Look what I have! A Square! Now who wants to give me money?

http://squareup.com

 

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How the W Hotel gets experience right

The other day, I stayed at the W hotel in San Francisco. As I was stepping into the shower I noticed that the bath mat towel used when stepping out on the floor after showering was rolled instead of folded. This meant that I could tap it with my foot just before stepping into the shower instead of bending down and un-folding it. I then turned on the shower and noticed that the shower head had been pointed towards the wall, making the first bit of cold water that is always in the pipes go onto the wall instead of me. Finally, as I went out of the shower, I found the bathrobe next to the shower with the string tied in a way so I could just pull the string and the bathrobe would open instead of having to untie the knot. Future more the string was secured to the side of the bathrobe so it didnt fall down on the floor.

This is exactly the kind of attention to detail that most hotels and restaurants don't think about. (And most web designers don't think about them, either.)

(Henrik's blog is pretty interesting; you should check it out: http://blog.hellohenrik.com)

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Paul Rand on Trendiness

In 1992, the legendary graphic designer Paul Rand resigned from Yale in protest of the university hiring a "postmodern feminist designer." He wrote an article explaining his decision called Confusion and Chaos: The Seduction of Contemporary Graphic Design.
 
One of my favorite parts is this bit about following trends: 

"Trendiness is seductive, especially to the young and inexperienced, for the principal reason that it offers no restraints, is lots of ‘fun’, permits unlimited possibilities for ‘self-expression,’ and doesn’t require conforming to the dictates of reason or aesthetics."

PAUL RAND
 
Sometimes it's hard to resist the seduction of empty design. Stay on your toes.
 
You should almost certainly read the whole article here: http://www.paul-rand.com/index.php/site/thoughts_confusionChaos/

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Staying at a 5-star hotel in Bangkok. This is what I am looking at right now:

Staying on the 56th floor. This is the pool on the 30th floor.

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Packing everything into my backpack. Minimalism is definitely the key.

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I want a French Bulldog

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In Bangkok yesterday: the loudest thunder I've ever heard and the hardest rain I've ever seen

Bangkok, Thailand, Day 3

There was an insane downpour and thunderstorm yesterday. The power was out for hours and trees were down throughout the area of the city I'm in.

The storm brought the loudest thunder I've ever heard and the hardest rain I've ever seen. (Be sure to watch the second video all the way through to see the hard rain.)

(download)

(download)

LIGHTNING BOLT!

Some photos of the aftermath:

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Red Bull in Thailand, or medicine for the jet-lagged

Comes in something resembling a medicine bottle. Fitting, considering it has 3-5x the caffeine of the US and European versions. Apparently, it used to contain amphetamine.

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Boarding my flight to Tokyo

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Line definitely worth it.

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