Dream job: Alpha Tester

By kate on February 8th, 2008

My network of ex-Jobster colleagues contains an unusually large number of small startups. I can count about 14 startups that have been founded or co-founded by ex-Jobsters, and many others who employ ex-Jobsters. Because of my connections at these new ventures, I’ve had the opportunity lately to do some alpha and beta testing, and have been having a lot of fun.

I’ve always enjoyed taking the time to give detailed feedback when asked. I contributed to my former employers this way, and often send bug reports for the software/sites I use, but what’s really fun is engaging with a new, hungry company that is trying to get it right.

It started with Trumba about three years ago, when I was a beta user (unfortunately, I soured on Trumba later). Of course, I helped my husband improve Feedwhip, and later Picnik. More recently, I’ve worked with startups like AirSet, Stuffopolis, SimpleSpark, Urbanspoon, RescueTime, Mergelab, and I Want Sandy to identify bugs and make suggestions.

I should point out that this help is unpaid, and contributed as a user (rather than employee or consultant). I do it because I really enjoy trying out new things in my neverending quest to get everything to work just the way I want. It’s invigorating for me to interact with these entrepreneurs, see the passion and commitment they have for their products, and dream together about the best way to solve a problem.

The more highly I think of a product, the more likely I am to send in lots of bugs and feedback. I’m cheering for these baby companies to succeed, and so contribute what I can to help. If only alpha tester were a paying job, I’d do it full time.

Filed under: technology, work | 4 Comments »

Parenting principle: Aim over her head

By kate on January 28th, 2008

I have a parenting principle that I try to keep in mind at all times: aim over her head. By this, I mean that I never want to underestimate what Ruby can do or understand. She surprises me a lot of the time, by showing me that she picked up on something complicated or subtle. So instead, I try to overestimate a little, and expect that she won’t get quite everything at first.

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Snacking… where’s the line?

By kate on January 23rd, 2008

I’ve been wondering about something lately and don’t really have an answer. Where do you draw the line to make sure that feeding your kids healthy snacks doesn’t turn them into adults with a life-long snacking habit?

As I am out and about with Ruby, visiting with friends, going to play centers, etc., I often see other parents giving their children snacks. It sometimes seems like a steady stream of food. Granted, it’s always something pretty healthy like Cheerios, but I still wonder what kind of habits are being developed.

Giving a toddler snacks is a natural step as they are being weaned. A baby is used to being fed every couple of hours, so they need some sustenance between meals at first. Eventually, though, as Ruby’s growth slowed, she stopped eating as ravenously all the time and I stopped giving her snacks. Now, she rarely has much between meals. An exception is if I know we’re going to have a late dinner, then I’ll give her a snack with her juice after naptime. But I don’t bring food with us when we go out, and she generally doesn’t ask for anything.

I know the other parents I see are nutrition-conscious and trying to do the best for their children. It may be that, at this age, it’s still good for them to have a snack or two a day. I’m not really sure, and parenting books are not unanimous on the subject. But one thing I try to be aware of is creating good habits, and I try to start those as young as possible. I wouldn’t want to have to wean Ruby off snacks after they’ve become an expected part of her day. It’s easier for me to skip them entirely.

Filed under: food, parenting | 5 Comments »

Plug for Community Fitness

By kate on January 14th, 2008

There’s a cool new place in my neighborhood, Community Fitness. Here’s the review I just wrote for Yelp! :

Community Fitness is a new exercise studio in the Ravenna neighborhood (open since November 2007). What makes it unique is that every class is $6, and it’s all drop-in. No commitment whatsoever. As soon as I found out about it, I went to check out a class. It’s in the daylight basement of a house that’s being used for offices, and the space is nice, clean, and new (and ventilated).

When you sign up, you need to either pre-pay cash for 10 classes (which is refundable) or give them your bank account info so they can do an EFT every month (for what you use). The point of this is so that they can efficiently collect money from people without holding up class. You really only pay for the classes you take, which amazes me.

I enjoyed the class I tried, Core Conditioning, and thought the instructor was good. They have classes every day of the week (on everything from cardio to dance to yoga to double-dutch) and I’ll probably try more before settling on which one I’ll take regularly. Because I’m definitely going back!

I highly recommend you give them a try. I want lots of people to go there so they stay afloat so I can keep going.

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We control the comfort food

By kate on December 28th, 2007

Ruby has had a bad cold for the last week (now on the mend), and it made me realize something heartening.

As parents, we worry about our children’s nutrition. Are they getting enough vitamins today? Did he eat enough protein this week? Will she develop healthy eating habits or turn easily to junk food when she’s older? Obviously, there’s no way to stop your child from downing burgers and soda as a teenager. And people’s adult food habits are pretty much their own decision, once they’re old enough to give it some thought.

However, we parents get to program one part: we control the comfort food. What a mother or father feeds a child when sick is a very sticky thing. We all find ourselves craving that same food (infused with parental love, of course) the rest of our lives when feeling ill.

I’m trying to keep that in mind. It’s tempting to let Ruby have treats when she’s sick because it will cheer her up short-term. But I remind myself that by making her oatmeal for breakfast and healthy soup for dinner, we’re imparting a legacy of health that is pretty much guaranteed to last her whole life. At least whenever she’s sick.

Filed under: food, parenting | 1 Comment »

A brief note on Facebook

By kate on December 15th, 2007

It seems that everyone is suddenly saying that Facebook is done. Whether they’re mad about Beacon, or just annoyed by all the zombie requests, the honeymoon is definitely over. Like everyone, I find I’m checking my news feed less frequently (not every day, but still several times a week).

There’s one point that I haven’t seen anyone make, and that’s that this is a normal phase that people go through when they adopt a new communication technology. Remember when email jumped from the techies to everyone else? It took a few years for users to get over the joke forwards and chain mail. I’m sure that when older things like telephones and fax machines hit the mainstream, people used them for frivolous things at first too.

There’s an etiquette learning curve, and I think we just need to wait for people to learn. Just as you needed to teach your Uncle Harry to use the BCC field in email, now you need to tell your friends not to invite everyone they know into their new Facebook application. Remember, it’s not the whole world you need to worry about – just your friends. Once your friends are Facebook-savvy, they won’t be polluting your account with Super Wall messages and personality quizzes.

I know it feels like we’re up to our ears in the crap right now, but it’s just a natural surge. It doesn’t change the fact that my Facebook account contains valuable assets: information and news about the people I know. I’ve taken the time to build a network of friends in Facebook, and I’m going to sit back and let the surge go by. When it recedes, my network will still be there, more communication-savvy than ever.