The Occasional Blog

• For some unknown reason, @Yelp is blocking access (403) to their website. Am I some evil person? #

• @TFudgeSD I've been doing that commute for fifteen years. in reply to TFudgeSD #
• @vassago follow @KPBSnews ? Take the boy out of SD but not SD out of the boy? ;-) in reply to vassago #
• @TFudgeSD 58 mi. I think of shorter, sure, but do audiobooks and podcasts which is great. I've 'read' more than I would have otherwise. in reply to TFudgeSD #

• Deferring things only works when there are opportunities to come back to them. #

• Reporting for (jury) duty. http://t.co/oRwlFchG #

• My inbox may get into the single digits for the first time in over a month. #sadpleasures #

At work this week, we went over employee feedback survey results from a survey originally taken last fall. This is a survey used by many organizations and while some interesting information is presented, there are limits.

My primary problem is that the approximately 75 questions were all based on a 5-point scale. That is a chief complaint for me. I believe that everyone views numerical scales differently. I can usually think of how something could be better or worse so, as a result, I very rarely select the top or bottom selection (i.e., 5 or 1 in a 5-point scale). I realize that it artificially constrains my responses which is its own problem. On the other hand, I’m sure there are plenty of people that have no qualms using 5 or 1 and probably a few that overuse 5 or 1. Does that mean everything gets evened out? Probably (to a degree).

I’m happy that we decided at work to not only review the survey looking at the top and bottom results, but emphasized the thoughts and perspectives as to why items may be high or low. In my team, we spent two hours on it and had a really good talk. Now the challenge is to do what I can to change the things I can and to affect change on the things I can’t.

• Got my PS Vita today at work. It came with cookies! http://t.co/qyed2HD7 #

My family and I had the opportunity to go see Behind the Myths tour staring Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman two weeks ago. The best way to describe the experience is as “the world’s best school assembly.” They spent time doing some Q&A, explanation on how the show started, their own backgrounds, and general insight as to how they approach the show and the myths they examine.

A big intent of the show is to help people consider and examine the world around them. It was a very fun evening and I’m looking forward to seeing their companion show MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition when (if) it comes within driving distance.

• Starting the day with 119 tasks due or overdue. Let's see what I can accomplish. #OmniFocus #
• That was a full day. Deferred more than a handful of tasks. Only one task overdue. Tomorrow's looming, though (97 tasks). #OmniFocus #

• @prepeller Here's my usage. I'm a big Alfred fan. http://t.co/nBXLh4mX #