Having a Field (Notes) Day

Ordered my new Field Notes in a strong, strong 'butcher orange' color back in February, then forgot to check the mailbox at work for the next 6 weeks. So I didn't get them until today. I had thought I ordered them, but couldn't remember if the website was working and figured that I had tried but it didn't work out b/c it was too busy and something or other.

February was a busy month for the fat kid. I had a birthday, and, ummm, a bunch of other stuff happened. Maybe if I had my Field Notes I could have written it all down. Maybe. Mostly I use them for (bad) song lyrics and notes on chord patterns and guitar practice. And workouts. And shopping lists. Also v. handy at the bookstore and the grocery. Or on Amazon. Or itunes. Or a sketchbook, if you're into that.

The pen and pencil were a bonus gift. The duck is a desk ornament gift from several years go that my boss gave me. It's good luck. Coudal Partners static cling logo was lurking in there too.

Anyway, I've got extra notebooks, so if this is the kind of thing you might like let me know and I'll put one in an envelope for you, strictly on a trial basis. If you're keen maybe I'll pick you up a little something for Christmas.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A little something for the ladies

I used to date a girl that looooooved wiener dogs. A lot. Those days are gone, but I remain a fan of the Dachshund. They are pretty damn cute. My favorite graphic designer posted an updated photo gallery of his long-breed dog, so get on over there and enjoy the pix.

My favorite is him trying to maintain his dignity in the chicken outfit. It's not working, but I appreciate the effort. Keep your head up, G.

Get your list on

Field Notes have been featured in this space before. It's become popular to put your field notes to use and add them to a Field Notes Flickr set. I liked this group, and this was my favorite. Also quite liked this.

This is also excellent, too.

They make good gifts, and in my experience the shipping people at Field Notes Brand tend to throw in a little something extra for your trouble. A special bonus to include w/ your gift, or to keep for yourself.

A.J. Draplin drops knowledge. And f-bombs.

I don't know Aaron Draplin. But I appreciate his design aesthetic. He seems like the kind of guy you could learn something from. Also he's not shy about sharing his opinions, and I appreciate that in a person. Becuase we love opinions here at GJAW. If you can support them with factual evidence, so much the better.

Anyways, Draplin sat for a video interview thing and discussed some recent experiences. I recommend it. Language in the video definitely NSFW.

If I lived in Portland I would go to this

Aaron James Draplin is the same guy that brought us field notes. Because you're not writing it down to remember it later, you're writing it down to remember it now. I am a fan of his industrial, high-function design aesthetic.

Subtlety is the hallmark of good design, but it's often the enemy of usability. Draplin isn't very subtle, but it's very easy to use/read. And it also looks cool.

All images lifted directly from Draplin's excellent website/blog.

Full disclosure: Several months ago I had a question about some stuff that I had ordered from him so I sent him an email. He (or someone very much like him, using his email address) got back to me in less than an hour. Because he "handles shit". Which was true. And funny.

indexing

there's lots of ways to tell a story. If you're into writing stuff down, you can pick up one of these. Plus they come with a list of "practical applications" on the inside, such as:

Lengthy To-Do Lists
Big Ideas/Insights
Small Ideas/Notions
Gambling Debts
Loose Promises
Escape Routes
Shoddy Sketches
Half Ass Calculations

Buy yours here.

If you're the sort of person that likes to diagram stuff on 3x5 cards, then you might enjoy this. If you're like me, and you enjoy some quality time with your xbox and Halo3, then you especially liked this.