This one untouched, unlike this one.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
pull the other one
Look at these doors.
Now look at this detail.
I've been to this store a number of times, but I always see the Pull sign on the right door before I see the Exit Only sign above it, and I reach for the handle that's not there.
Now look at this detail.
I've been to this store a number of times, but I always see the Pull sign on the right door before I see the Exit Only sign above it, and I reach for the handle that's not there.
what's this car?
I saw this car the other day - don't recall seeing one before, and it went by too quickly for me to catch the name on the back. Recognize it?
(Click image to enlarge.)
(Click image to enlarge.)
Friday, July 03, 2009
move over 'Snakes on a Plane'
Move over Snakes on a Plane, here comes RoboGeisha:
This seems to be the only trailer; I can't find one in Japanese.
The official site appears to have only one page, and indicates that this will come out in Autumn 2009 in Japan. Set your Google Alerts to watch for more details.
Thank you BoingBoing for telling us about this.
This seems to be the only trailer; I can't find one in Japanese.
The official site appears to have only one page, and indicates that this will come out in Autumn 2009 in Japan. Set your Google Alerts to watch for more details.
Thank you BoingBoing for telling us about this.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Wilhelm scream
I went to the Hacklab Toronto open night on Tuesday and learned about the Wilhelm scream. Am I the last person to have heard of this?
Here's is a compilation of clips from films where the scream is used:
Here are more YouTube links to "Wilhelm scream".
Here's is a compilation of clips from films where the scream is used:
Here are more YouTube links to "Wilhelm scream".
goodbye STC Forum
If you're the sort of person who follows these things, then you'll know that STC is shutting down the Forum. Concerned STC members are asking that it be replaced with something before it comes down. From what I can tell, the STC leadership is working on it.
Certainly, though, discussions about STC and technical communication can happen all over the Web. The Forum, however, provides one central location for these discussions to happen.
Aside from location -- oh yeah, and all the content that's already up there -- is there anything else the Forum provides that can't be had elsewhere on the Web? And is one central location really that important?
Certainly, though, discussions about STC and technical communication can happen all over the Web. The Forum, however, provides one central location for these discussions to happen.
Aside from location -- oh yeah, and all the content that's already up there -- is there anything else the Forum provides that can't be had elsewhere on the Web? And is one central location really that important?
danger? warning? where?
The manual (pdf) went missing, but I found it online. I admit I didn't look that closely at it before, but I am now.
I saw this on page 4:
However, when I looked in the manual for Danger and Warning messages, I couldn't find any. Am I missing something?
I saw this on page 4:
However, when I looked in the manual for Danger and Warning messages, I couldn't find any. Am I missing something?
considerate20090701f(i)
"Caring considerate service is why we are here."
Words by Service Ontario; voice by AT&T Labs.
This one is a bit noisy (in an unintended way) in places that are heavily processed; try with both speakers and headphones to see which works better for you.
Words by Service Ontario; voice by AT&T Labs.
This one is a bit noisy (in an unintended way) in places that are heavily processed; try with both speakers and headphones to see which works better for you.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
vaunted shelters
A few years ago when I was back home for a visit, I introduced a friend to Audacity. We recorded him saying a few things; I took the recordings home, added a few bits of my own, and made this.
Your ad here
One of the things you may get when you're packaged out of a company is the service of an outplacement firm. And if you sign on to the outplacement firm's program, one of the things that they'll probably have you do is create a "30 second commercial" about yourself.
Who stays in the room during commercials?
But on the other hand, who doesn't love the Cannes Lions reels? And what about Super Bowl commercials?
So, if we're going to use the "commercial" metaphor, let's explore it more thoroughly and come up with ways of using it more creatively than the sort of thing that's currently being suggested.
Who stays in the room during commercials?
But on the other hand, who doesn't love the Cannes Lions reels? And what about Super Bowl commercials?
So, if we're going to use the "commercial" metaphor, let's explore it more thoroughly and come up with ways of using it more creatively than the sort of thing that's currently being suggested.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
kinetic typography
Last year I saw this post over on Presentation Zen. Today, while looking at some stuff by Mike Daisey (how did I end up doing that? the trail goes back as far as a piece on Seattlest, and then goes cold*) on YouTube, I came across this (NSFW):
Follow links from there to other interesting things.
*UPDATE: in case you're interested, I got there from this Torontoist post. Mystery solved.
ANOTHER UPDATE: yes, there's a Wikipedia article on kinetic typography, too.
Follow links from there to other interesting things.
*UPDATE: in case you're interested, I got there from this Torontoist post. Mystery solved.
ANOTHER UPDATE: yes, there's a Wikipedia article on kinetic typography, too.
Goodbye technical communicators?
So, Ellis Pratt has suggested that technical communicators are about to disappear, and that they need to transform themselves into content strategists.
I have some thoughts on that.
First, jobs change and eventually disappear. Technical communicators will not be exempt.
Second, people can choose to watch their jobs disappear, resist the factors that will cause their jobs to disappear, or can reshape their jobs themselves. No guarantees on what any of these approaches will get you.
Third, specifically with regard to technical communication work, perhaps it’s time that the people who develop the technology take ownership of the content about it.
That’s right, I said it. Perhaps technical communicators need to step away from the content and help the technology makers develop and disseminate it themselves, in tandem with the technology. That sounds to me like something content strategists would do, though admittedly I haven’t yet read much on what they do.
Recently certain practitioners in the training and development community have been calling for a redefinition of their role in organizations, not unlike what Ellis Pratt is talking about for technical communicators. I’m going to spend more time looking at content strategy and what the training folks are talking about; I might have more to say later.
I have some thoughts on that.
First, jobs change and eventually disappear. Technical communicators will not be exempt.
Second, people can choose to watch their jobs disappear, resist the factors that will cause their jobs to disappear, or can reshape their jobs themselves. No guarantees on what any of these approaches will get you.
Third, specifically with regard to technical communication work, perhaps it’s time that the people who develop the technology take ownership of the content about it.
That’s right, I said it. Perhaps technical communicators need to step away from the content and help the technology makers develop and disseminate it themselves, in tandem with the technology. That sounds to me like something content strategists would do, though admittedly I haven’t yet read much on what they do.
Recently certain practitioners in the training and development community have been calling for a redefinition of their role in organizations, not unlike what Ellis Pratt is talking about for technical communicators. I’m going to spend more time looking at content strategy and what the training folks are talking about; I might have more to say later.
Questions for self-directed development
More thoughts on this...
There are a few ways you could figure out how to develop yourself. If it’s career development you’re after, you could, for example…
If you’re interested in the business you’re in, this wouldn’t be a bad way to do things. For one thing, if you plan your development in alignment with the goals of the business you work for, I think you stand a better chance of getting the business to support you in things like training and conferences.
Another way to go at it might be to start with questions. Questions about what? Again, if it’s career development you’re after, then you could start with questions about the business you’re in and the part you’re playing in it, and break them down into smaller questions that you can more easily answer, and then put those smaller answers together to come up with answers to the big questions.
You might ask yourself, though, what answering a question has to do with developing yourself – acquiring a skill, knowledge, attitude, or whatever. Good question, and my answer goes something like this:
Do you know that humour trope about looking up a word in the dictionary and seeing a picture of someone beside that word? The idea is that the person pictured embodies the meaning the word looked up; just look at that person and you’ll understand the meaning of the word.
I have in mind something of an analogous situation: you have a question, and you work very hard at answering the question. You don’t satisfy yourself with an easy answer; you treat each answer you come up with as provisional, and you subject it to further questioning. You really get inside that question and in the process it changes the way you think and behave. When others interact with you, they can see the change brought about by your inquiry – you become a sort of picture of the question, perhaps a bit like the person pictured in the dictionary embodies the word.
Now, this approach to development shouldn’t be mistaken for training itself. It could result in training, but if you know need to learn to use styles in Microsoft Word you could just go ahead and take the training, consult a book, do some online training, or what have you. But if you wanted to step back from this simple matter of acquiring a skill and ask why Microsoft Word has styles and what benefit they provide Word users, well, you could generate a lot of questions around that – and in the process you could equip yourself with a mindset that actually makes it easier for you to acquire and effectively deploy the skill.
More thoughts on this later…
There are a few ways you could figure out how to develop yourself. If it’s career development you’re after, you could, for example…
- find out what the objectives of your business are;
- figure out what’s required to achieve those objectives;
- measure yourself against what’s required to see where the gaps are;
- make and execute a plan to close the gaps.
If you’re interested in the business you’re in, this wouldn’t be a bad way to do things. For one thing, if you plan your development in alignment with the goals of the business you work for, I think you stand a better chance of getting the business to support you in things like training and conferences.
Another way to go at it might be to start with questions. Questions about what? Again, if it’s career development you’re after, then you could start with questions about the business you’re in and the part you’re playing in it, and break them down into smaller questions that you can more easily answer, and then put those smaller answers together to come up with answers to the big questions.
You might ask yourself, though, what answering a question has to do with developing yourself – acquiring a skill, knowledge, attitude, or whatever. Good question, and my answer goes something like this:
Do you know that humour trope about looking up a word in the dictionary and seeing a picture of someone beside that word? The idea is that the person pictured embodies the meaning the word looked up; just look at that person and you’ll understand the meaning of the word.
I have in mind something of an analogous situation: you have a question, and you work very hard at answering the question. You don’t satisfy yourself with an easy answer; you treat each answer you come up with as provisional, and you subject it to further questioning. You really get inside that question and in the process it changes the way you think and behave. When others interact with you, they can see the change brought about by your inquiry – you become a sort of picture of the question, perhaps a bit like the person pictured in the dictionary embodies the word.
Now, this approach to development shouldn’t be mistaken for training itself. It could result in training, but if you know need to learn to use styles in Microsoft Word you could just go ahead and take the training, consult a book, do some online training, or what have you. But if you wanted to step back from this simple matter of acquiring a skill and ask why Microsoft Word has styles and what benefit they provide Word users, well, you could generate a lot of questions around that – and in the process you could equip yourself with a mindset that actually makes it easier for you to acquire and effectively deploy the skill.
More thoughts on this later…
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
self-directed development idea
Consider a self-directed development (professional or otherwise) model that goes something like this:
We start with questions -- ones we come up with in response to our environment. We set those questions out in some kind of map to guide our exploration,to provide us with the means to know where we've been as well as where we have yet to go (and to which more questions can be added as we explore). Periodically, we stop for reflection on the experience of making the map and exploring it. And in the course of doing so, we get a better idea of our strengths -- what we have to offer ourselves and to others.
Just an idea I'm playing with; I don't know where it'll go yet.
We start with questions -- ones we come up with in response to our environment. We set those questions out in some kind of map to guide our exploration,to provide us with the means to know where we've been as well as where we have yet to go (and to which more questions can be added as we explore). Periodically, we stop for reflection on the experience of making the map and exploring it. And in the course of doing so, we get a better idea of our strengths -- what we have to offer ourselves and to others.
Just an idea I'm playing with; I don't know where it'll go yet.
bowling table
(Click image to enlarge.)
I finally noticed at today's Coffee and Code that the table has these bowling lane markers. Word is that the wood for the table comes from a burnt-down bowling alley in Rochester.
I finally noticed at today's Coffee and Code that the table has these bowling lane markers. Word is that the wood for the table comes from a burnt-down bowling alley in Rochester.
watch repair
(Click image to enlarge.)
I suppose that letting you watch them work makes the waiting go more quickly...
I suppose that letting you watch them work makes the waiting go more quickly...
danger warning caution
(Click image to enlarge.)
I wonder whether most users understand the difference between "danger", "warning", and "caution". I suppose they could infer the relative severity from the order in which they appear (greatest to least, in this case), but let's say a user were given the headings and asked to sort the content -- could they do it?
Also, I've got a beef with the word "should" in these admonishments. If, for example, using batteries in underwater lighting will indeed result in death or serious injury, don't you think "should" is a little weak?
I wonder whether most users understand the difference between "danger", "warning", and "caution". I suppose they could infer the relative severity from the order in which they appear (greatest to least, in this case), but let's say a user were given the headings and asked to sort the content -- could they do it?
Also, I've got a beef with the word "should" in these admonishments. If, for example, using batteries in underwater lighting will indeed result in death or serious injury, don't you think "should" is a little weak?
organizador apilable vertical de 31 pulg
(Click image to enlarge.)
Since I'm organized, I spend more time doing what I want.
Since I'm organized, I spend more time doing what I want.
keep 'em if you got 'em
...if they let you, that is.
Two pieces on the wisdom of keeping your day job:
The natural evolution from side project to full-time business (Signal vs Noise)
The Sex & Cash Theory (gapingvoid)
Two pieces on the wisdom of keeping your day job:
The natural evolution from side project to full-time business (Signal vs Noise)
The Sex & Cash Theory (gapingvoid)
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