dave's not here

choice spam titles, part two

A few more titles from recently-received spam that were just too rich to delete without sharing (although most of you have, no doubt, seen these in your own inbox, or at least your spam filter has):

• FREE PORNO
  (This spammer needs tips on how to outwit the spam filters, although I was momentarily intrigued.)
• homogenous whichever fest
  (This could actually describe some festivals, or humanity at large — we’re all the same, yet oh so different, or some bunk like that)
• Message Subject
  (No! Really?)
• torpedo and luge
  (Sounds like a bad buddy-cop flick.)
• we will educate you on refiancing,afemkvelmqvbverqb
  (But not on spelling.)
• evil
  (There’s no way I’m opening that.)
• HORSE
  (This either.)
• It has a sweet taste, but is still dry (if that makes sense)
  (Yes. Yes it does.)
• Re: My Beep
  (There used to be a breakfast drink called Beep. I really liked it, but you couldn’t find it everywhere. I wonder if this guy is having the same issue?)
• That means you better get a receipt for just about everything
  (Sound advice from any source.)
• This will make “it” harder
  (“It”?! What is “it”?! Should “it” be harder!? Or easier? Or softer!? I’m so confused! Please help me spam-man!)
• webpages crapped
  (As strange as it may be to think of an item comprised of bits, as opposed to atoms, actually defecating, I think I’ve actually seen webpages that do just that.)

This surely isn’t the end. Any good ones in your inbox?

for the grinders

Well, since the hockey team’s blog won’t let me post links (wtf?) here’s what I was trying to post. This is for Shaun…

ASSLESS, maybe you need some movement. How ’bout some hot stickfigure porn?

Or maybe Lego porn (yes, Lego porn) is more your thang?

If that doesn’t do it, maybe you go in for some hardcore furniture action?

Whatever floats yer boat, dude.

the secret is out

For eight months, I have been working in a role that has been less web-centric than I’ve been used to for the last 10 years. I’ve been focused on student recruitment and advertising for an educational institute and I haven’t been keeping up with some of the readings around design and development that I would normally track. My focus is set to return to the web, however, and I’ve begun trying to catch up.

One of the articles I’ve stumbled across is one by Michael Bierut called This is My Process. It really resonated with me, because it describes my own thoughts around my design process almost precisely. More than that, it articulates that key component I’ve struggled with in trying to teach people a process for “good” design. Essentially, no matter how much process you wrap around a design project, no matter how much time you spend showing people the steps to take to ensure a successful project, you simply can’t allow for, nor teach, the magic that occurs at some point in the process that results in the solution. As Bierut puts it:

When I do a design project…[s]omewhere along the way an idea for the design pops into my head from out of the blue. I can’t really explain that part; it’s like magic. Sometimes it even happens before you have a chance to tell me that much about your problem!

This has been the case for me on numerous occasions. And, like Bierut, I’ve found myself trying “to figure out some strategic justification for the solution so I can explain it to [a client] without relying on good taste” they may or may not have.

The article goes on to mention a book, Artful Making: What Managers Need to Know About How Artists Work, that sounds like something I could use going forward; or more precisely, what some of the people I’ll be working with could use.

Anyway, back to the web…

a new theme

One of the cool things about WordPress, and Blogs in general, is the ability to quickly give them a new look without too much effort. In fact, you don’t even have to know any (X)HTML or CSS if that’s not your thing — depending on how your blog is hosted, you may not even have to deal with messy file structures, just point and click to install a new look and feel.

When I first installed WordPress a few months ago, I spent more time surfing for themes than I did actually writing any blog postings. I eventually settled on one that was pretty “plain jane” in my opinion…until I found this theme which is actually called plane jane. I’m not sure what it has to do with airplanes, but it’s sufficiently plain to warrant the title.

One day I might get around to designing a theme that really says “dave,” but there’s a part of me that feels as though a personality as robust as mine could never be encapsulated in something as simple as a blog theme (*rolls eyes*). Mostly though, it’s just that I’m lazy.

you happy now?

So this fucktard I work with is bugging me ’cause I haven’t posted anything in a month.

Happy now?