Interesting taxonomy/labeling going on over at the Domino’s Pizza Builder. Users can select meats and unmeats. This, from the people that print ‘perfectitude’ on the box.

meats vs. unmeats

We’ve all heard the announcer scream, ‘A BRAND NEW CAR!” on the perrenial favorite, The Price is Right. Now imagine hearing that phrase in your head as you see the young motorists below as they try not to yawn after getting new cars for Christmas. Compare this with the image of sheer joyous rapture as they cruise about in, “AN OLD LAUNDRY BASKET!”

Kids. Who knew they would be so goofy?

Update: Who knew their dad could be look so goofy?

Having a lot of fun with the following iPhone apps. Most are free, so satisfy your inner cheapskate.

Gowalla - Not sure I am having fun with it as much as I am addicted to collecting stamps and pins (also, I am just trying to catch Jeremy without resorting to checking in to places I haven’t actually visited). Here’s a tip: If you want to be the founder of a lot of locations, go to places most people fear to be associated with such as shanty towns under overpasses, pr0n shops, head shops, and your local municipal jail. Same goes for FourSquare users. Tell the world you are Mayor of Cell-block D.

Thundergod - This pricey ($10) app is worth every penny. Recorded in 3D sound, it sounds like you are surrounded by thunderstorms. I use it to concentrate at work or sometimes fall asleep. Or sleep at work. Whatever works. Check out the free app by the same company called Naturespace. It is of the same quality. I guarantee you will love it especially if you like to close your eyes and imagine being abandoned somewhere in the country without the keys to the handcuffs you’re wearing.

Dragon Dictation - Pretty amazing and free dictation software that can port your words to email or clipboard. I tried it in the car and was amazed at how well it captured, “You are an elf. You are how to work with us on an email to your sludge.” I was able to email it to the office just in time to save the day. Thanks Dragon!

Wootwatch - Woot! found a niche in bringing limited quantities of merchandise nobody wanted the first time around. Using this app, you can be the envy of all your friends when you score that stunning Casio Calculator/Weather Forecaster watch in limited-edition gray PVC. Hurry! Download the app now, as quantities are limited!

Check back soon when I delve into the new trail map/stock ticker app for the skier needing to execute that important trade while mid-piste.

My wife had the day off from work and was shopping with the kids near my employer. Thinking our elevator-obsessed three year-old would enjoy multiple rides to multiple floors, she brought our little toddlers to $largecompany. A good time was had by all as our darling little cherubs explored daddy’s workspace, known as The Hive. In an unsupervised quarter of a second, our son picked up a tiny bottle of whiteboard cleaner and sprayed himself directly in the eyes thinking it was a can of EVIAN Mineral Water Spray. Hilarity did not ensue.

Loud crying did. And like prairie dogs, many wearing headsets on conference calls popped up as I rushed our son to the break room to a makeshift eyewash station (paper towels and plastic cups).

Apparently burning eyes cannot compete for his attention like a row of vending machines as he stopped crying the moment all the buttons screamed at him, PRESS ME! Melt-down averted. All systems green again.

Come back kids and visit Daddy again real soon.

I am nearly finished constructing our son’s robot costume for Halloween and it is apparent he wants nothuing to do with it. Sensing imminent danger from not having a costume in time for parties or trick or treating, I asked my son what he wanted to be for Halloween. Sitting at the kitchen table, we had the following exchange:

Me: What do you want to be for Halloween?
Son: I want to be the red one.
Me: (Not knowing at all what he is talking about) OK, you can be the red one.
Son: I don’t want to be the red one.
Me: (Sigh)

And so here I am with clear direction on what to choose as I rummage through the remnants of the local Target store’s Halloween merchandise. If he’s lucky he’ll get a pair of Scooby Doo pants and a Hello Kitty mask. All he needs is a chainsaw and it might be pretty cool.

I took this photo earlier this year in Puerto Rico. It just makes me laugh. Something about the little stickman dude meeting an untimely death in the form of an icon warning.

Moving gate can cause serious injury or death

The Big Design Conference was a huge success! Over 500 in attendance. It was a fantastic inaugural event. Overall, I think my presentation went very well despite display issues at the beginning, the person introducing me did not show up (shamelessly had to plug myself) and I had a complete brain freeze that lasted maybe an AGONIZING 2.5 minutes. Here is a version of the slides. I will be updating the presentation with some additions soon. Thanks to everyone who attended and thanks for the kind words on Twitter. Enjoy.

I really really wish I had taken the time to look over and rehearse the presentation I gave way back in March at IA Summit 2009. Why do I do this to myself on nearly every single public speaking engagement? I think I am an adrenaline addict. Or, I must like hurting myself in this way for the endorphin rush. Will post how well/badly it went.

File this under Last Year’s News, but a new font called Calibri is being distributed by Microsoft and it is actually good. If you have installed IE8, any Office 2007 product, or are running Vista, you have the font installed. In fact, it is the default browser font replacing Arial in IE, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint. It has also replaced Times New Roman in Word.

I like that its taller x-height allows for increased legibility at very small type sizes. In fact, I may be changing the CSS declarations of this site to see if I like the fit. Think of it as the new Trebuchet. Remember the day you woke up and every website under the sun was sporting the Treb look?

Now opening a Microsoft application is just a bit less painful. Here that bell, Arial? It tolls for thee.

Starting on New Year’s Day, I vowed to track some pretty mundane statistics for an entire year using Daytum. Daytum is a pretty interesting concept put together by Ryan Case and Nicholas Feltron (author of the brilliant Feltron Reports).

Daytum is currently in private beta and after receiving my invitation, I spent a few days trying to decide how I would waste spend my time tracking some trivial pursuits. Tracking the animation I watch with my two year old son is my personal favorite.

Check out my online report. Decide for yourself if you want to share the absolute minutia of your existence. I assure you, it can be addicting. Sign up for an account today.

Economy got you down? This recession depression can’t last forever but in the meantime, head on over to Big Lots! for some cheap and um, interesting foodstuffs.

If beef jerky is taking up too much of your monthly budget, why not give ham jerky a try? And don’t get worked up if the pork isn’t cooked thoroughly. It couldn’t be any more dangerous than peanut butter these days.

The breath freshening power of ham

You know, I was just asking myself the other day, if the Unabomber was still on the loose, what would he drink when thirsty? The answer is Bomba — the fruity flavored energy drink bottled in a glass grenade. As some of you know, I have a real weak spot (in my heart and arteries) for energy drinks so I am happy to report that I actually bought a case of these stubby little weapons. The pull tab was just like pulling the pin on a real grenade (and I know this HOW?!?).

I didn’t want to be wasteful but let’s just say I sure was glad when I finished the last one. How would I describe the taste? Next time you are dying Easter eggs, be sure to pick up the cup of dye and drink it down in one big gulp. Did everything just taste blue for a second? It sure did.

Warning: May cause changes in the color of urine

If you are like me, you go out of your way to combine your favorite things in life to create super awesome new things. I have always wanted to pair my love for soup with the excitement of the circus. Thanks to the good people at Stauffer’s, I can realize my dream. Just make sure you don’t accidently get the ones with pink and white icing on them. That happened to me once. Worst. Clam Chowder. Ever.

Bread and Circus

We have a problem with rabbits in our backyard and well, I don’t want to be gross but the following cereal with the unfortunate name of Cocoa Drops, strikes a little too close to home. And what is up with that ridiculous tag line: Keep it simple! Pay only for taste. Sounds a little Engrish to me.

Not Cocoa Puffs

This last item may be perfectly fine. But as for me, I just have a problem with all snacks with hot cheese. With the exception of a nice pepper jack, I just don’t know of too many hot cheeses out in the wild. But hey, if hot cheesy popcorn is your thing, then who am I to judge.

Hot cheese. Not natural.

Design Commission has an awesome stencil for the ultimate in rapid prototyping. Do yourself a favor and get one now!

Do you sometimes quickly prototype a Website on a piece of paper? Have you ever wanted a browser chrome on top of your sketch book? Looking for the ultimate gift for your UI/UX designer girl/boyfriend?
The kit includes:

• Stainless steel stencil with all your favorite user interface iconography
• Heavyweight paper pad with browser chrome on top
• Zebra mechanical pencil
• Vinyl sleeve for stencil
• Design Commission Sticker

I really do wish I had seen this at Christmas time.

I would like to present three websites that can be easily consumed (bad pun) over the course of a working lunch at one’s desk. The idea is to draw the three together for a purpose. Today’s Menu Includes:

http://www.ecommr.com/
“ecommr is a website showcasing the best (and sometimes worst) in e-commerce design, with a clear focus on the individual elements that make up online stores. We break down retailers and focus on individual user interface elements in order to provide a gallery of inspiration for designers, developers, information architects, and anyone working with online retail.”

http://www.slideshare.net/contest/results-2008
So, now you have some ideas for a new e-commerce approach to your company’s website. Now what? You need to influence others, particularly decision makers, that your ideas have merit. Check out this link for brilliant presentations to inspire you how to present your fabulous new ideas.

http://www.iaonesheeters.com/iaonesheeters.asp
Having been given the greenlight to take your concept and go conquer, take a moment at the above link to see what tools are at your disposal to bring your concepts to fruition. Flesh out the foundation of your interfaces and get some usability testing deliverables knocked out to boot. It’s just that easy.

My son saw Lucky the Leprechaun on my Lucky Charms t-shirt. I told not to touch it because leprechauns spread leprosy. I can’t wait until he starts school.

Lucky the Leper

If only there was some product or drink out there that could keep me buzzed yet loaded with energy.

In tall boy cans no less