I've been teaching classes at the Northshore Senior Center for the last year and what a joy. It's so fulfilling to witness folks feel empowered by knowledge.

Craigslist is the class that has generated the most interest and is always packed. The first quarter I taught this, we practiced searching (shopping) and then creating an ad. But I learned that there were a couple of things that the students stumbled on: transferring photos from the digital camera and confirming the ad in email. So, this quarter, I added another day to the class, which went really well. First we practiced creating a fake text only ad, checking the email from Craigslist and then how to publish it. Then, we practiced how to plug in the digital camera, find it within Windows Explorer and then move the images to the computer. This was more challenging because not everyone brought their cables and they had a hard time with the concept of Windows Explorer. But the main lesson here was to create folders, remember where they are at and to be able to upload the images to Craigslist. I'm thrilled with how well everyone did.

Working with people unfamiliar with computers is humbling for someone who works in the technology field. I'm always surprised by the number of folks who don't know how to open up their browser, or scroll a window, or pick up their mouse and move it after they run out of room on the desk. And Captcha...that's hard stuff to read!!! Especially for folks that have little patience. Actually, I think that been my biggest usability lesson...there is no patience for things that they don't understand why they are happening. While not everyone builds software products whose target user base are seniors, it makes the case for careful expectation management throughout the app/site and how important the proper flow is. UX professionals look through such a compassionate lens and I'm always grateful when they are part of my software team, especially when the entire team makes it a priority too.

Imagine my surprise as I returned home to a jungle themed bon voyage party the weekend before my Peru adventure:

With masks...

A monkey mother...

The monster mash?

A cake...

And...a house decorated with monkeys and snakes. . .

I'm in the last week's countdown until I leave for Peru. This means getting and organizing all the 'stuff' I'll need for living out of a suitcase for 21 days in a variety of climates and altitudes. It also means making sure my yard is in tip top shape because by the time I get back it will be October, officially fall weather, and it's cold working outside.

I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of my grapes. What if they don't ripen before I leave? Oh, the tragedy!

This year produced 4 times the amount of grapes as last year and I didn't cut any of them back in a greedy attempt to harvest as many grapes as possible. Now, I'm thinking that perhaps that too many grape bunches don't allow the vine to put enough energy into ripening all of them. We had some great warm, sunny summer weather although the last month has been colder and wet. But last year was so wonderful! I had about ten sweet ripe bunches of grapes to eat, make grape juice with and share with friends. I thought that it would just be better this year!

Well, we'll see what happens. I might get wild and crazy and cut some back or just have patience and let my house sitter note if and when they ripen (and if they do ripen, she'll get to eat all the grapes, no fair!!).

Left plugged in all day, every day of the year, a game console uses twice as much energy as the TV it is hooked up to. Leaving a game console plugged in all year is equivalent to having over 200 cell phone chargers left in the wall!

How about something easy for Earth Day--unplugging your game console when not in play? I did. My Wii goes dark unless I am playing it. I have to admit that this started because my Wii glowed eerily at night, like a blue Cylon. I just don't trust toasters. But I'm happy to reap the energy rewards!

Consumer electronics are the biggest user of electricity in the home, and game consoles are often the biggest offenders. Unplug unused electronics save $256 per household per year! [source]