small heroes: the niece, the nephew and the dog

02.25.02 || monday ||

I recently got the chance to visit Taliesen West (Frank Lloyd Wright's winter work camp) in Phoenix, AZ. While there, I was stuck by FLW's use of ornate Chinese sculptures in the transition spaces between buildings and accessways. Throughout the site, he placed sculptures in otherwise open areas to denote the change from one place to the next. For example, as you move from the "open air entrance" into the "open air space" that is the start of Taliesen, there is a small bas relief sculpture to signify the invisible boundary you have just crossed. It's not a wall, a gate or an arch, just a small piece of flat, mounted pottery that marks the change.

It further struck me that it was possible to accomplish something similar in your living space, even if it is a very small area. In fact, these types of transitions would be ideal in a confined space. Using properly scaled objects, you retain a sense of openness, while at the same time enabling smaller, functional areas to exist.

Okay, armchair architecture hour is over.

As usual, my friend Ryan Sims (a frequent visitor to Taliesen West himself) has come through with some very interesting places to visit on the web. In a recent e-mail (I keep hoping Ryan will start a blog), he recommends checking out a digital version of the gutenberg bible, a meta-hierarchical image-based search engine called flamenco, and an amazing (!) method of exploring the collected works of the composer Philip Glass. Be warned, if you're busy and need to get work done, do not open the third link ... I lost all sorts of time playing with the slider and listening to the music.

02.20.02 || wednesday ||

I read kottke.org, peterme.com and megnut.com fairly regularly. They are all highly influential blogs from the people who arguably started the genre. They were even highlighted in The New Yorker a few months back. Okay, we've established that they're good, smart people with insightful comments on a variety of subjects. But I didn't come here today to talk about those blogs. Chances are you already read them.

I'd like to plug another blog for your review. You should check out brightly colored food as soon as possible. I lost more than a few hours yesterday exploring Chad Thornton's work. The blog is mostly about usability and interaction design issues, but occasionally he writes about the world outside HCI. Just like kottke, peterme and megnut, he's got good things to say. You should listen.

His links page alone is worth the effort.

Oh yeah, Beth would also like you to check out mightygirl while you're at it. Her powers of observation make for enjoyable reading. Plus, she's pretty damn funny.

02.18.02 || monday ||

I just had lunch with my very good friend, Peninah. We share one of my favorite Austin moments. Picture this: Peninah and I are headed in opposite directions down the Capital of Texas Highway. Neither of us is aware that the other is a) on the same highway and b) driving towards the other.

I call Peni on her cell phone just to see what's up (never mind the lecture on cell phone usage while driving). After exchanging the usual pleasantries, we discover a) and b) above. In a maneuver that made me smile the rest of the day, we waved (while continuing to talk) as we passed each other. It's goofy, I know and you definitely had to be there, but it made me grin, grin, grin.

Anyhow, she and I had an interesting lunch conversation about whether it's better to live your life focusing on one area, working to become a recognized expert in that chosen activity or to spend life sampling a little bit of everything, filling your days with a diversity of experiences. And is there a middle ground? I'm keeping our thoughts on the down low, but it's something I wonder if you think about as well.

I have never played poker. And I tend to smile/laugh/giggle when I am required to bluff. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this article on poker tells I found at Arts and Letters. My favorite tell , however, is from outside the world of poker. I enjoyed reading about the girl who was able to determine her boyfriend's infidelity when he kissed her like a "porn star." Now, that's good stuff.

02.15.02 || friday ||

In a bit of disappointing news for movie fans in Austin, I've read that the Regal Arbor 7 theater is closing and being replaced with a Cheesecake Factory.

Huh? Excuse me? What? I'm as much a fan of huge portions and exotic cheesecake varieties as the next person, but did you have to kill one of the last arthouse theaters in town? Is Austin really in dire need of a Cheesecake Factory? Everyone I polled (n=2) gave me an emphatic no. Based on these early returns, I believe they should scrap the plans and keep the theater open.

In other news, we (Beth and I) can't believe fitday is still a free service. How do they stay in business? Is their ad revenue that substantial? Let's hope so, as I use it in my daily war against the calories. The simple design, smart functionality and effective hierarchy rank highly with me. It's nothing fancy, just a solid web application that does what it does very well.

02.13.02 || wednesday ||

I spent some time today googling for those with whom I have lost contact. I was fairly successful finding some old friends from the HCI program at Ga Tech. Most notably, I found a mobile computing blog called bluepattern, written by my friend Dan McQuillen.

In his words, "Bluepattern is dedicated to mobile applications development, with a focus on Java, multimedia and UI." Definitely worth a look. Plus, he's got something called a flidget™: a premade flash smart clip. I have no idea of its purpose yet (got some reading to do), but it looks mighty fun.

02.06.02 || wednesday ||

I hope to put an on-line journal here, although I am skeptical about my commitment to write regularly. My roommate and I tried to start a weblog on life's guilty pleasures a few months back, but it never really panned out. For my new blog, I think I will try to limit the "oh, aren't I so clever" tone I get from reading past entries. In the meantime, you can evaluate my cleverness yourself:

Monday, July 09, 2001
It occurs to me that I haven't posted to guilt + pleasure yet. I have tried, I swear. Last week, I had a profound "guilty pleasure" moment involving the Personality Parade section of Parade magazine. In my haste to relate the situation to our readers (me and Beth), I composed my blurb, submitted it and "poof" - it disappeared into the ether. I don't know what I did, but I lost it all. And with it, the spirit and enthusiasm to write it over again. So I shut down and went to bed.

Well, some time has passed and I think I have crossed the bridge. I am ready to give it another go. I don't, however, wish to discuss the Parade moment. That was so last week. I rather discuss this week's guilty little pleasure - my sudden obsession for reading Newbury-awarded children's books.

In the past week, I have put aside everything in my life to read a series of children's books. Work and life have become inconsequential. Deadlines? Bah! Who can concentrate when Danny, Champion of the World needs to be read?

And although our bathroom is a mess, the kitchen sink is full of dishes and the front yard bushes need a good trim, I find I have no time to attend to such tasks. Why? Well, reading From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler, The Egypt Game, and A Wrinkle in Time clearly involves more pressing concerns.

I am not going to speculate why I now spend my lunch hour in the Austin library's children's section (I prefer to call it the juvenile literature area). You might think this is simply an attempt to recapture my youth on the eve of my 30th birthday. Blah, blah blah.... I don't care. The only thing I know is that I am going to ride this wave until its end. I will continue to go to the library, I will continue to pretend these books are for my niece ("oh my, she's a voracious reader") and I will slowly work my way through the section. Next on the list - Bridge to Terabithia. Man, I better get the box of Kleenexes ready - my niece, she's an emotional one.