Everyone wants to be able to choose what they listen to, read, watch etc, right?  We can discover more depth to every story by being able to research and find different view.  But I think that, like in the consumer economy, too many choices paralyze us and cause us to never make any choices.

No choice is sometimes much better.

Let’s take me as an example.  I have started working from home.  I read blogs, people tell me things over twitter, but it turns out, I had no idea what was going on in the world.  It was 3 days before I found out about the volcano in Iceland.  So, how does someone who is connected to the internet, who reads a lot, miss out on what’s happening?  It’s because I was choosing things I wanted to read, and the breath of what I found interesting enough to click on was so narrow.  I would click on links about usability studies, or new ways to create web apps.  Real world, interesting things outside the scope of my narrow world have been forgotten, even though I really am interested in them.  I was out of touch;  this needed to be fixed.  How do we get the knowledge in?

Experiment stage 1

In order to remedy this, I have decided to try and read more news:  I would check the guardian.co.uk and bbc.co.uk every morning before work.  It didn’t work: I would remember some days, and I would still pick which articles I found interesting.  I was still not getting a very good breadth of knowledge.  I could choose to read things or not.  I had the choice, and I had better things to do.

Experiment stage 2

I then tuned the radio to bbc radio 4 in the kitchen (the talk radio show for the UK).  Because I work from home, I only listen to it when I’m preparing meals or washing the dishes.  Just today, I got to hear about:

1) A panel discussing the 1970 Miss World Contest, where Jennifer Hosten from Grenada won, where South Africa sent a white and black contestant, and where women’s rights protests occured.  I got to listen to the experience from Jennifer Hosten’s perspective (who actually went on to study Political Science in Ottawa, where I’m from!), and hear about Bob Hope getting heckled off the stage.

2)  Learned a bit about the Mitford Sisters, a group of 6 strong-willed sisters, 1 of whom was friends with Hitler, one of whom was a fascist supporter.  All this from the youngest of the sisters (who is now 90) at the beginning of the war.  You not only hear about the facts, you get to hear about their personal relationships.

About half the programs that I listen to on the radio now I would never have chosen for myself.  Because it is an old radio that’s hard to tune (especially out here in the country), even if I’m not originally interested, I stay put.

Media choice makes you stupid

Because you can often decide in seconds to flick away, we are learning very little about things that we know nothing about.  Why?  Because it’s hard work absorbing new information, and most of us in the web community spend our days trying to keep up with all the technology.  We feel full of new information already.  The problem is, it’s got no depth.  We end up incapable of talking about anything outside our little world of interests.  While I know many people are diligent about reading the papers, I expect you still choose which articles to read, to your detriment.

When we get comfortable learning only things we already know (olds), we run the risk of losing our curiosity for news.  In an industry where we talk about finding inspiration from everywhere, maybe limiting our media choices, forcing ourselves to learn something different, can make a real difference.  I know that my life has become so much richer since I have started listening.

(I also am going back to listening to cbcradio3, Canada’s independent music station, as I have got stuck in a rut on my music too.)

Question: do you participate in limiting media experiences (ie. ones where you have little choice what you listen/watch)?

This was the final straw: I’ve got my mailbox, tweetie, google reader, adium, skype, dropbox, facebook, linkedin… well, since I have a few contacts, and I’m subscribed to lots of newsletters, I was chronically checking emails, twitter, facebook and more.  I can’t stop.

The problem was, although I was more connected:

1) I wasn’t getting anything done
2) I had nothing to talk about, as I wasn’t accomplishing anything

So, in embracing the Linchpin mentality, I’m focusing.  I need some peace.

I need peace!

Turning off the big interruptors

Step one:  Remove growl

Growl is a great way to be notified if something happens.  If you get a message from someone, it’s there in the top right.  It is great, but is also the biggest distraction I have.  There’s no need to be interrupted every two seconds when someone changes a file (in dropbox), or when someone’s internet kicks in and out and they are signed in and out of skype.  By just removing growl, my interruptions decreased by 50%.

How to remove Growl:

http://growl.info/documentation/growl-package-removal.php

Interruption level: 10 Highest
Estimated time saved: 50 minutes

Step 2: Unsubscribe to every newsletter you legitimately don’t read

I’m interested in a lot, but my time is precious. I’ll often try out a newsletter, but if they don’t offer me value every time their emailing me, they’re causing me to chronically check my emails as I see there’s something new. (If they don’t offer an automatic unsubscribe, shame on them. They also get marked as spam.)

Interruption level: 7 High
Estimated time saved: 30 min per day

Step 3: Reduce your rss reader items to only the BEST items

I feel bad when I see my rss feeder unread number increasing and increasing. I want to make sure I read some things, but I do spend a good amount of time every day going through marking blog posts as read to get this number down. I’ve also unsubscribed to those places that I haven’t read recently, and especially to those places that post 20 times a day, no matter how useful some of their items are.

Interruption level: 7 High
Estimated time saved: 20 min per day

Step 3: Turn off Mail notifications

I love getting new emails, and when I want to distract myself, it’s the first thing I check. I actually love that sound: DING! “Ooooh! Who’s written me?” I think! It’s not that I’m actually going to respond to the email right away or anything. So knowing that I have a new email is an absolute waste of time.

Interruption level: 8 High
Estimated time saved: 40 min per day

Step 4: Quit Adium, googletalk, msn messenger, aim, etc

I turned these off a while ago. Not only was I chronically checking who was online, I was making it easy for others to distract me.

Interruption level: 8 High
Estimated time saved: 50 min per day

Step 4: Turn off most of your skype notifications

Skype makes loads of really fun noises… While it’s great to know exactly when you’re being contacted. But, hearing that someone new has come online, knowing when someone has sent me a message actually drives me to distraction. When I’m on a skype call, receiving loads of skype messages makes it difficult for me to concentrate on what I’m talking about. If you need to keep skype on, train your contacts to only contact you when it’s important, and to send you a text and receive confirmation before calling you. I personally only keep the call notifications on, and put it on ‘busy’ mode when I’m on a call.

Interruption level: 7 High
Estimated time saved: 30 min per day

Step 6: Close down skype, tweetie (twitter applications) and mail whenever you can

Set up specific times to check them and respond to people, as well as specific ‘wasting’ time. This is actually my biggest time waster, even though I’ve reduced my notifications. I find when these are off

Interruption level: 8 High
Estimated time saved: 50 min per day

Step 7: Close down any tabs that you might sit there hitting refresh to see miniscule changes.

This means ebay watching lists, facebook news stream, twitter home, anything analytics.  It also means obsessively browsing through Asos’s website for something I might like (but really don’t need anything),  frantically trying to get my google reader count down to zero unread, and anything else you can do for hours which accomplish NOTHING. These are time wasters, and can easily cause obsession!

Interruption level: 8 High
Estimated time saved: 50 min per day

Step 8: Turn off your internet completely

Nothing gets you in the zone better than turning everything off. I start to feel desperately alone, and often reference the web for development, so this is best when you’re designing. If you’re in the right mind frame, turning off the internet can help you do your best work.

Interruption level: 10 High
Estimated time saved: depends (probably a combination of previous entries)

How much time could I save?

On a really unproductive day, I could easily spend over 5 hours (my estimate, 320 minutes) doing absolutely nothing, designing nothing, and accomplishing nothing. It’s easy, but with a bit of diligence you can reduce the amount of unproductive hours.

p.s. These days, I’ve got still got tweetie and skype open, but with their notifications minified, I find I’m not chronically checking them. By the way, what are you doing wasting your time here?  Get back to work!!

“They are so afraid we shall break down, and you know the reputation of the college is at stake, for the question is, can girls get a college degree without injuring their health.”

-Ellen Swallow Richards

My choice for this year is Ellen Swallow Richards (1842-1911), the first woman to be accepted into MIT, a huge (financial and emotional) component to them accepting women undergraduates within the following 10 years, and a highly successful chemist, whose work in sanitation control forever changed the way we measure water quality.

“The Faculty [of Vassar] do not consider it a mere experiment any longer that girls can be educated as well as boys.”

-Ellen Swallow Richards

Ellen Swallow Richards

I love her story.  From a poor family, she worked hard for years to raise enough money to enter college, where she earned her bachelor’s degree.  When she managed to gain admission into MIT, it was recorded that “it being understood that her admission did not establish a precedent for the general admission of females”.   While Ellen wished to earn her doctorate after earning multiple degrees, MIT wouldn’t dream of allowing her to pursue it (luckily, a few years after, her precedent allowed another woman to do so).

She became an active member of many university associations supporting women entering into universities.  She helped to begin the MIT Women’s Laboratory in 1879, where she worked as a teaching assistant without pay, teaching chemical analysis, industrial chemistry, mineralogy, and applied biology.  In 1883 the lab was closed as MIT began to accept women as general students.  HURRAH!

While it doesn’t seem like a big thing now, but Ellen Swallow Richards was also the founder of modern home economics.  She was very interested in efficient home management,  basically designed to allow her to get her domestic duties finished quickly, so she could get back to the science. I like this: in essence, she was working within the confines of society to make careers a little bit more accessible for the average woman.

“I hope that I am winning a way which others will keep open.”

-Ellen Swallow Richards

Thanks to women like Ellen, if I wanted to learn engineering, mathematics, or any university degree I wanted, I could. She was lucky enough to have a husband and colleagues who supported her ambitions for an equal opportunity for women at MIT. She was all about supporting the next generation, to allow a space for them, if they deserved it. She had high expectations of women as academics when most of society treated women like second class citizens.

So, hats off to Ellen Swallow Richards!

If you want to read more about Ellen:

Wikipedia article on Ellen Swallow Richards

MIT archives on Ellen Swallow Richards

Chemical Achievers: Ellen Swallow Richards

Don’t worry, I have replaced his head with white snow, and he is happily hanging out in the Great White North!

My snow sculpting leaves a little to be desired... maybe more of a snow llama? Poor safetygoat!

Arty shot. Notice hair peaking in! I had to use my computer covered in a plastic bag to get the shot...

His lifejacket doesn't fit very well! He is a growing boy afterall... Maybe he needs a new one for his birthday!

I still haven’t got a vinyl toy of safetygoat made, I didn’t make half as many new clothes as I planned, and I definitely didn’t do as much spraypainting!

2009 was a great year though!

I launched my first apps, thepickuptruck and graffed, and I’m close to getting theboxcat out in private beta.  I also started writing for Smashing Magazine,  and will hopefully become a more regular writer this year.  I also quit my job at bview in September to go traveling for a while, and have realized I am more of a projects girl than a traveler.  I’ve realized that you’ve got to try things to find out if they’re for you.

I’m really excited about 2010, and I think this decade will be very good, but I’m not sure what this year will bring.  I’m not sure about my visa for England, so I’m not sure where I’m going to be living, but there’s something a bit exciting about that.  In that sense, it’s hard for me to make resolutions for next year, but it is fun to do!

1. Get a job

Travelling these past few months have been fun, but I really want to focus on my web design. I would love to see if I could do part time somewhere, and then do freelance part time, but as long as I’m doing something that challenges me, with interesting people, I’ll be happy.

2. Refine and refine

2009 was great for new websites for me, and I’ve learned so much about coding, designing and usability.  I’ve done some good work on some websites, on safetygoat, on graffed, boxcat, etc, but they’re a work in progress, and I’m looking forward to refining them!

3. More drawing

Last year, I occasionally used my lunch hours to do sketches, mostly of cbc radio 3 songs.  It was really rewarding, and a good way to keep drawing. I want to get my “lunch time sketches” up and going and at least once a week, if not twice a week, to keep me coming up with visual concepts.

4. More arts and crafts!

I’ve bought some books on dress making, and I’d love to learn how to make clothes in a bit more traditional way– ie not me making it ALL up as I go!  Whether I get my safetygoat made, or continue to experiment with moulding them myself, I want to continue trying lots of new things.

10. “Bird poop island” AKA the White Islands

And when they call them the White Islands, it’s definitely the “few feet of guano” that they are referring to.  I didn’t get pooped on, so it was definitely a successful boat ride!

9. Beautiful  churches and ruins

If you want to see Inca ruins and 16th, 17th and 18th century South American churches, Peru is definitely going to satisfy your craving.  We saw many many fantastic Inca ruins, including Macchu Pichu, of course, as well as Inca cities even bigger than that between Cusco and Puno.  The most stunning church was probably San Pedro de Andahuaylillas, considered the Sistene Chapel of America (incredible painting and art pieces).  I preferred the more rustic churches, though.

Convent of Santa Catalina

Considered the most important building in Peru, it’s easy why people are impressed with this place.  More like a mini city than a building, it’s got a few streets and it probably the most beautiful, colourful place I saw in all of Peru.

8. Sheep, alamas, alpacas, cows, donkeys, one goat, and oh so many stray dogs!

It’s no wonder their hats and scarfs are made from llamas and alpacas, as they are everywhere!  They really have a different relationship with their dogs in Peru.  We thought the dogs were all strays, but it looks like owners just let them wander around during the day.  I was in love with all the animals we saw EVERYWHERE!

Oh, and eating guinea pigs!

It’s the traditional dish in Peru, and they eat them on special occasions.  Even their paintings of the Last Supper features guinea pig!  It was actually delicious– tasted a lot like chicken actually!

6. Chivay’s dancing and hot springs

Near the Colca Canyon, we stayed in a little town called Chivay.  While we weren’t keen on the “touristy meal” idea, their live band and hilarious dancers really made our night.  I was the first to go up and boogie with the guy, and then Ollie was roped into a 10 minute long dance fiesta!

El hot spring-os

What could be better than a hot spring in the mountain side?  More like a swimming pool than a spring, yet it was over 39 degrees celsius in the pool, and 87 degrees where it came into the pool!

5. Our new card playing friends in Puno

We went to the bar and were going to play some cards.  Somehow I dealt our bartender in to a simple game of 31.  I’ve never seen people having so much fun playing such a simple game! Our friends played some great tunes, and we had an absolute ball that night.

4. Sanddune buggy riding and sandboarding

Well, let’s just say my throat was killing me after sandduning in this buggy from screaming so much!  We’d go down almost vertical hills; it was MENTAL!  We also got to try sandboarding.  It’s just like snowboarding, except not as fast and not as cold.  Ollie was brilliant on his first few attempts, so we think he really has a future in it!

3. Playing soccer with the kids on the floating islands

They build their lives on floating islands made of reeds from lake titicaca, and yes, it’s definitely a touristy thing to do.  Their lives are hard but simple, and they seem to be a very happy people.  This little guy approached us to play soccer with him, as we got some free time.  After almost kicking the ball off the island, we managed to get a little game going, and then his brother joined in.  They wanted to practice header balls, which was hilarious as the older guy would just launch the ball at his brother’s head and knock him over! We were sad to leave, but at 3800m above sea level, you can’t run around very much without feeling like you’re going to die!

I then got to row a traditional boat… It looked so easy, and I’m an excellent rowboat rower… The guy who was taking us on the ride let me try, and then was cracking up at how horrible I was at it!

2. White water rafting near Cusco

We signed up the day before, and had no idea what to expect, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ollie so excited!  He must have swallowed half the river from grinning and laughing like a madman!  It was the start of the rainy season, so the water levels were pretty high, and the guide said they were level 5!  A few close moments of almost falling in, definitely, and “surfing” under the rapids was hilarious!  We had an AMAZING time!

1.  The Inca Trail to Macchu Pichu

Well, no surprise here, but the Inca Trail is absolutely beautiful, and Macchu Pichu is stunning.  The walk there in itself is difficult, there’s lots of stairs, and with the altitude, it’s slow going.  We were so lucky to have a fantastic group of mostly Australians, and while everyone kept up, no one held anyone back either.  The porters and tour guides we had with SAS Travel (Paull, our main guide, and Rodney who has sexy legs!) made up our camps for us every night, and we had a trained chef who made our meals (which was incredible considering what he had to make it with!).  We had lots of laughs (“stop peeling your corn”, “stunt cow” and so many more retarded jokes!), and at least one of the nights we all went to bed crying from laughing so much.  While the journey made your shoulders and legs ache, knowing that we did it, and seeing Macchu Pichu from the trail was an epic experience!

Overall, we had a fantastic time, didn’t get robbed, didn’t get hit by a car, and spent a fortune doing all the things we could! El-tripio was a huge success, and as Ollie would say, “Vamos!”

If you’re looking for a few more pics, you can check out all the albums on Ollie’s flickr.  Here’s the highlights album!

This lead me to youtube today, where I found Fred, a goat who loves to swim and also wears a bright orange lifejacket.

I am surprised.

When I came up with safetygoat, his swimming abilities were a figment of my imagination! Just as they say, in this big wide world, “Anything is possible!”

I went through weeks at a time when I worked from the time I got home until the time I went to bed. Dinner was chosen for its quickness of preparation and subsequent quick cleanup; minutes could not be wasted.

It was worth it though: I have never grown so much skill and amassed such a collection of projects that I’m pretty proud of, as I have in the past year. This constant “home work” has been great for my career too:  bview is now a site I’m proud to say I’ve worked on (even though it’s not perfect and still needs work… it’s a big site, after all!), and I can easily wack out new designs and code them up quickly. A year ago, I was okay.  With all this extra side projects, I’m pretty good now.

But I’m tired of working every evening.

I know I should be working on graffed and theboxcat and finishing my redesign of safetygoat, making a new mould of safetygoat, and getting started on the multitudes of other projects I keep thinking about.

But, I finally admitted to myself that I need a break. I want my evenings back.

I want to read my Terry Pratchett books over and over. I want to watch countless episodes of CSI and My Name is Earl. I don’t want to spend time writing code, designing websites, networking, drawing, doing ANYTHING productive or work on ANYTHING that will make me better.

I feel guilty feeling this way.

But you know what, just like a holiday away from your job, I think it’s important to step away from your passions and the things you really enjoy, so that you can come back to them fresh. That way, you don’t come to resent your projects, and you do them properly.

Until next week, safetygoat’ll be off after-work holidays and back at it.  See you then!

safetygoat is on holidays!

The disparity between the sexes is old news.

I’m really torn between those that are saying, “Women in tech aren’t getting the recognition, there’s only 8 women that are hear of fortune 500 companies… blah blah” and the other side that says, “Sorry, but there just aren’t as many women in tech, and proportionately the same amount that are doing anything really amazing.”  I don’t want to hear mediocre women speaking about mediocre things.  I want experts, same as everyone else.

It’s something brought up so often, but I still find myself wondering about it. We’ve beaten this topic to death, but why do we keep bringing it up? Because we’re still lonely, us girls in tech.
We’re just oh so lonely. And, frankly, it’s kinda embarrassing.
Where are you, ladies?

The question is, why aren’t there many women in tech?

While I consider myself a designer first, I do spend 80% of my life coding these days, so I guess I’m a tech girl, and my two closest tech girl friends here in London are probably the most fierce, competitive, self-starting, and definitely intelligent ladies, but also developers.  No one would call any of us timid.  Is this lack of traditional “girliness” a requirement for these lonely female developers? First thought, maybe, but that’s not it, I’m sure of it.

Me and my nerds, nerding it up at the firefox 3 launch party

Something scary about being surrounded by men?

Fact: if you’re in tech, you’re going to be surrounded by guys. Is that why there aren’t more girls in tech?

No, because the guys in tech are very open to having girls around.  They WANT there to be more talented girls in tech (well, most of them… there’s always a few haters).

Most teams don’t want to be all sausage, and often a sole girl will have a bit of an advantage over an interview with a similarily qualified male competitor.  (note: I hate the idea of a girl getting a job just because she’s a girl– I am very hard on my female techs: they better be at least as good as their competitors. None of this, “Oh, we need to get the male/female ratio right” bullshit.)

But it’s ALL men.  My work is 5 guys and me.  My graphic design course in highschool (to learn photoshop/illustrator) was 22 guys, and 2 girls, and most other start-up tech teams I’ve met have been predominantly male (with a token female every once and a while).  If, as a girl in tech, you’d like a bit of female companionship, you’re going to be well out of luck. If you’re not a confident lady, it’s not easy being amongst all men, no matter how nice everyone on the team is.

At barcamplondon... spot the girl, almost like a where's waldo!

Why haven’t more girls gone into tech?

I’m really not sure, but I think it has a lot to do with nerdiness.

There doesn’t seem to be the same high level of awkward girl nerds around as there is for guys (not saying that all tech are awkward, but we definitely are nerds!). And to be really good, you have got to be a full on, hardcore nerd since you were 12 years old.

My friend Margaret, a java developer, told me that she used to fix the computer for the teacher when she was in primary school. She was excellent at math. I was always in the top of my math classes in primary school and high school. I spent HOURS on our Mac LC3, reorganizing, designing, learning new applications, creating clubs, designing newsletters.

I asked a few of my dev guy friends what they wanted to be when they grew up, and many have said, “I’ve always wanted to do something with computers.”

Everyone around is touting about becoming an expert taking 10,000 hours. Coincidence that these guys have been honing their skills in every possible moment of spare time since they were pre-pubescent? I doubt it.

These guys, and the token female nerd, definitely have an advantage over those people that only decide to do computers in university. Growing up, none of my girl friends liked computers that much. Why? Because they were nerdy, possibly. I know I did, but then again, I was a huge nerd. Complete with glasses and a mushroom haircut.

Guess which one is me!

Computers are a lot cooler than they have been in the past, so maybe this will start changing. I hope so, because then I will be on the cutting edge of cool.

It’s a man’s world

I love computers.  I love design.  I love learning new stuff.  But, as much as we don’t want to admit it, I’m a girl in a guy’s world.  It was not built for me, and because it was built by enthusiasm, and continues to move fast, it’s still predominantly built by guys.  Should that matter?  No.  Does it make a difference?  Sure.  A great rugby player who joins in a soccer match will have to adjust to a very different game, same as a guy who becomes a stay at home dad.  It’s not his world. I don’t mind: I think they’ve built it very well, but maybe that’s a barrier to some of these girls getting their feet wet.

Women are supposed to be fantastic at languages, and while we’re on the sexual stereotypes, they’re also great communicators. What is a computer built on? A language. In my high school, the girls were equally good at math and science as the guys. Where’s the barrier to going into computers?

Side note: I hate the “girl in tech” winers

I really hate them. Just because you’re a girl in tech doesn’t mean you should get recognition.  Just because you’re the only one you know doesn’t mean you should get some award.  Sure, it’s difficult not having the same-sex companionship and community, but I’m tired of seeing mediocre design and dev girls wondering why they’re not rock stars.  Or, the mediocre dev girls that become rockstars because everyone feels like they have this obligation to have equal opportunity.  I don’t want to hear about your mediocrity.

And as much as the guys want some eye candy around, I’m sick of mediocre devs/design girls becoming popular just because they’re gorgeous.

Okay, maybe I’m just jealous.

But, I love being a girl in tech

First and foremost, I love all the guys I’ve worked with. They have been so supportive, encouraging, and, while sometimes harsh, have always done it in a way that makes me continually improve. I think being a girl on the team, and especially since I’m an outgoing one, adds a good balance and fun that they wouldn’t have without me. Of course, they may think differently….(but I’m sure they’re too scared of me to tell me! hahaha!).

Joining the team

I’ve joined some women in tech groups (there are LOADS of them, for design and for dev). So far, I haven’t seen them making much progress in getting publicity. Maybe that will change, but right now, it’s pretty much a love-in for ladies scratching their heads wondering why they’re not getting results. Hopefully my membership will become more useful as the number of talented ladies increases. If any of us does become famous, I just hope it’s not just because we’re a girl though.

Is it a bad thing to use your lady status?

Sometimes I really wish I weren’t judged on being a girl. But you know what, I am one. Saying ‘people shouldn’t judge’ is a complete cop-out that takes reality and chooses to ignore it. Sometimes being a girl is a disadvantage, but I also believe that you use everything in your arsenal to your advantage. Standing out is the only way to get ahead, and I plan on doing it morally but smartly. I’m a decent designer, but definitely not the best, and definitely not within the top 1% (maybe top 5%… there are a lot of crappy designers out there!). In the world of women though, I’m pretty darn good. In the whole field, I wouldn’t be noticed as easily if I were a guy. This doesn’t mean I think I deserve this extra publicity, but I’m going to take it. You know what, I’m going to take every advantage that I can. And when I launch an app that I have lovingly crafted, that I get 3% more traffic because I’m a girl in tech, well, I’ll take the gender divide to my advantage, thank you!

Someone wants to give me a little bit extra because I’m a girl? Is that bad? I don’t think so, because I’m definitely not coasting on it, and in all honesty, it’s really not giving me that much extra.  No one could say that I’m not hungry to get better, to create constantly, and it’d be difficult to hold people’s attention without substance.

And you know what, if I get really good (which I plan on doing), I will definitely become a mentor.  I wish there had been a lady around to mentor me.  We ladies like to have mentors.

Then maybe we can stop talking about this, and just get on with it!

Fingers crossed!

Update: You can now vote for safetygoat here!