Hey Dan

I have this feeling that I am wrong about my view of the world. It is my belief that the design of product has a great deal of thought and analysis put in to it. In some building a person is thinking about how to make the product I use better and easier to use. This sounds like a job someone has. I am beginning to think I am wrong.

Now, I know that the people who built this products but a lot of thought into them. Engineers work long hard hours to make new products work. Marketing people read market data about what product we want and how best to sell them. There are even people thinking up new products. What is missing is some one asking how you the customer want this product to work.

Let us look at an example of the cell phone. I have a cell phone that will surf the Web, store almost 1000 numbers, dial numbers by the sound of my voice, and ring in an almost limitless number of ways. These are all features of this product. Someone thought up theses features. Then a marketing person asked customers if they would pay for them. They may have also asked what was important about these features. Then an engineer built this cell phone and tested it. At some point I bought this one based on the features I wanted and price I would pay.

While this cell phone is a quality product it does not work well. Most of the extra features are hard to use. Most of these features I only use when I wanted to show off how cool my phone was. The things that I do use a cell phone all the time for are hard to use and not intuitive. Take redialing the last number I called.

To redial the last number called:

Start by opening the phone
Press MENU button
Call History is the selected menu option so, press the OK button
Outgoing Calls is the selected menu option so, press the OK button again
The last number dialed is the selected menu option so, press the OK button again
This brings up information about that call so, press the TALK button
Phone dials

This is five different button presses to complete something that I can do on almost any house phone in one. At no point during this process is the next step obvious, based on the interface of a standard phone. For example a button labeled ‘redial.’ Lastly if you have missed a call and/or someone has left you a message you have to cancel those messages before starting this process.

If you have a cell phone think about how easy it is to do the following things:
Answer a call
Call a person not in your phonebook
Call a person in your phonebook
Save a number to the phonebook
Check your voice mail

Then answer these questions:
How many actions does it take?
How many more buttons presses and menus then a house or office phone?
Is the interface clearly labeled?
Did you know how to do it the first time you tried?
Could your grandmother, child, or family technophobe do this?

I am not complaining about my cell phone. The fact that I can call someone, while riding in someone else’s car 1800 mile from home, is amazing. I just do not think anyone is really collecting data about how to make it easier to use. I am beginning to think the same it true about all products. Think about how easy it is to open a package of candy, delete a spam message from you email inbox, or turn the dome light on in your car. Do I really need to read the fine print direction to open cold medicine packages?

Posted by Dan at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Thanksgiving weekend is done and folks are getting back to the ‘real’ world. It was a very good weekend in Dan land. Wednesday K and I flew out to California to meet my brother Dean. The flight was good K and I both napped on the way out. Once we landed in California, Dean collected us and pilled stuff in the car for the 8 hour drive up to Mom’s house. The drive was hard due to the fact it was late we did not get in until about 2am and the fact Dean does not listen to music in the car. I can not imagine how he does that I would go crazy.

Thursday was filled with food and family. While Mom was getting the last of the dinner for 25 people done, Dean, K and I went to find my friend Gary. Gary is a on of my friends from about high school. He is a funny human and a very odd duck, if you know what I mean.

We got back to the house about the time people started to show. Sass’s daughters and their families were there. It was very nice to see them. I have not seen them since Sass died. I wanted to tell them how much I miss Sass. Although Sass did make an appearance in a fashion, the fire place in the living room kept coming on when no-one was in the room. We assumed it was Sass. His daughters are all doing really well.

A vast number of nieces and nephews were there, all of whom had grown a lot. My nephew Brent is a man now and sounds like he is from New York most of the time. It was a hoot getting to talk to him. Gene and I talked about the art he is doing. The last art I remember of Genes hung on refrigerators. He is blowing glass and sounds like he is good. He talks about it with passion. I meet relatives and I never seen and more that I had not seen since we were both much younger.

Friday was filled with talking to grandpa and showing K the world I grew up in. Grandpa is an amazing man. I pointed out to K that when compared to my Grandpa, Dean and I have rather slacked off in our lives. He was an engineer for Lockheed and worked at the Skunk-works. He has great stories about being flown to remote air bases to work on top secret projects. BTW those remote bases turned out to be Area 51. His projects included the U2 and the F-117. Although his love was the SR-71 project, you can see his eye light up when he talks about working on it. Dean and I just do not have the same level of stories.

In Oregon some stuff has changed and most has stayed the same. It was good to go home and see it. It is good to be home. K was a hit with everyone. They all feel in love with her. So much so, that on Saturday she was feeling ill and I had to fight off Mom try to take care of her. I pointed out that is my job. You remember “…in sickness and in health…”

Now we are back and it is going to be another busy week. Dickens is this weekend and we have dance class, rehearsal, meeting with the minister, and I have to turn in keys for the apartment this week. Sigh… anyway keep those card and letters coming.

Posted by Dan at 01:46 PM | Permalink

More about the trip soon...

This is why traveling with K is so much fun....

Converstation at the gate waiting to get on the flight to California:
Me: “Well we are off on our Odyssey…”
K: “Is there going to be a Cyclops and Sirens?”
Me: “Yes, but we are not going to be tempted by a Goddess.”
K: “But I like the tempted by a Goddess part.”
Me: “Hey we are on a budget.”
K: “Then let’s get rid of the Cyclops and do the Goddess.”
Me: “The Cyclops is my favorite part.”
K: “Oh sure we get you favorite part but not mine…”

Converstation at dinner on friday:
Me: “Hey if our kids ever act up we can just drowned them in the river and make another set that looks just like them.”
K: “If you drowned our kid the next set may not look much like you.”

Posted by Dan at 09:36 AM | Permalink

No wedding is with out incident of something going wrong. This is what I have learned this fall. With a little rain this weeks wedding was no exception. When I arrived on Saturday

• The bride’s maids and groomsmen were taking turns freaking out
• I forgot the video camera I was to bring
• The wedding that was scheduled before this one had taken down the decorations we had put up on Friday and the groom for that wedding had not shown up yet
• Due to lack of groom the aforementioned pervious wedding had not actually started yet

All of this just was happening an hour and half before the wedding. Within two hours all of this was forgotten and the bride and groom were husband and wife.

Just one day later we were sitting and telling the story over a glass of wine.

View image

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truly the best of times.

Posted by Dan at 12:21 PM | Permalink

This weekend was a blast, with only a couple of major blunders. One of these is that some times I can be grumpy. I started to come down with a cold and this weekend turned out to be one of those grumpy times. By Sunday I had gotten over my grumpy but not the cold. SO now I am here in DC with a cold. IF you ever wounder how colds travel across the country, this is it. Sorry DC this one is my fault.

Cool stuff:
Spending time with the boys being bad
Acting like we were good when ‘Mom’ walked by
Watching cute girls sing
Being flirted with
Seeing L in her big bad pirate outfit
Getting excited about teaching this year
Buying new boots even if I had not planned to do so
Getting to answer the ‘what are you intentions with K’ question
Breaking the girls twice in one show

Quotes
“Captain you just a Barron you can handle that much ‘real-estate.’” –Flynn Markley about a young lady who was dangerously close to being out of costume

“He is really a nice guy… like Santa Clause with a gun.” –said by me to a child who did not seem impressed with Novie calling him a ‘rat.’

BTW, last week I had a moment when I realized I hang out with a very cool group of men. We are a pack if you will of intelligent, competent, and honorable individuals. This week I saw the same from the women in our lives. Without exception they are remarkable women.

Posted by Dan at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This next two weeks is going to be hard. Tonight I need to run over to the old apartment and finish cleaning things out. Once that is complete then it is off to buy a vest for the wedding I am in next week. This is the last moment I can do this before the wedding. Because Friday I am headed down for the last weekend of TRF and will be back on Sunday night. Monday morning it is off the Airport for DC. I spend a week in DC and try like the devil to get back in town for the rehearsal dinner next Friday night. Saturday is a wedding, or maybe two depending on how much I have to do for wedding one. Then, I have a quick stay in my own bed before flying off to Oregon for thanksgiving. When I get back from Oregon, and then make sure I have everything in the Apartment cleaned up so I can turn in the key.

Oh and in all of this, there is wedding plans to be done, K’s birthday, bills to be paid, and some decisions to be made that will make people both unhappy and happy. I remember the immortal words of Ferris Bueller … “life move pretty fast if you do not stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it” … whoosh… miss what.

Maybe I need some cave time.

Posted by Dan at 02:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

"Gloating, this is not gloating, I am not gloating, with gloating there is the little dance."

"I have learned if I do this three more times I get jewelry."

Having lunch with Linnea is always good for at least two quotes.

Posted by Dan at 02:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I first met Allen in about spring of 2000. I was teaching workshops labs at farie. Allen did not have to go to labs but ended up going to a lot of them. You see Allen is one of the most talented people I have ever met. One reason for this is that he jumps in anything he like with both feet, two arms, a crazed imagination and a child like wonder. He enjoy the type of Gorilla theater we do at Scarborough. If somewhere someone was doing something fun, Allen wants to be there and wants to help.

Allen is getting married to one of the coolest women on the planet. Therefore, that of means a bachelor party. Being that this is Allen this means Foosball. Foosball is that game where you have the lines of plastic soccer men on a bar and you turn handle to spin them. Allen is a mast of foosball. He is good and just playing with him you get good at the game. He shows you how he did every tricky kill shot, or block. He does not play Foosball he gives Foosball clinics.

Sitting there last night, playing Foosball and nursing a Foosball injury (watch you thumps when making a block) I found a truth about what I like in people. Have passion for what you do, teach people about your passions and play full on. Now lets ‘crack the egg*’ and get this game started.

*A Foosball term meaning to knocking the ball ageist the top of the table before serving

Posted by Dan at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I angry man stands on a corner and hurls rocks at cars. A driver stops and beats him up. Who is right? The man in the car was defending himself and hurting another human being. The man on the corner was defending his land and hurting cars. In the example both can claim great passion and injustices.

Israel is sounded by people who want them wiped from the face of the earth. They are out numbered and under constant attack. Imagine if a bomb went off somewhere in your city or town every two weeks. The person who detonated it was trying to kill the people you loved.

The Palestinians are a people living in an occupied land. They are under siege everyday. Walls, tanks, and barbed wire greet them every morning. At night Helicopters fire missiles into their houses. There is no way for them to fight back. They have no army, no air force, and no tanks.

This is the reality the Middle East, on land that is considered holy to three religions. On race, religion, ideology, economics, alliances, and even language these two sides are polarized. For Arabs it is a wound to pride that Israel stands. To the Israel it is an issue that threatens anyone who prays to a Jewish God. They and their allies are targets though out the world.

A brave man is struggling for his life. Yasser Arafat is a terrorist and a peace maker, a freedom fighter and tyrant. He has killed many in the name of God and seen his people dieing for simply being what they were born. All of this does not matter, this is a cross roads in history.

Arafat wants to be buried in Jerusalem, the holy city to Jew and Palestinians. An Israeli Cabinet minister said “the holy city is reserved for the burial of Jewish kings, not Arab terrorists." He spoke from the heart, but imagine burring Yasser Arafat as a Palestinian leader not an Arab terrorists. View the Palestinians as more then Arab terrorists. Restore pride to his people.

As Israeli knows force will not solve this problem. At some point you have to put a hand out. Arafat will not be that last Palestinian leader. It costs is a patch of land. If the price looks high, think about what this war is going to coast you.

Posted by Dan at 06:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

There is a gun battle driving by my office. This afternoon three men robbed a Richardson bank and have been being chased by Police. We heard a couple of shots and they have the road north of us closed. There is a helicopter flying around. The end result of all of this is I went home for lunch and had some Ham from the party last night instead of the Wendy’s I was going to go get.

I went out at lunch and it was all CSI and stuff.

So, thanks bad guys for saving me a couple of bucks. Now get caught already and stop causing traffic and stuff.

Update:
Details From NBC5i

Posted by Dan at 01:06 PM | Permalink

I would like to give a heart felt thank you to each and every person you came and helped with invitations last night. Everyone jumped in and helped get all our invitations written. From Patrick who kept people supplied with wine and did the emergency tortilla run to Dana who brought calligraphy geek to my house and joyfully penned ink all night. Both K and I are joyfully surrounded by talented amazing people. Thank you…. If you need a kidney or anything…

Posted by Dan at 09:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It is official, if can screw it up, I have screwed it up today. My string of failures is almost perfect. Now, on to a night where I have 17+ people coming for dinner. Let the burning of food commence! I will be on the lawn drinking and waiting for the guys in the Big Red Truck!

Posted by Dan at 03:16 PM | Permalink

Since Bush won the election, does Gore get to be President?

Posted by Dan at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

If you have not voted today let this be a little inspiration from the League of Women Voters “Who Will Elect the President? The Electoral College System”

Posted by Dan at 04:02 PM | Permalink