You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.” Morpheus, The Matrix

I’ve thought long and hard about this one, but today I deactivated my Facebook account.

There are many reasons to stop using the platform, but ultimately I decided that the Facebook experience was no longer a useful and productive component to my life — and I’m much more comfortable with how other companies use me and my data.

So high school friends of old and family members, please know that I can still be reached via this site, G+ and Twitter.

See you there.

Along similar lines, I’m very excited to reveal that our little family will become a quartet at the end of March:

And just this morning, we discovered that this baby is a “she”! Any tips or advice on how to raise a daughter or start a shotgun collection are very much appreciated.

it’s a fun little project that i’ve had in the works for quite some time. a big hug to pals eric hurtgen and les jacobs for joining me on this adventure.

explore the site and let us know what you think. then keep an eye out for some new community-based shenanigans in the near future — as we still have a few tricks up our, uh… sleeves.

such is the case with my recent purchase of a 1978 volkswagen scirocco champagne edition ii. the amount of surface rust and missing parts really puts the project in project car, aesthetically challenging my neighbors even as it sits covered in my driveway. despite significant issues (the previous owner was attempting to create the ultimate scca race car) and my love/hate relationship with cars due to their environmental impact… i believe it to be well worth saving.

the scirocco was designed by giorgetto giugiaro, named car designer of the century in 1999. from wikipedia:

“Noted initially for such sensuous efforts as the Ferrari 250 Berlinetta Bertone, De Tomaso Mangusta, Iso Grifo and Maserati Ghibli, Giugiaro switched courses to introduce the highly angular ‘folded paper’ era of the 1970s. Straight lined designs such as the BMW M1, Maserati Bora, and Maserati Merak followed before a softer approach returned in the Lamborghini Cala, Maserati Spyder, Ferrari GG50.”

in addition to various supercars and a laundry list of popular everyday cars, giugiaro has designed nikon camera bodies, computer prototypes for apple and even a new pasta shape called “marille” in 1983.

future plans for my particular specimen include new tires, a non-cracked windshield, an actual dashboard, some seats, and potentially a tdi engine swap to run biodiesel. a ginormous amount of tlc will be required to get it streetable again, but i think i just might be up for the challenge.

one less car in the landfill, particularly if a special and rare design, is a good thing in my book.

even though i’m short on time these days, i love busting out small / personal / miscellaneous design projects when i get the chance. i thought i would take a moment to share one of my latest…

rather than do the awesome-but-familiar moo cards, i wanted to make a little business card with just my personal contact information.

years ago i whipped up a card via a web vendor and ended up with a fancy plastic card. it was dark transparent gray with white text in agency bold (a font by david berlow from atf agency gothic by morris fuller benton). sure the plastic cards looked pretty cool, but they had the sharpest corners ever. you couldn’t write on them, but boy you could use them as a weapon if absolutely necessary. super-cool looks + lack of practical functionality = fail.

this time around i wanted to get it right. parameters included: ability to write on the card, eco-friendly paper and ink (or lack thereof), and possibility for card recipient to easily pass along my contact information if so desired (double-sided / tear in half). i picked up some nice stock from french paper (their blog is a great source of inspiration) and developed a few variations using stainless extended.

special thanks to aaron haley at austin laser art. can’t recommend his services highly enough.

the above was taken a while back… we’re now 17 weeks into this new adventure. (apologies to all we have not yet been able to tell in person.)

and too soon to know whether it’s a boy or girl by the way. may opt for a nice surprise on that issue in any case. more to come. all fingers and toes crossed.