• Joining SiteTracker and Designing using Salesforce Lightning

    I joined a new company called SiteTracker this month as their newly minted Head of UX. Just to be clear, I am the only designer, so “Head” is a little high falutin. I will post eventually about my interview process and lessons learned. SiteTracker is a Series A startup growing…

  • Robocalling Apocalypse

    I am not sure what has happened in the last few weeks, but robocalls have skyrocketed for me. It used to be just 1-2 calls per month. Now it’s 3+ per day. What happened‽ Side note: After listening to 99% Invisible, I’ve decided to start using the interobang symbol instead…

  • Google Assistant with a Foreign Accent

    I’d like my Google assistant (and Alexa) to speak American English with a foreign accent. Specifically, I’d cycle through different dialects such as Jamaican, Australian, British, Irish, and maybe even Spanish. Again, I don’t want them to speak a foreign language, just speak my language in their accent. It just…

  • Chat and SMS Tools

    Let’s start with my list of requirements for the perfect chat tool: Mobile, Browser, and App form factors Easy images (especially memes) Video conferencing on demand Group chat SMS Integration End-to-end encryption Broad distribution (Everyone has it) Ultimately, I want a one-stop shop. Alas, I cannot find exactly what I…

  • The Way it Is and The Way it Could Be

    I just heard on a podcast that unhappiness is when the way you want the world to be is not the way it is and that you should accept your world to gain happiness. At first, I thought, “What a pleasant thought…” and then my brain started working. (It was…

  • Home Ownership is still the American Dream

    This chart is pretty chilling. It basically shows that middle class income has remained stagnant while housing prices have gone way up. Except for the housing crisis 10 years ago, the trend is clear. If you bought a house 50 years ago, it cost you a little more than 2X…

  • Washington DC for an 18 year old

    Calling people with experience in Washington DC! My eldest son, Ethan, is entering his first year of college at American University. He is new to Washington DC, new to college, new to life outside the nest. Although his major will be political science, he is interested in a little bit…

  • Designing with the Salesforce Lightning System

    I’ve started designing a product in the Salesforce Lightning System. There is nothing extraordinary about it. It’s a perfectly reasonable design language, similar to Google Material in many ways. Of course, there are a few things I wish they could improve. How could I use a tool or system and…

  • Giving Adobe XD a 2nd Chance

    Everyone deserves a second chance, don’t they? I’ve been using Figma for a while and have generally been happy with it. However, I also love to try new software. Adobe XD is a design tool that I discarded due to being unable to make the components I needed. I have…

  • Helping My Kids with Math

    I was not a particularly good student. In fact, that is probably being generous. However, my kids don’t have a better student as a parent, so I have to do the best that I can. Today, I sat and helped my kid with geometry and basic algebra. The Good I…

  • Trump is acclimating us to pardons

    The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive…

  • Our Maps are Upside-down

    I am going to assume you believe the world is spherical. No point otherwise. Ok, imagine the sun in the middle and the Earth is spinning around it. I ask you this question, “Is the Earth going around the sun in a clockwise or counter-clockwise rotation? I think any normal…

  • First Try: LimeScooter

    In case you haven’t heard, Electric Scooters are the new “disrupting” thing in cities, especially San Francisco. Today, I had a lunch with a recruiter in the city and CalTrain was running very late. The walk would have been 25 minutes and I only had 20 to get there. Previously,…

  • Bad UI Example: Moving the Cheese

    I have a 2018 Kia Sportage. Nice car overall; not too expensive, drives well, cool moon roof. However, the radio does something that is a UI no-no. I’ll explain. First, this is the offending UI here. It is on the left side of the steering wheel and controls the radio…