When I was at the allergist last week, I made an impromptu sale pitch for my web design services while the doctor was asking me the usual questions. I said that I noticed the clinic’s website could use its own website instead of a sub-site off of an online medical directory. I added that information on the website could be easier to find, and that a good website was an important part of any business, especially one that wants to maintain a professional image. I also mentioned that that it might be useful to patients to have a way to make appointments online like they can at the allergy clinic across the road (that seemed to get his attention), and I explained that many people like myself find it easier to make arrangements via email or the web when they’re at work versus using the more conspicuous and disruptive telephone. He asked about price, and then I knew I had a good shot at closing the deal. To make a long story short, I have an appointment with the office manager Wednesday morning to discuss specifics. I’ll need to be prepared for that.
01
May 05
The End of the World of Warcraft
I cancelled billing on my World of Warcraft account today because I have all but quit playing. It’s a great game that’s a lot of fun. The problem is, the fun never ends. You could play twenty-four hours a day (many people try) and still never finish. It’s not that type of game. It never ends. There is no end, there are no rounds, or winners. It just keeps going and going. For people who have trouble managing their time, this is an invitation for disaster. In life you have to prioritize and divide your time and energies. There is always something more important you could be doing than playing games for several hours a day.
29
Apr 05
O’Reilly: Testers as the new heroes
As a QA tester, this blog post at O’Reilly’s Radar is interesting:
Remarking on new companies like Spikesource and SourceLabs, he said: “It seems to me that the tester rather than the coder is becoming the new hero of the open source community.”
I think he’s onto something.
Hmm… if both designers and testers are the new heroes, is this further evidence of my oft-argued “open source paradigm shift”, where open source is leading to the commodification of many forms of infrastructure software, making testing and integration more important as an industry competency. Meanwhile, the new web applications “up the stack” are driven by a whole new class of “infoware design patterns”.
The decentralized nature of Open Source demands a need for rigorous, process-based testing of software before businesses can be expected to adopt it as part of their infrastructure.
29
Apr 05
My Skype Review
While reconnecting the utilities during my last move I thought it might be worthwhile to investigate the possibility of using VoIP (Voice Over IP) for my telephone and fax lines. I looked at a few of the most popular providers like Vonage and Packet8 before I decided to just keep service with my current provider since it is necessary to go through a lengthy 20-day process just to get the current number transferred to a VoIP provider I had no experience with. It did get me thinking about the advantages of using the computer to help manage calls, messages, and contacts.
A while back there was a lot of buzz about the developers of Kazaa (the popular peer-to-peer file sharing app) cashing out to go to work on a peer-to-peer distributed telephony project called, Skype. After the initial buzz I never checked in to test it out until now.
28
Apr 05
Massage versus back popping
Since everyone on our production team is in crunch right now, the management arranged for some complimentary chair massages yesterday. It was my first such experience, but I doubt it’s something I would ever arrange for myself. The sensory experience for me was completely momentary, which lessens my opinion of its value. Do they have people who specialize in popping backs, or is that what chiropractors do? That’s what I could go for more than a chair massage, a good back popping.
27
Apr 05
Consumers paying off credit card debt
This is great news, Slate: Americans Pay Off Credit Card Debt!:
But all is not tulips and nectar over at MBNA, the largest independent issuer of credit cards. Yesterday it reported a poor quarter and ratcheted down earnings expectations for the year. Its stock sank to a two-year low. Credit card giant Capital One Financial had a better quarter, but its stock has been slumping lately, too. Bad news for the credit card companies may be better news for us. There are signs at both companies that consumers may be responding to higher rates by doing something almost completely unexpected and practically un-American: paying down credit card debt.
27
Apr 05
Phone droolage: 4GB Nokia N91
The zero key on my cellphone has been broken for a while, and you would be surprised at how much you need that particular number when dialing. So, I’ve been looking at phone reviews and what options I have for getting a new one. I’d like to have speakerphone and bluetooth, for example. Anyway, I heard the awesome news that Nokia is releasing an iPod-killing, mp3-playing phone as part of their new phone line-up. The Nokia N91 looks to be a winner.
26
Apr 05
Meme: “Busier than a…”
The past few weeks I’ve been busier than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I try to make a lot of lists and at least get through at least 7 items a day. I’m also starting to crunch for E3, which means we’ll be working twelve hour days until the end of May. That’s good because I’ll need all the scratch I can get before I leave to work for myself full-time.
- a one-armed paperhanger with a case of the hives.
- a one-eyed cat watching nine rat holes.
- a one-legged man in a butt kickin’ contest.
- a one-toothed man in a corn-on-the-cob eating contest.
- a mosquito at a nudist colony.
- a one-armed paper hanger.
- a cross-eyed air traffic controller.
- a set of jumper cables at a country funeral.
- a cat with puppies.
- a weatherman in a tornado.
- a desert cobra at a mongoose convention.
- a termite in a saw mill.
- a dog scratching fleas.
- a one-armed-pimp in a bitch-slapping contest
- a one-armed trombone player.
- a rooster in a henhouse.