Today, I had a two hour training presentation to give on the MSFT campus. It’s a beautiful day here in the Seattle area: blue sky, bright sun, a bit breezy. So, I wore my new green short sleeved blouse that I bought this winter dreaming of the day I could wear a nice blouse instead of a double layered sweater. Today was the day, the first of the season of bare arms.
I pull into the MS parking lot and I see my client pull in at the same time as me. We both get out of our cars and say our greetings. As we’re walking towards the building we need to be at, we were both surprised to see a gal wearing a surgical type mask. You know, one of those that you wear if you are afraid of catching airborne diseases. Or perhaps you’ve been on a first class train in Peru travelling from Puno to Cusco, where I once saw a family wearing their masks and scoffed at their germophobia…only to wake up to cha-cha-cha the very same evening. Anyway, we’re walking along and chatting about how our first thought was that she has the swine flu and at that very instant….a bird defecated on me! A full on splat. All over my nice new blouse, bare arm, pants and brand new purse. Just before a big meeting where I was the presenter!!
I cleaned up and the training went fine, but today, I’m grateful that: A) nothing landed in my hair and B) I didn’t have my mouth open.
Moral of the story…do NOT scoff at people wearing surgical masks!!! The karma bank will issue a deduction.
I use Visio all the time and even started my own module type library. But, I learned about the Balsamiq mock-up tool today and that does it, I'm converting. Right now.
What do I like so much about this tool?
- Pre made modules for Software mock-ups. Easily resize and move around
- Drag and drop - easy schmeezy
- Alignment controls. These are hidden in Visio, you have to know about them and then find which toolbar they live in.
- Module specific controls. For example, the vertical tabs module has some configuration options specific to vertical tabs:
- Full Screen view - it comes with a nice little pointer
Initial questions, though:
- Can I create or download new modules? What if there is a new module that isn't in the Balsamiq library?
- What if I don't like the cartoonish looking feel of the modules? Can I modify the style at all? Not sure I I really really want to, though, they do give a fun feel to the mock-ups.
- Can I change the background in my work area? You can remove the notebook, but I'd rather have a white background than parchment yellow.
Contact the company to get your own copy of this great tool:
Here in the Seattle area, we don't normally get much snow...a few times a year we get 2-3 days worth of the white stuff. This last week +, we've had our fair share and I have so say...I'm done. It's pretty, it's fun to make snow people (or a snow octopus, like my neighbors), but driving around and shoveling the driveway to rescue your stuck car just isn't what it's cracked up to be. Plus, our X-mas plans are pretty well canceled...it's too difficult to navigate the icy roads with all the hills and back roads.
I have been taking some pictures, though, playing with my Canon G9, so that I don't lose my sanity in being cooped up in the house.
We've had a good 6-10 inches of snow since these were taken last week. These pictures look so...dainty, now.
Here's a magnolia bud with a snow hat:
Red thorny bush with berries:
Yes, apples..okay?
Snow on the grape vine:
Bird feeder with a snowy roof:
I'm kinda in love with blue sky, probably because we don't see it much in Seattle:
Ms raspberry bush has a friend. . .
Needle in a haystack:
Hello, grandmother moon:
I've been teaching classes at the Northshore Senior Center for the last year and what a joy. It's so fulfilling to witness folks feel empowered by knowledge.
Craigslist is the class that has generated the most interest and is always packed. The first quarter I taught this, we practiced searching (shopping) and then creating an ad. But I learned that there were a couple of things that the students stumbled on: transferring photos from the digital camera and confirming the ad in email. So, this quarter, I added another day to the class, which went really well. First we practiced creating a fake text only ad, checking the email from Craigslist and then how to publish it. Then, we practiced how to plug in the digital camera, find it within Windows Explorer and then move the images to the computer. This was more challenging because not everyone brought their cables and they had a hard time with the concept of Windows Explorer. But the main lesson here was to create folders, remember where they are at and to be able to upload the images to Craigslist. I'm thrilled with how well everyone did.
Working with people unfamiliar with computers is humbling for someone who works in the technology field. I'm always surprised by the number of folks who don't know how to open up their browser, or scroll a window, or pick up their mouse and move it after they run out of room on the desk. And Captcha...that's hard stuff to read!!! Especially for folks that have little patience. Actually, I think that been my biggest usability lesson...there is no patience for things that they don't understand why they are happening. While not everyone builds software products whose target user base are seniors, it makes the case for careful expectation management throughout the app/site and how important the proper flow is. UX professionals look through such a compassionate lens and I'm always grateful when they are part of my software team, especially when the entire team makes it a priority too.
Imagine my surprise as I returned home to a jungle themed bon voyage party the weekend before my Peru adventure:
With masks...
A monkey mother...
The monster mash?
A cake...
And...a house decorated with monkeys and snakes. . .
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