December 2007
186 posts
Man. Everything’s closing early today.
Possible server issues … →
We’re going to be doing some work on the server, and there’s a decent chance that the PearBudget blog (and, in fact, the PearBudget site) might be inaccessible over the next 24 hours or so. We’ll try to keep it as quick and clean as we can, but we just wanted to let you know.
If you do the Twitter thing, we’ve just started a PearBudget Twitter channel for downtime notices like this. We’ll try to...
S’amazing how much more focused I am when I have caffeine.
Giddy and panicking.
“Why take the time to make a rational sales pitch if you’ve got something...”
– Rob Walker
Head cold. Ugh.
Using prototype.js v1.5.0 →
Incredibly thorough list of Element.Methods and other resources in Prototype.
Celebrating a little javascript victory. A *very* little victory. But it’s mine.
Enjoying NPR’s Live in Concert recordings. Right now: Andrew Bird (http://tinyurl.com/2c9ckm)
Writing an e-mail to someone I “know” at Apple, about a killer feature idea for the iPhone. Wondering if he’ll do anything with it.
Wine and chocolate-covered pretzels at 10:00pm means that my eyes pop open at 3:20am. Apparently.
Tony has a nice piece up, How to communicate with me effectively. Some choice bits:
This is an open letter to people I work with who call me on the telephone. You know who you are. Our office has an excellent voice communications system. It was engineered by Cisco, a fine company, and it is world-class in every way. The equipment is easy to use and it integrates well with our mail system and user...
Changing venues. I’m thinking … Barnes & Nobel?
Lame design decision: http://highrisehq.com doesn’t have a convenient “Log In” link. I have no idea how to get to my log in quickly. Dumb.
Just went through PearBudget criticals with Sarah. Now trying to push through the list, at Cosi.
My poor prioritization skills are really getting hammered home. Monotask, where are you?
Keep it simple, stupid →
One of Smashing Magazine’s posts with design inspiration. This one features very simple layouts.
Seth's Blog: Exclusion →
“Limiting the supply of your service, or the quantity of your product, or being aggressive in who you sell to (and who you don’t) are all time-tested ways to build a killer brand. Humans like being insiders, and will work hard to create their own imaginary demarcations to demonstrate that they’ve made it inside.
Populism is almost always a hard sell, it seems.
When...
Random Thoughts while Watching TV →
(Update: Justin was watching TV. I wish I had time for that right now.)
Justin Thorp has a post up, and I’m seeing how effective posting a link is, instead of posting a comment. So read this as if it were a comment on his post.
I’m having a hard time evangelizing Twitter to some of my friends. They just don’t see why it’s important. How do you show them that its beneficial to have that...
Merry Christmas, all.
Heading north on 95. Should be there in an hour.
Finished opening presents with my family. For once, we’re early. Now to get the sleigh all packed up.
Going to bed, after some *stellar* user testing. Wow. Lots to think about.
Working up a PearBudget-things-that-need-doin’ list with Sarah.
Looking forward to input from @armisteadbooker.
Writing copy. Wishing I could say it’s brilliant. Trying to not be a perfectionist.
Setting up Google Analytics stuff.
Just got a link from Posh CSS. Rock. It crashed my tumblr account. Crap. Just set up the archive’s 404 to display the article. Meh.
“When you want more, it’s because you want to enjoy it.
When you want...”
– John Maeda
“Text is the most efficient and least disruptive means for us humans to handle...”
– Words Words Words (Erika Hall)
“There’s being right and then there’s being awesome. Design to the spirit of the...”
– 24 ways: A Gift Idea For Your Users: Respect, Yo
It’s a shame that the whole “dropped-vowel” thing is so passé. Simplr is a really cute name.
Front page tweaks are like a death of a thousand cuts.
Anybody who wants to do live user testing on PearBudget, shoot me an e-mail. Arlington, VA: 12/23; Main Line Philadephia: 12/26-27.
PearBudget Live User Testing (Arlington, VA and... →
We’re getting closer and closer to launching the new PearBudget. We’re in some private beta testing right now, and our hope is to launch it January 1st, for the new year. We might hit some snags between now and then, so please go easy on us if we’re a few days into January when we launch.
I wanted to let you know, though, that Sarah and I will be having more face-to-face meetups with PearBudget...
Second page: Oh. That’s not good.
First page: CLEAR!
Just downloaded Safari for Windows to run some cross-browser testing. Worried about what I might find. ***Here be DRAGONS.***
At the Arlington County Central Public Library, working. Happy they allow coffee in the building.
It’s amazing what a little caffeine and positive user feedback will do for you.
The Anatomy of Web Fonts →
A useful primer on web fonts and typography.
font-size-adjust in Firefox 3 →
Exciting!
Wexelblat Disaster →
“A disaster caused when a natural disaster triggers a secondary, and more damaging, failure of human technology.”
Let's Talk About x, Baby
Get ready for some type-nerd-ery.
People in my shoes have a bit of a problem, and it all comes down to x. Actually, it comes down to the x-height — the height of a given typeface, from the baseline to the top of the lower-case letters (specifically, the top of the ‘x’). For example, here are a few different faces:
Times New Romanx
Georgiax
Verdanax
Calibri (if you have it on your...
