It didn’t take long for me to find a solid set of tutorials to take on the task; there are tons available. Javascript, HTML… you name the language, there is a generous organization ready to teach it to you, for cheap or even free. I’m looking to start here. Jeffrey of Tuts+ has posted a series videos that walk the user through the very first steps of creating a new website, through tasks of slicing your own PSDs, etc. I’m on Day 7, and so far so good.

Equate a UI to a freshly baked Apple Pie. It is built from a recipe of flour, apples, brown sugar, vanilla and a little bit of love. Think of these ingredients as an example set of some of the integral building blocks that make up a UI: design, content, and the programming language.

The UI is the warm Apple Pie. The UX is your taking in the aroma coming out of the oven as it bakes, the sticky fingers, the sweet and tangy flavors in your mouth as you eat it. UX is the package of all of those interactions and responses.

And for kicks, a poor UX would be the alternative result if you burned that pie…  Or delivered that website with typos and broken code.

As a part of an ever-changing industry we need to be careful to use practice terms appropriately in context to minimize confusion. So often, acronyms are misused, interchanged and abused until their very root definition becomes diluted, especially for concepts as broad as User Experience. Try taking the “User” out of it, remembering it is the “Experience”, then simply placing it back in.

What am I doing with my time? I’m wasting it.

I’m sitting still. I have no intention to join the masses in the shopping frenzy. I’m pausing. I’m giving my brain a break. This is all fine. Most call it “down time”.

Why in the world do I feel guilty?

Alternatives

Blog

Drama aside, I had a mini chunk of change stashed away in a cabinet waiting for a new home, my HTC Aria was ready to be sold. I did what any self-professing geek would do and googled the hell out of the thing… then called in my hubby. Veggieboy, the eBay Whisperer.

“What do you want to get out of it?” He asks.

“It’s worth nothing to me stashed in a cabinet, so I’ll check the ‘Completed Listings’ and see what it’s going for.” (The Completed Listings on eBay are the items that were actually sold by way of a completed auction. Not all items listed are guaranteed to sell, based on any number of reasons; priced too high, not enough market interest, among other things.)

So it appears there is a pretty healthy interest in the phone still, many months after its release. There were lots of options, at a range of opening bids and Buy It Now prices. Well, I decided the best way to get any attention is to offer up some free shipping. Everybody loves frees shipping. I sure do. I priced it right at average and made the decision to eat the five bucks to send it Priority.

Veggieboy walks me through the best options for shipping/handling based on my circumstances, and after working through the product description and copious forms, the phone is posted! Woo-hoo!

As I pick up the phone to jokingly check on the progress, “Is it sold? Is it sold??”

Veggieboy lovingly reminds me, “Now, sometimes it takes a while for listings to show in search results. Got to give the engine a chance to work in the new info.”

My eyes went wide as I peeked a Paypal payment confirmation, resting silently atop my inbox. The phone sold before I even had the opportunity to close out my browser window.

“Boom-baby! eBay rocks.”

Yes, this was my first experience selling… I should go ahead and quit while I’m ahead.

“Dew point bleow 15 – very dry. Use as much moisture and emollients as you hair can handle without overconditioning. Many will have to expect a looser curl pattern at this point. For those who like to occasionally straighten their hair, this is a good time for it since you may have less curl to fight.

Dew point 15-30 – Dry, add moisture and emollients. Limit or cut out humectants.

Between 30-40 can be iffy. Some people can tolerate more humectants. Other cannot. Very trial and error in this range.

Between 40-60. Prime curly range. You should get some curl without that summer frizz. Find a balance between moisture and humectants that works for you.

Dew point 60 and up, you’ll need less moisture (usually) and more humectants to help keep the environmental moisture out of your hair, causing that summer frizz. Even those who like moisture will not need as much of the heavy stuff as they did in the winter. This is the time for your hard hold gels. Once the dew point gets past 70, it’s pretty miserable anyway, so you may just feel better putting you hair into an updo. ”

http://pittsburghcurly.wordpress.com/dew-points/

It’s so easy to gloss over all of the clever Photoshop palettes that we don’t utilize everyday. Designers have their standard toolboxes and methods to get the job done. This fact isn’t lost on me, as I gloss over a good 80% of PS’ potential. Today, I came across a palette called “masks”. Yeah, nothing fancy; who knows how many versions this thing has been present…? Even at a glance – grayed out options and all – I can tell this magical little container holds some pretty useful features.

Let the playtime begin.

Truth is, I’m running behind. I’m feeling the appreciation for my family and friends, thankful for my stability and health, and grateful to be sheltered from the weather outside. I’m internally celebrating thanksgiving and eating enough food to feed a horse, to boot. Maybe sometime toward the end of January, I’ll be ready to hang the stockings.

Tomorrow is my appointment with the oral surgeon, yes. It is high time to get these wisdom teeth removed. All four came in – two with mild irritation over time and the others perfectly fine. All four will be coming out, two by being partially impacted and the others guilty by association. This week has been a cluster of mixed feelings regarding the procedure. They’ve mostly consisted of worries for the unknown regarding the overall experience.

I will be fine. I will be fine. I will be fine.

I am fully aware that I will be in more than capable hands, as this surgeon is one of the top-rated in the city. But of course, this does nothing to satiate my I-want-it-to-be-next-week whining. Why? Because it is a situation that is happening TO me and I have absolutely no control; I’ve only the understanding that I’ve made the best decision for my future health. Why else? Well, I’m going to be without baked goods for a good part of a month.

Knowing that my menu over the next several weeks is going to be that of a somewhat softie variety, I’ve taken today to fill my plates with protein and lots of filling, healing foods. This evening included a trip to the farmers market where I piled on the broccoli, turkey, and other yummies.

I’ll miss you solid food… at least until next time.