Mike Rundle's Weblog

What I Think Of Valentine's Day

This blog entry is answering a question from Quofda.

First off, I don't believe that Valentine's Day is some commercially built-up holiday straight from the marketers at Hallmark like some people I know would like you to believe. If anything, Christmas is more guilty of being that holiday than anything else. Kids no longer think of anything at Christmastime other than the presents they want to get from their parents, and I'm not talking about the religious aspects of Christmas, but rather the whole point of "giving" and not "receiving". Okay I'm off point.

I think Valentine's Day can be celebrated without spending a lot (or any) money, and you can think up great things to do for your loved one without doing what everyone else is doing. Rose prices are so incredibly jacked up that it's probably just as meaningful to your loved one to buy them one really nice rose in a single stem vase than to drop some serious money on a dozen. You don't have to succumb to the pressures of chocolate stores and buy the heart-shaped assortment just because they're out front and easy to reach. At the Godiva store near us you can buy truffles individually and make a little bag of the ones you like. At $1.95 or so a piece, you can afford to get a few of the nice ones and skip out on the filler junk they put in the big assortment boxes. Plus you can choose the ones you want. It's cheaper, more thoughtful, and puts your input into the selection so that you can pick what your loved one actually wants to eat.

So I think Valentine's Day has nothing wrong with it except when people go ridiculously overboard. It should be a sign of your love for someone else, not an outward expression of how much Valentine's Day memorabilia you can pack into one shopping trip.

The Genesis Of An Idea

I think the most fun I have (at least in the web industry) is when I have an idea but it's floating around in my head with only a vague outline. Normally it's just a piece of functionality I find novel, but who would use it and the technicalities around the functionality aren't hashed out yet. The idea is kicking around unbridled with more questions surrounding it than actual answers. I've got some ideas like this currently and I'm relishing the process because it's not every day that I have ideas that stick around in my thoughts for more than a few minutes. To keep the process of shaping the idea a little more organized I've been just writing the basic facts about the idea down on paper, then working with each part of the idea individually until it works more cohesively with the whole concept. I don't know if it'll work or not but putting pen to paper about something exciting in my head is exciting by itself, so it can't hurt.

When I Grow Up

I was talking to my buddy Matthew earlier on tonight about what I truly want to do after all the college stuff is over, and I think I'd actually like to get my thoughts down on the proverbial paper before they escape me. Plus I'd like to get your input on it.

I am an interface designer in the not-always-technical sense of the word. I like to better a person's experience with the world they interact with, and that world is not always a technical one. Pouring coffee into a thermos without getting burnt by the steam. Opening a cellular phone by flicking your thumb. Opening the cap of a Snapple bottle in one turn of your wrist. All of these small duties involve you interacting with something in the outside environment in a successful and goal-driven way. My ultimate passion is making that interaction as seamless and positive as possible.

I enjoy working on the web because of my skills in coding and design, however it doesn't have to be that way. If I was a product designer at IDEO, working with physical prototypes and other industrial designers, I would be just as happy as if I was knee-deep in CSS. It's not the medium that I am concerned with, but the idea of making someone's life better that really interests me.

To me, good interface design is all about communication. The user has goals they wish to accomplish, and they communicate those goals through their actions and interactions with the interface. If something goes awry, the interface should communicate to the user 1) what they did wrong, 2) an explanation of what actually happened, and 3) provide ways of getting them back on track. My friends at 37signals are the masters of this communicative exchange — they call it contingency design.

I truly don't understand why products aren't easier to use. If a person has trouble operating a certain device, what better reason is there to make it more usable? Who else is the company marketing to? Why would someone continue to buy from that company if they knew that products they purchased would have an overly steep learning curve?

I want to work for a company who has a say in how products and their associated interfaces are designed. I want to be in a position where my expertise and opinion is highly regarded, and highly sought after. I want to better the lives of all users, regardless of ability or skill level.

My name is Mike Rundle, and this is my credo.

Some free time and congratulations

Well, my XML graduate class was cancelled today, and ofcourse I found out about it at 3:57pm, approximately 3 minutes before I was set to walk into the room. This is a pretty big class to send to /dev/null too, because we had a massive (20% of our grade) research paper due today. Now I have to walk all the way over to her office and drop the hardcopy off, oh well ;) PS -> I will be posting the paper to my regular site (phark.net) sometime in the upcoming week, so stay tuned!

I wanted to give a shout-out to my buddy Matt (fellow web guy and XML-enthusiast) for winning the Metro Weekly Coverboy of the Year contest! He was down in Washington D.C. on co-op this summer (well, actually he was learning how to bartend, but oh well), and some random guy asked if he could take his picture. A few months later, he won a contest he didn't know about and was showered with money, gift certificates, coupons, and lotsa other cool stuff. Nice job, Matt!

Alright, now that I got this blog out of the way, I'm going to go over and post on phark.net ;)

Late night (as usual)

I'm definitely a night owl, but this is getting ridiculous. Its 4am, time for bed.

Thanks for the memories...

For the past few weeks, I have been a beta tester on this great hosted blogging service, TypePad. The time has come however for me to return back to my rightful home and regular blog, phark.net.

Beware however, for the next few days, I will be in the process of moving some posts from here over to there, and updating the entire look and feel of the site (not to mention upgrading MovableType, changing all my index pages, stylesheets, RDF, etc.) - so the site might not look how you expect or might not work at all ;)

Please bear with me as I complete the transition over to the new design of phark.

To everyone who read this little webspace this past month, I appreciate it.

To those who have read phark.net in the past, get ready for a great new beginning.

Mike ~ mike@phark.net

North Michigan Avenue

This morning, while driving back to Skokie from a client meeting downtown, I took the scenic route up Michigan Avenue till it hit Lake Shore Drive.

With the wind in my hair, the city on the left, and the lake on the right, I felt so very at home that I almost forgot that its actually 650 miles away.

Quote of the day:
"I intercepted her Alf fan package" -Jane

Advil Western Open

Was there any question? Tiger Woods just won the Western Open in Northern Illinois. I was there, and I saw Tiger standing just a few feet in front of me putting prior to his round.

It was great to finally meet (see) my idol.