-
Stop the stopwatch, UXers!
Recently, I watched a series of people observe informal usability tests. Two of the observers have recently graduated with Masters degrees in HCI or an adjacent field. Both recent graduates used a watch to record time-on-task and completion of the task. One actually broke out a stopwatch while the other referred to his wristwatch. While…
-
The “Pause.” Cup Escapades, June 2010
I have a coffee cup at work. It resembles a jumbo marshmallow with a handle and “Pause.” printed on the side. There’s a small story behind the cup itself, but today I write for another reason. It was abducted, and I received a series of sinister photos. Due to a back problem, I had to…
-
My 2.5 days in San Francisco: MX 2010
Saturday PM: Sunshine! I actually began to sweat under my blazer from the warm sun shining brightly through the window. I had arrived in San Francisco a little early on Saturday, dropped my suitcase off at the Intercontinental Hotel, and walked around the corner to a sandwich shop for a bite to eat and to…
-
How to write release notes
I confess, I’m a release notes reader, and I’ve read some overwrought release notes lately. When you use them like an installation guide, a features list, or a list of software conflicts, you’ve got it wrong. The purpose of release notes is simple: Release notes explain what changed with this version of your software. Period.…
-
Another pistol tournament, Flushing
Today I shot an 824-19X out of 900 at the match at the Flushing Rifle & Pistol Club. I definitely shot better than my last match, a 785 shot at Grand Rapids. I’m still getting these crazy fliers that really sink the scores. Most of my fliers were high and right, although a few were…
-
jQuery: Show password checkbox
I wrote version 1 of a jQuery plugin during the last couple of days. Read more about jquery.showPasswordCheckbox.js. The basic functionality is to provide a checkbox on web forms to reveal the password text, so people can choose to view the password they are entering as they enter it.
-
Getting back into competitive pistol shooting
Finally, I competed in a real pistol match. Throughout the 1990s I competed regularly, but in about the last ten years I’ve competed in only one sanctioned bullseye pistol tournament. That was about three years ago. Sure, I’ve shot in some pistol leagues here and there, but it’s not quite the same. This one was…
-
Argh! I’m pen-less!
Pen-less. It’s 9:30 in the evening, and I need to write out some thoughts (about a split-complementary color set). At work last Friday, the pen that I’ve had with me for some months now finally gave up its last ink. It was a Pilot Precise V5, black. My habit has been to have that pen…
-
Nephtali web framework creator talks FP
Adam Richardson of Envision Internet Consulting has been a long-time collaborator and good friend of mine, and over the last few years I’ve seen him pursue knowledge in web programming with persistence that I’ve never seen from anyone else. One of Adam’s projects is Nephtali: a web framework that focuses on security and considers the…