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	<title>Small Yay</title>
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	<description>Mind grapes and tiny pictures</description>
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	  <title>Favorite Media of 2023</title>
	  <author>Noah Jacobus</author>
	  <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jan 2024 16:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
	  <link>http://noahjacob.us/words/2023-favorites.html</link>
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		  <![CDATA[ <p>It’s time for the Enjoyment Roundups’ big brother: favorite media of the year! If you, like me, are snowed in at home right now, maybe there are some nuggets on this list to help you pass the time.</p> <hr> <h2>Films</h2> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/2023-favorites/dnd.png" alt="promo from Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves"> <figcaption>Whether you’ve played the game or not, it’s just a great time.</figcaption> </figure> <p>Another slow new movie year for me. Turns out if I have a free evening, I’d rather play video games or watch something shorter or familiar 😅</p> <ol> <li><em>Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves</em></li> <li><em>Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse</em></li> <li><em>Barbie</em></li> <li><em>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem</em></li> <li><em>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3</em></li> </ol> <hr> <h2>Books</h2> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/2023-favorites/lost-metal.png" alt="snippet of the cover art for The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson"> </figure> <p>My reading sadly took a big dip in 2023, mostly due to my free time being swallowed up with family or other entertainment options. I’m not really one for resolutions but I'm hoping to turn this around — if for no other reason than to take a break from screens and let my brain slow down.</p> <ol> <li><em>The Lost Metal</em> — Brandon Sanderson</li> <li><em>The Politics of Design</em> — Ruben Pater</li> <li><em>Homunculus</em> – Joe Sparrow</li> <li><em>Tress of the Emerald Sea</em> — Brandon Sanderson</li> <li><em>Cuckoo</em> — Joe Sparrow</li> </ol> <hr> <h2>Music</h2> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/2023-favorites/boygenius.png" alt="snippet of cover art for the record by boygenius"> </figure> <ol> <li><em>the record</em> — boygenius</li> <li><em>In the End It Always Does</em> — The Japanese House</li> <li><em>Pollen</em> — Tennis</li> <li><em>Desire, I Want to Turn Into You</em> — Caroline Polachek</li> <li><em>Some Unused Songs</em> — Luis Cole</li> </ol> <hr> <h2>Television</h2> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/2023-favorites/scavengers.png" alt="still from Scavengers Reign showing Azi looking out toward the horizon"> <figcaption>Other high points aside, there’s just so many fun little guys.</figcaption> </figure> <h3>New</h3> <ol> <li><em>Scavengers Reign</em> — Max</li> <li><em>Silo</em> — Apple TV+</li> <li><em>Willow</em> — <s>Disney+</s> 😥</li> <li><em>Hijack</em> — Apple TV+</li> <li><em>The Last of Us</em> — HBO</li> </ol> <h3>Returning</h3> <ol> <li><em>Good Omens</em> – Amazon Prime</li> <li><em>Only Murders in the Building</em> — Hulu</li> <li><em>The Bear</em> — FX</li> <li><em>Schmigadoon</em> — Apple TV+</li> <li><em>Somebody Somewhere</em> — Max</li> </ol> <hr> <h2>Video Games</h2> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/2023-favorites/alan-wake.png" alt="screenshot from Alan Wake 2"> <figcaption>“A door that stands between two rooms is in both. A door that leads anywhere is everywhere.”</figcaption> </figure> <ol> <li><em>Alan Wake II</em> — PS5</li> <li><em>Baldur’s Gate 3</em> — PS5 & Mac</li> <li><em>Chants of Sennaar</em> — PS5</li> <li><em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> — Switch</li> <li><em>Star Wars Jedi: Survivor</em> — PS5</li> </ol> <hr> <h2>Podcasts</h2> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/2023-favorites/worlds-beyond.png" alt="promo art for Worlds Beyond Number, showing the cast speaking animatedly around a campfire"> </figure> <ol> <li><em>Worlds Beyond Number</em></li> <li><em>Triple Click</em></li> <li><em>Off Book</em> (working through backlog now that the show has ended 🥲)</li> <li><em>Wonderful!</em></li> <li><em>Hard Fork</em></li> </ol> <hr> <p>💌 Find a mistake? Got something nice to say? You can <a href="mailto:noah@noahjacob.us?subject=Favorite Media of 2023">reply via email</a>.</p> ]]>
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	  <title>Default Apps 2023</title>
	  <author>Noah Jacobus</author>
	  <pubDate>Wed, 29 Nov 2023 16:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
	  <link>http://noahjacob.us/words/default-apps-2023.html</link>
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		  <![CDATA[ <p>I loved reading through <a href="https://chriscoyier.net/2023/11/25/default-apps-2023/" target="_blank">Chris Coyier</a> and <a href="https://mattcool.tech/posts/default-apps-2023/" target="_blank">Matt C’s</a> lists (and this is easier than the post about apps that I <em>was</em> planning), so here goes:</p> <hr> <p>📨 Mail Client: <a href="https://mimestream.com" target="_blank">Mimestream</a></p> <p>📮 Mail Server: Google (personal), Hover (professional)</p> <p>📝 Notes: Apple Notes or <a href="https://tot.rocks" target="_blank">Tot</a></p> <p>✅ To-Do: Apple Notes</p> <p>📷 Photo Shooting: <a href="https://halide.cam" target="_blank">Halide</a> on iPhone 14 Pro (though I’ve got my eyeballs on a Fuji x100v if they ever come back in stock)</p> <p>🎨 Photo Editing: <a href="https://www.apple.com/in/macos/photos/" target="_blank">Photos</a> & <a href="https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/" target="_blank">Affinity Photo 2</a></p> <p>📆 Calendar: <a href="https://flexibits.com/fantastical" target="_blank">Fantastical</a></p> <p>📁 Cloud File Storage: <a href="http://dropbox.com" target="_blank">Dropbox</a> for the most part, though I’ve been getting more into physical storage solutions instead.</p> <p>📖 RSS: <a href="https://reeder.app" target="_blank">Reeder</a></p> <p>🙍🏻‍♂️ Contacts: Apple Contacts</p> <p>🌐 Browser: Mostly <a href="https://www.apple.com/safari/" target="_blank">Safari</a>, but <a href="https://arc.net" target="_blank">Arc</a> when I want to watch YouTube while I’m working 😅</p> <p>💬 Chat: Apple Messages, <a href="http://discord.com" target="_blank">Discord</a>, <a href="http://slack.com" target="_blank">Slack</a></p> <p>🔖 Bookmarks: <em>I just leave tabs open until I read them, is that bad? 😬</em></p> <p>📑 Read It Later: <a href="https://reeder.app" target="_blank">Reeder</a></p> <p>📜 Word Processing: <a href="https://www.craft.do" target="_blank">Craft</a></p> <p>📈 Spreadsheets: <a href="https://www.google.com/sheets" target="_blank">Google Sheets</a></p> <p>📊 Presentations: <a href="http://figma.com" target="_blank">Figma</a></p> <p>🛒 Shopping Lists: <a href="http://google.com/keep" target="_blank">Google Keep</a></p> <p>💰 Budgeting and Personal Finance: mostly tracked through my bank</p> <p>📰 News: RSS through <a href="https://reeder.app" target="_blank">Reeder</a></p> <p>🎵 Music: <a href="https://music.apple.com/us/browse" target="_blank">Apple Music</a> & <a href="https://bandcamp.com" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a></p> <p>🎤 Podcasts: <a href="https://pocketcasts.com" target="_blank">Pocket Casts</a></p> <p>🔐 Password Management: <a href="https://1password.com" target="_blank">1Password</a></p> <p>🧑‍💻 Code Editor: <a href="https://nova.app" target="_blank">Nova</a></p> <p>✈️ VPN: <a href="https://1.1.1.1" target="_blank">1.1.1.1</a></p> <hr> <h2>Honorable mentions:</h2> <p><a href="https://cleanshot.com" target="_blank">CleanShot X</a> for screenshots & li’l videos, <a href="https://cleanmymac.com" target="_blank">CleanMyMac</a> to uninstall stuff and keep my machine speedy, <a href="https://tapbots.com/ivory/mac/" target="_blank">Ivory</a> for Mastodon, <a href="https://www.ixeau.com/keystroke-pro/" target="_blank">Keystroke Pro</a> when recording tutorials, and <a href="https://rogueamoeba.com/farrago/" target="_blank">Farrago</a> & <a href="https://rogueamoeba.com/loopback/" target="_blank">Loopback</a> to subject my colleagues to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU9p1WRfA9w" target="_blank">Patrick Swayze songs</a> during standups.</p> <hr> <p>💌 Find a mistake? Got something nice to say? You can <a href="mailto:noah@noahjacob.us?subject=Deafult Apps 2023">reply via email</a>.</p> ]]>
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	  <title>Elantri-Fix</title>
	  <author>Noah Jacobus</author>
	  <pubDate>Mon, 04 Sep 2023 16:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
	  <link>http://noahjacob.us/words/elantri-fix.html</link>
	  <guid>http://noahjacob.us/words/elantri-fix.html</guid>
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		  <![CDATA[ <p>Back in 2015 during my second read-through of Brandon Sanderson’s <em>Mistborn</em> trilogy, I got the itch to make my own little iconographic representations of the base Allomantic metals and their powers. My goal was to strip things down to some simple visual language:</p> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/elantri-fix/allomancy.png" alt="8 goolden, geometric symbols I made to represent the main Allomantic metals from the Mistborn series: steel, iron, brass, zinc, pewter, tin, bronze, and copper."> </figure> <p>It was a fun and quick little project — and I didn’t think much about it until last year when Isaac Stewart, art director for Dragonsteel, reached out to me. Turns out they were looking for some nerdy folks to help design items for the Year of Sanderson swag boxes, and my name had resurfaced! Isaac already knew I loved Brandon’s books, and he’d gathered some of my previous work as reference for a specific project from the world of Sel: <em>bandages</em></p> <hr> <h2>Some background</h2> <p>The world of Sel is the home of <em>Elantris</em> and <em>The Emperor’s Soul</em> within Brandon’s literary Cosmere. I specifically don’t want to spoil much of the former, but it involves a decrepit city full of people who are doomed to accumulate minor injuries until they go mad. Fun!</p> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/elantri-fix/style-reference.jpg" alt="An arrangement of vintage, paper and metallic packaging for various Johnson & Johnson Band-Aid products. If I had to guess, probably dating from the 1920s–1940s."> <figcaption>Reference image provided by Dragonsteel</figcaption> </figure> <p>We started with the above reference image and a brief:</p> <blockquote>Purpose/Tone: A bit of a spoof. In Elantris, Sarene brings items into the city to help the Elantrians inside who are suffering the Shaod. This box has band-aids intended to be used by Elantrians on their cuts that don’t heal.</blockquote> <p>With just these couple prompts, a template from the manufacturer, and some color ideas (also since it’d been a while, a quick re-read of parts of <em>Elantris</em>), we were off to the races.</p> <hr> <h2>Figuring it out</h2> <p>I dove into paper and pencil first. As usual, this was to get as many ideas (especially the bad ones) out of my brain as quickly as possible — but I don’t really have a consistent and organized way to handle these. Years of attending design conferences have left me with more little notebooks than I could ever use, so I just grab whatever’s handiest 😅</p> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/elantri-fix/sketch-1.jpeg" alt="Me holding a little sketchbook filled with scrawlings of title ideas and tin layout."> </figure> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/elantri-fix/sketch-3.jpeg" alt="Me holding a little sketchbook filled with scrawlings tin layout ideas."> </figure> <p>I took this step only as far as I needed to before starting to digitally rough out digital layouts — I work in Figma every day for my job at <a href="https://fontawesome.com" target="_blank">Font Awesome</a> so I’m pretty speedy at this point, especially for such simple stuff. Eventually, 3 different directions and some guiding principles emerged:</p> <ul> <li>Spoofy portmanteau product names like: <em>Elant-Fix, Reo-lief, “Sarene’s Own” brand, Widow’s Trial Bandages</em></li> <li>Prominent use of Aon Rao</li> <li>Blues, browns, and golds</li> <li>“Product of Teod” stamped on the bottom</li> <li><em>“Eternal life of scrapes and bruises got you down in the dumps? Next time you slip on some slime, look no further than ____!”</em></li> <li>Small print disclaimers</li> </ul> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/elantri-fix/concept-1.png" alt="Rough Figma layout of the Cityscape concept broken into four panels. 1: Silhouette of Elantris cityscape and outer walls. 2: Prominent Aon Rao on blue strata inspired by vintage bandage tins. 3: Patterning along the bottom blue strip. 4: Testimontal blurb and/or disclaimer, also showing the different Aons featured on the bandages."> <figcaption>Layout concept 1: “Cityscape”</figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/elantri-fix/concept-2.png" alt="Rough Figma layout of the Text Block concept broken into four panels. 1: Pattern of Aons used on the bandages within. 2: Large text-based label reminiscent of reference materials. Perhaps a snappy slogan split acrooss either side of the central Aon. 3: Even more Aons! 4: Testimonial, slogan, Aon examples, or usage illustration."> <figcaption>Layout concept 2: “Text Block”</figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/elantri-fix/concept-3.png" alt="Rough Figma layout of the Filigree concept broken into four panels. 1: Ornate, geometric Aon presentation (with translation?) 2: More topographical view of Elantris and the Aon Rao, emphasizing the AonDor’s connection to the land. 3: Ornate, geometric Aon presentation (with translation?) 4: Yet another testimonial or description block with Aon examples or bandage illustration, but they’re cut off by a sneaky little chasm on the side."> <figcaption>Layout concept 3: “Filigree”</figcaption> </figure> <p>Years of working at a product design agency taught me to never hand over a lick o’ work without context, so I also put together a little presentation to explain my choices:</p> <div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 57.78491171749599%; height: 0;"><iframe src="https://www.loom.com/embed/a0f016b39dad4a48bd42d0db61f1d8f9?sid=ec222be4-91d7-4b9f-be12-5921ea9ab744" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;"></iframe></div> <hr> <h2>Drawing the bits</h2> <p>By and large, Isaac and the team loved them straight away. There were some minor tweaks to make (like adjusting the name from <em>Elant-Fix</em> to <em>Elantri-Fix</em>), but the third concept clearly won. Even my written copy got to stick around!</p> <p>But I needed to start working on some of the fiddlier, ornamental bits — so back to the sketchbook I went:</p> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/elantri-fix/sketch-2.jpeg" alt="Me holding a little sketchbook filled with scrawlings decorative corners and elements."> </figure> <p>The visuals for the borders and the big, central Aon Rao were first to settle, and helped inform probably my favorite bit to make: the title treatment.</p> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/elantri-fix/title.png" alt="The Elantri-Fix tin title treatment. Tall, serif letters surrounded by radiance lines and an interwoven border."> </figure> <p>For other non-title text, I turned to my favorite place to go type shopping: <a href="https://www.futurefonts.xyz" target="_blank">Future Fonts</a>. More specifically, the inherent strength and stylish flair in East of Rome’s excellent <a href="https://www.futurefonts.xyz/east-of-rome/auroc" target="_blank">Auroc</a>.</p> <p>Thanks to planning everything in Figma, I was able to make the title lockup and all other reusable bits as component instances. Any changes I made to the main component would cascade through the entire layout and save me a bunch of time.</p> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/elantri-fix/components.png" alt="Figma screenshot showing the different component elements that I reused: borders for front, back, top, and side panels; title treatment explorations, and aons."> </figure> <p>Various components also came in handy when making the bandages themselves — all of the Aons could carry over, along with colors and some ornamental elements. So I really only had to a bandage component once, and could swap in the rest on the fly.</p> <hr> <h2>Making it real</h2> <p>As the deadline loomed for wrapping things up, I was in the midst of helping moving my parents across the country. So I didn’t have a ton of extra brain bandwidth to come up with a comprehensive recommendation, but I did offer the Dragonsteel team my thoughts on some fancy finishes and processes we could use during fabrication.</p> <p>Final designs were approved, files sent, and fees paid (the fastest turnaround I’ve seen)! <em>Then I waited for 10 months.</em> Manufacturing ain’t easy!</p> <p>The new year arrived, and I followed Brandon’s video updates on YouTube to hear any news of my precious li’l adhesive friends and their flip-top aluminum house. Then lo and behold, the YouTube unboxing videos began to appear!</p> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/elantri-fix/youtube-unbox.png" alt="Screenshot of Jessie and Eric from the 17 Shard YouTube video where they open the Sel box. Eric is holding the tin I designed!"> <figcaption>Jessie and Eric from the <a href="https://youtu.be/UlmUlqAX7Mc?si=8q-kW2ob8t4VG_5M" target="_blank">17th Shard</a></figcaption> </figure> <p>I really can’t overstate how much all these videos warmed my heart. Everyone was very complementary and really seemed to love the cheeky tone and Easter eggs tucked throughout the designs.</p> <p>Both the tin and the bandages came out even better than I’d hoped! Isaac, the Dragonsteel team, and the manufacturer knocked my vision out of the park, and I couldn’t be happier with the result. They even gave me a few copies of my own to squirrel away or give to friends and family.</p> <p>And now, for some more pictures because I just enjoy looking at them 😄</p> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/elantri-fix/store.png" alt="3/4 front and back profile photos of the tin from the Dragonsteel store product page"> <figcaption>Images from the Dragonsteel online store</figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/elantri-fix/mine.png" alt="A 3/4 profile and tin bottom photo I took in my home office"> <figcaption>Some quick shots I took in my office</figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/elantri-fix/bandages.png" alt="Photo of my hand holing all the different colors of bandages, fanned out in an alluring display"> </figure> <hr> <p>💌 Find a mistake? Got something nice to say? You can <a href="mailto:noah@noahjacob.us?subject=Elantri-Fix">reply via email</a>.</p> ]]>
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	  <title>Config</title>
	  <author>Noah Jacobus</author>
	  <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2023 16:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
	  <link>http://noahjacob.us/words/config.html</link>
	  <guid>http://noahjacob.us/words/config.html</guid>
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		  <![CDATA[ <iframe class="video" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N1rcJRQ8u4Y" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe> <p>Here it is in all its glory: our icon talk from Config 2023. If you have ever laid awake in the small hours of the night, wondering:</p> <ul> <li>How do you make an apple pie?</li> <li>What’s cooler than math?</li> <li>Why is this trophy so sharp?</li> </ul> <p>then watch above, and all this and more shall be answered.</p> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/config/config-1.jpg" alt="Noah on stage speaking at Config. He's got an ear-mounted mic and is holding a slide clicker. Blurred in the foreground are Jory's arm and his yellow Font Awesome water bottle."> <figcaption>“Hey kid, ya like icons?”</figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/config/config-2.jpg" alt="Jory on stage speaking at Config. He's gesturing toward himself, and behind him on the big screen are the words 'Maths for Pictographs.' "> <figcaption>Big words, or tiny Jory?</figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/config/config-3.jpg" alt="Folks sitting in the audience enjoying our talk at Config"> <figcaption>Tim and Cole seemed to like it</figcaption> </figure> <hr> <p>💌 Find a mistake? Got something nice to say? You can <a href="mailto:noah@noahjacob.us?subject=Config">reply via email</a>.</p> ]]>
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	  <title>Enjoyment Roundup 003</title>
	  <author>Noah Jacobus</author>
	  <pubDate>Mon, 11 Jun 2023 16:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
	  <link>http://noahjacob.us/words/roundup-003.html</link>
	  <guid>http://noahjacob.us/words/roundup-003.html</guid>
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		  <![CDATA[ <p>It’s been a minute! Work and family have been keeping me on my toes. Not to mention that since the last Roundup, I redesigned my site, released my <a href="/words/famicase-2023.html" target="_blank">Famicase entry</a>, and have been writing a talk with <a href="https://twitter.com/sensibleworld" target="_blank">Jory Raphael</a> to deliver at <a href="https://config.figma.com/agenda?d=day-2&session=63f5c7f9-a504-487d-94fa-737c45865d1d" target="_blank">Config</a> next week! <em>(Also trying to exist across the hellscape of 3 separate text-based social media platforms — but that’s another topic for another post.)</em></p> <p>And of course in between all that I’ve been consuming a delicious and nutritious diet of new media.</p> <ul class="roundup"> <li class="book"> <p class="roundup-title">📖 <strong><em><a href="https://www.shortbox.co.uk/product/cuckoo-by-joe-sparrow-pre-order" target="_blank">Cuckoo</a></em> by Joe Sparrow</strong></p> <p>I’ve been a fan of Joe’s work ever since I started watching <em>Amphibia</em>. His previous graphic novel <em><a href="https://shortbox.gumroad.com/l/PrAcf" target="_blank">Homunculus</a></em> is also excellent, and both of them made me cry! Dammit Joe!</p> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/roundups/cuckoo.png" alt="Splashy marketing image from Cuckoo, of the main character Dorothy geometrically exploding into 4 directions."> </figure> </li> <li class="music"> <p class="roundup-title">🎵 <strong><em><a href="https://miya.bandcamp.com/album/roach" target="_blank">Roach</a></em> by Miya Folick</strong></p> <p>A little more pop-y than her last entry (which I don’t mind at all) and some of the tracks were already released on a previous EP, but I’ll never turn down more Miya.</p> <p><em>Honorable mention: Some Unused Songs by Louis Cole</em></p> </li> <li class="video-game"> <p class="roundup-title">🎮 <strong><em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em></strong></p> <p>Hey, look, listen — what can I say that hasn’t already been said about the latest entry in Nintendo’s fantastic franchise? Somehow they improved on a nigh-perfect game.</p> <p><em>Honorable mention: Outer Wilds, which I stopped and came back to multiple times but finally finished 🪐❤️</em></p> </li> <li class="tv"> <p class="roundup-title">📺 <strong><em><a href="https://youtu.be/AKoy_KMVIyU" target="_blank">Double Fine Psychodyssey</a></em></strong></p> <p>I’m a few months late to mentioning this, but it’s been on my mind since I first watched it back in March. If you’re at all interested in video game development, I really can’t recommend the this documentary about <em>Psychonauts 2</em> enough. It’s a funny, heartbreaking, messy, amazing, and tactful look at the creative process—especially when a group of humans are involved. Honestly it’s incredible that any video game has gotten made ever.</p> <p><em>Honorable mentions: Schmigadoon season 2 (aka Schmicago) & The Other Two</em></p> </li> <li class="keyboard"> <p class="roundup-title">⌨️ <strong>Strata by <a href="https://protozoa.studio" target="_blank">Protozoa</a></strong></p> <p>After acquiring two different Mode Eighties, I told myself I didn’t need another tenkeyless (TKL) keyboard. But dang if those wizards over at Protozoa didn’t get me with how striking the Strata looks. Also I’m hosting a little keyboard meetup at my coworking space in August, so purchases like this are more justifiable 😅</p> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/roundups/strata-tkl.jpeg" alt="Coral-colored Protozoa Strata TKL keyboard with no caps, showing Aflion Runner switches."> </figure> </li> </ul> <hr> <p>💌 Find a mistake? Got something nice to say? You can <a href="mailto:noah@noahjacob.us?subject=Enjoyment Roundup 003">reply via email</a>.</p> ]]>
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	  <title>My Famicase 2023</title>
	  <author>Noah Jacobus</author>
	  <pubDate>Mon, 01 May 2023 16:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
	  <link>http://noahjacob.us/words/famicase-2023.html</link>
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		  <![CDATA[ <p>It’s the most wonderful time of the year again, the <a href="https://famicase.com" target="_blank">My Famicase Exhibition</a>!</p> <p>I mentioned this briefly in the <a href="https://noahjacob.us/words/roundup-002.html" target="_blank">last Enjoyment Roundup</a>; but for more context, My Famicase is a little show put on every spring by Satoshi Sakagami of <a href="https://super-meteor.com" target="_blank">METEOR</a> gallery in Nishi-Ogikubo, Tokyo. Every year, folks from all over the world get to design brand new, imaginary games for the Super Famicom system (Japan’s version of the Super Nintendo) and have them displayed on physical cartridges for all to see! I’ve had the honor of participating in 3 previous exhibitions, but took last year off due to having zero extra creativity.</p> <figure><img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/famicase-2023/dream-garden.png" alt="A fictitious Famicom cartridges on a black background. Title: Dream Garden Duo. Illustration of a futuristic couple holding hands and plants with scifi halos around their serene expressions."> <figcaption>A favorite past entry, <em><a href="https://dribbble.com/shots/11226741-Dream-Garden-Duo-Famicase-2020" target="_blank">Dream Garden Duo</a></em></figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/famicase-2023/gelatinous-cubicle.png" alt="A fictitious Famicom cartridges on a black background. Title: Gelatinous Cubicle. A skeleton, desk, chair, computer, and papers float freely inside a green, glowing mass."> <figcaption>And another, <em><a href="https://dribbble.com/shots/15561014-Gelatinous-Cubicle-Famicase-2021" target="_blank">Gelatinous Cubicle: Dungeon Bureaucracy Simulator</a></em></figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/famicase-2023/onus.png" alt="A triangle, semi-occult-ish logo with an a drowsy eye in the center. It’s got a shiny, holographic sticker look to it."> <figcaption>The logo for ONUS, my fictitious game developer</figcaption> </figure> <hr> <h2>A sweet & sticky space mystery</h2> <p>As with most of my previous entries, the idea for the name came first. I have a note on my phone where I workshop Famicase ideas throughout the year so that once I realize <em>“oh dang I better get started”</em> in February or so, I can get started without too much stress. <em>Gelatinous Cubicle</em> (2021’s entry) was born from this list, and I’m excited about some promising candidates for forthcoming years 😎</p> <p><em>S’MARS</em> quickly rose to the top this time, but I needed to figure out <em>what it meant.</em> Would it be about a planet made of gooey, burned confectionary? Maybe some sort of saccharine puzzle game? Thankfully, a rewatch of <em>Sunshine</em> and a YouTube playthrough of the <em>Dead Space</em> remake coincided to give the idea some loose structure.</p> <p>As always, things start with some rough sketches. I typically do this only as long as it takes me to scratch out a few ideas or type lockups that I like.</p> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/famicase-2023/famicase-sketch.jpeg" alt="Two pages of a small, pocket-sized sketchbook filled with S’MARS doodles. Left: s’more schematic and general notes to myself. Right: title treatment ideas."> <figcaption>The messier, the better</figcaption> </figure> <h2>There’s something hungry out there...</h2> <p>I knew I wanted to do something with a sci-fi technical schematic look, with text overlaid using some sort of transparency or blending mode. I made the ship first, but it was a bit too complicated at first to have text reliably and legibly sit on top. But after 5 iterations or so, I hit a general layout and color scheme (inspired by NASA, ofc) that worked well.</p> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/famicase-2023/old-ship.png" alt="Black and grey vector line drawing of the s’more ship. It has a quasi-isometric side perspective, and too many solar panels and other details."> <figcaption>An initial pass at the ship</figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/famicase-2023/old-type.png" alt="Two vertically stacked, unfinished type examples for the game art. Top is very NASA-y, though only smells MAR at this stage. The bottom is a much more angular and rigid take, though abandoned after MA and some light grey spacing blocks."> <figcaption>Early type explorations</figcaption> </figure> <p>I remade and recolored my old Famicom cartridge vector template in Figma, and <em>voila!</em></p> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/famicase-2023/cartridge.png" alt="Off-white Famicom cartridge with navy blue, sky blue, and red art. The word S’MARS is overlaid atop a lined schematic drawing of a spaceship made of multiple modules and panel arrays arrange along a central axis. It seems reminiscent of marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers?"> </figure> <p>The final title treatment, especially, was a blast to develop. I knew I wanted something tech-y and somewhat interconnected, but earlier NASA-esque explorations didn’t pan out the way I wanted. Plus, the juxtaposition of such stark and rigid lettering and an ooey-gooey treat is kind of funny.</p> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/famicase-2023/final-type.png" alt="The tech-y, sci-fi title treatment I made for S’MARS — centered in solid white with outlined yellow versions radiating vertically off of it."> <figcaption>Thank you, have a nice day!</figcaption> </figure> <p>With Famicase entries, though, the art is only half of it. You’re also encouraged to write a short game description that will go onto the website and exhibition booklet. It could be anything, which is intimidating! But some of my aforementioned media consumption helped crystallize into this:</p> <blockquote><em>Mallow Core: offline. Graham Panel Array: unresponsive. Choc Strut Integrity: compromised. We’re 84 million miles from home, and there’s something hungry out there.</em></blockquote> <hr> <p>I could keep writing about this stuff for a while, but honestly I didn't document as much of the process or rejected concepts as I’d hoped 😅 If you’d like to read more sometime about these (like using extensive Figma components for the first time while making <em>Gelatinous Cubicle</em>) or anything else Famicase-related, hit that email link below.</p> <p>💌 Find a mistake? Got something nice to say? You can <a href="mailto:noah@noahjacob.us?subject=My Famicase 2023">reply via email</a>.</p> ]]>
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	  <title>Job Awesome</title>
	  <author>Noah Jacobus</author>
	  <pubDate>Tue, 21 Mar 2023 16:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
	  <link>http://noahjacob.us/words/job-awesome.html</link>
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		  <![CDATA[ <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/job-awesome/fa-emboss.png" alt="embossed version of the Font Awesome flag logo on a gritty, purple-navy background"> <p>One year ago today, I started working at <a href="http://fontawesome.com" target="_blank">Font Awesome</a>. I’d already been planning on writing a bit about the experience and how it’s been different; but last month, Lynn Fisher posted an <a href="https://lynnandtonic.com/thoughts/entries/unordered-incomplete-list-of-things-i-want-from-a-job/" target="_blank">excellent list of things she wants from a job</a>. The earnestness of her words helped clarify my own thoughts and put some things in perspective.</p> <p>But first, a little background. I used to work remote at a Canadian design agency. In the last couple years out of my 7 working there, I regularly kept an ear to the ground about new opportunities. Judging by LinkedIn and <a href="https://read.cv/jabronus" target="_blank">read.cv</a> profiles, 7 years is an <em>eternity</em> in tech — so I suppose it makes sense that things started to stagnate. I had a terrific manager, but the company didn’t really know what to do with me as one of the only design specialists. Very much a “the clients love you and we value what you do” but also a “we forgot to promote you for the things you were already doing” situation. Anyway, I was tired of it. And thanks to Lynn’s list, it’s much easier now to identify some key things I felt were missing:</p> <ul> <li><strong><s>Work that benefits the people who receive it.</s></strong> Benefit is hard to gauge with super quick, 2-week engagements. You do your best, explain your work’s worth and how it fits into the larger project, and cross your fingers and toes that it’ll get used correctly (or at all).</li> <li><strong><s>A team small enough to know everyone personally.</s></strong> By the time I left, we were well over 100 spread across multiple departments and countries around the world. Upside: lots of diverse clientele & coworker experiences. Downside: it was impossible to know everyone, much less work with them. Kind of a rough deal in terms of remote working relationships. Plus, the specialist “team” was so siloed and haggard we couldn’t actually get together and plan how to address issues we all faced.</li> <li><strong><s>The autonomy to make small and big decisions about my work.</s></strong></li> <li><strong><s>The ability and opportunity to share my work publicly.</s></strong> NDAs blow.</li> <li><strong><s>Very few meetings, used effectively.</s></strong></li> <li><strong><s>Work that makes me come alive.</s></strong> Aside from all the rest, one of the final nails in the coffin was the company’s growing involvement in web3 and crypto client projects. I voiced my concerns about <a href="https://web3isgoinggreat.com" target="_blank">that whole disaster</a> multiple times but was still assigned to them anyway.</li> </ul> <hr> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/job-awesome/fa-playdate.png" alt="illustrated Font Awesome icon of a Pldaydate handheld console on a purple background. It’s positioned at a januty angle, and has a pixelated version of the Font Awseome logo on its black-and-white-screen."> <p>So one year in, has Font Awesome been different?</p> <p><em>A lot.</em></p> <p>We follow the tenets of <a href="https://basecamp.com/shapeup" target="_blank">Shape Up</a>, writing pitches and breaking work into digestible, 6-week chunks called “splits.” And in between these splits, we have 2-week cooldowns to work on fun things, fix random bugs, or learn new skills! A far cry from the blistering pace of agency client work. Let’s revisit some of that list:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Work that benefits the people who receive it.</strong> Everything at FA is based around icons, their implementation, and what our users and subscribers need — so I don’t need to constantly “sell” my skills or convince stakeholders that I belong at the table. Refreshing! Also being able to really dig in on something and tinker and revise until it works beats the heck out of fortnightly context whiplash.</li> <li><strong>A team small enough to know everyone personally.</strong> As of this writing, there are 18 of us. Even with everyone working remote, it's soooo much easier to build relationships when you can remember everyone's name. Plus we all <a href="https://blog.fontawesome.com/healthy-remote-work/" target="_blank">hang out</a> twice a year to noodle on new ideas, play D&D, and eat cookies.</li> <li><strong>The autonomy to make small and big decisions about my work.</strong> Everybody gets to have a say in what they work on. Pitches are written prior to each split outlining the planned work ahead and any foreseen potential pitfalls, and folks are welcome to help shape that direction and help hammer the scope down into something manageable.</li> <li><strong>The ability and opportunity to share my work publicly.</strong> I love talking about icons! I’ve done a fair share of written and video content about them in the past, and now I get to <a href="https://blog.fontawesome.com/add-some-class-with-font-awesome-sharp-icons/" target="_blank">keep</a> <a href="https://www.podcastawesome.com/2092855/12227182-nerd-show-and-tell-meet-noah-jacobus-senior-icon-designer" target="_blank">doing</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/@jabronus/109988072794511653" target="_blank">it</a>.</li> <li><strong>Very few meetings, used effectively </strong> I have about one meeting a week — that’s it. And it’s a pretty chill roundup of how everyone’s week has been.</li> <li><strong>Work that makes me come alive.</strong> I won’t go all Dani Rojas and say that “icons are life,” but I will say that working at Font Awesome has allowed all the parts of myself outside the 9–5 to more fully come alive. I haven’t had the Sunday Scaries once this past year. I’ve had spare creativity to use for freelance and side projects (like this blog!). Lower anxiety levels means better quality time with my family.</li> </ul> <p>Something our CEO Dave likes to talk a lot about is “work as a means to an end.” While it’s great to enjoy what you do for a living (and I’m incredibly blessed that I do), it should be just that: <em>for living.</em> Jobs should be tools to enable you to live the life you want when you’re not on the clock. (P.S. <a href="https://blog.fontawesome.com/hiring-a-product-designer/" target="_blank">We’re hiring!</a>)</p> <p>Cheers to one year and here’s to many awesome more ⚑</p> <hr> <aside>Thanks to Em for proofreading</aside> <p>💌 Find a mistake? Got something nice to say? You can <a href="mailto:noah@noahjacob.us?subject=Job Awesome">reply via email</a>.</p> ]]>
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	  <title>Enjoyment Roundup 002</title>
	  <author>Noah Jacobus</author>
	  <pubDate>Fri, 03 Feb 2023 16:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
	  <link>http://noahjacob.us/words/roundup-002.html</link>
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		  <![CDATA[ <p>More things have been enjoyed! I’ve also been tinkering with some style updates to the site and blog, but they’re not ready for primetime quite yet. I’d thought my design was pretty settled for a while, but as always <a href="https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/let-a-website-be-a-worry-stone/" target="_blank">Marcotte’s Law</a> holds true.</p> <ul class="roundup"> <li class="book"> <p>📖 <strong><a href="http://www.untold-stories.net/?p=The-Politics-of-Design" target="_blank"><em>The Politics of Design</em></a> by Ruben Pater</strong></p> <blockquote>You are privileged. Just reading this sentence makes you part of the 85% of the world population that is literate, the 20% that understands English, and the 40% that has access to the internet.</blockquote> <p>I’m not quite all the way through yet, but it’s a both brisk and brusque read with a welcome tone. Adding Ruben’s <a href="http://www.untold-stories.net/?p=CAPS_LOCK" target="_blank"><em>Caps Lock</em></a> to my reading list next. </li> <li class="music"> <p>🎵 <strong><a href="https://boygenius.lnk.to/TheRecord/" target="_blank"><em>The Record</em></a> by boygenius</strong></p> <p>Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus are at it again. <em>No words, just listen.</em> Full album comes out March 31.</p> </li> <li class="website"> <p>🌐 <strong><a href="http://famicase.com" target="_blank">My Famicase Exhibition</a></strong></p> <p>The most wonderful time of the year is coming soon! Hosted by <a href="https://super-meteor.com" target="_blank">METEOR</a> in Nishiogikubo, My Famicase is a celebration of the Super Famicom game system (Japan’s version of the Nintendo SNES). Every spring, designers from around the world get to make up brand new games as if they’d been made for the Super Famicom, then see their work displayed on actual cartridges in METEOR’s gallery space. I was too busy to participate last year, but you better believe I’m locked and loaded for 2023 😎</p> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/roundups/famicase.png" alt="Two famicom cartidges with my own artwork. Left: Gelatinous Cubicle, a skeleton floats in a large green jelly that has swallowed their office. Right: Dream Garden Duo, a pair of serene figures hold hands while their other hands levitate geometric flowers."> <figcaption>A couple of my past entries</figcaption> </figure> </li> <li class="tv"> <p>📺 <strong><a href="https://tv.apple.com/us/show/shape-island/umc.cmc.40xdlw2jijoj95c3a6y2m3738" target="_blank"><em>Shape Island</em></a></strong></p> <p>I’ve long enjoyed the Jon Klassen’s books (<em>We Found a Hat</em> and <em>The Rock from the Sky</em> are favorites in our house), but I wasn’t as familiar with his Shape stories written with Mac Barnett. I’ll need to check them out now, since my kiddo has really been enjoying these charmingly stop-motion-animated shorts on AppleTV+.</p> </li> <li class="keyboard"> <p>⌨️ <strong><a href="https://parallel.limited/collections/gb-array" target="_blank">Array</a> by Parallel</strong></p> <p>I <a href="/words/roundup-001.html" target="_blank">wrote before</a> about the switches I put into my Tofu65 for coworking days, but it has now been usurped. Not the switches (which are great), but the board has been replaced with a beautiful, polycarbonate Parallel Array. Not only is it lighter in my backpack, it’s a stunner and easier to adjust on the fly thanks to the gummy O-ring mounting style.</p> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/roundups/parallel-array.png" alt="Photo of a Parallel Array polycarbonate keyboard on a small, white deskpad. There's a multicolor PVD accent piece on the back, with GMK Polybius keycaps on top."> <figcaption>My Array with GMK Polybius keycaps</figcaption> </figure> </li> </ul> <hr> <p>💌 Find a mistake? Got something nice to say? You can <a href="mailto:noah@noahjacob.us?subject=Enjoyment Roundup 002">reply via email</a>.</p> ]]>
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	  <title>Favorite Media of 2022</title>
	  <author>Noah Jacobus</author>
	  <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jan 2023 16:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
	  <link>http://noahjacob.us/words/2022-favorites.html</link>
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		  <![CDATA[ <p>Tangentially related to my <a href="/words/roundup-001.html" target="_blank">Enjoyment Roundups</a>, I thought it’d be fun to go through various media I most enjoyed this past year.</p>  <hr> <h2>Films</h2> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/2022-favorites/everything.png" alt="still from Everything, Everywhere, All at Once"> <figcaption>So glad Ke Huy Quan is getting his flowers.</figcaption> </figure> <p>Having a kid really changes your media habits, not to mention the whole ongoing global pandemic thing. So I didn’t get out to ye olde cineplex as much as I have in the past.</p> <ol> <li><em><strong>Everything Everywhere All at Once</strong></em></li> <li><em><strong>Nope</strong></em></li> <li><em><strong>After Yang</strong></em></li> <li><em><strong>Glass Onion</strong></em></li> <li><em><strong>Turning Red</strong></em></li> </ol> <hr> <h2>Music</h2> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/2022-favorites/alluvium.png" alt="snippet of cover art for Alluvium by C Duncan"> <figcaption>“What good would any gift do / When all that I want is you?”</figcaption> </figure> <ol> <li><em><strong>Alluvium</strong></em> — C Duncan</li> <li><em><strong>Fire Seed</strong></em> — Phabies</li> <li><em><strong>Brothertiger</strong></em> — Brothertiger</li> <li><em><strong>Special</strong></em> — Lizzo</li> <li><em><strong>Second Nature</strong></em> — Lucius</li> </ol> <hr> <h2>Television</h2> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/2022-favorites/station-eleven.png" alt="Himesh Patel and Matilda Lawler as Jeevan and Kristen in Station Eleven"> <figcaption>“I stood looking over my damaged home and tried to forget the sweetness of life on Earth.”</figcaption> </figure> <p>If you listen to the podcast Wonderful, you’ve heard Griffin McElroy say that this may be the best year of television in recent memory — and I’m inclined to agree.</p> <ol> <li><em><strong>Station Eleven</strong></em> — HBOMax (for now)</li> <li><em><strong>Severance</strong></em> — Apple TV+</li> <li><em><strong>Andor</strong></em> — Disney+</li> <li><em><strong>The Bear</strong></em> — Hulu</li> <li><em><strong>Our Flag Means Death</strong></em> — HBOMax (for now)</li> </ol> <aside>Honorable mention to everything on <a href="http://dropout.tv" target="_blank">Dropout</a>, which IMO is the best bang for your buck you can get with a streaming service. <em>Dimension 20, Game Changer, Play It By Ear, Dirty Laundry,</em> to name a few.</aside> <hr> <h2>Video Games</h2> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/2022-favorites/tunic.png" alt="screenshot from Tunic"> <figcaption>“In a far off land, a great treasure was sealed away forever.”</figcaption> </figure> <ol> <li><em><strong><a href="https://tunicgame.com" target="_blank">Tunic</a></strong></em> — Mac</li> <li><em><strong>Horizon Forbidden West</strong></em> — PS5</li> <li><em><strong>God of War Ragnarök</strong></em> — PS5</li> <li><em><strong><a href="https://www.inscryption.com" target="_blank">Inscryption</a></strong></em> — PS5</li> <li><em><strong><a href="https://rngpartygames.itch.io/bloom" target="_blank">Bloom</a></strong></em> — Playdate</li> </ol> <hr> <h2>Podcasts</h2> <figure> <img src="https://noahjacob.us/images/blog/2022-favorites/off-book.png" alt="Jess McKenna and Zach Reino from the podcast Off Book"> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> <p>My doing-the-dishes and riding-the-bus entertainment of choice.</p> <ol> <li><em><strong><a href="https://www.thezachandthejess.com/podcast-off-book.html" target="_blank">Off Book</a></strong></em> (which has a <a href="https://youtu.be/VbF1AJPqP1M" target="_blank">Gamechanger</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/xFtlkvGE3OA" target="_blank">Dropout spinoff show</a> you should absolutely watch)</li> <li><em><strong><a href="https://podcast.play.date" target="_blank">The Playdate Podcast</a></strong></em></li> <li><em><strong><a href="https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/wonderful/" target="_blank">Wonderful!</a></strong></em></li> <li><em><strong><a href="https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/my-brother-my-brother-and-me/" target="_blank">My Brother, My Brother & Me</a></strong></em></li> <li><em><strong><a href="https://www.dungeonsanddaddies.com" target="_blank">Dungeons & Daddies</a></strong></em></li> </ol> <hr> <aside>💌 Find a mistake? Got something nice to say? You can <a href="mailto:noah@noahjacob.us?subject=Favorite Media of 2022">reply via email</a>.</aside> ]]>
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	  <title>Enjoyment Roundup 001</title>
	  <author>Noah Jacobus</author>
	  <pubDate>Fri, 13 Jan 2023 16:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
	  <link>http://noahjacob.us/words/roundup-001.html</link>
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		  <![CDATA[ <p>So I’ve already been doing this for a bit <a href="https://twitter.com/Jabronus/status/1560695614165422080?s=20&t=m9_0JNscIE9z0zs6AcZVcw" target="_blank">on Twitter</a>, but I figured a longer form version with additional context could be fun. I don’t really have a regular cadence for this in mind — basically whenever I’ve experienced enough different things across various media that pique my interest.</p> <ul> <li> <h3>📖 <a href="https://simpletype.co/products/twenty-bits-websites" target="_blank"><em>Twenty Bits I Learned About Making Websites</em> by Dan Cederholm</a></h3> <p>I’ve been a Dan Fan™ for a long while, and have really enjoyed his previous releases in this series. There’s lots of fun little nuggets, but as he says <em>“This is not a book about code.”</em> More of a trip down memory lane to the early days of web standards with some timeless lessons.</p> </li> <li> <h3>🎵 <a href="https://orcd.co/pollen" target="_blank"><em>Pollen</em> by Tennis</a></h3> <p>Sure the album doesn’t come out ‘til February 10, but I still keep listening to the same 2 released tracks over and over. I keep 2020’s <em><a href="https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/tennis-swimmer/" target="_blank">Swimmer</a></em> on regular rotation as-is, so I can’t wait to for new Tennis tunes to fill my ear holes.</p> </li> <li> <h3>📺 <a href="https://www.disneyplus.com/series/willow/PfeL8yCNXD3r" target="_blank">Willow</a></h3> <p>I didn’t grow up with Ron Howard’s 1988 original flick <em><a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/willow/" target="_blank">Willow</a></em>, but I caught it as an adult a few years ago and found it quite charming (doesn’t hurt that Warwick Davis is always a win). I was worried this series would play the usual “soft reboot, same cast 30+ years later, *wink wink nudge nudge* nostalgia card” that’s plagued so many IPs lately; but my wife and I have really enjoyed it! Has its own tone and frequently made us laugh out loud.</p> </li> <li> <h3>⌨️ Tofu65 with <a href="https://modedesigns.com/collections/switches/products/anthracite-silent-tactile-switches" target="_blank">Anthracite Silent Tactiles</a></h3> <p>The trusty ol’ Tofu was my first real mechanical keyboard, and it’s still the most portable one I own. Because of that, it’s also the one I take with me to <a href="https://workthefactory.com" target="_blank">The Factory</a> on coworking days. I’m not a heavy typer, but I’m always keeping my ears on a swivel for making too much noise in public spaces. Lo and behold my delight when <a href="https://modedesigns.com" target="_blank">Mode</a>, some of my favorite keyboard folks, released a silent tactile switch for quiet clackin’. They’re surprisingly good stock, and I haven’t heard any complaints from my desk neighbors.</p> </li> </ul> ]]>
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	  <title>Writing in the Open</title>
	  <author>Noah Jacobus</author>
	  <pubDate>Tue, 10 Jan 2023 16:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
	  <link>http://noahjacob.us/words/writing-in-the-open.html</link>
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	  	<![CDATA[ <p>Well hello there, new friend. This blog may not look like much yet, but I wanted to get a space set up sooner rather than later for my forthcoming thoughts. And while the paint may change, the bones will stay the same — so why not go ahead and move in?</p> <p>Some potential posts coming down the pipe:</p> <ul> <li><strong>“Job Awesome”</strong> (reflections on one year at <a href="https://fontawesome.com" target="_blank">Font Awesome</a>)</li> <li><strong>“Fundamentals of Icon Design v2”</strong> (cleaning up writing, new visual examples, dropping the MetaLab project narrative framing)</li> <li><strong>“Clicksy Business”</strong> (getting into the mechanical keyboard hobby)</li> <li><strong>“We Got the Chunk”</strong> (the ups, downs, and more ups of making and maintaining <a href="http://chunkicons.com" target="_blank">Chunk icons</a>)</li> </ul> <p>Anything else you’d like to hear about? Gimme a hearty shout on <a href="https://twitter.com/Jabronus" target="_blank">The Bird</a>, <a href="https://mstdn.social/@jabronus" target="_blank">The Elephant</a>, or good old <a href="mailto:noah@noahjacob.us?subject=Writing in the Open">electronic mail</a>.</p> ]]>
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