My mom died two years ago on Monday. I thought the week would be very difficult, but thinking about her has made me more happy than it has sad. I’ve undertaken the monumental task of scanning all the photos from my childhood, it will take forever, but here’s one:
This article on Mozilla’s Ubiquity has been making the rounds, but holy crap why aren’t people thinking this way when designing mobile devices? Make everything more natural. 08.29.2008
The essence of this video: Watch what’s happening and how it happens, don’t make assumptions about what people are actually doing. Ask questions, you won’t see everything. Then enhance the experience naturally.
This is how every UX project should be approached. Help people do what they want them to do, don’t force them down the path you want, or you think they want. Interview all stakeholders, not just the obvious users. It’s all about observing and listening, we are just the user’s humble servants.
1.1.2. If a user does not have the correct plug-in to access the enhanced content, or cannot easily access the content because they are using assistive technologies (such as screen readers) or Betsie to view the site, this should not detract from the user accessing the core content of the website.
Canadian designer Matt Brett just launched an awesome redesign of his site. Great use of icons! One thing I’ve always really liked about his sites is how he incorporates current games and music. I wonder if he’s hand rolling that part?
08.27.2008
I saw this on Stereogum today and had to repost. The first time I saw this band (I think with the Gossip?) my initial thoughts were “Yeah I liked Kill Rock Stars in 1994 too” but I got a few of their records and they’re a solid, fun band.
One of the best things working from home has afforded me is getting to make myself real lunch food in my own kitchen. This sandwich is my lunchtime staple, and I’ve made it a variety of ways just using what was on hand in my house so feel free to make substitutions.
Lay two slices of onion dill rye bread out on your foil-lined baking pan.
Brush one side of each (the outward facing side) with olive oil. I use a garlic infused oil
Layer a few generous slices of sun dried tomato turkey breast on one piece.
Add two slices of prosciutto on top of the turkey.
Grate 4-5 tablespoons of gruyere over top of the prosciutto, and season with pepper.
Spread sweet hot mustard on the second piece of bread, and press it down on the gruyere (this makes everything stick together when it melts.)
Grate about 3 more table spoons of gruyere on top of the sandwich, and season with more pepper.
Bake on a foil lined pan at 375 degrees for 13 minutes.
You could easily make this sandwich in a panini maker or with a grill press, I choose not to because the prosciutto gets crispy in the oven. I’ve also used chicken and multi-grain bread. But the gruyere and the mustard really help give the sandwich a nutty flavor, so I recommend sticking with the swiss family of cheeses if possible. I also substituted sopressata for the prosciutto once, and it doesn’t really crisp up the way the prosciutto will. Enjoy!
When I moved to Cleveland Heights I had the good fortune to move three blocks from the Cedar Lee, the local independent film theater. Monday is $5 movie night, and I’ve been trying to take advantage of it’s close proximity.
A while back I wrote about my love for Bang Olufsen and the Beogram. I regularly check eBay for them, but they’re always missing the stylus or the hinges are broken. Buying something I can’t test made me a little apprehensive as well. I recently came across someone on Craigslist selling a mint condition Beogram RX2 in Cleveland and couldn’t pass up the opportunity. He’d recently had it rebalanced, rewired and the stylus cleaned. With the addition of a preamp, it sounds amazing even on my crappy stereo.
The RX2 was the last of the Beogram record players. One of the best features is the automatic tracking, based on the weight of the record the player knows where to cue and at what speed to start. You can see my small Beogram Flickr set here.
When I moved I had to abandon my large Expedit from Ikea which had been housing my records. FYI, the large Expedits will not fit in a 17′ Penske moving truck. The records were residing in sterilite bins (perfect for moving vinyl, they are easy to carry and you can stack them without damaging your collection) which seemed like such a waste with the new turntable. So I painted a built in book case in my living room and got them all situated and out of bins. I had originally painted the whole thing white but I painted the back of the inside green to contrast with the yellow walls.
I considered the turntable an early birthday present, so on my actual birthday I went out and bought the following to enjoy on the earlier present:
Enjoy this mix in one of the following conditions: sunny + hot + humid, rainy + hot + humid, or rainy + windy + cold.
It also goes well with: long drives across town at dusk, trying to find parking in the evening, rainy Saturday afternoon naps, beers at a quiet table, the bookstore, reminiscing, and procrastinating.
Life hasn’t afforded me the time for a blog post in a while. Here’s what’s going on:
I’ve been very immersed in my new job, I am working on some awesome things I can’t talk about now because of trade secrets etc, but billing and payments in online insurance are about to get much much better.
My long term, live in girlfriend of four years and I broke up. This stuff is always hard, but new beginnings are nice too.
I moved from the West Side of Cleveland to Cleveland Heights (the East Side.) I miss the West Side but am loving exploring this part of town and being close to the Grog Shop and the Beachland. Incidentally I’m only 5 minutes from the Apple Store now. I’m also really excited to have a dedicated office space.
I’ve been doing a lot of freelance. I finished teaching my class, but I’ll be teaching another for Fall semester.
I started seeing someone else who is amazing (and also a talented baker) and I’m sure I will gush about her to the point your RSS feed will make you puke and you’ll unsubscribe.
I’ve also been putting some serious time and (ugh) money into decorating the new place. I bought a new couch and loveseat, I’m still waiting for the couch to be delivered. I’m getting a new dining room table. I’ve done a ton of painting (with lots of help.) I am replacing all my bedding and towels. I am going to put up all new window treatments. Someone should bar me from Crate & Barrel. I’ve also been going crazy with the Martha Stewart collection at Macy’s, and ended up with Martha Stewart paint. The dining room color is called Mint Gelato. The list goes on and on, so I’ve made two photo sets on Flickr, a before and an in progress. Here’s a few highlights:
I also want to mention Room Service, a fabulous shop where I bought my throw pillows on Detroit in the Gordon Square Arts District. They were pretty reasonable and have a lot of pieces by local designers and artists.
Last night I finally stopped by the Tremont Tap House, billed as Cleveland’s first gastropub. From Wikipedia:
A gastropub is a British term for a public house (”pub”) which specializes in high-quality food a step above the more basic “pub grub.” The name is a combination of pub and gastronomy and was coined in 1991 when David Eyre and Mike Belben opened a pub called The Eagle in Clerkenwell, London. They placed emphasis on the quality of food served.
Gastropubs usually have an atmosphere which is relaxed and a focus on offering a particular cuisine prepared as well as it is in the best restaurants. Staying true to the format requires a menu that complements the assortment of beers and wines the gastropub offers.
Some describe gastropubs as the Anglo-equivalent of the French brasserie or the Japanese izakaya.
We had a great start with a pretzel and smoked cheddar stout dipping sauce. The pretzel was soft, and not too salty or greasy. I appreciated that the beer menu used color to easily identify what was on tap and which beers were large. Read the rest of this entry »
MSNBC recently picked Tina Fey as their funniest person. Though I would hardly call MSNBC the barometer of hilarity, it’s nice to see a woman in entertainment get respect for something other than her boobs. The best part of the article:
…women (along with other women in comedy) still battle periodic declarations by male performers and writers that women aren’t funny — from the notorious John Belushi bellowings of the late 1970s to a Christopher Hitchens essay last year in Vanity Fair. So being the first female head writer at “SNL” isn’t merely a “happened to be first” situation, but a victory over daunting odds.
So Tina Fey in a movie with Amy Poehler (second most hilarious lady on television) is basically my dream comedy duo. The only way this movie could possibly be funnier would be throwing Amy Sedaris into the mix. Baby Mama opens this Friday, watch the trailer.
Too often in the corporate world long hours are used as an indicator of productivity, which is totally artificial. Someone could sit here for twelve hours and do nothing, what is that really telling you?
When I started my new job I saw people were running off to the gym all throughout the day. I asked if they stayed late or came in early to offset their workout time, and they said not as long as the work is done. I asked my manager if it was acceptable for me to visit the gym on work time, and her response was basically the same, go whenever you want, as long as your work is done we don’t care. So I’m essentially working a 35 hour week, and I’ve never been more productive. Imagine what I could do in a 30 hour week? Read the rest of this entry »
Having rules or limitations can be very liberating just as having total freedom to do whatever you want, however you want, can be sort of paralyzing. It’s hard to know where to start, sometimes, when absolutely everything is available to you. Too many choices can make it hard to make decisions.
Also worth mentioning, Juliana Hatfield has been using the pay-what-you-think-this-is-worth system to sell her albums long before Radiohead or Trent Reznor.
04.02.2008
After the civil war, American funerals moved out of the home and largely into the hands of undertakers, now a large industrial funeral complex. As a person who’s seen plenty of open casket services, my first thoughts were “Eew.” But I found myself strangely touched by these families, and surprised by the dignity in their home funerals. Gone were the artificial parlors with their ostentatious floral arrangements, plaster columns and faux victorian furnishings. There were no grim undertakers or officiaries lurking about. Read the rest of this entry »
This is a blog about adventures in design, and sometimes other crap. My name is Beth Dean and I’m a web designer from Cleveland Ohio. I work for Progressive Insurance as a UX Developer.
This mix is best served on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Rain for the first half is desirable but not essential. 
Enjoy this mix in one of the following conditions: sunny + hot + humid, rainy + hot + humid, or rainy + windy + cold. 
Since I’ve been absent for so long I thought I’d post a nice surprise for those of you who still subscribe; an April mix. 