By the numbers

News shows often highlight the bad things in the world, but only because it’s better for ratings. Rage is engaging. Good news is boring. But there is way more boring good news in the world today than bad news.

Medicine

We are coming up on the 100th anniversary of penicillin being discovered by Alexander Fleming. It is difficult to overestimate the impact of this one substance. All modern medicine is predicated on the availability of antibiotics. Infection was the largest killer of people prior to this discovery.

I could not imagine being born into a world where a small cut could kill you by infection. Simple surgeries were near impossible and complex surgeries were just science fiction. Doctors did not even wash their hands before the mid 1850’s. Who would bring a baby into THAT world?

Quality of life

Imagine if you could trade and be Augustus, Emperor of Rome. Your life would be terrible compared to now. Think about having a hot shower. It wasn’t even a real option until the 1950s. No dental care, no television, no popular books, no recorded music. Traveling was arduous and dangerous. Today, you can easily drive or fly to distant lands in hours. It used to take a year to cross the United States assuming dysentery or bandits didn’t kill you first.

The option of what kind of job you want to pursue is an entirely new thing. There are resources to find communities everywhere you turn. We live longer, we eat better, we communicate much quicker. Everything is better now.

Is everything better?

Obviously, there is still deep angst and unhappiness in almost all people’s lives. There are still many parts of the world suffering from dictators, war, prejudice, and more. Life is still as Thomas Hobbes described it.

The life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” – Thomas Hobbes’ book Leviathan, 1651

It is silly to say that everything is great. It’s not. However, so much is statistically better than it used to be. I think people are upset about how things are versus how they could potentially be. There are very disturbing clouds on the horizon.

Climate change, AI, and wealth inequality

These are the big three of danger signs. However, I am still optimistic that we can fix the problem. It might be painful, but humanity has survived far worse. We will figure out ways to clean the atmosphere. We will figure out ways for AI to not kill us all. We will figure out ways to deconcentrate wealth. Humanity is resilient. We figure things out.

Note: This post is 100% a ploy to get my kids to produce me grandchildren.

At 16, I applied and secured a part time job at Waldenbooks in the local mall. This was perfect because of the discount. I was always on the lookout for deeply discounted hard covers and started building my collection.

Ages 12-18: Fiction

Every book I read in that period was fiction. I would find a book I liked and the devour every book by that author. These weren’t high minded books, by the way. Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Anne Rice, Michael Crichton, and Tony Robbins all were part of the diet. Some books were better like The World According to Garp or Catch-22 (My favorite for many years).

I liked being transported to another world where I could escape my mundane existence. I did not speed read, but I went through books fairly quickly because I was always reading. These books are all at the top of my bookshelf.

Dr. Beisel at Community College

I was a terrible high school student. (2.2 GPA) However, due to some ridiculous happenstance and luck, I was allowed to take advanced courses at my community college. Mrs. Frank taught me to speak in public and Dr. Beisel taught me to love history. These were different kinds of teachers than I had ever experienced. (More about that in another post one day)

After experiencing his course Psychohistory, I began switching my reading diet to non-fiction. At first, I tried historical fiction like I, Claudius and The Killer Angels. Quickly, this evolved into straight nonfiction.

Ages 19-30: Non fiction

For the next 10 years, I mostly read historical non-fiction. Early American history and WWII periods were especially intriguing. The Making of the Atomic Bomb was mesmerizing. I suggest The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich to anyone who wants to understand how nice people can do horrible things. It sadly has many parallels to what is happening in the world today. I had a biography period for a while. The absolute best were the books my Robert Caro. The Power Broker is an amazing story and the Lyndon Johnson series is terrific.

For a little while I started reading all about the Gnostic Gospels and how Jesus was never really a human who walked the Earth, but rather a retelling of older myths from Egypt with a Jewish flair added in. Basically fan fiction that took on a life of its own.

Ages 30-40: Work books

When I moved to California, I did not know exactly what job I was supposed go get. I had many “maybe” situations. I read books about Project Management, and Agile development including Scrum. I read all thousand pages of Mastering Exchange 2000 and other books about IT. At 32, I discovered Interaction Design and started reading everything I could about design. My product design book list. (not updated since 2009)

These books were enormously helpful in developing my craft as a designer. They directly influenced the products I designed (like Marketo) during that period.

I also read books on psychology, cognitive science, physiology, and more to better understand how people’s brains worked.

Ages 40-54: Stopping reading

When I turned 40 a terrible thing happened. I officially contracted the “old”. My joints started hurting and more importantly, my eyes started getting blurry

Design tip: Users over 40 can’t see small print. Stop putting it in your designs.

Also at this time, my career started taking more and more mental energy. Being young has so many advantages. Truly, I miss it. The point is that I was less and less able to see the text and retain the information. My brain was always flooded with work stuff. The result was a slow degradation and finally ceasing of reading. I did not read again for over a decade.

Retirement

I am trying retirement and seeing if I like it and can sustain it. We have a new puppy who takes much of my time. I am also trying to go back to my roots and trying to read again. Rather than reading glasses, I am trying my iPad with both the Books and the Kindle. The kindle I started The Hobbit which I remember fondly from my youth. On Books, I am trying an author I had discovered on TikTok of all places. Jason Pargin seems to always have an interesting take on various topics. I started with his Doom book and am enjoying it so far.

The eBook format allows me to bump up the line-height and the font size. Also, syncing my phone and iPad makes it easy to open it, read a little, and then continue with my day. I just started but I am hoping the reading muscle comes back.

I wonder if this journey is similar to others out there. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

A Sicilian Message

Maybe the birds are sending us a signal. Like “Luca Brasi swims with the fishes”. The birds are saying that our days our numbered and we should watch out backs. I assume this is specifically for our household and not all humans, but it could be either.

Or maybe it’s a signal to other animals. Like it’s some kings head on a spike in medieval times.

A Thank You Gift

Maybe the crows appreciate the water pool for their drinking pleasure and they wish to give us a special thank you. To a bird, a mouse is a nice present. Like when a cat brings a dead mouse into your bed and drops it on your head. We don’t have cats, but I assume that’s what cats do.

We have owls at night. Is it the owls? Or is it the crows during the day? 🤔 Who?! WHO?! HOO!

Storage

Maybe the birds think the stone pool is a convenient way to store food for later. Like a mini refrigerator? It keeps it away from the insects and snakes. I don’t think this makes sense, but I am trying to figure out what these birds are thinking. Give me some leeway.

A Prank

Maybe the birds know humans do not like mice. Maybe they were like “Hey dude! I dare you to drop a mouse into that ugly fucking fountain. Double dog dare ya!” And then they laugh about it from their tree. Fuck birds. They are the worst.

This is not a funny prank. If you are someone you know is thinking about dropping dead animals onto the property of your friends or neighbors, please reconsider. #PeaceAndLove

An Accident

Ok, so just to be clear, they dropped a barely eaten mouse into the water. Then I cleaned out the bowl by dumping it out onto the ground. Then I used a jet spray setting on the hose to clean it thoroughly. Three hours later, the bits of dead mouse were picked up off the ground and placed back into the bowl. What the fuck birds?? That’s sick. Seriously.

This was no accident. Those fuckers are trying to say something!

Something unrelated

Maybe it’s like a Rats of NIMH situation. (Amazing movie by the way. Maybe there was a serious drama unfolding in my yard. A deadly battle for control. Factions betraying each other, lovers fighting to stay connected in the heart of a war. Raccoons, owls, birds, and mice, all vying for power. One mouse paid the ultimate price. This is a movie I need to see.

Anyway, this is my life now.

All-in-all, I think I have had an interesting and fruitful career. Sure, I could have made more money. I made my share of dumb (or unlucky) decisions. Right now, I find myself in a position where I am financially secure, assuming a reasonable lifestyle. (No addictions or expensive habits) I am not working anywhere at the moment, so the question of retirement has been on my mind. Some people think I will get bored. It has me thinking of how I might fill my days. Here are some of the possibilities.

Mentoring

I am actually taking a break from ADPList. I have found it rewarding, but it is somewhat of a one trick pony. Almost every single mentee is looking for work and doesn’t want a mentor once they find the job. I have helped many find jobs. If you are looking for a job, these are the steps. The market is terrible right now, not just for designers. Tech companies are shrinking. Also, the skill set is changing quickly. (This leads me to my next item…)

Conclusion: Taking a mentoring break from ADPList. If you need me, connect on LinkedIn.

Writing a UX book

For years, I considered writing down everything I know about software design. I was always too busy working or looking for work that I just did not commit the time. Now that I have endless time, I could do it. The problem is that everything I know about design is about to go out the window. AI is radically changing everything about tech. I don’t even know if there will be “users” in the future. What is the point of information architecture if there are no users? By the time I finished, it would already be out of date.

Conclusion: No book

Develop Told You So app

Told You So is an app I conceived ten years ago. There has been an explosion of coding tools using AI. I could attempt to learn how to do it myself. The cost would be minimal unless it somehow got popular. I am very intimidated by this idea, but also intrigued.

Conclusion: Maybe. I am going to wait a bit before really embarking.

Tennis

I was thinking of getting some lessons, as many as I could handle in 2 months. I have always thought that you get better with short bursts of intense practice, not long term once-a-week maintenance. My only concern is that I do not want to injure myself. Ideally, I could elevate my game to a 4.5 level.

Conclusion: Yes, after some period of time.

Consulting or Work

If something worthwhile fell into my lap, I could do some consulting. However, I am not going to actively seek this out. Never say never obviously. I’ve taken a few weeks off and my brain is slowly changing. How I perceive time is changing very quickly. It’s much quieter than I had anticipated. There are many emotions and challenges related to this one. We shall see how it goes.

Conclusion: Going to try to sit in retirement for a bit and see how it feels.

Couch potato

I am certainly doing some of this. I need to be careful that I don’t get too lazy. That’s a downward spiral into poor health and lifestyle. However, it is pretty compelling in the short run. A good nap is gold. The new puppy is helping to get me moving and take her for walks. Everyone warns against being purposeless, but honestly, it’s a new experience for me and I am enjoying analyzing how it feels.

Summary for now…

Bottom line, as you can see, is that I really have no plan for the first time. I am just drifting forward on the river of life and seeing where it takes me.

I feel blessed to have worked with some of the smartest, creative, and most innovative people in the world. I am proud of everything I have designed, everyone I have helped, and every experience I have lived through.

I often tell people that the secret to success is Luck. Every successful person has had tons of it. I have been lucky in my career and am grateful for everything morsel of it.

One of my least favorite things about AI is the way LLMs communicate. It’s all verbose text! One design principle I have is “People don’t read. They skim”. Yet, chatGPT, Gemini, Claude, etc; they all communicate with these long text messages. There is a problem when this is the only way we experience the power of AI.

There are better ways to communicate. Brevity is a skill AI needs to develop. I believe that human designers also need to become better at information experience design.

Information architecture has been around a very long time, but mostly it has been focused on how to organize large sets of data and how to arrange a single page of information. Additionally, user interface is the bread the butter of product design, but is generally focused on buttons, menus, forms, and other actions invented at Xerox Parc. Lastly, there is data visualization, but that is typically for charts and graphs. I feel there is a missing domain of design focused on using this new paradigm.

Information experience design

I’m coining this term because there is not an alternative that hits the specific area I am trying to address. (Maybe someone can suggest something better).

IxD (to me) is how to arrange response data for rapid consumption. The consumer may be a person or potentially an agent of another AI. It is about how to convey lots of info without forcing the user to read a book report by a bot.

Remember the DBA? They used to be worth their weight in gold in Silicon Valley. They would optimize queries and data structures to make gathering information faster and more scalable. They mainly worked in SQL and ERD diagrams. I feel there is a similar job emerging, but works in a different way.

Let’s take a few use case examples:

• Many agents are working on a software project. A dashboard of charts is not the right interface to tell the human what is going on and what they need to do. Also, a giant text report is too long to look at.
• A person asks an agent to make flight arrangements. How to compare the flights and choose one requires more than just a bunch of bullet points.
• An agent asks another agent for status. The specific method the second agent responds could make a big difference in final quality and also efficient token usage.

In each of these cases, someone needs to optimize how information is conveyed. This is not an engineering task. It’s a design task. You clearly need to have a decent technical background but an engineer or product manager will not make the output consumable the same way as a designer.

There is a battle happening now between PM, Eng, and Design to decide how the system works. Tools like lovable fool PMs into thinking they are making a nice interface. Claude is making engineers think that they don’t need anyone else. This battle will likely end up with a ton of terrible interfaces and confused users and agents.

Designers are not the most aggressive of the three groups, so they have a risk of being steamrolled. However, I believe that designers are best suited to hold the steering wheel of AI to make systems work for humans.

Without spinning off into a different post, my main point here is that the specific kind of design focused on how to take large sets of data and make it easier to consume. We are about to be inundated with text and we need people thinking about how to make it better.

We decided to get a second dog, a puppy, to overlap with Leroy getting near end of life. At first, we eyed breeders with their mini golden retriever varieties. However, like with Leroy, we decided to go back to the ASPCA.

• Name: Mixolydian Blossom Lipka
• Nickname: Mixie
• Birth date: Jan 2, 2026
• Breed: Siberian Husky / German Shepherd (Pending DNA report)
• Personality: Curious, friendly to dogs and people
• Coat color: Brindle

At first, Leroy was ultra excited to be around Mixie. But after a couple of days, he is settled down and somehow has been trying to teach Mixie the ropes. I swear he was trying to get her to pee outside.

We are trying to train her, but the first few days have had many mishaps. She is very treat focused, so training is moving steadily.

She is small now, but she should grow to be similar to Leroy in size. We feel good about our new family member. Photos below.

Update: DNA Heritage

Apologies for cropping the left hand side of the screen. It’s just more of the same. This is a perfect example of an application with no information architecture. It’s just an explosion of data and buttons all over the place.

The doctor said, “I hate this. I can’t find anything.” But she also said, “This is new, you should have seen the old one!” Watching her use it, she kept clicking until she found the thing she needed. It was painful to watch.

Someone designed and built this. In my professional opinion, this is typical and terrible all at the same time. It’s design malpractice. Why does this keep happening? Why do we keep making this horrible Frankenstein mess of an interface? I feel like I am taking crazy pills. How can so many people in tech accept this as a shippable user interface?

Interfaces like this greatly upset me. I can only rant about tabs inside tabs and mixed metaphors and progressive disclosure for so long. It sucks. I could fix it, but I already know the problem of how the institution that built it would reject the better system and opt for the status quo.

The only good news is that in ten years, all of this will be replaced with AI doctors. Assuming they don’t kill us.

Musical Bands

I have two family members in bands and the issue of trust comes up often. I’m not a musician but I understand how you need to trust your drummer or bass player to hit the right notes in the right key with the right timing. Additionally, you need to trust your band to be on time and in tune for the gigs. When trust is broken either musically or professionally, it can fracture the band. Just look at the Beatles documentary on Disney+ “Get Back”.

International politics

I was listening to the NY Times podcast the other day. A reporter was saying the American adventure in Iran is breaking a long standing assumption that America, despite its flaws, is still inherently benevolent. The behavior of Trump and the administration is doing to opposite of building trust. They are shattering it.

Trust in international politics leads to economic realities like what currency a nation holds. When the dollar is the world’s currency, it’s good for America. If that changes, it could lead to very bad outcomes. Countries are trusting the US less and less.

Professional leadership

I always tried hard to establish trust in the people I managed by being transparent. It is up to the leader, the person in a position of power, to establish the baseline of this trust. Sometimes, that means letting people make mistakes in a safe way. Other times, it means being vulnerable and owning up to your own failings. Trust is when someone can be wrong and move forward through the issues coming out stronger on the other side.

When trust is not there, the company gets bad outcomes like lost productivity or bad strategic direction. As they say, culture eats strategy for breakfast. A culture of trusting teammates with their positions and responsibilities is also key to successful organization. Of course, some (many?) companies thrive in spite of this. Still, when you work with someone you trust, it changes everything.

I remember once an engineer was arguing UX with me at Marketo. Crash, whom I had a strong trust bond with, vouched for me. The engineer trusted Crash and through transitive properties now trusted me. It changed his entire demeanor. It wasn’t an argument anymore, it was a dialog.

Artificial Intelligence

I was watching a video of a progressive and a conservative debate each other. The progressive said some fact or statistic like “crime is as an all time low”. The conservative did not believe him and asked “what does ChatGPT say?” This was a staggering realization for me that some people trust AI more than human experts. In my own experience, when I talk to AI, it regularly hallucinates and tells me bald-faced lies. I cannot trust a single thing it says since the lies are so prevalent.

Recently, there has been a trend of PMs and Engineers making AI user interfaces using tools like Lovable. This has led to a diminished trust in designers. The problem is that many people can’t tell the difference between a great user interface and an average or even poor one. Trust that the designer will be better than the AI is falling.

I think this is happening in other fields as well. I’m sure there are doctors out there who are feeling reduced trust due to patients talking to AI.

Don’t get me wrong, AI is getting better and better every month. It may (likely) earn the trust by improving beyond what a human can do. It is a difficult path to follow. Trust now and get burned or don’t trust later and lose value. When is the right time and subjects to trust? How will people know?

It feels like we are entering a very difficult period where will not know what or who to trust.

Doubles Tennis

I recently played with a guy who did nit trust me at all. He kept telling me where to hit and how to play. (For the record, we are approximately equal skill levels.) his lack of trust in me made him overplay and made me tentative. We ended up losing an important match and the team was eliminated from the playoffs.

Bottom line

We are 98% chimpanzees. We are not a trusting species by nature. Yet somehow, we cooperate and build wonderful things like computers and houses and chicken parmigiana sandwiches. We do things that are impossible without trust and collaboration. When we undermine trust, it diminishes our overall potential. If you are a leader of one or more people, you have the responsibility to establish a culture of trust. Be vulnerable, have dialogues, adapt to changing conditions and the whole world benefits.