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Sunday Roast: wiggle by default

July 9th, 2006
Cas

Short one this week - didn’t get back from the Homestead till late, and then there was Lost to watch and… ah, I’m just a bad person. Enjoy :)
We had this self same conversation the other week at a BBQ - what super power would you have? (I also chose flight if you’re curious. Don’t know what that tells you about my personality. If I could have two super powers, I’d be telekinetic/telepathic. So I’m greedy ;) )

For if you are feeling a bit bored and crafty: a paper model of the Wicked Wench, a pretty stunning model from the new Pirates ride at Disney.

I’m curious - do people follow the comments left here at Bright Meadow? I know I do, and frequently get into long conversations in the comments thread, but at the same time I know Moose doesn’t so much. For those of you that do follow the conversation, is the option to subscribe via RSS enough for you, or would you like the option to subscribe to comments via email? Personally the thought of my inbox filling up with comments I’d subscribed to leaves me cold, but that’s just me - if people want it, I will supply it.

Every now and then you come across an analogy that just works for you on some level. And so it was with Stowe’s idea of social feng shui. It is a great way of describing the sites and tools I enjoy using most - simple, everything with a purpose, and an elegant design.

A salutary reminder that people do read what you put online. Muppets.

Yes, I blubbed like a baby at the end of Series Two of Dr Who (it ended on Saturday). Like the pathetic wimp that I am. I do not want there to be a new assistant, but at the same time, the Dr without an assistant is like… chocolate without orange.

I don’t often link to movie reviews because, well, if you are curious about a film you’re all capable of finding them on your own :P But this one from the NYT about Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is worth it if only for the following line “Mr. Bloom, as is his custom, leaps about, trying to overcome his incurable blandness, and is upstaged by special effects, musical cues, octopus tentacles and pieces of wood.”

This entry just made me laugh today when it popped up about five minutes after I’d been reading/participating in a few such debates of my own. 800 X 600 or not - which resolution should you design for?. And as a tech-user who still benefits from 800×600 designs, especially when on the laptop, :P at all of you lucky bastards with displays the size of my desk who insist I don’t exist as a user. I do, and when your design doesn’t work for me I get very pissed off and the chances are I won’t come back. *humph* rant over.

If you haven’t been following JB on his mission to visit 52 Fujis, why not? It’s funny. He’s on station number seven now.

*EDIT* Thanks everyone for letting me leave that up there with a typo on the first line for over 24 hours! :P See, I was testing y’all, and you failed. I still love you though.

Continue the conversation
13 Responses to “Sunday Roast: wiggle by default”
karmatosed
July 9th, 2006 at 9:13 pm

Mutter twitch mutter screen debate mutter :). I am up to 7 conversations on this today - I am thinking of renaming Sunday to Resolution Debate Day, either that or just not bothering getting up on Sunday. I have firmly vowed the next time someone actually mutters about resolutions to do something I am not known for and shut up and possibly point to my post as the final word on the matter. :)
As for super power - well telepathic would help with my clients……

Cas
July 9th, 2006 at 9:22 pm

I just waded into a conversation re. resolutions myself. Possibly I came across a bit bitchier than I intended, but it gets me all riled up!

I think telepathic would help with my boss. It would clue me in to when he has more work for me, so I make a quick get-away and be not at my desk when he comes over for ‘a chat’…

Rich
July 9th, 2006 at 11:58 pm

Does irresistibility count as a super power?

800 X 600 or not - which resolution should you design for?

The resolution debates are starting to bore me now. At first, it was an interesting discussion with good arguments on both sides but it’s become clear now that there is no answer - there are cases for and against designing for 800×600, none of which are absolute. It’s a pointless debate to engage in, I think. Just a waste of time. Nothing you can add hasn’t been said before. I’ll just continue to design for everyone as best I can and not intentionally exclude certain groups.

A salutary reminder that people do read what you put online. Muppets.

Rich
July 9th, 2006 at 11:59 pm

Whoops, I forgot the end of that comment! Anyway, that link was hilarious.

JB
July 10th, 2006 at 3:20 am

@ Cas : Thanks for the props! :D

Cas
July 10th, 2006 at 6:25 am

Irresistability can be a super power. Why not? Would there be limits though? I mean, I can forsee some trouble with that one if it got out of hand…

As for the resolution debate, it started boring me almost as soon as it got mentioned the first time around. What is wrong with the common sense approach of having a design that also works (is at least useable) at smaller res’? *grump* I know which side of the debate I am on and the people on the other side still have a lot of work to do to convince me otherwise.

@ JB: My pleasure :) Does that make up for me never commenting? *angel*

Dewayne Mikkelson
July 10th, 2006 at 6:02 pm

Hmmm, just one super power???
I guess I would have to go with Wolverine’s Regeneration, since it fits in with my desire to live a long, long time.

Old Surly
July 10th, 2006 at 7:15 pm

Irresistability can be a super power. Why not? Would there be limits though? I mean, I can forsee some trouble with that one if it got out of hand…

*sighs* a pain I know all too well… ;)
I want psychokinesis/telekinesis/whatever its called.

Cas
July 10th, 2006 at 8:19 pm

Good power Dewayne, but it does remind me of something we talked about during the whole super power debate - you tell people they can have any super power, and they invariably think of their favourite comic characters. I was asked the question and thought of Rogue (flying) or Jean Grey (the whole pyschic thing). I remember always thinking those powers were cool, regardless of the character I got them from, but… I don’t remember a time that (in my brain at least) a super power wasn’t tied to the person who wielded it.

When I was growing up at least, I didn’t want super speed, or to be able to fly, I wanted to be Cheetara or Rogue. Now I can appreciate the power for what it would give me, but still, my preferences are coloured by the characters who had them.

There’s a point I’m trying to make in there somewhere. If you can find it and rescue it, let me know!

And Surly… Nope. Nothing that can be said in public comments ;)

Joy
July 11th, 2006 at 10:13 am

For a superpower, I’d like to have telekinesis. It’s a fascinating power, because being able to move thing with your mind is just incredible. Although, that power would make me more lazy..

The resolution for design is difficult. I have no experience in it, but I love having one that goes full width on my widescreen. What also sucks is that some that work on Firefox look screwed up in IE. I’d say that’s the most annoying thing for me..

Jack Yan
July 11th, 2006 at 2:39 pm

Was telekenesis what Matthew Star had? If so, put me down for that on the superhero shopping list.

Dewayne Mikkelson
July 11th, 2006 at 2:47 pm

Cas -
My GUESS about why we would use the comic character to identify the super power instead of just the super power is that most people would know what you were talking about. They know about the character and what that character can or can not do with their super power. We can compress a lot of discussion into a much smaller reference point that a lot of people would already understand (Cultural Literacy).
For instance, I was trying to figure out how I would describe Magneto’s super power without referring to Magneto the character and it was getting way too wordy in my head. By referring to Magneto instead of his super power I can save a lot of time and potential misunderstanding in the conversation.

Cas
July 11th, 2006 at 6:29 pm

Joy, I think the implied law behind telekinesis as a power is that it relies on your own latent energies/power - to move things does require energy and work. Far from being an easy option, it’s often times depicted as being harder on the user than a similar action would be if done physically. So not lazy at all ;)
And Dewayne, I’m gonna have to agree with you on the super heroes providing a short hand to describe their powers.

Why do I have to agree with you? Because I haven’t got a clue who Matthew Star is, so I have no idea what super power Jack wants :( I think my geek-hat is slipping.

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