Oct 3, 2019The Time We Won the Boy Scout CamporeeOkay, now is as good a time as any. I was in — yes in the 80s—a backpacking Troop. Used no canvas. Nylon. No car camping stoves and grates. Peak 1 (then MSR) etc. Not car camping, but backpacking, out into the woods. Or desert, or mountains. We did some…Camping4 min readCamping4 min read
May 30, 2018A Primer on GSDR — Injecting Quality Into Product DevelopmentOne of the things I pride myself on is practicing technology and process agnosticism. However your organization works, whatever you want to build, we can work that way. Except for one thing. We always want to be sure we’re making a quality product. …Agile4 min readAgile4 min read
May 16, 2017Onboarding Class for Your New JobUpdated out here now: https://www.4ourthmobile.com/publications/onboarding-class-for-your-new-job This is an older copy, missing a few items and a few changes or fixes: I have worked a lot of places. A lot. And since I have clients instead of employers now, I get to see how many other types work as well. Corporate…Productivity9 min readProductivity9 min read
Apr 5, 2017We Are Not Masters of Our Design DestiniesWe have a lot of clocks around the house. Not entirely sure why. Partly because we like knowing the time. I think partly because we love little decorative items, but try not to clutter up the place too much. Clocks are functional, so it’s okay. Here’s a not-untypical one. If…Security4 min readSecurity4 min read
Feb 24, 2017Using (and Avoiding) Gender-Assumptive LanguageAs though anyone cares what I think, here’s what my current guidelines are for mostly avoiding gender-assumptive wording in writing, presenting and general conversation. This is what gets me by, and no one has yelled at me for incorrect usage for some years now. Your mileage may vary, you are…LGBTQ2 min readLGBTQ2 min read
Dec 28, 2016How to Make Mission More Walkable for FreeWalking around town for errands, dog walks, and exercise after snowfall reminded me how much people walk in our city. Since no one shovels the few sidewalks, the number of footprints are easily visible, and there are a lot of them. Now, Mission knows this. There’s a report about how…Transportation5 min readTransportation5 min read
Nov 29, 2016My New MBPI have been on Mac laptops since around 2003, with accompanying funny story about the VP having me buy one with his corporate card, and the ensuing hatred from Finance. Before we go further, I should say I have also used desktop Macs, and Windows machines of all stripes. When…Apple5 min readApple5 min read
Oct 30, 2016Tales of Nerddom: Exchange CityBack in grade school there was a place called Exchange City. It still exists, and in fact has expanded, but I have no real idea what it’s like now as it’s not parent-friendly so you can’t go and watch your kids through one-way mirrors or anything like at Kaleidoscope. Back…Capitalism3 min readCapitalism3 min read
Sep 5, 2016Gift Registries Are TerribleSo we’re finally pregnant after 16 years of marriage, yea. But despite lots of fostering and an adopted kid so we have some supplies, we have to get more things, and will totally have a baby shower. So, it’s registry time! Okay, I am not going to rant on too…UX2 min readUX2 min read
Jul 29, 2016Musings on Practical UX ProcessThis is the sort of thing I might well turn into a legit article, but I wanted to get it down and maybe gather some thoughts from others, before I forgot it all. UX is hard. And most of all because it’s many things. We can argue that my primary…Design8 min readDesign8 min read
