Betterness by Kawika Holbrook

Less Is Better

I wrote three paragraphs on keeping design as simple as possible before realizing that it was three paragraphs too long. Instead, here are four tenents from M.I.T. professor John Maeda:

• Heed cultural patterns. The iPod, for instance, succeeded not just because of its sleek form, but because, in conjunction with iTunes, it solved so many of the problems of buying and storing music.
• Be transparent. People like to have a mental model of how things work.
• Edit. Simplicity hinges as much on cutting nonessential features as on adding helpful ones, the Newton MessagePad and the Palm Pilot being prime examples.
• Prototype. Push beyond proof-of-technology demos and build prototypes that people can interact with.

(via Signal vs. Noise)

The Maids

I don't know where to stand as The Maids have at our apartment. They're terrorizing the dust and scum while I sit on the couch feeling very out of place. Jenny turns 30 this weekend, she has a new job to learn, and the wedding doesn't plan itself. She found them. She's paying. Why not just sit back and enjoy? Enjoy, dammit.

My Dreamliner

Boeing is betting the company on a futuristic looker that promises to fly higher, faster, farther, cleaner, quieter and cheaper than anything rival Airbus has planned. But that may not be enough to make the 7E7 Dreamliner succeed. What will? This is what I've been thinking about rather than my job interview tomorrow. Boeing needs a new kind of airline. Airbus is building bigger plans. Boeing needs a Pacific Rim Southwest Airlines or an Atlantic Rim jetBlue. A smaller company, dedicated to (a) employees, (b) customers, (c) efficiency, and (d) stylish fun flying passengers to and from international hotspots. I want to buy what little is left of Pan American Airways -- the company my mom worked for and loved until it laid her off half a month before her pension started -- and turn in into a first class act. I'll need about half a billion dollars in seed money. Interested parties may send checks or money orders to my home.

Distractions

I've been using the newly redesigned Blogger to waste time on Typefighting, a weblog to distract me from Betterness. I don't need distractions, I need clarity. However, I like Blogger's commitment to Macs and the keyboard shortcuts for creating hyperlinks. There. I've posted something tonight so I don't feel guilty about not writing. Which I think about all the time. Writing. Or my lack thereof, that is. Babbling. Goodnight.

Quicksandman

I am going for a run. Then I am going to do some work around the house. Later, I might call a few friends or relatives to let them know I care. Exercise, chores, calling -- sorry to say, but this will be a major achievement for me this week. I spend the past 48 hours reading hundreds of news stories. I don't think I'm any better off for the effort. More informed, perhaps, but nothing has changed. I've thought about blogging for weeks. Nothing has come of it. I've thought about working on sites for relatives. Nothing. I've thought and I've thought and I've thought. And so little comes to fruition. I made a list of chores the other day, and promptly returned to bed for a few extra hours of unneeded sleep. Ugh. I'm out the door right now. I don't know what to make of my procrastination, other than the "Quicksandman" has me again. Struggle too hard and he pulls me down.