I was up to one in the morning checking out 320 and Up and HTML5 Reset WordPress Theme. Building from tiny screen first then moving up seems like a smart approach. Andy Clarke incorporated a bunch of neat functions like respond.js and imgsizer.js in addition to HTML5 Boilerplate.

Version 2 of HTML5 Reset also comes with a Blank WordPress Theme, “a style-free theme designed to help get your custom WordPress project off the ground.” The theme contains a very minimal set of files so it would be great for a small, simple site. I am not sure how it will scale up for more complex projects.

I was thinking of combining 320 and Up and Blank WordPress Theme, but there are things that seem to overlapping. So I probably will combine 320 with Toolbox. I just started a new project so it’ll be a perfect opportunity to put these two to work. Will see how it’ll turn out.

While working on Writerhead, I was thinking of designing a WordPress theme and just sell it. The idea was inspired by Khoi Vinh’s Basic Math and iA³ Template for WordPress and it would be a great way to learn the nuances of WordPress. Then again, I more of crafting a unique experience than creating something general. In addition, WordPress has over 1,300 themes to choose from.

As I was debating whether if it’s worthwhile to invest a tremendous amount of time in creating a general theme and make $30-$50 or only take on projects that let me concentrate on a specific theme that meets the client’s requirement, I had a potential client who asked me take on a project that I have not done before. The client wanted me to take a theme on Theme Forest and turn it into a site. Basically, the client wanted to cut out the design cost. After looking into Theme Forest, I refused to offer the service. As of this writing, Theme Forest has 930 themes for WordPress. Setting up WordPress and activating a theme is an easy part, getting the theme to meet the client’s requirements probably need tremendous editing and forking into the codes. I don’t mind doing the work, but I don’t feel that’s a good investment on the client part. Why paying for something that potentially look the same with other sites?

As stated in the info page: “We work directly with our clients to craft each web experience according to the needs of their users.” I will stick to that and only offer a unique experience. This also leads to my decision not to make a general WordPress theme for sale.

I love the way kids communicate. They get straight to point. Let me give a few examples. We visited my mom this weekend. Early Saturday morning, Eric, my little six-year-old nephew, came into the room I was sleeping in and lay down next to me. I turned toward him and he started to cough. So here’s our little conversation:

Me: “You have a cold?”
Eric: “No, it’s your breath.”
Me: “My breath makes you cough?”
Eric: “Yes, your breath smells bad.”
Me: “Thanks, Eric!” (laughed)
Eric: “You’re welcome.”

A few minutes later he looked at me. Our conversation went on.

Eric: “Your nose-holes are big.”
Me: “How big?”
Eric: “As big as a cow.”

I guess I need to start saving up money to get a nose job. Anybody needs a web site?

My little boy who is almost two years old is even a tougher critic than his dad. Whenever I started to sing, he would wave his hand and protest, “No nhac” (no music). There goes my dream of becoming a singer.

In “Gaddafi’s Endgame: How Will the U.S. Get Out of Libya?,” Fareed Zakaria points out that Obama is not willing to let the U.S. lead the War in Libya. He writes:

The Obama Administration made clear that other countries had to be invested in the Libyan operation, which meant they had to offer public support and military or economic assistance, before the U.S. would get involved.

Good strategy, Mr. President!

This photo takes me down to memory lane. I can still recall the architecture of the school.

Truong Trung Hoc Nguyen Dinh Chieu is located between my house and my elementary school. To get back home, the fastest route was to cut through Nguyen Dinh Chieu. In order to do so, I had to either go through the dog hole (lo cho) or climb the fence. In first and second grade, I did the former. In third to fifth, I did the latter. Sometimes I was chased my security guards, but I don’t recall getting caught. If I did, all I had to say was, “sorry, I won’t do it again.”

In the summertime, a bunch of us from the neighborhood would walk together to the school to play soccer at these courts. That photo really reminds me of the good old days. I can still remember vividly the yellow plastic all I used to carry around.

Just like that and 20 years of my life have already gone by. Damn, time sure has flown by. Life sure is way too short.

If you haven’t already, head over Mozilla to download Firefox 4 to take advantage of its full HTML5 and CSS3 support.

If you haven’t already, check out hilarious video clips of Dao dances to “If You Happy and You Know It” and rocks to Thanh Ha’s tunes.

I really like the news addition of LinkedIn. It targets articles that are related to your profession. I joined a bunch of web-design related groups and reconnecting with people I have worked with in the past. LinkedIn is definitely a great social network for professionals, especially now that “LinkedIn Surpasses 100 Million Users.”

Blossom Kite Festival is this weekend. We’ll take Dao to the Monument. I am in the process of making a kite for him. Making a kite not only brings back my childhood memory, but it is also the only thing that I still remember how to do from my childhood. This should be fun.

In “The Science of Happiness and Potential,” Shawn Achor pointed out that if you write for three minutes about your positive experience once a day for thirty days, you’ll see 50% drops in doctor visits. Speaking of doctor visits, I have not visited a doctor for more than three years. I better find me a physician soon. In any rate, I will try to focus on positive experience when I blog rather than negative ones.

Another weekend went by. Didn’t do much, but was not relaxing either. Spent time with Duke and Dana and worked on a client project. Also did some work for GWSB. When I figure out something, I just can’t wait until Monday to do it. I might forget about it.

Yesterday, we went to Nordstrom and the real mannequins freaked me out. I was like, “damn they looked real” and one of them winked. What got me was that the real models was standing right next to the mannequins. Getting paid for standing still must be hard. I don’t think I can do it. I’ll either get itchy or I’ll begin to fart. But hey, that’s just me.

I am also reading a very good book by Jeremy Keith titled DOM Scripting. Man, he is such a great writer. Very clear and easy to understand. Speaking of books, the ones that I really want to read are mostly from George Mason, not from GW. The nice thing is that I can check out these books through the loan program. So if you’re a student or a staff member of any of the schools around the Metro area, you get access to books to all the colleges around here including Georgetown, American and Marymount. So big up to George Mason.

“Ba Oi!” Oh that’s Duke calling me to go upstairs to sleep with him. So peace out y’all. Hope you all had a nice, relaxing weekend.

In “The Medium, The Message, The Method,” an informative piece in BizEd, Sharon Shinn shares 10 tips to create a unique marketing plan for Business schools:

1. Stop looking over your shoulder.
2. Focus on what makes you unique.
3. Define your marketing goals to determine your medium.
4. Choose your advertising vehicle.
5. Give special attention to digital media.
6. Exploit the power of video.
7. Join like-minded communities online.
8. Export your worldview.
9. Always remember those alumni-and other stakeholders, too.
10. Make sure that message focuses on the experience.

I would have linked to the article, but BizEd doesn’t have an online edition of its magazine.

I used to unable to drink coffee. I would get really shaky after a small cup and could not sleep at night. Those sign affects had gone the day my baby boy was born. I needed coffee to keep me up in the morning when he cried in the middle of the night. Now he sleeps through the night, but coffee has stayed with me and become part of my diet.

I don’t get coffee in the morning anymore because the line at Starbucks is insane. I wait until after lunch to enjoy a cup of grande bold with one or two rolled wafers from Pepperidge Farm. My homeboy Nate who works at Pepperidge Farm would bring over all kind of cookies whenever I go back to Lancaster.

Because I drink coffee at noon, I get really hungry by the time I head home from work. After dinner, I would kick back with a cup of iced Patron Xo Cafe Liqueur to unwind. The only problem is that the liqueur makes me sleepy afterward. If I don’t have to do anything else, I would just roll in bed with Dao. He can jump up and down all he wanted and doesn’t bother me at all.

Last Christmas, we received a Cuisineart’s Espresso Maker from Dana’s brother. Last month her sister’s husband brought back some expresso from El Salvador. My weekend joys have been waking up to a strong expresso and French baguette with fried eggs. I love my eggs sunny side up with black pepper, soy sauce and hot sauce. That’s all I need to start my weekend.

Lat weekend my sister gave me a dozen of American CDs I left at her house before I moved out. Unlike me who tend to throw junks out, my sister keeps everything. She drives me nuts sometimes, but I am glad that she still kept some of these old joints.

I went through the pile of CDs and spotted R. Kelly’s 1993 12 Play, which brought back so much memories even though I never liked the entire album because of the rap tracks. Let’s face it. R. Kelly can sing, but he can’t rap. He made a great choice of abandoning rapping altogether in his later releases. Except for “Sadie,” an emotional dedication to his mother, 12 Play was a booty-call soundtrack, especially with tunes like “Sex Me,” ‘Your Body’s Callin'” and “Bump N’ Grind.”

When I tried to tune my wife into 12 Play, I played one of the hottest hits in the 90s and she told me to turn it off. The bass gave her a headache. While I see nothing wrong with a little “Bump N’ Grind,” she doesn’t seem to “need someone, someone like me to satisfy [her] every need.” I guess that’s how marriage goes!