It's really nothing sophisticated. It's just stepping back once in a while and looking at what's not working, trying again while changing something small and noting what does work. Surely, you already do this at some level.
A really nice read. I'd also suggest treating one's life as a debugging session once in a while… A few choice `printf` insertions and re-running can sometimes make a world of difference. :)
In a world where Marie Curie managed to win Nobel prizes in both Chemistry and Physics, I'd say managing to be both a designer and a programmer isn't such a big deal.
If this is something of interest to you, aim a little higher.
It's not at all pointless. I for one am always glad to hear what works for others.
Before settling on a tablet, I considered the Wacom Inkling and even tried using the iPad and a few apps, but could never quite get the same level of precision as I can manage with a pencil. The tablet's just a stop gap, and keeps me from going crazy and loading up a boatload of sketching gear (psst… Copic pens). My Intuos 5 + Autodesk Sketchbook Pro combination gives me some degree of freedom without the clutter of gear I'd unavoidably end up with if I went shopping for stationery.
A mild concern of mine with the "Google, if you’re listening" annotations. It's worth remembering that Chromium's an open-source project. If you really want something, send a patch.
"Ask a random twenty something what they want three years from now and you will mostly get a blank stare. This is not because of a lack of ambition, it’s because we have no faith in stability. The world has been pretty clear that it is not willing to provide any sort of stability; so we’ve learned to live without." - these words ring very true.
One of my favourites is Hiroyuki Kojima's "Manga Guide to Calculus" (http://nostarch.com/mg_calculus.htm). It probably can't get much more informal and it's actually quite entertaining.
It somehow manages a decent balance of being fun without slipping into being trivial.
While we can complain and fuss about incidents like this one, I doubt there's much to gain. I don't expect there'll be a significant change in public opinion till there is a sufficient number of positive stories to counterbalance the negativity.
Less than a decade ago, when most people thought about "China", the first thought that popped into their heads was probably "cheap counterfeit goods". It's clear that things have changed since then.
Until we have a balance of positive stories, I fear we're stuck with this. Time to get moving and add to the positive stories about Nigerians.