As a designer, I love to surf the web for inspirations and somehow I have been drawn to commercial web sites lately. Crate&Barrel for instance, the site makes great use of Helvetica. Although the logo is set in one of the most used typefaces, it has such a distinctive brand. The homepage is clean, organized and well-balance between texts and images. What I don’t like though are the drop-down menus. I know that many big sites need to have drop-down menus to cover all of its products, but I am still convinced that you can do without it. What annoys the hell out of me about Crate&Barrel web site is the anchored bottom. Even if I close it, the darn thing wouldn’t go any.

Target is another one of my favorite site designs. I love the homepage layout even though it is loaded with information. The drop-down menus once again turn me off.
Somehow the secondary pages are disconnected with the homepage. The main body content is strangely narrower than the header and footer.

There is one gorgeous web site that conquers all the issues above. If I were in an interview for a job and being asked what is my favorite web site. The first site would come to mind is Apple. The team behind this site has done an exceptional job of present this site in an elegant yet simple layout.

I love Apple’s informational architecture and it’s a perfect model for University’s sites that would like to unify its online presence. No matter where you go, the global navigation, which is simple and carefully designed, is always there. Although Apple has tons of products, it doesn’t need drop-down menus to get there. I am very curious to see how Apple would incorporate iPad into its global navigation.

What keeps me coming back to Apple again and again is the homepage. I love the way apple shows off its product. The latest showcase for the iPad is so big, bold and beautiful. I am sure Apple had made a conscious decision to use the homepage as an ad space as well. If you walk into an Apple store, you would see how the homepage is being served as a banner on its computer displays. That is just freaking awesome.

Thanks to the snowstorm, I am enjoying a wonderful time at home with my family. I get to play with Duke and get some work done as well. I really don’t need anywhere else to go and I don’t mind shoveling the snow at all even though it was twenty-something-inch high. With my iPod and my shovel, I can spend three or four hours digging and plowing.

In the past couple of days, Duke learned how to clap his hands and to give high five. He calls me “ba” all day long, except bed time. No matter how hard I try, I can’t get him to stop crying, but he would stop immediately as soon as his mom walks into the room. Night time is mommy’s time.

To celebrate the year of Tiger, Dana and grandma made about a dozen of sticky rice cakes (banh chung) to give to family and friends. We made seafood hotpot for dinner last night and played some Vietnamese New Year tunes. My sister-in-law and her husband jointed us for a hot, savory meal. We had some gin and tonic to complement the food.

Beside blogging and web design, my other passion is mix drink. Thanks to the iPod Touch apps, I can pull up any recipe anytime. I made a Lynchburg Tea the other day and loving it since, but gin is still my favorite spirit. She has such a fine, distinctive taste and she goes well with anything from Ginger Ale to 7 Up to tonic to cranberry juice to orange juice.

I made a shaker full of martini, which was three or four glasses, the other day to go with duck congee. I got wasted afterward due to lack of sleep. Next morning, I went out to plow the snow with a migraine. Almost fainted half way through the sidewalk. Went inside cooked up a really hot kimchi instant noodle. Blood shot off my nose, but the headache was gone. I knew I need to get some sleep and rest.

I am cutting back on my mix drink experimentation and trying to sleep more. Nas once rhymed, “I don’t sleep cuz sleep is the cousin of death.” I don’t know what death feel like, but lack of sleep sure feel like hell. The good thing about snow is I get to stay in bed a bit longer, but not too long before the little guy gets up.

The best part about finishing a project is to see my client’s testimony. Thank Ms. Tran for this:

My Declaration:

I hold these truths to be self-evident, that all web designers are not created equal, that they are not endowed by their Creator with certain equal skills, that among these are: Creativity, Expertise, and the pursuit of Professionalism.

Creativity, indeed, is clearly indicated by Donny’s design of my new law firm website. He came up with the solution to solve the mess of having two separate sets of navigation, instead he combined the two together and let the fonts set them apart. He desires to create a unique website for you that reflects what you want.

Donny knows enough to know that less is more. Often a reader will read what is on the website if it’s simple and catchy enough.

I truly appreciate Donny’s professionalism, his quick responses to all my emails and questions. He can get things done quickly and way ahead of the schedule even if it means that he has to pull an all-nightner to complete it.

I must, therefore declare that Donny was created with exceptional skills!

Some readers have noticed that the tone of my blog posts is lighter. Even when I use flowery language, my intention is to praise rather than to degrade. It’s true and being a father has something to do with it. I am more patience and I don’t sweat small stuff anymore, especially when dealing with children.

This blog has always been for grownups and I do not want my kids to be on here. In fact, I would ban them from reading this site, but we all know how kids are. They will do things parents don’t want them to do. Occasionally, we have some kid showing up here and acting up just to get my attention.

I know who you are and I know that you need love too. Your dad is not close by to ground you or to educate you. Trust me, I know how you feel. My dad is never around either, so I have to be my own man. I have learned to take care of myself and my family. I am grown now and I am confidence that I can be a great father figure. So please, give me a chance and I’ll make it up to you, just like daddy. I will take good care of you, but I will not hesitate to spank that ass if you get naughty.

I don’t watch the Factor, but I make an exception when Jon Stewart shows up for an interview. Jon is the man that could stand up to Bill’s bully and he did it brilliantly with a bit of his comic style. Love the scenario part where old Bill says he’s running for president, Jon quickly responded, “I think that’s a really bad idea.” Actually, that’s a really scary idea. Watch part 1,2 and 3.

My high school friends, Mai and Phong, welcomed their first newborn into the world. Sylvia Xuan Le born January 30, 2010. She weighs 1lb 13oz and is 13.25 inches long. Sylvia would have been a spring baby like Cu Dao, but she decided to come out three months early. Cu Dao has to meet Sylvia one of these days. Congrats to Mai and Phong. Sylvia is adorable.

Work has been crazy for the past few days. Last night, I pulled an all-nightner to catch up on my freelance projects. The beautiful snowing scene outside and the hot jazz from Dextor Gordon inspired me to stay up to work. I thought I wouldn’t have to go to work the next day, but there was not even a delay.

Here at work, there are so many projects that I need to do so I don’t even need coffee to stay awake. It sounds scary, but I am working around the clock. The only time I get a break is when I am with Duke, which is about two to three hours before he goes to bed. After heading home from work, I played with him, fed him, bathed him and sent off to bed with mommy. I powered up my laptop and got to work again.

I am not complain though. In fact, I am glad to be able to stay busy in this economy. Many friends and family members are losing their jobs and are collecting unemployment. Finding a job these days is not easy anymore.

Lisa Delpy Neirotti, GWSB associate professor of tourism and sport management, will be headed to Vancouver with 28 selected students from her “Behind the Scenes at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games” class.

I am responsible for setting up the Olympic web site as well as coordinating and posting her daily video blogs, photos and press coverages. I just filmed the first blog for her using the Flip as a demonstration to show how the camcorder works and how she could upload directly onto our YouTube account. It’s going to be a fun project and I am looking forward to it even though I don’t get to go to Vancouver.

As you might have noticed, I added a very subtle background to this site to give it a bit of texture. The challenge is obviously not to let the background interfere with the texts. In this case, the content is much more than the background so let me know if you find the text hard to read.

In the section showcasing sites, I broke the projects into different categories. As much as I like to keep everything in a single page, the list is getting long and I am planning to add more as sites go live.

Update: I broke down the motion section as well.

Vinh Thuyen Kim’s “Teen Vong Co” is a typical mid-tempo tune with Chinese-inflected melody until she busts out two Vietnamese operatic bars at the bridge. This hilarious track is the only one that stands out from her new release 180 Do.