archive: bryce.weblogs.com

Down but Not Out

In a sign that not all is well in the world, I just spotted the following on Google News:

Hijacker slashes 2 Qantas attendants
SYDNEY - A man wielding sharpened wooden stakes slashed two flight attendants as he tried to hijack an Australian airliner yesterday in an apparent bid to crash the plane, officials said.

The Tax Cut: Revisited

Accuracy in Media on the tax cut: "By the way, because the percentage reduction in income taxes is greatest for families with incomes under $50,000, these families will pay a smaller share of the total income tax burden than they do under current law. Conversely, families with incomes of $100,000 or more receive a smaller than average percentage reduction in income taxes so they will pay a larger share of the total income tax burden under the new law than under current law. Under the Act, the share of income taxes paid by families with income of $100,000 or more will rise to 73.3 percent. So much for this tax cut benefiting only the rich. The Treasury Department says that those earning over $200,000 will pay -- on average -- $99,000 in federal taxes. Take those in the lowest bracket (under $30,000). They pay no income taxes and receive refundable credits of, on average, $411."

Term Papers Disappear in HS, Leave Students Ill Prepared for University

LA Times: "A report released recently by the National Commission on Writing in America's Schools and Colleges, a panel of academics gathered by the College Board, found that 75 percent of high school seniors never receive writing assignments in history or social studies. The study also found that a major research and writing project required in the senior year of high school ''has become an educational curiosity, something rarely assigned.'' In addition, by the first year of college, more than 50 percent of freshmen are unable to analyze or synthesize information or produce papers free of language errors."

Having graduated from high school and college not that many years ago, I find this very concerning.

IDEO: Design Guru in Portland Wed

Wednesday morning I will be up bright and early to catch a talk by Tom Kelley, general manager of IDEO, at The Benson Hotel in Portland. Often touted as the "world’s leading design consultancy specializating in innovation and product development," IDEO has designed products and services for BMW, Nike, Palm, Stanford, Starbucks and more. They designed both the Palm V, which quickly became an executive must-have, and the Handspring Treo communicators. It should be a fantastic time. Perhaps even a bit like a Tom Peters revival meeting.

 

Cycles

Last night, President Bush addressed the nation from aboard the USS Lincoln in the Gulf, saying that major combat operations in Iraq are now over, noting: "In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country...In this battle, we have fought for the cause of liberty, and for the peace of the world." The President referenced 09/11 and, drawing upon world history, placed this current battle in the context of the long-standing American legacy of fighting for liberty. A lot has changed since 09/11 -- both in our global village and in my own life.

...

It was sunny yesterday for the first time in weeks.

And this morning, our family was blessed with the arrival of my brother and his wife's first baby. For those that know our family well, the date could not have been more right.

Life is a gift. Give thanks.

Things That Just Don't Come Up in Ordinary Conversation

It's always startling what you might learn about a friend online. I know where someone might be going before her big trip. ;)

Safe travels, Moira. Will you be blogging along the way?

How to Turn Away Customers - The Flash Way

I just tried to visit the Coast Hotels & Resorts website and was greeted by this:

I have to be honest: I have had a bias against Flash since I first learned about it in the mid-1990s. It has lots of problems, chief among it that audio-browsers and other diverse clients can not interact with Flash. That said, I have been slowly coming around in the last year to appreciate some of the new user interface possibilites that it affords web applications.

I have gotten used to (though never too happy about) clicking the "skip intro" button that most web designers include in the all-too-often gratuitous Flash animations that grace many sites today. But this is a complete afront: a site that dares to insult its audience by saying, in effect: "we are so cool that we can demand you upgrade your software before we'll even open the door to our lobby." There is no low-res option! Unbelievable. Even the W3 admits it doesn't make any business sense to exclude visitors.

I have been cautiously optimistic about Coast Hotels & Resorts, a Canadian hospitality concern that just recently made its first foray in the USA with some re-flagging of trophy properties in Portland, Seattle and other markets. But this -- I must confess -- has now caused me to lose a lot of my trust in this organization. Let me in the door, let's chat, and then maybe I'll see a reason to upgrade to "learn more" about Coast. But DO NOT deny someone who is otherwise in your target audience of the opportunity to learn anything about your organization simply because I am visiting from my corporate PC (which has a standard software configuration). If anyone at Coast happens to check their referrer logs and find this commentary, I welcome your feedback. My recommendation to you is simple: made your home page universally accessible. Save the high zoot stuff for inside. Deal?