The other day I got a phone call from an unknown number. I picked up and heard nothing but silly threats and “tough talk” by a young boy. I ignored it all at first, but when I kept getting called back, it started to get annoying. This is when I decided to see what the heck was really going on, and try to talk some sense into this kid trying to have fun.

I started to ask who the hell this kid thought he was, and for him to come to my face and tell me the things he was saying. At first, I had no idea if he lived down the block or somewhere else. I looked up the number he was calling with, and saw that it was a NYC number – started making threats of my own saying I was tracking him down. He got a little scared and told me to chill, and asked why I was taking it so seriously.

I told the kid it was because his behavior was disgusting and I didn’t want my kids growing up around horrible influences like him. I also said it was people like him that drop out of school, and people always look down upon. Then he was a little more serious and apologetic. I asked why he wasn’t playing in the park with his friends, and said he wasn’t allowed to. This lead me to believe he didn’t live in such a great neighborhood, but I told him not to worry; I come from a country where guns were fired every other night outside my window for reasons nobody could explain, and tanks driving down the street going anywhere….

Being considerate shows respect, understanding, appreciation, and care towards whoever is involved. It effects our overall image – how people perceive us, which, in the end, is more positive. The more we realize and acknowledge things about people, the more we learn about ourselves (read: self discovery), and about everyone around us. This helps us become socially well-rounded, which is important to all of us when we’re around friends, family, coworkers, strangers at a bar, and so forth.

So, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Being considerate involves compromise. You need to be observant of people’s behaviors and feelings so you can determine what needs to be done. If someone you know is having a bad day, you probably shouldn’t do/say anything inappropriate that would hurt their feelings. If you see a friend or colleague drowning in work, and you happen to have free time, lend a hand. These types of things are hard to forget. More after the jump…

The birds are angry, and they’re out to get the pigs! Angry Birds is the latest and greatest the iPhone OS has to offer in the gaming department. There are tons of levels, each offering a unique composition of walls, barriers, pigs, and ornaments like jewels and trophies.

Playing this game is very simple! You use a slingshot to launch a variety of birds into the air, aiming for huge amounts of [pig] destruction. The more birds you have left in the end of the round, the bigger your score. There’s a star rating system (1 to 3 stars) which gives you a good idea of how talented you’ve become. More after the jump…

Three weeks from today, my college career will be complete. I will have fulfilled the requirements of a rigorous 120-credit design program, met tons of amazing people, and built lasting relationships with my colleagues. This will mark a major milestone, and I will be headed towards greater things.

A strong network is important because you will take it with you wherever your career takes you. The amount of opportunities you are presented often depends on who you know. Your former professor may recommend you for a job, or a former classmate may need your expertise in some project. In contrast, if you ever need a hand somewhere down the line, who do you ask?

Say a former colleague of yours becomes an Art Director and is building a team of professionals, who will he go to? Most likely the people he knows and trusts, which could be you. I have been referred to clients by my friends and colleagues simply because they knew I did design work. People often make recommendations based on good experiences. The more people you meet and impress, the more likely you are to be recommended. More after the jump…

Be amazing in your schoolwork, regardless of what it is you do. Always do more than you’re asked for. Beat out the competition. Blow them away with your work. Come up with fantastic concepts and ideas – something you know others wouldn’t think of. Always go for something that would make people think “dang, now that’s clever!” These are the teachings of my former Advertising professor, Douglas Davis.

In his class, I learned how to truly work as a team with partners, how be actively productive, and how to go above and beyond what I thought I was capable of. These are the types of professors that shape and mold us into who we are as professionals.

When you’re just entering the working world, you don’t have much experience under your belt. Your schoolwork is pretty much the only thing you have to show for yourself. For designers, this means that your portfolio does most of the talking. For those with careers that don’t involve portfolios, your resume should list your accomplishments, activities, and so forth that define who you are and what you’re capable of.

By mid-May, I will be launching a portfolio that will highlight a lot of my schoolwork. It will including some great advertising campaigns I worked on in Douglas Davis’ class. I can’t wait until it’s up an running!

Some people say they are always behind everyone else, but that is not the case. Everyone is always a step behind someone, including the best out there. It takes a special skill to be able to discover things and learn whenever you wish. Self discovery is important because it’s what allows us to take control of ourselves and our future.

Knowing what you want is one of the greatest challenges in life, even though the list always changes. We may not always have the answers in front of us, but if we learn to look for answers in the right places, many problems can be eliminated. We all have the ability to research, try and experiment with anything that interests us, whether it’s music, the arts, programming, sports, and so forth.

Self discovery is a life-long process. Even when we reach the point in life where everything is going our way, it’s no reason to stop growing as a person. There is too much to see and learn about in this world to be fooled by some success. Success, after all, is a state of mind, and must be actively sought after.

Remember: Not knowing isn’t the problem. Not knowing how to get what you want is the problem.

A few weeks ago I discovered Flavors.me – a website that allows you to quickly create and customize your own website. You can link your existing blogs and website feeds, Flickr, LinkedIn, Netflix, and so forth, all in one simple interface. Here’s mine: flavors.me/lasha

Flavors.me is a GREAT way to get you started if you don’t have your own website, and a great addition to your online presence. It allows a decent amount of customization such as colors, fonts, and various options for Facebook, Flickr, etc. With this service, you can link people to just one page and have them access everything else. Great for potential clients and networking.

On another note, I’m getting decent traffic from my Flavors.me page back to this blog. I don’t know how that happened… haha.

After getting a sneak peak of the iPad app store, I was disappointed to see more expensive versions of existing apps on the iPhone. I am a proud owner of “Flight Control,” a piloting game that costs a buck for the iPhone/iPod Touch. The “HD” version apparently will cost $5! The game better bring some great additions on top of the real estate enhancements, or $5 is just crazy.

Other companies are and will be guilty of doing this. Just as the iPad offers greater screen size and performance, so should companies offer a greater experience, if they want to charge more. A bigger screen means you can do more at the same time, but if this “more” doesn’t bring anything new to the table, a bigger price tag isn’t justified.

We WILL notice a general increase in app prices because more apps will be fully featured, whereas a lot of existing apps are cut down due to limited screen space. I’m cool with paying more for apps that are worth my time, and more than just a simflified solution.

The iPad’s 9.7 inch screen allows for more complex apps to be designed. Everything from multi-touch gestures to content discovery and interaction has to be adapted, which translates to new and unique experiences. Apple redesigned the iPhone native apps from scratch, with a completely different user experience in mind. Check out the Guided Tours to see what I’m talking about. Some 3rd party apps are already shaping up to provide awesome experiences.

This morning, I read a great post by Andy Rutledge about Risk. Things haven’t been too smooth lately, but this bit of encouragement set me on the right track again. It helped me realize once again that, without risk, there is no greatness. Those who set out to build empires and succeed take risks. Those who aim for the very best take risks. Those who set out to make a difference take risks.

“For designers, for business, just as for nations, risk is the essential component to great success.” – Andy Rutledge.

Andy created a series of Desktop Wallpapers based on the article. Risktakers stand out and achieve great success. Take a look at every successful company that has shaped our world today (Google, Apple, Microsoft, YouTube, Facebook, etc.). The question you should be asking is: What do you want to be noticed for?

Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, IE, Camino, Netscape… all good browsers in their own way, but to me, only one stands out: Firefox. I have a bad habit of keeping 50+ tabs open simultaneously, almost all the time. Last night, I browsed to a site that caused my Mac to have a meltdown. The Mac wouldn’t even shut down! Waited hours before I had to hold the power-button for 5 seconds.

This morning I turned on the Mac, launched Firefox and saw this:

They admit their fault, even if it wasn’t theirs to admit. They offer a smart interface to deselect the tabs that may have caused the crash. As you can see by the side of the scroll bar, I had A LOT going on. I deselected a bunch of tabs, hit “Restore” all without a bit of worry.

This level of attention toward functionality to provide an excellent user experience should be mimicked by other developers. When I’m conceptualizing new ideas, this is the type of quality I incorporate. Thank you, Mozilla.

Which browser do you use, and why?