Technical writer, journalist and author
Suppose you have a great idea for a nonfiction magazine article or book—how to prepare delicious high-fiber recipes, for example. You can see your article being placed in a given magazine, or your book being traditionally published through a commercial…
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While America has had plenty of astronaut heroes—Neil Armstrong, Sally Ride, and Scott Kelly, to name but three—the space program began with the selection of seven test pilots. Their first project was Project Mercury, so they became known as the…
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I’ve written elsewhere about exclusively online newsletters, describing their advantages and about how they are the future. Yet there are times when the printed newsletter is the right choice. Consider these three scenarios. 1. The demographics and expectations of your audience….
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1. The Texas Capitol is taller than the U.S. Capitol. It’s been said that everything is bigger and better in Texas. Surely this is the case with the Capitol building. According to the Texas State Preservation Board, the Texas Capitol…
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1. The message shouldn’t be e-mailed in the first place. Some people use e-mail as a buffer. If they don’t want to have a difficult or sensitive conversation with someone, they just drop an e-mail and figure that’s the end…
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Gov. Fletcher Stockdale was in the news this week. Someone removed his official portrait from the third floor of the Capitol rotunda and threw it to the ground. (All former governors have official portraits on display in the rotunda.) The…
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Usability testing refers to evaluating a product or service by testing it with representative users. Yet many people have misconceptions about just what usability testing means. Here are four myths about usability testing. 1. You don’t need a test plan….
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As football fans prepare for the annual Texas-Oklahoma weekend in Dallas, it’s always fun to remember past games and the people who made those memorable moments. For Texas fans, the list of notable Longhorns would have to be led by…
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1. Newsletters will be exclusively electronic. The trend towards exclusively electronic newsletters has already begun, of course. They are delivered via e-mail to your desktop, laptop, or mobile device. Yet there are still people who prefer the printed newsletter in…
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Many Texas historical sites—the Alamo, for example—also serve as popular tourist attractions. They are there for your viewing, enjoyment, and reflection. Nobody would mistake the Santa Anna Capture Site as a tourist attraction. But its importance to Texas, and the…
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