Rapha (a cycling clothing company) interviewed eight of the top custom frame builders in the U.S., including Circle A Cycles (where my brother is a builder).

Custom frame building is both a science and an art. It is an ever-evolving process of geometry, wizardry and psychology, all brought together in an effort to understand the specific wants and needs of an individual rider. Few builders get rich, few even get famous, but every builder holds a special place in the hearts of the cyclists for whom they build. Every frame is a labor of love. At it's best, it's a perfect combination of builder and rider.

Read the interview with Chris Bull and Brian Chapman here.

I thought this was hilarious. Typeface humor...God, I'm a design nerd.

I don't know how I missed it (or perhaps it's sitting on my TiVo and I don't even know it) but Rush was on The Colbert Report. Thank you YouTube!

I watched the final episode of season 5 of The Wire tonight. I'm not going to add another web page singing the praises of the show (though, clearly, I loved it). Instead, I'm going to complain about my TiVo and/or HBO -- I don't know which exactly is to blame, but the final 5 minutes or so was cut off! I'm gonna have to try to re-record that episode just to it in its entirety and feel the closure I need...

Earlier this week we took Amelia out for ice cream for her birthday (parties later this week). While we were eating it, we overheard a ridiculous political discussion. Three people were talking about their reason for why they would never vote for Barack Hussein Obama. One said "In 1944 you wouldn't vote for Hirohito" (as if Obama has actually spent time as the leader of an anti-American Middle Eastern country). The other -- the one wearing the "If you can read this, I farted" t-shirt -- agreed.

Last week we took our first family vacation (to the White Mountains area in New Hampshire) and had a good time, despite some rainy weather. Some photos will eventually end up in my Flickr photostream, but if you're into looking at people's vacation slides (and who isn't?!) you can view them here.

I wanted to officially announce that I have left my job to do consulting work full-time. So if you have a need for user experience, user interface, and/or web design, please feel free to contact me. In the coming months I'll be updating this site to better reflect my services, but in the meantime I'll be taking some much needed vacation time.

If LinkedIn is your thing, here's my page.

You old BMX `zine makers out there (both of you...) might get a kick out of seeing the old issues of FAT Magazine -- the original printed versions from the 80s and 90s -- making their way online. Issue 16 has a few photos I took of Jim Cavanaugh and Rich Upjohn (page 15) and a mini-review of my old `zine (page 74).

Are photographers really a threat?

Given that real terrorists, and even wannabe terrorists, don't seem to photograph anything, why is it such pervasive conventional wisdom that terrorists photograph their targets? Why are our fears so great that we have no choice but to be suspicious of any photographer?

I've sometimes felt watched when taking photos in a public place before (because I tend to take a lot from many angles, as many photographers do). It makes no sense for me to feel suspicious when I'm doing nothing wrong, but sometimes I do.

Even if I were a terrorist scoping out a place, would I do it right out in the open for everyone to see? Wouldn't a small point & shoot be smarter and less conspicuous than an SLR and a backpack's worth of equipment?

Jill is officially starting her business today, and her "real" website is now live at jillchapmanshiatsu.com. Have a look, and if you're in the area, sign up for a treatment!