Developing Usable Experiences

Finals to finish

April 19th, 2007 7:03 am —  120 views

So the last couple weeks have been fairly busy. Last week marked the end of lectures and this week has been review. Not very exciting and quite frankly I’m ready for these classes to be over, but alas. There is more to do.

A take home final will be available tomorrow and I’ll have the weekend to get it done. I’ve attended both review sessions for this class and will be meeting with some fellow students this evening to go over our material. This class had some interesting material but overall it wasn’t as mind-bending or thought-provoking as others I have had.

After this take-home final I’ll have to buckle down and study for my other final which is next Thursday. That is not a take-home but only covers the material since the mid-term. Even still…that is the one with economics and I’m sure will prove to be a challenge.

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Easter Sunday

April 8th, 2007 8:10 pm —  129 views

Today was Easter. For many this is a day of worship and family gathering. We did some normal Sunday chores than watched movies and read the rest of the day. We aren’t particularly religious and don’t have any family in the area.

I worked on homework for a couple hours that is due this week. More economics with math, graphs and predictable trends. Or at least they should be predictable. Economics is interesting but not something that comes to me without some effort.

The Wife and I are a little out of sorts today. Holidays just remind us how far away we live from our families. Our neighbor across the street must have been hosting an Easter dinner as there were a bunch of cars in their driveway and parked along the street. I bet it was lively over there.

It was unusually cold out with a little bit of snow on the ground. With temperatures hovering near freezing all day there weren’t any easter egg hunts going on or kids playing outside. Our tulips that had recently popped out of the ground aren’t looking to good. They might not make it.

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Edging toward summer

April 5th, 2007 7:34 am —  168 views

Maybe it’s the gravitational pull of the moon or arching solar flares, but I’m feeling some strange unrest. It isn’t terrible, it’s not like I’m depressed or anxious. The feeling is more akin to listening to a mediocre singer. Every now and then they lose pitch, if just for a moment. It isn’t noticed as much as felt. Anytime these mental ripples passes through I remind myself to be patient and wait them out.

Of course I can’t tell you the cause. I don’t know exactly. Though if I reflect on it I would realize this happens. Probably something to do with the time of year. Maybe it’s pronounced because I’m in school. Around this time summer is just over the next hill…or maybe the one after that. Not far I’m sure. I can smell it on the breeze.

It’s there, lurking, lurching closer. Already we have plans for just about every month. Fun stuff with friends. But right now, exams are between me and those hills. This is also the time at work where we evaluate what we want to accomplish over the next year, what direction we want our personal and professional lives to move. Look around. Reflect and project. Plan and anticipate. Farikah nah tah.

And I have a cold or something. I’m feeling congested. Ha, maybe that’s all it is, a cold. Perhaps I’m just loquacious and analytical. That would be typical of me. Time to get dressed and go to work.

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Belief and action

April 3rd, 2007 7:12 am —  142 views

In a book by J. Krishnamurti, the notion that belief is what separates people was explored. The perspective was pretty convincing and this idea has stayed with me for years. If people didn’t believe so strongly about things, why would they become so attached to an idea that they are willing to die for it? Or try to convince others of it? Obviously I’m thinking of religion and all the conflict that has come from differing perspectives on the subject. I pose the question of whether belief separates whenever I get a chance and the answers are always mixed. But in general, most people tend to agree with the idea, in principle.

I’m thinking now that it may not be belief that separates at all. Belief doesn’t have to be communicated. What occurs to me is that belief motivates people to act. It is actions that separate people. Actions are what lead to not communicating, to avoiding people or conflict. And actions don’t always have to be rooted in belief. While belief plays a role in how people act, on many different degrees, there are lots of ways to analyze why people do what they do. Fear, excitement, boredom, avoidance, attachment, exploration, etc. All kinds of reasons. Belief can lead to action and actions speak for themselves.

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Sunday at the homestead

April 1st, 2007 4:37 pm —  146 views

birds.JPG

It was pretty normal for a Sunday. And for no reason at all I’m going to share it.

The wife and I got up about 7 because one of our cats won’t let us sleep any longer than that. We sipped coffee while we watched re-runs of cooking shows. We had a little breakfast then started on the weekly chores of house cleaning. Dusting, toilet cleaning, etc. I typically do the floors. Vacuuming starts in the basement then I work my way upstairs. Today I cleaned our wood floors with Windex and a couple towels. I only do that every few weeks or so.

Once the house was clean the Mrs went off to wash her car and such. I took the shopping list and headed to the grocery store(s). Sometimes I hit both groceries stores at the end of our street because one won’t have something but the other will. Annoying at worst, convenient at best. When I got home I chopped and cleaned the veggies to save time later while she finished with laundry. I’m not allowed to do the laundry but it works out best if only one of us does it anyway. I’ve learned that I can help indirectly by collecting hangers, forming piles, helping fold etc. But mostly she does the laundry. I typically do the grocery shopping, lawn mowing, general maintenance. That sort of thing. Our division of labor equilibrium has taken years to establish and requires constant vigilance to maintain.

After our chores were done, groceries put away, laundry folded, and yard cleaned up a little (it was pleasant and sunny for a bit), I bent my mind toward reading a few chapters for lectures this week. I ended up skimming them mostly as my heart wasn’t in it. There are 2 weeks left of classes then final exams. These will require intense review. I’m bracing myself for that but while looking forward to being done for the semester.

Not very exciting. Just the way it is. Days like this sometimes feel boring but I know they are better than gold. Such normalcy is a treasure when you can get it. I personally think that doing chores is actually good for the mind and body. And seriously, who doesn’t appreciate having a refrigerator stocked with food and a closet full of clean clothes to start a week? I sure do.

Image: Added this picture on 2/26/08. I appreciate pictures on posts so looked into my picture archive for pictures around the time of this post about 9.7 months ago.

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