Looking for something new and different to do for a date or a family outing? Come to the Puppet Variety Show I’ll be MC-ing this Saturday at the SCERA Center for the Arts in Orem.
The Great Puppet Follies – Puppet Variety Show
Saturday, April 10, 2010
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
$5 adults, $3 Children (ages 3 – 11)
SCERA Center for the Arts
745 South State Street, Orem, UT 84058
Tickets can be purchased at the SCERA ticket office or online at http://www.scera.org
The Obama Administration has updated the White House website to include visitors logs. This is a wonderful development and even though I don’t generally agree with many of the things that the administration is doing, this kind of transparency should be applauded. We need more transparency.
However, I thought it was super funny that the service that they have chosen to use to publish the visitor log data on the web, Socrata, has a button right at the top of the display that says “Socialize This.” Almost every other service in the world uses the word “Share” on their links and buttons for posting information to social networks like twitter or facebook.
It’s a Freudian slip from the collective administration subconscious.
I came across this brilliant video on YouTube over the weekend.
Q: What if the Beatles covered the classic Led Zeppelin song “Stairway to Heaven”?
A: The Beatnix
I apologize for two tech related posts in a row, but this was just too good to not share.
I was reading an interesting article on a usability design method they call “Paper Prototyping” and the first comment on the article was pure geek gold. In order to truly appreciate it let me give you the context first.
Paper Prototyping is a inexpensive, low-tech method of brainstorming, or of testing the usability of proposed designs for a software interface. Basically, you print out the various aspects of the proposed user interface on paper or cards. You cut out individual elements of the interface design with a pair of scissors if necessary. Then you sit down with the end user and you take the place of the computer. The user then interacts with the paper prototype, and you show them what would happen by laying down different sections to show how the interface changes and displays data.
So here is the golden comment by one Mantari Damacy:
It is like a role playing game, except, for using a computer!
PLAYER: “Okay, I save my file.”
GM: [dice clatters, looks up chart] Okay, you try to save your file, A new window pops up on the screen that indicates a general I/O error, but gives no specific details.
PLAYER: “Oh no! I open up the case, and pull the boot disc off of the IDE controller!”
GM: Okay. [dice clatters] Well, you manage to open up the case without tripping the power, but you’re not familiar with the internal workings of this machine. You can’t locate any IDE drives…
Awesome! I can just imagine a prototyping session ending with the following exchange between the designer and user:
“Sinus supremus!”
“Zero charisma!”
“Sinus supremus!”
“Zero charisma!”
In preparation for our upcoming puppet performance at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, I was shuffling through some scripts and skit ideas from several years ago and found this little gem that we used to do before we got into puppetry. I had forgotten all about it. With all of the things I need to get done this week, this thought was really sobering and helped put things into perspective for me:
Good Idea/Bad Idea
Good Idea: Whistling while you work.
