An icon can offend my aesthetic sensibilites

Using Mac OS X is, generally speaking, a visually pleasing experience. People (including, on several occasions, me) can go on and quibble about inconsistent use of brushed metal, or unpredictable applicability of click-through, but by and large the visuals (even for 3rd-party apps) are nice, consistent, unsurprising.

I've just realized how little it takes for the whole feeling of polish and friendliness to come crashing down.

There's something jarring in the above image. Can you spot it? Here, let me zoom in:

Oh my. 

They just had to put an ® symbol RIGHT IN THE GODDAMN ICON? Think of how heartbroken the designer who drew the short straw had to be feeling after being forced to do this. So much work, so many iterations of the design, only to have it ruined at the last second when a lawyer reminded him that it wasn't enough to point out that the Adobe Reader logo was a registered trademark in the About screens and the documentation, you should remind people whenever they look at the icon too! Outstanding.

Caught one!

As an apartment dweller on the top floor of a triplex, I have no upstairs neighbours, only an unfinished attic above me. Since outdoor temperatures started dropping with the arrival of Winter, I've had a few uninvited houseguests making a ruckus up there.

After a few (unsuccessful) attempts to look around with flashlights to see what was up there, my landlord and I eventually set a trap with some almonds and peanut butter.

Today we caught ourselves our first attic-dwelling squirrel! I know what I'm eating for dinner*!



*: Actually the squirrel is being driven away from the house and gently released into a park.