Web-log / 2008

December
November
2008-11-17

Clean

I spent the whole weekend cleaning. I mean like the whole weekend because I got up at 6:00 each day and fell into bed exhausted...

October
2008-10-28

奥巴马 2008!

Courtesy of James Fallows, I learned that the Mandarin transcription of “Obama” is 奥巴马. I’ve written previously about the danger of “translating” foreign words from...

2008-10-14

God’s Reputation

I’ve been watching this video of the convocation at a mccain/palin rally with a certain degree of ... fascination. like so many things happening in...

2008-10-10

Nebraska’s New State Motto

Just now a coworker and I were discussing Nebraska’s surprising status as a potential swing state in the presidential election. I was trying to describe...

2008-10-03

Shorter Vice Presidential Debate

Sen. Joe Biden: I’m not gonna be the only person in this race without a compelling personal history.Gov. Sarah Palin: I’m a human firehose of...

2008-10-02

My Proudest Piece of Writing Ever

On Stumptown Coffee’s Facebook Page:I traveled back in time from the 28th century and constructed an elaborate cover life solely for the purpose of reviewing...

September
2008-09-25

And Now: Politics!

I watched some of Katie Couric’s recent interview with Sarah Palin just now, and I had a sudden aha moment. I had previously seen some...

2008-09-06

Namesake

While dumping a bucket of compost at 5am this morning I looked to the southeast and saw my son’s namesake rising ahead of the sun.Orion...

August
2008-08-26

Hometown Songs

Two of my most surprising favorite songs are Jonathan Richman’s “New England:” I have been out west to Californ’ But I miss the land where...

2008-08-06

Nine Women

...can’t have a baby in one month.The software and management world has known this since 1975 and yet, what happens every time I’m on a...

July
2008-07-31

The Hill

Every day I ride my bike over the Hill. Well, almost every day. About one day in ten I don’t ride the bike at all...

2008-07-16

(Re) Reading

Last week, I finished reading the entire Patrick O’Brian Aubrey/Maturin series. (Yes, these are the books that Charlton Heston described as his favorites. I’m probably...

2008-07-11

♥ Technique and Technology

You can use a Swiss Army knife to cut your fingernails in two different ways: with the scissors, or with the knife blade.

2008-07-09

Outside

I remember an ad for outdoorsy-type shoes (by Nike?) from some years ago (1995?) that claimed “Americans spend 1% of their lives outdoors.” I’m also...

June
2008-06-04

Sonic Life

One of the weird and awesome side effects of the imminent Digitalization of All Things is the ease with which I can become an obsessive...

2008-06-03

The Cost of Things

As a society we have traded about 70% of our kids’ literal freedom (in the sense of “freedom of movement”) for a five-fold increase in their ability to accumulate STUFF

May
2008-05-30

Something I Just Learned...

The traffic dangers of cycling fatalities are offset at least 10 to 1 by the cardiovascular health benefits.From John Pucher, via this video (around minute...

2008-05-30

I Love This Town

A little sun today, finally, after what feels like the longest winter evar. Broken clouds, cool, wind smells like ocean. The wet winter makes for...

2008-05-18

The Beach, Reached

First of course: a hearty thank you to everyone who contributed to my Reach the Beach effort. I raised $125 for the American Lung Association,...

2008-05-14

China Earthquake and Digging Ditches

Sometimes I say things like “web design isn’t like digging ditches.” Meaning: more time ≠ better design The past week at Mercy Corps has proven...

April
2008-04-17

Free Range Kids

With a kid on the way I’ve been thinking a lot about my own childhood and the way I was raised. In particular, I’m kind...

2008-04-06

Eight Miles

I changed my clipless pedal cleats today. I remembered doing this last autumn, right around the time I rolled my odometer over 6666.6 miles. I...

2008-04-04

Giving Away UI Design

Jeff Atwood blogged recently about UI-first software development. I’m a UI designer primarily so this is the only kind of development I ever do, really,...

2008-04-02

New R.E.M. Albums

I stood outside the door of Pickles Records, waiting for opening time, on the day of Document’s release in 1987. (It was also, coincidentally, the...

March
February
2008-02-25

Perspective

In the past 3 years I’ve totally remade my productivity habits. The key is that I don’t keep “to do” items hanging around. I either...

January
2008-01-28

Buh-Bye Lake Oswego

After our first week in the new house I am — and whoa, where did this come from — missing Lake Oswego?Well, objectively, here’s what...