Ragnar Freyr

"The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone..."

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:53:49 +0000

“The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.”

- Steve Furtick

Infection

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Today, as I was walking home from work I got infected.

He was walking behind me, this stranger of a man, whistling an exceptionally cheery tune. His pace was faster than mine and soon he caught up with me. I felt a strong urge to give face to this cheerfulness. As he passed me our eyes met for a split second. He abruptly broke his tune, as if he hadn’t been aware of his whistling. We both smiled awkwardly.

I remarked on his jollyness in the kindest way and continued to smile. His reply was: “It’s such a great day. It’s just one of those days.”

We walked side by side for a few seconds. Not saying anything. Then I broke the silence by urging him not to stop whistling on my account. He started his song again and walked into a book store.

With a big smile on my face after this small encounter I strolled my way and curiously found myself whistling a cheery tune of my own after a few blocks.

How to Approach a Responsive Design

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:41:36 +0000

How to Approach a Responsive Design:

Super interesting read about how Upstatement designed the new Boston Globe responsive website. I’m pleasantly surprised that they used InDesign for the static comps since I’ve often thought that Photoshop needed type stylesheets similar to ID. The ID template notion is also a great niche I hadn’t thought about.

The Daily Reality Planner

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:42:52 +0000

The Daily Reality Planner:

Interesting concept by Garrick van Buren. I might try this out. I often get frustrated that tasks on my to-do list don’t have a proposed time assigned to them so it makes it hard to plan out your day according to your temporal reality. It might also be helpful to balance my I-can-do-it-all-today mindset I sometimes get when I am feeling overly optimistic.

"But I’ve also found this: the best times, the most fun, the most rewarding things have happened not..."

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:28:41 +0000

“But I’ve also found this: the best times, the most fun, the most rewarding things have happened not because of my plans, but because of my planning.”

- Plans

An Ideal Day

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:06:00 +0000

The Ideal Day is a fun little mental exercise I’ve been doing for the past three years. What you do in this exercise is write down what your ideal day could look like. Think about routine, not something you do once in a while that excites you. Although shark diving could be your passion it is rarely what you aspire to do every day of the year. What kind of a routine would leave you fulfilled and balanced at the end of the day?

I find the exercise to be a great way to introduce new, positive and desired habits to my weekday routine. Like meditation or cooking at home. Most of the time though, my day doesn’t look anything like my ideal day. But that’s OK. Life is unpredictable and one has to let it be.

Right now, my ideal day looks like this:

I wake up early. Check and record my pulse. Drink a glass of water. Weigh myself. Dress in clean clothes. Make a smoothie for breakfast. Read an article or two. Brush my teeth. Get ready for work. Walk or bike to work (Preferably with the dog). Read email and plan the day. Work until noon on projects that I love. Stretch. Make and eat a healthy lunch. Check social networks / post to channels. Work until I feel like not working anymore. Walk or bike home. Exercise. Meditate. Take a shower. Cook a healthy dinner. Clean. Take the dog for a walk with my wife. Enjoy the evening relaxing/having fun with friends or family. Floss and brush my teeth. Read a little bit. Go to sleep early.

"So if someone has given you a beautiful new device, they’ve given you a gift that will cost you..."

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:02:08 +0000

“So if someone has given you a beautiful new device, they’ve given you a gift that will cost you probably thousands of dollars…”

- » Kindle & iPad are marketing devices :mnmlist

In hopes you seek out family and stay by the hearth this season...

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:40:00 +0000

In hopes you seek out family and stay by the hearth this season I wish you a happy holiday. The day now grows longer and soon the warm summer will arrive. May your endeavors in the new year be joyous and fruitful.

Three web services I am excited about

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:21:00 +0000

Freckle
Freckle is a time tracking application for freelansers, consultants and small teams by Amy Hoy and Thomas Fuchs. The cheery interface design and the fantastic visual tools make this time tracking app well worth the monthly subscription. The reports interface is especially helpful. Read the manifesto.

Readmill
Recently launched book site Readmill is just beautiful, both in design and functionality. The core feature are book highlights that you can share with your friends and comment on. The Explore section of the site is great for finding new reads. Especially if you browse users. I can’t wait for them to add manual book tracking. Check out my profile.

Quora
You’ve probably heard about Quora. It’s essentially a big questions and answers site where all content is created by the users. You can follow topics you are interested in and participate by asking or answering questions. I haven’t been very active on the site but I’ve found some really interesting threads and topics to follow. What I like the most is that I still haven’t found a snarky comment or the usual unkindness that you find on other sites… yet. Read more about Quora.

When you create products with soul, someone will find the time to write about them or recommend to friends and colleagues. Two of these were recommended to me by friends. These products are worth talking about.

Photo

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:45:20 +0000

"So the next time you share, whether it’s a link, a gift or a hug, share with intention, and remember..."

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:21:43 +0000

“So the next time you share, whether it’s a link, a gift or a hug, share with intention, and remember that it’s not only what you share that matters, but how you share.”

- Meaning – Surat Says

"The process of writing exposes your own ignorance and half-baked assumptions."

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:55:51 +0000

“The process of writing exposes your own ignorance and half-baked assumptions.”

- collision detection: The art of public thinking

The Firestarter single came out in 1996. I ordered the CD by...

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:46:00 +0000

The Firestarter single came out in 1996. I ordered the CD by phone and waited anxiously for the shipment to arrive to the posthouse of the small Northern fishing town I called home. Being an avid Prodigy fan at the time I collected their singles and memorabilia and even had two copies of their biography.

I accidentally stumbled upon this video today. It reminded me that 15 years ago I absolutely loved this song. I played it over and over and over on my parent’s new CD player. (And they loved it!)

But it also occured to me that back then, there were almost no channels to express or share my fascination instantly with others.

I loved the song for what it was. There was no social media to influence my opinion. No instant feedback of popularity. No YouTube comments saying this song was horrible and Keith shouldn’t really sing. Back then, I had the cover in my hand, the CD in the player and just listened — alone — really digging the beats. And when I was done, I didn’t post it to Facebook or Twitter. I brought the CD to the youth center and played it for a small group of friends.

I kinda miss this sense of isolated appreciation.

It’s funny how, in the creative process, one thing can...

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:34:00 +0000

It’s funny how, in the creative process, one thing can turn into another. I started playing around in Blender the other day, randomly trying out the sculpting mode. The idea was to make some sort of a polygon rock. I didn’t know I would end up using the final render in a new Breakbeat.is poster. This is the before and after.

iMeme

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:05:49 +0000

iMeme:

The Mac software we’ve all been secretly wishing for! LOLz!!

The Nanny

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 17:18:14 +0000

I’ve been having concerns about my time spent on certain social media sites lately. I feel that sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google Reader are taking up too much of my time and not contributing much real value, relative to the time spent.

I found a fantastic Chrome plugin called Nanny that helps you limit the time you spend on Facebook and other websites by either letting you block the sites during certain hours or giving you the option of a time quota. It’s for those of us who don’t have the self-discipline shut things off and work!

I started by allowing 60 minutes of Facebook time each day, thinking that would severely change my news feed consumption.

What I surprisingly found out after few days of using the plugin is that in reality I actually spend much less than 60 minutes a day on Facebook. I always had about half an hour or more left of my quota. Could it be that I spend less than 30 minutes a day on this alleged monster time-suck?

The closer I looked at my stats I came to the realization that it’s not the total time spent that is the problem. The problem is the fragmented nature of my social media consumption. I realized those 30 minutes contain a copious amount of seperate visits each day. Every visit breaks my flow and introduces a mental context switch that tends to slow down my work recovery.

I haven’t found the perfect solution yet. (Blocking certain hours will surely help.) However, these results have made me more mindful of my online habits and I’m already hitting the Facebook bookmark less and less each day. I also took time to group some of my contacts to family and close friends so I can quickly scan news items and interact with people I care most about without being dristracted by the awesome India Talent Show video my former school mate posted.

This tiny insight has made my day much more productive and I don’t feel like I’m missing anything much. In fact, I feel like I am creating more and consuming less. And that’s a good thing, right?

Photoshop Actions & Workflows

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:20:28 +0000

Photoshop Actions & Workflows:

Some of these Photoshop actions by bjango are rather helpful. I’ve already used Enlarge Canvas two times today.

I’m pleased to announce that yesterday my print, titled...

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:13:07 +0000

I’m pleased to announce that yesterday my print, titled Fauna, was selected to be included in the Society6 Shop. Check it out!

(via The Expert Enough Manifesto | Expert Enough)

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 12:11:17 +0000

(via The Expert Enough Manifesto | Expert Enough)

Eating my vegetables

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:05:00 +0000

Today marks the one year anniversary of the day I decided to stop eating animals.

If I think about it, I’ve never really been that fond of meat. Sure, I like the taste of bacon but the general meat texture and the fat has never been my thing. I’ve eaten meat most of my life more out of habit than love. The meat just had to be a part of my dish somehow and be the main course. That is how I was brought up. By my parents, by “experts” and the society.

This habit seldomly led me to think about where the meat was coming from or how it was produced. I just ate the spicy pepperoni and never gave thought to the cow or the pig in it. Of course I knew where the meat came from but somehow, in my head, the cognitive and empathic link between the source and the product didn’t exist.

Then I got a dog and everything changed!

Through my love for her I became aware of how fantastically brilliant and beautiful creatures all animals are. I started feeling a stronger sense of empathy for all kinds of animals, big and small. And then I started thinking about why we don’t eat dogs…

These thoughts inspired me to dig deeper and research the food industry, food production and animal welfare. What I found was absolutely horrific. And it changed me.

Becoming a vegetarian has been the biggest and most positive transformation I’ve gone through in my life.

I breathe more easily knowing that I am not directly responsible for killing (and sometimes torture) of animals.
Overall, I feel much better and healthier.
I’m a better cook. This change has really inspired me to improve my culinary skills. It’s fun to cook.
I eat more varied. I try different things. Before, I just had to have one of the few kinds of meat on my plate and maybe some potatoes on the side. Now, everything can become the main dish if I prepare it right.
I’ve learned more about food in a year than my whole life.
I’ve become more aware of how my body reacts to what I consume. I feel a lot lighter after a good vegetarian meal.
I know there are various environmental benefits to not eating meat.
I’m leaner. Being a vegetarian has helped me loose some of the extra weight, especially around the belly area.
I have more money. Being a vegetarian (at least in Iceland) is much cheaper. Meat is expensive.

Yet, it was all so simple!

I wanted to write this post to celebrate and just maybe inspire someone to at least give the vegetarian lifestyle a chance. Even though you choose to eat meat, I believe you can go far by being a conscious consumer, ethically inclined and more aware of animal cruelty, factory farming, dodgy food processing and the health of your own body.

If you are up for it I highly recommend that you read this article about why Michael Natkin is a vegetarian.