In this Why I Write series, Knausgaard shares his personal stories. I love the quote he heard from another writer, “I write because I am going to die.” I also love this passage:

The discrepancy between the reality I lived in and the literature I was writing at a certain point led me to throw in my cards and try something new. I wanted to get close to reality, and the genre with which I felt the greatest affinity at the time was the diary. What would happen if I combined the diary’s closeness to the self and urge for reflection with the realist step-by-step novel? The rules I set myself now were exceptionally simple. I would write only about things that had actually happened, and I would write about them as I remembered them, without doing research or amending my memory to conform to other versions. I also had to write a certain number of pages every day, first five, later ten, and toward the end up to twenty. In that way I simply wouldn’t have time to think, to plan or to calculate, I would have to go with whatever appeared on the screen in front of me. This method came about because I had set out to write about myself, and since we know more about ourselves than about any other subject, it seemed important to avoid the established versions and to seek instead the complexity that lies beneath our self-insight and self-image and which can be accessed only by not thinking about how our thoughts and feelings will seem to others, how it will look, who I am if I think and feel these things.

I read this long essay in one sitting.

I haven’t had a gout attack for more than a year (knock on wood). I haven’t avoided steak, phở bò, and liquors either. I eat and drink pretty much whatever I want. How do I have my gout under control? I think apple cider vinegar has something to do with it.

I don’t know for a fact that apple cider vinegar is the remedy, but I think it helps. I asked my internist and she informed me that there’s no scientific evidence to prove it. Nevertheless, I am popping 2 pills of apple cider vinegar (along with K3+D3 and Zinc) each morning with 2% milk. That has been my breakfast for the past 6 months or so.

Even if apple cider vinegar doesn’t work for my gout, it doesn’t harm my kidney like other gout medications including Allopurinol. In addition to apple cider vinegar, I put a lot of pressure on my feet through rollerblading, skiing, and snowboarding. Again, I am not sure if these sports helped, but I am so damn glad that I don’t have to deal with gout attack.

If you have gout, try out the Nature’s Truth apple cider vinegar and let me know if it helps.

This book obviously follows the format of Universal Principles of Design, but it is no match to the classics. It focuses on UX, which is great for digital design, but the principles are falling short, especially towards the end. I would say 60 principles are solid and 40 are fillers. The author also pimps many of her own work, which makes it less universal. The book is still worth a quick read through.

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.

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.

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