Photo of San Francisco seen through some rocks on Mount Davidson.

The photograph titled "San Francisco from Mount Davidson" presents an enchanting view where rugged, timeworn rocks envelop the foreground, framing a distant yet vibrant cityscape. The city of San Francisco emerges as a silhouette from beyond the craggy embrace of the mountains, its skyline brushing the cerulean sky. Horizons merge seamlessly, with the hazy outlines of urban structures sitting gently against the ethereal blue. The stones in the foreground are rendered in warm, earthy hues that contrast with the cool tones of the distant city, conveying a compelling dialogue between nature and urbanity.

In terms of style and composition, this photograph employs a vivid juxtaposition between the coarse textures of the rocks and the sleek, distant lines of the cityscape. The use of natural framing with the rocks creates a visual pathway, leading the viewer’s gaze toward the heart of the city. There is a noticeable tilt-shift effect, providing a dreamlike quality by blurring peripheral elements and drawing sharp focus to the center. I admire the choice of perspective, as it conveys a dynamic interaction between the viewer and the scene. However, the overwhelming blur might deter some focal clarity, slightly overpowering the delicate balance of the photograph. Despite this, the composition skillfully bridges the natural world and human habitation, evoking a sense of harmonious coexistence.

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(Published to the Fediverse as: San Francisco from Mount Davidson #photo #mountdavidson #sanfrancisco Photo of San Francisco from Mount Davidson (through some rocks). )

We'd probably be living in a post-scarcity Star Trek / Culture style universe happily working on self-actualization if we didn't have to spend so much time fucking around with OAuth.

(Previously)

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(Published to the Fediverse as: OAuth #etc #oauth A detailed and thoughtful critique of the challenges of working with OAuth. )

When I run an app or launch a website it's generally because I've got some task to complete and a few free minutes to try and complete it.

Let's take Facebook for example. I want to quickly scan through to see which of my friends are sharing anodyne inspirational quotes superimposed over stock photography and silently judge them.

Facebook picks this moment to let me know about a new feature that will display previously unshared photos and videos to try and get me to share them. I'm instantly pissed off because of the unwelcome cognitive load and then I realize that the whole app has frozen. In fact every time I load Facebook at the moment it just hangs until I give up and do something else.

This is probably because one of my daughters has the endearing habit of shooting hour long 4K videos of the floor. The poor app is probably innocently trying to grab a couple of thumbnails and instead getting an object lesson in the halting problem. I'm sure this will eventually get fixed and it's not even the root cause of my current fury.

Got It

My only option is to click Got It. This chirpy little phrase is slowly infesting every corner of interaction design. It seems relatively innocuous at first but let's unpick it a little.

Generally Got It signals that something has been added to an app or site that the designer feels is important enough that they need to let me know about it.

This is almost always going to be bad news. Probably the way I complete my task has changed and I'm going to have to learn the new way. Maybe there has been a complete redesign and the use I had for the app was considered an edge case and has been removed. It could be that for legal reasons I need to be told that some new previously unpillaged corner of my privacy needs to be violated.

I'm immediately in a bad frame of mind when I see Got It.

Also there is rarely a Don't Got It or  Don't Want It link. Got It is a sign that something is being forced on you and the happy language is an implicit forced value judgement that you've both fully comprehended the change and that you wholeheartedly agree with it.

It probably feels cute to designers that come up with this. After all, a whole team has probably toiled for weeks if not months to come up with a new way to cause my phone to hang. They really want me to use it. But you're not putting yourself in my shoes. I rarely care and usually you're making my day fractionally less enjoyable and the design should be about me and not you.

I miss OK. It's less loaded. I'm OK with dealing with whatever you're inflicting on me. It's not as good as OK / Cancel but sometimes OK is about the best you can expect.

I just don't Got It.

(Previously)

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(Published to the Fediverse as: Got It #etc #youtube #facebook #londonist Why I hate that chirpy Got It link in interaction design - it's almost always bad news with a forced positive value judgement )

360 degree timelapse from the top of Twin Peaks in San Francisco.

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(Published to the Fediverse as: Twin Peaks 360 4K #timelapse #4k #360 #video 360 degree 4K resolution timelapse shot from the top of Twin Peaks in San Francisco )

Photos of gray whales at Waddell Beach in California.

This photograph captures a serene and mesmerizing scene at Waddell Beach, where the expanse of the ocean meets the vast sky. The gentle break of the water's surface reveals the presence of majestic gray whales, with a distinctive spout and a glimpse of a fin rising gracefully from the waves. The background is alive with a multitude of seabirds, creating a dynamic contrast against the calm sea and lending a sense of movement and life to the composition. The soft light bathes the entire scene in warm tones, revealing the subtle textures of the water as it merges with the horizon, where the sky is a canvas of pale, echoing tranquility.

The style of this photograph leans toward a minimalist and naturalistic approach, focusing on the beauty of untouched wildlife and the poetry of nature’s simplicity. The composition follows the rule of thirds, with the horizon line placed in the upper part of the frame, emphasizing the ocean's wideness. The spout and fin act as visual focal points, drawing the viewer's eye across the breadth of the image. I appreciate the quiet elegance of the photograph and the mood of peace it evokes. However, there could be a little more clarity and sharpness in capturing the details of the whales and birds. Enhancing these elements might add depth and a sense of immediacy to the viewer's experience.

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(Published to the Fediverse as: Gray Whales at Waddell Beach #photo #whales Several photos of gray whales at Waddell Beach in California. )

A timelapse where each photo has been reduced to just its average color. Extreme pixelation if you will. The image above is the average of the averages. I imagine this is how a bristlecone pine experiences a day. Need to try this again in the summer I think when it might be a slightly less depressing hue.

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(Published to the Fediverse as: The color of yesterday #timelapse #yesterday #video Timelapse where each photo has been reduced to its average color. )