by Sue Horner | Apr 13, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
It’s difficult to proofread your own writing. You’re familiar with the words and you can easily slide right over small mistakes. But don’t let difficulty stop you! I just received the monthly newsletter from my professional association. The front...
by Sue Horner | Apr 10, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Writers should never fall in love with their own words, because the pleasure in capturing exactly what you wanted to say can disappear faster than a jerky treat in front of a Lab. I was reminded of this when my client called with the bad news that Big Executive wanted...
by Sue Horner | Apr 8, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Although the calendar says it is officially spring, the local weather is decidedly unspringlike — factoring in windchill, it felt like minus 9 C (about 15 F) on my one-hour walk this morning with my dog. So although I have put away my skis for the season, it...
by Sue Horner | Apr 5, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
At one time, radio ads for Workopolis (“Canada’s biggest job site”) featured various people talking about “the job that changed my life.” It was a great series, with both inspiring tales of jobs that led to interesting careers and...
by Sue Horner | Apr 3, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
I just love those Nerds on Site. After my local Nerd, Graham, came to the rescue when I had problems getting on the Internet last week, I filled out a follow-up survey. (The top rating is “Nerdtastic!”) Today, I received a note from the head Nerds, John,...
by Sue Horner | Mar 27, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
The freelance life is a true rollercoaster ride. There are stretches of calm, measured work, maybe even not too much work. I like these because I know they won’t last and I use them to run errands, organize my office or occasionally goof off. The quiet times are...
by Sue Horner | Mar 22, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Have you run across this one? “SSEWBA” — it’s short for “someday soon everything will be acronyms.” (It may already be happening in companies you and I know!) I thank Ragan Communications (their now-defunct Grapevine e-newsletter)...
by Sue Horner | Mar 21, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
There surely is proper etiquette for visiting the dying, and I recently had an occasion to try to figure it out. My elderly neighbour, a widowed Scot in his eighties, knew he was dying of cancer and had just been moved to Ian Anderson House. This is a warm, homey...
by Sue Horner | Mar 17, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Did you know that there is another “holiday season” approaching? I know this because a weekend flyer from a local grocery store mentions it several times. It was a little puzzling, at first, because it’s March. The only “holiday season”...
by Sue Horner | Mar 12, 2007 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Jakob Nielsen’s latest post on usability pointed to an interesting article on cellphone “function fatigue.” The USA Today article reports: “Manufacturers have become so enamored of cool features — including cameras, recording devices and...
