Don't get soap in your eyes - Geek Salad will not meet this Tuesday Dec 7

Why aren't all shampoo and conditioner bottles labelled like this, for my presbyopic eyes?
[cid:B352861D-FC9B-4499-BFC0-BAC77D88B1B0]

These bottles below are more typical.
[cid:D90E558C-4907-46BC-9ABB-D6B75B196D85]

Most bottles are labelled with lush typography and are otherwise unreadable to 40+ year old eyes, without their reading glasses, in the shower trying to figure out which bottle to use first.
It's a usability issue seldom addressed.
I bet all the graphic designers are twenty-somethings.

I'm in the throes of CPOE (computerized physician order entry) conversion these two weeks, and I'll need the extra waking hour to cope with that project.
It's gratifying to feel needed and wanted, I suppose.

So, sleep late, or linger over your morning coffee all by yourself.
See you in two weeks, a few days before Christmas.

________________________________
Jeff Belden MD | beldenj@health.missouri.edu<mailto:beldenj@health.missouri.edu> | 573-489-4206 m
Geek Salad | Tossing Ideas Around
meeting every other Tuesday at 0700
at Kaldi's Coffee on 9th and Cherry
http://geeksalad.posterous.com/
Calendar<http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=fhf2e2qvq9rt2va5vhabn201a0@group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Chicago>
to unsubscribe, reply with UNSUBSCRIBE in subject line

Shop Class as Soulcraft - Geek Salad hosts Brian Page, Locksmith, Tue Nov 23 at 7 AM

I've learned a lot from my friend, Brian Page.
He's officially retired, and a man of leisure who doesn't mind coming in at 7 AM to meet a group of creative, curious people like you.

He and I have talked about the declining value our culture expresses for those who work with their hands: the craftsman, or the plumber who can feel behind a wall with his hand through a hole in the wallboard and visualize and problem solve the flow of your life's fluids, or the seamstress who skillfully produces clothing that fits exquisitely.

There's a book we encountered and recommend:
Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work
by Matthew Crawford.

[cid:AC716F54-EA05-4917-B65E-03528849040F]

Come join the conversation with Brian as we talk about the value of work with the hands.
And maybe about judging the quality of locks: pay me now or pay me later.
Or maybe about the evolving technology of locks.

He knows how to make your creaky locks sing.

Jeff Belden MD | beldenj@health.missouri.edu<mailto:beldenj@health.missouri.edu> | 573-489-4206 m
Geek Salad | Tossing Ideas Around
meeting every other Tuesday at 0700
at Kaldi's Coffee on 9th and Cherry
http://geeksalad.posterous.com/
Calendar<http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=fhf2e2qvq9rt2va5vhabn201a0@group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Chicago>
to unsubscribe, reply with UNSUBSCRIBE in subject line

Graphic design is more than color choices. Geek Salad meets Tue Nov 9 | 7 AM | Kaldi's

Wonder what a good graphic designer has to offer your work?
Over the past 3 years, I've been learning more and more of the roles that go into good software and web design.

I started digitally stalking Charlie Triplett (web dev for MU Engineering) somehow a few months ago.
Maybe Twitter was the hook, maybe not.
I like his visual style, the way he writes, and his attitude about work and life.
Anyway, I finally met up with Charlie in person today and had a great time chatting.

Charlie will come to Geek Salad to share his ideas about the role of graphic design and more.
Hint: he knows a lot about application guts, too.
It should be fun.

Here's his web site: http://charliecharliecharlie.com

[cid:1036EEA5-A7BB-4833-A030-D508D879EAE6]

Jeff Belden MD | beldenj@health.missouri.edu<mailto:beldenj@health.missouri.edu> | 573-489-4206 m
Geek Salad | Tossing Ideas Around
meeting every other Tuesday at 0700
at Kaldi's Coffee on 9th and Cherry
http://geeksalad.posterous.com/
Calendar<http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=fhf2e2qvq9rt2va5vhabn201a0@group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Chicago>
to unsubscribe, reply with UNSUBSCRIBE in subject line

Geek Salad takes a hiatus, but David Fannin will be there each week if you get lonely

Gone Fishing
I'll be doing some traveling the next few weeks, so we won't have an official meeting.
Don't bother trying to rob the house; it will be occupied and well-guarded.

David is a morning regular at Kaldi's, so you can find him there, if you arrive by 7 or so.

Here are some other alternatives to get your Geek Fix in the meantime:

* Mid-Mo iPad Users Group - Thu Oct 21 at 5:30 PM - Reynolds Journalism Institute: Lambert room - U of Mo

I'll be back to meet again on Nov 9, so stay tuned.

Jeff Belden MD | beldenj@health.missouri.edu<mailto:beldenj@health.missouri.edu> | 573-489-4206 m
Geek Salad | Tossing Ideas Around
meeting every other Tuesday at 0700
at Kaldi's Coffee on 9th and Cherry
http://geeksalad.posterous.com/
Calendar<http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=fhf2e2qvq9rt2va5vhabn201a0@group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Chicago>
to unsubscribe, reply with UNSUBSCRIBE in subject line

using The Back of the Napkin - on visual communication...

Brian Whorley from Boone Hospital Center forwarded this link about Dan Roam's book, "The Back of the Napkin". David Fannin and I highly recommend it, too!

Here's a cool book I ran across: http://www.thebackofthenapkin.com/

As it applies to healthcare: http://digitalroam.typepad.com/digital_roam/2009/08/fixing-health-care-on-the-back-of-a-napkin-4-napkins-actually.html

[cid:9D91A0C8-E461-43AC-8969-8386F6AE61CA@Kaldiscoffee.com]

Jeff Belden MD | beldenj@health.missouri.edu<mailto:beldenj@health.missouri.edu> | 573-489-4206 m
Geek Salad | Tossing Ideas Around
meeting every other Tuesday at 0700
at Kaldi's Coffee on 9th and Cherry
http://geeksalad.posterous.com/
Calendar<http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=fhf2e2qvq9rt2va5vhabn201a0@group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Chicago>
to unsubscribe, reply with UNSUBSCRIBE in subject line

Tell a story with Animated Video - Geek Salad meets Sep 28 at 7AM

I love the videos produced by CommonCraft.com<http://www.commoncraft.com>, like this one on "secure passwords"<http://www.commoncraft.com/secure-passwords-video>. They use cardboard cutouts, fingers moving things around, and creative visualizations.

I came across this storyboard tool<http://www.lilipip.com/templates/Script_and_Storyboard_Template.pdf> that one of the companies in the CommonCraft network uses to help it's clients think through a new custom project.

[cid:2430402F-2C27-4596-9355-94F00521778C@WRVS4400N]

I'll print a few copies of the form, and we can play with the tool, imagining that we have a complex story to tell. I like the idea of creative constraints (e.g. voice-over is 20 words) to shape the work.

See you at Kaldi's!

Jeff Belden MD | beldenj@health.missouri.edu<mailto:beldenj@health.missouri.edu> | 573-489-4206 m
Geek Salad | Tossing Ideas Around
meeting every other Tuesday at 0700
at Kaldi's Coffee on 9th and Cherry
http://geeksalad.posterous.com/
Calendar<http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=fhf2e2qvq9rt2va5vhabn201a0@group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Chicago>
to unsubscribe, reply with UNSUBSCRIBE in subject line

Get Mental! Shake up thinking that got stuck - Geek Salad meets Tue Sep 14 at 7 AM

September has gotten busy for me, and I suspect others as well.
Vacation months are over.
The quarterly meetings are happening this month.

This creates deadline thinking, and inhibits the creative spark we all have.
I recently got my deck of "Mental Notes<http://www.getmentalnotes.com/>" in the mail, designed to spur "out of the box" thinking, based on sound principles.

[cid:6E7DDF3D-FCE3-4449-81B0-B995B4C6220E@dhcp.missouri.edu]

Come join us Tuesday AM at Kaldi's and we'll play with these together.
We'll imagine we're stuck (okay, maybe we won't have to imagine it), and use Mental Notes to get us thinking openly again.

See you then.

Jeff Belden MD | beldenj@health.missouri.edu<mailto:beldenj@health.missouri.edu> | 573-489-4206 m
Geek Salad | Tossing Ideas Around
meeting every other Tuesday at 0700
at Kaldi's Coffee on 9th and Cherry
http://geeksalad.posterous.com/
Calendar<http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=fhf2e2qvq9rt2va5vhabn201a0@group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Chicago>
to unsubscribe, reply with UNSUBSCRIBE in subject line