So silly, but so serious....

This probably will sound very silly, and it is most definitely a #thirdworldproblem, but it is a big dilemma in my head.

I have used Mozilla Firefox as my primary browser for close to 5 years, and I have been very happy with it. At the beginning of the new year, we got brand new computers at work, and our IT guy recommended I try Google Chrome if I enjoy using Firefox and since I already have a Gmail/IGoogle account. So, I tried it.
And I love it.
I still use Firefox on my home computer,

but I am thinking about switching,

and (here comes the silly part)

I have this terrible feeling that I am betraying Mozilla Firefox!
Then I stop and say to myself,

"How ridiculous! It's a browser, not a person or fuzzy animal!"

But Firefox rescued me from the frustrating Internet Explorer (multiple tabs. enough said.). Firefox encouraged my creativity by giving me tools to personalize my browser like pinned bookmarks and fun skins. Firefox was with me through college projects and finals, what felt like endless job searches, and learning how to coupon.

Chrome is so sleek and even more user friendly. While there is a level of personalization in the form of your iGoogle Dashboard, that is one area where I still prefer Firefox.

I remember my reaction the first time I used Internet Explorer after switching to Firefox. It was very similar to the first time I drove an automatic after falling in love with driving a manual.

Ugh!!
How/Why did I ever use this?!
Where's the search bar?!
How do I save a bookmark again?!
Gah, it's so {negative trait}, and it's just too {negative trait}.
That's it! I'm putting Firefox on this computer!

And I just cannot image speaking that way about my beloved Firefox in a few months.

And it didn't help at all that I updated Firefox a couple weeks ago, and a video describing Mozilla as a "by the people, for the people" browser, AND THEY THANKED ME FOR USING FIREFOX!!!

Ok, maybe not me personally, but they thanked the users, and I am a user.

Maybe this is just growing pains, and I need to move to the next best thing. Maybe I really should stick to what has worked so well for me in the past. Probably, it's not that big of a deal, but I honestly could not click the "Download Google Chrome" even with all this convincing propaganda:
It's free and installs in seconds (I love free things almost as much as I love things that do not waste my time. Win-Win!)

For Windows XP, Vista, and 7 (Compatibility is great!)

Fast start-up
Google Chrome launches in a snap.

Fast loading
Google Chrome loads web pages quickly.

Fast search
Search the web right from the address bar. (All of which save me time and energy. Great!)

But I just couldn't click the button. What. a. dork.

What do you think? What browser do you use? Have you ever felt an irrational, emotional connection to an inanimate object like a browser, or am I just affirming my weirdness?

Also, Gotye is one of my new faves! Click to hear one. It's great!

3 things

Just 3 things.

This is really awesome!
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/01/15/magazine/painting-with-sound.html

This made me laugh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGOohBytKTU

And a funny comparison.
http://www.becomecareer.com/geeks-hipsters/

♥

A Designer's Mind

Click here to see some of the thoughts that go through a designer's mind.

I can relate to all of them. The more sarcastic, the better. :)

Life Design

This is an email from a family friend who has had a long battle with cancer. Feel free to pass along to people you love, like, respect, or even dislike. Show compassion to everyone you encounter.

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. That's why we live smart.

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop & dull living.' Experience new things...get out.

4. Enjoy the simple things...

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

And if you don't send this to at least 8 people - who cares?
But do share this with someone.
We all need to live life to its fullest each day!!


Worry about nothing, pray about everything!!!

♥

A quick read

I read this great book to my great-grandmother who I am caring for part-time to make ends meet. She and I went to Seattle to visit extended family in 2005 with a slew of our other matriarchs and loved-ones. It was a wonderful trip, and one of the highlights was visiting the Pike Place Fish Market. I kissed a fish after it was thrown over my head!!! And loved it!!! (There is a great photo of the scaly smooch that I will try to dig up and post.) It was an experience filled with fun, excitement, and character... over FISH!!!

This book is a very quick read, but it is JAM PACKED with great business advice about motivation and inspiration. It's a great realistic fiction based teaching the business philosophy in action everyday at the Pike Place Fish Market.

I highly recommend it and so does Monnie (my great-grandmother who is the smartest lady I have ever known)!!

♥ G

"Chaos is Hard"

The title of this IIDA blog post caught my eye. While most of the article is about the current legal battle in Florida, the introduction stresses how smart design reduces chaos.

Maybe that was part of what drew me to design. I love to organize, I love everything in its own place, I love clear information, I love when everything functions as it should. However, my experience in the design industry so far has been far from chaos free.

I perform well under pressure. For example, these are some tough things I can handle well:
-Time constraints
-Deadlines
-Limited resources
-Learning skills quickly
-Speaking in front of a crowd
-Constructive Criticism

These, not so much:
-Mind reading
-Deciphering unclear instructions and non-existent goals
-Total recall of every number or name of every price, product or manufacturer I have inquired about or looked at in the past 8 months on half a dozen projects
-Accomplishing tasks that require knowledge, skills, instruction or information that I do not have

Yet, somehow I find that I am repeatedly asked/told to perform in this manner almost daily and then criticized when I do something incorrectly. (Oh, also, this pays me less than minimum wage for more than full time hours).

An illustration maybe?
I am not making light of these situations. I am only trying to use them as illustrations.

Pressure is like what the folks along the Mississippi River have been going through with the floods. Although potentially destructive and scary, the residents had warnings, time to collect their wits and resources for preparation before the flood waters came rushing in.
Chaos is more like the tornadoes that affected so many residents of Alabama and Georgia. The tornadoes ripped through and all the people could do was duck and cover.

Chaos freezes productivity.
Pressure, if handled well, can multiply productivity!

Chaos is hard, and I would like to find ways to minimize the chaos. Suggestions? Please leave me a comment!

DESIGN IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE CHAOS IS SO HARD.
Jules Feiffer

Scary Chairs

Via: Medical Billing And Coding


I found this informative graphic on LinkedIn's news. I think the message is fantastically startling and the design is terribly good! You already know that I love Halloween, and this taps into my love for all things that go bump in the night. But notice the ingenious use of positive and negative space!! The font selection is so very effective. It reminds me of graphics in a story about friendly monsters.

Where have you seen eye catching graphics with a great message??
♥-G