Here are some telephoto views of the decorative buttresses at the top of the Tribune Tower. I just used my cheapo Sharper Image binoculars as an impromptu telephoto lens for my Sidekick camera. The other photos are of some of the stones collected from all 50 states and many countries and embedded around the base of the building. I'm meeting friend Tim near here for lunch. He works for a Tribune paper and is in town for business.

- mike lee - chicago

An 81-year-old author and AARP member complained about how word processors stink, and to that Don Norman said that there's no easy answer except maybe we need a consumer revolt. Sandy Berger, host of the AARP.org Computers & Technology website, suggested that the author could try shareware and maybe focus on only using features that matter. Ann Wrixon, CEO of SeniorNet, has annecdotal evidence that the software manufacturers don't hear enough from users. Don Jones, VP of Gateway Computers, wanted the audience to understand that they should pick the most beneficial way to tackle a computer problem, and it's Gateway's responsibility to offer multiple options for user education--and they do.

Consultant and storyteller Thom Haller continues moderating the lively discussion with frustrated audience members ...

It's interesting to note that Don Norman mentioned phonecams (among other things) as one of the wonderful technologies that lies on the other side of our current usability hurdles. His son, who works in Japan, takes photos with his cellphone and e-mails them to him here in the U.S. as a way to stay in regular contact.

- mike lee - chicago @ the AARP member event

Thanks again to all of you who raved about the Blue Man Group. Tonight's show was mind-boggling. Here are picture impressions made from the lobby display and our ride back to the hotel.

I've also posted a photo on my main blog of one of the blue men blessing our little bluebie.

Lastly, congratulations to Phatbudsjay on the arrival of your baby!

- mike lee -

We're at the Briar Street Theater in the row E just beyond the "poncho" section.

- mike lee -

Here's something you don't see every day: a sea of seniors gettin' down on some rock 'n roll--complete with mosh pit. This is the AARP Performance Stage in the Exhibit Hall at the Lakeside pavillion.

I'm here to meet wife for dinner. She's been working the web site exhibit booth all day. We're off to dinner in Chinatown and then BLUE MAN!

- mike lee -

At The Museum of Contemporary Photography viewing a show of the work of street photographer Gary Winogrand. From the exhibition gallery:

I look at the pictures I have done up to now, and they make me feel that who we are and how we feel and what is to become of us doesn't matter. Our aspirations and successes have been cheap and petty. I read the newspapers, the columnists, some books, I look at some magazines (our press). They all deal in illusions and fantasies. I can only conclude that we have lost ourselves, and that the bomb may finish the job permanently, and it doesn't matter, we have not loved life.

I cannot accept my conclusions, and so I must continue this photographic investigation further and deeper. This is my project.

Garry Winogrand wrote this statement in a grant application to the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. He received the fellowship in 1964 and used it to travel across the United States by car from June to October. The balance of the year he worked in New York City, his home.

- mike lee - chicago

I just walked out of the Garrett Popcorn store at the northwest corner of State and Jackson. The store has been in business here in Chicago for over 50 years. In my hands are freshly-popped 8 oz. bags of cheese and caramel popcorn. I wish there was something more than words in an e-mail to describe the smells and sounds that surrounded me in the 10 minutes I waited for my order. The toasty aroma of corn kernals popping mixed with the smells from vats hot caramel and cheese coating had me salivating by the time I got to the register. I almost suspect it's by design that they make you wait in this environment so you are compelled to buy a bigger bag of product. Curiously, there was a sign on the counter specifically forbidding the use of cellphones and phonecams in the store due to privacy concerns. Pervs like popcorn too.

- mike lee -

Wife Amy is giving her talk "Usability In Practice: Designing For The 50+ Population" at The Chicago Usability Professionals Association (CUPA). We're in one of the buildings of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). There's a nice turnout of about 25 people, and the audience is asking good questions. The issues presented will expand into a panel discussion next.

For extensive resources on this subject, you can visit the Older, Wiser, Wired web site.

- mike lee -

I learned about the City Pass that rolls up seven or so museums into one nine-day pass at half price. I'll pick up one of those early tomorrow morning at The Art Institute of Chicago, and start my museum crawl. I visited a bunch of shops on Michigan Avenue today and photographed Monarch butterflies in Grant Park.

- mike lee -