Scientific Ink

Author: Dunrie

  • Unintentional experiment

    So, I was looking for a new dentist because my former dentist is not on a bus line and too far to walk. I twittered the request and then posted here in my blog. Then, the blog post got pulled into facebook as a note. Sample sizes are small, but….

    • twitter.com/dunrie – 33 followers – 1 recommendation
    • facebook – 57 friends – 1 recommendation
    • pownce – 15 friends – 1 recommendation
    • this blog – 8 17 subscribers – 3 recommendations (note: subscriber number from FeedSmith plugin, was collecting subscribers a week ago and didn’t have the full set, 17 number as of 9/9/2007)

    First, thanks to all who recommended someone!

    Second, I have to admit I was surprised by the numbers. Sure, it is a teeny sample size, but I would have predicted that twitter would have the most reach and return the most dentists. I would have thought that the facebook version of my blog would have had more reach than the blog itself. I expected that my blog would have the least reach.

    So I have two hypotheses for why.

    • The blog may have lower reach but it is less transitory than a tweet or even itself fed into facebook as a note. Perhaps the sheer volume of other distractions on those media mean that my question only had a brief window to be read and acted upon, and that window of attention is longer with the blog.
    • The tweets, facebook items, and pownce items go to the same network, and the blog has the least similar audience (guessing here, I don’t actually know). Supporting evidence: the blog comments included someone I had known in grad school but wasn’t in my current “network” on the other services.

    Anyone got a better idea?

  • Have no car = need new dentist?

    So, this whole “not having a car thing” is rippling into other things. The current struggle is whether to change dentists. I have been going to Enspire Dental, formerly Farah & Associates, for several years now. Well, they’re out on Liberty and not on a bus line, so I pretty much can’t get to them without renting a car or riding my bike or begging a ride. Seems like it might be simpler to move to a more local dentist. Must be some in/around downtown Ann Arbor. Anyone got a recommendation?

  • Owl Scream Social

    Young Bald Eagle

    Guy invited us to his house tonight for an ice cream social. He had all the usual trimmings: chocolate sprinkles, almonds, various ice cream flavors (strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate), chocolate syrup, neighborhood kids, and raptors.

    Ummm…raptors?

    Yup, raptors.

    A woman from the Leslie Science Center brought a kestrel, a barred owl, and a juvenile bald eagle. All the birds were injured (kestrel, owl) or imprinted on humans (eagle) and so would not survive in the wild. The birds were wonderful. The day reminded me of the amazing Raptor Trust in New Jersey. And, of course, the Onion article about owls.

    You should have heard the birds in the nearby trees all twittering away “Do. Not. Want.”

  • 65th Wedding Anniversary

    Dave and I are nearing our 7th wedding anniversary, and that sounds like a lot to me. It doesn’t feel that long, which I suppose is a good thing. He and I were together for 6ish years before that, so our relationship feels like a long term, stable thing.

    This past weekend my husband and I drove to Indianapolis to spend time with his grandparents and his uncle Jim. I’ve written about them before, Dave’s grandfather always impresses me with his deep commitment to his wife. Bud mentioned this time that they would soon have their 65th wedding anniversary (sometime this fall, I think) and that he had been in love with Jane for even longer than that.

    Something about the words he used struck me, especially now that she is slipping away, sleeping much of the day, rousing for meals but distracted and disoriented. Though she’s still quick with the wisecracks, she’s also prone to sighs and confusion about where she is and how she got there. I recall an earlier visit with them, years ago, before they moved from their home to the apartment, at a time when her illness was first starting to show. At that time, when we pulled away after our visit and he stood on the lawn and watched us go, he looked so alone.

    This visit, he said quite clearly that he’d been in love with her for more than 65 years. His words made me think of how much of commitment to another person is made up of intention, how longevity like that takes a strong will. I’m sure there’s good fortune in there, choosing a mate wisely, the support of friends and family and (for them) church, good health that they both made it to their mid-80s…lots of things combine to make a 65th wedding anniversary even possible. What I admire in him is his intention to remain in love at a 65th anniversary, his intention to take care of her now that she needs him so strongly, and his intention to appreciate the good in whatever is happening right at that moment.

    I’m humbled by his commitment, and feeling kinda lucky that my husband, born 50 years to the day after his grandfather, has some of the same qualities–a strong willed focus on the positive–that I so appreciate in his grandfather.

  • The Sound of Mountain Water

    The Sound of Mountain WaterFunny, the books I’m reading this weekend are affirming each other. I suppose this means nothing more than I have consistent taste. I’m now reading The Sound of Mountain Water by Wallace Stegner. He writes about the value of wilderness as more than just a place to hike, ski, photograph, raft, or play. He writes about the value of the idea of wilderness.

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  • Upcoming events: August

    Two noteworthy events coming soon!

    MiUPA: Design for two different generations: a user experience challenge

    We all know about the Baby Boomers: they are a huge demographic, there are a lot of them, and they are now aging. But did you realize that there is a new generation that outnumbers the boomers? Called the “Net Generation” these are people who are born between 1977 and 1996. There are 8 million in the US and over 2 billion worldwide. And they are joining your organization and usability group as employees. They also may be a critical part of your current and upcoming target audience for the products you sell and/or the interfaces you design.

    These generations are very different. In this session Dr. Susan Weinschenk will explore the two groups, their impact on the design of the user experience, and how their expectations, experience, use of technology and social collaboration will radically change the interfaces you design and the way you work.

    Register now to attend in person at Quicken Loans Tuesday August 21, 2007, 6:00-8:30PM or sign up for the webcast here: miupa.org

    Connect Ann Arbor event on leadership

    On Tuesday, August 28, 2007, you can learn the principles of leadership as taught by UM Football Coach Bo Schembechler. There will be a morning networking breakfast at Zingerman’s Roadhouse and an afternoon Networking event at Automation Alley in Troy.

    Connect Ann Arbor is partnering with Rob Pasick’s Leaders Connect to bring this event to Ann Arbor and Troy. Event information at connectannarbor.com