wendy house

person 1: what was I going to do?

person 2: sort the tuesday issue

People don’t worry

Tuesday will be sorted, before it arrives,   it will not be an issue any longer, we’re on top of it here at the wendy house

After the perpetually  irritating, poorly designed user interface,  web n walk software appeared to completely fail I removed it from Vista.  

The removal process involved webnwalk software telling me to reboot my computer.   As my computer re-started Vista Blue screened,   I scrambled for my camera but sadly missed the moment.   When Vista started it made sure that I knew about this unexpected shutdown.

Emotional attatchments to animate, vibrating, warm, supportive, stylised objects.   It happens.   You may have noticed my recent focus on my new comrade, Thomas.   I’ll try to keep my enthusiasm away from the too-tedious-for-700-yawns range.   Try.

This week I’ve been humming an appropriate  Queen song from their debut album A night at the Opera.

Queen sang  I’m in love with my car

Microsoft Visual C + + Runtime Library (MVCRL) kindly burst this  little message onto Neverland which left me

SCARED:    an  exclamation mark,   a red circle with white cross and   the word ‘error’.   This looks serious.   Something is broken.

CONFUSED:  

• application?   do I need to rub lanolin on my computer?
• runtime?   do I need to run somewhere and time it?   what does this mean?   Why am I being told it?
• Did it get stuck in the stack overflow?
• Why tell me?

INSTRUCTED:   to contact IE7 and, or, MVCRL support teams for more information looks like I should  know more.

UNINFORMED: how do I contact them,   how do I find out how to contact them?

If the Microsoft IE7 team’s program (application?)  is going to make unusual requests to the Microsoft VCRL team’s program (application?) it should do it directly without hassling me to learn technical jargon and find out how to contact them then PAY for the pleasure of talking to them because they can’t be bothered to talk to each other before shipping software that produces errors and causes me emotional distress.

Pooooeeey

I was browsing along minding my own business, or rather minding the business of Schrockthehouse when suddenly,   without warning I was accosted by a stack overflow on line 1.

What is a girl to do?

I was totally unprepared for this outpouring of stack,   this flow from line 1.   Do I need help?     Do I need a new stack?   Do I need  a stack-removal operation from a highly qualified expensive surgeon?   Should I phone a stack-support line?   I was confused and frightened.

It’s alright because there was a button telling me it was OK.

Phew.

In some circumstances computer systems can deliberately stop people from making ‘Errors’.    This is an  example of a system preventing the people that use it from making ‘errors’ by trying to do rather useful things:    

Wendy:   can I move the car insurance start date back by one week?

Car Insurance Agent (CIA):   No

Wendy:   Oh (signifying complete suprise at this rude treatment of a potential non-customer)

CIA:   you will have to cancel the whole policy and then open a completely new one with a different start date

Wendy:   Computer system makes you do that?   It wont let you just change start dates?

CIA:   Yes

It took us 30 minutes to cancel,   then re-apply for the same car insurance with a different start date.   2 sets of documents are in the post.    

Wendy:   Are you from Hull?

CIA:   Leeds,   its quite near to Hull

Good weather in Leeds.

This pile of junk has wasted a lot of my time and money (user quote)

The Fab28 in not FAB (Wendy quote)

A recently published user review study gives preliminary indications that 1950′s style  Smeg Fridge    (FAB28)* is aesthetically pleasing, expensive  and functionally f******.   This Smeg fridge scored a severe health warning level of 26% on the Wendy International Standard for Experiences (WISE) because of its unreliable, expensive, breaking parts, poor support service and short life  that left people fridgeless and with water damage to their homes.     The score  scraped itw way  up to the depths of 26%  due to the branding, size  and visual styling that influenced users’ original purchase decision.

Study summary:

An expert Wendy (me) collected and  reviewed reports from SMEG fridge owners  then used the information  to complete the WES ©â„¢ questionnaire (below) by placing an X on the line in a position that  best summarised the user experiences  published  on product review websites:

FAFFAUCEP score of 23/90 = 26%

Source product review websites:

• Individual reviews on unbeatable.co.uk suggest that the compressors break,   the seals don’t work,   the shelves smash, it turns itself on and off,   it leaks, replacement parts are outrageously expensive.
• Reviews at ‘the review centre’ are predominantly critical with a couple of pleased users.   The comments confirm expensive parts that are prone to breaking.   Buying a new door because the seals break, a frequently mentioned problem,  costs more than replacing the fridge.
• Australian ‘product review’

Quotations:

• it is without doubt the worst purchase I have ever made
• I’ve had to replace the freezer door twice, and the plastic door compartments are also broken. Don’t buy it!
• Less than 3 years since I bought this Smeg Fab28 fridge, it is heading to the tip.
• thought it was cool (!) and looked nice but soon found out its a pile of crap that breaks regularly!
• The seals on the main fridge collapsed within 3 months
• I have to clean this fridge out more than we clean the car
• I  have noise like small explosion coming from around the compressor area
• fridge has frozen up at the rear, and it then decided to defrost all over the kitchen floor!
• I have been plagued with problems such as the door seal going (you have to buy a whole new door at a cost of £300 plus labour to have this repaired!)
• This pile of junk has wasted a lot of my time and money
• One complete  positive review

* this review only covers the Fab28,   it cannot be generalised to other Smeg models.

This is the first in a series, YAY   A SERIES!   of   Wednesday Wendy Experience Survey  reports,   bringing you the scores on the doors on products and services that could affect your happiness and health.    

A recently published scientific  study gives preliminary indications that Yorkie bars are a consumer health risk when they scored a shockingly low* 23% on the Wendy International Standard for Experiences (WISE).      People in possession or a Yorkie bar should return it to the point of sale and seek a refund with compensation for emotional distress.

Study summary:

An expert Wendy** was given a Yorkie bar then observed while she conducted an end-to-end*** experience assessment covering

• unwrapping
• chunk-breaking
• eating

The Wendy was observed completing the above actions than interviewed while completing the WES ©â„¢ questionnaire (below) by placing an X on the line in a position that  best described her experiences::

FAFFAUCEP score of 21/90 = 23%

Observations:  

• Unwrapping.   Successful.     Despite no instructions to talk out loud the Wendy talked out loud about the text on the wrapper.   Unwrapped in  7 seconds.   unwrapping involved no false-starts or error routes.
• chunk-breaking.    Failure.   After attempting to break a single chunk off the bar with two hands and failing the Wendy resorted to using  the edge of the table to break the first chunk of chocolate from the bar.     Towards the end of the bar the Wendy used her teeth to bite-off single chunks,   this involved an average of 3-bites per chunk.
• Dunking.   The Wendy added an unaticipated use of the chocolate bar when she tried dunking the bar in her tea between bites.  
• Eating.   Poor.   we observed sucking (after dunking) and maximum range jaw-movements during chewing.

Quotations:

• I can think of better ways to exercise my jaw
• taste like fat with a hint of chocolate
• OUCH,   that hurt the roof of my mouth

* Any product producing a FAFFAUCEP scores below 30% is provisionall designated a  health hazard by the Wendy International Standard for Experiences (WISE) .

** due to  research funding constraints  the data for this study was provided by one Wendy,  we recommend that at least 5, ideally 10  Wendy’s are used to enhanve the reliability and validity of published results.   We are currently recruiting volunteer Wendy’s to participate in future studies.   You can volunteer by contacting the Wendy House either through a blog post comment or writing directly to Wendy at Whendeee[at]hotmail[dot]com

*** purchase and pooping  process were not included in this assessment and may impact the FAFFAUCEP score either up or down.

WES ©:   Wendy Experience Scale*

What is this?

This is a tool for assessing product and services experiences.   The tool uses a questionnaire  developed with the help of Excel and 84 pots of tea.   The  WES © can be administered to any Wendy  that uses a product or service that you want to assess.   The WES © will tell you whether that product or service meets the stringent, to be published, Wendy  International Standard of Experiences (WISE).    Unlike assessment tools such as the SUS which focuses merely on usability with  Likert scales**,   the WES ©   focusses on product and service relevant experiences including usability with  9 semantic differential scales*** .     The scales tap into the following experiences:

1. Fabulousness
2. Aesthetics – Visuals
3. Fitness for purpose
4. Financial value
5. Aesthetics – Tactility
6. Usability
7. Complexity
8. Engagement
9. Predictability****

 Also known as ‘ FAFFAUCEP’   (pronounced faff-Oh-sep)

The WES © is currently in a Beta release stage and is available for use* by product and service developers on condition that they ask advance permission and provide me with a full report of the product, service,  assessment conducted including the results which will be used to build the  WISE standards.

Administering the WES ©

Let a common all garden Wendy use your product or service  to complete a common task that it was designed to enable.   Provide a unbroken supply of tea during use.   Observe the Wendy complete the task collecting usability style observational data.   When the Wendy has completed the task,   or given up  provide her with a copy of  the WES © and ask her to mark an X on the line between each pair of experience  descriptors that indicates her experience on  this continuum.   There is a practice item that you should encourage the Wendy to complete then discuss her answer to make sure that she understands how to use the scale.     As the Wendy completes the scale ask her to describe examples that have lead to her reporting this experience.   This information will be extremely useful for either developing marketting materials or deciding what to change to improve the experience.

Below is an example of a WES ©  completed by my marking X’s on each scale item describing my experience of my wireless radio.   You can make your own practice scale that covers some dimension of the Wendys or the product being assessed.   In the example below the practice item asks about whether the Wendy considers the product a worthy conversation piece.

Practice by identifying  where you are  on this scale:

Where is the Wireless Radio on these scales?:

Analysing WES © Results:

Allocate the location maked on the line with a weighting number between 1 and 10.    

For even number questions the weightings increase towards the left,   for odd number questions the weightings increase towards the right.     Sum all the weightings.       The total possible score is 90.   Higher scores indicate better Experiences.  

Coding the example provided above looks like this

 Total score = 62/90 = 69%

The  average of multiple  WES © scores can be  used  to provide  overall Experience score for the product.  

The   normalisation data to enable comparision across different products and services  and  indicate the value of the score relative to a benchmark will be published as part of WISE.   Note that without the normalisation data it is possible that all procucts receive scores in the 80′s (a  roof effect)  or below 20 (a floor effect).     Our expert, on-site, Wendy (me)  recommends that prior to the publication of WISE we should assume that any score under 60 is at best a mediocre product or service and any score under 45 is an experience that should be avoided.

For in depth analysis each item should be verified with the  observational measures taking during the use phase and the comments made by the Wendy’s when completing the questionnaire.  

In this example we can clearly see that the tactile aesthetics (score = 5) provided the biggest opportunity for improving Wendy’s experience.   Wendy talked about the radio being a bit too big to put in her pocket,   she liked the bouncy rubber bits but all the little buttons were a bit too small and pointy to enjoy pressing them,   she prefers rubber-buttons (who doesn’t?!) and the industrial-safety feel for portable.    

Next Steps

The WES ©  development team haven’t decided whether to gather normalisation data on the vo version, refine the  item labels before collecting normalisation data  or just chuck the semantic differential format and  develop  WES © (v1) based on a creatively cunning perverison of  Kelly’s Repertory Grid technique.  

* Use is permitted by prior agreement with the inventor (me,   Wendy!)

** the linguistically pedantic should note that Likert scales tend to use split infinitives such as ‘strongly agree’ which can irritate those completing the scale undermining its efficacy in cases where people choose not to select any options that include split infinitives for purely curmudgeonly reasons.   This makes the scale unreliable for responses from educated people from Yorskhire.

*** The semantic differential is based on the assumption that everyone interprests the scales in the same way.   Unfortunately,   this assumption is not true rendering the WES © useless to anyone other than Wendy.

**** For some products or services predicatability is not a positive experience quality (e.g. games).   Administrators are advised to either scope the item to refer to the service or product  controls.  

Trevor Bayliss is an inventor of   heroic proportions  here in the UK.   He invented the wind-up radio.   Portable and with no need for chemically based, environmentally damaging, batteries.

My fabulous hand-crank radio also includes a solar panel.   I’ve never yet had to wind it up because the light in the Wendy House conservatory keeps it going longer than any duracell battery would….    

I do occassionally wind it up because, like the gravity-powered exit,  the action is very pleasing.   Pleasing is more than the ‘satisfactory’ experience required to establish conformance with usability standards.

I tried to complete a ‘System Usability Scale’   (SUS) for my fabulous radio    incase I meet and usability people that would like to know,   in numbers, exactly how fabulous it is.    Unfortunately I was  unable to complete the SUS because  I don’t know what ‘integrated functionality’ is and am confused by the concept of an ‘inconsistent’ product,   so I couldn’t answer questions that included  these things.      I’ll just tell the usability people its a 7000 on the SUS scale,   they’ll get the general idea.

who me?

I’m a client of Google services,

I made an error in my request,   really?   ERROR?!

I do make mistakes.    The word ‘Error’ is not one that I use to describe my mistakes.   This message is agressively accusatory and not particulalrly helpful.   Google could easily adopt a more user centric tone of voice,  less personally offensive,  if gramatically flawed,  by saying something like:

”Ooops,   Google doesn’t understand what you just did.   Can you check  to see if you made a mistake please?‘

I suppose I should be glad that I didn’t have to abort, kill or delete anything though I have occassionaly been caught aborting a kettle,   deleting cat-poop, and killing my laundry.     Shit like that does happen, and not by mistake.

I accidentally deleted my blog database when trying to back it up.    

How silly is software that enables that accident?

CRAPPY CRAPPY CRAPPY SOFTWARE

My last back-up was Dec 17th.   All your lovely comments and my fabulous thoughts between now and then have just become a figment of our imaginative memories…

Apparantly the new version of Windows Vista is not for me,   its for some other user…

This quaint, effective system, for announcing your presence is in use in my local GP surgery (family heath centre UK style, not a ‘polyclinic’).   The receptionist is off doing useful things away from the reception desk and arrives very promptly when the bell sounds.

Ding Ding!  

its a pleasant sound and an easy system to understand…

A new, imitiation, old phone arrived to replace the genuine 1930′s BT compliant phone that somehow disappeared during my relocation.   When plugged into my phone socket,   no dial tone,   it didn’t work.  The BT support operative was extremely helpful as she talked me through various in-house tests then finally succumbed to a request to send an engineer around.   The engineer was scheduled to arrive sometime between 8am and 1pm.   at 12.58 I recieved a phonecall from him to say he was only streets away.   He turned up and then disappeared again for 2hrs.  

Apparantly he’d tracked my problem to a green box outside Palmers park.  

He explained this was human error

its always human error

the technology works fine

people are stupid.  

Can you see  any problems in this reasoning?      

Apparantly letting the big-front-door fall closed on its own weight can annoy other residents.   My fiesty Swedish flatmate is outraged by recieving the message below and the nature of its delivery,   pushed under said heavy door.      

The apartment block if not yet fully constructed.   Above  the sound of daily construction work  I hadn’t noticed the  noise of our,  or other peoples’,  door shutting.   What advice is coming next…

Recently I tried to update the credit-card associated with my PayPal account from a US bank credit card to a UK bank credit card.   Emabarresedly,   I wrote to their help centre to ask how to do this because I wasn’t having much luck.  

customer subject:   Update my account to show I have moved from the US to the UK

Additional Information: ‘I have moved from the US to the UK, the profile information online does not enable me to enter a new Country. My US credit card information is now innaccurate – does not reflect my current address. I want to update with my new, UK credit card.

Please adjust my account to be UK based

Paypal consumer support supplied this advice

If you would like to a UK credit card and you are located there, you need to create a brand new PayPal account there in UK.

The Victora and Albert Library is a living piece of history.   A free piblic library where the resources themselves are artefacts of beauty.

The internet provides information,   sometimes that information is beautifully packaged in ‘media experiences’.   The internet has not yet managed to add to its experience the package offered by old libraries of:

book scent

aging parchment texture

atmosphere of being surrounded by ancient books

the sound of librarian moderated silences

An End User Licence Agreement (EULA) is the long legal agreement presented to you before you can use a specific software service.   Wikipedia says:

“The enforceability of an EULA depends on several factors, one of them being the court in which the case is heard. Some courts that have addressed the validity of the shrinkwrap license agreements have found some EULAs to be invalid…     … No Court has ruled on the validity of EULAs generally; decisions are limited to particular provisions and terms

I suspect that end users rarely read or,   and even more rarely, understand the implications of the EULA.   This undermines a EULAs validity  beyond merely establishing a common-sensical understanding of software use.   I have no idea what a common-sensical understanding might be except perhaps privacy of the individuals’ information and the service providers intellectual property. I would value seeing an introduction of readable,  understandable, short EULA’s.   Eulas that are actually designed to communicate to potential users rather than  covering the legal-butt of the service providers.  

Given that the software providers MUST know that their users DO NOT READ and most likely DO NOT UNDERSTAND the provided EULA,   merely providing a requirement to accept before progressing is INSUFFICIENT safeguard for either the service provider of the user.    

A google search on the phrase “guidelines for producing understandable EULAs” did not find any such guidelines.   In my opinion the software and legal industries are morally obliged to produce short, succinct, clear EULAs otherwise a Nation’s court systems wealthy users will have to pay,   through expensive disputes,   to establish the precedents that may be limited to nation,   state, laws rather than developed for the general good of people who I suspect behaive in a consistent way when dealing with EULAs.   Less empowered people will pay through loosing their privacy and rights through lack of awareness of what the service is actually costing them.   Recently a friend on facebook invited me to join a group called  â€Against Facebook integrity rape“.   The group’s point appeared more generic to EULA’s generically,   treating facebook as a specific case.   The group description says:

Automatically people who join facebook accept a 13-page legalcontract. This contract in short makes ALL your info, pictures and EVERYTHING you do on Facebook their property.
You don’t have to accept this. If enough people empty their photoalbums and only have a protest or nothing as profile photo, then perhaps they will react. Also if enough people join this group and mail Facebook that this slave contract isn’t OK that would help to keep pressure on them.

I chose not to join this group  because I object to the groups  unwise choise to  use of the terms slave and  rape to describe Facebook’s EULA agreement.   This choice under-emphasizes the extreme negative experience of slavery and rape,  the absolute  lack  of free choice available to slaves,    in a EULA  people have CHOSEN to publish information that could be used in (EULA detailed) ways that  are more akin to the experience of THEFT than RAPE where there is no consent.  Understanding how your information, writings, pictures, held by a service  will or wont be subject to proliferation,   republishing etc is a fundamental civil rights issue that deserves the attention of people equipped to make good decisions on behalf of normal , click and explore rather than read essays, software users.

Why hasn’t it happened already?

Has it happened and I missed it?

Which really means:

8 reasons why Wendy didn’t read a blog

together, these reasons  have prevented me  reading blogs that may have outstanding content… …but I’ll never know:

1. poor publicity:   I don’t know that the blog exists,   its contents  never show up in any of my internet searches,   there are no links to it in other stuff that I read, none of my friends told me about it.
2. foriegn language:   I know it exists but I can’t read it because the language is too foriegn.  For example,  German,   Instant Message or phone-text message  style  abbreviations like “u shud cuz u r kewl“.  
3. personally irrelevant: I know it exists, I can read the language, but the blog content does not provide anything clearly relevant to my life.  For example,   a blog on standard poodles.
4. offensive message:     I know it exists, I can read the language, the content is relevant to my life but the message is  fundamentally offensive.  
5. squinting required:    either the text is so small that I have to squint to read, there is a low  contrast between the text and the background,   the spacing between the text lines is so small it’s difficult to visually follow one line.   I can’t read it without changing my preferred browser text-size that works for most other web pages.
6. witless: If a blog lacks wit, I stop reading it. I like to learn something or laugh,   ideally both at the same time.   Double whammy!
7. lacking illustrative pictures:   Too much text can make my head spin,   then I fall over.  Breaking the stream of text,  regularly, with  pictures that illustrate the message helps prevent  me falling over.   It’s not essential,   but it helps.
8. scrolling required*:   I’m too attentionally challenged to regularly  read blog posts that  are long enough to require scrolling the window,   especially if  they don’t include pictures.   Again,   not essential,   but it helps keep my reading  regular..

Apart from including an illustrative picture,  what have I missed that  is important to you?

*  I write  scrollable blog posts.  My excuse is that I’m  endearingly waffly rather  than perfectly precise.      

should cc be replaced by copy in e-mail writing, compose,  templates?

When you write an e-mail there’s normally an address entry box below the one marked to this box is consistently labelled cc in every software that I checked:

• Gmail
• MSN Hotmail  
• Windows Livemail Beta
• Outlook 2003
• Outlook Express on XP

The  consistency supports people’s ability to move between different e-mail softwares.   It doesn’t support virgin e-mailers that have never seen or heard of cc.    Everyone will be a virgin e-mailer, at least once

Cc is shorthand for Carbon Copy.   Do you remember carbon copies?   Do the children you know have an idea what a carbon copy is,  or was?   Imagine you are a child,   learning to use e-mail.   Look at a new open e-mail can you easily guess what cc means?   Can you guess why you might want to use cc,   when is it appropriate to use cc rather than the to address entry line?   Imagine that you have to describe what cc means for an e-mail?   How would you do that?   I  suspect software producers  didn’t label it copy becasue copy has two more letters than cc and that takes up valuable screen real-estate.

I remember carbon copies,   in the US, the check (cheque) books still use carbon copies! Carbon dating,  rather than Carbon copying,   is probably more familiar to today’s youngsters.   Personal opinon,   no research involved.

Then there is bcc.   Bcc, Blind Carbon Copy introduces a whole new can of worms for both virgin and experienced emailers that I will temporarily turn a blind eye to, for brevity’s sake.

beyond a criticism of the use of cc within email software  my point is:

Software that  uses the shorthand acronym (or small picture; icon)  for a current technology (i.e. carbon) may enhance understanding of its meaning for the people familiar with that current technology but can have a long term adverse  impact on subsequent generations’ ability to learn what the label means and how to use it effectively.  

“Does it work?”  asked a  colleage.

Wendy:   Well,   yes it ‘works’,   but there are lots of little problems that if you don’t already know what to do means that you can’t actually use it.

colleague: (laughs) She’s so tactful.   It doesn’t work.

Wendy:   we know the little problems and we’re going to fix them so it works but you can’t use it,   you will be able to use it, if you know the problems,   and when they’re fixed you’ll be able to use it without knowing the problems

colleague:   it doesn’t work now,   it will work WHEN?

Wendy:   I’ll get back to you with an estimated  date

Wendy waffles,   I always will.   It’s part of who I am. I like to think of it as ‘disambiguation’.   Mainly because ‘disambiguation is such a fabulous word.  

Say  disambiguation 3 times every night before turning the lights out and you’ll get a feel for what I really mean.   Beer helps you get your tongue around it.   Doesn’t it always?  

After a steamy hot shower (mmMMmmm….) I tumbled into the trusty old Honda Civic (called Loo Sea). Loo Sea’s windows instantly went opaque as we left the warmth of my home. I know a bit about physics – condensation is attracted to cold surfaces. So I whacked up the heating controls and directed all the vents at the windows and pulled over while the windows cleared.

Accident avoided.

Guess I’ll have to either shave my head or get a hair-dryer because Loo Sea’s directional heat controls are a bit funky.

Wendy wet-hair

(some letters have been changed to evade MSN censorship)

“Really Simple“?   I dont think so  

“Syndication“?   what is that when its at home?!!!!  

This is what MSN Spaces Help says:  

MSN Spaces enables you to syndicate (Makes specified content from your site available to others to use and display on their websites. When the syndicated content from your site is updated, the content is also updated on other sites that contain that content.) your space (A place on the Web where you can share information with others by publishing your thoughts and interests through content such as blogs, photos, and lists.) by using RSS (Really Simple Syndication) (A web protocol that allows for easy syndication of a website.) . If you syndicate your space, it can be read by an RSS news reader (A program that allows a user to read content from various RSS news feeds and blogs.) or aggregator (A program that watches for new content coming over specified RSS feeds.), which allows the people who use them to get updates to your space as soon as you publish them. When you syndicate your space, your blog, lists, photo albums, and music lists are all syndicated.

After 3 cups of tea,   some serious beard-tugging and cat taunting,   I think I understand the above ‘help’.    Could they be saying that:

If you ‘syndicate’  your space,   someone-else with a syndicate ‘reader’ or ‘aggregator’ can use it to get any updates you make to your  space automatically shown on their own website!    Wendy – You don’t have a syndicate reader on your space – tough shite,   ha ha ha…..    

The first half sounds great!   Call me hallucinatory,   but I wasn’t so happy about the second half of the message.    

I noticed that in my settings I have allowed other people to syndicate my  space.    It would be very flattering if someone actually wanted to track my entries!     My “statistics”  (attached) show that someone has syndicated my site.   Hooray!   Though most of my readers come here from my MSN Messenger contact card,   my email signature, and other people’s MSN Spaces.

But what do those RSS lists  show?   Does each of them mean that a differet  RSS reader has pulled content from the entry cited?   Are they all the same one that is making lots of duplicate updates?   Why are they updating some of my entries from over 2 weeks ago?   How many readers are there (how popular is my site)?

Like the CultFigurine mentioned – I’d like my ‘Statistics’ more accessible,   I’d even like the ability to publish them on my blog – so people can see how popular my site is (not!!) on different days…   I’ll have to ask MSN Feedback.

Now that I think I know what ” RSS ” is I want my  Space to have a syndicate reader or agregator.   That would make me come here to read as well as to write.   Another thing to ask MSN Feedback

Wendy Sensored Syndicating

I have 2 or these that I used when I lived in the UK, wonderful engineering and design. One inherited from my Mum, one given to me by a friends Mum. Looks like every UK baby-boomer’s mum had one of these…