Sponsor me for Trek 2008!
I’ve always wanted to do a multi-day bicycle trip but I’m not big on carrying all my own gear for such a trip. And even if I wasn’t so wimpy, not many of my friends are big enough cycling nuts to join me in such a venture. So I was incredibly excited when I picked up a pamphlet for the 2008 Bicycle Trek for Lung and Breath. Not only do I have the opportunity to go on a well-organized two day, 200km ride with full support (i.e. a van to lug all my gear!), but it’s for a great cause!
I need to raise a minimum of $425 in order to participate in the ride, which takes place on September 6th and 7th. However, I’ve set a personal fundraising goal of $1000 and have come up with a couple creative ideas to help me reach that goal. The first of these is a draw for my computer expertise services…
If you need help with your website, or if you just have some general computer issues you need solved, sponsor me $25 or more and be entered into a draw to win four hours of free tech support! I’ll choose the winner on August 1st, 2008.
Usability Rant: How to collect completely invalid survey data
This evening I decided to register for the Subaru Vancouver International Sprint Tri. Like most local runs and triathlons they’re using Events Online to manage registration. However, unlike most other local races the Subaru Tri registration form managed to annoy me by requiring answers to marketing-related questions.
Along with the usual registration stuff like my age and t-shirt size, I was presented with the following question:
POWERBAR QUESTIONNAIRE: Please indicate how important the following benefits are to you when purchasing an energy bar. Please rank from 1-10 with 10 being most important
This was followed by a list of ten drop down boxes, one for each “benefit.” There was also a question about which triathlon focussed magazines I like to read. When I declined to fill out these questions on my first try at registering, I got a page instructing me that I had missed some required questions. If I wanted to register I had to click the back button and fill in answers for all the marketing crap.
I certainly had no intention of being forced to provide this information, so I filled in “dummy” data for both the Powerbar and magazine questions. Now, maybe I’m just a particularly ornery user, but I suspect I’m not all that different from most other people, and that many others did the exact same thing as me.
Required fields certainly have their uses (For example: to ensure collection of necessary information such as name and address; or for use in online surveys that users undertake voluntarily). But forcing your users to provide answers to marketing questions when they are filling out a registration form (and paying a tidy sum for the privilege of registering, at that!) will just cause a whole lot of noise in the data! If the event organizers wanted to collect valid data, they should have made these questions optional, so only those people who wanted to provide valid answers would fill them out.
HCI at the movies
As a user interface designer, I get a kick out of seeing some of the cool (or ridiculous!) interfaces that filmmakers dream up. Interactions, an HCI journal, had a neat article about this phenomenon a couple years back:
Can you remember the first science fiction movie you ever saw? What about the first science fiction program you ever saw on television? Can you remember what you thought about the user-interface design or user experience of any computer-based telecommunication system presented in these shows? And what about today? Do you cast a critical eye on the technology and its use whenever you watch the latest movie or video presentation about a world of the future?
CHI at the Movies and on TV, Aaron Marcus
I saw Iron Man last month and appreciated it as a great superhero movie, but also loved the fact that Robert Downey Jr.’s workshop had an elaborate gesture-based interface. Not something we’re likely to see in the mass market anytime soon, but not so far off from the bleeding edge of research!
The summer movie I’m really looking forward to, though, is Get Smart. If there was ever an opportunity for the filmmakers to dream up some ridiculous interfaces, this is it! (Shoe phone, anyone?)
Miss 604 is giving away tickets to a preview showing that’s happening tomorrow night, and I’d love to have them.
Summer Synchro
While the veterans of Vancouver Masters Synchro (like myself!) take a break over the summer, our club will be offering novice lessons. If you’ve in the Vancouver area and you’ve ever wanted to learn synchronized swimming, now is the time!
Lessons run on Sunday nights from July 6th to August 10th. Further details are available over on our club website.
Nike Runner’s Lounge
This evening I decided to check out a free boot camp fitness class that was happening at the Nike Runner’s Lounge down in Coal Harbour, which is just a short jog from my place in the West End. The lounge has been around for over a year but I hadn’t made it down there until today.
The place was a lot nicer than I expected! They have what seems like an endless supply of water and granola bars, as well as change rooms and lockers to store your stuff while you run along the seawall. And it’s all free! Granted, you have to endure what amounts to a gigantic store-sized ad for Nike, but I’m willing to put up with a little gratuitous marketing in exchange for a free fitness class and a granola bar or two.
The lounge has various running-related clinics happening most weeknights and weekends. Tonight’s boot camp class was called “Built To Run”, and oh boy did it ever humble me! I am not an elite athlete by any stretch of the imagination but I do try to stay in shape. I’ve been pretty vigilant at keeping up with my swimming, running, and biking lately. Sadly, all of that exercise apparently made no difference when faced with trainer Mike from mode athletics. We did sprints, stairs, and a circuit workout, all in under an hour! I suspect I’ll be feeling that tomorrow. Nevertheless, I’m planning to return for more torture next Tuesday.
Too Much Information
Between school, exercise, and various social engagements I always seem to find an excuse not to blog. However it’s been a cold rainy week here in Vancouver and I’ve mostly been sitting inside feeling annoyed about the weather, so no excuses anymore! Raul posted a meme the other day and I’m going to go ahead and answer the questions myself.
1. Who is your favorite musical artist?
Oh man, this is a tough one. I have a wide range of tastes when it comes to music. I think I’ll have to go with Danny Michel and his totally fun pop/rock/folksy music. I get to see his excellent live show at least once a year, as he makes annual visits to the Railway Club.
2. Who is your favorite artist?
As a born and bred Ontario girl (granted, one who hasn’t lived there full-time for 10+ years!) I’ve always been partial to Brantford’s own Lawren Harris, from the Group of Seven. I did four co-op work terms in Ottawa and lived near the National Gallery during three of those terms, so was lucky to have plenty of opportunities to take in great Canadian art.
3. Who is your favourite blogger?
This is a tough call. I read quite a few blogs and don’t know if I could pick a favourite. One of my favourites, and the one I have been reading the longest by far (since before she got fired from her job for blogging!) is dooce.
4. If you could meet anyone (alive or dead), who would it be and what is the most interesting thing about them?
Hmmm. I think I’d like to meet Grace Hopper. She is one of the most famous female pioneers of Computer Science.
5. What did you want to be when you grew up?
I vaguely remember wanting to be a veterinarian, probably because it had something to do with horses. I was obsessed with horses as a child. I read books about horses (e.g. Black Beauty, My Friend Flicka), put horse wallpaper up in my bedroom, and even convinced my parents to let me go to horseback riding camp one summer!
6. What is the most interesting piece of trivia you know?
I’m not a big trivia person. But I know the best places to get the cheapest flight/hotel/car-rental if you’re planning a budget vacation. Is that considered trivia?
7. If you could live in any point in history when would it be and why?
While there are obviously a lot of things wrong with today’s world, sexism and chauvinism is not nearly as bad as it was in the past. I don’t think I’d want to live in any other historical time because, as a female, I would have so few rights.
8. What is the most interesting job you have ever held?
As a teenager I managed to avoid all the typical service industry nonsense and scored a job working as an usher at Hamilton Place. My first shift ever was a Barenaked Ladies concert! I kept the job all through high school and got to work at operas, musicals, and tons of concerts. Hamilton Place staff sometimes got called over to work at Copps Coliseum if they had sellouts, so I also got to see my fair share of arena concerts. My current job as a grad student is also very interesting, but it never got me into a Tragically Hip concert for free! 