Michael Moore using footage without consent? I’m shocked! Shocked!
Archive for July, 2004
We’ve reached a point in moving where more of our stuff, much more of our stuff, is at the new apartment than remains here. The main reason we keep coming back at this point is the cats, and the reason the cats haven’t gone with us yet is because we need to be here for more than a few days at a time because of the wedding.
Things are starting to come together at the new place: the furniture has all found new homes, the new desks arrived the other day and have been constructed, boxes are slowly beginning to empty.
The next time we go down I’m sure the computers will be going, as well as almost everything else left here, except of course for the clothes and other articles we’ll need until the wedding. Then we’ll be gone. Right now all of that seems so far away, but it’s less than three weeks, and I know things will start happening quicker at some point.
I can’t wait.
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Krakatoa : The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 by Simon WinchesterWhen I read this book about a year ago, I didn’t know quite what to expect, but I didn’t have high hopes. I was happily surprised to discover that Krakatoa is more than just a history of an eruption, it’s a geology book, a biology book, a history book, and more all rolled into one. Winchester explains everything from the development of plate tectonic theory to the effects of the telegraph to, of course, the eruption ofKrakatoa on August 27, 1883 and its consequences.
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Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time by Michael ShermerWhy People Believe Weird Things is one of those books that are great for having around and just reading a random section when you have some time. Shermer, a professional skeptic, does a great job of explaining what holocaust deniers and creationists say and believe as well as the scientific response.
Like playing Skat? Now you can play anywhere there’s a computer. (via Webpropaganda)
I hadn’t heard this one: “…going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion. You just leave a lot of useless noisy baggage behind.”
A discussion about interfering with standard browser behavior over at alexking.org led to the following statement: “You don’t own your visitor’s browsing experience, they do.”
But do they? At least, do they completely? After all, when a user decides to point their browser at any given site, they are inviting the designer of that site into their browser. Furthermore, while the image toolbar in IE, for example, is a part of standard browser behavior, the ability to disable it is just as much a feature of the browser. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean every feature should be taken advantage of; it’s a matter of choice.
For example, look at DVDs. There are a number of DVDs out there which disable the menu, fast forward, and chapter skip buttons until after the previews. Others let you skip the previews, while others just leave the decision to view the previews at all up to you by putting them in the menu. Now, if a viewer really dislikes not having the ability to skip the previews (having standard DVD player behavior changed) then they can choose not to purchase DVDs from companies that do that. Is disabling the image toolbar in IE the same as making somebody sit through movie trailers? That’s a judgement call.
Yes, the visitor does have an important say in things, because a visitor can always decide not to return. The browsing experience ultimately belongs to the visitor, but during his or her visit it is given to the designer for safe-keeping. Remember, possession is nine-tenths of the law. If the designer tries to go too far, though, the visitor can always steal the experience back by means of the back button.
The verdict? I’m not sure there can be a clear-cut rule as to whether this sort of things is ok or not. It depends on the designer and his or her intended audience. Just like so many other things.
Happy Anniversary to Daniel and Moriah! Hope the new apartment is working out for you guys.
I was looking through the “Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels” (via Mark) and when I got to the very bottom, I noticed that Scott Bradner had/has a classic email address. It seems to be his initials, at least if O is his middle initial.
Note to self: AOL Postmaster.info – For figuring out why the heck AOL doesn’t want anybody reading email from other servers.
My German friend Philipp was in the US recently, hosting his own show on the radio, among other things. He got to come over thanks to a program run by Marlboro. If you were in Utah during the last two weeks, you may have noticed a loud, rowdy bunch of partying Germans with a tall, goofy guy at the center of it all… that was Philipp and his cohorts.
Philipp and I have had a lot of good times, in the US and in Germany. I first met him when he came over with a group for three weeks in the summer. The highlight of our time together had to be the karaoke at the end. Likewise, this past semester another night out at karaoke made for another great time. Plus he and his girlfriend gave me a place to stay my last night in Berlin, saving me a bunch of money and making it possible for me to (truthfully) say I’ve driven around Berlin with an ironing board sticking out the sun roof. Ein deutscher Freund von mir war vor kurzem hier in den US, und er hatte eine Show im Radio. Er war hier wegen eines Programs von Marlboro. Wenn man in Utah während der letzten zwei Wochen war, hat man ihn und seine Kumpel wahrscheinlich gesehen: sie waren bestimmt laut und lustig, und er war dieser großer Mann in der Mitte. Philipp und ich haben viel Spaß gehabt, in den US und in Deutschland. Ich habe ihn zum ersten Mal kennengelernt als er in den US für drei Wochen mit einer Gruppe von Deutschland war. Am lustigsten während dieser Zeit war Karaoke. Ebenso haben wir Spaß bei Karaoke während dieses letzten Semester gehabt. Und er und seine Freundin ließen mich bei ihnen in Berlin übernachten, damit ich nicht so viel Geld ausgeben musste und jetzt (ehrlich) sagen kann, dass ich in Berlin mit einem Bügelbrett durch das Schiebedach gefahren bin.
