Rebellions are built on hope

The new Rogue One trailer looks amazing

The new Rogue One trailer dropped this morning and I'm really impressed. I've seen some folks expressing doubt that Rogue One will live up to the hype, but I'm hopeful. I think the story looks interesting. The art direction looks amazing. It's the Star Wars worlds, ships and mythology I grew up with, but on a grander scale. If I have one complaint, I feel like they may have dropped a few too many spoilers with this last trailer. I know where my wife and I will be on December 16.

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Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. In his spare time, he watches Star Wars movies with his kids – but not the original prequels. Follow Bob on Twitter and Instagram.

Back to School: The History of American Modern Architecture

I spent the spring semester taking an class on modern American architecture, specifically looking at the buildings on the south side of the University of South Carolina's campus. That section of campus is going to be redeveloped soon and this was our chance to document what's there before it changes completely.

Taking a class again was a fun experience. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if I was the old guy in the class. Thanks to Dr. Brandt for the thought provoking discussion. I don't think I'll look at modern buildings in the same way again.

The class produced a book that includes the histories and architectural surveys we researched over the course of the semester. I designed the final book and am hosting a PDF copy of it here on Sketchbook B. My project involved the pedestrian bridge that connects the south side of campus with main campus. Despite having spent have my life around campus, I realized just how little I knew about that side of campus. 

I'm looking forward to taking some more classes. I'm teaching in the fall semester, but look to take another class in the spring.

Patiently waiting for Apple Pay

About 20 years ago, fast food establishments were a cash only deal. I remember when the first restaurants started taking credit and debit cards. It was a mess. They wouldn't have a pen for you to sign the receipt. The cashiers were confused. I hated carrying cash, though, and would go out of my way to find a restaurant that took cards. Sometimes, it didn't work. It took a while, but over time, the experience got better and now, almost everyone accepts debit cards. Cash only establishments are the exception, not the rule.

I feel like we are seeing a similar slow transition with Apple Pay and contactless payment in general. 

When Apple Pay works, it's magic. Effortless. Yes, sometimes cashiers are confused and occasionally, the system doesn't work correctly. But I still go out of my way to visit a store that accepts Apple Pay because the experience is that good.

I go to the Walgreens near my house more often now because they take Apple Pay. And I was excited tonight to find out the neighborhood Starbucks takes Apple Pay now, too.

My desire to use Apple Pay is only amplified by the messy chip card rollout. While I understand why we've made the switch to chip cards, I hate everything about the process.

It might be a little messy for a few more years. But hopefully, in 20 years, contactless payment will be everywhere and we'll remember how absurd debit cards were.

Until then, I’ll be waiting patiently.

I want an electric car.

I struggle to explain why, but I want an electric car. My trusty VW Rabbit is getting up there in age and I'm thinking about a replacement. The next generation of electric cars are increasing in range and decreasing in price. With the Tesla Model 3*, Chevy Bolt, BMW i3, an updated Nissan Leaf and the rumored Apple Car, I’m thinking seriously that my next car might not have an internal combustion engine. 

But why? When I talk to people about electric cars, most of them don’t get it. At all. And I’ll be honest — I struggle to explain it. I’ve been seriously thinking about it over the last week and I'm trying to understand why I’m so intrigued by an electric transmission.

Going the distance. An electric car fits my driving habits. Newer electric cars boast a 200 mile range. Most days, I drive about 40 miles. But some days, it's almost 100 miles. Having a 200 mile range gives me more that enough juice to go anywhere I need to go without dealing with range anxiety. My wife’s SUV will work for long trips and I can use the electric car around town. I'm also close to charging stations on campus so if I need an additional charge, I can easily do that. 

Less maintenance. I hate scheduling maintenance for my car. Electric cars have no oil changes and really only need tire rotation regularly. Less ongoing maintenance is appealing, but replacing a giant battery someday will be expensive.

It's not about the environment. Most people want an electric car because it's more environmentally friendly. But in reality, that depends on how your electricity is generated. Here in South Carolina, much of our power grid is nuclear power, but a significant percentage is still coal. While I'm sure an electric car is better for the environment than its gas powered alternative, it's not a driving factor in my purchase decision. (I do think that getting America off its oil addiction is good foreign policy.)

It's not about the high cost of gas. When gas was $4/gallon, electric cars were a hot idea because they were potentially cheaper. Gas prices are relatively low and if you calculate cost of ownership today, the electric car isn’t going to be the most cost effective. So switching to an electric car isn’t about money.

I’m not interested in a hybrid. I think hybrids are cool, but they are still cars with internal combustion engines. They have all the complexity of a normal car with the added complexity of an electric car. I have lots of friends with Prius (or Priuses?), and they all love them. But my interest in an electric car isn’t because I want to use less gas. I don’t want to use any gas at all.

I’m in love with the technology. I’m completely and totally in love with technology. And an electric car is the cutting edge of technology. From the drivetrain to the internal controls, an electric car is the most advanced piece of technology on the road.**

So will my next car be electric? It's definitely possible and I think it all depends on timing. If I had to buy a new car today, it wouldn't be an electric. Too many interesting cars on the market that are a better fit for me. But if I can hold out a couple of years, I'd be surprised if I don't go electric.

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* Since I haven't already put money down on a Tesla Model 3, I won't be getting one this decade.

** At least until self driving cars arrive.

Trailers x4

I love movie trailers, sometimes more than the movies themselves. Over the last month, four new trailers have caught my attention.

Rogue One. I love Star Wars and the Rogue One trailer is chocked full of Star Wars awesomeness. We'll see if the movie is as good as I hope it is, but it looks like the Star Wars I grew up with. Yavin 4. Death Star. Mon Mothma. AT-ATs. I'm excited to get more Star Wars for Christmas this year.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. As a fan of Harry Potter, I'm both excited and nervous about a new trilogy of films set in the Harry Potter universe. Much like Rogue One, the look of the trailer is perfect. It looks like a Harry Potter movie set in Prohibition-era New York. So much potential, but we'll see if it lives up to the original.

Suicide Squad. I love the DC television universe with Flash and Arrow, but I haven't been as impressed with the DC cinematic world. This trailer is obviously intended to highlight Harley Quinn, and they expect her to be the breakout character from the movie. The trailer is fun, but I'm not expecting much from the movie. I am expecting Harley Quinn Halloween costumes to be popular with the teenagers and college students this year.

Dr. Strange. I grew up a Marvel fan, but more on the X-Men side of the universe. I don't know much about Dr. Strange. The trailer does a nice job of setting up the magical corner of the MCU, with just a quick tease of the costume at the end of the trailer. Marvel has done a great job introducing lesser known properties, like Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant Man. We'll see if Dr. Strange is Marvel's next success.

Do autonomous cars need stoplights?

Researchers at MIT have posed the question: Do autonomous cars need stoplights? Our entire infrastructure is based around the automobile and managing traffic. If (when) autonomous cars happen, how will our roads, bridges, parking lots and stoplights evolve?

Of course, watching the video, all I could think was "How does a pedestrian cross a street with no stoplight?"

Toyota built a wooden concept car?!

I'm a big fan of concept cars and I've written about them in the past. They are often horribly impractical and will never come to market, but they often present a unique presentation of a particular concept or feature that can point a way for the future of the car.

Toyota introduced the Setsuna, a wooden car intended to be a family heirloom. Hand crafted out of wood using "traditional Japanese joinery technique called okuriari which does not use any nails or screws."

I think it's kind of cute, even if it looks like a life size pinewood derby car.* And while I don't expect to see Toyota Setsuna make it to a dealership, it does pose an interesting question about how we will view internal combustion cars in an electric, self-driving car world. Will they be heirlooms as Toyota seems to imply with the Setsuna? Or junk?

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* My daughter and wife think this car looks like Barney Rubble's car from the Flintstones. Maybe they are right, but I like it anyway.

Pat Conroy, Commencement Speaker

I've attended a lot of graduations over the years and heard many bad commencement speeches. Most are forgettable. Some were memorably bad.* But few are great.

I was lucky enough to have Pat Conroy as my commencement speaker when I graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1997. It was a perfect graduation speech. Powerful. Insightful. Heartfelt. Short.

Pat Conroy died yesterday from pancreatic cancer. He was without a doubt a great writer, but to me, he'll always be the person who put an exclamation point on my college experience. 

I searched to find a transcript or video of the speech.** It doesn't seem to exist anywhere online, but I did find a passage that was shared in a NY Times article on the commencements of 1997:

I send you out into the world now, Class of 1997, with this admonition. You have graduated from a great university. Now make this university, this state, yourself and your family proud, and if you have a little luck — if you have any luck at all — if you do it right, there is a great possibility you can teach the whole world how to dance.

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* George Will was my wife's graduation speaker.

** Looks like the University of South Carolina may have a transcript in Pat Conroy's papers. It just doesn't appear to be online, yet.