All I'm saying is, you finally got the shortest, easiest-to-remember URL -- estrip.org -- so why clutter it with punctuation when you spread the (e:news,835) ? There's no need to google it if you can remember it, and you still have to remember it to google it. And it's harder to remember a string of characters with random punctuation that may or may not be part of the URL. I'm only talking about references to the URL in print when you're trying to sign-up new users who have never heard of estrip and don't even know if it's worth two or three tries to find it. Once they're on the site, they'll "get" the colon. I'm just worried they won't get there if you give them an invalid URL. I think it's a big leap of faith to expect someone to see (e:) strip.org and know it means estrip.org. But maybe the residents of Buffalo are more computer savvy than I realize, haha. You all already know it, so it's obvious to you. I'm speaking for the masses of potential peeps to be.

Visualize someone who has never heard of estrip -- a friend, a coworker, a drunk person in a bar -- seeing each of the variations on a bumper sticker or t-shirt. Ideally it starts up a conversation about estrip and you can tell them about it (I think all the design variations do that). BUT, the most important thing you want them to walk away with is, how to get to the site. You're telling them estrip.org, but meanwhile they're looking at the design and asking is that with the colon? what about the parentheses? can I go right to it or do I have to google it? So if I google it I use the colon but if I go right to it I just use (e:strip).org? But without the colon? All the while they have a visual reinforcement that, in my opinion, might look cool but is cryptic. By the time this conversation is over, they may have heard a bunch of different ways to get to the site and a bunch of ways NOT to get to the site, and they've been looking at something that they have to remember is not exactly what to type in when they get to a computer. That's not the kind of visual reinforcement you want.

Now think of all the other people who see the bumper sticker or t-shirt in passing and don't get to ask you about it. If you didn't already know about estrip and you saw any of those variations, what is the first thing you would try when you got in front of a computer? Would you hesitate before typing in "(e:strip)" or look at it like that can't be right? Once you try it and get the "Firefox doesn't know how to open this address, because the protocol (e) isn't associated with any program" error, maybe you think you need some special software to view the site. Or the next thing I might try would probably be "strip.org" -- and you know I'll get a hit there, lol.

Once a user has signed up, and "knows" estrip, it's a whole different story. Then you can embellish all you want. It's also a different story if you're designing for the web and you can link your graphic to whatever you're talking about. (Speaking of which, whatever happened to ecards?) But getting someone to go somewhere for the first time on their own is more of a challenge. If that's the goal, I would put usability ahead of design. Otherwise they'll never get to the site to enjoy the colon in all it's (e:) glory. And I'm ONLY talking about references to the URL, not the (e:strip) logo itself. In other words, (e:strip) is always (e:strip), but when you're referring to the URL in print with the intention of signing up new users, I would suggest using estrip.org then. It's not my fault the http protocol reserves the colon, haha.

With that in mind, I would be inclined to just have estrip.org in the street sign box. There are fewer ways to get off track that way. See estrip.org, hear estrip.org, google estrip.org, love estrip.org -- it's all good. That way, all they have to remember is the "e" and the "org" -- everybody is going to remember "strip," haha.

That's just my opinion. Although now that I'm making $70/hour, apparently nobody cares about my opinion as long as I can print web pages, so don't go by me. Which reminds me, time to hit the donate button.

p.s. - hey, this would have been a great topic for the discuss thing. Is that still around? Oh well -- I probably should have stayed out it entirely since I'm not even from around your parts. But I can't help giving my opinion sometimes.

Whoa, I can so identify with that right now, (e:Hodown,232). I swear2god I am working in a Dilbert cartoon. Thank god for my cohort Steve. Which reminds me, I think I know what the next niche market to exploit is: insider code phrases for surviving in the corporate world. Steve and I came up with a few today, and I really think it's going to make life bearable in the days to come. Basically, it's corporate-sounding terminology that we have secret meanings for. So far we've got:

Term: "Sanity-check"
Usage: "We better have a meeting to sanity-check our proposed approach to this portion of the project."
Real Meaning: "This freakin' project is driving me insane! We better get behind closed-doors to bitch about it before I go ballistic."

Term: "Full Debriefing"
Usage: "We're long overdue for a full debriefing. We'd better reserve the private conference room so we can bring each other up to speed."
Real Meaning: Ok, I know what you're thinking. "Full debriefing?" "Private conference room?" Let's just say if things keep going the way there going, we may have to escalate this particular terminology along those lines. But for now, all it means is, "I have some incredible gossip that requires complete privacy to impart in all it's sordid glory."

p.s. -- they are already talking about extending our contracts through June or possibly even July. I think the next term we're going to need is "offsite." I'm not sure if we can get away with it quite yet, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

If you're interested in my usersound, you'll have to listen to the latest coverville podcast for the backstory.

(Sorry (e:Leetee) and (e:Uncutsaniflush) -- it's not Jim Carroll. That was just a free association.)

So, the good news is, I have a new Steve in my life. And just in the nick of time! He's my compatriot at "work." So I finally have someone to roll my eyes at during meetings.

I really shouldn't go into it, but you know the emphasis is misplaced when you're told to "read the dress code" so you don't risk "getting a citation." That's all I'm going to say about it.

(somebody had to say it)

Faithful, sometimes fanatical Apple customers continue to push the boundaries of loyalty

A Silicon Valley fairy tale: Apple at 30 -- from upstart to Wall Street darling

The man behind the Mac

Apple has made a career out of thinking different -- and regularly charting new courses for the computer industry: Timeline

Ok, I am so over this working thing. It was fun for a few days, but being held hostage behind the Berlin Wall of firewalls 8 hours a day is getting on my nerves. Plus, I got a High Priority request from one of my Premium Support users yesterday, (ok, it was my sister calling to tell me I missed one of the kids in the upcoming birthday countdown on the family web site), so naturally I had to drop everything to fix that. Spent about 10 minutes trying to poke a hole/get around the firewall to no avail. So I got the password for the "open" computer where you can allegedly check webmail and other potentially subversive tasks under the watchful eyes of the admins. I was there for about five seconds when I was reminded to use it "judiciously" or the question "why does a contractor need to use it" might arise. Because you have me in a freakin' straitjacket, that's why! This would take less than 5 minutes and I would be happy to punch out for the 15 minute minimum time-tracking increment just so nobody thinks I'm pulling a fast one. I mean, come on!

Not that it would be anybody's business how I might use my two 10-minute breaks required by California law, but it would be just my luck the "question" would be asked right in the middle of adding all FIVE birthdays for May. (Does my whole freakin' family go fertile in September?) So I decided I would spend that 10-minute break sulking in my cubicle instead. I know, I'm so mature.

And what important milestone on the critical path would I be impeding, you might ask? Printing out the company web site. That's what they have me doing this week. Oh yes, they got me my very own printer to accomplish this important task, and you can imagine my excitement when the project was escalated from "stapled sections" to "3-ring binder with dividers" at the weekly status meeting. If I had an ego, this would be demoralizing. But if they want to pay me an unseemly amount of money to print out their web site, I have no problem with that.

I wish I could tell you some of the Dilbert-esque stories about this place, but this one photo kind of captures it all for me. The employee handbook explicitly states you can only use the provided paper cups for hot beverages. No personal mugs or travel containers allowed. And you must have the company-issued lid tightly adhered in transit. But under no circumstances should you transport a hot beverage -- lidded or not -- between floors.



I don't think I've used one of these since kindergarten (before the invention of the juice box). I didn't even know they came with lids. It would take approximately 28 of these to make one Starbucks "venti" or whatever the hell they call a large.

Speaking of work, good luck with the job application (e:Leetee,153)! Oh, and for the citizenship question you might want to make a notation that you've got your Permanent Resident (green) card. In other words, have a comeback ready for any potential strike against you. (I don't mean to say that would be a strike against you, but you seemed to be concerned about it. And I'm big on notations, haha.)

Ok, that's all for now, except a few random pix off the cell phone.


Farmers' market at City Hall. No sign of protesters last Sunday.


I just thought this was funny. SF is such a live and let live town.