Empty Until You Need to Go Somewhere

I live on a very quiet street that rarely sees much traffic as I am on a cul-de-sac. The only time that changes is when I go to pull out of my driveway. Then it feels like everyone on the street needs to be on the road at the same time. I'll wait patiently before leaving as that is the polite thing to do.

That is a metaphor for my work today and as of late. I will start my day with very little that I have to get done immediately. Then I will get several messages all at the same time asking for a seemingly tidbits of information. The only problem is that it takes a significant amount of work to get that information. This creates a need to understand priorities.

Fortunately I can set priority levels for most tasks at work. The exception is when my boss asks for something. Naturally I set his priority as higher than all others as he controls raises and bonuses. The tough part is how to stop what I am doing, take a request, and then go back to what I originally started doing. In computer terms we call that a context switch and humans are not very good at it. That is what makes us lousy multitaskers no matter what anyone tells you.

One thing that has helped is I keep a work notebook where I can write down requests. That allows me to quickly go back to my previous task. The only time that becomes a problem is when I don't write enough of the necessary details. The more I do it though, the better I get.

I'm not sure why tasks and traffic comes in spurts. Life would be so much simpler if everything spread itself out evenly. I guess figuring out how to deal with simultaneous requests is a part of life. College probably taught me that.  

QR Codes Not Working

Lately I have received a number of QR codes that don't work. Recently I replaced the faucet in my kitchen and the new one did not come with printed instructions. Instead it had a QR code that I needed to scan with my phone's camera, which supposedly took me to directions on how to install the faucet. For some reason I went to a blank page. Ultimately I did an Internet search and found the instructions I needed but it turned out to be significantly more complex than I have come to expect from QR codes.

I didn't think much of the problem until I pointed my phone at another QR code only to experience another blank page. I thought it weird to run into two different problems so close together. While not every QR code I have ever used has worked right, I think I have had a 99% success rate with them. That is why we have all come to generally trust them.

All a QR code does is encode a text string into a picture. It is similar to a bar code except they only encode a group of numbers. That makes QR codes very useful for storing website addresses or URLs.  They don't have to store URLs though. You can go to your favorite QR code generator and create a code that says, "You are a great person." It might be fun to print up a bunch of stickers with a QR code that says, "You park like and idiot," and put them on people's cars that take multiple spots in a crowded lot. I just tried it and caused my phone to freak out as it tried to look for a URL. Still, it is possible.

As with anything computer related, QR codes should be thoroughly tested before replacing printed instructions. Should you decide to go this route, make sure the URL is in working order before printing the code. Then you have the advantage of being able to change the instructions at a moment's notice should there be something that needs clarification. I just hope I don't run into any more examples of QR codes not working. 

 

Ski Equipment Weekend

Today starts the annual ski-equipment weekend. What does that mean? Every year we get together as a family and see what ski equipment from last year needs to be replaced. When my kids were young, this was critical as they grew every summer. Sometimes kids would need new boots or outfits. Other times they would need everything. Fortunately it is now just my wife and me so it is not nearly as expensive as it used to be.

Skis are only meant to last 100 days and I ski more than that every season. Last year had such bad snow that I never really used my new skis and so I don't think I need new ones this year. I will still look though as I am always looking for a great deal on skis. My boots are pretty good and so I will keep the ones I have.

My wife got new skis last year and so she doesn't need new ones either. She went through her equipment and only needs a new helmet and goggles. I got a new helmet at the end of last year and don't need a new one. I also have several pairs of goggles and am good there. I actually don't need anything. This could be a very inexpensive Labor Day.

So why to we pick this weekend to refresh our ski equipment? It is when the best sales are scheduled. The weather is starting to change and so ski shops put things on sale. A lot of time it is to get rid of any unsold stuff from last season. Interestingly the whole advent of online shopping has really changed the Labor-Day-Ski-Sale dynamics. Long gone are the days when the ski shops would erect a tent in the parking lot with all the extra ski stuff. I miss those days as there is something about being able to handle the equipment before dropping the equivalent of a house down payment. I also don't think the deals are nearly as good. They don't have to be as online shops can drop the price of last year's equipment all summer long and get rid of excess inventory. Furthermore ski equipment manufacturers have better inventory management and don't overproduce like they used to.

One benefit of all the online shopping is I don't have to go anywhere. We used to drive all over the Salt Lake Valley. Now we just sit in front of the computer and look at pictures. Hopefully the wonderful snowfall in the marketing photos match the conditions we will see in a few months. I don't think I can take another poor snow year.