Cameron Moll's Blog, page 12

Food Allergy Walk for Jonas Gruber

Food Allergy Walk for Jonas Gruber:

John Gruber and I have known each other for years, first teaming up on a project for Joyent way back when, and communicating regularly since then.

We share something in common: a son who has a serious medical condition. Jonas has a life-threatening dairy allergy, as described by his mother:

Jonas had a food challenge, where an allergic child is given measured doses of his allergen in a hospital setting. Jonas started the challenge with an eighth of a teaspoon of milk, administered by a nurse. Within five minutes of the dose, he said, 'I feel weird, Mama'. And then things got crazy…. I only remember screaming and hearing things like 'seizure! and 'I.V. push!' and then Jonas slowly regained consciousness.

John has been a big supporter of my efforts over the years, both personally and in business. In a small but hopefully significant way, I've returned the favor by contributing to his son's campaign. I hope you can pitch in, too.

You've Already Seen This

You've Already Seen This:

Unless your entire social circle was under a rock yesterday, you've already seen Facebook Timeline. But what's most interesting to me is seeing the influence of two notable designers, Tom Watson and Nicholas Felton, craft and shape this refined concept.

Many designers likely had a hand in this, I recognize that. But consider Tom Watson's Level & Tap, a site with a focus on impressive — and impressively large — images. Then consider Nicholas Felton's Feltron Annual Reports. Put the two together and it's clear where the influence originated from.

And if there were any doubts about that influence, Tom's tweet yesterday should clear things up:

It should be clear now why we hired @feltron. It's been a blast designing it.

Side note: Dustin Curtis' Lifepath.me app is for sale on eBay as a result of yesterday's announcement.

Hiring: Head of Web Development at CIMMYT

Hiring: Head of Web Development at CIMMYT:

I find this position intriguing for two reasons: 1) it's the first position in Mexico ever posted to Authentic Jobs if I'm not mistaken, and 2) it's for a non-profit group that helps improve the varieties of wheat and maize, thereby improving the livelihood of farmers (more about that on Wikipedia). It's sort of like charity: water, but for crops.

Also intriguing: full fluency in English is required; Spanish is optional (but desired).

My Late Grandfather Was a Pinch-Hitter, Too

Recently I pulled this form letter out of storage. It's one of my favorite mementos of Grandpa Moll. An independent contractor later in life, he probably sent this to companies in the surrounding area, most likely larger cities such as Reno, Nevada, as his quaint home town of Markleeville, California had only about 150 residents at the time.

Back when I did client work as a freelancer, I would often describe myself as a pinch-hitter. In baseball, a pinch-hitter substitutes for another player when the coach feels the substitute player may perform a specific duty, such as bunting or base running, better than the player he replaces. Not that the pinch-hitter is better overall than the other player, just that he might have a better shot at succeeding in a specific scenario or critical play in a close game.

Using the term "pinch hitter" was a quick way to describe how I could add value to a project, and most managers here in the U.S. quickly understood the analogy. Often I was called in to produce mock-ups at the start of a design, or to provide ideas for an alternate direction. I found the term was also a convenient way to address a delicate situation, as I was occasionally called in to complement an in-house team with designers already on staff.

From the looks of my grandfather's letter, I think he might have described himself the same way. His son (my father) also has entrepreneurial skills and has served as an independent contractor over the years, as well. I suppose it's in the Moll DNA. If so, I've got four pinch-hitters in training should you be scouting for one in the near future.

Music From a Dry Cleaner

Music From a Dry Cleaner:

Diego Stocco:

Almost everyday, on my way to a local bakery, I walk in front of a dry cleaners. When they have the front door open, I hear a lot of interesting sounds coming from their work equipment. Eventually, the different mechanical and steam sounds sparked something in my mind, so one day I asked the owners if I could record a piece of music by using their machines as musical instruments.

The closing line in the video is just perfect.

Letterpress Poster Sale Later This Week

Letterpress Poster Sale Later This Week:

Keep an eye on the aforetolinked page or @cameronmoll for discounted pricing to be announced later this week. And for an extra 5% off on top of that, sign up to be notified:

I promise to sell your email address only to the finest of spammers.

Totally kidding.

Target.com Redesign

Target.com Redesign:

Wow, how'd I miss this news about this? I'm pretty sure someone made an argument like this at some point in the design process — and won:

Look, everybody uses the search bar or those big fat categories strung across the top anyway. So, why not have a little fun with the rest of the page?

Update: For those asking, since it may not have been clear in the sarcasm: I'm quite impressed by the new design.

How To Back Up Your Life Automatically with ifttt

How To Back Up Your Life Automatically with ifttt:

Nice overview of ifttt, including some useful "recipes".

A Farewell to CSS3 Gradients

A Farewell to CSS3 Gradients:

Alex Walker:

While the idea of programmable gradients is great, using them is seriously messy. Even in perfect-​​browser-​​utopia, gradients are consciously limited to rudimentary linear or radial application. You certainly can't combine them, or make them contour a shape or anything useful like that….

In short, [CSS gradients are] a blunt instrument with cranky syntax and patchy support.

Alternate title to Alex's article: "SVG Might Be a More Extensible Alternative." Read on for solid tutorial on using SVG for gradients (though, admittedly, it's tough to envision SVG as an alternative for something as simple as button gradients).

600,000 for charity: water

We've just unveiled this parallaxified mini-site as part of Authentic Jobs' 6th birthday celebration.

I had the pleasure of collaborating with Michael Botsko on the site. I had my hands on the design, while he wrangled the markup. There are a few imperfect details remaining to be polished, but overall I'm really pleased with the end result.

Lest I focus unduly on the design, allow me to encourage you to take note of the site's message: I need your help. We need your help to raise ብር600,000 Ethiopian birr, roughly $35,000 USD, for charity: water. If we help charity: water reach this year's goal, they'll purchase a drilling rig that will eventually serve 100% of Northern Ethiopia with access to clean, safe drinking water.

You all did wonders last year, raising an astounding $21,386 for last year's birthday. Let's celebrate Authentic Jobs' 6th birthday by raising 66% more this year.