:: Momentary Flash of Genius ::
What's in this section?
These are little grains of genius that strike at unexpected moments. Keep in mind that what I consider "genius" may not be quite up to snuff with what *you* consider genius!
The Weekend that Redeemed Everything
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Suffice it to say, things have gone really well this weekend.
For those of you who know me, you know that the last couple of months have been pretty trying in one respect. This weekend, God moved and made all things well. My heart is bursting with thanks and joy. I can’t write much more about it in this public forum, but to all of you who have been praying for me and mine, THANK YOU! Our prayers have begun to be answered!
Edward Tufte makes me heart analytical design
Friday, August 22, 2008
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to a conference held by Edward Tufte, expert in informational graphics and information design.
I have seen books by Tufte, but never quite got what they were about. They are full of beautiful graphics, but I never stopped to read them. Not until my friend at work told me more about him and the stuff he does.
So I went to the seminar all revved up. The room was packed with almost 400 people! And while most people, I’m sure, were sent by their companies and seemed mildly bored, but I begged and pleaded to be allowed to attend. It was totally worth the groveling.
On one end, you could see how big a difference good design could make. Tons of complex data could be displayed in an easy to read and even enjoyable format! Bad design makes your eyes want to cross because its just information overload. It’s hard to describe without an example. I’ll take one example from his latest book, Beautiful Evidence. I’ll try to do it justice:
Below is a lithograph by Charles Joseph Minard depicting the losses in men, their movements, and the temperature of Napoleon’s 1812 Russian campaign.
Here is my slightly annotated version so you can see what these things mean. The yellow box indicates the zoomed image below.
You can visually see how the army gets thinner and thinner as they march toward Moscow. They started with 422,000 men. By the time they reach Moscow, they are down to 100,000. The black line shows their retreat. The cold of winter takes its toll and the troops keep dying. At one point, half the army is lost when they break through the ice on one of the rivers.
Here you see the comparison of how many started and how many survived the Russia Campaign.
422,000 men down to 10,000. That is incredible. And incredibly clear with this informational graphic.
Call me a nerd, but this kind of stuff really excites me! Lots of information isn’t to blame for overload. It’s bad design that’s to blame! For every situation, there must be a solution, not just any solution, but an AMAZINGLY clear and simple to read solution.
I know what to aim for now. I guess I’ll add that to the already mile high pile of “life callings”!
GO LAKERS!!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
It’s been awhile since I’ve been into basketball, but with the Lakers in the finals, how could I ignore my team any longer?
Last night LA came back from 2 sucky games in Boston with bad calls all over the place and some difficulty adjusting to Boston’s defense. But last night, they took it all the way! W00t! I haven’t felt the basketball bug in forever, and it’s kind of nice to be back in it.
I was even more amazed when i realized that there are enough white guys on the team to have an all white team on the floor. Shocking! hahaha
I’ve also noted Paul Pierce’s vague resemblance to an Angler Fish.
There there’s Kobe, who has rat-like features, Fisher who looks like a bulldog,...I’m trying to put animals to other players. Rondo reminds me of some kind of weird elf. I suppose this isn’t very kind of me, but it’s hard not to make some connections…
All comparisons aside, all i can say is “GO LAKERS!”
Care to Search Through?
Thursday, April 03, 2008
I’ve finally done it! I’ve added a Search feature to kathykhoo.com!
I don’t know why it took me so long to add a search on this site. I mean, doesn’t *everyone* want to be able to search my personal history?
...Actually I do know why I didn’t add it. I had no idea how to do it, even through really, in retrospect, it was right in front of my face.
But THERE! to your right, BEHOLD the new search function! Go ahead, try it! The Google one works well enough but the search results are somewhat inconsistent. The Advanced Search is a sure fire way of finding what you want. It’s strange really having enough content on a personal blog to warrant a search.
It’s funny because I really do use this blog as a sort of diary. Sometimes I don’t remember things until I read them again on my blog! So I suppose the search function is really only for me. Oh well. I’m sure you’ll find a use for it some way or another.
NOW when will get to updating MORE of kathykhoo.com?
Questions and the Conversation
Friday, March 14, 2008
It’s all about asking the right questions.
Recently I have had several conversations that made me wish that someone would ask me the questions that would allow me to tell them what I’m really all about. Maybe it’s because I’m a woman, and I need to talk, but there is something very special about being able to express who you are, not just what you think or what you did. I want to believe that someone takes interest in who I am, and is curious enough to probe and find out.
As I was pondering this wish to be drawn out by insightful questions, someone point out, “You keep wishing that people would ask you the right kinds of questions to draw you out. Don’t you think God feels that way sometimes about us?”
It was an odd concept. I had never thought of it that way before. God wants ME to draw HIM out? I thought of our past conversations: true enough, I don’t think I ever asked anything beyond, “What do you want from me?” Not exactly the warm cuddly question that makes someone want to expose their true heart to you. I had never asked God, “what makes you happy? What do you think about this particular issue? Is this something you might like?” It’s even more than what kind of questions but the *intent* behind them. I don’t think I was that interested in knowing what God thought before. I just wanted to know so I could do it, do the “right thing,” and get on with my life. “Yeah yeah, just tell me the rules so i can follow them begrudgingly.”
I’ve decided I don’t want that kind of relationship with God anymore. Maybe I’m making God too human, but I will try to talk with God as I would a human - trying to find out what makes Him laugh, what makes Him happy, sad, angry. It’s a new approach for me. And if I don’t know the right questions to ask, I think I’ll ask Him, “what questions should I ask so I can draw you out and get to know you better?”
It’s definitely a question worth asking.
A Question for You of the Web World
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Do you know anything about online groups and emailing lists?
I’m trying to find an online group application that keeps track of several emailing lists.
I want one main list, and then several sub-lists that the user can sign up for.
Here’s a hypothetical example:
There is a group of people who really like basketball. They start a group online (like Yahoo! groups or Google groups) as a way of sharing their passion for the sport. The admin of that group wants to email the whole group about an upcoming tournament.
The admin then wants to email all the Point Guards *only* and tell them information about a Point Guard practice happening next week. The admin also wants to email all the Centers to tell them about their own practice that will happen this week.
When a new basketball player joins the group, she wants to sign up for the main emailing list as well as the Point Guard list. She adds herself to both groups.
Is there a web app out there that does this? I’m not even sure where to look. So I’m asking YOU! (yeah, YOU!)