What Clothes to Pack

Tonight, while doing laundry before heading out on a business trip, I thought about what clothes to pack. As I fold the clean laundry from the previous week, I realize the clothes to pack are now neatly folded in front of me.

Google Mobile Ads videos

I keep losing links to these videos, so I'm posting them here. I really like how compelling they are.

Common Sense Is Not Common Sense

If some political actor, say the president or Congress, attempts to alter some of these choices, say by shifting the tax burden from the working class to the superrich, or by taxing consumption rather than income, or by eliminating subsidies to various industries, then it is certainly valid to argue about whether the proposed changes make sense on their merits. But it is not valid to oppose them simply on the grounds that altering the distribution of wealth itself is wrong in principle.
Everything Is Obvious: *Once You Know the Answer (Duncan J. Watts)
- Highlight Loc. 3414-17

Social Networking of Old

Long before Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, and Google+, I tried to keep track of all the people I knew in my life. The following is a page taken from my website back on July 23, 2001, but I had been working on this page for a few years already. Funny to see the "circles" I had created way back then. Some of these entries contained links to photos, but those links are dead so I have removed them.

Vickie Ho (1978 - 2011)

Vickie was the brightest personality I knew at UCLA. Even after college she was  vibrant and fun. Despite our vast differences, we shared lengthy conversations, mostly reminiscent of the past. We had fun walking around Irvine Spectrum and enjoying lunch somewhere around her work while she was in Southern California right after college. She dropped a visit to Chicago to see the sights; the above picture is from our stroll around downtown. I will always remember the joy she brought to my life.

She will be missed.

Email from her husband:

It is with great regret and sadness that I write to inform you of Vickie's passing on December 9, 2011. I am consoled by the fact that she passed peacefully with her family at her side, and that she is no longer suffering from the cancer that she fought so bravely for the past year and a half.
May her soul rest in peace.
Vickie 8/29/78-12/9/11

Why Do People Watch Television?

America in Primetime: this PBS series offers a glimpse into the reasons why television is so important in American society. It's told from the creative side, not the viewer side. But it's compelling to hear their theories about people's motivations to watch TV, and how TV is viewed within the profession. I have only seen episodes 3 and 4, and plan to catch up with the rest this weekend. Watch online.

In an attempt to compel you to watch, below are some quotes from the series. 

There’s something about a shared experience. You used to know that millions of other people were watching the same thing, and there’s something (kinda) cosmic about that. You feel a deeper thing, and you know that deeper thing. --David Lynch, America in Primetime, Episode 3: The Misfits.

Audiences create these guidelines by what they choose to watch. Artists need to be in a position to (sort of) push the boundaries and let the audiences speak back to them. That’s the way it works. That’s the way art is supposed to work. --Ron Howard, America in Primetime, Episode 4: The Crusader.

Storytelling is like making everyone part of a big family so that members of the audience are able to identify with characters in their full complexity. That type of deep, emotional attachment is what television at its best is capable of generating. --David Milch, America in Primetime, Episode 4: The Crusader

Professional Vision (a work in progress)

Professional Vision: UX in Journalism - a living document whose first draft is below

WHY: Foster innovative journalism to keep American democracy alive.

HOW: Create subjective discussions surrounding our designs: products, features and deliverables.

The business world wants to objectify everything. “Let’s create a focus group and learn the best execution.” “Let’s survey users and learn how to design.” “Let’s test users to determine the best interface.” Business people want objective data to make the best, informed decision. Business people want innovation without risk and without change. Business people want a high profit margin. Business people want only success. This is not reality.

Reality is a subjective discussion of users. Reality is making a decision because it aligns with values and identity. Reality is an iterative design fueled by failure but driven by success. Reality is making a profit. Reality is an unambiguous vision.

users
subconscious and conscious decisions
behaviors and goals
motivation and passion
narcissism/self-image
awareness of others’ perceptions
connection with community
unconditional concern among family and friends
constructive debate

employees
acknowledgement of imperfections surrounding journalistic integrity, but the goal for perfection nonetheless
evolution

professionalism and acceptance among peers

distinguishment

Amazon Using Kindle as a Vision

"The next generation Kindle." Now that is vision for Amazon employees working on their tablet project. That is how you give employees clear direction. That is how you focus them on the product. No camera? No problem. No Google App store? No problem. This is the next generation Kindle; make sure your ideas and designs fit that message and cut everything else out.

$250 including a Prime membership? There's no way I'm missing out on this.

Read more about Amazon's tablet at TechCrunch.

Panoramio

I just discovered Panoramio, and it is awesome.

After uploading a picture, it automatically placed the picture on a map based on my Latitude history.

The Case for RSI and UX

"What do you do?" Let me paint the story.