dammIT - thoughtshttps://dammit.nl/2024-01-01T21:18:26+01:00A rantboxHave an uneventful 20242024-01-01T21:18:26+01:002024-01-01T21:18:26+01:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2024-01-01:/have-an-uneventful-2024.html<p>Today was the first day of a new year. 2023 is behind us, but we are not done with the things we started during it. It was a year of both struggles and good times. Sometimes simultaneously.</p>
<p>2024 should be a year of improvements. Improving the situation at home, improving …</p><p>Today was the first day of a new year. 2023 is behind us, but we are not done with the things we started during it. It was a year of both struggles and good times. Sometimes simultaneously.</p>
<p>2024 should be a year of improvements. Improving the situation at home, improving ourselves at work, and the most fun part: getting better at those hobbies we cherish. Looking forward to that, and to laying the foundations of the upcoming years.</p>
<p>Stay healthy, stay sane!</p>
<p>(The fireworks still are strong here BTW)</p>
<p><img alt="Fireworks over houses" src="https://shuttereye.org/images/b3/b3f350e0f1b2f271_2000-2000.jpeg"></p>Have a very nominal 20232023-01-01T17:02:29+01:002023-01-01T17:02:29+01:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2023-01-01:/have-a-very-nominal-2023.html<p>The year 2022 has been an interesting one for me personally. At work, we had a lot of interesting developments, most of which I'm pretty happy with. On a personal level, we had some breakthroughs with matters we have been struggling with for quite some years now. I think I'll …</p><p>The year 2022 has been an interesting one for me personally. At work, we had a lot of interesting developments, most of which I'm pretty happy with. On a personal level, we had some breakthroughs with matters we have been struggling with for quite some years now. I think I'll keep the details for a 'hindsight is 20-22' post and stick with wishing all of you a very good 2023!</p>
<p>Stay healthy, stay sane!</p>vim, a true coding knight2022-12-10T13:05:40+01:002022-12-10T13:05:40+01:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2022-12-10:/song-about-vim.html<blockquote>
<p>Verse 1:<br>
In the land of the hackers,<br>
Where the code never sleeps,<br>
There's an editor that rules them all,<br>
The one they call Vim. </p>
<p>Chorus:<br>
Vim, Vim, the editor of choice,<br>
For those who crave speed and power,<br>
With its shortcuts and commands,<br>
It will make you a coding …</p></blockquote><blockquote>
<p>Verse 1:<br>
In the land of the hackers,<br>
Where the code never sleeps,<br>
There's an editor that rules them all,<br>
The one they call Vim. </p>
<p>Chorus:<br>
Vim, Vim, the editor of choice,<br>
For those who crave speed and power,<br>
With its shortcuts and commands,<br>
It will make you a coding tower. </p>
<p>Verse 2:<br>
Some may prefer GUI,<br>
But for us command-line kings,<br>
Vim is the way to go,<br>
Our editing lord and savior. </p>
<p>Chorus:<br>
Vim, Vim, the editor of choice,<br>
For those who crave speed and power,<br>
With its shortcuts and commands,<br>
It will make you a coding tower. </p>
<p>Bridge:<br>
From its humble beginnings,<br>
To its current might,<br>
Vim has proven its worth,<br>
A true coding knight. </p>
<p>Chorus:<br>
Vim, Vim, the editor of choice,<br>
For those who crave speed and power,<br>
With its shortcuts and commands,<br>
It will make you a coding tower. </p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>(<a href="https://chat.openai.com/chat">GPT</a>)</li>
</ul>Prey (movie)2022-08-28T16:29:50+02:002022-08-28T16:29:50+02:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2022-08-28:/prey-movie.html<p>I think I've seen all Predator and (almost) all Alien movies, and some of them are... not good. However, yesterday we saw Prey and it's a movie I'd like to recommend for people looking for a nice thriller and/or action movie with actually a bit of substance.</p>
<p>For those …</p><p>I think I've seen all Predator and (almost) all Alien movies, and some of them are... not good. However, yesterday we saw Prey and it's a movie I'd like to recommend for people looking for a nice thriller and/or action movie with actually a bit of substance.</p>
<p>For those in the unknown, the story is set in the 1700's and follows a Comanche girl that's derided for her wish to also hunt (and basically to be taken seriously). The way her evolving story and how the hunting sequences (both with animals and the Predator) are done are way above your average action movie. I will not say anything more, just go watch it if you like :)</p>Just a palindrome date2022-02-22T22:22:22+01:002022-02-22T22:22:22+01:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2022-02-22:/just-a-palindrome-date.html<p>I'll just leave this here: 22-02-2022 #numbers</p>Attention attenti-oh look, shiny2022-02-06T13:47:29+01:002022-02-06T13:47:29+01:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2022-02-06:/attention-attenti-oh-look.html<p>I have things to say about our attention spans, about how they are getting influenced by certain things, but I can't currently focus on typing a blog post so I guess it will be done later.</p>
<p><em>Adds to todo list</em></p>Have a normal 20222022-01-01T21:15:31+01:002022-01-01T21:15:31+01:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2022-01-01:/have-a-normal-2022.html<p>With a whole load of things being the new 'normal', wishing y'all a 'normal 2022' might not sound like how I intend it to. What I mean is, lets hope we get more of the normal that we were used to before that little virus found its way across the …</p><p>With a whole load of things being the new 'normal', wishing y'all a 'normal 2022' might not sound like how I intend it to. What I mean is, lets hope we get more of the normal that we were used to before that little virus found its way across the seven seas.</p>
<p>One of the things that kept me sort-of sane was blabbering in this litte rantbox, so I will surely be doing more of that in the upcoming year.</p>
<p>For now, lets enjoy some time with our loved ones, some well-earned downtime (if possible) and maybe a booster shot.</p>
<p>Happy normal 2022 everyone!</p>Get dressed to work2021-09-28T22:05:06+02:002021-09-28T22:05:06+02:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2021-09-28:/get-dressed-to-work.html<p>Draft has been collecting dust for a while, but I'd like to present you this from the COVID archives.</p>
<p>This is a bit of an odd one. I normally do not write or even talk much about clothing, but something jumped to me: the sheer amount of sweatpants I notice …</p><p>Draft has been collecting dust for a while, but I'd like to present you this from the COVID archives.</p>
<p>This is a bit of an odd one. I normally do not write or even talk much about clothing, but something jumped to me: the sheer amount of sweatpants I notice all around. Those are comfy, I know. Good stuff to wear in your free time, decompressing after a day of work or school.</p>
<p>That's not the time I notice them though. I quite often see (or used to see) them during the day. During work. During bringing the kids to school and fetching them. During walks in the park starting the day right before getting down to work from home.</p>
<p>If you are always wearing those clothes, how do you even differentiate between being in bed and being awake, let alone trying to be doing something productive?</p>
<p>Especially when you are working: dress like you are going outside and/or to the office. It will make you feel better, and it will help you switch between 'I need to get some stuff done' and 'I can relax now'. Especially in times when boundaries between private life and working life are blurring, this is a small way of keeping you sane.</p>
<p>By all means, wear something comfy, warm, wide, possibly stretchy, but stay away from the sweatpants. To quote Karl Lagerfeld:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life so you bought some sweatpants."</p>
</blockquote>Morning walks2021-03-30T10:26:30+02:002021-03-30T10:26:30+02:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2021-03-30:/morning-walks.html<p>Morning walks are my way of staying sane(ish) in these times. Good for recharging and stretching the legs, starting the day by waking up with some fresh air in my face, maybe even some sun, or - even better - a lovely blanket of fog.</p>
<p><a href="https://shuttereye.org/photolog/PXL_20210303_073446908.jpg/view/"><img alt="Foggy reeds" src="https://shuttereye.org/images/f0/f0e2d212c0d0c046_2000-2000.jpg"></a></p>
<p><a href="https://shuttereye.org/photolog/PXL_20210302_073746844-01.jpeg/view/"><img alt="Crocus and daffodil flowers" src="https://shuttereye.org/images/2c/2c33b0999ebb6d79_2000-2000.jpeg"></a></p>
<p><a href="https://shuttereye.org/photolog/PXL_20210302_073729121-01.jpeg/view/"><img alt="Crocus and daffodil flowers" src="https://shuttereye.org/images/11/1190a4870b4f4fae_2000-2000.jpeg"></a></p>
<p><a href="https://shuttereye.org/photolog/PXL_20210302_073715775-01.jpeg/view/"><img alt="Crocus and daffodil flowers" src="https://shuttereye.org/images/e4/e49e3994d25ad154_2000-2000.jpeg"></a></p>
<p><a href="https://shuttereye.org/photolog/PXL_20210302_073424699.jpg/view/"><img alt="Early sun shining through trees and reeds" src="https://shuttereye.org/images/f0/f0b0b0b0b009a0f8_2000-2000.jpg"></a></p>In need of recharging2021-03-18T15:33:22+01:002021-03-18T15:33:22+01:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2021-03-18:/need-recharging.html<p><a href="https://shuttereye.org/photolog/PXL_20210301_111451900.jpg/view/"><img alt="Arty shot of decorative plants at working place" src="https://shuttereye.org/images/9c/9cd6d6d6d6d0c4c8_2000-2000.jpg"></a></p>
<p>It's easy to have the blues and be out of energy in these times. Being confined to our homes, changing our ways and lives; not all bad, but a challenge to juggle young kids, work from home and other things.</p>
<p>On the other hand, one might find more free time …</p><p><a href="https://shuttereye.org/photolog/PXL_20210301_111451900.jpg/view/"><img alt="Arty shot of decorative plants at working place" src="https://shuttereye.org/images/9c/9cd6d6d6d6d0c4c8_2000-2000.jpg"></a></p>
<p>It's easy to have the blues and be out of energy in these times. Being confined to our homes, changing our ways and lives; not all bad, but a challenge to juggle young kids, work from home and other things.</p>
<p>On the other hand, one might find more free time on their hands because of eliminated home/work travel and such.</p>
<p>I do have a bunch of hobbies, all vying for my time: books, series, gaming (racing, <a href="https://openra.net/">OpenRA</a> with friends), movies, running, writing software, chatting online, watching random YouTube videos, and quite a bit more, not to forget spending time with my lovely wife. This sometimes leads me to spend more time doing what I love than is good for my (night)rest, especially as my free time still is pretty limited, and mostly consists of a few hours in the evening when the kids have been put in bed.</p>
<p>Having my kids more at home than pre-SARS-CoV-2 is also taking energy, and work has some interesting deadlines looming over me.</p>
<p>All of this means I'm not feeling all that fresh and well-rested, however many morning walks I take to clear the cobwebs from my head. A few days off doing something on my own would be nice, but for now, taking care to get to bed a bit earlier might also be a good way to recharge, at least physical :)</p>OOM killer, gun for hire2021-01-28T20:10:30+01:002021-01-28T20:10:30+01:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2021-01-28:/oom-killer-gun-for-hire.html<pre><code>shorberg | I think total war got confused...
↪ | it thinks I have, 133 758 976 MB of VRAM
tadzik | it's possible if M stands for mili
↪ | this many milibytes is just over 128 megabytes
shorberg | :P
↪ | let's hope it doesn't actually try to use that much
aquatix | the OOM killer likes …</code></pre><pre><code>shorberg | I think total war got confused...
↪ | it thinks I have, 133 758 976 MB of VRAM
tadzik | it's possible if M stands for mili
↪ | this many milibytes is just over 128 megabytes
shorberg | :P
↪ | let's hope it doesn't actually try to use that much
aquatix | the OOM killer likes to see it coming
Psy-Q | does the OOM killer get a fax when VRAM runs out?
↪ | i thought it was mostly hanging around seedy bars with plain old system memory and not VRAM
↪ | sitting in the corner, smoking and occasionally sending threatening glances to the tourist couples that stumble in by accident. they just don't know what kind of
| clientele this place usually serves
↪ | it's a tough neighborhood, kernel space!
shorberg | where the dames are thorny and the drink lukewarm
aquatix | Psy-Q: yeah, the fax is delivered by courier from the nearest telegraph tower
↪ | and his hungover reaction that starts at about midday the next day, is just in time to shoot down a random innocent process that happened to bump into his
| breakfast whisky
↪ | after which just enough RAM is freed to have the offending process realise it should probably kill itself
↪ | so after about a forthnite your system has restored itself to something resembling a functional teletyper again
</code></pre>Hello 20212021-01-02T22:53:07+01:002021-01-02T22:53:07+01:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2021-01-02:/hello-2021.html<p>The plague year 2020 has passed. It has been a wild ride, and not all of it bad. Working from home want pretty well, I upgraded my nerdcave quite a bit in the progress, cleaning up a lot of the mess of stuff I assembled there, and even started a …</p><p>The plague year 2020 has passed. It has been a wild ride, and not all of it bad. Working from home want pretty well, I upgraded my nerdcave quite a bit in the progress, cleaning up a lot of the mess of stuff I assembled there, and even started a new hobby, about which I will tell a bit more soon. Spending more time with my close ones, less so with the rest of family and friends, apart from video calls and quick visits at the right distance now and then.</p>
<p>I shot <a href="https://shuttereye.org/photolog/">some</a> <a href="https://shuttereye.org/nature/">nice pictures</a>, I enjoyed reviving this weblog, thinking about <a href="https://dammit.nl/tag/secondbrain.html">second brain</a> stuff, chatting about that and more with friends from around the globe, in the process hearing their stories about their own lock-downs, governments gone bananas, and more.</p>
<p>I did lose a grandpa and <a href="https://dammit.nl/goodbye-grandma.html">grandma</a> this year though, which always makes me sad. They had good, long lives, but their passing leaves a hole in my heart. My last surviving grandparent doesn't do that well either, so trying to spend some time with him and our kids together is high on the list of things to do.</p>
<p>Work was still a big frenzy for a large part of the year, but geared down halfway through, so we can work on our products at a more measured speed. I think 2021 will be a year of tech and architecture upgrades (I hope), but in the meanwhile we are running a rather solid product already. It needs more features, but all-in-all I'm reasonably happy with what we did :)</p>
<p>Work will have to be combined with home schooling again, so there is a nice challenge. We'll power through, but I hope the kids are a bit more independent now and will muster the energy and focus to do their work on their own when needed; school even says it is not the intention to supervise them full-time.</p>
<p>My energy level is slowly going up, still need to up my game getting in bed a bit earlier in the night. Lots of things to do, many of them fun.</p>
<p>Also, my <a href="https://github.com/posativ/isso">isso</a> commenting system has been broken for over a week now, so I should take a look at that soonish(tm).</p>
<p>So, there is this new year, 2021. Full of promises. Lets make sure at least some of them come true.</p>Seventeen years of dammIT2020-12-21T21:57:32+01:002020-12-21T21:57:32+01:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2020-12-21:/seventeen-years-of-dammit.html<p>Well, <a href="https://dammit.nl/december-2020-blog-spree.html">that experiment</a> obviously didn't work out as planned. I'm not even going to pretend I posted something in between the <a href="https://dammit.nl/link-wintergatan.html">Wintergatan</a> link and this post<sup id="fnref:1"><a class="footnote-ref" href="#fn:1">1</a></sup>, but I am going to celebrate this little platform of mine. It has been serving me for seventeen years now, and my use …</p><p>Well, <a href="https://dammit.nl/december-2020-blog-spree.html">that experiment</a> obviously didn't work out as planned. I'm not even going to pretend I posted something in between the <a href="https://dammit.nl/link-wintergatan.html">Wintergatan</a> link and this post<sup id="fnref:1"><a class="footnote-ref" href="#fn:1">1</a></sup>, but I am going to celebrate this little platform of mine. It has been serving me for seventeen years now, and my use of it has not waned. I'll likely be posting a bit more often than I have been doing for the last couple of years, sharing an interesting link now and then, and working through my backlog of some howto's and other fun stuff I want to share with the void.</p>
<p>I do not see this weblog as a journal (I <a href="https://dammit.nl/5-minute-journal.html">have a real one for that</a>), but I would like to bring back <a href="https://twitter.com/michielscholten">my now defunct microblogging life</a> a bit to this corner of the web that is entirely mine.</p>
<p>The (prelude to my) switch in jobs two years ago made me realise I should focus on things I generate net energy with, and conversations about walled gardens, indie web projects, <a href="https://dammit.nl/tag/secondbrain.html">second brains</a> - combined with all the changes this plague year brought - have me refocussing on this soap box that still sparks me joy. Well, is it a soap box? I kind of said that I write for myself, so I might just be yelling to clouds :)</p>
<p>(Or, to the cloud. Ha. Ha.)</p>
<p>The tiredness is slowly going away (if I stick with going to bed sooner than my todo list wants), and I am spending time with my wife and kids - more so than before. In a good way, even though home schooling will commence right after this little holiday is done with. Even that might go better than early this year, at least our attitude towards it is a lot more relaxed now.</p>
<p>Anyway, seventeen years have passed since me starting this rantbox. Seventeen years of things happening, chapters of the book of my life closing, new ones opening. Sweet seventeen, even when this year wasn't so kind on us.</p>
<div class="footnote">
<hr>
<ol>
<li id="fn:1">
<p>Well, maybe I'll be backdating a note about my grandmother passing away <a class="footnote-backref" href="#fnref:1" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>Tired, or not enough time2020-12-08T21:56:10+01:002020-12-08T21:56:10+01:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2020-12-08:/tired-not-enough-time.html<p>So I'm chronically tired for a while now. It is mainly my own fault, not going to bed early enough. This has a whole spectrum of reasons, some of which hobby-related (evenings are for doing stuff, right?), others kids-related ("go to sleep already"), and there are work emergencies that occur …</p><p>So I'm chronically tired for a while now. It is mainly my own fault, not going to bed early enough. This has a whole spectrum of reasons, some of which hobby-related (evenings are for doing stuff, right?), others kids-related ("go to sleep already"), and there are work emergencies that occur now and then, and the occasional webinar or meeting.</p>
<p>At the other end of the night we also have the kids: "let us sleep until our alarm clock, dammit".</p>
<p>I do not enjoy the frequent headaches accompanying this sleep deprivation, and I think my thought process will work a lot faster and more coherent when I had enough sleep.</p>
<p>So anyway, as the clock is approaching 10 in the evening, let's turn this computer off, and hit the hay.</p>
<p>Sleep is not overrated, it is pretty great. Have some.</p>Running keeps me sane2020-12-04T11:19:39+01:002020-12-04T11:19:39+01:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2020-12-04:/running-keeps-me-sane.html<p>I tend to use computers a lot. This leads to having a not-so-great posture, to limbs that could use a bit more variety of movements, and a mind that's getting foggier the more things needing to be done.</p>
<p>Years back, I found out that running (jogging) is not as bad …</p><p>I tend to use computers a lot. This leads to having a not-so-great posture, to limbs that could use a bit more variety of movements, and a mind that's getting foggier the more things needing to be done.</p>
<p>Years back, I found out that running (jogging) is not as bad as I thought it would be, and I am even moderately good at it. It provides me a feeling of Zen, bordering at flow, and most important of all: it made me less tired and foggy. Yes, less tired, which is... nice.</p>
<p>This year, going out on my runs would have helped quite a bit. Instead, I was busy with other things; from work, to spending more time with other hobbies, to not really wanting to go out in the rain (or heat of summer). Mostly valid reasons, but it does not stimulate my body all that well.</p>
<p>My right knee was wonky, and my right foot felt sympathetic, which did not help motivating me to go running either. After some help from a physiotherapist I had a schema to start running again, and I did, until I didn't. Which was a couple of months ago. Today, I decided that I had enough of the aches in my back and shoulders, my fluffy, fuzzy, foggy head, and went out into the cold wind for some light interval training. It was glorious. I did not push hard (as that would not be particularly helpful to my knee and foot), but exercised and laughed at the icy wind.</p>
<p>Good stuff.</p>
<p>The hot shower afterwards was kinda nice too ;)</p>COVID-19: day 265, on cave improvements2020-12-03T14:54:58+01:002020-12-03T14:54:58+01:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2020-12-03:/covid-day-265-on-cave-improvements.html<p>A lot of people used the time spent at home improving said place. This of course had a variety of reasons: from having more time not spent sitting in traffic, to having a bit too much time by not be able to work at all (sucks) to being at home …</p><p>A lot of people used the time spent at home improving said place. This of course had a variety of reasons: from having more time not spent sitting in traffic, to having a bit too much time by not be able to work at all (sucks) to being at home so much more that finally those little and not-so-little things begin to itch too much that having a good scratch feels like the proper thing to do.</p>
<p>Same with me. We live in a fairly new home, which thankfully did not need structural improving, but my nerdcave - or home office - really could use some love. In the past few years, I collected old belongings in there, and old electronics tend to end up in this same room. This meant that apart from the storage units (cupboards? closets?), my desk, and the Ikea Billy full of books, there were a lot of boxes filled with... stuff stacked on the floor, making it a cramped, and not so comfortable place.</p>
<p>The desk itself also had grown untidy, so when I started working there basically fulltime, that did not help unclutter my mind.</p>
<p>After a while, I started rummaging through the items, and sifting, reordering, reorganising, throwing things out; all the things I wanted to do for years. It took months of on and off taking time to do this, but now the floor is open again, I got some neat stacks on top of the storage systems, and said closets have seen their own TLC and organising. I know where items are, I threw some old crap out, and I'm happier because of it all. It's tidy (my wife wouldn't call it that, but I like how it looks now). There's extra shelving space for books and even comics, and I got myself a display Billy for my old Lego, because why not.</p>
<p>My working environment has improved too. I was lucky to score some external screens, and just last month I finally built a desktop machine again, after a decade of just having (docked) laptops. Together with some good desk lighting, I'm far more happy sitting here than at the ol' office.</p>
<p>I even got myself some gaming accessories, but that's something for a different post.</p>
<p>All in all, I made this room mine again, and being here is soothing.</p>December 2020 blog spree2020-12-02T21:00:58+01:002020-12-02T21:00:58+01:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2020-12-02:/december-2020-blog-spree.html<p>Today I had a conversation with an internet friend of mine (on Riot^H^H^H^H<a href="https://element.io/">Element</a>), and they confessed hating to blog. To me, that was interesting, as apparently they felt a pressure to write, but would very much prefer not to.</p>
<p>Which I think is totally sane …</p><p>Today I had a conversation with an internet friend of mine (on Riot^H^H^H^H<a href="https://element.io/">Element</a>), and they confessed hating to blog. To me, that was interesting, as apparently they felt a pressure to write, but would very much prefer not to.</p>
<p>Which I think is totally sane. Well, the not wanting to part, that is.</p>
<p>My take on blogging is to do it for yourself. I write when I learned something new I'm enthousiastic enough about to share (mainly for future me), or when I want to document something I had to research, for future reference (me), or just want to vent. Basically, that all boils down to writing for myself. Not really in a 'journal' way, but I decided a long time ago that I should not care what I do in my own garden.</p>
<p>I would like to have the work and things I do to have a net positive influence on my mind. The posts I write here are giving me positive energy, are about things that give me that, or help me loose some negative energy.</p>
<p>That occassionally someone else benefits because I wrote a useful <a href="https://dammit.nl/tag/howto.html">howto</a>, only helps with the positive energy, but it's almost a by-product. A thankful one though, as I always get happy when I see I helped some people (just the one person is perfectly fine), just as I get happy when someone else wrote a helpful article when I am stuck.</p>
<p>I started this weblog in 2003 as a way of expressing myself, forcing myself to write a bit more (in English, which is not my native tongue), and to have a place to dump my thoughts on. It was even a bit micro-bloggy before that was even a thing.</p>
<p>This month, I'm going to try to do the latter a bit more again, as I want to challenge my writing again, and would like to make this quiet little garden of mine a natural place to ruminate again.</p>The Distribution of Users’ Computer Skills: Worse Than You Think2020-11-27T09:28:10+01:002020-11-27T09:28:10+01:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2020-11-27:/link-distribution-user-computer-skills.html<blockquote>
<p>One of usability’s most hard-earned lessons is that <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-priorities/"><em>you are not the user</em></a>. This is why it’s a <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/guesses-vs-data/">disaster to guess</a> at the users’ needs. Since designers are so different from the majority of the target audience, it’s not just <em>irrelevant</em> what you like or what you …</p></blockquote><blockquote>
<p>One of usability’s most hard-earned lessons is that <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-priorities/"><em>you are not the user</em></a>. This is why it’s a <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/guesses-vs-data/">disaster to guess</a> at the users’ needs. Since designers are so different from the majority of the target audience, it’s not just <em>irrelevant</em> what you like or what you think is easy to use — it’s often <em>misleading</em> to rely on such personal preferences.</p>
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<p>The various levels really made me think, as a lot of people in my direct environment are already in the top 5%, which is of course completely out of whack with the levels of most of the population. Even the definition of this 'high computer-related abilities' level is interesting, as in my mind, the skills listed were already pretty basic, albeit above the 'really easy' stuff.</p>
<p>If you want to target a broad consumer audience, it's safest to assume that users' skills are those specified for level 1. (But, remember that 14% of adults have even poorer skills, even disregarding the many who can't use a computer at all.)</p>
<p>I do not normally tell people what to go read, but will do so now anyway: just read this article if you are in the industry. If you are even remotely connected to creating or designing or even thinking about software, sites, systems that other people will use, eat this food for thought.</p>2020: A Short Summary (so far)2020-06-30T10:24:19+02:002020-06-30T10:24:19+02:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2020-06-30:/2020-a-short-summary-so-far.html<p><img alt="Photo comic of two guys having a conversation in a car, about 2020" src="https://shuttereye.org/images/8b/8b1b1b1b1b191999_2000-2000.png"></p>
<p>The abridged version of 2020 as we're nearing the end of the first half of it. What a time to be alive.</p>
<p>Be sure to load the rest of the images when you're nearing the end.</p>COVID-19: day 82, on which I personally check whether the office is still there2020-06-03T14:54:58+02:002020-06-03T14:54:58+02:00Michiel Scholtentag:dammit.nl,2020-06-03:/covid-day-82-office.html<p>This week, me and my colleagues started using the office again. It's a bit awkward, but also good to see each other in the real again. We keep the amount of people in the space low, so not everybody is here at the same time.</p>
<p>Transparent dividers have been ordered …</p><p>This week, me and my colleagues started using the office again. It's a bit awkward, but also good to see each other in the real again. We keep the amount of people in the space low, so not everybody is here at the same time.</p>
<p>Transparent dividers have been ordered to separate the desks better (a 27" screen does not really cut it), and moving around the room sometimes is a little dance around each other.</p>
<p>Most of my days I will still be working from home, where I have set up a pretty decent ~~nerdcave~~ home office, and which saves travel time (not that biking for about 12 minutes is such a big hassle, even a good way to wake up). Lets see where things go from here.</p>