Some random tidbits

Wondering how important blogs & blog etiquette are becoming? There's been some uproar around Michael Hanson's recent blogging faux pas

Also, I've been reading Al Franken's latest book and here's a great quote from the late Senator Paul Wellstone: "Politics is about the improvement of people's lives. It's about advancing the cause of peace and justice in our country and in our world. Politics is about doing well for the people." Here's a link to an archive of speeches he gave.

On a side note about my current workplace - I'm constantly amazed at how isolated this environment is from *the real world*. Recently, some of the folks in my group went on a trip and did a number of user interviews. They've brought back the feedback and it's blowing me away that so much of this feedback seems new to them. A majority of the people here have been here for a LONG time and they're so used to the environment/products that they produce that their reaction to the users' lack of knowledge seems almost humorous. As a bit of a gripe - I've said some of this stuff to them before and it didn't have much impact.

To be honest, I don't know that they'll be able to do that much about it, but it is nice that they're at least interested. I find it absolutely amazing how many assumptions they make about what 'ordinary' people do and don't understand. Oh well, I feel justified that what I've been saying has now been confirmed. Even though I'm not staying here, at least my analysis of the situation was fairly accurate.

Giving them the credit they're due - they are taking the feedback they've gotten and are working on applying it to the specific work process they're involved in and that's really good. Even though I think it's funny that they didn't really seem to 'get' how frustrated users get, it's nice to know that they're concerned and are trying to find solutions. go team!