A few years back I created an account for the website Daytum. Basically Daytum is a website developed by Ryan Case and Nicholas Felton that provides elegant way of tracking and sharing personal statistics. After I created my account I kind of forgot about it and lost track of my statistics. That is until recently when I heard they had released an iPhone app. I believe the iPhone app will be a great addition to the success of this interesting website, and will certainly make it easier for me to track the statistics for my personal account. I have decided to give it another shot. Check out my Daytum page and sign up for one yourself.

Recently I did some design work on an iPhone app called LiveStache. The app uses facial recognition to automatically superimpose various mustaches on people.I designed the icon for the app along with all the various mustaches. The app is available to try for free and the full version is only 99 cents in the Apple App Store.

Came across this photo today I had forgotten about. It was taken in Phu Quoc, Vietnam in October of 2009.

If It Were My Home is a very interesting and well designed website that allows you to compare different countries and statistics that relate to quality of living. The site displays the pros and cons of each country and gives you incite that you might not have thought of before. Here I have compared the U.S. with China (where I have lived before), and was a bit surprised to see there were far more pros for China on the list than cons. Of course these are somewhat subjective, but interesting nonetheless.

Home isn’t a location, it’s a frame of thought. As long as I am with good people and in good company… I am home.

A super interesting Wikipedia page about commom misconceptions.

via Yewknee

Very simple and very useful todo list website.

The memories I have made this year while traveling are without a question some of the best of my life. I spent a lot of this year in a city I never thought I would even visit, and learned that two weeks in South America isn’t nearly enough time to see even one country. From 5am parties in LA to river boating in the rain forest this was a good year in travel.

Peru, South America
Photos
This was the by far the best trip of the year, and I couldn’t have asked for a better travel partner who made it all that much better.  Two weeks spent traveling throughout Peru and we barely scratched the surface. From Lima to Cusco to Machu Picchu to the Amazon, and from planes to taxis to buses to boats this was a tiring but amazing trip. Peru has some of the most beautiful country and interesting people I have ever scene. I hope to go back someday.

Cleveland, OH
Cleveland isn’t exactly the first place most people think of a travel destination. Over the course of the Summer I spent a few months in Cleveland because Yaya was going to school there. While much of what they say about Cleveland is true, there is also a lot that goes overlooked. There are a ton of good restaurants which were well taken advantage of while I was there. It’s also inspiring to meet people who have lived in Cleveland their entire lives. Watching them overcome the hardships and trying to help build something positive in what many believe to be a dying city. While I probably wouldn’t want to live in Cleveland, I do think it’s important to see what’s going on throughout all parts of our country, not just NYC or LA.

Pocatello, ID
Not a lot of people have even heard of the small town of Pocatello. This is where I was born and raised, and while I could never live there again it’s always nice to visit. It had been a while since I had been able to spend the holidays with my family, so this year I was happy to be there with them.

Dude Ranch, middle of nowhere UT
What more could be said about good friends getting together to celebrate a friend’s birthday on a dude ranch somewhere in the mountains of Utah? Plenty of beer, whiskey and campfire stories. Good times with good friends.

For me 2010 was a year of listening to mostly sun-soaked, fuzzy electronic beats that make you crave bathing suits and warm summer nights. This was of course the big new genre of the year known as “Chillwave”. Not surprisingly 99% of the music I enjoyed this year was electronic. Including a lot of electro-pop, upbeat danceable stuff, IDM and genre-bending artists. Choosing only albums wouldn’t be fair as many of my favorite songs this year weren’t relased on albums. So I am listing both my favorite albums of the year and favorite songs.

(in no particular order)

BEST ALBUMS

Twin Shadow - Forget
A lot of people will hear this album and think it sounds like Morrissey or Depeche Mode. I just say, damn that’s a good album. The first single from the album ‘Slow’ is my favorite track, but I can honestly listen to the entire album loving the whole thing.

Sleigh Bells - Treats
There wasn’t a single album this year that is funner to listen than this one. It caught some slack from uppity reviewers, but Sleigh Bells defies so many genres and just gets down and dirty. Awesome house party album.

Delorean - Subiza
Delorean made it on my list last year for their first EP released. They followed that up with Subiza which was the perfect Summer chill album. The track ‘Real Love’ was my favorite and had a remix EP with artists like The Field, Tiedye, Deadboy and more.

Robyn - Body Talk
Yet another super-fun album to listen too. Robyn came back strong on this album with really great beats, and walks the line between corny and ironically cool with her lyrics. My personal favorite would have to be ‘Dancehall Queen’ with the reggae-infused beats done by Diplo.

How To Dress Well - Love Remains
This album has beautiful semi-ghostly vocals throughout, and yet somehow manages to sneak in some hints of old-school RnB into several of their tracks. A really good one to put on and just chill to.

Mark Ronson & The Business INTL - Record Collection
This is an album I was super surprised by. I really didn’t think I was going to like it, but upon first listen I was hooked. This album is so well-produced and features so many good guest artists. Even if you don’t think you will like this, give it a try.

Toro Y Moi - Causers of This
If I had to choose one album to represent the mood of the Summer of 2010 it would be this one. Many hours were spent over the summer months listening to this album driving in the hot weather with the windows down getting a tan on one arm.

Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner
Lucky Shiner is everything I love about electronic music. This album begins perfectly with the head-bobbing track ‘You’, which sounds almost a bit IDM-ish. And on tracks like ‘Snow & Taxis’ the sound is almost more like The Field, a very-well done melodic techno sound. Regardless of the genre you put it in, this entire album is beautiful.

Small Black - New Chain
New Chain was released late this year and just in time to make it on my list. I have heard this album described as having similar sounds as Brian Eno and M83. I think their sound is pretty unique and didn’t really follow much of the trends in electronic music this year. Which is probably one of the reasons I liked it so much.

BEST SONGS

These are some favorite songs of mine released this year that are not on the albums listed above. Keep in mind it would take much too long to list all of my favorite songs of the year, so this is just a small handful of my favorites. Again these are in no particular order.

DOWNLOAD ALL 15 TRACKS

2010 is coming to an end. Not that it was a bad year, but it did have its ups and downs. I shared a large part of it with my favorite person in the world and had some amazing experiences with her that I will never forget. I also had some great times with friends and family, visited some incredible places, worked with some awesome people and learned some very important lessons. It makes me sad looking back at this year and thinking these times are over, but I will keep these memories with me always and look at 2011 as a new chapter in my life.

In the next week or so I will be posting my thoughts and memories of 2010 including travel, music, food and more. Stay tuned.