My Curious Life

Looking at the calendar again and wondering how time has gotten away from me once more. Ah, the poor blog has fallen victim to a newfound interest in Twitter again, as well as sweet dreams of a cool, funky tea shoppe someplace in the Portland metro area to fill a niche that I think is in need of filling.

For those who’ve actually kept up with this blog, stay tuned, there ARE some posts in the works, despite the long dry spell.

There’s also a redesign in the works for My Curious Life, so perhaps a sneak peek will become available shortly for peer review and comments, which are always welcome.

Well, I went and did it. I entered the contest to design the cover for Jeff Howe’s new book, Crowdsourcing. There are a number of fantastic entries, my favorites being AceJet170’s, Vitorious’, and skforlee’s. I just didn’t see any that really tied into the sub-title of the book: “How the power of the crowd is driving the future of business.” There’s so much in there between the lines … and the piece I grabbed hold of was directionality … the crowd driving business in a particular direction.

So, concept in hand, I went looking for good artwork or photography that embodied that idea. And one of my favorite haunts is Stock.xchng. There I found a photo by Sanja Gjenero, a.k.a. “lusi“, that seemed perfect. Great primary colors to make it pop and a crowd of ambiguous persons surrounding a compass. Fantastic!

A quick bit of Photoshop work and I had what I think is a pretty nice cover, though we’ll have to see what the wisdom of the crowd has to say about that.

Anyone interested in voting, go here to rate it and comment.

I took some time this evening to catch up on my newsfeed reading, and was entertained and amused by (Shane’s) Own Drummer post. He was, in turn, inspired by WAH(web)Mommy’s How Weird Are You?

Thanks to the current chaos in my day job, an overabundance of caffeine in my system and a lack of real purpose this evening, I’m feeling like chiming in with my own weird confessions. So here goes with my own 7 weird things …

1. I have six kids.
   From three continents. Four of them adopted. Three boys, three girls. You there, stop humming the Brady Bunch theme song! Never did I ever expect to have such a large family, but once you’ve gotten past three kids, you’re screwed anyway, so why stop the insanity there. As a result, I have come to embrace the chaos and somehow thrive in the midst of it. My kids keep me young and help me appreciate all that I have. And I have seen some beautiful parts of the world thanks to the international adoptions we’ve done.
    
2. I don’t drink coffee, beer or like seafood.
   And I grew up in the Northwest. Go figure, huh? I’ll drink coffee only if I can mix some serious chocolate with it, so why not just make an awesome hot chocolate? I was scarred for life in Munich by Rauchbier, which is akin to drinking warm blended wheat and charcoal. My affinity for the sea-species has been pretty limited to bland, white fish for years, though Mr. Williams was able to get me to try a variety of sushi in San Jose. I must admit that most of it was quite tasty, but finding equivalently delectable sushi in Portland has been a challenge. Perhaps there is hope for me to live up to my Northwestern roots someday.
    
3. I decorate cakes for fun.
   I have my own Wilton decorator tip set, and the will to use it. I can tell you about buttercream frosting recipes, home-made cake fillings, and how to make frosting roses in a number of sizes. And yes, I even do those kitschy little scalloped edges, too. Both my mother and grandmother decorated cakes in their time, and both of them semi-professionally.
    
4. I love speaking in front of groups.
   Especially if it’s about something I enjoy or can teach. (BONUS: I was going to go into teaching, but got diverted when some legislation passed that killed my plans.) Yet, if you get me alone in a room, I revert to my psychology training and start analyzing posture, asking open-ended “feel” questions and try to divert attention from myself. I’m fine in small groups though.
    
5. I cry at sappy movies/TV, but not much at real life.
   I can’t explain it, I get all choked up by Dead Poet’s Society or Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, yet horrible things like 9/11 or the loss of friends and family just leave me numb. Not unfeeling, just unable to express it. Strange … perhaps even weird.
    
6. I will have no (facial) wrinkles when I’m old.
   Or at least very few. On my left side. I’ll be an excellent spokesperson for Botox or anti-aging creams. I’ll also make a great before and after snapshot. I was born with a hemangioma occupying the cavity under my left cheekbone that went unchecked until my teen years. A surgery and some other procedures later, I have little feeling on that side of my face, a quirky smirk of a smile due to nerve damage, and a re-grown tumor. C’est la vie! And to make matters even more ironic, that part of my face sweats when I should be salivating, and salivates when I should be sweating.
    
7. I have a funky number memory.
   I can recall my 8-digit library card number from gradeschool, my first 16-digit debit card number, Social Security numbers, phone numbers and all sorts of other random numbers of some relevance. Whether I want to or not. Just don’t wave your Visa near me and tell me you have some credit to spare. (Just kidding, of course!)
    

Thanks to Shane and WAH(web)Mommy for the entertainment!

Okay, it’s been a couple of (insane) weeks since the last post … not that I don’t have a dozen posts queued up and (almost) ready to go …

Anyway, I was humbled today by finding out through the very clever David Armano that I made Grant McCracken’s blogroll list.

I’ve replied to some posts from both David and Grant, and I’m always interested in what they have to say, but to find my blog among the list on Grant’s site, is, well, very flattering.

Needless to say, I’ll try to live up to the promise of being a “new source of inspiration” that David feels many on the G-list are.

I have a confession to make. My son, Caleb, is from Mars. Or maybe Pluto. He doesn’t have antennae or a glowing finger, nor does he live in an egg-shaped bed. He does, however, live in a world all his own and only occasionally in this one. It’s those rare moments when he’s here with us, though, that make it all worthwhile. You see, Caleb has autism.

Not only that, he also has pervasive developmental disorder — a form of mental retardation.

A couple of months ago my wife and I went to see the latest John (and Joan) Cusack movie, Martian Child. The simple story is about a boy who’s different. Very different. A boy who believes he is from Mars. A boy whose needs and differences challenge and inspire his widower foster father (John Cusack) to come to grips with his own differences. A boy who exposes how cruel the world at large can be to those who are truly different from the norm.

Shortly thereafter, I heard a story on NPR about a film being released that tells one child’s story of special needs and inclusion.

As an interaction designer, I’ve found it particularly meaningful to have a child with special needs. I think it makes you even more sensitive to the world around you and how those of us who fit the norm so unknowingly take simple things for granted. I find it amazing to watch my almost 8-year-old son work through problems that my “normal” 3-year-old breezes through with ease.

Small buttons that require excellent fine motor control (remotes/telephones), handles and knobs that operate counter to their purpose (car doors and 3-way switches), and frustrating tools that expose rather than hide their underlying complexity (AV systems). These are just a few of the many things that confound my son day-to-day.

It’s an adventure that is constantly changing the way that I interpret the world.

So, as we start 2008, what (or who) has caused a change in the way you think/act/perceive over the course of the past year?

Last night’s inaugural Ignite Portland rocked! 18 speakers, each with 20 slides and 5 minutes to present before the collective buzzer went off. The topics ranged from knitting to rewilding, giving good TXT to free beef and clean bathrooms. Unicycling, chickens, and how to be Japanese. Kudos to everyone who helped organize the event and to all of the presenters … for a first time event, it was quite impressive.

Wieden + Kennedy hosted the event in their fantastic office space downtown. The architecture of the building is wonderful, and W+K have put some nice touches on the space to make it their own. I have some questions about that, though, like what’s up with all of the “mice” on the stairs? And who are all of the people in the black ‘n whites on the entry wall? If those are the W+K staff, no wonder they’re considered an exceptional company.

Ignite was essentially a chance to be with like-minded local folks and get the ol’ grey matter fired up. The diversity of topics made for some fantastic brain food. I came home buzzing with ideas and inspiration, and while I don’t think I’ll be raising chickens anytime soon, I do have some great resources and ideas to work with for the immediate future.

All in all, a great time in a great locale with some very interesting people. I regret not mingling a bit more, but my co-conspirator Ryan did introduce me to some of the PDX Web Innovators group and start putting names with faces for a change. I’d hoped to meet Rick Turoczy of the Silicon Florist at some point and tell him thanks for keeping tabs on all the local Portland happenings, but in all that time I didn’t spot one person with a name tag that said “Rick” on it. Hey Rick, were you hiding someplace? Rick has the best collection of posts and links from the event that I’ve seen so far.

Here are links that I’ve collected to sites and presenters that were mentioned … keep your eyes on the Ignite Portland site for upcoming photos and more presentation links:

• Adam Duvander’s Simplicity Rules!
• SkinnyWhiteGirl Crystal Beasley
• Bill DeRouchey’s History of the Button (check out his slidecast from UX Week 2007)
• Urban Scout on Rewilding
• Michael Jones of the Unicycle Bastards
• Audrey Eschright on Geeks Knitting

I can’t wait to see what’s up when Ignite fires up again in January!

Streetsblog.org posted some information last week about the new sidewalk compasses that New York will be using at select major intersections and metro stations throughout the city.

Despite posing some potential pedestrian traffic flow issues, I think this is one of the more creative and useful ideas for navigating a town that I’ve seen in a long time. This just further influences my opinion that New York, for all its size, wants to be as friendly to visitors as it is to locals.

I’d like to think of myself as someone who is fairly reasonable, socially and environmentally concerned, and altogether a generally good human being. That said, this kind of thing drives me batty:

It’s petty, it’s trivial, I know, but I hate things that mete out set quantities of anything to me. It’s inflexible, arbitrary, and overly paternalistic.

My office building just installed the auto-soap dispenser and auto-towel dispenser in all of the restrooms in the building. I can understand their desire to reduce waste and minimize costs, I just hate the feeling that I have to have things doled out to me in bite-size chunks (especially if I’m trying to dry my hands … one 8″ x 8″ sheet of thin paper towel isn’t quite enough).

Sadly, it seems to be everywhere … my cell phone minutes are doled out in varying sizes, instead of allowing me to just pay for what I use. My cable bill is doled out to me in varying packages, instead of allowing me to just pay for what I use (about 9 of the hundred channels I get). I admit that there are some economies of scale that make it cheaper when you can package things, and some simplicity to providing services at specific tiers or levels of packaging, but in the current world of supposed “high tech”, why is it so difficult to provide pay-by-use services? Most commoditized utilities have been doing this for years (gas, electric, water).

I’d be so much happier with a system that rewarded people for responsible use and conservation. Expose the workings of the system a bit and let people make responsible (or irresponsible) choices of their own. In some cases (Comcast, are you listening?) I might actually spend more for flexible services and end up happier as a customer. How can you ignore a win-win like that?

Tara Hunt (a.k.a. Miss Rogue) made a request yesterday on her blog asking for answers to five questions she has about government. The answers so far, while few, are definitely interesting, and I hope that more people will comment (hint: that means you, dear reader!).

For those of you too lazy to link to Tara’s post, here are the questions she poses:

1. Do you trust government services? Local (municipal)? State/Provincial? Federal?
2. Can you name 5 government services? 10? Are they local, state or federal? (not a test)
3. Do you think it is more important for people to trust their government or for a government to trust its people? Or both? Why?
4. If you contribute to projects voluntarily, why? Would anything lead you to wanting to contribute time or effort towards government services projects?
5. What do you expect out of a government website?
6. What do you think Government Services 2.0 looks like?

So, what do you think? Please let Tara know. Oh, and if you work for a government agency, here’s an additional question that I’d love to hear the answer to:

What do you think is keeping government (local, metro, federal) from becoming Government 2.0?

I’ll forward any responses I get on to Tara in the hope that they add more character to her musings.

Chris Chiacchierini is a person who has found a way to make a difference in his own special way. He’s making a one year, one-thousand-and-one-mile journey to help children with cancer and their families.

His goal is to raise money for the Children’s Cancer Association by committing to run about 20 miles a week for the next year. Businesses and individuals can pledge a per mile amount toward his cause, and he’s journaling his runs on the website. It’s a great idea, since even a penny per mile equates to $10.01.

His journey started on September 29, 2007, and so far he’s raised a little over $4,000 in pledges and run over 50 miles.

It’s heartening to see someone take something they’re doing and use it to benefit others. It can seem so overwhelming when looking at a problem in its entirety, but by each making our own best effort to help, we can make a big difference in this world.

Chris has my best wishes, heartfelt thanks for taking the initiative, and of course, my pledge of support.