Welcome to my Blog.
(Thanks, Alexa, for the data.)

For about a month, I’ve been working with a team of folks on a super sekrit project. Tonight, we are having a coming out party on Strange Love Live. Tune in at 10:00pm PDT to find out more…

Keep an eye out for the Sunday edition of The Oregonian! Unless something crazy happens in the business world today, the front page of the Business section should feature a story about my and Jed’s soon-to-be-new abode, CyanPDX. We were interviewed for the story, so you know the article will be SO compelling. No photos of us though, which is good because I’m badly in need of root touch-up.

I won’t take up a whole lot of space with details about the building itself, the state of Portland’s housing market, or the importance of walking the eco-friendly talk. Laura Oppenheimer will do a better job of that in her article. BUT! I’ll show you what I’ve been up to in my free time since putting down a deposit on our new abode:

I used a downloaded PDF and GIMP to play with the new apartment’s floor plan. It was fun, but it wasn’t as easy as it could of been had I used Skitch. Sure, GIMP is a fantastic open source photo editing software, but what I did above wasn’t exactly heavyweight stuff. After you watch this video, you’ll see what I mean:

Sold? Maybe in the coming weeks we’ll have a Super Skitcher contest or something…

Accepting the fact that we are building an extension of our society on the World Wide Web, I think it’s important to remember that the same social rules should apply. When I meet you on the street, I don’t give you a fake name when I shake your hand. If I’m spoken to (and I actually hear what is said) I try to respond. I keep rude thoughts to myself. There aren’t any ready-to-share racy photos of me handy in my purse. And? I damn well don’t publicize my personal problems for all to read.

Here is what I’m getting at: It is HIGHLY inappropriate to blog, tweet, update your FaceBook status or Whatever with statements or woe-is-mes about troubles you are having with your loved ones.

When I have a disagreement with Jed, I don’t walk out my front door and shout “My husband made me CRY!” for all to hear.

Tacky. Not to mention damaging to the relationship.

So, dear internet friends, I apologize that you will not get to read any juicy family gossip on this here blog. That’s because my parents taught me to respect my loved ones’ privacy and to RESPECT MYSELF by keeping Certain matters private. Meaning, between me and that Certain person. I do so in “real life” and thus I do so on the internet.

A suggestion: Next time you type something in the box that gives you pause, before clicking “Publish” consider the good old-fashioned paper version. Diaries can be burned. Blogs are archived. If you say it on the internet, you CANNOT TAKE IT BACK. Humiliation and betrayal are very real, whether done over digital or analog channels.

I’m really enjoying working in an office setting. It’s been almost four years since Jed and I left Clemson University, which means it’s been four years since I’ve gotten to be a nerd for a living; since I’ve had a desk with dual monitors and a chair adjusted just so; since I could feel slightly under the weather and not have to call in sick because I can’t run or talk for eight straight hours; since I could wear whatever the hell I want (not a uniform) on the weekdays; since I didn’t look at the clock every hour and wish time would pass faster; since I felt like I wasn’t under constant scrutiny to sell, to be fast, to always be “on”. Oh, and since I could drink coffee and work at the same time.

Life is good.

People.

It’s not like I’ve given up blogging.

But.

Okami.

OKAMI!

I’d take the time to write about it, but that would be time spent NOT playing OKAMI for Wii.

Smoochies. See you when I’m either stumped or have beaten the game.

Don’t worry, it can’t be too long.

In the meantime, enjoy some Photos.

Happy Merry Ho Ho Auld Lang Solstice!

Update November 26th, 2008 at 10:10am PST: In case you haven’t heard, iwantsandy.com is going offline on December 8th, 2008. You can read more about why from Sandy’s creator here. There are hopes that Twitter will make good use of Sandy’s intellectual property, but that remains to be seen. In the meantime, please enjoy the following as not only a tribute to what Sandy was, but a call for someone to create a service that will fill the void iwantsandy.com will leave.

She’s a hub for your life. But she’s not a person, she’s a web application. So, she’s an “it”– a program. A great idea for people whose lives are so busy they need a little extra help keeping themselves on track. It’s Sandy. Here’s how it works:

Get an account. Open up the channels of communication (email, SMS, Twitter, Jott). Use those channels to tell Sandy to remember things for you, remind you of things, and keep a calendar of your to-dos. Sandy will then bounce that information back at you via your chosen channel(s); when you want and as often as you want. Basically, that’s what Sandy does. She/it is the virtual string tied around your finger.

Here is a generic example:

Me: Sandy, remind me to go to yoga at 2pm.
Sandy: Okay, I’ll remind you to go to yoga at 2pm.

Sandy (slightly before 2pm): Go to yoga at 2pm.
Me: *runs out the door to yoga*

Pretty nice!

You: But what if I don’t want to go to yoga, or yoga got canceled?
Me: In that case you can either tell Sandy to forget it or to snooze the reminder.

You: And what if I don’t want to constantly ask Sandy to remind me?
Me: The first time you ask, tell Sandy how often yoga happens and she’ll remember.

You get the point.

Generic user (maybe you): So, how do I talk to Sandy?

Sandy is very flexible in how she/it receives information. The designers of this service did a great job taking into account that their target user base–very busy people–may not have time to read a gigantic manual of Sandy commands. Sandy assures the user that she/it can interpret “a simple shorthand that feels natural to read and write”. Basically, that means Sandy can take it any way you want to give it.

Example:

“Remind” = “Remember” = “R”

What Sandy does with the command is based upon the qualifiers. “Remind at 3pm” means you’ll get a reminder just before 3pm. Same for “Remember at 3pm” or “R at 3pm”. However, if you just send “Remember that Nyco’s husband’s name is Jed” Sandy will hold that piece of information until you retrieve it on your own. In that capacity, she/it is like an extension of your long-term memory.

It is even possible to tell Sandy not to remind you of something, even if you say “Remind” in your message. That’s power user stuff, and I’m only including that tidbit to illustrate just how smart Sandy is.

Super cool, right?

Now that I’ve got you all excited, let me tell you my opinion on Sandy:

She’s a great idea for someone who is starting fresh; who isn’t fully reliant on a calendar already, who does the majority of their communicating on a single piece of technology (a smart phone, for example), and who doesn’t have a lot of ongoing projects to inform Sandy about upon registration.

Who is that someone? Not a geek.

I say that for three reasons:

1. Sandy sends communication on top of communication many of us already receive. For geeks, that’s one more email, text, or tweet among a roiling sea.
2. Sandy keeps a calendar for you, but cannot automatically integrate with the calendars you’ve already established. You can work around that, but you’re really busy, remember? (Fellow geek, Ted, pointed out to me that Sandy can talk to iCal via feed, but Sandy still cannot receive information directly from iCal. Thus, he is still integrated in the circle of communication between local and remote calendars.)
   
3. Sandy requires you to be fully reliant upon her/it in order to be effective. For geeks, that means prying yourself away from already established systems. If what you’ve got is already working for you, then there is no reason to switch. (Ted, who is experimenting with Sandy as his calendar manager, sent Sandy one email with 15 appointments listed in it in order to make his switch more efficient.)
   

Now, geeks can get creative and use Sandy in a limited capacity if they do not want to fully commit. Maybe Sandy can’t organize everything in a geek’s life, but she/it can handle single aspects or single projects. For instance, I might like to use Sandy to remind me to pay the bills that don’t auto-draft from my checking account. On my days off of work and away from my computer, Sandy can send a text message to my mobile phone reminding me to make sure that I take care of those “off-line” things. That’s just one example.

Ultimately, I think Sandy would be great for a busy mom or dad. Scratch that–Sandy would be a life saver for a busy mom or dad. Sandy would be helpful for a person whose life is coming at them so fast that they have a tough time sorting it all out. Or, for someone who gets so engrossed in something that they forget to feed the parking meter, step away from the computer monitor and stretch, or take daily medication.

She/it isn’t your mom, your secretary, or your best friend. But Sandy is a good minder for anyone, as long as you recognize up front the pros and cons of introducing she/it into your life.

Think Sandy may be just the thing for you? Not sure? Go to iwantsandy.com and find out for yourself.

The Think Geek catalog came in the mail the other day.

It only comes once a year.

You know what that means …!!!

That I’m going to review it, of course. Note: I do not want these things. This is not a Christmas list. Have you seen my apartment? It’s the size of your rich aunt’s master closet. Don’t give me toys, because I need room for useful things like a PlayStation 3 and cute shoes. But! Take what I have to say for what it’s worth and consider stuffing some lucky person’s stocking with these lay-up (as in “swishhhhhhh!”) gifts.

Nyco’s Think Geek Catalog Super Duper Awesome List:

Laser-guided Scissors – Finally.

Handpresso – I don’t know how well this works, but it looks cool!

Collapsible Chopsticks – So you don’t have to ask for ‘em anymore…

Ultra-thin Digital Voice Recorder – Genius on the go.

Pocket Microscope – For the exceptionally curious, or the exceptionally blind.

Animated Driving LED Emoticons – Advancing beyond the middle finger.

Tetris Puzzle Game Magnets – Yes!!!

Not a Paper Cup – Dude, so kitschy.

R2 Fish Training School Kit – For that person who thinks their fish is smart.

Deluxe Jedi Robe – Everyone knows someone who will love this.

R/C Animated Solar System Mobile – Because you wanted one when you were a kid.

Magnogrip – It’s like a tool belt for your wrist.

LED Umbrella – Meet people! Especially Blade Runner fans.

Okay, that’s it.

As other holiday special editions roll in, I’ll be sure to share the best bits. No, I’m not getting paid for this. If someone wanted to pay me for it I wouldn’t protest, though.

Happy holidays to all.