Andrew Wirtanen is a usability specialist in Cary, NC More »

Ludo - “Love Me Dead” (Music Video)

Ever wonder what happens to high school or college drama club members? Most probably transition into corporate America, but apparently one leaked out into a power pop band from St. Louis called Ludo. I am a little late on this bandwagon, but here’s their single from their latest album You’re Awful, I Love You:

“Love Me Dead”

Apparently the band also made another a series of videos for this song while brushing their teeth…

Red Sox Batting Stances

For as long as I can remember, it’s always been fun to imitate some of favorite player’s batting stances. I would have never have thought to take a video of these imitations, but I’m glad that that BattingStances on ye old YouTube has.

Check out their video of Red Sox batting stances (past and present):

Texting While Driving

I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but a bill banning texting while driving is moving on to the state Senate in my home state of Massachusetts. From the Mooninite controversy to the Big Dig, Massachusetts doesn’t have a very good reputation.

Bills seem to created and escalated because of a tragic accident. In this case, a 13-year-old boy was killed by a text messaging driver. If this is what it takes for people to realize that it isn’t safe to text while driving, then so be it. But, would it have been any different if the driver was eating a hamburger instead? I am pretty sure many accidents have been caused by Chicken McNuggets or the daily Dunkin Donuts coffee. It seems silly that we need a law for this, especially since technology is rapidly changing. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a ban on video chatting while driving in the next 5-10 years.

As a usability professional, it makes me wonder how many of these accidents could have been avoided with good design. What were drivers doing seconds before the accident? Were they looking for the clear button? Is their phone flat and they have to look down each time to find the correct button to press?

Texting while driving is obviously very dangerous, but it’s going to happen whether we have a bill banning it or not. It’s up to drivers to use common sense and realize that their attentional resources are already limited by their car stereo, passengers, and scenery. And that reminds me of this video:

A.J. Pierzynski Trains with a Nintendo DS

The idea of games being used for reasons beyond entertainment is nothing new, but there hasn’t been a standout title that crossed the barrier. Nintendo is currently trying their hardest to change the way we think of games. They have been doing this for a while with games like Mario Paint, but more recently they have seen some success with Brain Age.

Chicago White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski is on fire after the first week of baseball. He is leading all catchers in hitting (even my beloved Victor Martinez). A.J. claims that the Nintendo DS game Flash Focus has helped him improve his reaction time at the plate. So, pick him up if he’s a free agent in your fantasy league.

It will be interesting to follow this trend of learning through gaming in the years to come. Virtual reality has been used for a long time for training purposes (e.g. flight simulators), but Nintendo is bringing the power of learning with games into households for the first time.

(via Gizmodo via The Chicago Sun Times)

Early Human Factors Driver Attention Research

From the Human Factors archives comes a very interesting video of early research conducted on Route 128. With all of my trips between Bentley College and Cape Cod over the past couple years, I used this stretch of road quite a bit. Fortunately, I didn’t have a helmet obstructing my view every couple seconds.

This early study helped pave the way for more recent research, including iPod distraction while driving conducted at Drexel (CHI’07). Fortunately for everyone, we now have car simulators and don’t have to take our research on the road.

“But with the blast shield down, I can’t even see, how am I supposed to fight?” - Luke, Star Wars Episode IV

(via Tomato Hand via CogWorks)