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John B Nolt
John B Nolt

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John B Nolt
John B Nolt

Project and Research Locker

Author: JBN

Hi! It's your friendly neighborhood John B Nolt. This is my website you're looking at right now.
Product Noir

The Sore Spot

JBN, October 9, 2023October 11, 2023

On a fog-laden night, a neon glow from a digital billboard flickers outside the large glass panes of the office. The city’s hum is barely audible over the synchronized dance of raindrops and the whirring thoughts of a weary Product Manager trying to get to the end of another late…

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Product Noir

Capability, Usability, Beauty

JBN, September 25, 2023October 11, 2023

The Product Manager sighs and ignores the elements as he leans against his wooden desk, hands pressed flat against the surface. Outside, the rain runs in rivulets down the glass, each drop a reminder of the relentless push and pull of his job. Shadows oozing around the office are broken…

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Product Noir

Tools

JBN, September 6, 2023October 11, 2023

It was one of those nights, the kind that makes you question every choice you ever made. The neon glow from the sign outside casts a sickly light over the Product Manager’s cluttered desk. He’s staring down an empty bottle of bourbon and a computer screen filled with the hopes…

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Product Noir

Stay In Your Lane

JBN, August 21, 2023October 11, 2023

The glow of computer screens flickers like the distant fires of a city under siege as a Product Manager watches rain carve a path down the window of a filthy conference room on the 31st floor. The team calls it the war room, and they’ve all been here long past…

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Sir Hugo

Sir Hugo and the Fart Machine

JBN, August 13, 2023August 13, 2023

In the far-off Kingdom of Gigglesnort, where the rivers gurgled with laughter and the trees swayed with the rhythm of a chuckle, lived King Guffaw. The kingdom wasn’t just a place; it was a personality – lively, playful, and ever-ready with a wink and a grin. Gigglesnort was like a…

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Product Noir

The New Roof

JBN, August 11, 2023October 11, 2023

Alright, pal, come on in and have a seat. Don’t mind the springs in that chair, they probably won’t give you tetanus. This is it, livin’ the dream. Take a big whiff. Smell the must, old paper, and that half-forgotten coffee cup over there with its own ecosystem growing in…

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Other

The i

JBN, July 24, 2023August 11, 2023

Who can resist the enchanting pull of the ‘i’? We are but pawns in a game of celestial scale, our doom silently echoed in every innocent ringtone, every blithe text message, and every picture captured in digital perfection.

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Product Noir

The 3 Legged Stool

JBN, July 24, 2023October 11, 2023

In the high stakes poker game of product management, the house always deals the same cards: Quick, Good, or Cheap. Pick any two, but don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re holding a royal flush. Welcome to the three-legged stool of product management, where each leg bears the weight of a…

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Product Noir

Testing

JBN, July 19, 2023October 11, 2023

The patter of rain against the office window sets the rhythm of the product manager’s thoughts. He leans back in his worn leather chair, running his fingers along the brim of his hat while he stares out at the neon haze of the city. His mind chews on a topic…

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Product Noir

Different != Better

JBN, July 16, 2023October 11, 2023

In the labyrinth of SaaS, the pulse of product management beats a steady rhythm. I’ve been at it for two decades, caught in the crosshairs of armchair critics and would-be virtuosos. U X Designers, Tech Writers, and we product managers are the usual suspects on their list. If you’ve been…

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Secret War

#8: The Princess

JBN, July 12, 2023September 25, 2023
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Secret War

#6: Betty

JBN, July 12, 2023September 25, 2023
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Secret War

#5: The Sardonic Supersoldier

JBN, July 12, 2023September 25, 2023
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Secret War

#7: The Battle of Stubbville

JBN, July 12, 2023September 25, 2023
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Secret War

#4: The Double Agent

JBN, July 12, 2023September 25, 2023
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Secret War

#3: Salvation in a Hopeless Place

JBN, July 12, 2023September 25, 2023
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Secret War

#2: God of Styles

JBN, July 12, 2023September 25, 2023
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Secret War

#1: The Queen

JBN, July 12, 2023September 25, 2023
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Product Noir

On Perfection

JBN, July 10, 2023October 11, 2023

They whisper in hushed tones in the grungy back alleys of software product management. They spread tales about the mythical beast – the quantifiably perfect product manager. The one who’s got all the pieces lined up well before the game starts, the smooth talker with the slick slide decks, the…

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Doodleberry

Wisdom vs. Intelligence

JBN, July 9, 2023August 10, 2023

Doodleberry’s dawn is awash in an aquarium glow; the sun not so much rising as burping itself into being over the rustling cornfields. Head Nurse Bertha, twenty tattooed parrots adorning her forearms, swaggers into the room, juggling coffee cups like a circus veteran. “Morning, tribe!” she calls out, her gaze…

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Doodleberry

If We Could Turn Back Time

JBN, July 8, 2023August 10, 2023

In the morning gleam of Doodleberry’s Home for Old Biddies and Coots, the air thrums with anticipation of the day’s breakfast, a carnival of culinary craziness cooked up by Head Nurse Bertha. Fresh from discussing the day’s weather with the paperboy (prediction: freak hail in the afternoon), Bertha galumphs into…

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Product Noir

Stupid Questions

JBN, July 1, 2023October 11, 2023

In this concrete jungle of sharp minds and fiery conversations, fear lurks in the shadowy corners. It’s not the fear of failure, but something more insidious – the terror of looking like a halfwit. Picture this. You’re surrounded by nodding heads, an idea just bounced off your skull, and you’re…

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Sir Hugo

The Perfect Parkour Performance

JBN, June 30, 2023August 10, 2023

Once upon a time in the colorful kingdom of Jumpitopia, there lived a young boy knight named Sir Hugo, his best friend, a girl named Sir Zora, and a very brave Chihuahua named Sir Emmett. The trio were inseparable, and together they went on countless adventures, spreading kindness, joy, and…

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Stay the F* Home

JBN, June 30, 2023

A relic of the pandemic, I wrote and recorded this song and my friend Jenny and I created a video with submissions from a bunch of people all sending the same message for everyone during lockdown.

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Sir Hugo

The Ultimate Flingo

JBN, June 29, 2023August 10, 2023

Ah, the flingo! A wondrous flying disc that never ceases to amaze those who have the privilege of experiencing it. It is a joyous amalgamation of shape and color, designed for the sole purpose of flying through the air with reckless abandon. The flingo is a true marvel of engineering,…

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Sir Hugo

The Bedrock Ender Dragon Battle

JBN, June 29, 2023August 10, 2023

Hugo loves Minecraft, and dictated the plot of this Sir Hugo story to me one evening by recording plot details into my phone. I transcribed them and worked with ChatGPT to convert them into this story. Once upon a time, in a land filled with wonder and adventure, there was…

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Sir Hugo

The Great Slinky

JBN, June 29, 2023August 10, 2023

Once upon a time, in a land filled with magical toys, there was a legendary toy called the Great Slinky. The Great Slinky could stretch infinitely and reach unimaginable heights. It was an amazing example of its type, surely one of a kind—it could circle the world 10,000 times! Many…

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Sir Hugo

The Magic Bubble Machine

JBN, June 29, 2023August 10, 2023

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, there lived two young knights named Sir Hugo and Sir Zora. They loved to run and jump and play, but they were also brave and always ready to help someone in need. One sunny day, while they were enjoying their…

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Sir Hugo

The Goblin Party

JBN, June 29, 2023August 10, 2023

Sir Hugo and Sir Zora received an invitation to the goblin party in the most unexpected way. As they were playing in the forest, a tiny creature suddenly appeared in front of them. It was a goblin! But not just any goblin – this one was wearing a top hat…

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Sir Hugo

The Great Pizza Heist

JBN, June 29, 2023August 10, 2023

Sir Hugo, a young but mighty knight, was spending the day with his friend Sir Zora. They had planned to play with their toy swords and build a fort in Sir Hugo’s backyard, but their plans changed when they discovered that their beloved pizza had been stolen! The pizza had…

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Sir Hugo

The Gigantic Monster in the Humongous Cave

JBN, June 29, 2023August 10, 2023

This is, sometimes, what you get when your 6-year-old dictates the plot of a story. Once upon a time, there were three brave knights named Sir Hugo, Sir Zora, and Sir Emmett. Sir Emmett was a chihuahua, but he was still a knight like the other two. What made him…

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Software Test Drive: Runway Gen2

JBN, June 28, 2023July 10, 2023

Runway gives you a few credits to try out their services, and I blow them all on a bunch of prompts to see if I can get something useful out of it. It doesn’t go very well, but YMMV.

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Can’t Stop Won’t Stop

JBN, June 28, 2023June 28, 2023

TL;DR the chatbot can’t help itself, it has to respond, even when the input is something a human would take as ending the conversation.

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Software Test Drive: Boomy

JBN, June 28, 2023July 10, 2023

I give “AI” music generation app Boomy a try.

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Music

What We Need More Of, Is Science

JBN, June 27, 2023August 10, 2023

I made this song in 2003, creating the instrumental tracks in a program called Fruity Loops, which is now FL Studio and the vocals and mixing were done in Cool Edit Pro. Cut to 2023 and there’s a service called Kaiber that will make never-ending zoom-in videos using AI. So…

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Chief Expectation Officer

JBN, June 8, 2023August 10, 2023

Welcome to the dark, twisted carnival of product management, where the regular rules don’t apply. Here, we dance a drunken waltz with science and art, wrapped up in the grimy trench coat of expectation management. Strap in, folks. It’s gonna be one hell of a ride. Take customers for instance….

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Surprises Suck

JBN, June 1, 2023August 10, 2023

No Surprises.

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Recent Posts

  • The Sore Spot
  • Capability, Usability, Beauty
  • Tools
  • Stay In Your Lane
  • Sir Hugo and the Fart Machine

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