Personal/Professional Rambling

September 16, 2004

I have been getting more involved in the Information Architecture and User Experience community lately. After some deliberation on my part I have joined the fledging Asilomar Institute for Information Architecture (AiFIA).

The folks involved in this wonderful organization have experience and background in IA with companies that span the globe and whose company includes: AOL, Netscape, Yahoo!, IBM, and many more. They have a very worthy goal of standardizing what IA is and evangelizing the full potential of IA moving forward.

Apple to open store in Pleasonton, CA on Sept 18

September 13, 2004

Heard on the web, Apple is opening a store in Pleasanton just up the road from my current office. That is just plain too dangerous. There needs to be a bigger buffer between me and a Apple retail store.

Updated: An Entertaining Look at Acronym Soup

September 07, 2004

One of the things I am known for (or notorious for) is the rapid creation of overly complicated names to describe UXP models and then the development of Acronyms to refer to them. I believe in describing a navigation or UXP model in a way that it accurately represents what it is.

That in of itself can be annoying to people, even I recognize that. However, what is even more entertaining is the fact that people start to use these wacky acronyms and terms that I invented in the first place.

I had one friend of mine who used to work at the Half, Rob Daulton, that once marveled to my boss at how I was able to get people to adopt these crazy terms.

Some of the terms I have created over the years include:

• PHP - Personal Home Page
• GSG - Global Style Guide
• UXP - User Experience. Although this is commonly referred to as UX in outside circles I somehow came up with this acronym. It stuck and I can't change it now no matter how much I try.
• PPP - Personal Profile Page
• Flaming Squirel - A rant derived term illustrating the frustration in some stakeholders desire to make a big honking graphic on a page to emphasize what people should click on. In common use, Flaming Squirel is represents all things huge and bell & whistle driven on a site that does not reflect the reason why people visit in the first place.
• Color Blue Question - A term referencing the fact that there are some issues that boil down to opinion, and thus I like what I like because I do. There is no refuting those types of questions.
• GPM - Global Presence Model (see Protiviti.com).

Those are just a few. If I had more sleep and was less tired I could name a few more. The irony about all these terms is that while people joke and sometimes complain about my tendency to create acronyms those same people gravitate to those terms and actually use them.

Time to Shill for Support

August 03, 2004

Well, you can blame it on my family background, my social upbringing, or on the fact that in college my major and career ambitions were in the world of politics, national security, and foreign policy. No matter how you slice it I am actively shilling for support and donations this political season.

Once every four years I get the bug, like a rash that refuses to stop itching, to get involved. I guess that I never reconciled my decision to not pursue a life in public service like so many other of my family members.

So, I am shilling for support for a little presidential regime change. I am an ardent supporter of the Democratic nominee, John Kerry for President of the United States of America.

You can call me a Liberal, a tax-and-spend fiend, or whatever, but when it all boils down to it, deficit spending, a reckless means of conducting foreign policy, and meager response to National Security is no way to run a country.

To my friends that are Conservatives, I can see it now with all the comments that are likely to come. I say, "bring it on." I will discuss the merits of the Democratic policy platform with you...on merits alone without the partisan rhetoric.

I am up for a healthy debate and yes, I am drumming up support for the Kerry-Edwards national campaign.

Embrace Your Guilty Pleasures

July 12, 2004

A recent article in the SF Chronicle about RUSH and Guilty Pleasures really got me thinking. Whether we want to admit it to our friends or not, we all have a band that secretly like to listen to, but would never admit to our friends. Thoughts of George Michael in his WHAM days, or RUSH, Morrissey, or A Flock of Seaguls comes to mind as a few examples. The article points out that even the famous have their secret list of guilty pleasures.

O.K., so I will fess up to some of mine. My Guilty Pleasures are:

• Morrissey
• RUSH
• Harry Belafonte
• ABBA
• Erasure
• and, yes, WHAM!

Not exactly in synch with my public alternative/grunge music image is it?

There, they are out in the open...well, some of them, but at least I am man enough to admit it to them.

Come on, what are your Guilty Pleasures?

Dealing with Burnout

June 10, 2004

Hey, I get burned out from time to time with work. This is a pretty general article on dealing with Creative Burnout, but it spoke to me for some reason. Maybe it is because I am in the midst of a Burnout cycle...dunno.

Here it is.

SUVs are not made for Hauling

April 19, 2004

Whomever uttered the argument that "SUV's are good for hauling stuff" should be shot. Yes, they are good for going off road (assuming you have and use 4-Wheel Drive), and they also good for camping and hauling people. SUV's can also be quite good for the occasional trip to Home Depot.

However, under no circumstances are they good for transporting large trees to/from a local nursery that is less than 3 miles from my house. Chalk it up to male stubbornness, but I tried and failed in my attempt to fit a 10 ft. Silver Leaf Maple into my Honda Pilot. I managed to get 6 feet of the thing inside, but the rest of it hung out and drooped off the side of the bumper.

SUV's can haul stuff...indeed. What they should say is that SUV's are good for hauling stuff only when you absolutely don't have to haul something. Hah!

Needless to say, we managed to get the Maple tree to our house by other means.

Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants

April 08, 2004

Even though I moved out to Tracy back in September, I still find myself in the City and the Peninsula on a very frequent basis. Call it the need to be in the middle of the "Action," or the need for good restaurants.

Here's this year's list of the Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants.

I can proudly say that I have been to several of the restaurants on the list.

The Symbol of a Wedding Ring

March 25, 2004

You know, I've been married going on 9 years now. I got married when I was young and fresh out of college. I was the good husband and wore my wedding ring without ever taking it off. I really never gave the symbolic nature of a wedding ring much thought until today.

Why? Well, today I lost my Claddaugh wedding band while at the gym. "You lost it!" you say. Yes, I lost it and did not realize it until after I finished my work out. I got so used to wearing it and took it for granted that I did not even notice it's absence. Weird. Naturally, I reported it missing, but it also starting the thought process of assessing the symbolism of the thing.

When you get married after being a bachelor all your friends will say that you are putting on the old ball and chain. The wedding ring for some guys is the ultimate symbol of that chain and they rebel or resent wearing it. As time goes on you just wear the thing, take it for granted, never take it off. It becomes like a old pair of jeans that you love and always wear.

Then suddenly (as happened to me after 9 years) you realize that you feel naked without it. This is not exactly a manly thing to confess, but it is true. In the moment I realized that I lost my ring I did a flashback to 10 years ago when I was 25 and I proposed to my wife. I remembered the very day we picked out our rings, etc. Man, we were so young. In that split second I knew that I was not that young kid in Arcata anymore, but a guy that was very lucky.

$20.00 and a Jaguar Rental

March 21, 2004

You know the old line, "Buddy can you spare a dime?" Well that was me yesterday as I peeled off in a 2003 Jaguar XJ-S for the day. How did this happen? Well, you need to hear the whole story to understand the irony.

Rhonda and I were up very early (5 AM) on a Saturday for our 4 month service on both our cars. We were planning on renting a car for the day to play around Palo Alto for the day (we get this as a free perk from our mechanic). Once we got there we were told to sit tight for 45 minutes as it looked like one of our cars would be ready soon.

Fast forward a half hour and we find out that the Civic needed new brakes, and that the Pilot was the subject of two recalls that needed to be taken care of. So, no fast service for us and I would be 600.00 poorer for it. Ouch.

The dealer called Enterprise rent-a-car in Mountain View to see what/if any cars were available. Unfortunately, the car inventory did not look good, but they came to pick us up anyway. When we arrived at the rental office there were 3 couples ahead of us and they got the last of the cars they had.

It was our turn now to rent a car, but all they had were big trucks (we're talking F-150's here). I really didn't want to be tooling around Palo Alto in a F-150 (free rental or not), so I asked "Don't you have anything else? I mean any other kind of car." The rental agent said with a smirk, "Well, I have a Jaguar out back that I can let you have, but the cost to rent will be $20.00." I turned to Rhonda and asked her what she thought. She muttered something along the lines that I would never be able to rent a Jag for 20 dollars anywhere else. So, I took it.

We pulled out of the lot in a 2003 Jaguar XJ-S with a full sun roof. Oh my god, I was in pure heaven...and all for $20.00. We started cruising up and down on 101 on the Peninsula. The thing just rode so smooth and quiet that I couldn't tell how fast I was going. I passed a couple of ChiPPy cars and the thought occurred to me to check my speed... Friggin' 90 MPH and I didn't even know it. LOL.

It was a great experience that softened the blow to a $600.00 repair bill. Now, if I could just find the 70K to buy one. That ride is sweet.

Declaration of War on Sony

March 12, 2004

So, I got my $1500 receiver back from Sony service the other day (the one that I bought brand new in December). I opened the box, read the service receipt and saw that they made a "electrical adjustment." Definitely not confidence inspiring.

I took the amp out and started to rewire it up to my home theater system. 3 hours later I powered it up and... well...they didn't fix a damn thing. Within 30 seconds it started to drop out all video like a set of Christmas lights....just like it did before.

To say that I am upset is an understatement. 300.00 in shipping to San Diego, 2 weeks of waiting ended with the same result as before I sent it in. Hell, I would have been better off going to Stockton to get it fixed out of pocket.

Now I am faced with 3 options:

1. Make a huge stink with Sony and make them pay for return shipping.
2. Get them to replace the unit with a new one
3. Go to the local repair shop in Stockton and pay to have it fixed.

Note to Sony, I have declared an all out consumer war against you. Never again will I buy another Sony product (after 20+ years of doing so). This receiver will get fixed, be used for awhile and then sold. I do not intend to be stuck with a $1500.00 paper weight.

Current Mood: Moving very quickly from angry to fuming mad.

Random Links

March 08, 2004

• Great Article on creating business cards for the non-print designer - The Fine Print
• Folklore - Original, first person stories by those who were there for the creation of the original Macintosh (including the visit to Xerox PARC).
• eBayers that Suck - The worst offenders on eBay

Mendocino Bound

February 27, 2004

Time for some hiking, drinking, reading, and yes, House shoppping. Career moves are in progress.

Current iPod Music Rotation

Currently in heavy rotation on the iPod: Peter Gabriel - Up, Barenaked Ladies - Everything to Everyone, P.J. Harvey - Stories from the City, Counting Crows - Hard Candy, and Miles Davis - Kind of Blue.

Sony Receiver went Bye, Bye

February 22, 2004

Well, I did it. I sent in the Sony ES receiver for service. 186.00 of insured shipping bitterness later it is done. Now I just have to pray that they fix it on the first try UNLIKE some other unlucky owners of the same type of reciever.

Sony is Crap

February 06, 2004

Yes, I am still hibernating. However, I got to the bottom of a problem I have been having and had to share.

So, about 2 months ago my 18 year old Sony Digital A/V Receiver gave up the ghost...noise humm...etc. I decided I just couldn't take it anymore and decided to upgrade my amp.

Now in the old days, Sony's quality was untarnished...you knew what you were getting was not crap. Over the years though as production shifted to Taiwan or China from Japan their quality went down. I know becuase I went through this with a DVD player or two from Sony. However, the quality of Sony's high end ES (ack Audiophile) line was beyond reproach. All made in Japan...5 year guarenteed warranty...etc. All the forums backed this up.

With all this knowledge in hand and a home theatre to get back up and running, I plopped open my wallet and bought one of Sony's top of the line ES A/V receivers. Got it right after Christmas and it worked flawlessly. That was until...until this week.

We started noticing video drop outs on our TV whenever we were watching something on Satellite, Cable, or TiVo. Intermediate at first...barely noticable...but then it started happening when we were watching DVD's. I thought it was our creaky old TV monitor...been giving us problems. But the problem got persistently worse... and as of today intollerable.

Since I was taking my mental health day, I went to get to the bottom of this. Yanked another TV into the room...plugged the S-Video cable into it , watched, and waited. Good for an hour...then two...then..video drop out hell. Holy crap.

I narrowed it down...either it is the S-Video Cable or the brand new (supposed to be high quality/expensive) receiver that is the problem. I got ready to go out and get a new cable, but then thought I should check the Sony user forums...lots of Sony fans out there.

What did I find? I found out that this is a big friggin' issue with all the new Digital Drive ES Receivers and that Sony hasn't been doing much about it.

So, if this was not a brand new amp and I was not an Audio/Videophile I wouldn't be so upset. However, the Receiver is literally the heart of everything...audio (MP3s), Video (DVD, LD, VCR), TV (DSS, CABLE). I am essentially screwed. I now have to fight Sony's (now I know better) crappy customer service to get a warranteed RMA to one of their service centers and wait 6 weeks.

Crap. Now I have a crusade on my hands.

Lesson Learned: Despite solid design...Sony is Crap...even with good reviews. (No wonder they are suffering Apple envy)

Will post periodically to update on my Quixotic quest.

EZ Winetasting

February 01, 2004

I went wine tasting with a couple of alumni from EZ after work this past Friday. We went to this local winetasting shop out in Dublin called winecentives. It was cool on multiple levels.

First of all, the place was all so welcoming and not pretentious like a lot of places you find in and around the Bay Area and Napa. The owner guy is in the business out of sure love of wine. More than willing to share his knowledge on different viarietals and small vineyards. There is no such thing as a stupid question. They do themed wine tasting events there...one week Zinfendels, another Pinots, etc. The night I went was a night dedicated to Cabarnets...all levels ranging from the most expensive Caymus to the very reasonable 25.00 a bottle Devils Lair from Australia. It was all good. MMMMM.

On another level, it was a great opportunity to network with alumni from EZ an d Chi Phi. Even after all these years of being out of college, there is something to be said about Brotherhood. Many of these guys are in related fields, IT, Marketing, etc. You never know when you have a need for some career help...built in network... I got a chance to meet a guy that predated my pesense up in Humboldt by at least 4 years. Very cool guy. IT guy and wine afficionado.

People that know me in professional life always seem to wonder why I continue to go up to Humboldt for my annual Alumni bender. Those happy few that are EZ alumns or went to Humboldt understand it. The reasons are multiple...1. The country is just so darn beautiful...if I could have made a living up there I would have lived out my days in Arcata...2. Networking: Every year I meet up with EZ alumns that are closer to retirement than beginning their lives. It is an enormous opportunity to learn from their life experiences and seek their wisdom as well as their career contacts.

It may seem silly to some, but it is somewhat comforting to be an alumni of a national organization that dates back to 1824 and has very famous members. I can move pretty much anywhere in the country and have an instant social and career network becuase of my affiliation with Chi Phi.

Happy New Year

January 03, 2004

Facing up to it

December 08, 2003

So, as most of my friends know, we moved in September. We did all the right things, hired movers, boxed everything up, moved in, hung curtains. What we didn't do right, or more importantly what I didn't do right was take care of how I moved those boxes around and installed all those curtain rods.

I guess I elther put too much stress on my arm or tweaked my elbow joint, but my right arm hurts and has been hurting for the last month or so. I ignored the pain for a while hoping that it would just go away. However during the Thanksgiving holiday I started to notice a major twinge in my elbow whenever I would try to lift a paultry dish out of the dishwasher.

Since then the pain has gotten worse to the point that whenever I lift anything with my right arm, my elbow joint screams. I had to bag out of helping friends move this weekend and relent to my body's screaming wishes to call a doctor. Not being to lift my own cup of coffee Sunday morning and a very angry wife convinced me. We'll see what is causing it, but man this is a drag.

Camping: McArthur-Burney Falls

June 20, 2003

Humboldt Road Trip

April 07, 2003

Well, another year and another Alumni Reunion up in Humboldt. I have more pictures, but here are the first batch from the return trip. We stopped at the Hopland Brewery in Hopland, CA for lunch and more drinks. Our posse consisted of Scott (Pinto), Justice (Aardvark), Liz, Rhonda, and me. This place is one of our favorite watering holes on the way up to HSU dating back to our college days.

Humboldt Really Got Rolled Over

Well, I survived my vacation in Humboldt this weekend. My Alumni reunion was absolutely insane...9 hours sleep over 3.5 days, reconnected with brothers I haven't seen in a decade, and did a brewery tour of the Humboldt area...sampled all the beers I grew up on back in the college days. It was an experience. Photos will be posted later on after I get some more sleep.

Humboldt Gets Rolled Over Every Other Day

March 31, 2003

Just 2 more days until my vacation! I'll be making my annual trek up to Humboldt for my reunion. Breakfast at The Alibi, bar crawls, hiking in the redwoods, real rain (it's in the forcast)....ahhhhh, relaxation at last.

Tea in the City 2003

February 12, 2003

Well, it took us awhile to put together another Tea at LoveJoys's Tea room in San Francisco, but it was well worth the wait. We had 13 people come and more food than we could possibly eat in one sitting.

Pictured L-R: Rhonda, Wendy, Dan, Art, Kevin & Jen

Pictured: Maddie & Monique

Pictured: Lanette & Angela

Pictured: Rhonda, Wendy,

Pictured: Angela, Maddie, & Monique

Pictured in Foreground: Kevin & Jen

Columbia...The best & brightest

February 01, 2003

Like most people this morning on the west coast, I woke up to the news on CNN that the space shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entry after a two week mission.

As a boy I watched this shuttle go up in space for the first time, and to see this end with the crew is truly a tragedy. This is definitely a moment of shock and horror.

My thoughts go out to the families of the crew.

We were never this young...were we?

January 05, 2003

(Pictured L to R: Joey, Art, Bob, and Pinto)

I just finished scanning 100+ photos over the weekend from the days when I was in college. While I was doing so, I ran accross this picture from my pledge "Road Trip to Hell" with Pinto. Man, we couldn't have been that young...could we? Time flies I guess.

Mother Nature Called...Collect

November 08, 2002

The Bay Area got smacked hard by the first major winter storm of the season. To think that a 45 minute commute for me turned into a 2 hour treck (one way)...uttlerly insane.

This photo by the Chronicle pretty much sums it all up.

Negooney Goo Goo

April 08, 2002

Eric....Happy Birthday! (albeit a day late)

San Diego...it was interesting

April 03, 2002

Well my trip to San Diego was fast paced, sleep deprived, and fun. In one whirlwhind 48 hour fly down and drive back experience I visited/partied with friends and family until 1 AM with only 3 hours sleep from the night before, picked up a car and delivered it to my folks in Monterey. You know, the sort of thing someone that was still in their early 20's might do...only this time at my age I got sick...ack.

I did do something that was really cool. On the drive up north I managed to meet up with good friend from my days @ Humbodlt, Eric and his family. We did the coordinate-o-coordinates via cell phone thing and met up in Coalinga in the late afternoon.

Pretty interesting experience...chatted about a bunch of things including those funky hazy days of Humboldt...some of the stuff dates back almost 10 years. Incredible. Time really starts to fly as you get older and work insane hours.

First Flight Since 9/11

March 17, 2002

Well, it looks like I am heading down to San Diego in a couple of weeks to pick up a new car for my folks. Spent quite a bit of time last night looking at air fairs from SFO to San Diego. I actually bought my ticket in very little time (man, I love travelocity), but spent awhile reading through all the travel restrictions and security precuations as a result of 9/11. Let's just say I am not entirely convinced that airport security is any better than it was before 9/11. I get the feeling from all the government reports I read that most of the efforts you can see are largely window dressing. We'll see in a couple of weeks. It will be my first flight since September.

Enron

March 14, 2002

What can I say? Enron and Arthur Andersen...the soap opera continues.

Looney Tunes Legend Dies

February 25, 2002

Chuck Jones, the legendary animator responsible for the creation of Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, and the animated version of the Grinch, passed away today at the age of 89.

My Status

February 24, 2002

After a very long hiatus, daily postings to artfernandez.com will resume the week of 2/25.

Why does radio suck?

March 14, 2001

Because most stations play only the songs the record companies pay them to. And things are going to get worse." Yet another reason to lament the death of naptser.

Blackout

January 11, 2001

I never thought I would live to see it, but we are having rolling blackouts in the area. The office just lost power. You have to love electric deregulation. Oh boy.

Like a kid again

January 09, 2001

There are few things that get me bouncing off the walls—giddy, but this is one of them. This morning U2 announced their new concert tour of the US and Canada. They will be kicking it off on March 24 in Sunrise, FLA with tour dates in California in mid-April. More details on the tour and the new album can be found on the band's site.

This band is one of the few that I still follow from my youth. When I listen to them I feel ten years younger...imagine that.

Coffee Crunch Cake

January 07, 2001

I woke up this morning with a strong craving for Coffee Crunch Cake. Now before you say anything, let me just say that I was dreaming about my childhood running around Palo Alto and Menlo Park with my parents on errands.

One of the places we used to go was Stickneys a venerable eating institution in the Town & Country center just down the road from the Stanford Football stadium. It was a place we would go to meet up with my Parent's friends after work @ Schlage or get a bite to eat after a Stanford game.

Besides having the most incredible barbeque food, they had fantastic desserts. Among them was their famous Coffee Crunch Cake. When I moved back to the Peninsula after college I rediscovered some of the old haunts from my early childhood (including Stickneys). In the 1990's the restaurant became a throwback to a time when restaurants were not trendy in Palo Alto and family style dining did not mean going to Denny's.

Well, Stickneys closed after 46 years, becoming another victim to high rent in Palo Alto. I had my last Coffee Crunch cake before they closed last January and I am still craving it to this day.

DV Update

December 11, 2000

I've posted recompressed versions of the 5 Cities Videos in the CHS '90 section of events. The old ones were giving my QuickTime streaming server an upset stomach.

Only 18 shopping days left...

December 06, 2000

If you are in the generous mood you could go shopping for me..hint, hint.

Ahhh, the smell of late night baking....yum.

November 22, 2000

You know the holidays are here when you can smell apple and pumpkin pie being baked in the oven late @ nite.

Survivor in Space???

November 20, 2000

<rant>
What is it with these reality shows? I mean, haven't we all seen this stuff before in a bad episode of MTV's The Real World four years ago? Well, NBC wants to jump on the bandwagon and create its own version set in space aboard the decrepid Mir space station. Wait a minute...aren't the Russians going to deorbit Mir soon? So if NBC get's its way will we have Survivor on a time limit?
</rant>