mpatrick

The front porch may be one of the greatest gifts from the architecture profession. The benefits of the front porch continue to amaze me. If you are a devout reader of this blog, you may recall that I wrote about the front porch over a year ago. As a parent, the porch evolves as a place for play, gathering and relaxation on a daily basis. When my youngest child was a baby, I spent many hours of the day swinging on the porch swing. This was an amazing mechanism for soothing her to sleep, and a great way to meet the neighbors. - mpatrick

This is a screenshot from an official promotion video of Outlook 2010. Seriously, what a trainwreck. I still remain a Microsoft fan, but this screenshot just shows the lack of any intelligent design direction anywhere in the company. I previously wrote about the design disconnect at Microsoft here. Permalink | Leave a comment  » - mpatrick

It's 95 degrees today and all I can think about is retreating to a lush garden with a cold drink and a good book.  If that garden happens to have a pool, all the better.  Instead, the reality of my yard is a rectangle of semi-alive grass surrounded by vinyl fencing.  It's boring and drab, but after drooling over these modern gardens, I'm starting to see some serious potential.  If your yard is in a similar state, it's time to hop on board the inspiration train!  Here are over 20 modern gardens that are sure to delight the eye and get those creative juices flowing.   … Continue reading on Curbly.com - mpatrick

People. Your spelling is atrocious. And it's getting worse every day. Far too many people confuse the difference between your/you're, their/they're, to/too, and its/it's - or even worse, they don't even realize there is a difference. There are even plenty of Facebook groups dedicated into setting people straight. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem they've worked yet. And what's even more depressing is that most 2nd graders understand the right usage. So in an effort to do my part in making the world a better place, I'm providing a little guide of what words to use and when. Your/You're You're is a contraction of "you are". If you can't interchange "you are" and "you're" in a sentence, you're using the wrong one. Their/They're/There Same as above. "They're" is a contraction of "they are". If you can't interchange "they are" and "they're" in a sentence, you're using the wrong one. "Their" is possessive, when referring to an object of someone (like their car). If it's neither of those, use... - mpatrick