Rose Pedal Jersey

Back in April, a group of fellow cyclists pulled off a very successful (according to our own standards) cycling event dubbed the Rose Pedal. A mere 12 weeks later the custom clothing arrived and it looks great. Really great. Only the jersey is pictured, but I can't recommend the full-zippered beauty enough.



If anyone happens to live within event distance of Canton, GA (just north of Atlanta), I encourage you to come out for next year's ride. (It'll most likely be April. Watch the website for details.) I'll be working on a fresh design for the 2010 jersey as well; we had about two dozen kits picked up for '09 and hope to get a lot more into the hands of the riders next year.

MB Demographics

This doesn't change my outlook on the world in any way, but I noticed that M-B is making assumptions about me. While perusing mbusa.com on my iPhone, the only option is to view stats and pictures of the E-Class. While I can appreciate that creating a mobile site just for the iPhone is tough and expensive for such a small company, I'm more curious why the E-Class is the car of choice for Apple-toting-yuppies. I mean, how did they know?



Then just now, while perusing the options on a GL550 (alas, not for me) I noted that "no additional packages are available" beyond the standard configuration.



I mean, hey, if I'm laying out the $82 grand for an SUV that doesn't belong within 50 feet of dirt, I'm going to want every option, right? So M-B anticipates this and puts it on there for me. It's like they've got all the world's fortune tellers locked up in their marketing department, just making one accurate predication after another about their target demographics. Or are they just guessing?

And One More MINI

C&D reports that MINI will be producing two new models in Oxford. While one is confirmed to be the new Coupe with its styling akin to a college kid with a rear-facing baseball cap ducking at a surprise line drive, the other model is yet unnamed.



The most dismal part of this non-announcement is suspicion that MINI is not only going ahead with the Crossman but may also be considering a convertible version of the just-announced coupe. This prospect really got my creative juices going so I've created the following mockup showing what the coupe looks like without it's fixed top. I, uh, made it yellow.



I do hope I'm wrong on this one. The world doesn't need another Mister 2.

Shredded Get-My-Attention

My kids are in the window where they have a preference for specific breakfast cereals but aren't old enough to refuse what I actually come home with.* Standing in front of one hundred feet of boxes, I usually take a few extra moments to look for trends in packaging design. Yeah, even though I love designing boxes, checking out cereal really isn't as cool as it sounds.

Standing in the aisle last night, this blue box jumped out at me. I typically like this style of design but find it less effective because of its simplicity in what I estimate to be largely an impulse buy. Thus, the more exciting or informative, the more likely someone grabs it. However, from what I saw, most cereal designers have this notion and they've simultaneously raced toward 'exciting,' thus saturating the effect. When I stepped about 5 feet back and looked down the aisle, I was amazed at how much this blue box stood out. Within a sea of at least one hundred boxes, no other package had this much visibility. So I bought it.

*Within reason; anything bran, granola, or a 40-something woman getting 'back in shape' is going to be boycotted by my kids.

New Chrysler

Fiat's deal with Chrysler has closed. A collective sigh goes out amongst those of us nervously watching the auto industry for signs of change, improvement, and, possibly, life. The image below illustrates the significance of this specific change.


Chrysler source

I'm not typically this pessimistic, although I am cynical. I don't wish ill on any Chrysler people, however, I just can't shake the notion that this purchase means very little. The culprit of Chrysler's demise over the last few decades has been infusions of cash and 'new collaborations' when the company gets too close to the edge. The motivation to make meaningful change never happened and Chrysler never changed course. It just kicked the can down the road.


JD Power source

If you squint at the chart, you'll see that Fiat, who is saving Chrysler, is dead last on JD Power's 2009 Satisfaction Survey. Chrysler is second to last. I'm stuck wondering, again, how many times we'll see money poured into a company or initiative because it's easier than redefining the goal, the logistics, and the product. I hope that somehow Fiat and Chrysler take the next 18 months of downtime and create a new line of cars for a new audience that really wants to buy them. Cheaper versions of the current unenthusiastic products aren't going to cut it.

Spring in Atlanta

This is what I love about the seasons here; it's just colorful.

My most useful camera

I've long appreciated my iPhone's camera. Although the resolution is lower than other camera phones and it has no flash, it just takes better pictures. As friends and colleagues have slowly made the switch to iPhones—including the resistant, anti-Apple ones—I've taken an informal poll on the photo quality. It's unanimous, this thing takes the best photos.

The reason is quite simple: the preview screen is so large and clear that feedback is instantaneous. If the photo isn't just right, I just tilt the phone and fix it.

I impressed my wife the other day after she inadvertently threw the dog's tennis ball into the rain gutter. Enlisted to retrieve it, I discovered that my lawn chair (the handiest excuse for a ladder) was too short to do more than reach my hands above the gutter. I whipped out the iPhone, pointed it in both directions and snapped this picture.


(yep, it's that clear)

I moved the chair to the appropriate rivet and heroically retrieved the ball. So while my other cameras take outstanding pictures of stuff (kids, lighthouses), my iPhone is the one I use to get things done.