Ran into the following comment today, and it becomes especially relevant to me because as of late, I've been tasked with much creative design work on client websites, despite the fact that my idea of design likely differs greatly from what was wanted.
I've been charged with making a specific user interface style guide for a suite of software by my employer. I'm not quite sure where to start
You don't know where to start because you don't work as a tech writer!
Tell your tightwad boss to pick someone more suited to the task - Even the weenies in Marketing can probably do the task better than an engineer (unless you just happen to have a background in technical writing, but it sounds like that doesn't fit into your job description/requirements).
Geeks can do anything - That doesn't always make us the best person for every job even tangentially related to "computers". If you want me to design a website, I can make it do anything HTML supports, but prepare for a color scheme that makes most people's eyes bleed...
I think that management at my company could use this advice.
I build websites & user interfaces the way I build furniture.
Out of Logs.
It's big, it's clunky, and it works well for its intended purpose, even if it is a bit over-engineered for the task at hand.
While this can be a beauty of its own when building furniture, it is quite something else when it ends up as a user interface.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Artificial Traffic
My morning commute is usually not too bad. I go to work pretty early specifically in order to avoid traffic. If I leave home at 7AM, I'm usually at my desk by 7:30. If I leave home at 8AM, I'll be lucky to make it to work by 9AM.
I included the qualifying phrase "usually" primarily due to one thing: Artificial Traffic.
Artificial Traffic is a term that I invented to describe when there are a fair number of cars on the road, but not enough that there should be significant delays in traffic, yet the delays exist anyway.
There are a few causes of Artificial Traffic, such as rubbernecking at a vehicle which has been pulled over by the police, some event off the highway attracting attention, etc...
The most frequent and enraging cause of Artificial Traffic is some cell-phone yakking idiot who has parked in the left lane doing 1.6 Miles Per Hour faster than the Dump Truck in the next lane over.
These idiots are completely oblivious to the 2 miles of traffic which has backed up behind them despite the 2 miles of open freeway ahead of them.
In my not so humble opinion, these bone-heads are the number 1 reason for road rage.
The dumbest road-rage things I see people do tend to take place not when everbody is going slow, but when there is some total jerk causing Artificial Traffic.
A special place in Hell is reserved for anybody causing Artificial Traffic.
I included the qualifying phrase "usually" primarily due to one thing: Artificial Traffic.
Artificial Traffic is a term that I invented to describe when there are a fair number of cars on the road, but not enough that there should be significant delays in traffic, yet the delays exist anyway.
There are a few causes of Artificial Traffic, such as rubbernecking at a vehicle which has been pulled over by the police, some event off the highway attracting attention, etc...
The most frequent and enraging cause of Artificial Traffic is some cell-phone yakking idiot who has parked in the left lane doing 1.6 Miles Per Hour faster than the Dump Truck in the next lane over.
These idiots are completely oblivious to the 2 miles of traffic which has backed up behind them despite the 2 miles of open freeway ahead of them.
In my not so humble opinion, these bone-heads are the number 1 reason for road rage.
The dumbest road-rage things I see people do tend to take place not when everbody is going slow, but when there is some total jerk causing Artificial Traffic.
A special place in Hell is reserved for anybody causing Artificial Traffic.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Way to go, NBC!
I don't watch much television. Aside from catching the news, there are few shows I watch regularly, and none that I deem worthy enough to sit down and watch live except sports.
That being said, this last couple of years has truly sucked. I haven't been watching much football since the college teams I watch have been taken away from me by that brilliant idea of Comcast, called "The Mountain". Essentially, most of the games for teams in the Mountain West Conference are only available if you sell your soul to Comcast. I swore off Comcast years ago, so there goes most of the sports I watch.
But I digress...
The one bright spot I looked forward to, as long as I could find it, was Scrubs. I've been a big Scrubs fan from the first season. But NBC made it difficult, if not impossible to watch because they have never left it in the same spot for even a full season. The only way I've been able to fill in the blanks from the episodes I missed due to schedule changes has been the insane number of re-runs now in syndication, on Comedy Central and the local CW affiliate. I knew that this was going to be the last season, but now it sounds like even that will be denied - with the conclusion of the writers strike, NBC has not yet decided if it is even worth it to put the show back into production long enough to wrap it up.
Thanks for nothing, NBC. I guess that I should be grateful that you have given me one half hour of extra free time each week, but even that would be generous, given that you have done your very best to ensure that no one could ever count on that half hour being at a consistent time on a consistent day.
That being said, this last couple of years has truly sucked. I haven't been watching much football since the college teams I watch have been taken away from me by that brilliant idea of Comcast, called "The Mountain". Essentially, most of the games for teams in the Mountain West Conference are only available if you sell your soul to Comcast. I swore off Comcast years ago, so there goes most of the sports I watch.
But I digress...
The one bright spot I looked forward to, as long as I could find it, was Scrubs. I've been a big Scrubs fan from the first season. But NBC made it difficult, if not impossible to watch because they have never left it in the same spot for even a full season. The only way I've been able to fill in the blanks from the episodes I missed due to schedule changes has been the insane number of re-runs now in syndication, on Comedy Central and the local CW affiliate. I knew that this was going to be the last season, but now it sounds like even that will be denied - with the conclusion of the writers strike, NBC has not yet decided if it is even worth it to put the show back into production long enough to wrap it up.
Thanks for nothing, NBC. I guess that I should be grateful that you have given me one half hour of extra free time each week, but even that would be generous, given that you have done your very best to ensure that no one could ever count on that half hour being at a consistent time on a consistent day.
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