Is It On or Off?

You may be one of those who happens to have on your vehicle's dashboard the interesting configuration shown in the image on the right. If you are, this blog entry is a public service to you explaining how to use it.

1. If you want the airbag to be on and the off light is on, insert your ignition key into the slot and turn left to the on position. The off light will go off.
2. If you want the airbag to be on and off is off, do nothing. The airbag is already on.
3. If you want the airbag off and off is on, do nothing. The airbag is already off.
4. If you want the airbag to be off and off is off, insert your ignition key into the slot and turn it from on to off. Off will come on indicating that the airbag is off.

See? It's simple. When off is on then the airbag is off. You have to turn it on to make the off go off. When the off is off, then the airbag is on. You have to turn it off to make the off go on.

I thought this mechanism was so clever, it inspired me to do a little steampunk graphic using a tool called Gimp. (Here, let me Google that for you: gimp.)

Here's the image:

Notice that the off is on, indicating something is off. What odd mechanisms have you seen?

Paid For Writing - Sorta

When writing e-mails at work, be aware that you are still writing.

Recently, I put together an e-mail article to a friend of mine. (Yes, sometimes my e-mails are much more than simple messages and are, in fact, articles.)  This friend has influence with one or two organizations who could use the services of my employer. So, I wrote the message with sales in mind. I also billed my employer for half of the time spent writing the e-mail since the organization could potentially benefit from it. To be fair to my employer, I forward the message to my boss and told him what I had done. He was pleased with the message and asked if he could post the message in his blog!

So, I have been paid for an article and have had it published.  Successful writing has humble starts.  Here is a link to the post containing my article:

The Perils of Out-Of-The-Box Thinking

Enjoy!

More Or Less Productive

Congratulations to me! I have a new iPhone 4 and have discovered the joy of being on the Internet any where I go. So, I thought I would try posting a blog entry from the phone. Three words: This is wack.

The problem is primarily this interface. Since it won't turn landscape like most apps, I am reduced to typing this whole thing on a tiny keyboard (which, by the way, doesn't have tactile feedback) with one finger.

It's cool to be able to blog my thoughts from wherever I happen to find that I have free time. But, for now at least, I don't think blogging this way is going to be a regular thing.