Inexplicably, my voice mailbox account for my phone number just disappeared. If you've been calling my number and not getting my voice mail, that's why. I'm going to get this all straightened out very soon, believe you me.

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Usability guru Jakob Nielsen weighs in with his Top Ten Design Mistakes for Blogs. It's an excellent read for anyone that owns a blog. I am guilty of the following mistakes on his list:

1. No Author Biographies

To be fair, a link to a short bio exists on my main page which would take ten minutes to add to my blog. Maybe someday in the near future, I'll go and do that.

2. No Author Photo

I mulled over the idea of having a photo when I first started my blog but being the Adonis I am, I wanted my words to be the focus not my chiseled looks.

3. Nondescript Posting Titles

Hey, that's an erwintang.com hallmark. Ain't no way that's changing.

5. Classic Hits are Buried

This is true. Some of my best work is buried in the archives. I've been thinking about publishing a "best of" series.

6. The Calendar is the Only Navigation

Guilty as charged. This is a limitation of blogger itself.

8. Mixing Topics

I'm not sure if I agree with this one. The best thing about having a blog is I can write about anything I want.

If you own a blog, go and see how yours does against the list!

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I don't have the time to post anything of importance today. Oh wait, maybe I'll just say that I think Bill O'Reilly is a douchebag. Damn, that wasn't very nice. Perhaps I should have said his opinions evoke an emotional response in me. That's better.

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Web site thedigitalbits.com recently attended a media event at both Skywalker Ranch and the Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco. Both properties are owned by George Lucas. Until recently, famous Lucas companies such as ILM and Skywalker Sound were based on the Ranch. This summer, they moved everything to a new campus near the Presidio.

Click here for a photo tour of both facilities. Notice how clean and well-maintained everything is not to mention the lightsabers in display cases. Also, don't miss the statue of Yoda on the fountain.

If you want to know more about the Letterman Digital Arts Center, point your browser here.

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Somewhat like the premise of the classic TV show The Fugitive, I have been accused of a crime I did not commit. Luckily, I hold proof of my innocence and my quest to clear my name has begun.

Before I continue further, there are some details that must be explained. Adam, Tyson, and Joel have been frequent visitors to the Swiss Chalet located on W. Broadway and Trutch for several months now. They patronize the establishment usually on weekends and for some reason or another usually get seated in one particular section. This section is patrolled by a server named Meghan. Ah Meghan. As you can imagine, after coming in to partake of the chicken so often, Meghan has gotten to know the boys a little. At the very least, she recognizes them on sight and can almost guess when they will visit. Also, you didn't hear it from me, but Joel seems to have developed quite a rapport with this young lady.

Anyways, because of my exile out in wastelands of Tatooine, I've only joined them at the Chalet here and there. Nonetheless, I've been there enough that I'm pretty sure Meghan could recognize I was part of the crew.

I take you back, my readers, to the evening of Friday, September 30, 2005. After a long week at work, my co-workers and I decided to have dinner and a few beers at the Frog and Firkin next door to our office. Adam and Tyson have invited me to the Chalet as well. I decide finish up dinner at the Firkin and then head over to the house that chicken built. I arrive at the Chalet. Joel cannot make it but Adam and Tyson are there. We ask to get seated in Meghan's section of the restaurant.

Since I've already had dinner, I decide to order an appetizer, the chicken spring rolls. They are delicious if anyone is wondering. The meal goes without incident, or so I thought, we pay and leave.

Fast forward to two days ago, Friday night. Adam and Tyson are again at the Chalet but not in Meghan's section. She sees them and comes over to inform them that we stiffed her on the bill the last time we were there. Specifically, she accused me of not paying for my chicken spring rolls. To cover the bill, she had to kick in $1.32 of her own money.

When I was informed of this, I thought it was quite odd since it's not like me to forget to pay for a meal. How can you forget to pay? It just seemed kind of fishy to me. I then remembered she left us the bill and then didn't return for quite a while. I was also paying by debit card so instead of waiting for her, I just went up to the front and paid there.

The lady up front seemed kind of wary I was there to pay with debit but she processed the payment anyways. I'm almost positive that I also told her it was specifically for the chicken spring rolls. I took my receipt and then went back to the table. Now I'm not sure if I left the receipt on the table so that Meghan knew I had paid via debit. I may have taken the receipt with me but that's my copy of the transaction! Technically, the lady up front already has the restaurant copy.

Just to be sure I wasn't going crazy, I looked up my bank records on-line. I indeed use debit on that weekend. The rolls were $4.99 and I paid in total $6.50. The dates are off because the bank doesn't do the processing until the Monday after. Nonetheless, here's the proof:



This Friday, I am going back to the Chalet with a copy of these records and I am going to clear my name. I'll update you then. Stay tuned!

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