Classes, Food, and a new Beginning
We are almost in October and life is settling in for us here in Atlanta. Work has been a roller coaster learning yet another business model and process. It is interesting how so many different industries do the EXACT same thing but everyone things their problem is unique. Its all the same, data save, data recall... not much more complicated than that. We like to thing we are solving the world's problems, but it is just data in and data out... just make sure the data in is correct and the data out is in the right format and only for the right people. Simple really.
Classes
Ok, on to classes, I started my HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) course at Stanford (online) through a site called Coursera. So far so good, I have homework, which I forget classes have things like that... homework, projects, etc...
I'm also taking a pluralsight class for work about designing user interfaces. I think every developer should learn MORE about user interfaces. We, as developers, take WAY too much for granted and we assume our client base is as technically savvy as we are and if they are not, we ridicule them for being idiots (which may or may not be true, but that is not the issue). We need to consider our audience when developing an interface. Mockups, Prototyping, Usability Studies, Observe, Observe, Observe. Let people be people and then write code to help them do what they do already. Don't force them to figure something out. Ok, off that topic for now.
Food
Food places again, Phish Phood in Roswell is slowly becoming my favorite little spot to eat. Only been open a year, but the staff is extremely friendly and personable, the food is consistently amazing, (only been there twice, but great both times), and prices are fair. I highly recommend the Pig & Grits. Good presentation, great flavor... the pork takes about 8 hours to cook... they said, the amount of love we put in that pork comes out in the flavor. Don't judge them on their website, definitely needs some of that love they put in the pork, but I would HIGHLY suggest trying it out.
We also are big fans of Nagoya... I was just looking online for the site, and they don't really have one. However, I found it interesting that everyone LOVES the food but the decor could use an upgrade. I can see that... but it is a great sushi place. Sashimi is super fresh and great. The roll selection is fun... I recommend the Ahi Salad Roll and the California Beach Roll. Two of my favorites. Staff seems busy all the time, could improve the process a bit, have a greeter, someone to seat people, and make sure drink orders are taken immediately. Other than that, it is pretty amazing.
Life stuff...
A new beginning... we are officially out of the apartment... final bill paid and we are moving forward. I know we have been out since Labor Day, but it isn't done until it is DONE. Well, it is DONE now. WHOOHOO! The new beginning starts tomorrow. I have started running and will be getting back to crossfit this month. I have eaten all sorts of stuff since we have moved here, BBQ (many times over), Chic-Fil-A, Firehouse Subs, Whole Foods, Moe's, Nagoya, Salt, Ceviche, Chequer's, Cafe Intermetzo, etc... Tomorrow I get back on my strict (which isn't that strict) Paleo diet. My coach told me 80% is nutrition and 20% is exercise. I never believed that until I stopped exercising for a month or so, stuck with the diet, and realized I STILL was improving. They body really is a fascinating tool... with our intelligence, strength, and problem solving skills it makes me wonder why we have so many problems (economy, murder, rape, war, etc...) I realized the one thing that caused most of that is greed. Almost everything in America (not speaking for the rest of the world) comes down to money. How much is enough? "What's your number? More" - Wall Street 2. It is true, and then you will hear the comments about the typical socialist retort, "Eventually you run out of other people's money". I don't think socialism is the answer, our capitalist society has become one of the strongest world powers in about 250 years. But now we need to be accountable... we have taken the land, we have made the devices of war, we have proven our dominance... and then? We sold it all to China because it was cheaper. Another quote that always stuck with me, "If you don't want (pick a country) to own it, don't sell it." We get offers for millions of dollars to sell real-estate and we sell... then 10 years later it gets rebuilt, and is worth 10 times that, but the initial greed causes us to lose our own country. Ok, sorry a little soapboxxy there. Dropping interest rates is fine, but if the banks won't lend money then who are you really helping? I remember when I bought a house and they needed 2 months of paystubs and bank records, and they would give me 300k loan on a house. Now, I needed tax forms for the past 2 years, company records, copies of every deposit made in the past 2 months, any military records or documentation, employment history for the past 2 years, copies of every investment, bank, asset ever owned. Past addresses, ever (they went back over 15 years asking about places I lived)... it has gotten ridiculous. I am not sure how non-technical people could gather all of that information, or I guess non-OCD people. I tend to keep paperwork VERY organized for such an occasion. Anyway, I'm babbling now... quick summary: life is good, need to eat a little better, America is not the greatest country in the world but it can be (The Newsroom on HBO), work is fine, and excited to learn more and more about Human-Computer interaction... Thanks for stopping by...