Liberals Need to Grow a Pair

It's taken me about 6 months to internalize the reelection of George W. to be President a second time around. I did a lot of work on the Kerry campaign, and I think I've finally worked my way through all of the stages of grief. Time to start talkin' politics again. (Feel free to tune out now.)

It's finally dawned on me the exact moment when liberals and liberalism took the wrong turn that keeps them out of the presidency. A defining moment, this short exchange firmly established that liberals lack the plain guts to speak their minds and be bold, firm, and demonstrate their values and resolve. We became wusses when Michael Dukakis was asked by Bernie Shaw if he would still be opposed to the death penalty if his wife was raped and murdered.

I remember watching that debate back in 1988 and thinking; "Dang! That's an outrageous question. Dukakis better come back strong at him on that one."

But he didn't, he waffled and hemmed and hawed and gave an answer out of a law book. He was wishy-washy when what was needed was more like this:

"Bernie, if that happened to my wife I'd want to personally kill the man who did it. But in a society like ours we have given the right to seek retribution to the government. I would want that man caught, tried and punished, and I'd be certain that he got the full penalty of the law. But, in the case of capital punishment, I feel that sanctioning the death of another person by the state has a coarsening effect on our society. Not to mention the opportunity for error when a huge government agency gets put in charge of something. I'd sleep just fine knowing that anyone who harmed a member of my family would spend the rest of their natural lives locked up somewhere."

Americans want to hear plain talk from their leaders, and it's too rare that they get to hear it. And worst of all are my fellow liberals who insist on seeing every side of an issue and talking around problems until the average American is just dizzy from it all. And so we get stuck with the much lesser of the possibilities, a President who talks plain and straight because he is. Sadly he's also surrounded himself with men and women and supporters who haven taken America in directions that are just wrong. The liberals who could have made a difference in the last election let us down by once again coming off as mealy-mouthed on the one hand, but willing to say just about anything to get elected on the other.

Americans want values yes, but not the intolerance represented by the religious right and their, a relatively small minority that votes well. No, Americans want to know from a leader's actions and words exactly where he stands and what he is all about. George W. does that exceedingly well, while no Democrat that I have seen lately is able to do the same. (That Bill guy was sure good at sounding sincere. Too bad he was a liar who also damaged his party and cheapened the office of the Presidency.)

But even beyond the election, what Democrats and liberals desperately need to do is to start engaging the debate on all of the issues that surround our society and its direction. And I don't mean seating another panel of experts, holding hearings, or even getting on the Sunday new shows. I mean standing up and saying the things that need to be said.

That we do have problems with popular culture. It's not right that any kid in America can turn on their TV and see the worst of our nation displayed as a model of behavior. We need to get a handle on the kind of cheap trash that is on display and bring it under control of America's parents. Why should the parents of America have to condone a media conglomerate the chance to make a profit by pandering to our worst impulses and less mature instincts? Liberals are for family values? I want to hear more about it.

Liberals need to frame the whole debate about abortion and a woman's right to choose in the larger debate of what the heck has happened to fatherhood in our nation? Have we developed sub-cultures where it's common and acceptable for girls to be having babies at 14, 15, 16? And why is it that the boys get a pass on the consequences of their actions? When did our society decide it was OK for boys to just skip from girl to girl and have as many babies as they wanna? Or so disrespect the women in their lives that they think this is proper behavior? No. It's wrong and our society needs to do something about pregnancy prevention in a big way so that boys and girls learn to do the right thing. Abstinence, prevention, safe sex are all part of that debate, but liberals ought to be standing up and demanding responsibility from fathers too.

The list goes on, but the equation for other topics is just as basic. Americans don't want to hear catch phrases and buzz words, or a message crafted for a candidate by some consulting group. They want to hear about those values that matter--their families, their work, their neighborhoods. They want to have respect shown to their faith. Liberals need to find a way to be plain about those things, and to enunciate the real core values of what's important in our society. To stand up for something and believe it's important and to be unwavering in that belief in the face of criticism. To have the intestinal fortitude to stand firm.

Until they do they'll be giving over the reigns of power to those who do stand up for their beliefs, not matter how wrong they may be.

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Hey Kids! Do You Want Some Spyware?

A report at Security Pipeline finds that web sites with content intended for children are the most infested with adware, malware, and spyware of any categories studied. The study conducted by Symantec using brand new computers running Windows XP SP2 found this troubling statistic:

Children were the biggest target for spyware makers, by far. The trip to several kids' sites installed a whopping 359 pieces of adware on Symantec's PCs, five times more than the nearest category rival, travel. Popup ads proliferated on the machines after that, making them virtually unusable.

And these were sites that were considered mainstream, not the kinds of places that kids try to sneak off to when the teacher isn't watching and a hole is found in the firewall.

Great. Thank you captains of industry. Great business plan you got there.

via John Dowdell.

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Baby Name Visualizer

The Baby Name Visualizer is a cool Java-based application that allows you to type in a name and see a graph detailing the popularity of a name or names beginning with a particular letter over time.

My name is an unusual one for a male, and seeing the momentary rise of Kim as a boy's name confirmed what I always thought was true. The name was popular in the 1950's, probably due to the movie by the same name--based on the Rudyard Kipling story--that was released about the same time. I've always found that most guys I've met who shared my name were roughly my age, and the graph certainly confirms it.

It's fun to see the rise and fall of the popularity of names. Leslie, for instance, my grandfather's name, was popular for boy babies in the early 1900's, but steadily declined over time. Kaitlin, on the other hand, was unknown prior to 1970, but is wildly popular know.

Try some out on your own. Butch, Jesus, and Luke are good ones to try.

via Robin Good.

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Google Adsense in RSS: Bad Idea

There's news here and there about Google's new service that adds advertising to RSS feeds. The definitive word on this new service can be found at theLonghorn blog. When that post was written the experminet was still in Alpha testing.

Apparently it's gone further now as I noted the presence of ads in one of the blogs that I subscribe to. My reaction? I removed the blog from my Bloglines account and won't be tracking that particular blog any longer.

I'm not against advertising and run Adsense ads on this blog. See? Over there on the right? Those are ads. No telling what kinds of ads will pop up on this page since there's no telling what I'll be writing about from one day to the next. Truth be told though, the ads do very little for me, with the cost of hosting this blog, as modest as it is, still far exceeding the infinitesimal revenue that it generates. But hey, no problem. I write because I enjoy it and hosting costs less that a nice lunch. Or a cheap dinner. Or getting a few dozen live shrimp when I get a chance to spend some time fishing--my other favorite hobby.

But I don't want your ads in my RSS feeds thank you. It seems incredibly intrusive and a little more in your face than I'm willing to tolerate. I check Bloglines several times a day, scanning the headers to see if anything of interest has bubbled up. Ads break up my scanning routine and makes me pay an unwarranted amount of attention to the blog that runs them. So off they go. Good bye, nice knowing you, and thanks for all the fish.

Blogs and blogging are still searching for an economic model that fits them, but frankly in this case Google is way off target and I suspect that others will have the same reaction as I do to this forced feeding of advertising. Much like those nasty pop-up ads, RSS ads are not likely to be embraced by the reading public even if desperate bloggers look to them as a way to squeeze out a few bucks here and there. It's a bad idea that won't stick around for long.

I hope.

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The Hot Jobs of 2005

According to the Christian-Science Monitor, the hot jobs for graduates this year include lithium battery engineers, anyone with skills in the energy field, accountants, network security specialists, and.......plumbers.

Now there's a job that's probably safe from out-sourcing.

Then again, maybe not. Perhaps it would go something like this....

"Hello sir, thank you for calling Plumbers Are Us. How may I be of service to you on this fine Friday?"

"Um, it's Thursday."

"Oh, my great apologies. It is Friday where I am."

"Really? Where are you?"

"I am in a call center, but that it is not important. How may I serve you sir?"

"Well, I have a leak under my sink. Can someone come out and fix it?"

"Of course sir, but before we can send someone out we'll need to do a little investigation. Do you have a flashlight and a bucket and a cordless phone?"

'Well, yes, I can get those together. But can't you just send a plumber?"

"Oh sir, would that it was so easy. But plumbers are in high demand these days and we may be able to fix your leak without you having to incur additional expense. Plumbers are VERY expensive sir."

"Well, OK. I have my bucket and my flashlight."

"Very good sir. Now climb under the sink and tell me what you see please."

"I see water dripping from one of the pipes."

"Very good sir. Is it a large white pipe or a smaller pipe?"

"It's one of the smaller ones."

"VERY good sir. You see now that this is not so difficult, yes?"

"Um. Yes, but how do we fix the leak?"

"VERY easy sir. Do you have the bucket?"

"Yes."

"Very good sir. Place it under the leak. All fixed, yes?"

"Well, not really. It still leaks, but now the water goes into the bucket."

"Yes sir. Very glad to be of service. We will bill your account shortly."

"Hey! But it's not fixed. I want to get it fixed."

"Oh I see sir. You mean as in no longer leaking?"

"Of course I don't want it to leak anymore. I want a plumber. To come to my house. And fix the bloody pipe."

"Now sir, no need to get annoyed with me. I am only trying to do my job. I understand why this might be frustrating, but nothing will be resolved by shouting."

"Look. Is there a plumber that can come to my house? One that lives in my country and can drive over in a van filled with parts and tools and loose-fitting jeans that will slide down his butt? I need the pipe fixed."

"I do not know about this butt thing of which you speak sir.""Never mind. Bad joke. But I want the pipe fixed. I don't want to empty a bucket of water every day from under the sink."

"Well, sir, I wish I could help you, but there is a severe shortage of plumbers in your country. We have no one to send until 3 weeks from this Tuesday. Will that be acceptable?"

"Three weeks! Good Lord. No one can come sooner than that?"

"Well, we have some unemployed web designers that we could send over, but they'll just want to mess with your computer, not fix your plumbing. It that's acceptable we can have one of them there in about 20 minutes."

Click.

"Sir? Sir?"

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Smacked With the Musical Baton

I never even knew there was such a thing as a chain blog, but ones been bouncing around the web developer's blogs today and I've been officially sucked in by Tom Muck. Somehow I suspect Stephanie Sullivan is behind all of this. Regardless, this is kind of fun, so here we go:

Total volume:

6.32 GB

Last CD Bought:

Rob Thomas: Something to Be. (From iTunes. I rarely buy shrink wrapped CD's any more.)

Song Playing Right Now:

"Traveling Life" by John Hiatt. Or that was the last one playing on my way home.

Five songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me:

The iPod gets its greatest use when I'm walking/jogging/exercising in the morning, so these tend to be of the more uptempo get your butt moving variety.

--Easy to Slip (Little Feat)
--Smooth (Santana)
--Doctor My Eyes (Jackson Brown)
--Batsheba Smile (Richard Thompson)
--Steve McQueen (Sheryl Crow)

Five People to Whom I’m Passing the Baton

How about some of those wacky Team Macromedia people?

--Joe Lowery
--Murray Summers
--Patty Ayers
--~Angela Burgalia
--Laurie Casolino

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A Peek Inside the Jury Room

The trial I sat on as a juror ended yesterday afternoon with our finding that the defendant was guilty of DUI. While it wasn't a particularly sensational case, and won't even make the local newspaper, the process of serving on a jury and sitting through a trial was certainly interesting.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post serving with such a diverse group of fellow jurors was probably the best part of the experience. As the judge summed up for us as we were dismissed, jurors typically start off more than a little annoyed at having to be away from home and work to perform our civic duty, but then take the task seriously and diligently. That was certainly my experience with my fellow citizens: two white, four black, a retail clerk, a retiree, a UPS driver, a dialysis technician, clerk at a rental center and myself, we all seriously considered all the evidence and then used our common sense to reach a verdict. And in the moments when we were just sitting and talking as neighbors and fellow humans we took the time to learn a little about each other and our lives. It was a great opportunity to interact with people that we might only come into contact with in the most casual way in our day-to-day lives.

The case itself had its moments of drama, particularly as the defense attorney was very aggressive in defending his client. I suppose that's exactly what I'd want an attorney to do for me, but the number of objections and side bar conferences with the judge was more than a little annoying for those of us who had to sit and wait. And wait. And wait some more.

The facts in the case were a bit on the bare side. The person who was arrested was seen weaving "in his lane" and failed to stop at a stop sign and was pulled over at 1:30 a.m. some 19 months ago. The only witness was the arresting officer, and the video tape that was automatically recorded during the roadside sobriety test. The defense attorney grilled the police officer for well over two hours, all but accusing him of laying in wait for his client and lying under oath. Man! I'm glad I'm not a cop in that situation. Sitting in the witness stand and answering those sort of questions would be enough to make my blood boil.

In this case the defendant refused to take the breathalyzer test and under Florida law had to automatically give up his license for a year. So our job as the jury came down to deciding from the evidence if the driver was impaired. It wasn't clear cut from the video that he was really in a bad way, since he only stumbled on a few of the tests. As the defense laboriously pointed out, he got most of the tests right, but failed in a very minor way on others. So it was far from a slam dunk, this guy is drunk sort of decision.

What tipped the decision for me and my fellow jurors? If it was one thing it was the fact that the driver was barefoot and declined the opportunity to put on his shoes when the officer had him on the side of the road walking a straight line and doing the other tests. That to us meant he wasn't capable of making good decisions and was therefore legally impaired. And for whatever reason we all knew that not only was this guy intoxicated, he'd been through this drill before and knew himself that he was busted. (As the judge revealed after the sentence was announced, this was not his first DUI and he was driving on a suspended license the night he was arrested--something we weren't allowed to hear about during the trial.)

So, a few days away from work and justice was served. Not a bad way for a citizen to spend their time. And with the added bonus of getting to me some great people and hang out with them in the jury room--and see first hand why a trial by jury is the bedrock that our legal system was built on--serving on a jury turned out to be a pretty interesting ride.

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6 Words You Should Never Say To Your Wife

Those shoes are kind of ugly.

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Doing My Civic (Jury) Duty

Today was a day filled with fun and excitement as I got my second taste of reporting for jury duty. Unlike the first time, where I was rejected for an actual trial, this time I actually was chosen for the honor of helping to uphold the great American legal tradition of attempting to keep your eyes open while attorneys argue yet another arcane point of law. Or something. We can't hear what they say to the judge during these "may we approach the bench" moments, of which there were a great many. As my fellow juror on my left commented, "This ain't no Law and Order, is it?"

So far jury duty has involved long stretches of tedium broken by moments of simple boredom. A few hours sitting in the jury waiting room for your name to be called, and then the magic moment comes when you're called to the courtroom. There you sit while the judge stresses how important jury duty is, explains in great detail how the trial system works, asks a few open ended questions, and then turns the proceedings over to the jackals (I mean attorneys. Kidding!) to finish the questioning.

Then after a mere 2 hours or so of this the final names are called for the jury. I found myself flashing back to schoolyard days when you would choose up sides, hoping you were picked early in the process. (Oooh! Oooh! Pick me! Pick me!) Of course, it might have been better not to be picked, as that means another trip back to court tomorrow for the actual trial.

I suspect that more than a few of my fellow jurors-to-be couched their answers in such a way that they would not be chosen and could get back to their lives. ("Oh yes your honor. I think anyone who does that should be dipped in boiling oil, flayed with a cat-o-nine tails and dragged behind a speeding Cadillac through the very worst part of town. Presumption of innocence? Naaah. That's for wusses." Or something to that effect.)

OK, truth be told, it is important to serve when called and I have found the process interesting. If nothing else my fellow jurors are from all walks of life and being forced into a shared experience like this with total strangers is good for you. It's been sort of fun chatting in the jury room about our lives and our work with people I might not normally come into contact with. And of course the person on trial has the right to have their story heard by us and a decision made as to their guilt or innocence. And as the judge said today, once the door closes on the jury room we in effect become the government for a short time, and that is a pretty cool thing.

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Metaphors in Interaction Design

For a fascinating and in-depth look at how metaphors are useful, or not, in the design process, you can't do much better than spending a little time with Dan Saffer's master's thesis on the topic. (Link to PDF file.)

As you'd expect in a thesis, his points are carefully crafted, but his writing is easy to follow and he includes some fascinating examples of how metaphors can be successfully integrated into the design process. He also talks about the limits of their use and where they may not be appropriate or just flat wrong.

In his conclusion he writes (with some snipping on my part):

As I’ve shown, the use of metaphor, especially within products, can be a great
help or a terrible hindrance. To use a metaphor, metaphors are nuclear power
in interaction design: strong and effective, but can also blow up in your face
and cause many long-term consequences. So why risk using it?
The first reason is that we as humans can’t help it...

...The second reason is that there are a limited number of ways to
change perspective. (Metaphor) can be applied to many different
parts of the process and in all different types of products. Because of its
deep place in our language and thought, metaphor is also the most readily
available and thus the most “natural” to use in a variety of situations...

Lastly is that metaphor’s power to transform is too powerful a
tool to ignore. If all invention comes from the juxtaposition of two unlike
objects, then metaphor is at the heart of invention. And since invention
(and reinvention) is at the heart of Design as well, it stands to reason that
metaphor itself is at the center of Design as well.

Is it safe to say that when we speak of usability we are really talking about the appropriate use of metaphors? Dan makes some important points here, and discusses more on this topic at others at this Oh Danny Boy blog.

via Stephen Downes.

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The Joy of New Learning

This week I set myself the task of learning something new. In my case it was a crash course in using ActionScript and XML in Flash to create a menu bar. I didn't start out with that particular goal in mind, I just knew that I wanted to try something new and stretch my abilities a little bit. Even after teaching Flash for a few years there is an awful lot I don't know about that program, so when I was presented with a work assignment to create a design for a new micro-site I thought it would be a good time to try some new methods.

Luckily for me there were plenty of places to find references. One of the really important skills that anyone doing this kind of work needs to develop is the ability to find the resources needed to teach yourself something new. For me that means checking tutorials at Community MX (a paid service that I write for), doing the same at the Macromedia Developer's Center, and digging into the help files in the program itself. Those three references generally give me enough guidance to get me on my way.

So, late Friday afternoon I was doing a happy dance in my cubicle, not because what I had created was so awe-inspiring or magnificent, but because I had learned something. I'd gained new knowledge, applied the information, and succeeded in designing the widget I was after. As much as anything, it's the journey to acquiring new abilities that is the most fun. Puzzling through problems, finding out why things aren't working, those A-ha! moments when you realize what needs to be done, and seeing it all come together in the end are deeply satisfying. And as most of the research indicates, keeping our minds sharp by going through this process is fundamental to leading longer, happier lives.

Now, I wonder what I can learn next....

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When Much Good Comes from Standardized Testing

I haven't been shy in my criticism of standardized testing in general, and Florida's version in particular (the FCAT), so it only seems right that when there is evidence of the good that can come from evaluations done based on standards that I ought to fess up. Today's Palm Beach Post carries a story of how one school overcame all the odds and achieved success.

A tiny little farming community in a neighboring county was faced with what seemed to be an insurmountable task. How do you educate the children of Guatemalan immigrants so they can pass the reading and writing portions of the FCAT? How do you respond to a system that evaluates your kids and compares them to students in other schools where they have none of the disadvantages that yours face? Poverty, parents with little or no formal schooling, and a home where English isn't spoken would all seem to preordain these students and this school to failure.

And yet the teachers and the school have more than risen to the challenge, with the students not only passing their FCATs, but doing so in such a way that the school has received an "A" in the Florida grading system.

How did they do it? First and foremost, the teachers are caring and competent. No, competent doesn't really capture the dedication and drive that these teachers have exhibited in their efforts to make sure that every child learns. They are committed in a way that only a true believer can be. They believe their students will succeed, then use all the tools at their disposal to make sure it happens. They devote long hours to perfecting their craft and insinuate themselves into every aspect of their student's lives. A girl is squinting and can't see the board? They insure she gets to the doctor and gets the glasses they need. They arrange field trips outside their community to excite their children and give them interesting material to write about. But mostly they care about their kids and they care about their school.

Did all of this come about because of the FCAT? Not hardly. I would suspect that these teachers cared deeply about their students long before letter grades were assigned to how well their students were being taught. But what standardized testing can provide is a focus, a starting point for the examination of teaching methods and how well they work. And that is not a bad thing. Mixed together with those talented teachers the end results can be pretty amazing.

Read the full story at the Palm Beach Post.

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Mockingbirds: The Lounge Lizards of the Animal Kingdom

It's springtime here in south Florida and that means one thing: the mockingbirds are at it again.

If there is any animal out there with a more desperate, strident, and overly-enthusiastic mating ritual I'd be truly frightened to come into contact with it. As I write this, with the doors and windows of the house closed and the air-conditioning happily burbling away I can still hear the darn mockingbird on the telephone pole out back.

And what exactly has he been "singing" about since 4:00 this morning? One can only assume that it's something like this:

"Come on baaaaaaaaaaaaabeee! Come on babeeee! Over here!! Here I am! Come on baaaaaaabeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

This has been going on for 3 hours non-stop now, and will continue every morning until Mr. Mockingbird finds what he needs.

For gosh sakes, aren't there any female mockingbirds in the neighborhood? Would one of you please put this poor pathetic sod out of his misery and give it up a little. Or is this like the old joke about foreplay involving four hours of begging. Except in the mockingbird's case it's more like two months of constant "Come on babeeee!!! Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaase come over here and see me!. I've got bugs. A Ferrari. Gold chains. What's your sign babeeeeeeee?"

Ack. I feel for the guy, truly I do. I know what it's like to long for female companionship of the intimate kind. After all, I've been married for nearly 18 years and my wife and I have as much trouble finding time for quality canoodling as these poor birds apparently do. But good Lord, I'm a little embarrassed for the poor thing. Back in the day when I was single and looking I'd feel the same unease watching middle-aged guys hitting on everything in a skirt, only to be rejected again and again. Mockingbirds are just like that, only much more public in their efforts and apparently feeling no shame about advertising their desperation.

(Then again, single middle-aged guys with loud motorcycles may be the current equivalent of the desperately lonely male trying all the wrong things to impress the ladies."Vrooom! Hey babeeee! VROOOOOOOOOOOOOM! Check out my deep throaty rumble!")

Some come on lady mockingbirds. Do us all a favor and get this guy settled down. You know you want to build a nest and get on with the whole baby mockingbird making and raising thing. Why make all of us suffer? I'll sleep better and our boy will be a whole lot happier if you'll just consent to the hook up that he is so vociferously asking for.

Besides, if this goes on much longer I may have to pull out the old BB gun and there will be one less mate for you to choose from.

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MoveOn.org's Latest Flash Campaign

While I may have mixed feelings about the President's Social Security "plan", I can certainly admire good Flash animation when I see it. MoveOn.org has been sponsoring another contest of late and drawn another huge number of Flash-based entries. The winner, featuring original music and some very simple but incredibly smooth animations is "If It Ain't Broke, Don't Privatize It.

For the record, I agree with the need for reform, but just can't get my head around the idea that we should turn over retirement accounts to private for-profits to do what exactly? Look out for our best interests? Work hard to keep administrative costs low so I get a better return on my investment?

Oh wait. That's right. Their motivation will be profit. I'm sure I'll sleep much better at night knowing that my money is being well tended.

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Palm Beach: Now the Official Home of America's Greatest Blowhards

In a town that is already home to Rush Limbaugh and Donald Trump there wouldn't seem to be room for another titanic ego, but apparently we just can't get enough. Ann Coulter has purchased a home in Palm Beach.

So, let me be the first liberal to welcome you to our wonderful home Ann. (I know I live on the wrong side of Lake Worth, but we're almost neighbors.) You couldn't have found a place more akin to people of your persuasion. After all, until just a few years ago people who had dark skin were routinely arrested just for being in town after 6 p.m., and that has to make you feel more secure. Of course the help were issued special passes from the Palm Beach police so they could be in town when on official domestic business. It wouldn't do to have Consuela of Ruby go missing when there were toilets to be scrubbed or canapes to be served. (And where else are you going to find help that can "help" if you need a little something to improve your mood. Rush can clue you in on that one.)

You can also be sure that you have plenty of social opportunities without those pesky Jews infiltrating your club. They tend to be unabashedly liberal after all. Palm Beach has a long history of excluding Jews from most of the tony clubs where the hoity toity gather. Boy! That attitude has to be refreshing after coming from New York! (Yes, even the Bath and Tennis Club has had to admit a few token Jews, but we know there's really been no change in the attitude here darling. Damn liberal media raised such a stink that they had to be thrown a bone.)

There are a wealth of other reasons why you'll fit right in to the Palm Beach lifestyle, Ann. Worth Avenue, with it's exclusive shops and even more exclusive clientele, will be a great place to spend the money you've garnered from being America's foremost female hate-monger. And honey, you won't have to worry about anyone throwing a pie at you on Worth Avenue or anywhere else in Palm Beach. With the greatest ratio of police to resident in the entire U.S. you can feel safe and secure strolling the Avenue or lunching with Rush at Taboo'. Heck, I'll bet the police would even throw that switch they have that simultaneously raises all the drawbridges back to the mainland if something like that were to happen. You can plan to shop, dine, and indulge with impunity and peace of mind Ann.

Finally Ann, you know that Palm Beachers are your people. Yes, they do have that annoying habit of throwing balls each winter to help out the underprivileged of the world and donate to worthy causes, but that's not liberalism, just good social theater. I know you don't do irony, but you have to find the idea of a Palm Beach socialite spending $15,000 on a dress to attend a ball so $100 of her admission price will go to some poor, downtrodden sod or some typically liberal "cause" rather delicious. The jokes on them isn't it? Instead of just donating the $15K to the education foundation or cancer research or whatever the cause de jour might be the truly wealthy make a party out of it.

I can go on and on. Want to affix that sneer on your face in a more permanent way? Hey, we have the best plastic surgeons on the planet right here. Need a car, jet, diamond or just about anything else that says "I've arrived. I'm rich. Screw you.", then Palm Beach is your place. And don't worry about having to rub shoulders with the likes of me. Your limousine will whisk you straight from the airport to the home of perfectly manicured lawns and obedient servants without so much as a pause to notice any of those unwashed masses that populate the rest of the county. Just keep your eyes straight ahead until you hear the tires on the drawbridge and you see Donald Trump's place and you'll be fine.

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In the World of NCLB It's All About the Data

This week I cut an advertisement from one of the educational technology magazines I get that featured the tag line: "It's All About the Data". In a fit of institutional subversiveness I tacked it on my bulletin board and added my own tag: "Wrong. It's All About the Students.

It's astounding the amount of energy, effort, and money that is now being poured into the testing, evaluation, and monitoring of student testing--all driven by No Child Left Behind requirements that place the emphasis on test results over learning. Where much of the work in the field of educational software previously went into finding new ways to engage students and improve their learning we now spend our time cracking open their little heads and peering in to see what factoids might have stuck in there.

Luckily there are some efforts being undertaken to see what particular types of technology actually impact learning, rather than simply measuring who has learned and how much. SETDA’s PETI Framework and Suite of Tools Address as reported at THE Journal has been announced as a means to measure the impact of technology on learning. I've only had a chance to glance at this, but it appears that there now may be a standardized method for examining the effectiveness of educational technology in order to justify expenditures--another lovely requirement of NCLB.

via Ray Shroeder.

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Web Developer's Corollary to Murphy's Law

Client's will always use the *one* browser that causes the most problems with your page design.

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6 Words You Don't Want To Hear When Your Project is on Deadline

"We better run that by Legal."

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Change (the Education System) or Die

What if you were presented with this choice: Change your habits or you will surely die. You'd change, right? Actually, only 1 out of 9 people would, according to research that is summarized at this excellent article at FastCompany.com.

Alan Deutschman relates the story of how people's inherent resistance to change extends even to those decisions that they know will profoundly impact their lives. While the start of the article details the fact that the vast majority of health issues in the U.S. are related to personal choices people make (eating, exercise--or lack thereof, smoking, drinking) he deftly weaves that story into the difficulty that businesses face in changing their corporate cultures.

And education? It's safe to say that in many ways we face the same challenges--and resistance to change--that face corporations today. An industrial model of education that hasn't changed in 90+ years is often cited as something that needs to profoundly change in order to face the challenges of the future. But do we? We do not.

The problem, according to several sources cited in this story, is the notion of frames of reference--our inherent human inability to accept new ideas that don't fit into our carefully constructed idea of the way the world works. What's needed is a leadership vision that speaks to our human emotions and our need to reframe ideas in ways that make sense.

Howard Gardner, a cognitive scientist, MacArthur Fellow "genius" award winner, and professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Education, has looked at what works most effectively for heads of state and corporate CEOs. "When one is addressing a diverse or heterogeneous audience," he says, "the story must be simple, easy to identify with, emotionally resonant, and evocative of positive experiences.

For education then the challenge of the coming years will not necessarily be to devise new systems, new high-stakes tests, or new organization structures to address the needs of our students. The real challenge will be to frame the need for change in a way that speaks to the parents and teachers of our students. To help them understand that the continued success of our very nation depends on creating a workforce and citizens that will carry on the long traditions of excellence that marks our country's past. To look for the positive effects that educational reform can bring and show how change will maintain our success and lead to even greater accomplishments in the future. In other words, we must place the need for change in positive light and speak to the opportunities ahead of us and the ways that change can make things happen.

That's a tall challenge for many educational institutions and their leaders.

via Stephen Downes' OLDaily.

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How To Lose My Business

Yesterday I set out for one of our local malls in search of a new wristwatch. Yes, there are any number of things that I'd rather do than go shopping, such as getting a root canal, being beaten senseless by a band of malicious midgets, or even getting a hair cut. But, the back of my previous watch literally fell off last week as I was heading out the door to Las Vegas, and the cheap-o emergency replacement I picked up at the drug store was far from satisfactory.

I'm a bit persnickety when it comes to watches. Not that I'm into expensive watches mind you, but I'm particular. For instance, for over ten years I wore the exact same Casio watch--a goofy looking model with a calculator built in that despite being butt-ugly was incredibly useful for the kind of work I was doing at the time. For the past 4 years or so I've had a perfectly nice Timex that stands up to the abuse that I tend to dish out to items like watches, reading glasses, and sunglasses. Since I'm so hard on them spending a lot of money just doesn't make sense. When I inevitably scratch the face, break the band, or even run down the battery I'd rather just toss the old one and pick up a replacement.

That was my plan yesterday, but my somewhat fashion-conscious wife convinced me that maybe the time had come for me to get a "good" watch. Oh, OK. Maybe something with a stainless steel band that would hold up to salt water and not fade in sunlight might be a good idea. With no bands of midgets about to administer a beating it was off to the mall instead.

And so I wandered the mall, looking at watches, choking at price tags that seemed patently ridiculous. $500 for a watch?! Come on man. I have a lot better uses for $500 than to be able to tell what time it is.

Finally, I found some nice watches at a major retailer that were on clearance. (Major Retailer may go unnamed here except to note that the name begins and ends with an "S" and has its headquarters in Chicago.) Really, these were pretty nice Swiss-made watches, and at 60% off not too ridiculously priced. Assuming one of them fit and wasn't too heavy Sears (oops) has themselves a sale.

Not being one to frequent the malls I assumed that the transaction would take place in the usual manner. A nice salesperson would greet me, ask if I needed help, show me the item I wished to buy, and if all was to my liking I would turn over my debit card and close the deal. That's how retail sales work, right?

Apparently not. Apparently the procedure is much different, at least at this particular Sears store, the one on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard. (Ooops. There I go again.)

At this particular Sears store, the one in the Palm Beach Mall (Dang! I keep slipping!), there is a finely tuned dance between salesperson and customer that goes something like this:

1. Customer: Stand at the counter in front of the items you wish to examine.

2. Salesgirl: Ignore the customer. Avoid making eye contact at all costs.

3. Customer: Wait patiently for 5 minutes of so. Try to catch the salesgirl's eye.

4. Salesgirl: Hide behind the kiosk. Appear busy. Avoid eye contact.

5. Customer: Clear throat after 5 minutes or so. Several times.

6. Salesgirl: Scurry out of the kiosk to the other side of the counter. Put some stuff away. Avoid eye contact.

7. Customer: "Excuse me? Could I look at one of these watches please?"

8. Salesgirl: Sigh loudly. Continue working at kiosk.

9. Customer: "Um, miss? Could I look at one of these watches please?"

10. Salesgirl: Sigh even more loudly. Mumble something that the customer can not make out. Continue working at kiosk.

11. Customer: "Ma'am? Could I see one of these watches please?"

12. Salesgirl: Resign yourself to the fact that this boob is not going to go away on his own. Shuffle over to where he is standing. Screw your face into a mixture of disdain and displeasure at having been forced--against your will!-- to walk 15 feet to tend to his needs. Mumble "Can I help you" in such a way that the customer immediately understands that providing "help" is the furthest thing from your mind.

13. Customer: Take in the salesgirl's attitude and facial expression in one instant and say, "You know, I was thinking of buying a watch. But since you obviously can't be bothered to wait on me, and since your attitude towards me is that I'm a nuisance, I think I'll take my hard-earned money elsewhere."

14. Salesgirl: Sigh. Roll eyes. "Whatever". Like you care.

15. Customer: Stomp out of the store. Vow never to step foot into that particular Sears store again.

16. Customer: Head across the street to Target and buy another Timex from a friendly salesgirl who actually wants to be helpful.

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Why Businesses, and School Administrators, Don't Blog

Earlier this week I was contacted by a freelance writer who is working on an article about why school administrator don't blog. His question was simple. Why aren't more school district and school administrators blogging? For fear that tipping my hand here will drastically cut into the magazine's sales (as my many loyal readers might choose not to buy the magazine after reading the response here) I won't go into any great detail on my answer. But, the question is one that I've thought about in a more global sense lately.

There have been some thoughtful pieces lately around the edges of this story--or lack of a story. Depending on which blog you read the whole blogging revolution is either marks the end of the main stream media, a terrific way to build communities, or simply another way to market products. (That whole mainstream media thing has even spawned its own derisive acronym--MSM--to describe traditional journalism that is headed pell mell into the dustbin of history. Gee. I'm sure gonna miss The New York Times and Wall Street Journal and Christian Science Monitor.)

For the mainstream readers of the world blogs remain a mystery. Sure, it's news to the news gatherers and early adopters, but to the vast majority of folks who are content to open up Google and look for information on their own, the whole notion of creating and maintaining subscriptions is foreign and just a little too geekishly weird for them to bother with. That will likely change as the methods for tracking blogs and RSS feeds improve and are incorporated into tools (i.e. browsers and mainstream services and corporate portals) so that the average Joe and Jane can take advantage of that information source. In time blogs, and RSS, will hit the big time and more and more people will become comfortable with having information gathered for them rather than having to go out and find it. As blogging continues to ooze its way into the public consciousness the question of who should be blogging is a valid one.

Let's start then with a look at business blogging. There are more than a few parallels between the business and education world after all. Two recent articles took a look at blogging as a business model and provided some insights valuable to school administrators.

Graeme Thickens leads off his article titled Enough With the Blogging Already with this:

We've had a near-continuous stream of blog-hype in our faces for quite some time. Both online and traditional media just can’t seem to dish up enough of it. But if you, like me, have about had your fill, you'll agree it’s time to do a reality check. In all the cacophony of this breathless blog exhuberance, there remains one largely unspoken truth: Business just isn’t jumping up and down about it.

Sure, many of the bloggers themselves could be considered small businesses. But most are tiny, often one-person shops, such as independent contractors, consultants, freelancers and the unemployed. You wouldn’t be wrong if you assumed that most of these people either (a) have too much time on their hands, or (b) are always looking for another attention-getting promotional vehicle so they can get some paying work.

From there we get a list of 10 reasons why businesses don't blog--from the valid (lack of time) to the inane (businesses don't do passion). Great, a company that's dispassionate about their product is sure to gain lots of market share. And the idea that businesses "already do a good job of communicating"? Methinks not.

The telling correlation for education is found down in the comments to the article where Steve Nelson writes:

You have a nice list of objections, from the perspective of the business. Where's the perspective of the customer? If customer requirements and expectations are evolving faster than (or different from) your list of "business likes this, business doesn't like that", your list loses relevance. If customers like business participation in blogging, that holds a lot more water to me than a list of what businesses don't like.

And to me this is where education blogs may or may not gain traction as an official yet informal means of communicating with their customers--the parents. If parents come to expect that principals and district-level administrators provide a means for communicating that is personal and immediate, that is subscribable and archived, then blogs that tell the story of what is happening in schools right now may gain some traction.

A different perspective is offered by Business Week magazine in Blogs Will Change Your Business.

Most of you are sick to death of blogs. Don't even want to hear about these millions of online journals that link together into a vast network. And yes, there's plenty out there not to like. Self-obsession, politics of hate, and the same hunger for fame that has people lining up to trade punches on The Jerry Springer Show. Name just about anything that's sick in our society today, and it's on parade in the blogs. On lots of them, even the writing stinks.

Here's the key point from this excellent article: "Companies over the past few centuries have gotten used to shaping their message. Now they're losing control of it."

Can schools afford to lose control over their message? Can school administrators ignore the critical mass of information that will ultimately be published about what's happening in education? More importantly, will schools be able to relate the successes and exciting things that are happening in their classrooms each and every day or will they allow others to tell their stories for them?

Imagine an infinite number of Letters to the Editor available for parents to write about what goes on in your school. Don't you just love Letters to the Editor? What? You don't? Well, imagine that those letters are being written and published each and every day by a growing number of bloggers, and that it's only a matter of time before you're the one being taken to task because little Johnny's teacher gave him a D when he should have gotten an A. When your dress code is dissected and discussed in detail unimaginable. When your policies are aired for all the world to read. And that it's done without any editorial review by your local newspaper or any rules. That is the potential firestorm of information that may await you.

For now blogs are newsworthy in the same way that the very early Internet was. Critical mass has not been reached, but it seems evident that in the coming few years blogs, and perhaps most importantly, the syndication of information that allows others to be notified when you have something new to say, will gain more and more notice as just another way of gathering information.

Will your school or school district be ready? The time to prepare is now. At the very least administrators should start reading and subscribing to education-related blogs and creating search agents to track information about their schools and districts. There's an awful lot happening out there and if you're unaware then it's likely that one day you'll wake up and find that a discussion has been taking place about you without your participation.

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