Design Like a Lady. Code Like a Geek. » fun

I’m Leaving My Job Because I’m Going…

Lindsay — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:27:34 +0000

Today is my last full-time day at work. I’m leaving my job because I’m going…

…with my friend Lauren:

Here’s our itinerary…

If you feel like meeting us along the way let me know! And, if my flights look a little cooky to you, it’s because I got the entire ticket with airline miles from Continental’s One Pass Program; the miles were much easier to earn than I expected. The only leg I didn’t get on miles, that is not included in this itinerary snapshot, is the 3 week trip to South Africa for FIFA World Cup.

I’m going back to Philadelphia for the winter, to hibernate on my parent’s couch and to work on other projects that I’ve always wanted to devote more time and attention to, until I leave for this big and amazing trip of 2010. In the meantime, you can peruse my collection of travel pictures from previous treks.

As always, stay tuned…

Welcome to the WildWest: When Women Take on Tech Because They Want To

Lindsay — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:03:05 +0000

A day does not go by when I don’t hear about an event from the numerous “we support women in technology” groups: Girls in Tech, Women 2.0, Bay Area Girl Geek Dinner and Shes Geeky. All of these groups have merit, and all have a target audience, from software developers to marketing analysts. I’ve certainly benefited from these organizations, participating in Women 2.0′s Business Plan Competition back in 2008, attending a plethora of Girls in Tech events about journalism, business development, and so forth, and going to the Shes Geeky conference at the beginning of this year down in the Peninsula. I’ve been lucky to meet some amazing women which include intense athletes, creative and insightful product managers, and even friends that help me out with reservations to Chez Panisse!

A portion of the dialogue that is pervasive in these types of groups is dedicated to asking the question to ad nauseum “Why are there not enough women in technology?” The women that are in tech are quick to point out that most conferences are dominated by men, mostly white, and that few of these conferences feature any women speakers at all. Day in, and day out, the conversation and complaints flood my twitter stream and my RSS feed to so much annoyance that I’m almost tempted to start spending my free time speaking at conferences (which I’ve done), or organizing a survey to better understand why women in tech do not attend conferences or try to speak at them on their own volition. Just to make the noise go away. It’s not that I don’t believe there are valid concerns, it’s that I find the conversation is tired, and somewhat generational.

In the pop culture of the online world, it seems that women in technology fall into three roles which I can relate to Save by the Bell characters. The Kelly Kapowskis use their sex appeal to attract the tech geek guy to pay attention to them without knowing a lick of what they’re talking about. The Lisa Turtles are the peppy chicks that “overcompensate by pushing their ‘geekery’ on everyone” (quote), displaying a mastery of social media but not of the separation of the application and presentation layers (you dig?). And, the Jesse Spanos are quite qualified women of tech, who also sound like feminists ranting everyday that women are somehow being purposefully left out of the tech equation.

I don’t buy into it. And neither does my friend Amy Ziari.

Last August Amy approached me at a Girls in Tech event (we thank you for that GIT!), tired as well of the same old conversation, with an idea to create a video series featuring women in technology who talk about what they are interested in. Not to prove to anyone that we’re competent, or that we’re “geeky just like you!”, but to let our audience draw their own conclusions. We didn’t want to be Kelly, Lisa or Jesse, we wanted to be ourselves, comfortable with our role in the industry, with our peers (male, female, black, white, hispanic or asian), and what we find interesting.

In mid September we teamed up with Camille Ricketts of Venture Beat to put together the pilot episode of the WildWest show. We hoped to put together more episodes, but time passed, and now I’m leaving soon to take off on an excellent adventure (I’ve alluded to this trip, but have yet to post details). So enjoy this first episode, where we interview Joey Mucha from Sprout and talk about some of our biggest tech snafus! Also, visit the website – www.wildwestshow.tv - to learn more.

Credits to Amy for doing all the video editing!

City of Dream’s SF1900: The Non-Tech Event of the Year

Lindsay — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:17:07 +0000

Andrea and Christina at SF1900 2008

I imagine that most of the people that come across my blog are more likely to be part of the San Francisco tech scene than they are part of the, well, non-tech scene. If you’re following the current debate over whether you should love San Francisco or leave San Francisco, than you may have come across Mat Honan’s blog post “Are You Going to San Francisco”. In his article, he makes a point to tell everyone to Make Real Friends:

“This only applies to people working in the Internet and technology sectors, but you may be amazed to discover that most people in the city work in fields that have nothing to do with the Internet. It’s fantastic to have friends in the industry. You’ll have shared interests and they’ll always get your meme-of-the-day jokes. But if most of your friends work in the same field you do, that’s a little boring, right? Try to branch out. This is a city of people from all over the world, doing all sorts of interesting things. Get to know them. ”

So here’s your chance: City of Dream’s 5th Annual – SF1900 – A Night at the Barbary Coast. I can expound the virtues of City of Dreams, but I have already done that previously. It’s a great organization, and I admire everyone of the members and friends I’ve met through my roommate and the organization. But for those of you not familiar with City of Dreams, this event is the best way to get an introduction! Not only can you fraternize with people outside of the (tech) industry, you’re going to find better male-to-female ratios than your average tech event (quit complaining!), and you can gamble the night away for a good cause. If you don’t believe me just yet, take a look at last year’s photo site. Now go buy your ticket!

My Roommate and I Looking Snappy

Details

WHEN: Thursday, November 12th, 2009 7pm – 12:30am.
WHERE: The Bently Reserve (The old Federal building, 301 Battery St.)
WHAT: Annual Fundraising Gala for City of Dreams
THEME: Think San Francisco’s Barbary Coast, circa 1900.

Preview the event’s AH-mazing silent auction here!

Signs of San Francisco

Lindsay — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 08:38:49 +0000

Signs of San Francisco from Lindsay Tabas on Vimeo.

Katie came to visit me in August 2009. She helped herself to my city of 4 years so I helped myself to her images. Through her lens, the city refreshes in my eyes.

Like any person in your life, a city cannot be all things to you through thick and thin. As much as I love this city, after 4 years, I’m looking to shake things up. I set sail very soon, stay tuned.

Produced by: Lindsay Tabas
Photos by: Katie Delaney
Song: Signs by Bloc Party (buy on iTunes)

PS: Happy Birthday Katie!

Park(ing) Day in North Beach

Lindsay — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:42:31 +0000

Today was Park(ing) Day around the world. SF Weekly explains that the day “was dreamed up by Rebar, a San Francisco-based art and design collective, and invites participants to convert a parking space into a green space that becomes a spontaneous public park for a day.” I went to North Beach on my lunch break to go to the bank, and to my pleasant surprise, I found a great spot outside of Lola’s on Grant Street. After lunch, I walked the full stretch and found about 5 park(ing) spots. I read a book, I hoola hooped, and I got some free lemonade! Having to decline the “adult” lemonade in exchange for the regular lemonade because I had to return to work was the only sad moment.

Here are some of my “better” pictures (give my blackberry a break). You can see the entire set here.

Bad Usability Calendar 2009

Lindsay — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:13:42 +0000

I’ve had this calendar hanging in my office for the majority of this year. It has 48 “classic” design mistakes, and I find each one wildly entertaining. My favorite month is July because I like the idea of playing shoots and ladders with my days. Did you roll the die wrong today? Go back to last week!

Bad Usability Calendar 2009

Select the image to visit the source site.

Oldie But Goodie: Mad World

Lindsay — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:04:02 +0000

In the spirit of the last post, I wanted to post another video from an old friend, Michael Gellman. This is over 4 years old, but brings back a lot of memories from college. Enjoy!

Carpoolin’ to LA – 0. Carpoolin’ in LA – 1.

Lindsay — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 01:55:18 +0000

It’s officially the end of the summer so I thought I would post a funny find from some new friends of mine down in Santa Monica. I planned a trip to LA this past weekend with every intention of carpooling there and back with some others traveling from the Bay Area. While my carpooling attempts failed (I just drove myself), these guys’ attempt took off amazingly. Enjoy!

CARPOOLIN’ – watch more funny videos

And, here’s some more entertainment and good ideas from these guys as you ease back into work this week.

Rave @ Clemons Library (Univ. of Virginia)

Lindsay — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:48:28 +0000

My friend Emily Busse had a great video posted on her gchat this morning. The video shows Virginia (my alma mater, SEAS 05′) students congregating outside of Clemons Library during finals week, probably a couple days ago (video was posted on the 12th). Clemons Library is an institution at UVA; it’s 4 floors, computer lab on top, digital library on the 3rd floor, study floor on the 2nd and silent floor on the 1st. This was the place to do group meetings, study, or just hang out (yes, there were those types). Anyway, it looks like students were instructed to congregate in the patio area outside of Clemons library for a late night rave. Looks like tons of fun and makes me miss the crux of the UVa comunity and education: Work Hard, Play Hard.

Daily Show Barack Obama Circle of Life

Lindsay — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:52:03 +0000

Just watched this video this morning and I wanted to share with anyone that comes across this blog. It’s absolutely hilarious and worth the 5 minutes. Don’t miss the part where the narrator says:

“everytime barack obama speaks an angel has an orgasm”

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c

Barack Obama: He Completes Us

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Healthcare Protests

Enjoy! And Digg!