Humanest of the HCIers is Gone  Jef Raskin, creator of the Macintosh project, is gone.

New Bike  Well, I've done it...I've bought a new motorcycle. It's a Moto Guzzi Breva 750.
I haven't picked it up yet, but here are some links to articles about it. Enjoy.

Motorbikes Today Review

Real Classics Review

Motorcycles Online Review

netRider Forum comments

Sound Rider Review

The Breva Blog

The Banshee screams No More  The Good Doctor is gone. Requiescat in pace.
His ESPN articles show he still had the sports mojo going. Yet something obviously wasn't right.

Who knows why anyone puts a pistol in their mouths and pulls the trigger? It's overwhelmingly sad, anytime it happens.

Is Blogging Bloated?  Salon.com hits the nail on the head.

On to other things  After having been made redundant this week, I'm working on getting another gig. Yes, I'd love to have my thing work, but realistically Richmond's a sucky town to do user experience in. So I'm casting a wider net, as it were.

Searching for...  Despite the elimination of their dedicated R&D group back in the late '90s, Apple continues to come up with smart stuff. Consider their forthcoming search tool Spotlight (here's a PDF overview).

Mac Rules  More reason to own Apple products. Thanks, Heiko!

So Will Rush Rush to Judgement?  do ya think the Dittoheads will call for resignations after Bremer can't account for $9 billion? Perhaps the Rushies will want Bremer to share the same cell as Kofi Annan, since the Blottodeads have trumped up charges against Annan....stay tuned.

From the "Sad-but-True" School  My friend Don W. sent this...and it's too true:

The professional life of a W-2 or 1099 contractor is rich and varied, as you know. Those of us in this category must have, or soon develop, the ability to navigate (with ease, of course) the twisting, turning road that leads through the hilly ground between assignments.



Staffing firms and other erstwhile potential employers of a tech writer's services post opportunities on bulletin boards such as Monster or Dice. These job descriptions (when really present) often list those attributes most keenly desired of a candidate. The trouble--especially for the newcomer--lies in translating these words or phrases into their underlying English meanings. Fortunately, I have recently acquired a Universal Translator device. Here goes:



When you read: "Extensive experience and superior skills in technical writing"

It means: "You are a programmer skilled in all languages, from Fortran/COBOL to Java; and you understand all the pesky terms we're encountering today."
Note: Some of those pesky phrases include--Sarbanes-Oxley, SDLC, Use Cases, CHM, HTM, PDF, CDR, PSD, JPG, SWF, TXT.



When you read: "Excellent written and oral communication skills"

It means: "You know the alphabet and can form sentences."


When you read: "Excellent attention to detail"

It means: "If we forget something, you'll remember it--even when we bring you in 3 weeks before the product we've been developing for 2 years is due to ship."



When you read: "Extensive experience documenting business processes"

It means: "We don't know the Byzantine business procedures that rule projects in our company, but you will--from the minute we introduce you to your cubicle."



When you read: "Extensive experience and knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Visio"

It means: "We use Office 97 in a Windows 2000 environment; you'll produce 200-page documents and Help, HTML, and PDF files involving lots of graphics using them."



When you read: "Ability to work effectively in a team environment"

It means: "You anticipate and do everything the team wants using your extensible clairvoyance skills."



When you read: "Excellent time management skills"

It means: "You will meet all deadlines no matter when you get the tasks without working more than 40 paid hours a week."



When you read: "Ability to work independently"

It means: "You have and use the initiative that eludes the team."



When you read: "Administrative skills and experience"

It means: "You're really a secretary, you know."



And...



When you read: Pay Rate DOE

It means: "$12-$14 per hour"

Germany Gets Less Tolerant?  ...or simply smarter? Check it out.

The President Uses Irony  Who knew the President could be so funny?

The Nightmare Continues...  God Bless America...: "Q: How many Bush Administration officials does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: None. There is nothing wrong with the light bulb; its conditions are improving every day. Any reports of its lack of incandescence are a delusional spin from the liberal media. That light bulb has served honorably, and anything you say undermines the lighting effect. Why do you hate freedom?"

And now the Breva 750

And now the Breva 750
Originally uploaded by mojohand.

I really do like this bike. We went to the DC bike show (we being Bob, Matt, Warren, and I) on Sunday. Despite the lack of a Breva 1100, I enjoyed sitting on the Breva 750.

Hurry Up and Wait Was Never So True...  So instead of going to 4-week training, I'm now in limbo, and waiting to go to Ft. Bragg for a new physical. Grrr....

Code for the Right Browser  Eric's Archived Thoughts: Don't Care About Market Share: "If data exhibitionism is your thing, who am I to judge? Just don?t pretend that the bits of data you?re exposing to the world are representative of everyone else?s, because I guarantee you that they are not. "

Why Live Music Matters  Many years ago I spent time on the road with different bands. I've also been a music fan for the past 30 or more years. The time spent in clubs and small theters is invaluable to tempering an artist's craft. Apparenty, it's something Ashlee Simpson would do well to learn: from Kaufman's Sports Daily

"I've been to karaoke Tuesday at Big Jim's Trucketeria, friends, and I've never seen anything like this. Sweetheart, pick a key. Learn a move or two. Try lip-syncing. Oh, wait, never mind that last one. It was a staggering display of incompetence matched only by the Oklahoma secondary. I can't remember ever seeing a performer so devoid of singing ability, stage presence, looks or anything else anyone not related would want to see twice.
When Simpson's song mercifully ended, the crowd united in booing. Sooners and Trojans, fat cats and cheap seaters, locals and tourists, 77,912 strong, they found one thing all night they could agree on: Boo!
It was great. Then the football players came back, the butt-kicking resumed, and it got kinda boring. Ashlee Simpson, superstar, is a tough act to follow. She won't be around much longer. I'm going to miss her. "

Ah, yes, hysteria  No doubt you've encountered the killer laser crisis...but apparently it's all waaay out of proportion. Here's a snippet:
"Michael, an Airbus A320 pilot for a major U.S. airline (who asks to be kept otherwise anonymous): 'Here we have cleaners and caterers able to board and roam through aircraft with no security screening whatsoever, yet people are worried about laser beams? Our priorities are insane.' "

Slow blogs  It seems everyone's taking a break from blogging. Some of my favorite blogs have been, it seems, on hiatus: write on/write off: rachel m. murray's blog, Christina's gleanings, Beth Mazur, and even Heiko seem uncharacteristically non-bloggy these days.

The Waiting's the Hardest Part  Waiting to hear about a dream job for me. Though I finally got my résumé and clips to the firm only on Tuesday, I'm chafing at the bit to know whether they'll interview me, much less hire me. It's one of those positions where you know you're the right person...but you have to be patient to let them do their HR voodoo.

Beautiful Sunset

Sunset near Westeraccum
Originally uploaded by Wattwurm.

I don't even know where Westeraccum is, but I think it's part of the Frisian Islands&emdash;that is, the northwest of Germany. Still, it's a beautiful photo.