Author Archives: JR Patten

Small Change, Big Difference
posted June 29, 2010 by JR Patten

Posted in Design, Subtlety | 4 Comments

Displaying an Argument in a Drupal View’s Header
posted September 2, 2009 by JR Patten

Let’s say you have a view in which you take in an argument you use for filtering content. That’s very easy, but what if you also want to display, say, “Most Recent {ARGUMENT}” before the list of content? It’s not … Continue reading →

Posted in Drupal | 2 Comments

On Surprising Users
posted August 11, 2009 by JR Patten

The Principle of Least Surprise is a common axiom in user interface design, and any sort of interface design (be it an object, a screen, or an API), and it’s a useful one. I (and everyone else) enjoy using an … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

It’s the Misadventures
posted January 6, 2009 by JR Patten

My story about misadventures and getting to Vail is live on DCSki. It’s a humorous narrative as opposed to a dry (though still fascinating, of course) report, and features a possessed GPS unit, car crashes, a make believe conversation I … Continue reading →

Posted in Other Stuff I Wrote | Leave a comment

My Report on The Canyons is Live
posted December 26, 2008 by JR Patten

You can check it out on the front page of DCSki (at time of writing) or, at its permanent home. Thanks for reading! Now I’ve got to write one on Vail.

Posted in Other Stuff I Wrote | Leave a comment

Things I Hate: Video That Auto-plays
posted December 24, 2008 by JR Patten

Here’s the start of a new series with an incredibly unique and totally innovative theme: Things I Hate.  Anyone want to guess what it’s going to be about? That’s right, things I hate. You’re a genius. It’ll be a nice … Continue reading →

Posted in Things I Hate | 46 Comments

Make Google Analytics Default to Today
posted August 18, 2008 by JR Patten

I love Google Analytics.  It’s phenomenal.  It really helps me track how a site is doing and optimize the visitor experience.  However, there’s one thing about it that bugs me to no end.  It defaults to showing you the last … Continue reading →

Posted in Google Analytics | Leave a comment

Yet Another Reason Depending On Oil is Utterly Moronic.
posted July 11, 2008 by JR Patten

First off, just go take a little peek at this graph. I’ll wait. Yep. That’s right. Gas prices now, even adjusted for inflation, are worse than the oil crisis of the 1970′s. Gasoline prices are getting absurd, and there’s nothing … Continue reading →

Posted in Oil, Politics, Stupidity | Leave a comment

The Awesomeness that is Rhythmbox
posted June 25, 2008 by JR Patten

There’s something to be said for a piece of software that does exactly what you want it to do, behaves exactly how you expect it to, stays out of your way until you need it, and makes you happy. That’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Software | Leave a comment

Don’t Look at the Rock!
posted May 13, 2008 by JR Patten

… because if you look at the rock, you’ll run right into it. I promise. Let me explain… The Story I recently took a 5-week whitewater kayaking course. Kayaking is a blast. It can be very dangerous (despite what Into … Continue reading →

Posted in Kayaking, Self-Improvement | 1 Comment