Theme change (again)
Yes, once again, I changed to a new Wordpress theme here. It's been on my to-do list to design my own, since I am never fully satisfied with any I come across. There's always something about a theme that I don't like (this one, for instance, has a header that just doesn't quite suit me, but I do like the "tabbed" look of the theme). For now, I'll keep my mouth shut and enjoy the benefits of others' creativity and effort. I have my own site to create from scratch, but that is another post...
Extended Maternity Leave
I told this story to quite a few people already, but I thought I'd make it "official." I had planned to take the week before my due date off from work; it would be my first week of maternity leave. On my first day of leave, I received a call from the COO. I didn't answer immediately. He had been our acting manager until we found a replacement, so I didn't think much of the call initially. But then he called me on our home phone with a rather urgent sounding message, so I figured something was up. It turned out that the CEO had decided to shut down the company, with everyone's last day being that Friday.
Someone had volunteered to pack up my desk and bring my things to my house, but I was feeling pretty good physically and I had an OB appointment the next day. I figured I'd just swing by work afterwards, pick up my stuff, and turn in my work laptop. I did exactly that, and then I went into labor that night.
So, in a nutshell, I don't really have a job to go back to. On top of the severance pay, the company has been generous to keep me on as an employee until the end of my would-be maternity leave so that I can still receive benefits. I haven't decided what I will do in the fall. Originally I thought I would work part-time, but I have time to decide what I want to do. I'll figure it out.
User Experience Article
My friend Amy and I are always talking about usability in everyday products, especially software. She's a UX designer, but while our roles in creating user interfaces can traditionally be at odds now and then (the most usable-friendly feature is generally not the easiest to develop!), she and I share the same philosophy and appreciation for the process (including the same analogy of the symbiotic relationship of our professions), as well as our frustrations in where some companies, and individuals, lack in their understanding the importance of the user experience in a product development lifecycles. She has written a great article in Boxes and Arrows, expressing just how necessary her role is in developing a *good* product for the user. I especially recommend developers of UIs to read this article!
Multitasking
People have their opinions on daily commutes. Most people in this country drive to work, and most people I know talk about pros and cons of taking public transportation versus driving. One of the benefits of mass transportation is that it allows you to actively engage in something other than driving. Sleeping and reading a book/magazine/newspaper are usually the two more popular choices. Today, during the usual slowdown on the Sunset Hwy, I saw a guy who decided to apply the best of both worlds - he was actually reading a book, folded open on his steering wheel, while driving! I didn't see any major dents in his car, so either he's very good at multitasking in this form or this is the first time he's attempted this...
Needless to say, I kept my distance, when I could, from him...
Business philosophies
This morning a co-worker sent me a link to a blog, Daily reports from the Chief Happiness Officer. Sounds a little too feel-good, right? Well, I will tell you that I think this guy is right on the money and understands the key factors to having healthy, happy, productive, and maybe even loyal employees. A few of his topics include: Top 5 reasons why "The Customer is Always Right" is wrong, The cult of overwork, and The cult of overwork (again).
At this point, I need to state that I consider myself a hard-working individual who believes in being productive. But I also think that producitivity in the American work culture has its limits, and that one can work too much and not be productive. I will admit that I am a firm believer in having a work-life balance, and I try hard to keep that balance in my life. Once in awhile, I don't mind pulling in more hours at work to meet a deadline, but I'd like that to be a once-in-a-blue-moon case and not a regular situation. Reading this guy's blog is refreshing; I am comforted in knowing that working only 40 hours is not a dying idea or one that signifies laziness. It simply means that work is not the only importance in our lives.
Anyway, I like this blog so much, I'm adding it to my blogroll.
BlogZot 2.0: SubEthaEdit
As many of you know, I telecommute, which means my coworkers and I are always on the look out for cool software to use in order to work collaboratively in as efficient a manner as possible. We also work for a start-up, so if we can get something for free, it makes us even happier. A couple people at work recently discovered an editor for mac osx called SubEthaEdit from CodingMonkeys, and they love it! It made code reviews much easier for them, and it cut down on the time, too. While I haven't yet tried it myself, I had been waiting for a free moment to try out the demo version. But now it seems, I may have found the perfect excuse. MacZOT and TheCodingMonkeys will award $105,000 in Mac software if enough people blog about it. Each time someone posts a qualifying blog, the price will drop 5 cents. Basically, that means they'll give the software for free! Who doesn't like free software? And not only is it free software, it's cool software! So head over to BLOGZOT 2.0 on MacZOT.com, read the rules, and start blogging if you want a copy!