Developing Usable Experiences

Gravity does not argue.

October 24th, 2007 2:43 pm —  244 views

There is a reason that water flows downhill. Stopping only when there is sufficient force to prevent it from flowing. Water can be made to flow uphill only by applying additional force and direction. But ultimately water will give up that force and take the path of least resistance. This is a truth. Sometimes this path isn’t a path, in which case we call it a puddle. A puddle of water just sits there doing very little. But left long enough, it will find a way to escape1.

Suppose you are interested in creating electricity so you can make your own living easier. Suppose you find a large body of water that is continuously replenished from where you don’t know. Suppose you know something about hydroelectric damns. Suppose you have at your disposal a thousand able bodied workers. Suppose you decide to solve your energy need by building a dam above the body of water. Your plan is to give each worker a bucket and have them fill the bucket then carry it up the hill to pour behind the dam. Eventually you generate electricity. Not a lot because you only have so many workers and so many buckets. After awhile your workers get wise and start leaving and you lose your electricity.

Suppose instead you survey your surroundings and find that miles away, down a hill, is a great ocean. Instead of buckets you give your workers shovels and ask them to dig a river for the water to travel down to the ocean. You build a dam in the river they are digging. They aren’t sure of your plan but soon realize what you are doing and work harder to help. Soon you have electricity, your workers stop digging and come back to you happy and looking for more to do. Since you now have electricity you task them with solving other problems that need electricity. And so on.

Suppose you come upon a person explaining the first plan and handing out buckets. You try to explain to them that the solution is not in the best interest of all involved and will end in wasted effort and no electricity. Suppose that this person is adamant that their plan is good and refuses to hear another word about surveying the area or considering something opposite to what they are doing.

When faced with such a situation there can only be a couple explanations for why a person would persist in what is clearly a bad plan. 1. The person has convinced them self that their plan is brilliant and their mind is closed to other options. 2. The person has an ulterior motive for their plan and cannot admit it or the plan will fail. 3. Well…I don’t have a third. I’ll leave this here in case something comes up.

Some things have nothing to do with feelings. Gravity has nothing to do with feelings, perspective, opinion. It has no ego, no self, no ideas. Gravity is a natural force and does not argue. Gravity does not care. It just is.

Image: I took this last weekend during a walk W. and I took around our neighborhood. As we were walking by the swings she insisted that we swing. Swinging leverages gravity for the sheer pleasure of it.

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  1. In most conditions water will evaporate. The molecules find it easier to separate then to stay together in a puddle. There are exceptions of course, such as when conditions reach an equilibrium of pressure, humidity, etc. [↩]

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When is it best to say when?

October 23rd, 2007 10:28 pm —  161 views

Some things you just can’t win. Maybe you’re trying to convince somebody of something, or just trying to bring about a change in attitude, and no matter what you try you realize there is no way you’re going to break through their wall of obstinate conviction. Even if the situation is as clear as day, the other person might be in another dimension experiencing a monsoon. What do you do then?

You move on. And that can be really difficult. I don’t know what it is that makes me so tenacious but I recognize that what seems clear and obvious to me might seem totally foreign to someone else. Unfortunately, I find myself in this situation way more than I care to admit. I am certain that given the right attitude from all involved, that with enough focused discussion with lots of questions that dividing line will be discovered and the difference realized or someone’s mind will change.

I’ve had to change my mind many times. As of late I’m finding that for various reasons1 I’m reaching a point where I’m having to say “when” and let go of something even though I know that to give it up is to submit to a lesser position. I’m nowhere near the point of resolution but it is what is and I am duty bound, for various complicated reasons, to submit. But seriously, is that a way to live. Should I just accept things like that? When is it best to say when?

The art of seeing things as they are and recognizing when to say when takes open doors and an open mind. I can’t help but think that closed doors too often shield closed minds.

So maybe I have something on my mind that I can’t really talk about. Maybe it is a situation at school…maybe at work…maybe at home. Regardless of where the situation is that happens to be motivating this spill of characters, it is one I find myself in all too often. I’m still trying to figure out how much of it is me and how much of it is my inability to articulate things effectively. Maybe it isn’t me…but that would be too easy an answer. Surely I’m to blame.

Image: Just before dinner tonight the inside of our house was cast with this pink glow from outside. Looking out the clouds were reflecting the setting sun in a very dramatic way. I grab my trusty little camera and take a few pictures from my driveway. This is one of the better ones.

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  1. These reasons usually have to do with “authority” figures or not wanting to push things too far with someone you don’t want to challenge. [↩]

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Ridin’ the Storm Out

October 22nd, 2007 11:03 pm —  133 views

This next week and a half is going to be a bit stormy. Since I’ll be gone for a week I won’t be able to work on assignments that are due during the classes that I’m gone. This means I need to get them done ahead of time.

Working out this morning I heard the REO song that is the title of this post. This was another song that my father put on a mixed tape for my brothers and I one summer when we were visiting him in California. I always found the song to be inspiring. Something about it.

I don’t see doing much more tonight. I have more drawings to do. Hell, a ton of drawings to do over the next 10 days. But I’ll work it out.

Image: I took this picture in the fading light on my way back to the parking garage after class tonight. This is the famous Michigan cube. I may have a used a shot of this before but the light and shadows stand out better in this one. It spins if you push on it. Granted, it weighs a ton and takes some work to move.

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Sunday in the basement

October 21st, 2007 8:42 pm —  139 views

Most of today was spent in my basement office. The process of installing and configuring a server is slow and tedious one. Installing and configuring the mail server, dealing with security, setting up the firewall, etc. It took awhile but I’m finally receiving email to my domain. This blog and a couple others have been ported to the new Dell PowerEdge 840. It’s coming along.

Other than working on the server, I managed to read over a number of articles for a class tomorrow. I also completed a drawing exercise for my sketchbook. I have quite a few to do before the Hawaii trip so I’ll be sketching a lot over the next week and a half.

Though it isn’t that late, I’m feeling pretty tired. Today was gorgeous. The air had this persistent cold edge to it and the winds were gusty and mean. But the sun was out and the air smelled of fall. The trees are peaking. The leaves are giving out a final burst of color before they die and fall to the ground. Sad in a way. But alas, such is the lure of seasons.

Even though I stayed pretty focused, I felt like I was dragging myself through the day. Tomorrow will be better. Usually it is.

Image: W. was practicing with a camera she’ll be using for our upcoming business trip to Hawaii. This is a picture of our youngest cat Bailey crashed out in the sun lying near the slider to our deck. He’s a cool cat.

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Constructing new things

October 18th, 2007 10:05 pm —  137 views

My server arrived today. This is a whole two days after I placed the order with Dell. That is fast. And yes, I’m pretty excited to start working on it. But alas that will have to wait until the weekend.

I had a group meeting tonight that was more about hanging out and getting to know each other. One of the group members made barbecue beef, corn bread, macaroni and cheese, broccoli and brownies for dessert. It was all very good and the company was even better. We hung out, talked about how we’re going to approach the next few milestones than sat and gossiped about our impressions of school, classmates, teachers, politics, working for the government, and favorite bands. It was a good time.

Tonight I have to head to bed early. Early for me seeing how I’m becoming a bit of a night owl. OK, staying up until midnight probably doesn’t make me a night owl.

We have to leave the house at 6 AM to attend a large company meeting that is being held at a convention center about an hour away. It’s the only place they can find that will accommodate the hundreds of people that show up. Some of the senior people where I work will be talking to us. Though a long way away and typically not the most exciting of events, they are worthwhile for the most part.

Image: I took this picture walking back to the parking garage after a group meeting on Tuesday. It was kind of rainy and foggy. This is a huge addition that is being built on to the museum. I’ve watched the whole thing over the last year. From when they leveled the ground, dug it out, starting bringing in stuff etc. I thought this looked almost like a destroyed building instead of new construction.

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