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http://www.uncomplicatedblog.com

see you there.

usually this is something similar in function or monetarily the same. somehow the exchange must balance either the monetary scale, the object storage space, the object function or all of the above. this keeps us from acquiring a bunch of stuff and also mitigates the financial impact of upgrades or purchases.

a recent example is the purchase of miglia TVMiniHD.

our sony wega tv that we purchased almost new on craigslist, was fine. but our computer monitors had better color and a higher resolution. and, they took up less space. by selling the tv we accomplished several things:

• more space as the object we were acquiring negated the need for the larger object
• almost no monetary impact – the tv was sold on craigslist for nearly the value of the tv adapter
• the visual quality was much better – we now had HD programming

i sometimes think people are surprised that our studio isn’t packed in disarray. with the tendency to acquire materials and interesting objects, the one thing that has saved us from being overrun by stuff is the acquisition rule.

people that know us, know we dig craigslist.

if you live in sf, chances are you use craigslist a lot. transactions we have done via craigslist

• recently gave away 4 contractor sized garbage bags of pure elm sawdust from a project that was made from salvaged elm hardwood. it was picked up by 2 guys + 1 girlfriend in her little car, who were going to take it back to berkeley for use in their composting toilet.
• ram for our macbook within 2 hours after realizing that we needed it to run aperture for a presentation the next morning.
• sold 2 lacie monitors and some misc. mac peripherals to fund my new mac display.
• sold a used jetta within an hour. actually had to ask for the hour so that we could finish cleaning it.
• purchased equipment for the studio including flat files, pipe benders, hazmat cabinet, sweets catalogs, power tools, bar fridge, microwave
• bigger aquarium for our fat-tailed gecko
• offload our design mags every january
• found our studio and our awesome landlord, now friend
• bought and sold tickets
• found excellent vacation rentals
• bartered some excellent work trades
• gotten and given some excellent advice
• bought and sold motorcycles and motorcyle parts
• been to some fun craigslist parties back in the day
• bought and had recycled planters delivered at no charge for the front exterior
• once sold an epson c80 printer to an artist who only printed their work with epson c80 printers
• sold and bought musical instruments
• met a lot of kind, interesting, smart, quirky and eccentric people

in fact, i can honestly say that it is our main mode of acquisition/barter/liquidation. also can’t deny the entertainment value. if you peruse craigslist, you know what i mean.

so after a call to our provider, sunrocket, and an online search, i found that they shut their doors without notice. poo.

we were near the end of our contract and it was a great price anyway, so we can’t be bummed about that. i also have to say that in the 2 years we had service with them, they were great. i only used customer service a couple of times and they were knowledgeable and professional. there were a few minor glitches when they expanded their systems and changed some features, but it was usually late at night and no big deal. i can appreciate that.

but i have to say that i am bummed about how they handled this and even sadder about the struggle of some of these smaller businesses to go head to head with these giant corporations. the first thing a lot of people asked was if we were going to go with att. hell no.

our venture is going with another small company that seems to be into the technology and proud of what they do. sure, i checked out reviews and voip forums, but the most telling to me was the company blog and their own forums. so we are going with viatalk.

i hope that they succeed. not just because it can be a pain for us to switch providers. i want to give them our money because i want better product choices . . .

and i want to see the little guy do well, doing a good thing.

usually, this means a debrief and selection of project images. often, there is a site shoot later, but we almost always take some initial photos. sometimes i think it is the only way we can get a little perspective. the camera separates us from the work and allows a disassociation that is pretty informative. we both take shots as we see things differently – i mean literally more than metaphorically.

it’s also great to have a definitive halt in process. it doesn’t mean every detail or concept was perfectly executed. at some point, it’s just done and you have to stop. you get to step back and look around.

love the process when it’s happening, but you’ve got to love the end.

he’s been working on scaling down for the past couple of years and periodically brings us some cool objects, books or materials that he uncovers. needless to say, he has a lot to uncover after 27 years. so everything is going at a great price or even free. oh, the temptation. not only is it a great price – the spiritual energy could never be matched.

we promised each other, after the last time we moved our studio, that we would keep our acquisitions to a minimum. we reiterated our agreement on our way over the first day to help him move some materials and dig some hardwood out from the bottom of a stack. beautiful california walnut. we couldn’t resist.

and he told us to look around. . . .and then, the japanese planes. had to have a few. and we agreed that was it.

the next day we went over to see how it was going and came away empty handed. good job. there were lots of things we could have hoarded.

the next day we took him lunch and saw the boxes of cool fasteners. why not. and a dremmel attachment and some great, deep reach clamps that are no longer made . . and the hammers. i was weak. i took them all. yes, let it be known. i have a weakness for hammers and mallets. think what you will. i don’t care.

so much for editing.

well actually, a few years ago we would have taken it all. so i guess we have come a certain distance. we also have some great materials and tools from one of the finest artists in the west coast.

and i have used one of the hammers several times this week. ha.

we had a deadline and couple of meetings at the studio with clients. it’s good to have meetings here because it makes us keep the studio in a presentable order. we’re not big slobs, but you know how easy it is to make a big mess when you are working.

so today is a lazy saturday. we will still work, but we don’t set the alarm and sleep late. we then take the luxury of enjoying our coffee and getting a very slow start. we’ll probably still put in 8-10 hours. somehow, it seems more civilized this way – slow start, no calls and the city has a slow, quiet feel.

today is the perfect lazy saturday as the fog is in. maybe it won’t lift all day.

today, both collaborators were equally edited and edited the other. now is seems the trade off is almost a constant edit. life has become a collaboration.

i definitely think we hone the best artistic choices and dailogue this way. but it has become natural, repeated throughout the day, week, month, without a second thought.

will we be dependent on the process?

aaagh.

it sucks getting new fedex or ups guys. actually, ups seems to do better. either their drivers are more saavy or they have some descriptions/notes in their software for the drivers.

weird as it is, finding the fedex guys is hard. first you have to find the right kind of truck – ie, ground, express, home delivery, etc. with ups it is the same guy on a smaller route. not to say that we haven’t tracked our ups driver down, but finding him is much easier as his route is smaller.

so you say, why hunt him down? have you no patience?

well, when you have to be somewhere for a meeting, etc. and neighboring businesses are closed and your other neighbors are out and you realize you don’t have an assistant. . . .you have no choice. this is not the burbs where your smiling, friendly driver can leave the package on the doorstep while your golden retriever or lab looks on from the window. nope, anything in front of your building in the city means only one thing – free.

so we need this package and we drive around hunting down the fedex guy because we need to leave within the hour for a meeting. we must be nuts.  at the second truck, we find him.  and who would guess, he is also relieved.  one less building to try to find on his new route.

luckily, the ups guys rarely change. in fact, we know where our driver eats lunch. no, we don’t hunt him down while he is eating. we actually bought him lunch when we saw him at our local hangout. it was our way of saying thanks and please, please don’t quit.

reggie willits, his wife and child have been living in a batting cage for the last three years. seriously.

NYtimes article > life in a cage