Author Archives: skierpage

About skierpage

As you might guess, my site is mine. My Schema.org info is at .

web: awful online shopping part NN

Posted on 2025-05-01 by skierpage

Why is shopping at Amazon so awful? It presents dozens of brands you’ve never heard of, and appallingly bad filtering options. And since 8% of the 1-star reviews are “It broke after X weeks”, let me filter for products by … Continue reading →

Posted in design, web | Leave a comment

art: Sturgeon’s law at the art fair

Posted on 2025-04-19 by skierpage

For some reason San Francisco Art Fair thinks we’re high roller art buyers (even though we’ve never brought a painting home for more than $500) and offers us “VIP” tickets. (Though this reminds me of the “Las Vegas” episoded of … Continue reading →

Posted in art | Leave a comment

cars: they all step up then falter in EVs

Posted on 2025-03-28 by skierpage

The Nissan Leaf was the first mass market BEV in 2010. Nissan built battery factories and assembly lines on three continents to make it. 16 years later, Nissan has one new model in the USA, the Ariya. Meanwhile upstart Tesla … Continue reading →

Posted in cars | Leave a comment

cars: SPAC collapse facts

Posted on 2025-03-23 by skierpage

The electrification of land transportation is inevitable and A Good Thing, but there’s a lot of carnage along the way! I read an article about the problem with SPACs; the article is not specific to EVs, but so many EV … Continue reading →

Posted in cars, finance | Leave a comment

design: dimmer light switch de-evolution

Posted on 2025-03-20 by skierpage

The electrical industry came up with the perfect light switch over 60 years ago: a plastic thing you flick up to turn on and down to turn off. You can see by looking at it which lights are on and … Continue reading →

Posted in design | Leave a comment

web: how sites like Facebook track clicks

Posted on 2025-03-14 by skierpage

tl;dr: don’t click on links to web sites, because they track your web activity and build profiles of you on multiple sites. Instead open a new private/incognito tab and either go to the web site yourself or use the more-privacy-respecting … Continue reading →

Posted in web | Leave a comment

design: Parker pen pals

Posted on 2025-01-05 by skierpage

TL;DR: bring back the Parker 25! I’m interested in pens, but as with watches (and hi-fi, ski pants, raincoats, etc.) once I find what seems the best design, I’m done. Until I lose it or it wears out. I wasn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in design | Leave a comment

web: online shopping non-assistance

Posted on 2025-01-01 by skierpage

Amazon and other online stores are drowning in returns, yet they still do a terrible job of helping customers locate the right product. Our ironing board and wall holder accept an iron at most 5 inches wide, and modern irons … Continue reading →

Posted in disintermediation, web | Leave a comment

art: Tamara de Lempicka’s supreme shaded style

Posted on 2024-11-10 by skierpage

Tamara de Lempicka is melodramatic swagger, backed up by superb shading of colored areas (chiaroscuro?); it reminds me of Georgia O’Keefe’s landscapes yet the complete opposite. Look at the heart shape in the draping of her lover’s dress, it’s phenomenal. … Continue reading →

Posted in art | Leave a comment

cars: more EV fiascos at Faraday, Nikola, and Canoo

Posted on 2024-10-01 by skierpage

I blogged about EV scam company Mullen Automotive and its bat-sh*t insane stock price shenanigans: a single $MULN share that today costs $3.64 was theoretically worth $1.926 billion dollars 12 years ago! There are other joke companies that are still … Continue reading →

Posted in cars | Leave a comment