A Most Wondrous Shareware App

From the "Highly Technical and Esoteric" Dept.

Okay guys, you've been warned.

For the past few days, I've been using a most wondrous shareware app.

It's a called LaunchBar, and it's only for Mac OS 10.1.

What does it do?

It eliminates most of the mousing that I have to do on my iBook.

How does it work?

Well, it is so simple--brilliant actually--All I have to do is type press two keys on my keyboard (the command key + spacebar) at the same time, and type the name or the document, URL, application, or folder that I want open or switch to.

It doesn't sound very impressive, but it eliminates two of the major bottlenecks in OS 10.1:

• too much mousing, and
• a poor application switching model.

One of the most impressive things about LaunchBar is that it lists possible objects as you type. The more you type, the closer you get to your intended goal (application, URL, Document, Folder). It also uses some sort of fuzzy logic to determine abbreviations and misspelled words as you type. The best part, is that i it remembers what you've type becoming more accurate the longer you use it (I'm not too sure on that point, I think it's partly user induced).

For example, if I wanted to open Photoshop 7, I would open LaunchBar, and type "psh", and I would get the following dropdown list:

I can refine the results by adding a 7 to it, to make "psh7", I'd get the correct application.

It works for the following entries as well:

• ps7
• pshop
• 7
• photo
• pht7

I love this program!

Well, only as much as you can love technology. So, don't worry Jen, technology will never be able to compete with you for affections.

I'll probably keep using MaxMenus, simply because it does Fitt's Law properly.

Life is good. I can use my iBook without the incessant mousing.

Things must be turning around.

Cheers,

Tai

Lunch, Tired Feet, Mental Clarity

Lunch

It's Lunch time right now, for me at least. I realise that most people don't eat lunch at 2:00 pm in the afternoon, but that seems to be the time I get hungry here are Critical Path.

I wish I could show you guys some of the stuff I'm working on. It's light years ahead of the stuff that I worked on last year, really exciting.

Tired Feet

I've been walking to and from the Go Train Station near my house to make it downtown, and I usually take a walk during lunch just to clear my head. The walk to the Go Train Station from my house is a brisk 20 minutes, one way. (ASIDE: When Jen walks it, it's close to 30 minutes) My lunch time walking, is probably about 15 minutes total. So those two things alone means I walk over an hour a day, not including walking around the house or in the office. Doing that in Italian Bowling shoes for the past three days, have made my feet really tired. Fortunately I decided to wear my Garmont Aroyas today which have faithfully brought me through Europe and Algonquin. Great shoes, although the grip isn't what it used to be.

Mentally Sharp Today

I felt really sharp this morning; no fog-in-the-head today. I hope it carries through to the rest of day. I should be able to finish off the heuristics today, definitely by tomorrow.

Cheers,

Tai

End of the Day at CP

Well, it's nearing the end of the day here at CP. I'm sitting at the same desk, typing on the same computer--it's almost like nothing has changed.

My task here is definitely daunting, and will prove to be very challenging over the next 6 weeks. I have to analyse the product suite that CP produces. So imagine doing usability testing on MS Office, but throw in the OLE integration too.

The amazing thing is that's only part 1 (of 2) of the what I need to do.

The fun never stops here at CP.

Never. :P

Cheers,

Tai

Back at CP

So I started (or perhaps "re-started" is a better word) work at CP again. It�s a small contract for two, possibly three user tests over a 6-week period. A part of me hopes that it will be extended beyond that, but since it took 5 � months for my cracker-jack, 6-week contract to come through, the logical side of me tells me otherwise. I admit however, I wouldn�t pass up the opportunity to work at CP again if it did arrive.

This leads me to the question that I've probably been avoiding for about 6 months: What do I do after this contract ends?

Anyways, I brought my iBook to work today. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my power supply brick....oops....5 hours later...no juice to power my notebook. Oh well, at least it lasted up to the advertised limit.

Cheers,

Tai

Pocari Sweat, Flo's B-day, Introspection

From "Japanese Drink Emporium" Dept.

So I tried Pocari Sweat today. It has the faint smell of grapefruit juice. It tastes like watered down grape fruit juice, but has a very smooth finish. No discernable acidity or bitterness. There's a delicate balance of sweetnes and saltiness in play. Over all, it's very flat (like distilled water), and very foreign.

I'll try some Calpis Water later.

From the "things I did Last week" Dept.

Lots of things happened last week. It was Flo's Birthday on Monday, so Jen, Wendy, Byron, Steve and I met up at Milestones for dinner. We gave Flo a gift certificate that could be used at several malls. Dinner was a four-hour affair. Missed drink orders, screwed up orders. It was so bad, that Florence's main course and dessert was stricken from the bill. We also go a single Free "Spinach and Artichoke Dip" Coupon. In the end, I've decided to boycott Milestones forever.

It was nice to see them all, especially Steve (who I haven't seen in a while) and Cris (the first time since Jen's B-day).

Also went to Chung's new basement apartment for a small dinner party. Good time. Really mellow.

Saturday, I saw Spider-man for the 2nd time. I enjoyed it a lot. It was Jen's first time seeing it.

Monday, civic holiday, Jen and I went to Guelph to visit Natasha, Jen's friend, and probably the biggest Starwars fan I have ever met. Saw Episode 2: Attack of the clones. It was good. Much better than the Phantom Menace. However, I don't find any of the characters compelling, or even likeable for that matter. It makes it hard to get into it. And Ha, if you think some of the acting was questionable in Spider-man, wait till you see Attack of the clones. ;-)

From the "Introspection about Critical Path, Inc." Dept.

I'm going to take a time-out and write something introspective. Bare with me here, it's my first time.

Click the "more" link below to read the rest.

Prior to my 4-hour "Milestones Incident", I decided to visit Critical Path Inc., my former employer. The last time I set foot there was some time after Christmas, probably the first week of january if I remember. Now for all who don't know, my relationship with CP reaches back to my final co-op workterm in Sept.-Dec. 2000. Great time, great work, I love the people there. they were enthusiastic as well--they wanted to hire me back. I gladly accepted.

In 2001, after a huge financial downturn, a pending SEC investigations for falsifying financial statements, CP was in big trouble. The company had hit stormy weather: it was a penny stock, it was about to be de-listed from the NASDAQ, theiCEO and CFO were fired. There was little money to go around and in the end, my offer for employment was renagged. All this, right before I went to Europe.

Down on my luck, with 0 job prospects, a much larger income tax bill than I had ever forecasted, and an impending trip to Europe....I was financially troubled. However, since I had already paid for my ticket to the EU, I had no real choice but to go (I'm glad I did). During my trip, I found out that I would indeed be working for CP, but only as a contract worker. So from July to Dec 2001, I was contracted as CP's Usability Designer, reprising my role from my earlier work term. Life was good. CP eventually weathered their "critical times" and in the end, I was slated to be full-time worker for the 2002 fiscal year.

Late in December, I was told by my boss, Mike, that I my position had been axed by financial. However, the Interaction Design Group had been allotted money for me as a contract worker. I agreed to this: I'm young, make more money as a contractor....it was a foregone conclusion, I thought.

I left work on Dec 15th, 2001, with a verbal agreement for another contract. Five months, and three rewritten proposals later, I stand unemployed, only now realising that Critical Path, the company I thought I had (and desparately wanted) a future with, isn't going to employ me. From what I've been told, my contract has been approved by Mike (my manager), Don (Controller for the TO office), Mike S. (CTO), Loraine (VP HR), and the CFO. It has been queued to be approved by the CEO, Bill McGlashin. It's been there for well over 2 months. I've also been told that all contract work must go through this chain of approval.

I'm frustrated. Angry even.

I don't think anyone, not even Jen, can understand what I feel at this moment. I'll try to articulate it. When I first came to CP, I thought that I had found a company that really worked the way I worked. I knew what I was doing, likewise the people around me were experts in their fields too. There was a sense of excitement all around (I guess this is what the Dot-Com boom was typified as). No politics, no head butting--just people who knew their roles, shared the same goals, and in the end made a great product. Paradise. This was the type of company I thought I could have a long relationship with.

I grew way too complacent.

So last Wednesday, I went into the office, said hi to my co-workers, and emptied out my desk. I realise that it was presumptious to have left all my stuff there (books, a radio, a voice recorder, files, etc), but in the end, I was expected,--hell, EVERYONE in the office expected me to be hired back.

Boy do I feel dumb. I feel frustrated. I wasted time. I feel that I was let-down by a company that I had trusted. I feel totally cheated, having bought this laptop for the sole purpose of helping my work at CP--even dumber, because if I had held off and bought it later, I'd have more for less (100 more MHz, a larger L2 cache, a much better video system....)--although, that's the way the computer industry works.

Don't misinterpret the above, I have been looking for work for about 2 months. However, I know that I wasn't pursuing other employment very seriously.

I wonder if it's me, whether I was good enough at what I did, whether the company valued my work? These type of questions I think about a lot. I'm a Usability specialist with no Masters degree, who has barely a year of professional experience, who knows a whole lot about technology, but only a little bit about design and a little bit about scripting. I'm a jack-of-all-trades.

Perusing job postings makes me no happier. I read things that I could do, but have to admit, would be no easy task.

I even recently started to wonder whether I'm good enough to do what I want to do.

In the end, I know that there's this right hemisphere of my brain that doesn't seem to function when I am awake (hence, the good ol' logical Tai, that we all know and love). I am not an artist. I know shit about design (only what I have read or overheard). I feel lost.

It's disheartening to read prospective job positions asking for a person like me, but better (someone who knows more about scripting, someone with more front end skills, someone who has a masters degree). I hope none of you ever have to face that.

So I cleaned out my desk. A mental crutch for me. There is nothing in CP that has my name. I have completely disappeared.

Mike, to my amazement, is ever confident that the prodigal son of the interaction design group will return to CP and head up the User Research Centre again. I however, am not that optimistic.

So now I've been looking for a job. I've applied outside of Toronto to places in Calgary, Vancouver, Kingston, etc. Well, I've always wanted to see the Country...I just wish it wasn't under these circumstances.

I just applied for a position at Hummingbird: Their asking for more experience, but to be honest, "Who want's to live in Kingston?" I can do everything in the job description. In fact, I�m probably over qualified. However, it would suck if my CV was tossed out, simply because I don�t have the extra year of experience that they require. I am confident that I will get at least an interview. The Job has been posted since February�no takers I guess.

I'm young, somewhat mobile (may have to get a car). Sometimes I wonder, "who else out there has these problems?" Not that I would wish them upon anyone.

Cheers,

Tai

Gifts from Japan

From the "Japan Theme Blog today" Dept.

Hi all,

Took an extended break from the blog. Nothing really to blog about.

Last week: Went out with Byron to find a Mashimaro for his girlfriend Kim. Went to Pacific Mall (a hop, jump and a step from where I live).

My take on Mashimaro? Well, from what I've read about him, his name is a play on the word Marshmallow--I guess by resemblance sake. He seems to have a thing for flatulence and feces--although depicted in a cute way. It's kind of unhealthy if you ask me. You can view this disturbing behaviour at the the following Mashimaro Movie Site which has Flash5 movies posted.

After visiting several toy stores. Byron finally settled on one stuffed Mashimaro toy of largish size. I think it was slightly larger than a Basketball. It had a baby blue hat and scarf. That should score Byron some points with Kim.

Apparently Byron didn't like my suggestions of:

1. Getting Kim the dual use Mashimaro Lumbar support/Head Rest for her car [Apparently girls aren't too keen on the notion that a "gift should have utility"--inconceivable ;-P ] or,
2. Getting Kim a smaller, and consequently Cheaper Mashimaro Toy [Who want's an overly obese rabbit, anyway? Besides, a smaller toy would probably have garnered the same amount of praise that a larger toy would have gotten, plus: it would leave the larger toy available for a later gift]

After that, Byron and chatted over cafeteria food and bubble-tea. Then we watched the "Scorpion King". No comment.

A boys' night out.

Jen finally came back from Japan on Monday. She got me some neato gifts.

She got me a bottle of "Pocari Sweat"

She also got me a bottle of "Calpis Water"

Looks like clear winners here. A drink that is associated with sweat, and a drink that sounds like "Cow Piss". LOL.

Got to love Japanese Packaging.

In reality, Pocari Sweat is an rehydration drink (very similar to baby rehydration fluid actually). The label on the bottle clarifies:

In fact the makers of Pocari Sweat, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. makes a whole line of health food including Dietary Fibre Supplements, Energy Drinks (like Gatorade) and Energy Bars.

Calpis also has a Fan site, with commercials and advertising stills that they've used to promote the drink.

Some further insight could be gathered with a telling conversation with my Friend Karen:

As the above conversation alludes, I also got a really nice shirt that doesn't fit. It's not my fault that I have broad shoulders.....

Thanks Honey for the swank gifts. Love you lots.

Cheerio,

Tai.

Spider-Man :: The Movie

From the "Does what ever a spider can" Dept.

Hey you "Spidey Fans",

I saw Spider-man: The movie with Ann, Dominic, Leo, Clement, Vicky, and Sheila. I'd have to say that it's the most watchable comic book adaptation I've ever seen on the big-screen. The "most watchable"? Well, it isn't the best, but I think I enjoyed it the most. In terms of art design, it's no Tim Burton's Batman. In terms of seriousness, it's no " From Hell" (an adaptation of Frank Miller's classic Jack the Ripper graphic novel of the same name).

However, it was definitely the most enjoyable to watch. It's brain candy, but of very high quality.

All in all:

• There are some great battle scenes.
• A brief cameo of Stan Lee.
• Some great CG swinging.
• A good cameo of the "Macho Man" Randy Savage.
• Good acting (they actually manage to pull off some of the most cheesiest lines ever written by book writers).
• Kirsten Dunst in a wet t-shirt.

My first impression on the gratuitous use of a" CG-enhanced" Tobey Maguire was really negative, but in the end, I thinked it really worked out well. They really captured how Spider-man should move, swing, and fight. They also did a good job with the "origins" of Spider-man too--even with the "organic" webslingers.

It's a great movie...I think everyone will get a kick watching it. It's a good start to the summer "blockbuster" season.

After the movie, we went to a "Korean Drinking House" and got shit-faced on SoJu, a Korean liquor. Don't worry, after my fateful 3-year anniversary dinner, I wasn't in the mood for drinking...although I did have a small sip to satisfy my curiousity.

Cheers,

Tai