second verse. tumbling.: So you want to join a startup →

secondverse:

Designers of all levels are leaving agencies and consulting to join startups as full time employees. I can say from experience that the transition they’re making is a significant one. I was recently asked to delineate the best questions for a designer to ask during the hiring process, and what to…

Whose hair is it anyway?

Lately I’ve been hearing and reading a lot of talk about hair. Some of it’s really cool and some isn’t that great at all.

On the good side, we have the Sesame Street “I Love My Hair” video. It aired on the October 4th episode and immediately went viral. Then, enter this mash up of the original video and Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair”. And if that weren’t enough, October 18th brought us the release of the official video for “Whip My Hair”. (Which, by the way, I love.) 

On the other side, I’ve come across a lot of controversy about the Sesame Street clip. I understand the feeling that songs like this shouldn’t be necessary, but the reality is they are and we have to start somewhere. Kohl’s featured a “Ghetto Fab” wig that looked like natural hair (It is no longer featured on the site.)Then today, I read this article that criticizes two black women for switching things up with straight styles. While I agree with some of the points made in that article, I am fundamentally against considering anyone a sell out because of a hair styling choice.

I am currently transitioning from relaxed hair to natural. This is the second time I’ve done this. When I went back to relaxer it was because I was bored and wanted to change things up. People who’ve never seen my natural hair love to tell me what it’s like, how “good” it is (I hate the term “good hair”) and how I should be wearing it. I’ve worn the relaxer for as long as I liked having it that way. It was convenient and comfortable for me. Now I want something different.

Every woman who decides to make the switch has some reason for doing it. There are as many reasons as there are people in the world and the only ones I consider invalid are those that stem from a belief that natural hair (or relaxed for that matter) just isn’t good enough. If you’re changing because those around you are pressuring you to, that’s not good enough either. Bottom line: if it’s growing out of your scalp and you’re old enough to take care of it yourself, it’s no one else’s business how you wear it. Enough with the criticism and bickering over how it should be. Instead of tearing down, offer suggestions but be easy if they’re rejected. If you’re natural and can help someone who wants to make that change, do so generously; your wisdom an advice will be appreciated. Just don’t think you’ve taken the high road because you made the right choice for you.

Okay, I’m done venting. My point in all of this is just live and let live. Whatever hair you choose to wear, wear it with pride and don’t tear down others who are doing the same exact thing.

The Challenge

The challenge is to cook a meal everyday for 30 days.

Tonight is meatloaf, scalloped potatoes and broccoli.

Tomorrow is crock pot beef stew.

Tuesday might be pot pie with the leftover beef stew.

I haven’t thought any further ahead than that.

Gatling Analytics: make any JavaScript tracker asynchronous

For those of you who are into such things…

knewtoncode:

Gatling is a jQuery plugin that provides a framework for firing non-asynchronous tracking pixels in an asynchronous manner.

The problem with non-asynchronous trackers is they block the page load until they respond, creating a sequence of delays. By using Gatling to handle third-party analytics trackers, you get the following benefits:

• Trigger any number of tracking pixels in parallel, without impacting site performance.
• Centralize your tracking pixels into one file for easier management and auditing.
• Implement multiple trackers for one provider much more easily (e.g., track a hit on two different Google Analytics accounts).
• Stop depending on third parties to implement their own asynchronous libraries properly.
• Fire off trackers as the result of a user action on your site without touching the actual source of your application.

It’s good for site owners, and it’s good for tracker providers. Get into it by reading the Gatling overview.

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NoNoWriMo! →

November is National Novel Writing Month. The goal: 50,000 words is 30 days. And yes, the words have to make some sort of sense. :)