Posts from 2011 | amdavidson.com

Redwoods

posted on 2011-12-05 at 08:42 PM - amd.im/8XEG

I recently acquired an EOS-1 35mm SLR. Went for a walk around the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park to take pictures of big trees and they came out with an otherworldly look to them. Hope you enjoy them.

Reeds

posted on 2011-12-04 at 04:29 PM - amd.im/76sz

Fountain

posted on 2011-12-02 at 05:32 PM - amd.im/BaRc

A fountain on the grounds of Empire State Park.

Playing Wii

posted on 2011-11-28 at 10:16 PM - amd.im/GKls

I took a few videos with the T3i over the weekend of family members playing Wii. Ian is above but you can also see Naomi, Julia, and Kyle

Shed on the Empire Mine Grounds

posted on 2011-11-28 at 07:53 AM - amd.im/jf2w

Another shot from Thanksgiving.

Empire and Star Mines Inc

posted on 2011-11-27 at 09:43 PM - amd.im/It8H

Saw this 1931 Model A at the Empire Mine State Park in Grass Valley, CA over Thanksgiving weekend.

Got quite a few shots over the course of the weekend, should provide some decent blog fodder.

Star Trails

posted on 2011-11-18 at 06:08 PM - amd.im/d9Ak

Shot at sunrise at Bryce Point in Bryce Canyon National Park during our Utah adventure. I posted a few more of my photos here.

Sidecar MX

posted on 2011-11-14 at 05:24 PM - amd.im/jCdk

Sidecar MX racing is almost unbelievably awesome.

Sunset Over Yosemite

posted on 2011-10-14 at 06:46 PM - amd.im/9FLp

Captain Naomi

posted on 2011-10-08 at 06:14 PM - amd.im/dMOq

Sailing lessons are fun.

Earthclip

posted on 2011-09-29 at 01:09 PM - amd.im/QoI7

via Street Art Utopia

Dexter

posted on 2011-09-24 at 12:21 PM - amd.im/vNaF

Partington Cove

posted on 2011-09-20 at 08:40 PM - amd.im/IOgT

Partington Cove Trail

Tap It Brewery

posted on 2011-09-18 at 12:54 PM - amd.im/5mhc

Get Skeleton

posted on 2011-08-27 at 12:19 PM - amd.im/mhr3

Skeleton is a boilerplate for themeing your site to allow for a responsive design on a 960 grid with very simple syntax and structure.

The recent redesign of this site was based on that code. Try re-sizing this window to see the content re-flow based on the current window size. this was accomplished simply by including the CSS files that come with the Skeleton download and structuring the content with classed DIVs like this:

<div class="container">
  <div class="six columns">
    <div class="five columns">
      ...
    </div>
  </div>
  <div class="twelve columns">
    ...
  </div>
  <div class="four columns">
    ...
  </div>
</div>

Easy as pie.

The DIVs can be associated with multiple classes so if you want to offset the spacing by a few extra grids you can do something like six columns offset-by-one.

There is also a simple quoting and citation format:

<blockquote>
  ...
<cite>...</cite>
</blockquote>

The interesting options afforded by it really don't end there. One of my favorite features is adding the class scale-with-grid to the <img> tags. This causes them to re-size based on the size of the view port ensuring that your beautiful 640 pixel image doesn't render outside the view port of an iPhone that only has 320 pixels to play with.

I extended this feature to video embedding by including this code in each of the @media queries in the skeleton.css code provided with the skeleton download:

iframe.scale-with-grid { 
  width: 640px;
  height: 360px;
}
@media only screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 959px) {
  iframe.scale-with-grid {  
    width: 508px;
    height: 286px;
  }
}
@media only screen and (max-width: 767px) {
  iframe.scale-with-grid { 
    width: 300px;
    height: 169px;
  }
}
@media only screen and (min-width: 480px) and (max-width: 767px) {
  iframe.scale-with-grid { 
    width: 420px;
    height: 236px;
  }
}

With that code, you can include the scale-with-grid class in iframe embed code provided by Vimeo or YouTube and get the same scaling effect. I've tested it in Safari, Firefox, Chrome, and IE7 on iOS, Macs, and PCs and it seems to work well everywhere but your mileage may vary.

If you're looking for a quick way to get a grid design that is responsive, Skeleton is a really easy and flexible way to go about it.

Steve

posted on 2011-08-25 at 12:15 AM - amd.im/jdGu

During my time at Apple, I met Steve Jobs a single time.

It was during the development of the iPad 2 and I was going over some 3D scans of the aluminum housing. Our screens were splashed with colorful charts and graphs and we were discussing next actions when a hush came across the room, as rooms are wont to do when billionaire, visionary CEOs enter the room.

He peruses the room and wanders past our table noticing the colorful scans. "That looks like real engineering work. What are you guys working on?"

I clammed up, unable to process what was happening. Fortunately one of my coworkers was not a stammering buffoon and was able to tell him that we were working on the latest iPad 2 machining.

"I just got one of those. It's great. Keep up the good work", and with that he walked away.

It was just a couple sentences but it was greatly inspiring. Steve is known to be a harsh critic who pushes for perfection in his products. A compliment, however small was inordinately encouraging.

Before that point I had never spoken with Steve, and I suppose I still haven't. In some way though, I think that most of us there were working to appease these rumored demands from our esteemed executive officer. We all were pushing to get products out the door that would meet with his approval. I think that a great deal of that is ingrained in the culture, Steve wasn't calling us to tell us that our products needed to be better. Yet the perception was always that we needed to do better, that Steve would accept nothing less than perfection. To paraphrase John Gruber, this is Steve's greatest achievement.

I hope that culture persists. I hope that Tim can keep all the employees steeped in a desperate desire to constantly improve. If the company can keep that feeling alive. I think it'll do just fine.

Thanks for building a great company Steve. I hope it stays the way you're leaving it.

These are the colors of America

posted on 2011-08-19 at 07:52 PM - amd.im/KPFV

These are the colors of America. I live there. Adelaide, age 4

Paul Budnitz Number 2

posted on 2011-08-19 at 09:05 AM - amd.im/N1YI

Beautiful (via uncrate)

Rebranding Hell

posted on 2011-08-17 at 03:39 PM - amd.im/ftYH

This has to be one of the funniest things I've seen in a while. A designer named Chris Herron put an astounding amount of work into a theoretical redesign for Hell at the request of the "Hell Office of Travel and Tourism".

As the premier global tourist destination, Hell provides a one of a kind experience for the visitor. We take great pains to accommodate your every desire. You will experience pure pleasure from our luxurious hotels and resorts, exciting gaming venues, unparalleled nightlife, and world-class entertainment. Not to mention our top-notch convention facilities. Hell is Simply Heavenly.

Definitely a must read.

Move

posted on 2011-08-07 at 08:31 PM - amd.im/XfqD

3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage... all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ....into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films..... Rick Mereki

A one minute spectacular. Part of a three part series, watch eat and learn as well. Learn brought memories back as they visit the same Choco Museo that we visited in Peru and there is a fleeting shot of one of the guys who helped us through our class as well.

(via Cameron Moll)

571

posted on 2011-08-06 at 08:00 PM - amd.im/http://amd.im/llMg

I love this numbering. I saw it on Mare Island last weekend as well as the other signage.

Signage

posted on 2011-08-02 at 02:11 PM - amd.im/http://amd.im/WIcb

While taking a walk around Mare Island, I was especially taken with the signage that was left over from its days as a shipyard. The handcrafted style and vintage lettering was fun to see in an age of bland, pre-fab plastic signs that we usually see in industrial sites.

Enjoy the signs.

Skating through NYC

posted on 2011-08-02 at 12:40 PM - amd.im/http://amd.im/2zYT

I guess I'm on a skateboarding kick right now. This video of a guy riding through NYC on a skateboard is worth it though.

Quiet Island

posted on 2011-07-31 - amd.im/http://amd.im/78Lk

Took a walk around Mare Island and was astounded with the desolation and abandonment, but it did make for good opportunities for a few photos.

Sprinklers

posted on 2011-07-30 - amd.im/i4DN

Refreshing, artificial rain.

Longboarding

posted on 2011-07-27 - amd.im/3Ogf

I've never seen longboarding like this.

Yosemite

posted on 2011-07-14 - amd.im/GQHq

Had a wonderfully relaxing weekend in Yosemite and got a few good shots. I posted them in a set here.

Little Raver

posted on 2011-07-05 - amd.im/VKHh

We had a rave-ette for the 4th of July.

Hard cider materials

posted on 2011-07-02 - amd.im/6gs0

Whipping up a batch of hard cider this weekend. Three or four months until deliciousness.

Mascot

posted on 2011-06-21 - amd.im/M4NH

This little guy showed up to work this morning and has decided he's staying.

Ariel Power Color Rainbow

posted on 2011-06-14 - amd.im/1JM0

She decided her name didn't have enough pizzazz.

San Francisco

posted on 2011-06-12 - amd.im/uPev

A water fountain in San Francisco.

Peru

posted on 2011-06-05 - amd.im/7nt2

We just got back from a vacation in Peru. The sites and altitude were breathtaking for very different reasons, but on the whole it was a wonderful break from work.

I recommend the adventure if anyone is looking for a vacation that isn't the usual beach escape.

I posted a few of my shots on Flickr.

Weekend Off

posted on 2011-05-07 - amd.im/wL7z

It's been a super stressful week. A weekend of visiting family at home is just what was needed.

Easter Kite Flying

posted on 2011-04-24 - amd.im/GMHQ

David tried desperately to get this kite to fly in limited wind...

This was his final and best attempt.

In with the new, in with the old

posted on 2011-04-20 - amd.im/jN6h

Brought my custom Bloom Energy desk organizer into work, but couldn't give up the old Apple mug.

Pinnacles

posted on 2011-04-07 - amd.im/A9nf

A few days ago we headed down to Pinnacles National Monument with a few friends. We had a wonderful time and I managed to get a couple decent photos out of it.

Check them out on my flickr.

iPad 2

posted on 2011-03-14 - amd.im/eLbE

The iPad 2 is released.

This was, basically, the final product I worked on in my tenure at Apple.

It's a great way to have closed out that period in my career. It's a wonderful product and refines the iPad in a great many ways that were due for refining without a single drawback that I have discovered in a few days of use.

If you have an iPad, it's not an upgrade that will make you go running for a new one. If you don't have an iPad it's a wonderful piece of kit that really helps to define the use case of the iPad. It's more comfortable to hold and use, in great part due to the wonderfully clever Smart Cover. Big kudos to the team that worked so hard on that product.

I was fortunate enough to find my way to the front of the line at the Palo Alto Apple Store for the launch, and was the first customer out of the store with an iPad 2 on Friday. The experience was great to be a part of, both on the side of an engineer that worked on the iPad 2 program and as a customer who was genuinely excited to buy one. Definitely an experience that I will not be able to repeat.

To those of you still at Apple, keep at it, keep making the great products I know you can, and I'll find a way to the front of many more lines. I can't wait to see where you take this product line that I have so much vested in.

Tear Down

posted on 2011-01-18 - amd.im/XpQc

My first post of 2011, a shot of Alex cutting sunroof brackets out of his e30 for his roll cage install.

I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again, but I'm perpetually surprised at what you can capture with the iPhone 4's camera.

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