tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51705845144217006292011-12-20T13:24:44.377+01:00Thoughts on life, work, and motherhoodantjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.comBlogger621100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-51601860397432889432011-12-20T13:22:00.003+01:002011-12-20T13:24:44.385+01:00

So what does my loving husband get up to on a romantic winter evening at home? - Play with Lambda expressions in .Net, of course!Oh well, at least I don't have to worry about him getting drunk down the pub or paying too much attention to the secretary ;-)

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-49274436067182542932010-10-05T14:01:00.003+02:002010-10-07T19:21:43.684+02:00

am I but a tiny flotsam in the ocean of life,helplessly tossed about by the waves and prevailing winds,eventually to be swallowed up and disappear without reason or consequence

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-40290833087498161942010-07-15T01:34:00.036+02:002010-07-15T03:57:54.168+02:00

As a Christian I have been taught to hold all human life sacred, and as a mother I have a vested interest in the future prosperity of humanity in general, and my family in particular. Growing up in the Black Forest, I have always felt an affinity for nature and environmental concerns. However, lately I am getting increasingly despaired about our seeming inability to acknowledge and effectively

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-34874136640334150692010-02-17T08:42:00.018+01:002010-07-15T03:02:23.582+02:00

On a Tuesday afternoon, about twelve years ago, I was chatting with a young IT student near Grand Canyon. With all our belongings stuffed in a U-Haul van, my husband and I were in the process of moving from San Francisco to the east coast. This young man was eager to hear about our work. The local community were sponsoring his education, for which he was very grateful. But he was also sad, as it

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-50826795401637766452010-02-14T15:37:00.008+01:002010-02-14T15:49:43.684+01:00

once everything has been stripped away, there remains just my pitiful soulbut I mustn't give up, must keep on going, for the sake of my family & friendshelp me, lord

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-2394127472927698052010-01-17T10:43:00.004+01:002010-07-15T03:03:01.926+02:00

I do not want your pity.But I crave your praise and respect.And any true love or friendship you might have to spare.

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-33117834695100583852010-01-16T19:34:00.016+01:002010-01-17T12:16:07.412+01:00

Feeling lonely, in this desolate gray country, devoid of hills and forests, with leaden skies and orderly rows of identical houses.Lonely in this clumsy, harsh language that does not allow me to express my emotions.Lonely amongst busy, self-sufficient people, with no patience for lonely strangers.Lonely in a world that favors the strong and ruthless.Lonely, far away from family and friends.Lonely

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-68715490941377961822009-09-29T13:44:00.008+02:002009-09-29T14:37:13.903+02:00

Yesterday evening, the first Design by Fire Café took place at Café Midi in Utrecht.As locations go, Yohan certainly managed to find another hidden gem! - What I first mistook for just another beer-swishing corner joint, turned out to be a cozy pub offering a feast of amazing fresh, natural, excellently prepared vegetarian food, with a select choice of wonderful organic tea!After dinner followed

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-30236601521600642762009-06-08T15:12:00.007+02:002009-06-08T15:22:54.301+02:00

Picture byUser IntelligenceOn May 6th, User Intelligence was hosting an entertaining & educational UX cocktail hour at their light and airy premises in Amsterdam’s historic downtown. The event proved very popular; only limited spaces were available, unfortunately, and they had filled up within hours. Nevertheless, as always, the cocktail hour was a great opportunity to catch up with many familiar

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-83222744150094756822009-05-23T10:21:00.005+02:002009-05-23T10:56:46.431+02:00

While visiting my parents last weekend, I had the pleasure to meet my brother's new girlfriend, and her ten year old son. We got along very well, and I took an immediate liking to both of them.As many boys of his age, Taced loves to play online games and is fascinated by computers. Not surprisingly, he dreams of starting his own company and developing computer games. Thus he was quite excited

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-45314897756871038032009-03-10T16:50:00.003+01:002009-03-10T17:25:50.398+01:00

I've always been obsessed with books and reading. As a child I spent many a night hiding under the blanket with a pocket light and my collection of Enyd Blyton novels. As a student, I spent a blissful vacation with my (equally afflicted) friend Birgitta meandering across the beautiful English and Cornish countryside, always on the lookout for second hand bookstores, to find hidden treasures, and

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-46123523703097601102009-01-19T23:42:00.054+01:002009-01-23T23:15:14.636+01:00

I recently came across Susan Pinker's ideas on behavioral and professional differences caused by gender & hormonal influences. Particularly her explanation in a recent Dutch TV documentary, on why female success (or seeming lack thereof) should be defined and measured differently, stroke a chord.To some degrees, I myself am an example of Susan's "high achieving women [who] choose jobs that pay

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-46311640759331507072008-12-24T16:42:00.002+01:002008-12-24T16:50:43.739+01:00

Wishing ya'll a wonderful holiday season and the very best for the new year!XXX Antje

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-10739556682021717482008-12-23T09:42:00.007+01:002008-12-23T10:18:25.172+01:00

As user experience has become more popular amongst business and marketing, there seems to be a trend to focus on conversion rates and how to get users to purchase certain products or services. Of course commercial aspects are important, but we must not loose sight of the essence and purpose of our profession.As Valeria Maltoni recommends very fittingly in her Top Ten Reasons Why You're not a

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-91531692614344828432008-12-14T13:13:00.013+01:002008-12-14T14:34:23.966+01:00

In the autumn of 2006, I resigned a lucrative position as senior designer and user researcher at an established user experience group. Many of my friends and colleagues were surprised by my decision, but at the time I felt it was the right thing to do, make a change, and take some time for myself and my family.Over the past two years, I got to know many inspiring people and organizations,

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-13305295370118648592008-12-10T15:44:00.008+01:002008-12-26T09:33:12.737+01:00

Last Sunday, an (expatriate) friend invited me to attend a Christmas concert of the Choir Company Sisters at the evangelical church in Ijsselstein. I must admit it was rather disconcerting at first to hear such a modern interpretation (with Dutch text!?) of traditional German and English Christmas carols.As always around this time of year, I really miss my childhood home in Southern Germany very

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-29151683550421802732008-11-21T08:32:00.053+01:002008-11-24T15:47:55.118+01:00

Yesterday evening was the 7th meeting of CHI Netherlands User Research BOF at the Creative Learning Lab in Amsterdam, with two presentations on web analytics.Adam Cox en Martijn Klompenhouwer of User Intelligence shared some interesting examples and lessons learned of combining web analytics and user research.While web analytics can provide a lot of data on where users are coming from (e.g.

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-71719768900623169742008-11-09T08:44:00.008+01:002008-11-09T09:08:51.826+01:00

I want me one of them!! ;-)Awesome animation by Evelien Lohbeck:

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-43787946521638334762008-10-02T21:45:00.012+02:002008-11-09T09:12:45.674+01:00

I've often been praising the strength of visualization techniques to define, communicate, and refine technology and business concepts. As Adam Greenfield points out in Everyware, a good example how powerful a tool concept visualization can be is the development of Raytheon's Common Tactical Blackboard for the US military after seeing the animation of John Underkoffler's original concept in

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-48787499210041207712008-09-22T09:22:00.003+02:002008-09-22T09:35:03.731+02:00

Opinions seem to be divided on this one (see e.g. Kara Swisher's note), but I'm absolutely in love with Scott McCloud's visualization of Google Chrome (then again I have always been a fan of BD's, i.e. Franco-Belgian comic strips ;-).Of course in this instance the strip was created after the fact and is used mainly as communication & marketing tool. But in my experience these type of

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-65166150927527345452008-09-17T15:39:00.003+02:002008-09-17T16:29:59.127+02:00

Interesting theory by Marc Van Rymenant (Netway) on dividing user interfaces based on physiological and behavioral research as foundation for composition principles (think Phi and Leonardo's magic numbers) to determine interface sweet spots and comfort zones.I'm very curious to hear if any designers actually observe noticeable positive effects when applying this approach to their visual designs.

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-46360079937756900992008-08-14T15:26:00.016+02:002008-08-14T16:19:04.358+02:00

This year's summer vacation with my parents in Southern Germany is a romantic trip down memory lane, as my father takes my son hiking across the rolling hills and endless forests of my youth, sharing old stories, remembering previous generations, feeding the insatiable curiosity of my multicultural offspring with local history and family traditions.I can barely believe the beauty surrounding me.

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-65414626460787632452008-07-14T12:29:00.015+02:002008-07-14T14:58:36.594+02:00

Occasionally I feel inspired to write articles and reports on usability and user experience design, amongst others for CHI Nederland. Unfortunately, my written Dutch language skills are far from perfect, but the editor kindly agreed for me to write my contributions in English, even though the CHI NL site is almost entirely in Dutch.It seems this fact did not sit well with some supporters of the

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-40903874322295278492008-07-13T21:31:00.002+02:002008-07-13T21:34:31.678+02:00

I recently stumbled across this note (by the mother of a disabled child) and stuck it up on my wall:"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass,it's about learning how to dance in the rain."May your rainy days be filled with happy moments!

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-51192318063981070232008-07-03T21:34:00.012+02:002008-07-03T22:21:00.328+02:00

Recently two talented photographers, Petra de Bruijne and Ineke Schipstra, took some portraits of the children at Natasha's daycare:www.petradebruijne.nl/bb/(note: only seems to work in IE)Natasha had a lot of fun, the pictures turned out absolutely stunning (says a very proud mommy ;-) and I'm amazed at the patience that Petra & Ineke must have had!

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-46176580229975730632008-06-09T11:10:00.006+02:002008-06-09T12:48:35.372+02:00

(part of the) UX Community in A'damOriginally uploaded by zoinkydoinkLast week, Peter called an impromptu UX cocktail hour 'old style'. My darling children were very jealous when they heard about mommy going off to 'the big city', so we decided to take them along :-DAll in all a nice way to spend Friday evening: Sunshine, cold drinks, and interesting chats amongst a small UX group with a few old

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-55092388042744370902008-06-08T14:18:00.007+02:002008-06-23T19:36:32.539+02:00

The second Web and Beyond conference took place on May 22, 2008 at the historical Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam. It was once again a great success, with inspiring keynotes, interesting stands and presentations, and over 500 international attendees; a fertile exchange of experiences, contacts, and ideas. This year’s conference was focused on mobility, exploring the opportunities, challenges,

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-28718326079466585752008-06-04T21:42:00.005+02:002008-06-04T21:55:52.139+02:00

Though I must admit that I am not very successful at practicing it, I greatly admire the Navajo aspiration to "walk in beauty", i.e. to lead our life in harmony, respect, and balance with ourself, our fellow humans, and the natural world surrounding us.Or as cited on Jyri Engström’s extraordinary wedding site:“An optimistic, forward-looking call for all people and communities to make a difference

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-79555304406558144202008-06-02T11:18:00.006+02:002008-06-02T11:28:50.782+02:00

In a recent interview by Fortune 500, Indra Nooyi shares an insight she learned from her father: always assume positive intentI shall try to remember that!

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-36176226780133931742008-05-25T03:11:00.015+02:002008-05-25T04:36:07.527+02:00

On the eve of the second Web and Beyond conference in Amsterdam, TomTom was hosting this month's UX cocktail hour at their brand new offices behind Amsterdam's central library.In front of a breathtaking view of downtown Amsterdam, we were treated to drinks and a glimpse behind the scenes of TomTom's user experience team.Quite a large turnout this time, including attendees and speakers of the

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-91904096838863320042008-05-25T02:58:00.002+02:002008-05-25T03:06:52.732+02:00

Having a cold. Waking up in the middle of the night with a coughing fit. Getting up to clean the bedding, then myself. Cry quietly, don't wakeup the children. My partner has given up sharing my bed long ago.At daytime, I pretend to be a normal person. At night, I live in my own private world of soiled diapers, incontinence, loneliness, despair.

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-39927080047655330252008-04-24T08:21:00.003+02:002008-05-25T03:07:22.429+02:00

After a busy day at creche, my darling daughter went to bed rather late yesterday evening. Thus today - as was to be expected - she is having "one of them days".Mind you, I am rather proud how good I'm getting at doing the week's shopping with a screaming, kicking 3 year old tugged under my arm, while appearing completely oblivious to the outraged looks I'm getting from shops assistants and

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-92121991549860805552008-03-23T09:04:00.003+01:002008-03-23T09:10:37.887+01:00

Rather neat little app by Hallmark:

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-56214004813777907702008-01-21T21:50:00.000+01:002008-01-25T10:41:52.927+01:00

This week, at the Mobile Monday in Amsterdam, Joseph Pine provided a fascinating, if slightly mind bending overview of his work on 'multiverses' in the experience economy.In his book "Technology and Media in the Experience Economy", Joseph Pine argues that just as goods have become commodities in the past, so by now have services. Thus increasingly companies do not only have to compete on

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-47637810291555311502008-01-15T23:39:00.000+01:002008-01-16T09:25:31.970+01:00

... Peter Boersma, that is, not Peter Pan ;-)Peter is senior interaction designer at Info.nl, host of the UX cocktail hours in Amsterdam, and frequent speaker at various IA and UX events. He kindly agreed to let me shadow him for a couple of months.Thus as of today I'm officially a mentee - very exciting !!!

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-8959570912062369592007-12-12T16:43:00.000+01:002007-12-12T17:48:53.101+01:00

In the Netherlands it is (theoretically) illegal for private persons to burn fireworks except for New Years Eve. However, every year by mid December, there will be children out and about 'practicing' in anticipation of this yearly spectacle.One such gang of neighborhood teenagers was busy on the playground opposite our house this afternoon. In between playing toddlers they began tearing off

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-4392541219256709152007-12-07T10:13:00.000+01:002007-12-20T09:03:54.750+01:00

Last week, CHI Nederland organized a presentation by two dutch members of Microsoft's user experience team in Redmont: Sander Viegers (design) and Arne de Booij (user research). Microsoft also recently featured in a series on managing design by the British Design Council:"In 1993 design was a luxury.It is now generally accepted that design is critical to our success"(Brad Weed, UX Director at

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-54211663662623866832007-12-05T21:54:00.000+01:002007-12-07T10:53:32.377+01:00

Every country has its own traditions and important holidays. In the Netherlands, one of the most important happenings of the year - certainly for anybody with children - is "Sinterklaas"."Nikolaus" is also celebrated in Germany, but in a much more subdued and rather different tradition. In fact, this is where the American Santa Clause originated from; An old, bearded saint who comes by sleigh

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-5933747792501298702007-11-30T00:07:00.002+01:002008-10-02T22:18:18.220+02:00

Yesterday evening's UX Cocktail hour took place at the beautiful offices of chunkid in Amsterdam: An interesting and very well attended show & tell session. Amongst others, we saw some neat timeline examples, Jacco shared some rather complex process flow models for the Dutch government, and Martijn talked about a recent project at Satama and the success they had defining a library of standard

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-7015324173344633692007-11-24T10:39:00.001+01:002007-12-07T10:50:56.460+01:00

Last Friday I was attending a symposium on the retirement of Gerrit van der Veer from the VU in Amsterdam. Quite an illustrious event with some interesting speakers and attendees, culminating in Gerrit receiving the "Orde van Oranje" for his achievements in HCI and the Dutch educational system.Joëlle Coutaz from LIG presented a short history of HCI from a computer scientists point of view. She

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-22868655551445742322007-11-24T08:55:00.001+01:002008-11-17T17:47:42.221+01:00

This morning, amongst the mountains of spam I delete every day, one caught my eye. It was advertising "widest range of child pornography and exclusive lolita galleries".Probably a scam, but just in case I wanted to report it to the proper authorities for follow up.As the email originated from a .com address, I first tried the FBI site. They indeed provide a link to report Internet crime, but only

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-45498160430471903332007-10-19T14:26:00.001+02:002007-10-19T14:58:30.774+02:00

The children are happily playing at the neighbors (thank you, Tessa!) while I'm busy washing and packing for our trip to North Carolina. Traveling certainly has become much more complex and cumbersome these days; a suitcase for the parent's clothes, a suitcase for the children's clothes, a suitcase for toys/diapers/milk bottles/etc, two strollers, two car seats, one camping cod ... ufff ...It's

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-88017641824696516862007-09-22T00:57:00.001+02:002008-05-25T04:15:49.780+02:00

Last Wednesday, I left the kids with my darling husband and enjoyed a fun evening at the UX Cocktail Hour in Amsterdam. This week's session, kindly hosted by Satama, was about interaction design tools. Martijn van Welie (of interaction design pattern fame) gave us a quick tour of the building and a glimpse at Satama's projects & design process. (I was quite intrigued, actually; certainly an

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-69693754415120806022007-09-21T21:03:00.000+02:002007-09-21T23:36:52.240+02:00

I recently spoke with a British mom who had just relocated to Amsterdam. She was horrified that many Dutch (and German) preschool children are left to play outside unsupervised. Not to speak of the Dutch habit to leave a sleeping baby home alone while picking up the older kids from school.Dutch media and social agencies actually warn parents that being overprotective may harm their children's

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-87816835745084329842007-09-20T16:00:00.000+02:002007-09-21T22:02:21.370+02:00

I just discovered circaVie, a really neat site to maintain and share timelines. What a great tool for parents (instead of noting all the milestones such as first tooth, first word, first ... on scrap bits of paper ;-). And it looks really cool, too. Excellent!!

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-20973679478173557712007-09-11T10:59:00.000+02:002007-10-06T23:10:01.338+02:00

Today, six years ago, Edwin and I had just moved to the Netherlands and were busy cleaning our new rental place, when we got a call from my mother in law. We stopped what we were doing and managed to tune in a news station on an old portable TV. In shock we watched as the second tower was hit.For hours we were perching on moving boxes, frozen to the horrible pictures unfolding live before our

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-79461000659800337022007-09-11T10:21:00.000+02:002007-09-11T10:56:28.238+02:00

Just before the summer vacation, I finally started the diet & fitness regime I had planned ever since resigning my job almost a year ago. So far I managed to lose 7 kg in 10 weeks. Back to the weight I had before my second pregnancy. Now I can start working on the 20 kg I gained during my first pregnancy ....Not very fast progress, I admit, but at least I'm finally on a downwards trend, rather

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-41164496737757999732007-08-31T23:39:00.000+02:002007-10-06T23:12:30.409+02:00

Curled up in my old leather chair, with a nice cup of Chai, a good book, soft (native American) music, candle light, watching the open fire, children fast asleep upstairs ... heaven!

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-47594535895068814312007-07-30T08:37:00.000+02:002007-08-22T14:15:30.319+02:00

Home alone with two squabbling children bouncing off the walls. Not much time to finish my work or write my blog. Lots of rain outside. Empty streets. Seems everybody is off to some nice & sunny holiday resort. Don't you just love school vacation?!Luckily I'll soon be taking the children to see my family in southern Germany for a couple of weeks. Staying with oma & opa should be lots of fun.

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-13169813773735181162007-07-16T14:03:00.001+02:002007-08-22T14:14:41.249+02:00

mercedes-benzOriginally uploaded by Antje Roestenburg Last weekend, I was invited to participate in the Mercedes-Benz Active Safety Experience, sponsored by Hertz.Edwin stayed home to look after the children and I stepped on the plane to Stuttgart early Friday morning. I had mixed feelings, as I'm not usually very keen on driving and not a fan of car racing, which to me seems a waste of money

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-48140233190437330622007-07-07T15:58:00.000+02:002007-08-22T14:15:54.404+02:00

"In human interactions, teasing comes in two major forms, playful and hurtful. In mild cases, and especially when it is reciprocal, teasing can be viewed as playful and friendly. However, teasing is often unwelcome and then it takes the form of harassment. [...] This kind of teasing is often hurtful, even when the teaser believes he or she is being playful. [...] Whether teasing is playful or

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-16821499131994881152007-07-03T01:18:00.001+02:002007-08-22T14:16:47.098+02:00

Last weekend, daddy took the children to visit Oma & Opa for a couple of days. Mommy stayed home alone: Absolute decadence to enjoy a whole day of relaxing in the garden, daydreaming, actually reading a book all the way to the end, grabbing a sandwich & not bothering to cook ... just letting your soul relax ... I had forgotten how great that felt! (Though I did wonder whatever I used to do with

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-31073125465950084682007-06-29T09:47:00.001+02:002008-11-17T17:51:45.176+01:00

Last autumn, I volunteered to become computer ouder ("computer parent") together with our neighbor, Tessa, at OBS 't Palet. We're following the curriculum of "Bas gaat digitaal" for teaching language and spelling, and "Bas telt mee" for teaching numbers and counting, by Uitgeverij Groen. There is also a "Leerling Volg Systeem" that keeps track of the children's progress.The programs proved

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-52092331407187158562007-06-27T09:09:00.000+02:002007-08-22T14:17:24.604+02:00

The sun has finally found its way back to our bit of the world.As I walk home, having dropped our little boy at school, waving off daddy as he cycles to work, stopping at the playground with my little girl, I feel content. With the sun on my face and a soft breeze in my hair, I am utterly at peace and marvel how lucky we are.And yet, I had been so unhappy for the past couple of years, unable to

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-66461157507399966012007-06-26T22:54:00.001+02:002008-11-17T17:53:58.472+01:00

These days, when people ask me about my profession, I usually tell them that I'm a housewife who does a bit of user experience design on the side. I'm taking things easy for a while, keep a low profile - or so I thought.Last week, a friend in Silicon Valley asked me for some help with their usability plan. A minor detail she forgot to mention: they are working with Nielsen Norman Group on this

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-71839037843119581212007-06-25T18:37:00.000+02:002007-08-22T14:19:07.616+02:00

This month was the sixth annual Janet Clarkson Memorial Triathlon. Unfortunately, we again didn't make it to Montana.Janet was an amazing person, an avid triathlete, and very dear friend of ours. Christmas 2000 she was diagnosed with advanced tissue cancer. At the time, the doctors did not give her more than a few months. However, she didn't give up easily and by spring it seemed that she had

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-40074766162043214912007-06-25T16:34:00.000+02:002007-08-22T14:19:43.244+02:00

"It's difficult to imagine the devastating impact bowel incontinence can have on a person's life without experiencing it directly. This is a disorder that people feel they must hide from others and talk about only in whispers." (IFFGD)After long hesitation, I recently decided to include some of the unpleasant parts of Natasha's birth and its unfortunate aftereffects on our site. I still feel

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-25324965736188829622007-06-23T22:53:00.001+02:002008-11-17T17:55:18.915+01:00

What a strange limbo, after a week of commuting to Amsterdam, meeting great people and discussing exciting new concepts:Slow down, put on the mommy hat (and T-shirt, and skirt, and knitted socks, and Birkenstocks), and sit on the floor playing with Lego trains ...But what a treat to take all the time for my little darlings, without having to rush out of the house! Despite a week of being spoiled

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-37062979387506025612007-06-21T19:41:00.001+02:002008-11-17T17:57:07.195+01:00

At today's Adaptive Path workshop session, Chiara Fox took out her fruity hat and went into some of the nitty gritty of IA: content analysis & modeling, metadata, controlled vocabularies & tagging, as well as some cool examples of solutions 'in the wild'.Not a 'proper' IA myself, I found some of the concepts rather tough going (still not quite sure I really get all the finer details of taxonomies

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-19851434267770716262007-06-20T20:11:00.001+02:002007-08-22T14:22:32.659+02:00

Today was the third day of the Adaptive Path Workshop in Amsterdam. Dan Saffer was sharing some of his advanced interaction design thoughts and it got very intense indeed!We were exploring the "miracle that occurs here".It was fascinating to get a glimpse at the different ways in which the various designers approach design, and the very different results this produces. (I actually quite liked our

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-67270854627149903402007-06-20T00:34:00.001+02:002007-08-22T14:22:58.749+02:00

This week I'm attending the Adaptive Path Workshop in Amsterdam (thanks to Anu: www.trignos.com).So far I'm quite enjoying myself. Lots of very nice & talented people from all parts of Europe. And of course it's great to be out of the house (without children in tow! :-)Yesterday's session was on Design Strategy by Brendon Schauer. I vaguely remember most of this stuff from my time at Nortel's

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5170584514421700629.post-48865212126829326172007-06-20T00:03:00.000+02:002007-06-24T00:27:31.301+02:00

I guess it's about time to stop hassling my friends and family with my email rantings and stick them into this blog instead.Enjoy!_uacct = "UA-2115424-1";urchinTracker();

antjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18235378105084067191noreply@blogger.com1