John D. Berry writes about Adobe Kis:

Some writers about type have described the choice of typeface like the choice of clothing. What would you like to dress your words in? Kis is like feeling the weave on a Harris tweed sportcoat, warm and reliable with a distinctive texture and a feeling of tradition and solid craftsmanship. It’s not like the linen jacket of Garamond, the taupe trousers of Times New Roman, the black cargo pants of Helvetica, the evening wear of Bodoni, or the madras shorts of Comic Sans. When your words are dressed in Kis, people will read them.

I am so glad to see Đán getting back to the skatepark for a bit. Here’s his latest drop in. I still love the clip in which he dropped into a gigantic pipe.

I have been in the game for over 20 years making websites and my philosophy hasn’t changed. My first priority has always been our users. From accessibility to usability to security to privacy, I fight for our users every step of the way.

When I was in charge of the site, I made sure the pages are fast, secured, easy to navigate, and optimized across devices and screen readers. The pages had to work with JavaScript turned off. I am not against using JavaScript. In fact, I encourage using JavaScript through progressive enhancement. My concern has always been the abuse of JavaScript, particularly in the privacy territory.

When I had to work directly with third-party vendors on digital marketing, I needed to know exactly what information they collect from our users and what they do with the data. Furthermore, I would limit their tracking to relevant pages, and not the entire website. I also made sure that they would be responsible for any privacy issues they created. If I didn’t hold them accountable, they would have the ability to use cross-site scripting to hijack our site to do whatever they wanted with our users’ data. I wouldn’t allow that to happen under my watch.

Nhìn quanh một mình
Đường quen không tới
Tìm nhau ngại ngùng
Chỉ vì đời mình
Chưa có bình minh.

I created a WordPress blog for my third son. I named it Lil Xuân Shine. I will work with him on his writing. Đạo and Đán will resume writing over the summer as well. I missed reading their blogs.

Setting up a WordPress blog is super easy. Setting up the design is not so much. Selecting a theme, changing the design, dragging and dropping the blocks are cumbersome. Gutenberg is still very clumsy to use. I don’t find it intuitive at all. For example, I couldn’t figure out how to change the background color on the title of the individual post.

I am sticking with the classic editor for my blog for as long as it is being supported.

I am getting pretty damn comfortable in the director chair. When I first stepped into the role, I worried that I didn’t have the skills to lead. I had always been a hands-on designer and developer. As I started to connect with other directors and higher ups, I learned that their main job was talking shit. I had seen so many directors pulling shit out of their ass without an ounce of embarrassment. I realized that I could do that shit too. I just needed to grow thick skin.

Even though I no longer need to be hands-on, I am responsible for leading the design and development processes. I need to make sure our codes are up to standard, our technologies are up to date and secured, and our products meet accessibility and usability. I often speak out in meetings, provide design feedback, and propose technological solutions. Essentially, I talk a lot of shit, but I know my shit and I can back it up. When designers and developers told me that certain things can’t be done, I proved to them that things can be done. I have the advantage that I don’t just talk the talk, but I can also walk the walk.

I still keep up my design and technical skills. I still run, update, and upgrade cloud servers for my own websites. I still design and code all of my projects. When I die, I hope one of my sons will take over all of my digital intellectual properties. Đán will most likely be the one.

I am a fan of Gay’s writing, particularly in Hunger. She has such an easygoing, approachable style. Over the years, I would read any opinion pieces she had written. Whether writing on politics, race, civil responsibilities, culture, or man problems, she brings fresh, smart, and honest opinions to the table. Her latest book is a collection of essays she had written in the past decade. It’s a good read.

Vợ cho nghe thử Ngọt, nhóm nhạc rock Việt tôi chưa từng nghe qua. Suýt 1 chỉ có bốn ca khúc của nhóm tự sáng tác. Album mở đầu với ca khúc “Chuyện dở dang” qua giai điệu folk rock. Thắng, giọng ca nam trưởng, nghe cũng khá lạ, có một chút nữ tính.

Hơn nữa, lời nhạc nghe cũng thú vị: “Mẹ em cất công đi tìm một người đang dắt mối / Nhưng mẹ em biết không / Rằng anh cũng muốn xây lâu đài / mà em không muốn thuê lâu dài”. Đến “Mơ làm ma” cũng khá quái dị qua đôi song ca Thắng và Thỏ Trauma, “Ơ hình như mình đang vượt qua những mái nhà / Nhưng hình như rằng không một ai thấy quái lạ”. Vẫn giai điệu rock dồn dập. “Hay là” tiếp tục với giai điệu rock dân gian, “Bên người ta có cơm ngon / Bên người ta có cừu non chín đàn / Bên người ta có không gian / Bên người ta có cơ man bạt ngàn”.

“Thắp hương” và “Hóa Vàng” là hai ca khúc được ghép lại thành một. Nửa bài đầu nhịp điệu chachacha rock với những lời lẽ dễ thương, “Xuân qua thấy đông lại về / Đông qua thấy xuân, lại hồi xuân”. “Hóa Vàng” khép lại album với phần saxophone solo da diết.

I was go through my old boxes and came across a letter my former supervisor at George Washington University School of Business. On November, 4, 2008, Molly Brauer wrote:

To Whom It May Concern:

I have known Donny Truong for about a year, and during that time he has impressed me as a very thoughtful, hardworking, problem-solving, diplomatic person.

When I called one of Donny’s references during the hiring process, the gentleman I spoke to said, “Donny will quietly win the respect of everyone around him.” And that endorsement has rung true every day I’ve worked with him. Donny has a sterling work ethic, and the ability to organize and prioritize tasks efficiently and effectively.

He has been working for the Office of Communications in the GW School of Business for about nine months, and everyone he’s worked with has been very pleased with his work—both his cooperative spirit and his finished products.

Donny works with a wide variety of people in senior positions and much lower positions and treats everyone with the same respect. He is an excellent team builder and a good listener. Beyond his work ethic, Donny is a creative problem solver who finds elegant solutions to complex problems, taking into account the diverse needs of sometimes incongruent groups masterfully.

Donny works hard and learns quickly. He came to this country when he was 12 years old, learned a new language, and managed to attend college and find work in his chosen field – no small task. His only weakness is some minor difficulty with written and spoken English; his comprehension is excellent and he reads broadly.

I recommend Donny highly because I believe he will succeed at anything he puts his mind too; his life is testament to that.

Yours sincerely,

Molly Brauer

Hôm trước có người hỏi tôi, “Bất cần đời” dịch ra tiếng Anh làm sao. Miệng thì nói ra từ như “careless”, “needless”, và “disregard”, nhưng trong đầu tôi nghĩ dịch chính xác nhất là, “don’t give a fuck”.

Tôi dùng câu châm ngôn này để tự nhắc nhở bản thân mình rất nhiều lần. “I don’t give a fuck about you” hay “I don’t give a fuck about her” hay “I don’t give a fuck about him” hay “Shit, I don’t even give a fuck about myself”.

Những câu này tuy không đẹp đẽ nhưng đã giúp tôi vượt qua rất nhiều khó khăn trong đời sống. Khi bất cần thì không bị cảm xúc vướng víu. Từ chuyện công đến chuyện tư, tôi bất cần mọi vấn đề phiền phức.

Tôi không cho phép mình bị lệ thuộc vào công việc cho dù việc làm nuôi sống gia đình. Ai muốn làm gì thì làm. Tôi chỉ hoàn tất nhiệm vụ của mình. Không nhúng tay vào những chuyện mâu thuẫn.

Trong đời tư, tôi càng không cho phép mình đặt cảm tình vào những mối quan hệ không xứng đáng. Ai ghét bỏ mình hay tránh né mình, tôi cũng chẳng quan tâm. Ai giàu hơn mình, tài giỏi hơn mình, tốt cho họ. Không có gì phải ganh ghét. Tôi chẳng cần hơn thua gì với ai cả. Có đấu tranh thì cũng với chính mình.

Khi có thể nhắc nhở bản thân mình, “I don’t give a fuck”, thì mọi phiền muộn cũng tan biến. Những cơn trầm cảm cũng trôi qua. Cuộc sống sẽ tốt đẹp hơn khi ta bỏ đi hết những tiêu cực và chú tâm vào những tích cực. Những mối quan hệ trong gia đình, bạn thân, hay người dưng nước lã, tôn trọng nhau thì tốt. Ngược lại, hãy đưa ngón giữa lên cho những ai không biết điều, ganh tị, và ích kỷ.