Google Wave: It's everything for everyone, for those who have it.

Google wave is awesome. Awesome because I've watched all the videos, read the hype and can't stand to live without it. Yesterday I got it. My immediate reaction was to enjoy it while it lasted because this was definitely the second coming and soon everyone around me would disappear leaving me nobody to wave with.

The problem I see is that you can only communicate with other wave users. If I still have to go to gmail to send an email to a non google wave user then it's pointless. Why do I need to have two email accounts? Not everyone is going to use google wave, even when it's freely distributed and available to anyone. My girlfriend still uses a yahoo account even though Gmail is much better. It's what she's used and she likes it. Guess what? I doubt we'll be able to ride the google wave together.

Unless I'm horribly mistaken or google ads the ability to send messages to people outside of the google wave system I'm afraid it won't replace gmail as my primary communication tool. If I am wrong please let me know in the comments!

Our office smells like shit. And mold. And…

Think of the worst smell you can imagine. Now flex your stomach muscles to start an involuntary reaction that'll force you to throw up a little bit in your mouth. Welcome to our office. It usually smells like shit, literally. I'm not saying it smells like shit to just to exaggerate or to be crass. It's actually shit. There's a sewer gas leak that has gone unfixed for about six months.

When we have a reprieve from the poo cloud hovering around us, we're comforted by the sweet stingy smell of mold settling in to our alveoli where our bodies can process them and turn the mold into a host of physical ailments. I assume you can survive smelling puffs of poop toxins. People work around it all the time in processing facilities. But, I'm confident the mold is slowly killing me. And something that doesn't require an objective opinion on is the fact that it reduces productivity.

Emma has good people and copy.

Molly sent this link my way and I think it's worth reading at least a few of these bios. Each one is unique and entertaining to read. You forget you're reading a staff page and can't wait to get to find out about the next person. This is copy done right.

Emma's People

Proof that hand sanitizer is, in fact, flammable.

swine flu invades

thanks, cheryl.

Moms Against Drunk Bananas

Drunken banana spotted at Sipango!  How many drunken banana tragedies do we have to endure before we stand up and demand that bananas are not served alcohol?!  People, people, people... these poor bananas do not have the self control and moral capacity to know when to stop drinking.  Jesus.

Hey-OH!

Alright... I've been totally out of it and haven't updated in... like... forever.  So I'll try to update you: we've been super busy working on some kick ass projects, we're still dealing with the aftermath of the wreck (three of us in physical therapy,) we've had some birthdays, the Crips want to kill all our hoes (more on that later...) and we are full-on gambling addicts.

Did someone say gambling?  Oooohhh yeh.  We are totally addicted to All the Marbles, the ever delightful multicolored scratcher with the chance to win up to a thousand dollars.  

Apparently Jenkin has bad luck, so we proposed that a good way to test if Jenkin's luck has changed yet is for him to regularly play the lottery... When he finally wins big, his luck would be forever changed!  So far... nothin.  But I'm still holding out.

not a winner.... yet.

Are you sure that's real?

I am a really big fan of animation, but this just takes the idea of projecting images on to a screen to a whole new level. Watch in amazement!

We're apathetic assholes.

I'm calling all of us out, myself included. We're apathetic. If we weren't busy complaining about smells or other random things and how they smell bad this thing would be moving forward. Let's do it already. Assholes.

shit just got really really real.

ouch.  just got back to the office from our first-ever ghost wreck.  we were cruising along, going to blue seven after a lovely lunch at prairie thunder, when BAM! SHIT...SHIT! FUCK! we were in a three car wreck. rearended.  twice.  ouch.  here are photos.  no more typing for kelly. shoulder hurts. neck hurts. jaw hurts. back hurts. back to work. later, motha fuckas.

 

and you better believe that after i get my ass to Urgent Care I am headed to blue7 to buy some robots for my desk. 

 

Coolest clock I've ever seen.

Mike found this clock at Kibardindesign and I have to agree it's the coolest clock I've ever seen.

Digital clock: only figures, no case, only the necessary – only accurate time. Each figure has self-contained power supply and independent control, it can be fixed to any surface autonomously. A light sensor will switch the clock to an invert mode: the figures are white in the dark time of day and black at daytime.

Before I tell Cheryl anything important.

Bullshit!

So I found this video talking about 110% and thought it was just too funny not to post, and the guys toupee looks very natural.

via pigs don't fly

Remember that next time you want to give 110%

JENKIN EDIT: Their ad generator is awesome as well: Crowell Advertising.

Where designers live when they die.

These apartments and or offices are built using Helvetica letterforms. That's pretty much the best thing ever.

Chris Labrooy via Gizmodo

Airborne Wart Juice

It sounds awful, doesn't it? I imagine it sounds awful because it is awful. You know why? Because the idea of the ghost warts spreading some kind of spores is absolutely terrifying. There's a theory floating around our office that the ghost warts are causing symptoms such as sneezing, coughing and sore throat.

Take a moment and vomit if you need to. I just used that paragraph break to do so myself.

this is how we do it.

One hot summer day, three designers ventured to Bass Pro.  Yes, Bass Pro.  They were in search of one thing and one thing only:  AIR SOFT GUNS.  They returned to the studio delighted with their purchases and soon set up a gun range in the closet. 

For about three weeks the designers were happy with their Walther P22s....until a certain Jared let the studio borrow his fully automatic airsoft gun. Let's just say it upped the destruction factor.

(thanks for letting us borrow the gun, jared.)

I'd hit that… with a hammer.

I happened to be watching, "Have you seen her?" by MC Hammer on YouTube for some unknown reason. SHUT UP JASON. And this scene popped up. I guess it was cool back in the 90's to show off your firm buttocks in some awesome underwear. Props to you, Mr. Hammer.

EDIT: Mike says they're "French Cut Briefs." Everyone thank Mike and his drawer full of french cut briefs for filling me in.

We have warts. Like, really bad.

There's a large window upstairs in the loft. Mike noticed yesterday that there seemed to be some kind of growth below this window. And not under the window sill or tucked up and out of the way. I mean all down the wall. There's a three foot square area covered with a mysterious fungus.

This fungus is now what we call ghost warts. Imagine a moist log in the shade. Now imagine the fungus growing on that log reaching up into the air growing little spherical pustules. Now stop imagining things because you just got the ghost warts. Go wash your hands. We're afraid that once mature, the warts will pop and spread spores aloft in the air. We've all got strong workman's compensation cases against our landlord but if the warts pop this thing is going class action for sure.

EDIT: pic added

It smells like death in here.

Something died in here.  It smells disgusting.  Jenkin and Mike are checking the mouse traps. Maybe it's time to make some more fake rats to lure the creatures out from hiding so we can bash their brains in and/or stuff their mouths full of poison.

the time we decorated the loft with rats.

office addiction: Red Bull Cola

I admit it: I'm addicted.  And I'm sure Mike will admit it, too.  We. are. addicted. 

This sweet, dark nectar of life waltzed into our lives about a month ago.  We haven't been the same since.  Maybe it's the all natural ingredients, maybe it's the delightful taste, or maybe it's that keen, alert rush that lingers up to 6 hours after drinking... but there's no going back.

Scandalous? Perhaps... Apparently it's been banned in several countries... and it's nearly impossible to find in Oklahoma City (we have one source... but I'm not giving it away.)

Pokémon Jr.

This morning Matt found this cute little guy (about the size of a thumbnail) in our break-room sink. Luckily for him I have an affliction for these little guys. Otherwise, he surely would have been destroyed.

I think we will keep him as our office mascot.

Pokémon Jr. gets his name from the previous office mascot, which was also a Bark Scorpion. His predecessor was much bigger and toward the end of his life cycle. Let's hope this guy is around a little while longer.

We already fed him his first meal. I will just say this guy is pretty feisty. That little spider had no chance. We all watched as the spider was stung in true scorpion fashion and immediately devoured. Man this guy is cool! It is getting fairly close to lunch. Time to find some more bugs.

Two films I want to see.

Objectified and Art & Copy. Both are documentaries about design and advertising. Helvetica was mind blowing, even to a long-time lover of the font such as myself. Hopefully Objectified will treat industrial design the same way. Art & Copy has more advertising juice and really shows the thought behind the decisions creative people make. I secretly want people to understand how creatives' brains work. Hopefully this movie will help. Here are trailers for both:

Objectified, Art & Copy

RIP MJ

Cheryl -- doing her best Michael Jackson impersonation.

Kelly's celebration lunch.

Here's a photo of Kelly at Cheesecake Factory eating her celebration meal. That plate is twice as big as her head! She's not hungry, Cheesecake Factory has an obesity quota they must meet every day so the portions are served accordingly.

It's now official!

After parading around as an intern for a few months, Kelly is now a full-fledged designer with biz cards and all! We had cool pics from our lunch at Cheesecake Factory to celebrate, but Jenkin decided he needed deadbolts on his house (see earlier posts)... Congrats and may the shenanigans continue.

Toadally awesome.

Thanks iStockphoto for letting me stumble upon the coolest picture of a toad I've ever seen. The little guy is waving. "Hello," he says. Or perhaps someone just stole his crystal ball, I'm not sure. I showed the picture to my sister and all she could say is "That's kinda yuck. Like the toad has a vagina." I was going to buy this picture, print it and frame it. Now it's just a huge toad vagina. She completely ruined it for me.

what our desks really look like.

some snapshots of our desktops... in their natural form.

Exhibit A: Jenkin

Vices: swatchbooks, art supplies, toys and weaponry 

Exhibit B: Kelly

Vices: sharpies, post-its, illustrations and her airsoft gun.

Exhibit C: Mike

Vices: Red Bull Cola (note the three empty cans,) coffee and design magazines

Exhibit D: Matt

Vices: water, diet soda, and gum (yes people, that is a Diet Coke can with the upwards of 7 chewed pieces of Orbit gum piled on top of it...)

Really, CNN?

"Cargo ship vanishes off England" I'm amazed it got all the way up on shore, then vanished. Maybe it vanished off the shores of England? Get your shit together, CNN. You used to be a trusted news source. Now you're just a crusty headline machine. What do people on twitter think about the ship that was apparently on land when it disappeared? And don't give me that "dry dock" excuse. We both know that's a semantic loophole, you ass clowns.

shit just got real.

So Jenkin gets a call from his alarm company saying that his house got broken into.  Again.  The second time in sixth months.  Jenkin, Mike and I haul ass to Jenkin's place (sorry Matt...)  We got there before the cops... search through the place.  So this guy broke into the back door, must've heard the alarm and bailed. 

Jenkin's badass neighbor Ann (rockin' Malboro menthols and a Red Stripe) saw the duder jumping her fence and asked him what the hell he was doing.... guy continued to jump fences and traipse through the neighborhood.  He has yet to be found.

Come on, robber guy... do you really want to mess with this?

And, if you're out there robber guy, Jenkin is getting deadbolts. TONIGHT.  And he brings his airsoft gun (pictured above) home at night... so don't come-a breakin' in unless you want some plastic BB's... TO THE FACE!

a little introduction.

This is the story... of four designers... picked to work together and have their lives blogged... to find out what happens when people stop blogging polite... and start getting real.

As designers it's our job to control public perception... But the gritty appeal of a blog is that it's honest.  So we're letting our guards down. No pretentiousness.  No bullshit.  This is what we really do.  What we really say.  No apologies.  And it won't be glamorous.

For God's sake, Jenkin left apple sauce and a half eaten turkey sandwich out on the table today. It's been there for two hours. And in all honesty, it will most likely be left there until the morning.  

Like I said... it won't be glamorous.