break. I should start taking it again....
Anyways, i'm pretty much finished with the design meetings so I won't have too much more option pictures to post other than my neighbors' houses. I won't decide b/w the vinyl and tile until I get the pricing back. It's an upgrade to go to tile in the main hall bath.
The blue that you're talking about, Em, is actually the scheme for the Main Hall bath. I didn't change it; maybe you just need to scroll down more. I forgot to post the scheme for the Master; I'll do that next. Which color of the little squares do you guys like better for the Main Hall bath: the monotone blue or the greenish mixture? These little tiles will be for the Main Hall vanity backsplash as pictured in the first 3 pics of the 'Standards- bathroom sink tile work' post.
The cabinets will be alderwood with a dark reddish finish, like in 4th pic of the 'Standards- bathroom sink tile work' post. We are having Cherry wood priced out in place of the alderwood, but it might be too expensive.
For the Master bath, I will have my neighbor's scheme priced out: pics #2, 4, 5 of the "Neighbor upgrade choices". I will also get a cool neutral tile scheme priced out; I'll post it soon. I don't really like the standard master tile for the bath/shower--it's too big and plain. The standard master tile for the floor and vanity are fine. But it really just depends on the pricing.
Please feel free to give me your thoughts/opinions on all the standards/options.
I've changed my paint choices. I'm going with Patience for all the interior walls, except in the kitchen/dining room which will be Sagey. The ceiling we are going to have left white or the same as our trim color. We're required to use Sherwin Williams. Does James have a preference for a particular paint company? If yes, what are the reasons for choosing that one. My James like Behr b/c of Consumer Reports.
Okay, enough about the house-I'm seriously consumed with it. How are all of you? Em, have you bought your tickets for SF yet? How is James? What have you been doing? I thought you wrote the article as well, but then I reread the beginning and realized it was someone else. Are you still coming to Seattle this summer? What are your plans?
Serina, have you looked more into buying a car? Let us know if you want us to do more research for you--the car dealers have only recently stopped calling us. How is your living situation coming along?
Viv, glad to hear you're enjoying the internship. Have you heard any more from the one that was going to pay you? How cool is that to design some of the buildings! Are you allowed to post your design layout on the blog so we can see?
James' parents are here; they will be staying till 6/27 to overlap with mommy's visit some. They've only been here two days, but have got so much work done. They made this trip specifically to help us ready the current house for listing. I'm going to take them out to have some fun too. I'll have mommy help with the garden work when she gets here.
Em, I heard interest rates went up 0.50%. Do you think it will go down in the fall? We're not locked into anything yet because it's too soon.
I take Evening Primrose as well but not of late--forgetful. It's suppose to help with moodiness, so I take it to give James a break. I should start taking it again....
Hi!
hey all! yeah debs! I'm surprised how fast the house is coming along. It's very cool. I love how you are capturing the whole process (and progress).
interesting article em. I wasn't sure if you wrote it for some reason. I'm assuming not.
have you read the book?
interesting article em. I wasn't sure if you wrote it for some reason. I'm assuming not.
have you read the book?
Deb house
Hey, did you end up with tile or vinyl for your floors? And an earlier pic shows a blue scheme for the master bath but then the master bath pics look more cream...did you change it? The bath looks spacious, I love it already. I love choosing all the materials! Post more pics!
Good Article on Design
Tom Vanderbilt
On the Squareness of Milk Containers
Do you know, or have you ever wanted to know, why milk containers are square and soft drink containers are round?
The answer is simple: Milk needs to be refrigerated. Rectangular containers occupy less shelf space, and less shelf space is more valuable when that shelf space has to be cooled. Soda pop cans and the like are kept at room temperature on the cheap metal shelving found elsewhere in the store (or arrayed into huge pyramids at the end of aisles). Of course, one might make the argument that every container should thus be square, to maximize space, but there is an added benefit to the consumer, one that seemingly overrides the extra cost in lost shelf space: The ability to comfortably hold the container in one’s hand. This benefit, while great, is presumably not greater than the cost of refrigeration — hence no array of round milk jugs.
This small design study of sorts comes from Robert H. Frank’s wonderful new book, The Economic Naturalist: In Search of Explanations for Everyday Enigmas. I am, admittedly, a sucker for books by economists that plumb the daily mysteries of life (e.g., Steven Landsburg’s seminal Armchair Economist, or Tim Harford’s delightfully insightful Undercover Economist. I am also a longtime fan of Frank (I interviewed him for Wired in 1999), so I am doubly glad that he has entered the growing field of those bringing the “dismal science” into bright little realms like the grocery store.
My favorite section is one called “The Economics of Product Design.” Its sprinkling of short essays reminded me of a simple truism that I sometimes overlook when thinking about design, gazing upon some item in a store or using some kind of interface and wondering how it got to be the way it is, or indeed lamenting the way it got to be how it is (who signed off on that?). That simple fact I forget is that often, an object’s design is only marginally influenced by the hand of a designer. Its design has already been preordained by market (or other) constraints. It is not merely that, as Charles Eames famously said, “design depends largely on constraints,” but something more elemental. The constraint is the design.
In the red-in-tooth-and-claw rationalistic world of economics, product design, as Frank writes, “entails a trade-off between features that would be most pleasing to consumers and each seller’s needs to keep prices low enough to remain competitive.” He uses the example of his first car, a 1955 Pontiac Chieftain. It had a heater, which was then only an “option.” Eventually, heaters became cheap enough to produce that anyone buying a car could afford their benefit (that is to say, it was no longer viable for the maker to produce cars without heaters). Or take the car’s V-8 engine. The V-8, quite standard then, consumed more fuel than a V-6, but it provided more acceleration and, as Frank notes, “gasoline was still cheap in those days.” Cut to the oil embargo of the 1970s and continuing price shocks. Suddenly, six cylinder and even, shockingly, four-cylinder engines were in play. Then, gas prices started to drop again, relative to other goods, paving the way for the emergence of the infated SUVs and pickup trucks of the 1980s and 1990s. Now, of course, Ford et al. are on the skids, arguably because the benefits of the large vehicles they have focused on producing is being eclipsed by their cost. It raises the question: What portion of car design essentially derives merely from the price of gas? (and yes, I do realize the aforementioned “cost/benefit” is a narrow definition of “cost” and “benefit”; if the market were judicious enough to include the externalities of carbon emissions in the cost, the benefits of large engines to the individual user would start to look pretty slim indeed — and certainly not higher than the long-term costs to everyone else).
Frank takes this cost-benefit accounting through a number of interesting design examples (these are posed as questions that his students in “economic naturalism” originally asked). For example: Why, even though the discs are exactly the same size, do DVDs come in such larger packages than CDs? The answer, as supplied here, is that vinyl records came in tightly shrink-wrapped sleeves, 302 mm square. If one made the CD package a little less than half that size, one could fit two CDs in the racks that countless record stores had installed. The height could be kept the same, which is why you may remember CD jewel cases themselves used to wrapped with all kinds of surplus packaging, strange cousins of vinyl sleeves that were to ripped away and discarded. DVDs, meanwhile, were riding in the wake of the VHS tape, which came in a 191 mm-high box. Keeping DVD cases the same height meant retailers (and consumers) could simply stack DVDs on their VHS shelves. One does wonder if some brave designer, some Howard Roark of the blister-pack set, stood up in an early meeting and asked if the cost of the excess packaging was indeed greater than the cost of retrofitting shelves. It could also be that Hollywood was leery of people thinking they were getting “less” for their money.
It may have also just been a sort of historical inertia — why change what we’ve been doing? This is why, as Frank mentions in another piece, women’s clothes still button from the left, while men’s button from the right. As most people are right-handed, from a pure design point of view right-handed buttoning makes more sense. But as buttons first appeared on the clothes of the wealthy, and women, unlike men, were mostly dressed by servants (most of them right-handed), women’s buttons went from the left. This historical norm mostly endures today, even though I imagine few women are dressed by servants.
The cost-benefit principle lurks behind all kind of seeming design oddities. Why do refrigerators have lights but not freezers? People don’t open the freezer as often, thus the perceived benefit is lower than the cost of installing it; of course, in pricier units, the freezers do have lights (maybe it will eventually become standard as the extra cost equals the marginal benefit). Why do ATMs at drive-up banks have Braille on their keypads? The answer proposed here is that companies are already making them for walk-up banks, so it’s no more difficult (and actually easier) to make them for all banks. No sighted patrons will be inconvenienced, and if any non-sighted patrons come to the drive-up banks, they won’t be inconvenienced. Does that answer sound convincing? Sure, but as Frank later learns, Braille at drive-up ATMS’s is actually required by law — which is itself another constraint.
Sometimes, the cost-benefit formula gets a little surreal. In some cases, the costs are so low that they give rise to benefits that themselves don’t seem worth much — although it depends on how you do the accounting. My friend James Surowiecki wrote recently about “feature creep,” whereby electronics and other consumer goods are endowed with so many extra features (“benefits”) that they actually confuse customers. This is a puzzle, as Surowiecki notes. On the one hand, it costs very little to add many features, and so Windows, for example, comes with 1500 commands, the vast majority of which will never be used. Is it that the benefit is so high to the person who does use the full range that it makes it worth including, even if it might alienate others? The problem is it that doesn’t alienate others until later. When buying a product, Suroweicki notes, people crave features, the more the better. When they get home and are saddled up in front of the TV with a remote that looks like a 64-track studio mixing board, they begin to crave simplicity. Perhaps the trick would be to advertise very complex looking products that when, actually taken out of the box, were simple cubes with a few buttons.
This gives rise to my own question for Professor Frank, or any other “economic naturalists” (design naturalists are welcome as well). Why is it that, in the realm of stereo equipment, for example, one has to pay more for an aesthetic of visual simplicity? I went shopping recently and wanted a simple, but substantial, CD player/tuner sort of thing. I was dismayed by the preponderance of flashing lights and boldly advertised features (e.g, Dolby, graphic equalizer, R.D.S., etc.) splayed across the front of these units. It actually seemed like the more things the stereo looked capable of doing, the cheaper it was. When I finally saw something I liked (the Linn Classik), a very minimal looking unit with a few very small and discrete buttons, painted a kind of Cold War-chic dull bluish-gray, I was dismayed to learn it cost more than twice as much as anything else. I had to pay more for less (which somehow puts me in mind of the old Billy Joel screed, “you can’t dress trashy till you spend a lot of money.”) Is the issue that companies, in trying to reach the widest possible audience and sell the most units, load up their products with features (and, importantly, the appearance of features), to ensure customers that they are getting the most for their money? (let’s call this the “Brookstone” effect, or maybe the SkyMall effect — it’s an EasyChair and a vibrating massager and a portable cooled drink container!) And those willing to pay more, meanwhile, are given a design that seems more, well, constrained?
On the Squareness of Milk Containers
Do you know, or have you ever wanted to know, why milk containers are square and soft drink containers are round?
The answer is simple: Milk needs to be refrigerated. Rectangular containers occupy less shelf space, and less shelf space is more valuable when that shelf space has to be cooled. Soda pop cans and the like are kept at room temperature on the cheap metal shelving found elsewhere in the store (or arrayed into huge pyramids at the end of aisles). Of course, one might make the argument that every container should thus be square, to maximize space, but there is an added benefit to the consumer, one that seemingly overrides the extra cost in lost shelf space: The ability to comfortably hold the container in one’s hand. This benefit, while great, is presumably not greater than the cost of refrigeration — hence no array of round milk jugs.
This small design study of sorts comes from Robert H. Frank’s wonderful new book, The Economic Naturalist: In Search of Explanations for Everyday Enigmas. I am, admittedly, a sucker for books by economists that plumb the daily mysteries of life (e.g., Steven Landsburg’s seminal Armchair Economist, or Tim Harford’s delightfully insightful Undercover Economist. I am also a longtime fan of Frank (I interviewed him for Wired in 1999), so I am doubly glad that he has entered the growing field of those bringing the “dismal science” into bright little realms like the grocery store.
My favorite section is one called “The Economics of Product Design.” Its sprinkling of short essays reminded me of a simple truism that I sometimes overlook when thinking about design, gazing upon some item in a store or using some kind of interface and wondering how it got to be the way it is, or indeed lamenting the way it got to be how it is (who signed off on that?). That simple fact I forget is that often, an object’s design is only marginally influenced by the hand of a designer. Its design has already been preordained by market (or other) constraints. It is not merely that, as Charles Eames famously said, “design depends largely on constraints,” but something more elemental. The constraint is the design.
In the red-in-tooth-and-claw rationalistic world of economics, product design, as Frank writes, “entails a trade-off between features that would be most pleasing to consumers and each seller’s needs to keep prices low enough to remain competitive.” He uses the example of his first car, a 1955 Pontiac Chieftain. It had a heater, which was then only an “option.” Eventually, heaters became cheap enough to produce that anyone buying a car could afford their benefit (that is to say, it was no longer viable for the maker to produce cars without heaters). Or take the car’s V-8 engine. The V-8, quite standard then, consumed more fuel than a V-6, but it provided more acceleration and, as Frank notes, “gasoline was still cheap in those days.” Cut to the oil embargo of the 1970s and continuing price shocks. Suddenly, six cylinder and even, shockingly, four-cylinder engines were in play. Then, gas prices started to drop again, relative to other goods, paving the way for the emergence of the infated SUVs and pickup trucks of the 1980s and 1990s. Now, of course, Ford et al. are on the skids, arguably because the benefits of the large vehicles they have focused on producing is being eclipsed by their cost. It raises the question: What portion of car design essentially derives merely from the price of gas? (and yes, I do realize the aforementioned “cost/benefit” is a narrow definition of “cost” and “benefit”; if the market were judicious enough to include the externalities of carbon emissions in the cost, the benefits of large engines to the individual user would start to look pretty slim indeed — and certainly not higher than the long-term costs to everyone else).
Frank takes this cost-benefit accounting through a number of interesting design examples (these are posed as questions that his students in “economic naturalism” originally asked). For example: Why, even though the discs are exactly the same size, do DVDs come in such larger packages than CDs? The answer, as supplied here, is that vinyl records came in tightly shrink-wrapped sleeves, 302 mm square. If one made the CD package a little less than half that size, one could fit two CDs in the racks that countless record stores had installed. The height could be kept the same, which is why you may remember CD jewel cases themselves used to wrapped with all kinds of surplus packaging, strange cousins of vinyl sleeves that were to ripped away and discarded. DVDs, meanwhile, were riding in the wake of the VHS tape, which came in a 191 mm-high box. Keeping DVD cases the same height meant retailers (and consumers) could simply stack DVDs on their VHS shelves. One does wonder if some brave designer, some Howard Roark of the blister-pack set, stood up in an early meeting and asked if the cost of the excess packaging was indeed greater than the cost of retrofitting shelves. It could also be that Hollywood was leery of people thinking they were getting “less” for their money.
It may have also just been a sort of historical inertia — why change what we’ve been doing? This is why, as Frank mentions in another piece, women’s clothes still button from the left, while men’s button from the right. As most people are right-handed, from a pure design point of view right-handed buttoning makes more sense. But as buttons first appeared on the clothes of the wealthy, and women, unlike men, were mostly dressed by servants (most of them right-handed), women’s buttons went from the left. This historical norm mostly endures today, even though I imagine few women are dressed by servants.
The cost-benefit principle lurks behind all kind of seeming design oddities. Why do refrigerators have lights but not freezers? People don’t open the freezer as often, thus the perceived benefit is lower than the cost of installing it; of course, in pricier units, the freezers do have lights (maybe it will eventually become standard as the extra cost equals the marginal benefit). Why do ATMs at drive-up banks have Braille on their keypads? The answer proposed here is that companies are already making them for walk-up banks, so it’s no more difficult (and actually easier) to make them for all banks. No sighted patrons will be inconvenienced, and if any non-sighted patrons come to the drive-up banks, they won’t be inconvenienced. Does that answer sound convincing? Sure, but as Frank later learns, Braille at drive-up ATMS’s is actually required by law — which is itself another constraint.
Sometimes, the cost-benefit formula gets a little surreal. In some cases, the costs are so low that they give rise to benefits that themselves don’t seem worth much — although it depends on how you do the accounting. My friend James Surowiecki wrote recently about “feature creep,” whereby electronics and other consumer goods are endowed with so many extra features (“benefits”) that they actually confuse customers. This is a puzzle, as Surowiecki notes. On the one hand, it costs very little to add many features, and so Windows, for example, comes with 1500 commands, the vast majority of which will never be used. Is it that the benefit is so high to the person who does use the full range that it makes it worth including, even if it might alienate others? The problem is it that doesn’t alienate others until later. When buying a product, Suroweicki notes, people crave features, the more the better. When they get home and are saddled up in front of the TV with a remote that looks like a 64-track studio mixing board, they begin to crave simplicity. Perhaps the trick would be to advertise very complex looking products that when, actually taken out of the box, were simple cubes with a few buttons.
This gives rise to my own question for Professor Frank, or any other “economic naturalists” (design naturalists are welcome as well). Why is it that, in the realm of stereo equipment, for example, one has to pay more for an aesthetic of visual simplicity? I went shopping recently and wanted a simple, but substantial, CD player/tuner sort of thing. I was dismayed by the preponderance of flashing lights and boldly advertised features (e.g, Dolby, graphic equalizer, R.D.S., etc.) splayed across the front of these units. It actually seemed like the more things the stereo looked capable of doing, the cheaper it was. When I finally saw something I liked (the Linn Classik), a very minimal looking unit with a few very small and discrete buttons, painted a kind of Cold War-chic dull bluish-gray, I was dismayed to learn it cost more than twice as much as anything else. I had to pay more for less (which somehow puts me in mind of the old Billy Joel screed, “you can’t dress trashy till you spend a lot of money.”) Is the issue that companies, in trying to reach the widest possible audience and sell the most units, load up their products with features (and, importantly, the appearance of features), to ensure customers that they are getting the most for their money? (let’s call this the “Brookstone” effect, or maybe the SkyMall effect — it’s an EasyChair and a vibrating massager and a portable cooled drink container!) And those willing to pay more, meanwhile, are given a design that seems more, well, constrained?
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Hey
Viv, you have to learn how to do clickable links. If you check out webmonkey.com and click under html basic tags, you can just copy and paste the tag. Loved the info on the new Academy of Sciences, it looks SO cool. As for the eczema article, they mentioned Evening Primrose Oil, I have been taking them as vitamins. I don't know if they're helping but they don't hurt. I continue to take them just to see if it has long term effects. How is everyone?
Hi
Good article Viv. Calamine lotion is the stuff we used for Chicken Pox as a kid. I have a bottle but I can't tell if it works. I guess it's not that immediate. It sounds like you're enjoying your internship. That's great! :)
I went to DC last week. I thought it was really nice out there. I got to see a couple of buildings on The Mall. I also walked around Georgetown. It reminded me of Polk/Filmore? in SF - lots of shops and restaurants. The weather was pretty nice and there were a lot of trees.
All: I found this neat site: http://www.rentaldecorating.com/InteriorDesign101.htm It's got a lot of articles in there. I'm trying to make my room look more spacious.
Debs, how's the house coming along?
Em, what have you been up to?
I went to DC last week. I thought it was really nice out there. I got to see a couple of buildings on The Mall. I also walked around Georgetown. It reminded me of Polk/Filmore? in SF - lots of shops and restaurants. The weather was pretty nice and there were a lot of trees.
All: I found this neat site: http://www.rentaldecorating.com/InteriorDesign101.htm It's got a lot of articles in there. I'm trying to make my room look more spacious.
Debs, how's the house coming along?
Em, what have you been up to?
Saturday, June 9, 2007
The New Academy of Sciences
Look at the new academy of sciences!!!! Its rated "platinum" on the green scale and is going to be the greenest museum in the US.
Skyscraper page
CBS5 tory
Cal Academy
(I edited the html so that the links are clickable. em)
Skyscraper page
CBS5 tory
Cal Academy
(I edited the html so that the links are clickable. em)
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
3rd day on the job
hi
I started my internship at AND on Monday and its pretty cool so far. I really like the people I work with. They are a very humorous bunch and they took me out to lunch at a pretty ritzy restraurant in the Westfield Mall. Get this: the man who designed the restraurant (Out the Door- he is also the man who owns the slanted door) used 60 different kinds of honey to create a lighted wall. It looks like amber in different shades. Its pretty cool.
http://www.lovetoeatandtravel.com/Graphics/Photos/SFBayArea/SF/WestField_Mall/Food/Out_The_Door_05.jpg
Other than that I've been learning Autocad which is kinda like that basic app they put on windows when we were kids. You know, the "paint" one, although I think its slightly more complex (they should have just designed it like the "paint" program). My boss is really nice. She let me redesign some community apartments which I think is kinda neat. I didn't think I would get the opportunity to do that. I have to say I've learned alot in the past two days.
I've also registered for classes.
I have 2 studios
Intro to the arts
American Modernism (I might change this to a lit class)
Other than that , not much going on.
I agree with you Em, poor poor animals. Did you know what a pangolin was before you read the article? I had to Wikipedia it to see for myself. What an odd odd creature.
How's the paint coming along Debs?
I started my internship at AND on Monday and its pretty cool so far. I really like the people I work with. They are a very humorous bunch and they took me out to lunch at a pretty ritzy restraurant in the Westfield Mall. Get this: the man who designed the restraurant (Out the Door- he is also the man who owns the slanted door) used 60 different kinds of honey to create a lighted wall. It looks like amber in different shades. Its pretty cool.
http://www.lovetoeatandtravel.com/Graphics/Photos/SFBayArea/SF/WestField_Mall/Food/Out_The_Door_05.jpg
Other than that I've been learning Autocad which is kinda like that basic app they put on windows when we were kids. You know, the "paint" one, although I think its slightly more complex (they should have just designed it like the "paint" program). My boss is really nice. She let me redesign some community apartments which I think is kinda neat. I didn't think I would get the opportunity to do that. I have to say I've learned alot in the past two days.
I've also registered for classes.
I have 2 studios
Intro to the arts
American Modernism (I might change this to a lit class)
Other than that , not much going on.
I agree with you Em, poor poor animals. Did you know what a pangolin was before you read the article? I had to Wikipedia it to see for myself. What an odd odd creature.
How's the paint coming along Debs?
Monday, June 4, 2007
colors
Rice Paddy, the color-not the scheme though it is nice. It's more of a yellowish-green. I did mention that the colors don't necessarily show true online. Anyways, I'm thinking of changing that to Celery :
or Honeydew:
or Gratifying Green:
What do you think?
I think I'm going to change the main color too. The Irish Cream color might be too dark. Any ideas for me?
Mommy is coming in the last week in June (25th-2nd). When will you go to SF? July or Aug is good for you too visit. We plan to list the house in mid-August. Would love to have your input on it, Em.
I'm glad SW is finally opening a port in SFO. It should be so much cheaper to fly from SFO to SEA.
or Honeydew:
or Gratifying Green:
What do you think?
I think I'm going to change the main color too. The Irish Cream color might be too dark. Any ideas for me?
Mommy is coming in the last week in June (25th-2nd). When will you go to SF? July or Aug is good for you too visit. We plan to list the house in mid-August. Would love to have your input on it, Em.
I'm glad SW is finally opening a port in SFO. It should be so much cheaper to fly from SFO to SEA.
Oh yeah
Viv, just turn your airport off when you install it. Click on this symbol:
And choose "Turn Airport Off". Once it's installed you can turn it back on again.
And choose "Turn Airport Off". Once it's installed you can turn it back on again.
Can't stop eating Double Stuf Oreos
Dennis bought a pack and I've eaten half of it in the last 15 minutes. I think I'm going to be sick.
I looked at the paint colors on the Sherwin Williams' site. I've always liked red exterior doors. It's so classic. I looked up Rice Paddy but it's more of a light beige color than green. Do you mean the "Rice Paddy" color scheme?
If so, I like it.
James was painting an apartment for some extra cash. It was the whole apartment and the colors were very neutral - a warm white for the walls, a sage bird-shit green for the accent wall in the living room and a linen (cool beige) for the accent walls in the other rooms and a red brick color for the accent in the bedroom. They were Ralph Lauren colors but I don't remember the names except for Linen. It came out well, though too neutral for my taste.
I guess it all depends on the furniture. Are you guys buying all new things? If you're planning on repainting everything, then it'll be easier if you choose a lighter color for now.
When is Mommy going to visit you again?
I looked at the paint colors on the Sherwin Williams' site. I've always liked red exterior doors. It's so classic. I looked up Rice Paddy but it's more of a light beige color than green. Do you mean the "Rice Paddy" color scheme?
If so, I like it.James was painting an apartment for some extra cash. It was the whole apartment and the colors were very neutral - a warm white for the walls, a sage bird-shit green for the accent wall in the living room and a linen (cool beige) for the accent walls in the other rooms and a red brick color for the accent in the bedroom. They were Ralph Lauren colors but I don't remember the names except for Linen. It came out well, though too neutral for my taste.
I guess it all depends on the furniture. Are you guys buying all new things? If you're planning on repainting everything, then it'll be easier if you choose a lighter color for now.
When is Mommy going to visit you again?
paint colors
Hi all,
Still sick, still working on the house, still sick of working on the house.....life goes on.
Em, what color did you paint James' room? I'm in the midst of deciding colors as well. I've submitted my choices but I'm thinking of changing them. We don't get a choice for the outside color; that's predetermined by Seattle Housing Authority. I bought a Sherwin Williams color fan deck; it's the company our builders use. The outside of the house is going to be Kaffe, which is a dark brown, with white trim and Rookwood red door.
I'm thinking:
interior, the whole house except for the dining room, because they charge more per color per room,
Irish Cream which is a soft beige
dining room- Rice Paddy (light green w/ some yellow in it)
Once I move in, I'll choose different paint colors for different bedrooms.
You can try using the Sherwin Williams color visualizer to see it but the colors are sort of off. I recommend going to the store to see the paint chip if you're really interested.
gotta to work...
Still sick, still working on the house, still sick of working on the house.....life goes on.
Em, what color did you paint James' room? I'm in the midst of deciding colors as well. I've submitted my choices but I'm thinking of changing them. We don't get a choice for the outside color; that's predetermined by Seattle Housing Authority. I bought a Sherwin Williams color fan deck; it's the company our builders use. The outside of the house is going to be Kaffe, which is a dark brown, with white trim and Rookwood red door.
I'm thinking:
interior, the whole house except for the dining room, because they charge more per color per room,
Irish Cream which is a soft beige
dining room- Rice Paddy (light green w/ some yellow in it)
Once I move in, I'll choose different paint colors for different bedrooms.
You can try using the Sherwin Williams color visualizer to see it but the colors are sort of off. I recommend going to the store to see the paint chip if you're really interested.
gotta to work...
Friday, June 1, 2007
Thanks!
Thanks for the stuff em! I love it!
Do I not connect to the internet at all when I load Adobe? Is there a way to turn it off? Wait do I have to turn it off or just not connect?
Do I not connect to the internet at all when I load Adobe? Is there a way to turn it off? Wait do I have to turn it off or just not connect?
Package! Package!
Hey em,
I just wanted to let you know that we just got the package. Thanks! I haven't opened it yet, I'll wait for O and Mommy!
I just wanted to let you know that we just got the package. Thanks! I haven't opened it yet, I'll wait for O and Mommy!
bonjour!
I'm running out of ideas as far as titles for posts.
Southwest airlines opens a new terminal in SSF at the end of August and you can get great rates to/from Seattle. You can come visit me again if you'd like.
Southwest airlines opens a new terminal in SSF at the end of August and you can get great rates to/from Seattle. You can come visit me again if you'd like.
Hey dudes
Sorry I've been MIA. I've been helping James paint an apartment for the past week. Today's the last day and I'm actually at my apartment for the first time in days this morning. Anyway, I think we should probably repaint Mommy's living room and hallway now that I know how to do it right.
So apparently my package has not been received yet. I sent it last Friday and I didn't track it so I'm not sure when it is due. Sigh. That's worrisome. There was some expensive stuff in there. It was ground delivery. And it was really large.
In other news, what colors are you picking for your new house Deb?
I'm thinking of going back home for a month in either July or August and I'll probably go up to Seattle during that time.
So apparently my package has not been received yet. I sent it last Friday and I didn't track it so I'm not sure when it is due. Sigh. That's worrisome. There was some expensive stuff in there. It was ground delivery. And it was really large.
In other news, what colors are you picking for your new house Deb?
I'm thinking of going back home for a month in either July or August and I'll probably go up to Seattle during that time.
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