MySpace: Where HTML Finds Its (Questionable) Roots

Back in the day, when the World Wide Web was young, and HTML was still new on the tongues and fingers of many a web developer, web pages sucked. They looked bad. Bad color combinations. Bad layout. Bad usability. Let's not even talk about accessibility. Back then, it was friggin' cool enough to see a web page render on your screen, click on something, see something else load, and all that with images and text and such. It sure beat terminal graphics on the Legend of Red Dragon door, courtesy of your local BBS! Who needed good looking pages when the thing did what it did, when it did?

Slowly but surely, people woke up to the fact that web pages needed to be more than dancing bears. And, patterns and practices emerged. Navigation across the top or left. Logos that link to the home page. Text that wraps around images in a column. Decent color combinations. Alt text and tab order. In short, people figured out how to make fairly decent looking, usable web sites.

And then came MySpace, and with it came tools to help you customize your MySpace profile. And now we're back to where we started.

Here's apparently how you make the most bestest MySpace profile ever:

1. First, make sure you have a busy, static background image with a color similar to your foreground text. Or, if you'd like, an animated background image will do the trick.
2. Next, fill your profile with lots and lots of animations. More, seriously. Keep adding them. There's no limit.
3. Now, make sure you have plenty of color variations in your text, to ensure people have maximum trouble reading the content that you spent so much time crafting in your profile.
4. To keep people interested, and to think that you're clever, make sure you post some of your latest quiz results for all to see.
5. Finally, if you're concerned that your content isn't up to snuff, just use a font that no one can read. It's OK - that background song will convey your message just fine.

"Aw, come on, George. People are just having fun customizing. It's their space on the 'Net, and they can do what they want, right?"

Hey, I'm all for personalization. But there's a line between personalizing your presence on the Web and making it look plain awful. I consider the Web a source of lots of information (some factual, some opinion, some personal, some funny, some crude). But if the medium with which this information is conveyed involves flashing marquee neon purple text on a dark purple background, songs like The Chicken Dance playing in an endless loop, and an animated cursor trail stating "BCHS 4EVER!!!@!", then count me out.

I wish MySpace would draw some sort of middle ground, with pre-built templates that are customizable to some extent, without letting people delve into the RGB mismatch, static background abyss that is bad Web design. Yes, personalization is cool, but please don't make me want to plug my ears and shield my eyes as a result.

The 5 Spot Visits Alabama

Attention, Southern transplants and South-o-philes: venerable Chow Foods' The 5 Spot has flipped its seasonal menu as of last Wednesday, and they're now onto none other than "Sweet Home Alabama".

We've only been twice (only?), once for dinner and once for brunch, and can say that they've hit the mark with their Alabama-inspired menu. The cornbread, crawfish, grits, and stuffed chicken are all excellent. The best part: 5 Spot has mixed in some fall tastes with their down-home cooking, which means we'll get to enjoy this comfort-food menu as the days grow shorter and the temperatures cooler. Oh well, at least we'll have some culinary consolation.

Yakima Valley Wine Country

Last weekend we took a trip out to Yakima Valley to check out some familiar wineries as well as experiment with a few new ones. The weather was nice and not too hot, and the wineries were hopping as a result.

Overall, Yakima Valley wineries are booming. Several that we visited a few years ago that seemed small and quaint at the time have now built new buildings, expanded their facilities, and "glitzed up" their appearance. Of course, you always had the glitzy ones, and you still have the mom & pop ones. But in general, the movement seems to be towards the bigger and better (and, I hate to say it, just a touch more Napa/Sonoma). Fortunately, most tastings are still free and most makers are not snooty when it comes to sharing their wine with you.

Here's a few highlights (and lowlights) of the weekend:

Hyatt Vineyards - Our perennial favorite didn't fail to please. Several great wines at very reasonable prices, with a pleasant area outside of the tasting room to picnic, relax, look at the vines, or stare up at the windmill that graces their wines' label. We stocked up on a few bottles of the Black Muscat while there, which is an easy-drinking semi-sweet red.

Kiona Vineyards - I claim this is one of the best wineries in the region. One gets a very mom & pop feel as one walks into the basement of a house, which is the tasting room + gift shop. Kiona produces well over a dozen wines, each of them ranging in quality from great to amazing. Their dessert wines are especially good, with honey-like, creamy qualities.

Agate Field Vineyard - A relative newcomer under this name, but an experienced grape-grower and vintner nonetheless. Owner Ben Rashford is focusing on producing small runs of really good wine. They have two for sale and for tasting, both red, and both smooth and rich.

Seth Ryan Winery - Wasn't very impressed with Ryan's wines. Ironically, the cheaper ones were better than the more expensive, with their most expensive 1999 Jessica Meritage being the weakest. Too tangy and imbalanced, I suspect the proportions of the 5 grapes used for the mixtures to be the culprit.

Paradisos del Sol - One of our old favorite wineries left us with a (metaphorical) bad taste in our mouths in our most recent visit. The wines haven't changed that much (decent to quite good), but the experience in the tasting room was less than stellar. We were helped by a young woman who seemed more interested to tour her knowledge and her "way of doing things" than help us taste the wines and answer our questions. No, you can't rinse your glass. No, you can't taste that dip since we've moved on to different wines. Oh, and let me talk bad about the large party that was in here before you all. Watch the customer service in your tasting room, Paul!

Terra Blanca - A decent winery that's gone off the glitz end. A very large new building, built in the rustic Mediterranean style, has taken over their property. This was one of the more "Napa"-esque wineries that we visited, and we lamented at the loss of their previously quaint feel (not two years ago we picnicked on their lawn - now one feels like they may ruin their manicured lawn if one sits on it). The wines were good, but a bit on the spendy side for the quality.

Horizon's Edge - Come on guys, why are you not willing to offer at least some of your wines for free tastings? Nearly all of your competition does. Oh well, no thanks, then.

Hey, I Know That Journalist!

I was reading up on some news over the weekend, when I ran across this article about the Ludwig von Mises Institute. I then look at the author's name. I do a double-take. "Kyle Wingfield," it reads. I quickly realize this is the same Kyle I went to school with back in Dalton. Hey, go figure!

What's funny is that I discovered this thanks to someone posting it on digg.com, and then several people having dugg it. Thanks, community news sites!

Dixie's BBQ Is More Show Than Substance

The Seattlest blog recently wrote up a favorable post on Dixie's BBQ. I don't think seattle_leora is very up on BBQ, as the review is written in a very wide-eyed, 1st-visit, "WOW!" sort of way. Sure, everyone's entitled to their opinions, but I don't think Dixie's is "divine", "fabulous", or "succulent". I'll use an interview with Dixie and Gene Porter to comment on a few points.

• Popularity: I think Dixie's is popular because they have a gimmic: a very hot sauce called "The Man". That, plus the fact they're close to places of work where people can steal away and get some lunch. That, plus the fact they like to heckle their customers and threaten them with the sauce (which admittedly is fun to watch newbies experience). "We've never advertised" isn't entirely true, either: Dixie's has plenty of bumper stickers and other articles with their logo, and their catering truck is branded as well.
• Other BBQ restaurants: "They don't know how to cook," you say? "Too tough." Excuse me? Dixie, the last few times I've been in your restaurant, your BBQ was too tough. The ribs were slathered in an over-cooked sauce, the meat was too fatty, and the chicken definitely was not tender and falling off the bone. Have you checked out places like Steel Pig or Bourbon & BBQ Grill? They top your food's quality, plain and simple.
• The Man: Gene claims that "heat" is the main ingredient. A friend mentioned that it's somewhat similar to one of Dave's Insanity sauces. It's indeed quite hot. And, the fact that Gene puts it on your food as a test of masculinity and resistance to heat is a bit of a tired custom, if you ask me.

And here's where I get to my main point: when people talk about Dixie's BBQ, more often than not they talk about The Man sauce, or how you'll get heckled in line if you don't know what you want, or how you'll get asked to put a pin on the map to show where you're from. Not that the food is great. It's about the show, the experience, and not about the food.

I'm a big fan of BBQ, and I'm happy Dixie's is open and does good business. After all, one more BBQ place open in a region that has little history in the cuisine isn't a bad thing. Their food isn't bad, but it's not all that great, either, especially when compared to other local options. You can keep The Man, Gene, and I'll pass on your BBQ, too.

Good Places To Be Right Now

I see about three:



I'm glad I'm in one of those right now.

Cupcake Royale Has Raspberry Cupcakes

Yes, for a limited time, the best cupcakes in town now come in raspberry. From a recent newsletter:

We're proud to introduce our latest specialty flavor, Raspberry. With real raspberry jam mixed into the delicious batter, it's a flavorful thing to start with. Once we get done topping it with our cream cheese frosting and add a delectable raspberry gummy topper, it's everything a cupcake should be. It's only around for a limited time, so come on in now!

Run, don't walk - they said limited time!

American Apparel Makes Most Boring Men's Clothes That I've Ever Seen

American Apparel stores have been popping up around Seattle. You know, those vertically-integrated L.A. manufacturers of clothing, made in the U.S.A. and and all? So I tried to give them a couple of honest chances. But after my second visit to the store this weekend, I'm convinced: their men's clothes just blow.

When you wade through the ads, the mission statements, and the half-naked women on their billboards, American Apparel's design tenets are simplicity, solid colors, and a bit of retro 80's thrown in to the mix. Their mannequins often feature tall socks with a solid stripe near the cuff, solid shorts, tanks, armbands, and other clothing befitting a young John McEnroe. Walk through their entire men's collection, however, and you see a lot of common things:

• Solid colors everywhere. Take a design, like a shirt, and make 30 solid versions of it, each with a different color.
• Thin, thin cotton. As in practically see-through T-shirts. Do we in the U.S.A. have inferior cotton or something?
  
• Uninventive patterns. The entire men's line that I perused contained nothing that caught my eye as interesting or different. Standard-issue-looking T-shirts, shorts, pullovers, sweats, and the like is all they have for guys.
  
• Price. For a friggin thin T-Shirt, solid color, no print, $20 is excessive.

I soon felt like I was in a life-size, overpriced Lego outfitter. Hey, here's a red solid T. Over here, a bright yellow coat. Wow, a neon green cap! Let's go a climb in that toy bulldozer and dig up some Lego dirt!

I feel bad calling American Apparel boring. Their whole "made in the USA" shtick seems genuine, and I don't want to slam those who aren't outsourcing their manufacturing to sweatshops. But, come on AA, can you get crackin' on some more interesting designs? Right now Target and K-Mart have you beat in that department, sad to say.

For Those Too Lazy To Fill Their Ice Cube Trays

Don't have time to fill your ice cube trays with water? Scared that your water contains a flurry of dangerous viruses? Well, just for you, there's Ice Rocks! From the Web site:

ICE ROCKS® are secured ice cubes made from spring water and ready to be frozen. These cubes, to be consumed within two (2) years, are hermetically packaged in disposable, recyclable containers, providing the user with a complete guarantee with regard to hygiene and safety, while respecting the environment. ICE ROCKS® uses a patented technology, providing a container of refreshing ice cubes that are pure and hygienic.

I had to blink a few times to believe what I was reading:

• They're taking spring water
• They're putting it in trays
• They're sealing the trays
• They're selling them to people, so that those people can unseal them and put them in the freezer.

Pretty silly, right? I think the folks at Ice Rocks thought about that, so they put up some scare tactics on their Web site, claiming that water in some nations is contaminated with disease and such. OK, reality check:

• Nearly all of the water in the Western world is safe to drink, from the perspective of not containing disease like hepatitis, malaria, and cholera.
• If and when people travel to Third World nations, chances are places that have ice cubes are drawing the water from a purified source (say, bottled water). Think hotel and resort here.
• And, if you are in a Third World country and you're not sitting beside some pool inside some walled-up resort within reach of some bottled water for your ice cubes, what in the hell are you doing looking for some ice cubes for your Scotch?

I'm really hoping this is a joke. I'm waiting for the clown to jump out from behind the curtain and honk his horn and dance. I fear I'm wrong.

Pug Puppies Are The Cutest

And here is proof:

Project Runway Season 3

So the next season of Project Runway has begun.

Hold on, you're probably wondering why I'm blogging about a reality TV show, given I've waxed poetic in the past about how awful reality TV is. Well, in general, it still is. But every statement has an exception, right?

Project Runway is interesting to me for two reasons:

• It's about designing and making clothes, which is something I have absolutely no experience in and is something that I'm amazed that people can do. Under time pressures and with artificial constraints, even.
• It's got fun characters and drama to it. Yes, of course these are characters. The people behind them are real and have personalities, but like any reality TV show, the producers want to have characters and conflicts and such and guide the show, the people, and the editors to follow suit.

So, anyway, the next season of Project Runway has begun. What's different and new about this season? By the first show's accounts, not too much (at least not yet). I'm a bit sad there's no clear Santino Rice equivalent, which essentially means there's no crazy character whose designs are usually out on a limb and tick off most of the judges. On the plus side, there's a guy from Atlanta who most of us in the group that watch every Wednesday are rooting for (since, well...a lot of us are from Atlanta).

Seattle is apparently Project Runway's biggest market. We'll see how the third season holds our interest.

The Internet Is Made Of Tubes!

What I learned from Ted Stevens, Senator from Alaska, regarding the Internet:

1. It's made from a series of tubes.
2. You can send "an internet" to people.
3. It's not a truck.

In all seriousness, this goes to show you that explaining how technology works isn't always easy. Too bad this difficulty had to be seen in a public forum, and too bad Ted didn't do a little research on how the Internet actually works beforehand.

Chez Gaudy Is A Great Place To Have A Birthday

So yes, last Saturday was indeed my birthday (and no, you don't have to shower me with belated wishes). To celebrate the occasion, we decided to organize a group to go out and celebrate.

My first idea was to go to a Greek place. "Hey, I'm Greek," I thought, "so I should celebrate at a Greek restaurant." So we called Vios, but unfortunately they were booked up for a private party. Then, I started to think more open-mindedly. "What's a good place that has good food and drinks, and can hold a 12-top (and is in the neighborhood)? After a few more brainstorms we landed on Chez Gaudy. And, as you're about to see, we're really glad that we did.

We've been to Chez a couple of times, and liked our experience there each time we went. Chez is a relatively new offshoot of Bleu Bistro up on Broadway, with a bit more Italian bent to the food, and more of an antique-wood look to their interior (not to mention more space for more seating). Chez has a lot of similar drinks as Bleu Bistro does, and an atmosphere of quirky friendliness pervades both establishments.

So we made reservations for Saturday night at 7:00pm. Our guest list was varying in size a bit, but the folks at Chez were very forgiving. "Your table can seat about twelve, and it's fine if you have fewer than that."

We start trickling in at 7 and sitting at a large table right near the entrance. Once most of us have arrived, we start ordering drinks (Black Velvet, Gin Fizz, a bottle of Moltepulciano wine, and so on). Our waitress, Erika, was very attentive and casual at the same time. No worries of people arriving in waves and the like. She made good drink recommendations for those who hadn't been to Chez before, and most everyone was pleased with the results.

Soon after, we order a cheese plate appetizer. This thing was amazing; it housed about 6 different types of cheeses, and had some cheddar I've ever eaten (it was flavored with horseradish). Plus, the bread included several rounds of strawberry butter.

Then, it was on to the entrees. The popular choices included veggie meatballs and a cheesy baked ravioli plate. As you can imagine with my circle of friends, the vegetable meatballs were the humor highlight of the evening (in other words, insert ball joke here). A flamed cheese dish was also ordered, which included a lighting right at the table (and, when you light cheese on fire in front of a Greek, you're going to get an "Opa!" in return).

As we were rounding up our meals, someone said "Hey, George is Greek - you should bring him some ouzo!". Erika checked and they didn't have ouzo, but they brought me a birthday drink on the house, comprised of coffee, Frangelico, and some cinnamon. It was quite tasty! After that, the entire table got a round of birthday shots. The exact contents were a mystery, courtesy of the bartender, but chocolate and coffee tastes were paramount. My glass was larger and contain whipped cream above the drink, given I was the birthday boy and all.

Finally, as if that wasn't enough, the folks at Chez brought out an entire trifle for dessert, also flamed at the table. This was also on the house! Everyone got a healthy helping of the creamy, cakey trifle to round out the meal.

Overall we stayed at Chez for about three to four hours and had a terrific time. Plates were broken (by Erika, not us!), things were set on fire, lots of drinks and food were had, and a great dessert topped off the evening. Thanks to Erika and the whole staff at Chez Gaudy on Saturday night for a memorable night. You all went above and beyond to ensure we had a great time, and did so with flair and ease.

Technology

Here's a post that will link to posts I've written than have to do with technology. I'll link to it from the home page, and update it as I write more.

• Seattle Fire Department Ignores Web Accessibility
• How We Ship Office And Windows
• Always Documenting, Never Reading
• MySpace: Where HTML Finds Its (Questionable) Roots
• Bad Usability: Brookstone Bedroom Clock

Review: Evil Aliens (SIFF 2006)

Evil Aliens is gross. Not in a vomity sort of way. Rather, lots of fake-ish splattery gore that many "bad" horror movies include in their offering. If you're into the genre, though, the film won't disappoint.

Evil Aliens is a camp-horror-comedy where some Welsh farmers, a UFO geek, and a camera crew face of with a bunch of scary-looking and aggressive aliens. The aliens are set out to conquer and abuse, and the humans are out to defend themselves (sometimes with bats, sometimes with tractors). Honestly, that's really all you need to know to decide whether you want to see this movie or not. Like a Junior High dance, I think you've now divided yourselves against two sides of the room: either hell-bent to see it, or very sure to avoid it.

The best part of Evil Aliens is its references to other horror/thriller and action movies, such as Aliens, Predator, and Evil Dead. Movie junkies will probably get the most fun out of trying to catch all of these reference while watching the gore fly.

Overall rating: 7.0 /10.0

Details:
Runtime: 93m
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English

Review: Blood Rain (SIFF 2006)

Blood Rain is a period detective/crime/mystery movie set on a remote island in early 19th-century Korea. The film begins by showing a fire on one of the ships at the island destined to carry a paper tithe to the King. An investigator is sent to the island to figure out the cause of this fire. While there, the investigator is asked to help solve a series of mysterious deaths.

We quickly learn of a dark past on the island: a man was wrongly executed a long time ago, and now, the locals believe the spirit of this man is killing the informants who wrongly accused him. The investigator witnesses informant after informant dying a gruesome and unexplainable death, and is ever-pressed to figure out who or what is murdering these people.

Blood Rain takes a little while to start up, as you adjust to the period of the film and learn about the setting and the main characters (there are several, with similar-sounding Korean names to my Western ears). But once it does, it keeps your interest like any good murder-mystery does.

Along with the puzzle element of the movie, I enjoyed a glimpse into the societal pressures alternately guiding and forcing the investigator in his quest to solve the mystery, such as one's honor and "place" in society. I can't vouch for how accurate a depiction of 19th-century Korea Blood Rain really is, but the depiction of the characters and their role on this island was nevertheless a nice addition to the mystery element.

Overall rating: 7.5 /10.0

Details:
Runtime: 119m
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean

New Restaurant "Fork" Closing Its Doors

We went to Fork recently to celebrate a birthday, and thought it was a great mix of gourmet food and unpretentious atmosphere. Today I read that, because of the chef/owner Scott Simpson's health problems, Fork is closing.

Very sad, but understandable. I hope Scott is able to return to his trade soon, in whatever capacity he can.

Bad Usability: Brookstone Bedroom Clock

When you spend time designing things, it's easy to become a Critique Monster(tm). That is to say, everything non-natural becomes an object of scrutiny, as one critiques why a particular design is (or isn't) so. While I try to keep this to a minimum, sometimes design and usability issues are so blatant that I can't help myself.

Enter the Brookstone 5-in-1 Sensor Clock. It's an attractive little clock/calendar/alarm/thermometer/timer that we've been using the past few days for its alarm feature. The front of the clock is all display and housing. The back of the clock offers the following:

• Mode Lock (on/off) - slider switch
• Sensor (on/off) - slider switch
• Mode - pushbutton
• Set - pushbutton
• Up arrow - pushbutton
• Down arrow - pushbutton

A "mode" is effectively one of the five features of the clock. The sensor allows you to switch modes by waving your hand over the device, as does the Mode button. The Set button, along with the up and down arrow buttons, allows you to set things like the time.

So, we flipped to the Alarm mode, pressed Set, set the hours, pressed Set, set the minutes, and finally pressed Set again. The alarm was set, and a little alarm clock icon appeared in the upper-left of the display to indicate that the alarm was enabled.

Now, after a few days, we noticed that the alarm was recurring each day at the preset time. Makes sense, especially given that the little alarm clock icon was still there. So, we set out to disable the alarm.

Now, the question: how do you do it?

We tried the following, all to no avail:

• Cycled through "Set" while in the Alarm mode
• Set the hours and the minutes again on the Alarm
• Pressed and held Set
• Pressed and held Set and Mode together
• Pressed the up arrow while in Alarm mode
• Pressed the down arrow while in Alarm mode
• Tried the above with the Mode switch and the Sensor switch set to both positions.

So, what's the answer? A quick flip to the manual for the clock revealed it. You have to press and hold the up arrow while in Alarm mode to enable the alarm, and press and hold the down arrow while in Alarm mode to disable the alarm. Setting the alarm automatically enables the alarm.

What's wrong with this picture? There was absolutely no UI, message, indicator, report, sound, warning, or other method of communicating this information to the user. And we're not talking lack of UI for an edge-case scenario here. Enabling and disabling the alarm is probably one of the most common operations for a little portable clock like this one. To solve the mystery, I had to access Brookstone's web site and browse the manual. If Brookstone didn't have the manual online, I would probably still be stuck.

How did this mistake slip through? In my opinion, I believe the designers here mistakenly assumed that people would read and memorize the manual, to remember this tidbit of information. In reality, most people throw away the manual, throw the clock in the luggage, and go on their way. I bet there's an army of little 5-in-1 Brookstone clocks out there that people are resetting by pulling the batteries out or by inserting a paper clip in the Reset switch, because of this mistake.

This clock served as a reminder to me for one of the most basic design tenets: stay firmly anchored to the users and scenarios you're designing for, and keep prototypes of your design in front of real users' eyes to get honest feedback.

Fremont Fair 2006

We had a lot of fun today at the Fremont Fair. What appeared to be a cool and cloudy day slowly became a sunny, warm one. The parade was (as usual) festive, musical, loud, and naked (painted, nude bike riders, that is).

Some pictures from the parade:


The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were out in full force today.


More than one papier-mache version of George W. Bush was on display.


Go, marching band!


The Brazilian band and dancers were quite good.


This was supposed to be about spying. Looks more like a large Scream-masked individual to me.


Statue of Liberty.


Dancing, feathered people.

Post-Dinner Cupcake Royale

Nothing like a tasty box of cupcakes to bring home after a tasty dinner in Ballard.

As you can tell, they were busy tonight.


But, we scored a box nonetheless.


Yes, new camera phones are fun.