Archive for April, 2008
April 21, 2008 at 9:16 pm · Filed under Work
There are few things I hate worse than being wrong; that sickening feeling when I realize “I’ve made a mistake, and now I have to deal with the consequences.” I loathe being wrong, and worse still, having to own up to it.
The worst times still haunt me. They creep in to mind at the oddest times, and each time I feel that same sinking feeling - as if it’s all happening over again.
They tell me there’s value in making mistakes, that mistakes help us learn and grow, but “they” say a lot of things, don’t they? Thinking back, I can’t help but think it would all be better if someone had just said “that’s a stupid idea, and I would strongly recommend against it.”
What really makes me sick is that often, looking back, I didn’t need that person, I knew better but did it anyways. Stupid me.
At work we’re closing an office, and I can’t help but to think it’s my fault. It’s not all gloom and doom, all of the staff still have a job with the company - they’re just expected to move if they want to keep it. Why are we closing the office? Communication is difficult, accountability is grey, curltv is done for the summer, the job crunch in Edmonton is waining, the lease is up, the new office has plenty of space… I think it’s the right call, but when it affects real people, it is hard to be subjective.
So is this another mistake? Another regret? I hope not. I’ve never been part of a decision that’s lead to people losing their jobs, and now that I have I think that it’s really messing with me. Dear lord, if I ever have to actually fire someone I think I’ll just die; that would be easier.
So I analyze the situation; looking at it from every angle. Trying to see all of the possibilities and making sure that I have done everything I could to prevent making another mistake. Because I hate making mistakes and the thought of making of that costs someone a job is not something I could bear.
April 14, 2008 at 8:21 pm · Filed under Internet
I could honestly spend all day, every day, searching to find all of the insane stuff on the internet and still only discover half of it. That is why I’d like to personally thank co-worker Jeff Gordon (no, not that Jeff Gordon) for creating Totallies.com. It’s a wonderful place full of internet mystique and wonder. The “random page” link is a sure fire hit for good time. My personal favorite discovery thus far? Frowntains.
Awesome.
April 1, 2008 at 10:04 pm · Filed under Internet
Quick off topic note: I’ve updated to Wordpress 2.5, so if this appears horribly broken, you know why.
I’ve been kind of stuck on something lately. I’ve been working really hard to improve as a web developer. I’m reading books like a madman, I’m trying to build some pilot projects in my spare time, and my Google Reader is chock full of web development feeds. I’m filling my brain with thoughts of semantic xHTML (strict of course), CSS, JavaScript, OOA&D, design patterns, SEO, Flash/Flex/AIR, the Zend Framework, and anything else that feels “right.”
You see, the thing is, I want to be really good at what I do. I want to understand how everything work and how it all fits together. I want to do things the best way it is possible to do them. My problem then, is that I’m starting to doubt that it matters. Not to say that I think I should abandon the cause, revert to table based layouts and spacer gifs, just that I don’t necessarily think being better is, well, better.
Let’s look at Facebook vs. MySpace, the quintessential “how can that be” comparison for me. MySpace is a horrible site. I hate it with the red hot passion of a thousand burning suns. It continues to be an internet atrocity which exists solely to spite me. And it is hugely successful and continues to be so. Facebook is wonderfully built, by smart people, in an intelligent way, that creates goals for me to aspire to (I still don’t like using it, but I really appreciate how hard that must have been).
So what is the magic factor that trumps all of the things I care about? Why don’t semantics, design, architecting, or a flexible code base matter? My guess is: people using your site can’t see those things, they cannot interact with those things, and they’re used to terrible design on the internet. So what does matter? My guess: content and usability. If it’s worthwhile and relatively simple, the world will love it. If it’s an ugly, spaghetti code, ball of mud that wouldn’t know semantics from a kick in the face, the only people who will ever hate it are the ones who have to maintain it.
