This afternoon as I was driving across town, I passed at least six human sign holders. You’ve seen them: Those people at busy intersections holding a massive posterboard arrow, usually advertising new homes for sale or a tax free sale on mattresses. I was living in Denver the first time I really noticed one of these sign holders, and it made an impression. It was about 50 degrees out with a foot of snow on the ground, and this woman was wrapped up in about six layers of clothing with just her eyes peeking out through a scarf and knit hat. The sign she was holding was a picture of this guy with two siberian tigers and a big “Weekend Sale” headline. She was standing there rigid as a post, listlessly tilting the sign up and down. All I could think was, “How miserable must it be doing the job of a 2×4 and some nails?”
If I ran a Human Billboard company July 12th, 2010
Improving the Fandango User Interface May 28th, 2010
Something that’s always bothered me about Fandango’s showtime User Interface is the design choice to show available showtimes in red text. Usually, when we want to indicate that something is available, we’d use green as a visual cue.
Has California jumped the shark? May 24th, 2010
That’s the question I’ve been asking myself recently as a California resident. Living in this state, especially in the L.A. or Bay Area locales, comes at a steep premium by almost every measure. We pay a 7.25% state sales tax, up to a 10.5% income tax, a 35 cent per gallon gas tax, and a host of other miscellaneous fees and withholding taxes. On top of facing the highest aggregate tax burden in the country, we Golden State dwellers have substantially higher housing costs. Has California officially jumped the shark?
Make any song swing May 22nd, 2010
This is so cool. Tristan Jehan, an MIT Ph.D., wrote this Python code to lengthen the first half of a note and shorten the second. The result is really fun. My favorite: Don’t Stop Believin’: