Thursday, April 18, 2013
April photo Day 17: Busy
This week I've been busy getting ready to go away. One of those prep tasks is laundry. "Busy" doesn't have to mean "exciting."
April photo Day 15: Alone
Alone stumped me for a few days, but I snapped a pic of Sapphire tonight hanging out by herself.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
April photo Day 14: Water
When we went to Boiestown last weekend, we traveled alongside the Nashwaak River. The river had deposited its ice on the shores.
April photo Day 13: View from your bed
Our bedroom is located in the front of our house, which I dislike since it doesn't offer privacy. The blinds are closed 99% of the time; I'd prefer they be open more often than not. When I wake, I usually look to the gap in the blinds to tell me what kind of weather is happening. There is no blue in that smidgen of sky.
April photo Day 11: Detail
SJ is an old city, so many uptown buildings have a lot of detail that just aren't done anymore. I caught this detail above a window on Carleton St.
April photo Day 10: A place
On my way back from an errand at lunch, I stopped at Fort Howe, which is near my office. It gives a great view of the city. Winter is hanging on for dear life, so nothing has turned green yet. The brown, dead grass, dark skies, and wind made for a somewhat depressing stop.
April photo Day 9: Tiny
I have a tiny chair that sits on the windowsill of my kitchen. It is actually a place card holder that was a wedding favor from a friend's wedding.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Manual interpretation
Someone complained to me yesterday about users’ inability to read a manual and understand how to operate a new website. This same person barely skimmed the manuals provided to them on a different topic and required hand-holding through the process. This is a constant issue for me; having to hand-hold users through a process that I’ve already provided a step-by-step manual for. I am debating whether to ever write a manual again, given that it seems to be a waste of my time. I’ve written manuals with and without the help of a technical writer, but neither makes a difference.
I’m struggling to understand what the real problem is. I know that learning styles are different, and that not everyone can learn and understand from text, but that’s why I include pictures. Do I need to make YouTube videos for all new procedures? Have we regressed to the point where everything must be a video clip that will hold someone’s attention?
When faced with an unfamiliar process, I sit down and read the manual slowly. I try to eliminate distractions, physically turn away from my computer, highlight relevant sections, and make notes. With a conscious effort, I can learn what the text is presenting to me, even if it is a dry topic. Why am I different than most everyone else I deal with regularly? Am I really the only person around who learns through reading? Some days it certainly feels like it.
One reason could be a true literacy issue. They simply don’t know how to read multiple types of documents. A comic book or fiction novel isn’t intimidating, but this manual on a new website looks complicated and I don’t know what to do. That’s why I usually include screen shots, so there is a combination of visual aids and text. I’m often asked to provide a “one-pager” on how to do something, but we now have so many one-pagers that I don’t know how anyone could keep them all straight.
Maybe they’re just simply lazy. Since they don’t have time to go through a 20 page manual in detail, it will be faster to just call and have someone do it for them. After the 5th person who calls me, I can attest to the fact that it may be faster for you, but it is not faster *for me*. I’ve now wasted at least 30 minutes on the phone in addition to the hours I’ve spent plugging away at writing what I think is a good manual for my audience.
At what point do I refuse to hand-hold anymore? I have a job to do, too. The next person who asks me to walk them through a process because they don’t have time to read the manual may get a big earful. Or I may walk them down to a meeting room with the document, shut the door, and tell them not to come out until they understand it.
Tuesday, April 09, 2013
April photo Day 8: On your plate
As a literal representation, I had banana bread on my plate from a loaf I baked yesterday.
Sunday, April 07, 2013
April photo Day 7: Dreamy
The old standby is to count sheep when you need to get to sleep. This one will stare you down until you're asleep.
April photo Day 6: Air
Air is hard to represent, but John gave me the idea of a balloon. These balloons were part of my great aunt's 90th birthday.
April photo Day 5: Something good
Book club was held at a Thai restaurant on Friday night, so we all had something good to eat. Mine was cashew chicken.
April photo Day 4: This happened today
Thursday was my first visit to a new hairdresser in 14 years. It went well, thankfully. Still hoping my old hairdresser will decide to move back to SJ.
April photo Day 1: Play
"Play" has been holding me up all week. I don't play video games, nor instruments, so I was stuck. I intended to take a pic of a playground, but didn't succeed when there weren't kids around (not wanting to creep parents out by a stranger taking a pic of their kid). So Romy gets to be the star of the blog again today, as this shows him playing with his trackball game. Sometimes I do play it with him.
Monday, April 01, 2013
March photo Day 31: Stuff
The "stuff" required to make popcorn in my kettle machine. I'm still experimenting with brands, but I'll never go back to microwave.
March photo Day 30: Relax
Saturday we drove to Calais and did not have a relaxing day. In fact, we got searched at the border complete with the drug-sniffing dog. Not sure if something about us was flagged or if we were the random search for the day. In any case, I don't have a good photo of *me* relaxing, so here's one of Romy getting the job done.
March photo Day 29: Goodnight
Tonight was my Jesus Christ Superstar viewing party. Roughly 8-10 people were going to come over, so I made cupcakes. 7 people canceled or didn't show, and two had to leave early, so it was a much smaller night than I anticipated. I had made a dozen Easter cupcakes for the occasion.
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