January 31, 2005

This Photo is Illegal

20050130-idiotarod.jpgthe bean - photo by pachanga

The privatization of the public sphere is continuing unabated. The new Millennium Park in Chicago, the 24.5-acre park on Michigan Avenue, is apparently a copyrighted public space. That's right, according to the city, the sculptures/park follies and the park itself are copyrighted and those wishing to photograph the park need a $350 "media permit." Watchout Flickr, all those photographs tagged with millennium and chicago could find you in deep trouble. Read this 28 Jan 2005 article by the Chicago Reader for the full story: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (via the urbanist). The city claims that no one can take photographs of the park without a $350 "media permit" if they are going to use the photographs for "commercial use." But according to the city, exempted from the permit are students, journalists, and amateur photographers. Which makes no sense because journalism itself is a commercial use - albeit one protected by the First Amendment. I am pretty sure that you could make a First Amendment case that photographs, regardless of use or intent, is protected speech.

How messed up is our copyright system when you can't take photographs of public buildings, paid for by public money, without a "permit." I thought the First Amendment is the only permit you need? Looks like I'm breaking the law with this photo. In fact, I might have. I had this photo taken off of iStock Photo because of "copyright" problems. I never really cared enough to figure out, but I'm sure Calder (or the estate) made a stink about the photo containing the sculpture, probably claiming it was a derivative work. Which is insane.

As for the artist, on one hand I can sympathize with trying to protect their work - but copyright is not the answer. This is a public space, paid with public funds, and you Artist, created a very public piece of art. It seems that there are competing interests at work here: the right of the artist(s) to protect the work versus the right of the people to express themselves in an unfettered way. The fact that this is a public space built by public funds seems to negate the Artist's claim of copyright (at least ethically and morally). Are there any copyright experts out there?

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January 30, 2005

Idiotarod

20050130-idiotarod.jpgthe Idiotarod - Team Octopussy · see all of my photos from that day

What can you possibly say about The Idiotarod besides pure lunacy? This is the second year of the race that pits sled teams of five Human runners against each other - with shopping carts as sleds. A clear and sunny day greeted to the Idiots during the race registration while musicians serenaded the competitors. The course this year started at Old Fulton Ferry in Brooklyn, then proceeded over the Brooklyn Bridge, past two checkpoints, ending in Tompkins Square Park. The 70+ teams were encouraged to dress in costume, and many had fine livery with many supporters. The Idiotarod course isn't closed and cleared of traffic, of course - and the cops didn't know (or care) about the race. To add to the confusion, there were teams whose sole mission was sabotage other teams.

As the gun went off, over 70 teams raced up Old Fulton, a funnel-shaped street which rises and collapses into the Brooklyn Bridge. Thinking that standing upstream of the start in the middle of the street would allow for good photos, I positioned myself at the narrow end of the funnel. Now, everyone has seen video of the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona? Everyone secretly hopes someone will get horned - not seriously, but enough to make the trip worth it (who runs ahead of bulls?). Well imagine that scene but with 350+ competitors racing toward you, with the same amount of onlookers (sans white jacket and beret) running with the Idiots. I didn't know if I was going to get tripped or clothes-lined by racers tied to their shopping carts. It was maddness. As the first wave passed, I had no choice but to run up hill with the Idiots. The race had begun.

The main pedestrian entrance to the bridge was instantly clogged by the saboteurs and by the fact that trying to get a shopping cart up a four foot wide stair was near impossible for many teams with extra-wide shopping carts. For those teams with wide loads, the only course of action was to go around to the main pedestrian entrance, then backtrack; their race was over within the first five minutes. Competing only for pride and perhaps liquid refreshment, these teams nonetheless continued on.

The first checkpoint was on Chambers & West Broadway in Lower Manhattan. Imagine 700 or so people, half of them in costume, milling around an intersection in Lower Manhattan. The police had no idea what was going on; motorists were agitated, pleading with the police to do something - the police just laughed and ask exactly what the motorists wanted them to do with a giant octopus on a shopping cart? Teams had to wait 20 minutes after they entered the checkpoint; at this point what had been a stream of Idiots racing together became a field of costume-donned teams strung out all around Lower Manhattan. There was no set course to the next checkpoint at Clinton & Stanton - some teams chose to go through Chinatown; while others chose to race against traffic on Broadway. Knowledge of traffic and orienteering - both pedestrian and motor - was a skill that many teams lacked. I followed two teams as they chose to brave Canal Street on a Saturday. Residents of New Jersey and Connecticut proved to be major impediments to those team's progress.

Finally, as teams made their way in the Lower East Side toward Tompkins Square Park, their last hurdle would be faced at the corner of 7th Street and Avenue B. The Snowmen, who had so artfully blocked the Brooklyn Bridge Pedestrian Stair, were entrenched at the corner of the park. With the park in plain view, and victory in hand, the Idiots had to brave ice-balls, snow and vehicles as they made the sharp left-hand turn into the home stretch. Many a snow crystal was thrown, and blood was drawn; a sight that no Idiot would like to see. The crowd was rife with anticipation of the incoming wave of Idiots, and everyone was in high spirits.

But in the end, someone did win, but who cares? Idiots ruled the city for the day. An hour or so later, the police finally showed up at Tompkins Square, but all they found was a pile of shopping carts. The Idiots were gone. But here are my photos from the day.

For more photos, see Gothamist's write-up, Callalillie, Rion, Bluejake, Untitled Name and all photos on Flickr with the tag Idiotarod.

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January 28, 2005

Submarine v Mountain

imageUSS San Francisco (SSN 711)

The USS San Francisco (SSN 711) ran aground into an unknown underwater mountain in the South Pacific at a depth of 500 feet at full speed. The Los Angeles-class attack submarine's top speed is approximately 20+ knots (23+ miles per hour, 36.8 +kph) according to published reports, but is most likely much faster. One sailor died, and as you can see the hull, while messed up, withstood tremendous forces. See also here for more photos.

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January 27, 2005

60 years since Auschwitz

auschwitz: by Ilana Tamirphoto credit: auschwitz - by Ilana Tamir

It has been sixty years to the day since Auschwitz was liberated. The scars done by previous generations are still being ripped open even today. We say "Never Again" but it will, and has, happened again. It is too easy to dismiss the plight of "the other." Be they Jewish or Tutsi's or Armenian or any marginalized group, we have a duty so that the atrocities never happens again. But it has - there is more than enough blame to go around. The torture and pain which follow has happened again, and was sanctioned by our government. I get worked up about torture because once we go down that path, the end of the slope are barb-wire enclosed camps with furnaces in them. We are supposed to be the shining beacon on a hill. That is why this President is not my President - he sanctions torture, one of the most despicable and cowardly act our country has sanctioned. This is why today is important, and why we cannot let atrocities, in any form, stand.

That is why Alberto Gonzales cannot, and should not, be confirmed as Attorney General. As someone who expressly condoned the use of torture - even going as far as extra-legally claiming that torturers have immunity granted by the President - Gonzales is both a bad lawyer and has no moral compass or values. America does not torture people. Period.

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British Rail

British Rail}

British Rail · by trudi_

One of the best designed logos in history.

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January 26, 2005

Philip Johnson Dies at 98

20050126-le-courvoisier.jpg

Pouring one out to the recently departed Philip Johnson. Arguably one of the most influential (some would say, mediocre) architect of the 20th Century. Image from Nick (who I think photoshopped PJ's face on the origional "le courvoisier" photo).

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January 25, 2005

Calvin & Hobbes Snowmen

20050125-snowman.jpg

One of my favorite Calvin & Hobbes strips is when Calvin made snowmen who have been run over by his father's car, eaten by sharks, and hung with a noose. Well, someone went out and made a tribute to Calvin & Hobbes' snowmen and posted them online. God Bless the Internets.

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Steve Jobs flips IBM the bird...

Steve loves Big Blue - NOT}

Steve loves Big Blue - NOT · by jochenWolters

I wonder if this photo made it into Andy Hertzfeld's (of folklore.org fame) book, Revolution in The Valley about the birth of apple computers. I'm sure that Magic 8-ball says, "No."

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January 24, 2005

January 23, 2005

Google Image Search

20050122-google-sponge.gif

Has anyone noticed that sometimes when you google something that images appear in the search results and not in their specific google image space? I have tried to replicate the same result with other search terms, and I could only do it with sponge. Weird.

UPDATE 23 JAN 2005
It seems that you no longer see images with the search term "sponge". I have heard that Google continually changes up their search results to test out new ideas, cycling servers on and off the "main line" would cause different users to see different results.

Also, it seems that Google has started using redirect from their search results page. So that instead of a link going right to (say) http://www.grubbykid.com it would go to:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=1&q=http://www.grubbykid.com&e=1102&mr=72,100852_3!b_U:abrt_nr1m_spb3_10

See search for Hudson Hotel and see if you can replicate this. I am sure this is just google trying new "features" out. Movable Type uses this redirect method for URL's in comment sections to reduce "Google Juice" for spammers, but I don't know what the advantage of google themselves redirecting. Weird.

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January 21, 2005

Forty Part Motet

"40 Part Motet"}

"40 Part Motet" · by striatic

When the new Contemporary Art Museum opened in Cincinnati, I visited it literally the last day I lived there. The building is awesome, but the most exhilarating piece of art was an installation by Janet Cardiff called Forty Part Motet. This installation consisted on 40 speakers which had recorded a choral group signing Thomas Tallis' Spem in alium. You can listen to an excpert of the performance, but it pales in comparison to the installation because at the installation, you can pick out individual voices and walk around during the performace - altering the performance. But such is installation art. Each speaker recorded one voice with the speakers set at mouth height and in the round. What was so special about the installation was that as you ascended an escalator, you were slowly enveloped into the work while an army of mannequins (a la prada) marched in front of the work. Forty Part Motet is one of the most impressive pieces of installation art I have witnessed. If you can find it, check it out.

For more information go here.

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Back to SpongeBob Squarepants

20050121-spongebob-warning.gif

So, over two years ago I talked about how SpongeBob Squarepants was becoming a gay icon. The excperted article included after the jump. So SpongeBob Squarepants isn't exaclty a new gay icon. But Grand Ayatollah Dobson founder of the so-called Focus on the Family, which is basically an astroturf organization, said that SpongeBob's creators had enlisted him in a "pro-homosexual video". Now the video in question is over two years old and was made after September 11th and was about that anti-Christian idea of tolerance. How dare they! From the article:

Now, Dr. Dobson said, SpongeBob's creators had enlisted him in a "pro-homosexual video," in which he appeared alongside children's television colleagues like Barney and Jimmy Neutron, among many others. The makers of the video, he said, planned to mail it to thousands of elementary schools to promote a "tolerance pledge" that includes tolerance for differences of "sexual identity."

The video's creator, Nile Rodgers, who wrote the disco hit "We Are Family," said Mr. Dobson's objection stemmed from a misunderstanding. Mr. Rodgers said he founded the We Are Family Foundation after the Sept. 11 attacks to create a music video to teach children about multiculturalism. The video has appeared on television networks, and nothing in it or its accompanying materials refers to sexual identity. The pledge, borrowed from the Southern Poverty Law Center, is not mentioned on the video and is available only on the group's Web site.

I think the only recourse to this sort of lunacy is simple: ridicule. Pure and unadulterated ridicule. Much like the Lavendar Warning System found on MeFi. Ridicule Mr. SpongeDob Stickypants because who in their right mind believes this? I mean come one! But the Grand Ayatollah Dobson has a bully-pulpit as long as the media (and we) give it to him. Christians without hate need to challenge Dobson and his twisting of religion.

It seems to be a perrenial favorite attack by those who are socially conservative boneheaded to attack cartoons as being "pro-gay" or alleging that Tinki-Winki will turn your toddler into a man-loving home wrecker. What is it with social conservatives with gay men? Maybe Freud was right and the Grand Ayatollah Dobson has an obsession with penis. Because it seems to me, that Dobson has so much penis on his mind he lashes out with something or another every month or so deriding the penis. I wonder what sort of self-hate he is forced to live with through his twisted idea of what Christianity is all about. Dobson et al are not interested in the love of Christ or reaching out to his neighbor. He encapsulates the money changers in the Temple and the Pharisees wrapped together in a vituperative know of hate. Hate for the common man, and hate for anything different. This is not the Word of God - it is the word of man which has twisted the Good Word. And it is time for him to go.

UPDATE 25 JAN 2005
Looks like the real Christians have finally spoke up: SpongeBob receives 'unequivocal welcome' from United Church of Christ:

Joining the animated fray, the United Church of Christ today (Jan. 24) said that Jesus' message of extravagant welcome extends to all, including SpongeBob Squarepants - the cartoon character that has come under fire for allegedly holding hands with a starfish.

"Absolutely, the UCC extends an unequivocal welcome to SpongeBob," the Rev. John H. Thomas, the UCC's general minister and president, said, only partly in jest. "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we."

For that matter, Thomas explained, the 1.3-million-member church, if given the opportunity, would warmly receive Barney, Big Bird, Tinky-Winky, Clifford the Big Red Dog or, for that matter, any who have experienced the Christian message as a harsh word of judgment rather than Jesus' offering of grace.

So there we go: Jesus never turned away people who were societal outcasts due to the Pharisees teaching. We are all God's children; how could his grace be only shared by some, but not others? Grand Ayatollah Dobson only looks to divide us, while Jesus' love unites us. Case closed.

Continue reading "Back to SpongeBob Squarepants"

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January 20, 2005

War Time Inaugural

Our Constitution of 1787 was not a perfect instrument; it is not perfect yet. But it provided a firm base upon which all manner of men, of all races and colors and creeds, could build our solid structure of democracy.

And so today, in this year of war... we have learned lessons-- at a fearful cost--and we shall profit by them.

We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other nations far away. We have learned that we must live as men, not as ostriches, nor as dogs in the manger.

We have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human community.

We have learned the simple truth, as Emerson said, that "The only way to have a friend is to be one." We can gain no lasting peace if we approach it with suspicion and mistrust or with fear.

We can gain it only if we proceed with the understanding, the confidence, and the courage which flow from conviction.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

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January 19, 2005

Rockstar Architects

LVHRD: Competitor #1}

LVHRD: Competitor #1 · by youngna

Photos from last night's Master-Disaster Architects Duel at M1-5 where two groups of architects battled for design supremacy. Diller+Scofidio+Renfro were pitted against Smith-Miller+Hawkinson in a battle of who had the most hyphens or + signs in their name. Who won is up in the air, but I have to agree: Architects are the New Rock Stars. You can read more about it here at Archinect.

Continue reading "Rockstar Architects"

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Anti Spam Measures

Let me take this time to talk about spam, more specifically comment spam on blogs, wikis and the like. For those not initiated to the ills of comment-spam, here is what happens. Most software packages which a majority of weblogs use have a commenting feature so that visitors can comment on individual posts - this is the fundamental "killer app" of blogs in general. Couple this feature with the ability of blog software which often generates individual html files per post, weblogs start to generate high Google PageRank. Enter the spammers; with the high PageRank of the individual pages, and the way PageRank works, outgoing links to other websites also gain PageRank. So what happens is that spammers create websites to hawk "Online Casinos" or "Pharmaceuticals" or porn then create automated bots who search out weblogs and drop comments linking back to their websites - thus (in theory) raising their PageRank so that when you use Google, their website comes first in the search results.

So the response to Comment Spam have come from software vendors while search engines (whom the commentors have been exploiting) have been silent on the topic. Six Apart, makers of Movable Type (which runs this site) even created a Guide to Comment Spam in order to help out their users. Silence on the part of the search engines doesn't necessarily denoted ignorance, but it always seemed to me that the three big search engines - or at least Google - should come up with some sort of exclude tag so that comments do not affect PageRank.

Well today I got my wish and Google announced a new tag to add to comment URL's so that the GoogleBot ignores them. The tag is:

rel="nofollow"

example
Spam Link

The tag should be placed in every comment URL, which seems tedious but Movable Type released the MT-NoFollow Plugin today in order to implement the fix. The best part is that it seems that a majority of weblog software vendors and Yahoo! & MSN Search plan to adhere to the new spec. Of course this presents a problem with links, which Steven brings up - specifically the loss of links which feed Google. My concern is the lack of granularity - adding the 'rel="nofollow"' tag to all comments feels like we are throwing the baby out with the bath water, and frankly, it just is a clumsy implementation.

In a perfect world, the next iteration of the MT-NoFollow Plugin would allow registered TypeKey users, and trusted users the right to have their links counted, and leave the moderated and untrustworty comments tagged with 'rel="nofollow"'. What is missing right now is the granularity needed to deal with users and the ease of granting users the right for their links to count. If this feature was added onto the comments section then it would increase granularity. Here is a quick mockup:

Let me take this time to talk about how I have dealt with comment spam. My solution is multi-leveled much in the manner of my Cockroach Solution for forign policy. Because my current host (dreamhost) has mis-configured the Perl Module Storable so that MT-Blacklist is not usable, I have had to find alternate defenses. Either way, MT-Blacklist, while ingenious and well-coded, is the point of failure which would bring the card house down. In its' stead, I have deployed the following Movable Type Plugins:

MT-Moderate forces comment moderation on any post seven (7) days or older, thus denying immediate comments on high PageRank posts. Next up MT-Approval creates a temporary hash when a comment is previewed and then compares this hash when the comment is posted. This prevents automated spam bots from operating (for now). Additionally, MT-SpamAssasin queries the SpamAssasin database on my host for known spam IP addresses or websites. So it is a form of Blacklist. This plugin has the most room for both abuse and false-positives because it relies on a BlackList.

Plugins that I am trying out but haven't implemented (with problems in parenthesis):

The fight against spam is a continously escalating arms-race where the goal-posts are continually being moved by both the spammers and the anti-spam community. The reason there is so much time and energy spent on this issue, and why this is such a long post, is because spammer make billions of dollars a year in ill-gotten gains on the backs of users and website owners who spend an inordinate amount of time fighting spam.

Update 10 Apr 2005
Everyone who is interested in maintaining their integrated spam defense, should try Brad Choate's new plugin, Spam Lookup. This plugin uses a variety of different techniques to block and moderate both trackback and comment spam. It also features an integrated management system which allows the user to manage all comment and trackbacks system-wide; so Movable Type installations with multiple blogs who get comment and trackback spam can be managed on one screen.

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January 18, 2005

January 17, 2005

Software Cruft and Hacks

So, the many people who aren't interested in the finer points of blog software geekery might want to go ahead and skip this post.

With the advent of easy to use weblogging tools and various Content Management Systems (CMS) such as Greymatter, Movable Type (which runs this site), WordPress, TextPattern (insert favorite software here) you necessarily trade advantages of handcoding for features inherent in the software - such ease of use, oodles of saved time, and standard methodology among other features. But sometimes the limitations of the software become apparent.

So I am sure everyone has at one time or the other dealt with post titles and how to accurately title them to use for as the post URL. It is much better to dispense with post ID as URL and use some form of text URL so that it is both human- and machine-readable. So that instead of a post URL of

http://www.yoursite.com/archives/YYYY/MM/DD/XXXXXX.html

where XXXXXX is the post ID

you would get this:

http://www.yoursite.com/archives/YYYY/MM/DD/nice_title.html

Specifically Mark Pilgrim's Cruft-Free MT URL's is one of the best tutorials illustrating how you can break <$MTEntryTitle$> from the final URL (i.e. - foo.extension) so that if you misspell the title, you can re-title the post and not break post URL. The only problem is that it uses <$MTEntryKeywords$> in order to create the non-crufty URL (foo.extension (or no extension if that floats your boat)) which I thought was nifty because I didn't use that field.

Yet, I always thought Mark's solution was hack, an elegant hack, but it was a hack which served a purpose not inherent in the software. Now comes along tags, which are all the rage, and Technorati's answer to the LazyWeb request and came up with their own version of the Taggerator which tries to combine del.icio.us, flickr and weblog Tags together in a Folksonomy.

So I want my cake and eat it too. I want to combine Mark's "Non-Crufty URL's" and use the without using the Keyword's field or the title field or the Excerpt field. In a perfect world, what I really want is the ability to add another form field on the "New Entry" page for URL, thus allowing proper use of the post title field, keywords field - which can be used by Technorati, and set the excerpt field. Each field would work independently so no more URL hack. I always thought that the cool thing about MT 3.x was that developers could extend the interface with additional items/fields. Or did I just make that up? In a really perfect world, I would want to be able to add multiple additional data fields as I please and those fields would work blog-wide (or even MT-wide).

I know of the ExtraFields plugin or Brad Choate's Key Values Plugin. But those solutions also feel like hacks, because how one deals with the data in a crufty-way.

So LazyWeb, what do you say?

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Martin Luther King, Jr.

As always today I am hosting a recordingv of Martin Luther King Jr's famous I have A Dream speech. This is for educational and non-commercial purposes only. We are featuring this for 24 hours because it is still copyrighted by the King family, but we believe that this monumental speech denouncing all hate and warmongering in the world deserves to be in the public domain.

Martin Luther King, Jr. I Have A Dream (mp3 - 16.3 MB)

UPDATE 18 JAN 2005
As promised, I have pulled the mp3 file.

My favorite passage from his speech on the Monument:

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

The dream hasn't been fulfilled, but we are getting there.

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January 15, 2005

What's on iTunes?

Who doesn't like time-wasting blog fads? Just like Ezra, Matthew, Abu Aardvark, and Brad open your iTunes, hit shuffle, and tell us the first ten songs that come up. But I won't pile on the Anti-"Sound of Settling" by Brad even though it is the weakest song on Transatlanticism.

  1. New Slang - The Shins
  2. Death Of An Interior Decorator - Death Cab For Cutie
  3. We Looked Like Giants - Death Cab For Cutie
  4. Four Sticks - Led Zeppelin
  5. Gratitude - Beastie Boys
  6. I Can't Explain - The Who
  7. Still Crazy After All These Years - Paul Simon
  8. White Christmas - Guns and Roses
  9. Until the End of the World - U2
  10. Float On - Modest Mouse

What are your ten songs?

UPDATE - 18 JAN 2005
See also my AudioScrobbler Stats
See also Top 10 Listened Songs

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January 14, 2005

January 13, 2005

January 12, 2005

Most Gratuitous use of a Lesbian Plot Twist

So tonight was the last episode for Elisabeth Rohm's character A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn on Law & Order. There has been much discussion on the internets about how bad her character was - there was even a petition. In a word, this is why.

So tonight was her last episode, and I was wondering if they were going to kill her like they did so many other characters, but Senator Fred Dalton Thompson (great in Die Hard 2, horrible in the Appropriations Committee) just off and fired here. Which was kind of lame. But what made my roommate and I go, "What . the . fuck!" was the following exchange:

Rohm: Is this because I'm a lesbian?

Thompson: No, no... Of course not. (look befuddled)

Rohm: Good...that's good... (stare off camera, and shake head)

Again, WHAT . THE . FUCK?

Could this have been the worst hackneyed ending to a character's story-line? It was so out of place, and Rohm and the distinguished Senator handled it so badly, with such bad acting, it will go down as one of the worst (or best) endings of the year and we are less than a fortnight past the new year.

Congratulations, Law & Order, you get the award for "Most Gratuitous use of a Lesbian Plot Twist" of 2005. This is a high honor, and I am sure you will put it right next to your Emmy's.

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January 11, 2005

January 10, 2005

January 9, 2005

January 7, 2005

January 6, 2005

January 5, 2005

Another Reason Windows Sucks

xp window dialogue

I use WindowsXP at work and as an Apple OS X impersonation, it comes close, but is a far cry from the elegantly designed OS X. An aside: what does that XP mean anyway? Is it Windows raised to the XP value? Anyway, Windows XP is light-years ahead of Windows 98/ME (which isn't saying much) but only slightly better than Window 2000. The biggest difference I have found between 2000 and XP is the nag factor, and the difficulty of locking the computer down for power-users.

For example, having downloaded and installed system updates, you get this pop-up dialogue after installation is over. If you are working on something and need to finish it, you can click "Restart Later" which is handy so that you can get to a finish point. But the brain-trust in Redmond are not content to let the user go about her work, because the same dialogue pops up every five minutes. And continues to pop-up. And pop-up. And pop-up. This is not the mark of elegant user-centric design.

It is nanny software which doesn't trust the user. Which doesn't make sense, because Windows has so many exploitable holes that it would make the Little Dutch Boy have a heart-attack running back and forth trying to plug them. Nothing like pestering users for a measly restart where you would be spending time and resources fixing your damn software or perhaps actually shipping products which are securely locked-down from the start instead of packing as many "features" into Word as possible (who actually uses all of those features in Word anyway?).

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January 4, 2005

Where Your Taxes Go

taxes image
Death and Taxes by mibi *really large .jpg

Interesting graphic on where our taxes go. The author tries to make a point that we spend a lot of money on things which kill people and not enough on helping people. Although that is a valid point, I think this author needs to spend some time with Envisioning Information or The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward R. Tufte tp get a better handle on how to present this huge amount of data in a consistent manner.

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January 3, 2005