Category: General

Why can’t web designers and developers get together (and I think the 9rules network would be a perfect community to tackle this with the three amigos of Business Logs, Scrivs, Rundle, and Oliphant, spearheading the effort) to create a “Don’t Make Me Think” or XPLANE type of website geared for clients to help them understand the entire design process in extremely simple terms and why each aspect/role of the job (i.e. usability, information architecture, design, etc) is critical and important to the success of it. That way when someone wants to develop a web site, they can see what they should be doing and what information they should be collecting BEFORE they even approach a web company to do their site for them or even to gather a team to build something themselves. That way if a client approaches them without this knowledge, they can just point them to the site as an introduction to the design process (not to mention a great knowledge base to refer to if the client asks a question about something, such as “What’s wrong with having a flaming logo?”). I think if something like this was ever developed, it would be the keystone that would support the enter web development industry and make every developer’s job so much easier.

Fifteen years and I still love Sandra as much as the first day I set eyes on her. Actually it’s funny because the other day I was writing my post on Finding Meaningful Relationships with regards to structuring and organizing my thoughts on this site. Well after I finished the article, I sat down for dinner and looked over at her strangely. Although she noticed the strange look, she didn’t know what I was thinking at the time. While looking over at her I had realized, once again, how much meaning she was bringing in my own life and how lucky I was to be in a relationship with someone as wonderful, beautiful, and as caring as she was. Thanks hon!

I mentioned before that I wanted to start talking a little bit more about myself because by talking about my past I think you’ll understand where I’m trying to get to in the future with this site and some of my endeavors. However, I obviously want to avoid going into long winded stories that might bore you because I’m sure no one wants to hear about how I was raised by wolves in the remote northern tundra of Manitoba, Canada. Hehe, honest!

Actually it’s partially true because I was born in Manitoba and I do love animals and nature. I think it is because throughout most of my life I’ve always lived primarily in rural or natural settings. As I kid I used to walk my dog through the wheat fields north of Edmonton, Alberta, where my family owned an acreage overlooking a river valley. It was an incredible and memorable place to grow up as a kid. But even today, living in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, I still have the benefit of walking not even 15 minutes from my home in Kitsilano to get into the woods surrounding the University of British Columbia.

Now this leads to this site and where I’m at today. You see while I’m fascinated with the imaginative possibilities of technology and the Web, I can’t spend all of my waking time online, immersed in technology, talking about it constantly. Believe me back in the late 90’s I did a pretty good job of trying to do just that but I just can’t do it anymore. Why? Well, as I mentioned before, for some reason when I’m offline I feel as though I’m more connected to the world then when I’m online supposedly connected to millions of others on the Web. Yes, I’m connected to other people and to tons of information but something still feels like it is missing. What I’m not fully sure, yet somehow “feelings” have something to do with it. I realized this when I analyzed the question that I kept asking myself. “Why don’t I ‘feel’ connected when I’m online?”

You see when I’m online, it definitely can be an exciting experience especially with all of the newer technologies appearing on the horizon relating to Web 2.0. However, no matter how exciting these experiences are, I still don’t “feel alive” when I’m online. The only time I feel this way is when I’m disconnected from it. Kind of ironic in the sense that for me to truly connect to the world I would do so by disconnecting from millons of people online.

Anyways the whole point of this post is more of an affirmation for myself because not only is this site a place for me to voice my ideas and thoughts towards my goals but I want it to be a place that will continually remind me of the real world and what wonders lay within it. Yes, the Web is definitely a pretty amazing place to explore. However, just by stepping out the front door of your home, you’ll find the real world an even more amazing place to explore as well.

If you live around the Pacific Northwest, you might want to check this news article out about a slow seismic slip underway right now that is increasing the chances of a earthquake by 30 times. The odds, they say, are still quite remote but I guess it’s always better to be safe than sorry, so stocking up on some water and so forth might be a good idea (especially in light of the Hurricane Katrina disaster).

An important seismic event imperceptible to humans has begun in the Pacific Northwest as predicted, according to the government agency Geological Survey of Canada.

The chance of a major earthquake is 30 times higher now for a roughly two-week period, but the odds are still remote, scientists say.

“The probability of occurrence of a megathrust earthquake is about 30 times higher during this approximately two-week window, than during the rest of the 14.5 month cycle,” Cassidy told LiveScience. “Having said that, 30 times a small number is still a small number.”

Richard Koch has an interesting website that talks about using the 80/20 principle (or Pareto Principle) to live your life. Along these lines, how about the following?

• Don’t save time, savour it.
• Don’t have habits, have rituals.