A passion for understanding
Between 1973 and 1978, I attended Haile Selassie University in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (on a Rotary Club scholarship), Normandale Community College, and the University of Minnesota.
An excellent student, I devoted a good deal of my time to tutoring others, but ended up leaving school on a journey fueled by my passionate desire to understand more about life, a journey that ultimately lasted several years and took me around the world.
This same passion to understand has guided my experiential approach to learning ever since. I am a perpetual student enthusiastically discovering the world in which I live and work.
"All I can say is 'Wow!' I am thoroughly impressed with all you have accomplished with the docs. Further, you have brought insight and focus to our group that I'm so glad to have!"
— Mr. David Cohen, Vice President of R&D, ZOLL Data Systems
A few favorite reference books
The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th
Wow! [Review …]
Houghton Mifflin, 2000
Edward D. Johnson, The Handbook of Good English
Time and time again, this is the one I turn to with my "Exactly how should I do that?" questions.
Facts on File, New York, 1991
The Dictionary of English Usage
Easy to use, balanced approach, comprehensive examples.
Merriam-Webster, Springfield, 1994
Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style, 2nd
Exquisite. [Review …]
Hartley & Marks, Vancouver, 1999
The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th.
Amazing. The 15th introduces a beautiful typographical style.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2004
Jan V. White, Graphic Design for the Electronic Age
An old book, but this guy has such class! If you want to bring a touch of elegance to your pages, you can get some great hints from this book.
White. Watson-Guptil, New York, 1988
Edward R. Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Envisioning Information, Visual Explanations, and Beautiful Evidence
Tufte's dedication to essence influences my daily work.
Graphics, Cheshire, 1983, 1990, 1997
Colin Wheildon, Type & Layout
Some informative research into what does and doesn't work for readers. [Review …]
Strathmoor Press, Berkeley, 1995
Bob Stein
Bob Stein has created some of the most beautiful Web color charts, most useful color swatch libraries, and most practicable HTML tags, CSS styles, and Javascript cheat sheets around. His Web Color Kilo Chart is a gorgeous work of inspired genius. 18" × 24".
Diana Hacker, The Bedford Handbook. 5th.
My favorite of the various handbooks. It has a nice design and layout, as well as a wealth of information.
Bedford, Boston, 1998
Blake & Bly, The Elements of Technical Writing
Written in a human voice, it touches on fundamental principles, grammar, basic rules, and usage in a way that is complementary to existing handbooks.
Macmillan, New York, 1993
Steve Krug. Don't Make Me Think
Here's a book that will quickly become dog-eared. The byline says it all: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability. A must read!
New Riders, Indianapolis, 2000
Joel Spolsky, User Interface Design for Programmers
The best book I've read on this subject. Spolsky is a genius. Anyone involved with software should read every word he writes (www.joelonsoftware.com). Whether you agree or disagree with him, he always provokes reflective thinking about a subject.
Apress, Berkeley, 2001