Wheels Up for Germany

Heading to Germany for a week of meetings and Ethnographic study. So many places to go. So little time to do it all.

Wheels Up for LAX

Heading to Los Angeles

On the early Virgin America flight out to LAX. Two days of meetings. Two days of really listening and discovering how and where my team and I can improve a lot of existing applications that yearn to be overhauled from a user experience perspective.

It's always exciting to start new, really big projects like this. I wonder where we land at the end of it all. But for now, landing at LAX will be a good start.

Stylish Guitar Case

Julee surprised me with a MONO Case M80 Bass Guitar case for Christmas. MONO Case is a company that  truly understands design. And I am not talking about just the drop dead looks that their cases and accessories. They use design to solve problems — reducing snapped headstocks and how to disperse energy away from the guitar when the case is dropped. Do take the time to check out the pedigree on MONO's fine designs. Company founder Daniel Kushner is a drummer and IDEO alum.

Some may look at the price and think it is pretty steep for a soft-sided case. These are hybrid cases. They offer nearly the same protection as a hard-shell case are but are extremely light and offer many nice touches for musicians on the move. Guitar Player Magazine said it best:  "Damn, MONO cases are friggin' cool! With a NASA-meets-REI aesthetic, they also ride the line between a hard case and a gig bag."

They look like they could take a lot of road abuse. Time will tell. But I'll be sporting some style in the mean time.

 M80 Bass Guitar Case by MONO Case

Pampered Fender American Standard Precision Bass

Letters to Santa

Nothing says Christmas like watermelonPerhaps nothing has revealed as much about the personalities of our progeny as their recent letters to Santa. Obviously, their ages reveal the need for dictation. Why that should include pink watermelon stationery shall  remain one of the great mysteries of the ages. The personalized touches of crayon add to the unique perspective they have of the holiday.

For posterity, a cataloging of the requests is in order.

Jenna: Flowers (pink, yellow, red, green), balloons (blue), doll as big as Jenna, Grandma to come to Jenna's house and Uncle Eric too.

Jason: Star War lego kind, guns (5 kind), 15 light sabers, lego sets, Transformers.

And with that I give you the résumés of a bona fide sweetie pie and a criminal mastermind wanted by federal marshals.

Silent Rehearsal

Nothing is more beautiful than personal headphone mixes while playing in a band. As cool as the new JamHub setup is, I would still admit that we are getting the hang of it. Much more work is still needed on overall levels and particularly the sound and level of guitar patches. But the old adage is true. Once you go in-ears, you never go back. Here are a few scenes from our third JamHub rehearsal in my media room.

Scenes of Silence