Radzster.net

I was recently asked why I “fail” to use meaningful/useful category labels on this blog.

Well, because this is a personal blog with no commercial intent whatsoever, and I happen to have a broad spectrum of interests, so I would have to create dozens of categories, which would not only take up too much space on the page, but which would ultimately also become less user friendly.

I do tag all the posts with meaningful keywords and phrases, so I figured, why not “gently nudge” readers to use the search feature instead? I thought I had a “KISS” excuse… Obviously not. Sorry folks. Not about to change this just yet (if ever).

I’m also still cleaning up the non-standards/non-semantic code of this free and beautifully designed WordPress theme (thank you Elena!), so bear with me.

Feel free to spout your venomous comments here.
I actually look forward to it. ;-)
Could prove very interesting…

I had an interesting wayfinding experience the other day. Using Nokia Maps on my “trusty” Nokia N95 GPS enabled smart phone, I tried to find my way to an important meeting somewhere in the Sydney harbour area.

From my, “ground level” perspective, I seemed to count more piers along the way than were visible on the “birds-eye view” Nokia Maps. And of course, to make things even more interesting, some missing street names and numbers, and… my GPS gizmo also seemed to think I was swimming towards my destination at times… it just all didn’t add up.

So, what to do if technology fails you? Ask a person for help!

Good thing I left early and was not late for my appointment. So, it did not turn into a frustrating wayfinding fiasco but rather a funny high-tech fumble.

I couldn’t resist… What was I thinking!
Just checked out the line-up for Rock Werchter 2008, and it is possibly one of the best Summer festival line-ups ever! Herman, you did it again…

Slight problem. I’m living in Australia, and no chance of just hopping on a plane to catch my Summer festival fix…

So, I’ll have to suffer my withdrawel symptoms in silence. Unless I tune into Studio Brussel’s coverage of the 4-day event,… crank up the volume (headphones darling), … get some proper “Belgian style” fritten with mayonnaise,… and a cold Belgian beer to keep me company.

Hey, that’s way better than nothing. ;-)

Navigating the site is a bit of a challenge though…

Symbian must be one of the worst operating systems ever. The way the items and folders are grouped and labeled is beyond me. You have to drill down so many levels, it’s ridiculous. I’m obviously a complete moron, because I can’t find a quick way to set an alarm or set-up gmail…

FFW >> 2 hours.
Ok, gmail set… But now I can’t find a way to delete these darn email headers that are going to clog up the “impressive” 8GB memory and the fancy but still “too tiny to be practical” screen realestate of my inbox… Aaaarch!

I read Nokia has acquired Symbian (previously held 52% shares) in an attempt to attract open source developers to the platform and compete with the Apple iPhone. I wonder if they realize they’ll need to start from scratch?

The Nokia N95 is referred to as a “smart phone”. Well, it sure knows how to make it’s owner feel “dumb”!

To be continued…

Having a “Will Smith” moment:
“I have GOT to get me one of these!”

Ok, moodboards are not exactly as exciting as alien space craft,
but hey… don’t dis it till you’ve done it.

It’s mainly used as a design tool; to collect and arrange images, textures, colours… etc. to “visually kick-start the brain”.

But it’s also a fun tool for non-professional designers to figure out what sort of things you feel most comfortable around, especially when trying create a new sense of “home”.

If you had “carte blanche” to redecorate your home for instance, what would it ultimately say about you?
What is visually pleasing to you? Or perhaps that is not important to you. Could be. Perhaps you’re more into scents and textures? What makes you feel at home?

to be continued…