I found a great open source javascript called JSPgnViewer that give me a very functional PGN game viewer to build on. For those of you unfamiliar with “PGN,” that is the standard format (notation) that chess games get saved as. It is basically just text that shows the moves of a game. With the heavy lifting of creating a PGN viewer already finished, I was able to focus on building the customizable skins for the chess pieces and boards. Another feature that I am pretty happy with is the ability to add your games through a WordPress quicktag. All you have to do is click on this button in the HTML side of your WordPress editor and paste in your code. More information about the chess game viewer plugin is available here.

I will wrap this up with a quick demonstration of the plugin in action. Here a few of the games I have enjoyed recently:

In the game above I was down a two major pieces and preparing for a loss until the water parted and I ended with a nice combination.

I almost took a draw in the game above at move 27, but then I saw a way to get my second knight involved to force checkmate. Move 30 puts my knight in harms way as a cocky way to finish the game. I am a jerk that way.

Sometimes your opponent just doesn’t want to win and they let you checkmate them with just a single knight.

Above is a terrible move at 27! Luckly, I still had a little life left. I love this ending.

So I stopped by Best Buy today to see what is on the market for new laptops. I don’t think I could bring myself to use Windows, so I was looking with the plan of running Linux or maybe try to get Leopard to run on it.

As I walked from laptop to laptop I have to admit I was really disappointed. Aside from cheap price tags, there wasn’t anything that appealed to me. The specs of almost all of them were well beyond what I probably need in terms of storage and processing speed. Computers are so fast and have so much storage that you don’t really have to count gigabytes or processor speed like you used to. So what does that leave a person who is shopping for a computer?

Put simply, it is all about design. I want a computer that has been built with attention to detail. It doesn’t have to have Apple’s every-square-inch-has-thought-behind-it level of design, but it has to be a joy to use. It can’t have flaws that show that the people making the computer didn’t have me in mind when they built it.

I was a graphic designer for five years in the RV industry. If you know anything about RVs you know that this is an industry with very little differentiation between brands. It is hard to tell a Winnebago RV from a Fleetwood. The things that pass for innovations in the RV industry are quickly cannibalized and copied by competitors. All the products are basically the same, all purchasing parts from the same vendors. That’s how I felt in the laptop aisle. It was really hard to tell one brand of laptop from another. The same design flaws existed in pretty much every PC. I am talking about attention to detail: seams everywhere, flimsy plastic, non-intuitive keyboards, clunky buttons, cheap materials, screen glare, awkward textures, etc.

The thing that struck me as I evaluated the PC products was that I would rather have one of the generic PCs than the ones that tried to stand out from the crowd. The few computers that were a little different weren’t better. For example, the HP laptops now have a reflective metal keyboard and case. On the one hand, this sets it apart from the other laptops, but it doesn’t make it any better. The reflective surface is distracting and gets covered in dirty fingerprints almost instantly.

Another brand emphasized big woofer-looking speakers. Again, the design was different, but not better. Another was covered in an interesting pattern that although it was somewhat elegant seemed random and lacked purpose. Some had mouse pads that were off center for seemingly no reason.

The one computer that seemed the most promising was a Sony. It had a keyboard similar to the Mac. It also had some attention to detail that although it was meant to be Mac-like it wasn’t quite there. If I am going to buy an imitation Mac, it would have to be a great imitation.

So if I am going to by a PC I am left with two uncomfortable options. I can buy a generic looking PC that doesn’t have any new glaring design flaws. This option leaves me with a laptop that lacks personality. Option two is to buy a unique machine with obvious flaws. Neither of these options is acceptable.

So now I am back to looking at Apple’s product line where I know I can’t go wrong. The remaining question is: do I fix my old MacBook Pro or do I buy a new one. Hmmm.

While I am still waiting for the official diagnosis, I am anticipating that the logic board went bad. That’s pretty much the worst thing that can happen to a laptop.

The thing about losing my laptop is that I feel so lost and aimless without it. I feel bad for being so attached to a material possession, but it is really hard to be without it. Almost everything I am is connected to that machine. Photography, friends, family, work, writing, music, entertainment. Everything. When you are being fed by a machine and the umbilical cord gets cut your body goes into shock. This afternoon while driving home after dropping my laptop off with some stranger that won’t love it nearly as much as I do, I literally felt sick. My head hurt and I was nauseous. It turned out to be a migraine (something I have never experienced before) but I have to wonder if somehow it was related to my losing my computer. Could I be so dependent on that machine that even my physical health depends on it? I hope not.

Luckily, I was able to get Betsy’s MacBook loaded to a satisfactory level so I can hopefully survive until I get my laptop back. My headache has subsided and I am once again getting regular digital sustenance. Sweet, sweet sustenance.

My first post went live yesterday and I am looking forward to talking about design again regularly. When I wrote for Be A Design Group and the audience of mainly designers it was a bit like “preaching to the choir” so the expanded audience should give me plenty of new material to explore. After all, if a designer can’t communicate with non-designers he isn’t much of a designer. That’s my opinion at least. I hope you add Red Rocket to your regular reading and jump into the conversation by leaving comments. See you over there!

When you leave a job as comfortable as mine was you can’t be completely sure you are doing the right thing. It’s a leap of faith really. How do you know? Luckily after a week at Red Rocket I know I made the right decision. I have had a great time getting to know my new team and the work looks to be challenging and creatively rewarding. The change of scenery has me feeling more creative and fresh than I have in years. I love the challenge of new opportunities. Those are the times when you grow the most. Wish me luck as I embark on this next phase of my career and thanks to everyone who has been so supportive of me throughout this transition.

1. Clear out the history and cache from all your browsers. Don’t forget to remove bookmarks, too.

2. Remove personal email accounts delete all personal email

3. Deauthorize iTunes

4. Remove instant message accounts

5. Remove FTP shortcuts to personal sites

6. Clean out Keychain access to make sure all your passwords are gone

7. Backup all personal files and remove them from your computer

8. Copy any work related files that you may want to use in your portfolio

9. Organize files that people will be working on after you leave

10. Copy your address book

Did I forget anything?

The problem is that while I treasure my mechanical pencils like beautiful instruments most people are content to use ten cent ballpoint pens. When the average Bic user has misplaced their pen they automatically turn to the person closest to them and ask to borrow a pen. It seems the most of the world has an attitude that pens and pencils are part of the public domain. It is common courtesy to offer up your pen willingly regardless of how much you treasure your pencil or pen. I have always struggled with that social norm. I carry a high quality mechanical pencil with me almost everywhere I go so I am never forced to use an inferior writing machine.

If you ask me for my pen you better not walk off with it. At my desk at work I have a pencil holder full of crappy pens and pencils that I don’t mind if people use or steal. Actually I have several in there that don’t work. I get a kick out of watching people take a pen out and walk away only to return moments later after they find out it is out of ink.

Last week my wife commented on my pencil. I told her that I have had it since 5th grade. She seemed surprised. Somehow I have managed to keep my pencil fetish secret from her all these years. But the truth is that I have kept the pencil for so long because it is a great machine. I have come across very few pencils that stand up to my high expectations for a mechanical pencil. As I was thinking about this pencil that I cherish I started thinking about all the things that can be wrong with a pencil. Before I knew it I had a list of 12 things that can make or break a good pencil. So here’s the list of 12 things to consider when you are decide to upgrade your writing instrument…

1. What size of lead does it take?
The size of lead that you use comes down to personal preference and the mechanics of how you write. If you have a heavy hand you probably want a thicker lead like .7mm to avoid breakage. If you like a thinner line then go for something thinner. I have always been a fan of .5mm but there is lead even thinner than that. Also keep in mind that lead comes in different hardnesses. The local office store probably only carries HB, but with a little searching you should be able to find harder or softer leads.

2. What does the click feel like?
You want a nice click. This is a little hard to explain, but you will know when it is wrong. When you press the button you want it to resist and then spring down and back. Cheap pencils don’t have the click right. It’s too loose and springy. Did I mention I am obsessive?

3. How far does the lead advance with a single click?
This is critical if you want to avoid breaking your lead. If the lead comes out too far you have to press it back in manually with your finger. If it’s too short you have to click it three times to get the lead far enough out and you have the same problem. A good pencil will push the lead out to a perfect length with two clicks. This is so that when you are writing and need to advance the lead you only have to click it one more time to get a perfect length.

4. Does it have solid construction?
When you press does the lead to the paper is there any movement? When you shake it do you hear anything? A good pencil is solid and should feel well made.

5. What is the lead sleeve like?
The tiny metal tube at the end of the pencil that protects the lead is a critical part of the pencil. Drop the pencil wrong and the tip will get bent or jammed in. Either way your pencil is toast. Higher quality pencils will have a sliding sleeve at the end. When you aren’t writing you can advance the lead and push the lead and sleeve into the pencil where it is safely protected.

6. What is the eraser like?
I never understood why most mechanical pencils come with a tiny little eraser that is almost not worth using. Isn’t that why we are using a pencil instead of a pen – to easily erase mistakes? I like having a fat white eraser at the top of my pencil. It seems that the majority of mechanical pencils have a cap that covers the eraser. While this helps the aesthetics of the pencil it makes it inconvenient to make mistakes.

7. Does it have a good clip?
Plastic clips will eventually break. Metal clips that snap on are fine but they give the pencil a sense of cheapness and lack of design. I good clip will be a part of the pencil extending naturally off the pencil giving you a simple way to attach it to your notebook or pocket.

8. What does it weigh?
Again, this is a personal preference but it can affect how you write. I like the feel of steel over plastic, so I am willing to sacrifice light weight. The weight should be equally distributed or slightly bottom heavy.

9. How does the grip feel?
My preference is for a solid rubber grip and I am amazed how many rubber grips are loose. I can’t stand a grip that slips up the pencil or rotates easily. It’s like riding a bike with a flat tire. The pencil is unresponsive and less accurate. Another mistake is if the grip is too soft. If you need a pillow to grip onto so your fingers don’t get sore then you need to write more.

10. How thick is it?
There are some fat pencils out there that I can’t use. If it is too wide I feel like I can’t control the pencil. The same problem happens when the pencil is too thin. For me the perfect circumference is a little fatter than a normal wooden #2 pencil.

11. How much lead can it hold?
I like to fill my pencils with as much lead as they can hold. I never want to be caught without lead. What do you do in that situation? Ask to borrow someone’s ballpoint? No, I would rather stop everything and find some lead.

12. Is it cool?
The final thing I look for is whether or not it has something unique about it. Is it a unique color? Is the design clean and beautiful? Is it covered in ugly logos and text?

So did my list persuade you to upgrade your writing instrument or just convince you that I am crazy? If you are looking for a great pencil check out jetpens.com. Happy writing!

1. After a few minutes of “training” your ears can translate speach that has been distorted beyond recognition. While other people here noise you will be able to hear words. (Via Kottke)

2. Using an imaging device on a person’s tongue it is possible to rewire the brain to use the tongue like an eyeball. Will this be used to restore sight to the blind?

3. What would happen if a camera was used to turn visual information into sound? Answer: strangely interesting. (Via Retrothing)

(If you are scratching your head in confusion right now it’s because this is a very inside joke. Somehow we started this tradition at our office a couple years ago and for some reason it has stuck. Seriously though if you haven’t had the cini-sopapilla bites you should give yourself a little treat. Yummy.)

I don’t know why YouTube messed up the first second or so of the clip, but you can at least get the idea. I am hoping to post some more of these in the next couple months.