As a visual designer, I have not ventured into voice-command territory. So’s book is a perfect primer into voice interface design. From inclusivity to diversity to accessibility to usability, this book will help make your site ready for voice-friendly design.

Before reading Higgins’s book, I didn’t realize how much thoughts, strategies, and decisions go into the onboarding process. Thankfully, Higgins explains, illustrates and walks us through designing a successful onboarding experience. A recommended read for digital product designers.

When I registered Visualgui.com 21 years ago, I had no idea it would last to this day. Without a doubt, blogging is my longest hobby. I pour out my thoughts, my emotions, and my consciences almost everyday. As I am getting older, I find letting go keeps me at peace. When something bothers me, it stays on my mind until I write it down so I can let it go, but I still have a record of it. In that sense, blogging has become my therapy. I don’t need to talk to a therapist. I just talk to the world.

In retrospect, self-improvement has motivated me to write everyday. I have the tendency to constantly improve myself and it drives my wife crazy, especially after she got me into skiing and snowboarding. I have no special talent and I have no natural athletic ability. I just show up everyday and make progress. When I first started blogging, I stared at the blinking prompt for half an hour and couldn’t type a word. I had too many fears and anxieties. I worried about getting judged. Now, I just let words flow onto the page. I can just write whatever comes to mind. The only thing that can stop me is my own conscience.

I came to blogging from my web design background. I used to have a passion for design until I got paid to design. Now design is a job, not a hobby. I design for others, not for myself. Blogging, on the other hand, has given me a space to write whatever I like. I don’t write for anyone. I write for myself. I can write 1 word or 1,000 words. I can write in English or Vietnamese or both. I can write about my personal experience or I can write about my professional design and development. I have total freedom to write and control my own content.

After 21 years, I still feel the urge to write. Writing is a life-long improvement for me. I will never run out of room to improve myself. If this blog goes away tomorrow, I will damn sure miss it, but I will continue to write on another platform or on paper. Blogging is still my favorite space to write for now. I am glad I stuck with it for 21 years.

After hiring a handyman connecting the pipes for the bathroom fans yesterday, I noticed that when one bathroom fan was on, the air blew back to the other bathroom. I checked the fan and found out that the flapper was not closing.

Today, I decided to take the entire old fan out and install a new one. Taking out the housing was time consuming. I couldn’t remove the nails so I had to cut off the aluminum. While replacing the housing, I decided to redo what the handyman had done yesterday. He did such a shitty job connecting the 4-in pipes to the 3-in pipes. I streamlined the connection and used only 3-in pipes.

The process took almost six hours. I spent about half of that on the attic. Thanks goodness the weather was not that hot yet. I spent about $100 on the materials including the new fan. It was a good learning experience.

I am not sure if I will use the handyman again. I thought he was a friend since we liked to drink and I took him out to eat and drink before, but I guess money comes first.

Hôm trước trò chuyện với anh họ. Lâu lắm không gặp nên hỏi anh dạo này làm ăn ra sao. Anh trả lời, “cũng bình thường”. Tôi nói, “Nghe nói nghề neo mùa hè thì rất bận, còn mùa đông thì rãnh rỗi nên trốn về Việt Nam tránh lạnh.” Anh mỉm cười, “Anh cũng mới về Việt Nam hai tháng trốn lạnh”.

Tôi cũng có ý định đổi nghề làm neo để mùa hè đi dũa neo. Còn mùa đông tôi không đi trốn lạnh mà tìm chỗ có tuyết đi trượt. Tôi tâm sự với vợ như thế, vợ quăng một câu, “Anh mà dũa cái quái gì”. Thật sự thì tay tôi rất vụng về nhưng tôi có cái nhìn thẩm mỹ về thiết kế. Tôi muốn áp dụng kinh nghiệm thiết kế của mình từ trên máy vi tính xuống móng tay.

Ý định chuyển sang nghề neo của tôi gần 20 năm rồi mà vẫn chưa thực hiện được. Tôi không thể rời bỏ nghề thiết kế website. Với tôi công nghệ tạo trang web là sở thích nhiều hơn là công việc. Cho nên ít khi tôi nhận thiết kế theo đơn đặt hàng, mà chỉ làm những gì mình thích mặc dù chẳng có thu nhập gì cả. Hơn nữa trong nghề chính thức, giờ đây tôi chỉ dám đốc chứ không dám làm.

As I was replacing the bathroom fan, I recalled that the pipe just blew moisture into the attic. When we first moved in, we hired an electrician to install recessed lights as well as the bathroom fan. He put the flexible pipe from the fan into open space in the attic. He told me it was the conventional practice. I trusted him and never questioned it.

Fifteen years later, I realized that was not a good idea. When I watched a few clips on YouTube, I was horrified with all the molds on the woods when people just put the exhaust pipe blowing into the attic. I always hated going up the attic, but I had to just to see if there were any mold. To my relief, I didn’t spot anything even though the only circulation system we had was the ridge vent on the roof. The electrician was probably right.

Nevertheless, I wanted to get it right. When I watched YouTube videos, the consensus was to cut the roof and install the pipe to let the moisture go outside. No way I was going to cut the roof myself. I called Ricardo, my trusted handyman, to make an appointment for today to do the job.

Last night, however, I sought out advice from a friend who is an architecture. He told me I could connect the pipe from that bathroom to the pipe from another bathroom, which already had a vent to the roof. As long as both fans had flappers, I should be fine. All I needed was to remove the pipe to the roof and attach an aluminum T connector and hook up the other pipe from the other fan.

I went back to the attic and figured I could do the job myself, but I already called the handyman and didn’t want to cancel him. He showed up late and his eyes were all watery. I asked him if he was drinking last night and he told me he was drinking every night. Nevertheless, I let him do his job. We went to Lowe’s to pick up the flexible pipe and the aluminum T connector.

When he tried to install it, the materials we bought were bigger than the ones already installed. I told him I could run to Home Depot to pick up smaller pipes, but he me told they don’t make those anymore. He ended up taping the big pipes to the smaller pipes. It was a hack of a job. It didn’t look nice at all, but I could careless since it was on the attic. He charged me $150.

I am thinking of taking everything apart and repipe them myself. If I could find the right size for the pipes, I could do it with minimal tapes. I am not going to sweat it for now. I’ll revisit this project later on. The materials were about $40. It was not a bad $150 lesson.

Trượt tuyết là niềm đam mê của tôi vài năm gần đây. Lần đầu tiên trong đời đặt chân lên chiếc magic carpet rồi thả hồn theo đôi skis (có biết thắng lại đâu), cái cảm giác tương tự như khi nghe tiếng hát Ngọc Lan lần đầu. Tôi không thể nào chống cự được. Càng nghe tiếng hát Ngọc Lan tôi càng say mê. Càng ski tôi càng đắm đuối.

Ngày xưa tôi sợ mùa đông lạnh lẽo và tuyết phủ kín đường về. Nhưng giờ thì khác. Trời không tuyết, tôi cũng lạy trời tuyết. Mỗi khi được đứng trên núi tuyết, tôi như đứa trẻ tự do tung tăng trên thiên đàng từ những đoạn đường màu xanh (green trails) đến những dốc gập ghềnh màu đen (double-black diamond terrains).

Năm ngoái tôi tự thử thách mình với môn snowboarding. Lúc đầu mới tập rất gian nan, nhưng khi quen rồi snowboarding mở rộng một không gian mới cho tôi. Tuy snowboard rất thú vị, nhưng tôi không bỏ được tình yêu đầu tiên của skiing, nên chơi luôn cả hai.

Trong hai video mới nhất ở Mount Snow Resort (tiểu bang Vermont), tôi dùng “Mal de Toi” và “Prisoner”, Ngọc Lan thu âm trong album Mặt trời bên kia mùa hạ, để giữ lại những kỷ niệm khó quên.

Here’s the sixth iteration of this blog. I just copped a license of Euchre, designed by Jackson Showalter-Cavanaugh, and I just couldn’t wait to use it. Euchre goes well with Lavishe, designed by Dương Trần.

I am also returning to readability first. The previous iteration was cool, but could be a bit hard to read. I still like to change it up once in a while. I think I’ll stick with this design for a bit. Then again, maybe I won’t.

We’ll see how it goes. This iteration is quieter, but good for reading the text. I hope you enjoy it.

Với những tình khúc trẻ trung bốc cháy một thời, Đức Trí chứng minh sự trưởng thành của mình qua sự hòa âm phối khí già dặn và lắng đọng lại. Xưa kia nghe Phương Thanh gào thét não nề trong “Đêm nghe tiếng mưa” và “Cố quên được đâu” thì giờ đây Nguyên Hà thì thầm nhẹ nhàng qua phần orchestra êm dịu.

Khi xưa Hồ Ngọc Hà hát “Và em đã yêu” với con beat R&B dồn dập thì giờ đây Đức Trí dùng acoustic để phần hoà âm giãn ra với giọng hát nhỏ nhẹ của Nguyên Hà. Quyên Linh hát “Ước mơ trong đời” rất tốt với phần hoà âm theo giai điệu blues nồng nàn, nhất là với tiếng muted trumpet.

Lê Hiếu, Lân Nhã, và Hà My cũng đóng góp tiếng hát của mình trong album này. “Giận anh” là ca khúc duy nhất với chất rock nhẹ. Như chưa bắt đầu cho ta được nghe lại những tình khúc quen thuộc nhưng sâu lắng hơn.

On February 4, 2006, I launched a slideshow based on “Bonjour Vietnam,” a French song recorded by Phạm Quỳnh Anh. With gorgeous photography of Vietnam accompanying beautiful melody, the slideshow went viral around the world. Now, 18 years later, I revisit the project and put together a sample page for my Vietnamese Typography book site. The main text is set in Herbik, designed by Daniel Veneklaas, and display text is set in Lavishe, designed by Dương Trần.