Here is my initial results from trying to use the Chess By Blog Wordpress plugin. The plugin seems to work after a little bit of trial and error. For example, I had to manually surround my PGN code with the div class of “CBB-board” to get the game to show up. Perhaps I am missing something. In the HTML tab there is a “Chess By Blog” option that I couldn’t get working, either. I am in Safari right now so maybe I should try it in Firefox. It looks like you can create custom styles and themes for your board, which might be fun to play with. I will add to this post more as I figure out more features/problems with the plugin. In the meantime, enjoy the game below…

This was a fun game. I started out aggressive, but played sloppy leaving myself down several pawns and then a knight. Luckily I was bailed out in the end because my opponent didn’t see the checkmate coming. I plugged the game into the computer at move 37 and was surprised the computer gave me a draw despite being down so much material. I find that some of the most enjoyable games are the one’s where victory is snatched from the clutches of defeat. Of course it is never fun to be the person on the other side of the board when this happens.

There are a few bands that I am fanatical about. A quick look at my last.fm charts shows these bands to be Iron & Wine, Eels, Simon & Garfunkel, The Shins, and Ben Folds. When it comes to these musicians I will buy every track they put out, I will see them in concert, I will insist that friends listen to them, I will track down rare bootlegs, and I anxiously await their future releases. This last part, waiting for new releases, is the hard part.

For example, the latest Shins album isn’t a Shins album at all. It is a collaboration between Danger Mouse and Ron Mercer, the Shins frontman. They are going by the name, Broken Bells. I have known for months about the album, and waiting for it to come out in March is excruciating. Like most music, the Broken Bells album was leaked months before its release date and can be found on the Pirate Bay and other less than legal places. It is virtually impossible for a true fan to resist the urge to grab this music as soon as it becomes available. A true fan sincerely wants to give money to their favorite bands and the guilt that accompanies stealing music is extra heavy in this case.

I can only assume that the delay in the release of an album has to do with the music label wanting to reduce CDs on the same release date as digital files. The printing, packaging, and production of the CDs must delay the release.

I can tell you that the Broken Bells album is going to be worth the purchase. Here is a video of the first single:

If you can wait until March 9th, you can pre-order the Broken Bells album  from Amazon. I plan on buying it on Vinyl since I don’t really listen to CDs.

The truth is that, yes, I take my writing very personally. The writing that I admire the most is from authors who aren’t afraid to let their emotion carry over to their written words. For example…

Some authors are visionaries.
Some are great teachers.
Some are prolific creators.
Some do it with humor and logic.
Some do it with honesty.
Others are articulate.
Some are fanatics.
Some do it with insightful commentary.
Some are trendsetters.
Some are committed to excellence.
Some are consistently random but fascinating.
Some are just experts.

Is there something that all these authors have in common. If I had to guess at the source of this talent I would put my money on passion. When you are truly passionate about something it is very hard NOT to let your passion show through in your writing. The opposite is definitely not true. If you don’t care about a topic it is impossible to write a compelling essay about it.

The question that this leaves me with is whether or not the world needs another lifeless web design blog. How many CSS galleries, Photoshop tutorials, top ten lists, and free font/icon/theme blogs do we need? At what point will the pendulum swing back to the side of truly passionate discourse about design? Will there be a resurgence of critical thinking similar to the days when BADG and SpeakUp dominated the design blogosphere? I truly hope so. In the meantime, I will continue to strive toward writing passionate and personal posts.

Over the next 56 years R. Buckminster Fuller would live an extraordinary life that did change the world. If you are unfamiliar with Fuller’s life and his work, I would like to give you a brief introduction to the achievements of a truly fascinating man.

Buckminster Fuller is best known for designing the geodesic dome. Actually, Fuller only popularized the dome which was invented 30 years prior to Fuller’s work. Nevertheless, his contributions to the geodesic dome, including some patents, will probably be the most visible part of Buckminster’s legacy. You know the iconic sphere at Epcot Center? It is also know as Spaceship Earth and is probably the most prominent example of Bucky’s geodesic structures. The thousands of domes in existence are fascinating structures, but they aren’t the most interesting of Fuller’s ideas in my opinion.

There are three words that Buckminster Fuller invented that pretty much sum up his design philosophy. Those words are livingry, tensegrity, and dymaxion. The fact that all three of these words get flagged by spellcheck is by itself a testament to Fuller’s personality as the definition of a non-conformist. If you read his writing you will probably laugh at some of the sentences he concocts. Not only did he make up words, he would write the longest run-on sentences you have ever heard. My point isn’t to ridicule his writing, but to point out that Buckminster had no use for the conventional obstacles that humanity had built around society. When language was insufficient for his purposes he would invent new words. When traditional rules of English limited his ability to explain his ideas, he unapologetically broke the rules. But I digress. Let me get back to the the concepts of livingry, tensegrity, and dymaxion.

Livingry
Livingry is the opposite of weaponry. Fuller believed that the goal of all professions should be in the support of life. His term for the world is “Spaceship Earth,” a term meant to recognize that our planet has a limited amount of resources. We are hurdling through space without an instruction manual and we need to learn how to best manage life here. Indeed, Fuller was in fact an environmental activist long before that term was perverted into the modern day stereotype.

Tensegrity
The word tensegrity is a combination of the words tension and integrity. You may have seen sculptures made of only steel cables and long metal rods. Without any outside support, these structures seem to defy gravity as they rise into the air.

Dymaxion
While the word dymaxion comes from “dynamic maximum tension,” it really is just a brand name that Buckminster used for several of his projects including his dymaxion car and the dymaxion house. Buckminster’s ideas about housing and the car were decades ahead of their time. The dymaxion house was designed for energy efficiency. The plan was to make the house easy to ship and assemble on any terrain. The three wheeled dymaxion car was fuel efficient, fast, and seated 11 passengers. Unfortunately, the world wasn’t ready for these inventions and both the dymaxion car and house never went into production. Here’s a video of the dymaxion car in action. Note the amazing turning radius:

Perhaps the world wasn’t ready for many of Fuller’s ideas. He has a great quote that says, “This is the real news of our century. It is highly feasible to take care of all of humanity at a higher standard of living than anybody has ever experienced or dreamt of. To do so without having anybody profit at the expense of another so that everybody can enjoy the whole earth. And it can all be done by 1985.”

Buckminster Fuller died in 1983. His gravestone says “Call me trimtab.” This is a reference to an interview where Fuller observes how a tiny rudder (the trim tab) can change the course of a giant ship. Bucky said “The little individual can be a trim tab…If you’re doing dynamic things mentally, the fact is that you can just put your foot out like that and [change the direction of] the whole big ship…”

If you are interested in learning more about Buckminster Fuller, I encourage you to read his books, especially “Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth
.” The Buckmister Fuller Institute website is also worth a visit.

As I look back over the years the thing that stands out are a handful of friends who have influenced my life significantly. I don’t make friends very easily, and I don’t think I realized how lucky I was to spend time with these people. So here is my 2000-2009 timeline. I am sure I forgot plenty of events and facts, so I might have to come back to this later as I remember things. Here it goes:

2000
Lived in: Seward, Nebraska
Worked for: Concordia University, local gas station
Drove: 88 Toyota Pickup
Favorite possession: Specialized mountain bike
Most influential friend: Jason Simanek
Art shows:
Midstates Graphic Design Competition, Concorida University
5th Plains States Undergraduate Exhibition, Emporia State University
Nebraska Annual Student Art Competition, Wayne State
Watched: Cast Away
Was listening to: Beastie Boys

Big events:
Living off campus
Summer painting class with Professor Bockelman
Dating Betsy Hanft
Playing doubles with Brady Gurganious

2001
Lived in: Nebraska and Colorado
Worked for: Costco, Front Range Community College, Focus on the Family
Drove: 88 Toyota Pickup
Art Show: Painting/Prints by Adrian Hanft, Senior Exhibition, Concorida University
Most influential friend: Paul Maurawski
Favorite possession: Power Mac G4
Watched: The Royal Tenenbaums
Was listening to: Oh, Inverted World, by The Shins

Big events:
Senior Art Show
Kicked off tennis team
Graduation from Concordia University
Got married to Betsy
Moved to Colorado

2002
Lived in: Colorado
Worked for: Nelnet
Drove: 88 Toyota Pickup
Favorite possession: Nikon Coolpix 5000
Most influential friend: Gary Meyer
Watched: Spider-man
Was listening to: The Creek Drank the Cradle, by Iron and Wine

Big events:
Got a job at Nelnet
Betsy pregnant
Moved back to Nebraska

2003
Lived in: Nebraska
Worked for: HuebnerPetersen
Drove: 2001 Toyota Tacoma
Favorite possession: iPod 3G
Watched: Lost in Translation
Was listening to: Beulah

Big events:
Rian is born
Got a job at HuebnerPetersen
Moved to Grand Island

2004
Lived in: Colorado
Worked for: HuebnerPetersen
Drove: 2001 Toyota Tacoma
Art Show: Recent Works on Paper, three person group show, Hastings University, Hastings, Nebraska
Favorite possession: Our house
Most influential friend: Bennett Holzworth
Watched: Kill Bill 2
Was listening to: Black Keys

Big events:
Award of Excellence, website design, AIGA Nebraska Annual Design Competition
Started Be A Design Group
Moved back to Colorado
Bought our first house

2005
Lived in: Colorado
Worked for: HuebnerPetersen
Drove: 1996 Toyota Tercel
Favorite possession: Sony Turntable
Most influential friend: Travis Gray
Watched: Batman Begins
Was listening to: Blinking Lights And Other Revelations, by Eels

Big events:
Official Bloggers for the 2005 HOW Conference
Interviewed on Design Matters:
Be A Design Group website featured on HowDesign.com’s “HOW’s Top Ten Sites”
Found Photography photo blog launched
Lego Camera on Digg

2006
Lived in: Colorado
Worked for: HuebnerPetersen
Drove: 1996 Toyota Tercel
Favorite possession: Sennheiser HD580 headphones
Watched: Battlestar Gallactica
Was listening to: Rodrigo y Gabriela, by Rodrigo y Gabriela

Big events:
Best of Flickr, The Blink of an Eye Flickr Photo Contest and New York Exhibition
Launched Adrian3 blog
Timelapse Construction Movie on YouTube
Betsy in car accident

2007
Lived in: Colorado
Worked for: HuebnerPetersen
Drove: 1996 Toyota Tercel
Art Shows:
Weld County Annual Fine Art Exhibit
Modern Portraits of Christ, Hastings University
Most influential friend: David Fotherby
Favorite possession: MacBook Pro
Watched: Mad Men
Was listening to: The Shepherd’s Dog, by Iron & Wine

Big events:
Art Show sharing gallery with Robbie Conal

2008
Lived in: Colorado
Worked for: HuebnerPetersen
Drove: 1996 Toyota Tercel
Favorite possession: iPhone
Most influential friend: Tony Splittgerber
Watched: Dexter
Was listening to: Orakular Spectacular, by MGMT

Big events:
The end of Be A Design Group
Font Burner Launches
Disney Cruise
I turned 30

2009
Lived in: Colorado
Worked for: Red Rocket Media Group
Drove: Still driving the 1996 Toyota Tercel
Favorite possession: Panasonic Lumix LX3
Most influential friend: Chadd Bryant
Watched: Twin Peaks
Was listening to: Song Up In Her Head, by Sarah Jarosz

Big events:
Left HuebnerPetersen after 5 years
My sister got married
I wrote 4 Wordpress plugins
Started new job at Red Rocket Media Group

2010
I have high hopes for the coming years. Blessings to you in the new year and beyond.

The Top Ten Albums of 2009

1. Manners, by Passion Pit
MP3: Sleepyhead

2. Song Up In Her Head, by Sarah Jarosz
MP3: Shankill Butchers

3. Around the Well, Iron and Wine
MP3: Belated Promise Ring

4. Merriweather Post Pavilion, by Animal Collective
MP3: My Girls

5. The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo, by Steve Martin
MP3: Pitkin County Turnaround

6. Hombre Lobo, by Eels
MP3: In My Dreams

7. Troubadour, by K’Naan
MP3: Bang Bang

8. Doves, Kingdom of Rust
MP3: Kingdom Of Rust

9. Fantasies, by Metric
MP3: Help I’m Alive

10. What Will Be, by Devendra Banhart
MP3: Angelika

Download zip file of all 10 songs.

Honorable Mention:
11. Keep It Hid, by Dan Auerbach
12. Grizzly Bear, by Veckatimest
13. Monsters of Folk, by Monsters of Folk
14. My Maudlin Career, by Camera Obscura
15. Sea Sew, by Lisa Hannigan
16. Divided by Night, by Crystal Method
17. Reservoir, by Fanfarlo
18. Veckatimest, by Grizzly Bear
19. God Help the Girl, by God Help the Girl
20. 11:11, by Rodrigo y Gabriela
21. Actor, by St. Vincent
22. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, by Phoenix
23. It’s Blitz!, by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
24. Middle Cyclone, by Neko Case
25. Dark Night of the Soul, by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse

Albums On My List to Listen to:
White Water, White Bloom, by Sea Wolf
Mumford & Sons, by Mumford & Sons
Phrazes for the Young, Julian Casablancas
Ambivalence Avenue, by Bibio
Post Nothing, by Japandroids
Technicolor Health, by Harlem Shakes
Family, by Le Loup
Psychic Chasms, by Neon Indian
Time to Die, by The Dodos

Shawn Blanc has an ongoing blog series about “Sweet Mac Setups” and I am honored to be featured this week. I have also posted the images used in the article on Flickr adding notes pointing out the highlights of the images. My home setup can be viewed here, and my setup at work can be viewed here.

"Hosea," by Adrian Hanft, II

The story of my dad’s sculptures is in many ways the story of what it means to be a Christian and an artist. The reality of our culture is that Christianity often gets marginalized when it comes to “relevant” issues. Most of us are aware of the separation of church and state, but the church is separated from more than just government. Unfortunately, church has also been separated from the artistic community. If you attend my church you may wonder if there are many things that it actually is connected to. That’s a rant for another day, but my point is that being an artist and a Christian can seem like an invitation to not be taken seriously. So to see my dad being recognized for his artistic abilities as well as his Christianity feels like an amazing achievement. Listen to my dad’s interview on NPR to understand what I am talking about:

Interview with Adrian Hanft, II on Nebraska NPR show, Friday Live NET Radio (5.75mb)

It takes an amazing amount of determination to decide to carve in granite. With much softer stones available you really need to be committed to the task if you are going to carve granite. The dust is toxic, the tools are expensive, the stones are heavy and dangerous, and it takes a long time to complete a sculpture. Why would anyone voluntarily do this? The crazy thing is that deciding to become a pastor is an equally absurd decision. The pay is low, church politics are bitter and petty, and society has all but written off the church as irrelevant. Why would anyone voluntarily do this?

From the outside my father’s decision to be a pastor and a sculptor may seem hard to understand, but the reason is actually pretty simple. This is just who my dad is. The fact that his chosen task is difficult doesn’t even register on my his radar. He is just doing what he was meant to be. More than being true to himself, this is who God created my dad to for.

As I write this I understand for the first time a verse that says “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light. When you live a life that is in alignment with God’s plan for you, your challenges won’t be a burden. In fact, you will actually find joy in the trials you face. Joy is exactly what will surprise you when you hear my dad talk about his work. You won’t hear my dad complaining or bragging about the challenges involved in his work. All you will hear is his joy as he talks about the process. I truly admire my dad for accepting the role that God has chosen for him.

If you are interested in seeing some more of my dad’s sculptures, you can go to stonesofscion.com.

Logo Contest Apology

This week I got an email from HOW Magazine (and Print Magazine) apologizing for an earlier email in which they seemingly endorsed the new service of iStockPhoto.com selling stock logos. You can click on the images to the right to read the emails in their entirety, but basically the “trusted design publications” offended nearly every serious designer on Earth by partnering with a company that promotes stock logos. Needless to say, this is Print and HOW’s core audience and they are now distancing themselves from this mailing as best they can. Like most other print publications, Print and HOW are scrambling to find a way to stay relevant in the age of the blog.

When I was writing regularly for Be A Design Group I would have posted this outrage immediately with a fiery rant against stock logos and proclaiming the virtues of custom logo design. But when I read the apology email from HOW it barely registered on my radar. IStockPhoto has all but killed the professional photography industry, and it isn’t a stretch to see designers as the next victim of the digital/DIY revolution.I wasn’t more offended by this email than I am by any of the other junk that HOW sends me.

In the midst of the “stock logo outrage” issue I think there is a sub-story that gets lost. That story is the disconnect between how designers and non-designers view logo design. If you are a designer, you understand the terrible implications that come with a stock logo service. But if you aren’t a designer you are probably wondering “what’s so wrong about saving money on something that is seemingly overpriced?” Rather than being offended by that question and writing letter’s to magazine editors, designers should use this as an opportunity to educate people about the real value that a designer can bring to an identity project. We should calmly point out that the purpose of a logo is to represent the unique qualities of a company. Explain how it is impossible to stand out in a crowd when you are using the same logo as 50+ other organizations. Talk about how importing branding is and the importance of differentiation. Whatever you do don’t pout about the threat of a new competitor in the logo design marketplace. All that will do is promote the negative designer stereotype and put a barrier between you and your potential customers.

So is the age of the designer ending as a result of all the cheap design options available today? No. Their will always be demand for creative people who can communicate clearly and decisively the value of design. I will do whatever I can to discourage people from buying stock logos, but I will never be offended when someone falls for the allure of cheap logo design. I know that eventually it will be obvious that the stock logo purchase was a mistake. At that point I hope they ask themselves, “Remember that articulate designer who tried to sell us an expensive logo? What was his name again? Adrian3 was it? I should give him a call…”

Whenever you make a birthday post on your blog you feel like you have to say something profound about getting older. Since 31 is such an uneventful age, forgive me for not having the secret to life in this post. However, I am going to use my birthday as an excuse to do a little naval gazing. Apologies in advance.

If I had to comment on a characteristic of my personality that I have noticed lately it would be how competitive I am. I have always been competitive but lately it seems especially hard to not want to win at everything I do. It doesn’t matter if it is ping pong, chess, basketball, graphic design, or a weight loss competition. I will put everything I have into trying to beat you at it. I am even competitive when the only person to compete with is myself. For example, when I run I am disappointed if my time isn’t a personal best every time. I am so competitive, that I don’t want you to just think of me as being a competitive person, I want you to think I am the most competitive person you have ever met. And I am not sure why.

As I try to consider what makes me the way I am, I think it has something to do with how I handle failure. My mom tells stories about how stubborn I was as a child. Being strong willed is a trait that hasn’t left me over the years. I like to think of this as a positive attribute, and it has served me well. Perhaps a better word to describe me would be “determined,” When I don’t win I will try again, and again, until I achieve my goal.

If I have achieved any degree of skill, it has been earned from failure. I have always been a mediocre basketball player. Today I can hold my own because years of blocked shots and turnovers have taught me what not to do. I have lost more games of chess than I care to admit – probably in the thousands. Playing ping pong with me is like playing against a wall – because I have logged so many hours of racket sports.

Unfortunately, being extremely competitive often goes hand-in-hand with being a jerk. And that’s where things get tough. Allow me to end this post with an apology to anyone I have annoyed with my constant determination. As I said at the beginning of this post, I am blessed with family and friends. Thank you for putting up with me! Oh, and if you think it is annoying now, wait until I turn 40 and really have something to prove.