“I’d rather answer a few dumb questions than put up with a few dumb assumptions.”
– Aaron Cannon, in reply to a question about whether he tires of people asking him about his blindness
A Few Dumb Questions
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Monthly Archives: November 2007
Will Wright on Simulation
“Implication is more efficient than simulation.”
– Don Hopkins, summarizing Will Wright, discussing why SimCity isn’t as realistic as it appears.
Update: Edited to properly attribute the quote to Don Hopkins, based on his comment below.
When Stock Art Attacks
This magazine cover is a perfect example of why you should always have someone else review any art decisions you make. There are several things in this illustration that don’t make any sense…
- The kid on the left, I assume, is supposed to represent current, cutting-edge technology — hence, the Web 2.0 shirt — so why is he playing Pong?
- I guess that old is represented by wearing a tie, being unshaven, and working, while youth is represented by spiking your hair, getting a facial piercing, wearing flannel shirts (seriously? What is this, the nineties?), dirty Converse and t-shirts while playing video games on your cell phone, listening to your ipod, and wearing sunglasses inside your cave-like office.
- Which side is this article taking? The photo and intro paragraph imply that the old IT guys need to adapt to modern technologies, and are unhappy about it. But the “Grow Up!” headline implies that the young new-tech guys need to get serious. The only conclusion this illustration gives me is that no one is happy.
- Whose glasses are those on the desk?
- How many monitors does this guy need? Seriously, I count either four or five, wrapping around this guy like some Hollywood movie’s idea of a professional workstation. Clearly, more monitors = more professional.
Note: This was originally posted on my work blog, and I’m re-posting it here for archival purposes.
Annie was Right
Annie: “I just wanted to let you know that I was right, she was pooping.”
Scott: “This is the weirdest phone call I’ve ever received.”
– Annie called me about ten minutes after I left the house to tell me this.
Rove on Blogging
“The Web has given angry and vitriolic people more of a voice in public discourse. People in the past who have been on the nutty fringe of political life, who were more or less voiceless, have now been given an inexpensive and easily accessible soapbox, a blog.”
– Former Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, who seems to think this is a bad thing.