Toys R Us’ website sucks. I have been trying to buy a Wii controller using some gift cards for weeks from them. Here is the pattern of my unhappiness: Search stinks. If I search for Wii controller, show me a page of Wii controllers. How hard is that?? Makes me click 5 times to get…
The Dow Jones Industrial Average took a plunge this morning. It got me thinking. I wonder what the Dow looks like for the last 16 years. 8 years of Bill Clinton and 8 years (almost) of Bush. I used data/sceenshot from Investor.com Notice how the Bush years aren’t quite as good as the Clinton years. …
I was discussing with Katie about Ethan and how he is so hard on himself. He is nearly a perfectionist and works really hard. I am so proud of him. However, he has incredibly low self-esteem. I wonder where he gets this from? (cough!Katie!cough!) I need to instill in him some of the Lipka confidence. …
Matthew is going to the potty by himself these days. He still needs help wiping his butt though. The other night, we hear his regular yoddle, “Mooooommmm, I’m Dooooonnnnne!” I went in to help him. The first thing he does is hand me a whisk. He says, “Thank you daddy, I don’t need this anymore.…
Hillary Clinton is a genius. I never thought of this, but she just pulled out the unbeatable strategy. Crying. Think about it. When a man cries, he is not strong and usually ridiculed. When a woman cries, men immediately give up and woman bond together. I think it’s from some evolutionary gene or something. Crying…
This is an interesting technique for preloading graphics. Resources: One here. This guy originated it, but it’s pulled down now. #preloadedImages { width: 0px; height: 0px; display: inline; background-image: url(path/to/image1.gif); background-image: url(path/to/image2.gif); background-image: url(path/to/image3.gif); background-image: url(path/to/image4.gif); background-image: url(); } This is much easier than using JS to do it. I need to experiment with it…
Check out Smashing Magazine. It has an awesome set of future design products. I haven’t really paid too much attention to Smashing Magazine in the past. I don’t know why. They content is really nice. Its very popular and speaks directly to my interests. I just subscribed to it. I am a new fan.
Ok, so now we have a second data point after Iowa. New Hampshire, which was a dead-even race for Clinton and Obama now has Obama ahead by 13 percentage points. It is riddiculous to say that New Hampshire was taking into account the “retail campaigning” that happens in Iowa because New Hampshire gets it just…
Primaries suck. I want to vote for Joe Biden. A bunch of local yokels in Iowa voted for Barack Obama and now he is “unstoppable”. Are you kidding me? Who cares what Iowa thinks? I don’t! I want to vote for Biden and he has no right to withdrawn his name so quickly. Primaries suck. …
I have had a few days with the Wii and I have to say, it is one of the most innovative and interesting user experiences I have seen in a while. It certainly deserves to be up there with the iPod/iPhone. The device itself is small, about the size of a mac mini or a…
I just watched this amazing video of this speaker at Ted. He uses animation and charting techniques to really communicate information better. I think this kind of software is just fantastic and has been designed with flair and genius. Take a look. I am looking forward to 2008. I feel like it will be a…
California is a pain in the ass. They have these propositions and initiatives and special elections ALL THE TIME. Every single time we have to vote, they ask us questions that we can not answer. It is terribly designed user experience. Never ask a question that has significant implications that the user has no way…
I had a crazy weekend. Funeral in Florida, then holiday preparations. I am so beat. however, I had an interesting conversation with Bill Johnston about the state of technology. Bill worked for Lawrence Berkeley labs, Nasa and the department of energy running a major network, so I always appreciate his views on technology. The question…
I had a dream last night. Someone asked what was the coolest thing on the web. I interpreted the question to be specific to a web service like Gmail, Yahoo, Wikipedia, or anything “hosted”. The question to me was, “What is the thing on the web that changes the world the most?” It’s amazing to…