Los Angeles

2015 Scriptnotes shirts now available for pre-order

September 8, 2015 Los Angeles, News

Every podcast needs a t-shirt. Here at Scriptnotes, we take our t-shirts very seriously.

Many podcasts farm out the job to a big t-shirt fulfillment site. And that’s fine. But it’s not the Scriptnotes way.

**We sell our shirts only through our store.** [Right here.](http://store.johnaugust.com) Ninety-five percent of our shirts are sold in the pre-order. We print a few extras in case of lost shipments — but only in the most common sizes.

**We print each shirt design only once.** If you own the 2013 shirt in Umbrage Orange, congratulations. No one else will ever be able to buy one, because we’ll never print them again.

**We print locally at the same shop we’ve used for years.** Our designers consult with them frequently to make sure every line is crisp.

**We inspect and hand-fold every shirt.** That might sound like a hard job, but our t-shirts are so soft that folding them is like strumming a cloud.

**We bag and label every order ourselves** on the same table where we recorded many of our best episodes, including the live 200th show, the one with Malcolm Spellman, and even the notorious Final Draft episode.

Suffice to say we’re proud of our t-shirts. The 2015 editions are the best shirts we’ve ever made.

They’re available for pre-order through Thursday, September 17th. If you miss out, there’s a good chance you’ll never be able to get one.

The new shirts come in three designs.

### Classic Scriptnotes

We always offer a variation on our typewriter logo. Last year’s [Tour Shirt](http://store.johnaugust.com/collections/frontpage/products/scriptnotes-tour-shirt) pushed it to the extreme, with the machine on fire.

For this year’s logo shirt, we went back to the classic icon, keeping the halftone effect while simplifying the background. A simple circle frames the typewriter.

This year’s Classic shirt comes in vintage purple. Neither matchy-matchy nor wildly contrasting, it’s easy to pair with almost anything. You may not own any purple shirts. Wearing this, you’ll wonder why you haven’t been wearing purple all along.

The Classic shirt is printed on our favorite Next-Level tri-blend, the same one we used for the Tour shirt. As always, it’s available in women’s and unisex sizing.

### Three-Act Structure

For the first time, we invited listeners to design their dream Scripnotes shirt. Taino Soba rose the challenge with an idea we call Three Act Structure.

Like the Classic shirt, Three Act Structure is printed on our favorite tri-blend. It’s available in women’s and unisex sizing.

### Camp Scriptnotes

In-house artist Dustin Bocks mixed up a strong cocktail of sunscreen, bug juice and nostalgia to design our Camp Scriptnotes shirt.

We loved the design so much that we’re offering it in two colors: navy and green.

These ringer shirts are available in unisex sizes. The navy shirt is available down to size XXS for smaller campers.

Check out all of our shirts in the [Store](http://store.johnaugust.com), and be sure to pre-order by Thursday, September 17th. All shirts will ship in mid-October, in time for the Austin Film Festival.

Since the beginning, Scriptnotes has been listener-supported. We don’t have ads; we have t-shirts. Buying and wearing these shirts is a way of showing your appreciation. (And looking damn good.)

Craig is running a few minutes behind

September 4, 2015 General, Los Angeles

Recording the podcast today, Craig apologized for being a few minutes late, “like always,” he said. “No worries,” I said. After all, it’s just Skype.

But Craig’s comment got me looking through my Messages history. What follows is a very slightly redacted version of our entire conversation thread since the start of Scriptnotes.

message thread

Craig is still the best co-host in the universe.

Happy Labor Day weekend!

The End of Teen Drivers

July 6, 2015 Los Angeles

Growing up in Colorado, you kept track of your 15-and-a-half birthday. That was the first day you could take the written exam to get your driver’s permit. You wanted to get it as soon as possible, because you couldn’t take your behind-the-wheel test for your license until you’d held your permit for six months.

Over the weekend, I was talking with a fifteen-year-old neighbor. She had no immediate plans to get her permit, or her license. She felt no urgency whatsoever. She just didn’t see the need.

I realized then that I’d made the classic mistake of confusing the product with the solution.

Growing up, there were obvious benefits getting my license:

1. **Independence.** I didn’t need to rely on my parents to go where I wanted, or the whims of the RTD bus schedule.
2. **Income.** I could get a job. I did freelance design work, and often needed to haul things to and from printers.
3. **Identity.** As someone who could drive a car, I wasn’t a kid. I was very nearly an adult. And as a practical matter, a driver’s license felt like legitimate proof that I was somebody in a way my school ID didn’t.
4. **Inclusion**. I wanted to hang out with my friends.
5. **Isolation.** I could get out of the house, and play my music in the car.

This young woman could easily get the same benefits without driving.

Because of Uber and Lyft, she could get anywhere she needed to go, including her job. Because very few of her friends drove, having a car wasn’t a key part of her social identity. Besides, she saw them online all the time, and her Instagram name was more important than a plastic card with a photo she couldn’t even choose and filter.

And with headphones, she had the ability isolate herself anywhere.

Will she learn to drive? Probably, someday. Unless self-driving cars become viable. Unless she keeps living in a big city. Unless the subway they’re building below her house makes it even less important.

Even if she learns to drive, it won’t be the classic trope of a teen driver and her stressed-out parent. That time has passed. If you have a scene like that in your spec script, take it out.

I wonder how soon driving a car will be like riding a horse: something you only do in certain circumstances, and only if the mood strikes you.

Saving water and power

May 29, 2015 How-To, Los Angeles, Random Advice

Every month, my husband logs information from our utility bills into a spreadsheet. Comparing the past 12 months to the same 12 months in 2005, we used:

• 40% less water
• 46% less natural gas
• 75% less electricity (from the grid)

Bragging about efficiency plays into the worst stereotypes of California: smug, self-righteous and self-congratulatory. Yet conspicuous underconsumption has actual benefits, both to the individual and society. You’re showing what’s possible, and helping to nudge trend lines and public policy in the right direction.

So here’s how we did it. We didn’t do it all at once, and we didn’t do it all right. But if it helps provide some inspiration, it’s probably worth sharing.

## Electricity

Seven years ago, we added solar panels, which provide the bulk of our electricity. During daylight hours, we sell power back to the utility.

While battery technologies like Tesla’s [Powerwall](http://www.teslamotors.com/powerwall “Tesla”) might one day become common, for now most residential solar works like ours. Beyond permit hassles when we first installed it, selling back to the grid has worked out well.

We’re paying less than a dollar a day for electricity, and that includes charging our primary car, a Nissan Leaf.

In addition to generating power, we’re also using less wherever possible. We have almost entirely LED lighting, including outdoor lights. Lighting only accounts for [14% of total residential electricity consumption](http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=99&t=3), so while it’s important, it’s not the only thing to look at. For example, we got a variable-speed pool pump, which uses 80% less electricity than a single-speed version. With rebates, the new pump paid for itself in the first year.

In colder climates, thermostats are mostly for controlling heat, but they also regulate air conditioning in the summer. We switched to Nest thermostats, which include an [Airwave](https://nest.com/support/article/What-is-Airwave) feature that makes smarter use of the compressor coils.

## Water and Gas

We moved to a more-efficient hot water heater with a circulator pump, which gets hot water to the tap faster, sending less down the drain. We use solar to heat the pool.

Because we live in California, we’re always mindful of the drought. Our water use is down 25% from last year. We had already switched to native landscaping, so most of the savings this past year probably came from better sprinkler timers that use an iPhone app. (We have the [Rachio](http://rachio.com).)

Could we push our consumption of water and power lower? Maybe, but to do so, we’d need to able to identify where we’re using utilities in a much more granular, real-time way.

We still don’t have a smart meter. We don’t have anything like Google Analytics for amps and gallons. Without that kind of information, it’s hard to know what areas are really worth our attention.

So we’re left guessing, and relying on other people’s experience. That’s mostly why I’m blogging what we’ve done. If you have suggestions for great ways to do more, hit me up [on Twitter](http://twitter.com/johnaugust).

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