Archive for September, 2008
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Watercooler FAIL
Here’s a photo of the watercooler we have at work:
Seems simple and harmless enough. Each chute is clearly labeled. There are good affordances for where to place your cup.
But the first couple times I used this machine, I had a really hard time figuring out how the heck it worked. I’d put my cup in [...] -
Google’s “Project 10 to the 100″
Project 10 to the 100 is an initiative by Google to help save the world. And not to go all Chicken Little, but it’s becoming painfully clear that the world does need saving
As part of their ten year birthday celebration They’ve earmarked $10,000,000 to fund up to five projects with the potential to have [...] -
Project Window Hawk
I recently read the book “The World Without Us” by Alan Weisman. I found it to be simultaneously inspiring, depressing, heart-wrenching and wondrous. I highly recommend reading it. It really will change the way you look at the world.
Since reading it, I experience little pangs of sadness every time I see a squirrel scampering around [...] -
Barack in the (Power)Hizzouse
My girlfriend and I were coming back from the grocery store yesterday at around 10 pm and saw quite a frenzy of cop cars and people on where Clinton, Milwaukee and Fulton streets intersect (we live about a quarter block form there). We asked someone what was going on and she said that Barack Obama [...]
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Z-Rox is Yoga for Your Brain
Want to asplode neurons you didn’t know you even had? Then play this awesome little game called Z-Rox. It is super-challenging and will make you think really hard. When’s the last time you had to do that? It will make you cock your head and squint your eyes and scrunch up your face and bite your lip [...]
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Egg Labeling Guide Based on New York Times Article
I’ve previously written about Trader Joe’s transparency in egg labeling terms (they have a poster with definitions right by the eggs), so I was pleased to find a post on BoingBoing about a New York times article which attempts to “unscramble” (their joke, I can’t claim that one) the various claims made on egg cartons. [...]
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The Firefox Notification Dialog is Kinda Creepy
I find the notification dialog used by Firefox 3 to be rather unsettling.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with it; it’s just a rectangle that comes out from underneath my task bar to tell me something important, like how Firefox has found an update, or some document has finished downloading.
But the speed at which this thing comes [...] -
The Incredible Price-Shifting Squagel, Part III
Well, it’s been a couple of weeks now, and I have yet to receive either a response from Poppy (name changed!) to my last email, or the gift certificates that he promised to send. I sent this email a week or so ago, and still …. nothing.
Hi Poppy -
I look forward to receiving the gift [...] -
Trader Joe’s Wants You To Know Your Eggs
Kudos to trader Joe’s for posting this up in the dairy section of their store (photo taken at the Trader Joe’s on Ontario St. in Chicago):
I’ve written before about the need for access to information about environmental impact and sustainability at the point of purchase, and this is a great example of a company that [...]
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Discoverability in Everyday Life
I came across this pretty interesting set up in the building of my doctor’s office. Here’s a photo of the elevator doors in the lobby of the ninth floor:
Notice that there are no up and down buttons, which, in my experience, are always located halfway-up the door, about a foot or two to the side. [...]
