Life is grand

Reading these 15 quotes of Kurt Vonnegut I am pleased such a great mind could be so kind and understanding. Often great minds are portrayed as hard and cynical.

“I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’”

and:

“Many people need desperately to receive this message: ‘I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.’”

That last one resonates with me especially. When we curse others, think badly of others or fail to understand others we forget how similar we all are.

User Interface Design for Programmers by Joel Spolsky is a worthwhile read though there are better books on the subject out there (e.g. Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug (which Joel recommends too.)) The information is good though I find Joel’s tone to be grating. This is the same Joel of Joel on Software fame and as I have said before the man has good things to say but says them in the most awful ways. Arrogant is the main word that comes to mind. Steve Krug in comparison respects users and avoids calling them morons at every turn.

What Joel has to say on the program model vs. the user model is very helpful though. If that is all you get from the book then you are doing well.

So if you have an hour or two free (the book is short) and have read the other books on the subject give Joel’s a shot.