*sigh*...

I have been tasked to help write a "how to" manual for one of our in-house applications that will be going into production soon. I've been printing all of the screens in the application so I have them on hand when we meet with the folks who will actually be using the application.

I have no problem with writing this manual - I've never written one before so its something new and different. What grates on me is that the application is designed in such a way that actually impedes use - I'm going to end up writing at least 20 pages to explain this thing when it would only take 10 if the interface had been planned more carefully. Some of my gripes:

• buttons placed near button-like graphics. Clickable areas that do not look like buttons.
  
• columns of checkboxes with no clear purpose - do you check it to see the selected item, delete it, edit it - ? If someone had labeled the column there would be no explanation necessary.
  
• edit, delete, and view screens that are so similar that I often had to check to see which one I was using.
  
• some links are brown, some are blue. Some are underlined, some not.
  

Maybe I'm too much a disciple of Jakob Nielsen but is it too much to ask that the page layout make sense in the first place? I know the person who designed it. They are an excellent coder and the thing works like a dream - once you realize what elements are buttons, links, etc.

Think I'll spend some time figuring out the additions to Photoshop 6 before I attempt to address this behemoth. As it is the meeting isn't until Thursday so I can't do much on it today anyway.

(no subject)

Suspicion Swirls Around Source of Anthrax

"I don't think there's a way to prove that but I think we all suspect that," House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) said this morning after a meeting between President Bush and congressional leaders.

Asked about a link between the anthrax and the Sept. 11 strikes, Fleischer agreed with Gephardt's view of linkage. "That's been the operating suspicion of the White House," he said.

Gad.... this just fuels the flames. Don't tell me what you suspect, tell me what you know. Personally, I suspect that this may be right-wing crazies in our own country. But I just SUSPECT that ya'll - lets make that very very clear.

I do find it interesting that this is the only followup I've found to the "anthrax-scares-at-abortion-clinics" story. Turns out they were all hoaxes. Also turns out that not only does the media not find abortion clinic anthrax scares worthy of comment, but that the gov't also doesn't find these scares worthy of criminal investigation. Oh, I forgot... threats against abortion clinics aren't really terrorism.

hideous wedding stuff

Oh, this is FUNNY....