Long Nguyen

Untitled

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:43:28 -0800

via tweetie

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Huge fire

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:04:01 -0800

I just got home from a party and this big ass fire is what I saw on the way. It's a building that's just been built.

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Social Media Revolution

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:47:34 -0700

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Pas de sorcières à Québec

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:48:00 -0700

La ville de Québec est plutôt amusante pour l'Halloween. Toutefois, à Montréal, il y a déjà des lumières de Noël.

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Dire merci à ceux qui sont (plus ou moins) proches de nous

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:51:00 -0700

Yesterday was Thanksgiving in Canada and I decided to do something I've never done before: celebrate the holiday (sort of) by thanking people.

Here's a short list of what I sent people, in alphabetical order, I think.

I want to thank you for giving me a chance to enhance my portfolio with your website.
Je vous remercie de faire les beaux projets que vous faîtes. Le web est un meilleur endroit avec vous et je suis bien heureux de vous connaître.
Merci d'être un ami.
Merci d'être si souriante et patiente.
Merci d'exister et d'être toi.
Merci de m'inclure dans tous tes projets.
Merci pour avoir eu confiance en moi sans même qu'on se connaisse vraiment.
Merci pour m'avoir donné la chance de faire ton poster.
Merci pour ta tolérance et toutes ces années d'amitié et celles à venir.
Merci pour ton ouverture d'esprit.

Indeed, I would find it strange to be on the receiving end of any of these messages. I concluded several things from the responses I received.

Everybody found it weird. It was out of the blue, nobody expected that I would do something like this. I am very good at going through with unexpected gestures.
That tells me that Thanksgiving isn't a very big deal in my circles.
Everybody felt good for receiving my thank you note. On this point, I refuse to be wrong. In all responses, I could feel a smile lurking on my recipient's face.

What did I get out of this experience/experiment? Simple. The satisfaction that I did something good, yet, it took so little effort.

The one thing I would like to know is the impact I created. This is something I can't figure out, but people, you, will have to tell me about it.

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Photoshop for the iPhone is pretty good

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:18:00 -0700

I took a photo with my iPhone and the picture wasn't great, so it was
an opportunity to try Photoshop for the iPhone. The result is pretty
good considering that the iPhone camera produces very low quality
photos and that this is only a mobile version of Photoshop.

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This is how my morning started

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:54:15 -0700

That tweet/compliment is one of the first things I read this morning. Now, I wonder how the rest of the day will be like and how it will end.

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8.5 pounds in 2 weeks

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 06:51:00 -0700

The explanation of this weirdness on facebook is quite simple. Same amount of weight, same amount of time and same source of posting; both of these Facebook friends got their account hacked through their mobile devices.

You haven't seen any weird status updates from me, have you? If you have, then let me know!

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The beginning of my new website

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:28:29 -0700

Lately, I have been thinking of redesigning my website which serves as my online portfolio. The reason is because my current one isn't doing justice to what I can do as web designer. It lacks purpose and clarity. What it currently is, is a page with a series of links that point to websites I have created. In other words, all the link are making visitors leave which isn't really my objective.

So what's my objective? To get people to see that I can do a good job and to get people to hire me.

In order to reach that objective, I have thought of using words on the home page. For example, I could use an introductory paragraph that says something like: "I am a web designer experienced in building clean, simple and user-friendly websites for clients across the globe." It's a simple statement that lets visitors know what I do and who I do it for. It's also very clear and easy to read. Initially, I had a longer text, but I realized that it will be better suited for an About section.

In addition to an overhaul of the home page, I have also thought about the general structure of the website with a navigation that will contain these elements: Services, Portfolio, Blog, About, Contact. I have very clearly defined each of them as follows:

Services - The things I do
Portfolio - The things I've done
Blog - The things I write
About - The things I am
Contact - The things you want to tell me

I already figured out the content of each section, so now, I am thinking about how I can display all that information. This is the design stage.

Stay tuned for more details on this personal project.

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Someone among my Facebook friends passed away

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:24:18 -0700

I didn't know her very well. I met her at Montreal's monthly Yulblog event, we talked, we added each other on Facebook and that was it. Like I said, I didn't know her very well. Today, I learnt that she died.

People on Facebook could remove me from their friends list anytime and I wouldn't care, but death... Let's get real, death doesn't compare. Apparently, I care if somebody dies among my Facebook friends. I seem to care enough to write about it. Maybe it's because it wasn't a naturally death. Indeed, this lovely woman was killed by some punk ass junkie who probably did it, because he couldn't get a fix.

The death of someone you've met, even someone you don't really know, puts everything in perspective. It's not like having a fight with someone close or going through a bad break up. Death takes people away forever. You get to think about everyone alive. You get to think that you should enjoy their presence while they're still alive, even if they make your life miserable. You end up wishing that you were 10,000 kilometers away because that's where your dying grandmother is.

This sad event has reminded me of my greatest fear: the fear of loss. That's probably the main reason why I don't attach myself to people. Does that make me a coward? Possibly, without a doubt.

Enjoy people's presence while they're alive. Enjoy it even more if they're making your life miserable. Imagine how boring your life would be if no one was there.

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Anger made me create my own iPhone stand

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:30:00 -0700

I love anger. It's a great feeling, because it makes me creative and productive. No other feelings can make me as creative and productive as anger.

Today, I discovered the iPhone paper stand dock made by Julien Madérou and I got angry. I got angry because I didn't think of it. I originally wanted to reproduce it to use it myself, because I find his design very practical and simple, but I was too lazy to look for a knife to cut the paper properly. I'm also out of ink, so I can't print it.

Instead, I looked at objects around me to see if I could make my own iPhone stand without cutting anything. I saw some bookends that I wasn't using and I tried to somehow match them with my iPhone. I ended up folding two curves as you can see on the photo and my iPhone fits perfectly. What's great about this iPhone stand, in comparison with the paper version and even the real thing, is that I don't have to fear that it will fall off. I can lift it up violently and move it away without worrying that my phone would fall. I don't know why anyone would do that violently, but who knows what people do in this world.

This stand is also very cheap, you can buy bookends at the dollar store. As for folding, no precision is required, you can just fold using your bare hands.

Beware of anger. It can make you creative and productive, but it can also destroy. It's like alcohol, you can't let it control you.

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Which movies made you cry?

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:51:00 -0700

10 Movies Guys Should Admit Made Them Cry is an article that lists a bunch of movies in which... Well, you read the title. I just don't get it. For most of the movies in the list, I don't even think the most sensitive girl in the world would cry. In fact, I can't remember any American movie that ever made me cry. Wait, this isn't true, there's The Lord of the Rings when Frodo and Sam realized that they might never go home. Seriously, "home" is important. Think of what you consider your home, the place that is better than any other. Now, imagine you could never go back there.

Another movie that did make me cry way more that any other was Journey From the Fall.

This is a movie that made me realize that our lives have begun long before we were even born. It's all about history. It's all about where we come from. It's all about what and who we are willing to suffer for. It's about what we want to share with the world. There are only two movies that ever hit my heart and Journey From the Fall is one of them.

We can't really know where we're going until we know where we've been.

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Birthday wishes on Facebook

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 06:13:07 -0700

You just wished your Facebook friend "Happy Birthday". Is it because a notice appeared on the front page or do you really care? If it's just because a notice appeared, why did you put the effort to click and type? It's meaningless.

If you really do care, again, why did you put the effort to click and type? I would think that if you really care about someone's birthday, you would put more effort into it. What's the matter? You don't have time to call? You don't have time to see them? However, you have time to put into Facebook? Ok... I've just identified you as the first one who will scream if Facebook blows up.

Just so you know, I have discovered gold mines, diamond mines and rainbows, simply by calling people to wish them happy birthday. It's easy, it's free (you already paid for it or will anyway), it's personal and it matters.

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Dream followed by nostalgia

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 05:01:23 -0700

I just woke up and the last dream I had was a terrible one. Actually, it was a beautiful dream full of beauty and happiness. What's terrible about it is that it wasn't real. It's a dream that reminded me of some great things that I can't have yet. It's not a fantasy dream, so it's one that has the potential of being real and like pretty much everything, hard work can very well bring a very desirable result and even more.

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Movie: World's Greatest Dad (2009)

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:43:00 -0700

I watched this mainly for Robin Williams who plays Lance Clayton, a single father who dreams of being a famous writer and he gets his shot in a very unlikely manner.

If you are looking to take a break from all the special effects of recent movies, World's Greatest Dad is the right movie. It's almost like a teen movie, except the focus is on a father/teacher and it's also much smarter.

During the entire movie, I found myself thinking "This is messed up". My final thoughts were "Finally, he did it" and "Holy crap". The story is predictable, but I wanted to see it all play out.

On the acting level, Robin Williams has his usual charisma. He's as good in comedy as in drama. As for the other actors, they are just average.

Overall, I recommend this movie if you are looking for a nice mixture of comedy and drama.

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La Nuit de la grenouille

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 07:49:18 -0700

La Nuit de la grenouille took place last week on June 4, 2009. The event served as a way to promote the French TV show in development, L'Année de la grenouille.

About two or three weeks before the event, Matchstick, a word-of-mouth marketing agency, approached me and offered me free Carlsberg beer. Who am I to say no to that? That's great beer and the timing was perfect. Carlsberg's tagline is "Probably the best beer in the world". I won't argue that.

I have never been part of an event like La Nuit de la grenouille. The show mixed the screening of four trailers, a popping dance show, a fashion show and a wushu demonstration. Photography and contemporary art were also exposed. A mixture like this has never been done before. How could it all blend together and create an entire show that is unified and makes sense? That's where the TV show comes in.

L'Année de la grenouille gathers all those type of arts through each unique character who had their own teaser and piece of the show adapted to their personality.

In the audience, there were dancers, photographers, producers, people who worked on the project as well as friends and family, and more. The room was full. The public response was insanely great.

The most popular comment was "I want more". The most negative comment was "That's it?" Ironically, I would consider that the most positive comment as well.

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I didn't see Long coming

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:13:36 -0700

I have been credited on a photo as Long. The first thought that came to my mind was "Oh crap, people will never find me with Long. It should be Longzero." It turns out that when you search for long on the .com version of Google, I'm only second at the time of this writing. There are 1,490,000,000 results for long and I'm second! I don't drop my jaw a lot, but it definitely dropped for this one. This is incredible! I can see myself becoming arrogant. Arrogance is such a natural response.

I should mention that it's still better to search for longzero on Google, since that will not only bring up my website, but also a list of social networks to which I have subscribed.

Now, my only question is what could possibly prompt people to search for long...

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My to-do list

Thu, 21 May 2009 06:12:10 -0700

We all know what to-do lists look like. I was looking for an application that would synchronize on the web, on my computer and my iPhone. It turned out that stickies are what works for me. Orange is for project titles. Green is for tasks related to projects. Pink for life related insights.

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The most inspiring people on Flickr

Wed, 06 May 2009 10:02:53 -0700

When I saw the title of this article, The 5 Most Inspiring People on Flickr , I was only interested in one thing: Is Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir in the list? Why that name? Because I created her website, of course! I am totally biased. Not only is she in the list, but her name is the first one to appear.

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You shouldn't care to call me at 3 A.M.

Tue, 05 May 2009 08:48:04 -0700

Some people don't call me late or early for fear that they will wake me up, but that fear is inapplicable since my sleep behavior is highly irregular. Sometimes, I sleep in the middle of the afternoon or the evening, so if you try to call then, you would be waking me up. I pretty much sleep at any hour of the day. Indeed, I usually sleep between 0:00 and 6:00, but it doesn't mean that I won't sleep again at 10:00 and again at 18:00. Irregularity keeps me functioning at any hour of the day. My sleep behavior is probably a reason why I don't get jet lagged.

The bottom line is that nobody should care about when they call me. I am more annoyed by people's hesitation than their calls.

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