Shiny Things

HCI Class Update

Sat, 10 May 2008 23:38:27 GMT

I got an A! Thanks very much to everyone who helped me with my project! I won't be taking any more of the classes toward the HCI certificate, though. I'd forgotten how much I hated homework. I think I've been pretty annoying to live with for the past few months while I've dealt with it, and I'm not willing to subject my family to more of that. Now I need to figure out how I get my tuition reimbursement from my employer. And get back to promoting StoryCards and other Dogtown Games. And a dozen other things I've had on hold...

Bus Stop, Wet Day

Thu, 08 May 2008 12:17:09 GMT

and I was the last person to get a seat on my bus this morning. The two people behind me weren't so lucky: this is the first time I've actually seen them turn people away. I'm going to have to start leaving home a bit earlier in the morning.

Hillary Offers $30 for Your Vote!

Tue, 06 May 2008 12:48:47 GMT

I hate this kind of stupidity, and this is exactly why I don't want Hillary in office.

In a nutshell, Hillary is pushing a summer-long tax holiday on gasoline. I have to believe Obama is right on this: this is nothing but political pandering--offering a short term benefit of maybe $30 in gasoline savings--in order to collect votes. It won't help anything in the long run, so why bother? How stupid must we be if we fall for this? And when Obama doesn't jump on board too, she says he doesn't care about ordinary people. Grrr.

Hillary supporters have called us on the phone three times, interrupting our lives to try to get support for her. I hate that. Obama's supporters have not called us once. So that's another reason why I voted against her this morning.

I don't like to get political, but jeesh. This is ridiculous.

Performance Review

Fri, 02 May 2008 13:18:07 GMT

I'm supposed to have lunch with my manager today to start talking about my performance review. I find myself wanting to start the conversation, pen and paper and hand, by asking, "We start these things with a self evaluation, right? Do you spell 'awesome' A-W-S-U-M?"

Well Lookee There!

Fri, 02 May 2008 09:38:42 GMT

Look what I just happened to stumble across it this morning while I was supposed to be doing my homework: yesterday's Tanga deal for the day was Mother Lode of Sticky Gulch!

It looks like you can still take advantage of it for a little while. After that I guess you'll just have to get it at the publisher's web site. :)

"A Reuben Sandwich Teaches Quality"

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:06:34 GMT

A colleague sent me this: I don't know the original source. I was intrigued because of the conjunction of two things I'm interested in: quality (in the form of good interaction, at least) and Reuben sandwiches.

Richard L. Ferrin's article "I Believe I'll Have the Reuben", published in the May 1994 issue of Quality Progress, tells the story of how his purchase of a reuben sandwich parallels a quality journey. He tells of entering the Nine-to-Five Deli in Maryville, TN with a friend, and studying the menu. When asked if the reuben were good, the owner stated they were 'the best". Mr. Ferrin was skeptical, considering that he had spent several years in NYC, and had sampled what he believed to be some of the best reuben in the world. When he asked the counter man if he really believed his were that good, the man replied, "You decide."

THE FIRST LESSON IN QUALITY -- the customer determines the quality of a product or service, not the seller, or maker. This may be disturbing, because the customer is free to use any standard he or she chooses, even if unrealistic. Their comparison might include (subconscious) memories of the environment, who they were with, or other intangibles.

Both men ordered reuben sandwiches, and sat back discussing common interests. Upon receiving the reuben, they continued the conversation, with nothing more than a comment to each other that the reubens were "pretty good."

THE SECOND LESSON IN QUALITY -- If you are the supplier, you may mistakenly believe that your customers are totally focused on the quality of what you have provided, when in fact they may not be true. Despite your best efforts, they may not notice the quality, unless it is outstandingly good, or totally fails to meet their expectations. Services or products that are merely satisfactory may well be taken for granted.

Almost finished with their sandwiches, they were interrupted by the counter man asking how the sandwiches were.

THE THIRD LESSON IN QUALITY -- The only way to really know if your product or service meets your customer's expectations is to ask. Your best judgment is no substitute for direct feedback from your customers or clients.

Mr. Ferrin's reply, based upon his experience as an educator, was that the sandwich was pretty good, and that he would probably grade it as an "A-". The quick response from the counter man was in the form of a question asking what he had to do to get an A+. The answer was that it could probably use a little more sauerkraut. Mr. Ferrin admits that his answer might be specious, maybe his previous excellent reubens had not had more sauerkraut, but it just seemed that particular reuben could have been made better if it had just a little more sauerkraut.

THE FOURTH LESSON IN QUALITY -- Most customers have an unspoken standard, even if never before articulated. Guessing at this standard, or becoming defensive if you are unable to "delight" them, is unproductive, and is not likely to lead to improvement that will satisfy or delight them.

Even though the two gentlemen were nearly finished with their sandwiches, the counter man went back to the kitchen, and plopped a large handful of sauerkraut on the grill. His wife objected, because that was the last of the sauerkraut, but the counter man replied that they could get an A+.

THE FIFTH LESSON IN QUALITY -- True desire to excel is the key to fully delighting your customer, even though it might take extra effort or resources.

The customers, seeing this extra effort, had stopped eating their sandwiches, and waited for the extra helping of sauerkraut. When it arrived, they added it to their almost finished sandwiches, and polished them off. Fully satisfied, and even delighted with their lunches and the service provided, the customers left the deli, and have told this story, and written the aforementioned article, resulting in unexpected free advertising, and possible extra business.

THE SIXTH LESSON IN QUALITY -- You never know when your extra service or exceptional quality will pay off. Delighted customers tell others, and truly the best advertising is word of mouth. And from time to time, a golden opportunity will present itself when your delighted customer will turn out to be someone who can be key to your future success. Mr. Ferrin points out that he has told hundreds of people about the experience at the Nine-to-Five Deli in Maryville.

QUALITY SERVICE PAYS OFF ON THE BOTTOM LINE!! AND IT USUALLY IS NOT THAT DIFFICULT OR EXPENSIVE TO PROVIDE, IT JUST TAKES DESIRE AND DEDICATION!

I'm sorry to say that a Google search reveals no current indication of a Nine-to-Five Deli near Maryville, TN. Too bad: we'll be staying just north of there for a week this summer, and I probably could have arranged a road trip.

I Hate Notes

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:17:08 GMT

This is an actual email I had to send to several colleagues this morning:

My apologies. <rant>Lotus Notes is the dumbest, most worthless, most despicable piece of broken trash software I have ever dealt with.</rant> Okay, now that's out of the way....

I didn't realize that Notes would not keep track of who had actually accepted my meeting invites. Or rather, it _does_ keep track of them, but only until I invite more people. At that point, all previous reponses from prior participants go away. If you don't keep the actual acceptance messages, as I did not, you have no way of knowing who accepted.

So please remind me if you accepted the invite to the May 13th Reuben outing at The Ram (at 11:30am). I will write your names on a piece of paper with a pen so I don't lose this information.

Again, my apologies.

-Carl

Good Things

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:36:34 GMT

I just finished the first Dresden Files novel, Storm Front, and enjoyed it very much. I actually found myself looking forward to the bus ride so I could read more of it.

This morning I turned in my final presentation for my HCI class. I just need to consolidate my previous deliverables into a final report before next Saturday, and I'll be done.

My brain's already churning on a new game design project to start afterward. (Though I won't be going full tilt on it right away. I need to relax for a while, and make up to my family for how cranky my homework made me.)

I just got the invite for our next Reuben outing, at The Ram downtown.

Karen and I have a fun getaway planned for this weekend.

It's warm enough again to sleep with the windows open.

So I'm just taking a moment to be grateful for it all.

Pulp Blank Verse

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:57:59 GMT

I saw on my friend Lawrence's blog that someone has started a project to rewrite Pulp Fiction in the style of William Shakespeare (whose 444th birthday is today! Congrats, Will!). This sample Lawrence posted about made me fall out of my chair.

The other interesting bit? That unnamed "someone" above is Kevin Pease. If that name sounds familiar, you might remember him as the designer of the nifty ambigram logo at the top of this page (and animated on the right side of this page).

Now that's service!

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:15:40 GMT

zappos.com
Originally uploaded by cklutzke

Looks like Zappos.com is really branching out! Well heck, if I can get free delivery, free returns for 365 days, and 24/7 customer service, I guess I could consider a third one.

How Smell Works

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:08:03 GMT

I thought today's Straight Dope mail bag article was particularly interesting. I remember when I was pretty young a friend mentioned that he hated going into livestock barns, because he knew if he could smell the manure, manure molecules must be in the air and getting all over him. He was right.

I've wondered for some time if we would ever be able to mechanically reproduce smells the way we do with light and sound: perhaps something that releases samples from the seven primary odorant groupings (camphoric, musky, rose, peppermint, etherial, pungent, and putrid) could do a worthwhile but limited simulation, sort of like black & white TV does for vision. You'd have to periodically replenish the chemicals, I assume.

It was also interesting to me to learn that you can't actually smell metal, but smell instead the oxidated lipids upon them. Come to think of it, maybe that's why all metals seem to smell the same.

That answers that

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 02:00:52 GMT

PETA is offering a $1 million X Prize for the “first person to come up with a method to produce commercially viable quantities of in vitro meat at competitive prices by 2012.” Apparently there is considerably dissension in the ranks on this topic, but pragmatism, in the form of less suffering for fewer animals, won out. (NY Times)

Creepy

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:13:53 GMT

Coincidentally, my web clips in GMail just had a link moments ago to this article: April 18, 1906: Mother Nature 1, San Francisco 0

Confirmed

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:06:55 GMT

It was an earthquake. We just caught the edge of it.

Did you feel that?

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:47:48 GMT

Either there was a massive explosion that I didn't hear, or we just had a small earthquake. Since it was a lot like what I recall of the tremor Karen and I felt when we were at Purdue, I'm guessing the latter.

Indiana Governor Candidates

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:47:29 GMT

I hear lots of people talking about the presidential candidates, but this year the office of governor for Indiana is also up for election. The incumbent Republican is running for re-election, but I haven't heard much about the remaining Democrat candidates: Jill Long Thompson and Jim Schellinger. Does anyone know anything about them?

(I may regret asking this...)

Sundial

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:09:32 GMT

IRT
Originally uploaded by cklutzke

Every day on the way to and from work I pass the Indiana Repertory Theater's building. It's a lovely building with an interesting feature in the upper right corner: a sundial. I don't know when building was constructed, but I know it was before Daylight Saving Time went into effect.

So, what time does the sundial say say at 4:40pm as I'm walking to the bus? Have a closer look.

State of the Career(s)

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:33:58 GMT

Work is going well with my new employer, after nearly a year. The customer I'm working with has been good: the atmosphere is low-stress (if uncomfortably warm), my colleagues are pleasant, I can see a window from my desk, and my project should result in many people's work day being considerably less tedious. I'm paid enough to take good care of my family, and overtime isn't just discouraged, it's not allowed. My commute is a bit longer than it was, but most of it's on the bus, allowing me to read, catch up on homework, or even nap. Working downtown for the first time ever is still novel, and presents interesting things to do over lunch (though lately I mostly do homework). My employer occasionally buys me breakfast or lunch and does a good job of making me feel valuable. They're reimbursing me to learn about human-computer interaction design (HCIxD), and they have a team that does work in that area, which I may get to work with later on in my current project. They currently have business analysis and user experience as two distinct disciplines, and I'd really like to have a career that combines the two, but I believe something can be worked out.

Seven years ago I accepted a permanent position at a contract job. At the time it was the right thing to do: my colleagues and the work environment were incredible. But after a year and a half I lost most of the colleagues and was relocated out of the environment, and my job became less about design and development and more about emergency support calls at all hours. No wonder I wasn't happy there. I don't think I ever could have been, no matter how much better it could have become, simply because that employer forced me into a position I didn't choose to be in. I can't complain too much: they did provide me work at a time that other people in my field couldn't find any, and I still believe it's a good company with good people. But I couldn't forget what I'd lost, and it made me miserable. So I'm glad that's over.

I'm not making computer games, but I'm finally able to accept that the career that I wanted for twenty-five years would cost me too much. We'd have to move, and competition for sexy computer game development jobs would mean longer hours at a lower pay rate, on projects that others decided were profitable rather than those I personally found compelling. If I'd somehow got started on that career right out of college that might not be true--I'd have the seniority to have more influence over my projects and working conditions--but now it would be a big step backwards. I don't mean to say I won't be intensely interested in any game development opportunities that might somehow arise in my future, I'm just saying that for the first time I think I'm okay if that never happens. I'm finding HCIxD compelling in much the same way I once found computer games to be (indeed, that was part of what I wanted to do in game design), and I think there's a rewarding future there for me.

A contributing factor is that I'm not even playing games that much anymore. It's common for a week to go by without me playing a computer or video game at all. I have interesting things to do in the real world, so games don't compel me as much as they did. I'm currently selecting components for a new computer and realized I didn't even need a powerhouse game-playing machine (though I am selecting components to ensure I can upgrade, should some compelling game come out soon).

I feel kind of free. I can work on my own game projects and don't have to worry about them being profitable (though I need to put more effort this year into minimizing my loss on the last one). I can learn about HCIxD and work toward becoming an expert at something I enjoy doing and pays well (and is even applicable to game design). And I can spend time with my family once this time-sucking class is over. Life is pretty good.

The Importance of Design at Microsoft

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:01:40 GMT

I was pretty excited when I found this Microsoft Design site. It looks like it has some interesting articles. But I refuse anymore to go check a web site for updates: I want an RSS feed. Hmmm, Microsoft's site about making things easy to use doesn't seem to have an RSS feed. Nor does it seem to have any contact information so I can ask them about it.

Oh, and the events they are promoting are from 2007. *sigh* Never mind.

Kosher Pork? Un-Kosher Fish?

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:13:26 GMT

In my recent post on vat-grown meat I totally missed the religious ramifications. I wonder how experts on kashrut would interpret Leviticus 11 for such things? Pork would probably still be out, since the source of the meat still doesn't chew a cud, but for that reason vat-grown beef could be unkosher too. Likewise, they may forbid vat-grown fish because, like shellfish, it has no scales or fins. Could a Hindu or Buddhist eat vat-grown meat without violating ahimsa? I wonder.

Googlegängers

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:26:15 GMT

Via the Reaction blog, I just found this New York Times article on "Googlegängers", people on the web who share your name. Interesting article, but given my rather distinctive name, it doesn't apply to me. A Google search on "Carl Klutzke" turns up 11 pages of stuff about me and nobody else. It makes me feel kind of proud, lonely, and overexposed all at the same time. It also makes me realize that nothing you ever say on the Internet ever goes away (and that, as a result, I doubt I could ever get hired by Microsoft).

And I have to wonder when, if ever, this post will appear in such a search. :)

Board Room Games closing?

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:55:37 GMT

Anyone else in the Indianapolis area heard about this (found on the IndyMavens forums)?

"For those of you in the Indianapolis area - The Boardroom in Broad Ripple will be closing on June 30th! According to the owner, he'll start putting the stock he has left on sale the first of June; what's left at the end will go back to the distributor. There's an impressive variety of RPG books there at present (including HEX books and GM screen), as well as a lot of the Osprey line (for those into models and miniatures) and a bunch of other games stuff."

It's What's for Dinner

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:38:17 GMT

Scientists are getting closer and closer to producing vat-grown meats that were never part of an actual animal. I think this is a great idea, but I really have to wonder what it will taste like. I also wonder what PETA thinks (I don't care: I'm just curious).

Tetraphobia and the Fire Horse

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:24:49 GMT

You may be aware of triskaidekaphobia, but did you know that in some oriental cultures there are many people with tetraphobia? In those languages, the words for "four" and "death" sound very similar, or identical, and so the number four is avoided in the same way people avoid the number 13 in western cultures. (Wikipedia)

I'd never heard of this until recently. It was described in a fascinating article about superstition and its economic impact in the most recent email newsletter from Etre.

The same article also talked about the oriental superstition that women born in the year of the fire horse (1906, 1966) are unlucky, which I'd also never heard of. Such children were considered so unlucky that the Japanese birth rate dipped significantly in 1966. There's a little more about that on this site, and proabably way more than you want to know in this PDF.

If this sort of stuff is interesting to you, let me know, and I'll forward you the email.

Bookmarks in your RSS Reader

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:37:42 GMT

I love RSS. It gives me one place to read all the things I want to read (except LJ: LJ's RSS feed sucks. *sigh*). I use Google Reader because that way it doesn't matter if I'm at work or at home or on a borrowed machine. The one thing I really want in my RSS reader though (besides LJ) is links to web sites that I found but didn't have time to read right away: bookmarks. That way I can read them when I have time, which--to me--is the fundamental value of an RSS reader. The trick was to find a mechanism to add web sites to an RSS feed as conveniently as possible.

And I found it: Del.icio.us. Del.icio.us provides an RSS feed of bookmarks for your account. It doesn't update very promptly, but that's fine: I didn't plan on reading this stuff until later anyway. And on computers I use regularly it's pretty easy to add a button to the browser that lets me save a website in two clicks. Woohoo!