My New Favorite Gear: The 26oz Yeti Tumbler

/ Me

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26oz Yeti Tumbler, in black

I’ve been looking for a container to transport my smoothies and cold drinks when I ride around SF. I stopped by REI this weekend and picked up a Yeti Tumbler, and it has become my new favorite piece of gear.

It reduces temperature change by using a vacuum between the metal layers. This is not a new concept by any means, but they seem to have perfected it.

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Expensive, but it could be the last cup you ever use.

The Tumbler costs $40—which is expensive for a container—but it does its job. I thought I was going to use this exclusively for transporting drinks, but I may just use it as my daily cup. There’s a part of me that wants to get another one as a backup. Heh.

The things I love about the design:

  • The handle is simple and has no gimmicks. (Less things to break)
  • The build is stainless steel and feels durable.
  • The dimensions are comfortable to hold.
  • The wide opening makes it easy to drink and refill.

Anyway, if you know me, you know I love cold drinks. I had ice water in it from last night, and when I checked it this morning…it barely melted! ❄️

28oz Yeti Tumblr on Amazon

Weekend Design Session with James and Juan

/ Design, Me, Photo

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Jamming with James and Juan at Expa.

It was cool jamming with these guys this afternoon. Their passion for design is just infectious, and I feel I’m learning a tremendous amount from this group.

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Setting up all the fonts now so I don’t have to do it again later.

As much as I want to jump ahead and design new features on Input, I actually have to take a step back and clean up our sketch files and really look at the entire system. Since we’re redesigning everything, I’m taking the time to set up everything—the fonts, the spacing, the symbols, and the asset naming. The future is looking brighter.

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Juan doing some amazing illustrations.

I’m hoping I can keep the system as simple as possible. It’ll evolve over time, but I’d like to stick to a foundation that we can build on top of for the years to come.

By the way, I’m really looking forward to reading this tomorrow:
Design Systems Handbook

And I’m currently watching a YouTube video of John Vino designing live. It’s pretty cool to watch his process.
Live UX Design with John Vino

Would you watch a video series about remote work?

/ Me

Pexels photo 450035

I’ve been kicking around an idea about creating a short video series (or blog posts) that dive into remote work, the lifestyle, etc. I wanted to interview remote workers to explore and unpack some of the following questions:

  • What tools work/don’t work (ie. Slack, Asana, Email, Google Docs, etc.)
  • What are problems that haven’t been solve yet for remote workers and companies?
  • How do you build culture around a team that’s remote? (ex. how do you take a coffee break together and bond?)
  • How do you manage people?
  • What do you look for when hiring people that want to work remotely?
  • How do you work asynchronously, with different time zones?
  • Can you build a start-up or creative team remotely? Is it realistic (considering that the odds are already working against you)?
  • How important is it to have face time and on-site presence?
  • Where do you work (home, cafe, co-working)?
  • What do you do with all the extra time not commuting?
  • Is it reasonable for SF/NYC employers to adjust salaries based on remote location/living costs?
  • How do you find, recruit/hire remote people: Job postings, through networks, blog, interview process?
  • Which companies are doing this the best (and are successful)? (ie. automattic, invision, etc) Would you work for them?
  • Is there a playbook that other companies can follow/fork, or does each company have to start this from scratch each time?

This is just a passion project I’ve been kicking around with Sol and I wanted to get a sense of the interest out there. Would you want to watch/read/listen to a series on this? Would you be interested in being part of the series? and are there any questions you would want answered?

Coffee iphone laptop notebook

Just to give you context, I’ve been jamming with a team that’s exclusively remote for the last year. I personally prefer working with people (with a whiteboard), but I totally understand why remote work is the future. San Francisco is expensive, and if the prices keep going up, people are going to be forced to move away. I’m not sure if I’m going make the video yet, but I wanted to run the idea by you—Let me know if the juice is worth the squeeze.

I was inspired by a series I watched recently called Minimalism on Netflix, and I thought that the same story could be told about remote work.

Ps. Also really liked the video that Matt D’Avella (the director) created about how he packs like a minimalist and his minimalist apartment.

Dinner at Fogo de Chao with Expa and Company

/ Food, Me, Photo

Dinner at Fogo

Photo of some of the Expa and Bravado team at Fogo de Chao.

Let me start of by saying that Brazilian food is amazing, and Fogo de Chao is da 💣. It was cool catching up with folks there, talking about design, start-up life, photography and food. Being around so many passionate people (that are masters of their craft) is inspiring.

**Warning: The next photo has some red color meat. Don’t scroll down if you’re vegetarian/vegan/etc**

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A variety of delicious all-you-can-eat proteins.

Oh yeh, did I mention that the salad bar there is probably better than most restaurant foods? I’m crazy about the assortment of things you can try there. The quality is 👌👌.

On a side note, James and I had a chance to talk about astrophotography. As cool as it is to photograph the milky way, I think the pro photographers have really stepped up their game. The most amazing astrophotography I’m seeing now is a combination of landscape, man-made lighting, self-portrait, northern lights, and a touch of the night sky. Here are some ‘grams that caught my eye recently…

Earthfocus 28151656 171421876914851 773411305204744192 n

Photo by @DreamingAndWandering

Bleachfilm 27893671 373526326386356 8160405272188157952 n

Photo by @j.diegoph

Awesomedreamplaces 23348037 350316375430720 8096100472076632064 n

Photo by @mr.bwhit

Milkywaychasers 17437522 1361303123908870 1699983592316207104 n

Photo by tyxiaophotography

Iuriebelegurschi 23416557 517939861909573 4737561953570914304 n

Photo by iuriebelegurchi

Thanks Vitor (and Expa) for inviting us out to this wonderful dinner. 👌

Fogo de Chao

First Flat Tire in San Francisco

/ Me

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Closeup of my first flat tire in San Francisco.

On my ride to work today, I heard a hissing sound and thought there was something rubbing against my tire. I pulled over and examined my wheel and noticed a giant piece of glass embedded into the rubber. As soon as I removed the glass, all the air came out of my tire.

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Philz Coffee on 24rd and Folsom St.

Fortunately, I was only a block away from my favorite coffee shop. So I locked up my bike and called up a pick-up service. Last year, I paid for a ($250) premium service from my bike shop (New Wheel), which is paying off now.

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The tow truck guy tying my bike down.

It sucks to pay for maintenance, but the reality is that I’m kind of lucky that I’ve gone so long without a flat. I’ve lasted a year and a half with 2300 miles on my e-bike. The only thing I’ve had to replace were my brakes in terms of wear and tear. And truth be told, I probably needed to replace my rear tire soon.

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I was running Schwalbe Marathon tires—and now I’ve upgraded to Marathon Plus. It’s advertised to have a little extra puncture resistance over the Marathon, in exchange for higher rolling resistance and costs a couple $$. Either way, I’m hoping that I won’t get another flat for a while.

One of my buddies said that I have had “really bad luck with this bike”…

But a flat tire isn’t that bad.

I remember getting flat tires every few months in Richmond, VA… and I didn’t ride as far back then.

On the other hand, San Francisco roads are full of pot holes, debris, broken glass, drug needles, etc. The fact that I’ve gone this far without getting a flat kind of boggles my mind.

Anyway, all is back to normal. I’m kind of glad I got the comprehensive membership. I highly recommend it to anyone if you’re in the market.

The Difference of a Few Pixels at Facebook

/ Design

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Comments refinements on Facebook before (L) and after (R).

Vitor shared an article with me recently about how FB did a ton of testing and research to arrive at their latest design iteration. It’s pretty amazing how dozens of small refinements working together can make a huge difference.

Small changes, like a few extra pixels of padding or the tint of a button, can have large and unexpected repercussions.

On a side note, it looks like Facebook has integrated a ton of design cues from Instagram—rounded corners, chat-like comment bubbles, outlined icons, and overall a lighter interface.

Inspired by Facebook

I’m currently working on a comments feature as well on my project and I’m going to borrow some design cues from our friends at FB.

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Revised version of comments, following a similar style as FB

I think that the icon shape, bubbles, and avatar sizes creates a better visual hierarchy. I’m pretty sure I’m going to change it again in the future, but this looks like a nice improvement. Anyway, we have some good stuff coming soon. Really looking forward to shipping this new design.

Evolving the Facebook News Feed to Serve You Better
Hat tip: Vitor

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