I've officially completed my web design certificate through
Sessions.edu.
My last two projects for the advanced typography course were
fun and challenging. While I don't recommend them if you need
a lot of motivation or one-on-one, they are a good value when
it comes to covering the basics at your own pace.
The advanced typography class delved quite a bit into how
letterforms inform mood, particularly in a cultural context.
One project involved designing a subculture-specific popcorn
box, and the other involved designing a new $20 bill...
:::
[ Warning: don't follow this link if it's not
OK to view nude, erotic, or kinky images. ] Hajime Sorayama
does amazing
images. He's one of my art heroes.
Speaking of art, I was browsing some art history books, and
came across something interesting about the ill-fated Ford
Edsel. All of Ford's lavish Market Research was for naught.
Ford wanted the front end of the Edsel to convey power, A
lot of people had a problem with the look of the Edsel, and
particularly with the design of the front grille, which I'd
heard referred to as a toilet seat, but I think the man-in-the-street
description was more candid: people associated the shape of
the grille with a vagina -- that's powerful, alright.
more
car history pics
:::
I'm basically a generous and sentimental guy, so please
don't construe from this email that I'm a lout. I think
it is important, however, to understand where our 'traditions'
come from, who profits from them, who is exploited by them,
and what we're getting in the bargain. There are many human
casualties in the diamond market and the 'tradition' isn't
more than three or four generations old.
Here is a rather in-depth and very interesting article
about the birth and careful nurturing of the diamond market
during the past 70 years. None of this is to say that they
don't necessarily look nice... :)
the
article (from The Atlantic, c. 1982)
a
few quick facts
Thanks, Warren.
How much evidence do we need before the tide of opinion changes?
Throughout the business scandals of this tempestuous summer,
President Bush has angrily denounced corporate criminals
and cheerily declared that the economy is heading in the
right direction. But his words have often had the opposite
effect than he intended, sometimes seeming to send the financial
markets diving.
"He opens his mouth, and the market goes down," said Stephen
Moore, the president of the Club for Growth, a political
action committee that supports conservative Republican candidates.
"I'm not saying he's responsible for the market crash. But
he hasn't inspired a rush for investors to get back in."...
"He obviously has not been very effective," said Senator
Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska, recalling that President
Bill Clinton had a forceful, calming presence in his treasury
secretary, Robert E. Rubin.
"People knew when they listened to Clinton that there was
something behind him," Mr. Hagel said. "There was Bob Rubin,
there was an economic team. I don't think the markets see
anything behind this president's words."
In part to address that problem, the White House is creating
a stage to showcase Mr. Bush as the commander of the economy.
On Tuesday, more than 200 mostly Republican guests ?a number
are major party donors ?are to attend an economic forum
at Baylor University in Waco, Tex. ...
At Mr. Bush's side will be Vice President Dick Cheney,
who until recently has been largely invisible to the public
while the Securities and Exchange Commission investigates
accounting practices at the Halliburton Company, the oil
services giant where Mr. Cheney was chief executive. ...
...Mr. Bush may face the same fate as his father, who was
enormously popular after the Persian Gulf war but lost the
1992 election in large part because of voters' perceptions
that he had lost control of the economy. ...
"People won't be reassured by a pep rally," said Robert
D. Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International.
"They will be assured by candid discussions and a frank
assessment of the strengths and challenges the economy faces."...
From "Authoritative
Voice on the Economy Still Lacking in Bush Administration"
[requires registration]
:::
Freezing mystery solved? I recently starte having problems
with random freezes after waking my machine from sleep. Had
no idea where it was coming from. Today, I upgraded WeatherPop
Advance [for Mac OS X], and noticed this in the revision
history: "Fixed issue which caused some freezing after
system wakes from sleep" - phew...
:::
Security flaw in IE?
...[Mike] Benham said Internet Explorer versions 5.0, 5.5
and 6.0 have loopholes in handling Web sites' digital certificates,
such as those from VeriSign, which verify Web sites as being
legitimate and also include unique code for encrypting information.
Essentially, any Web site operator with a valid certificate
could pretend to be any other Web site operator.
Theoretically, he said, attackers could successfully hijack
computer users -- such as over a company's internal network
-- as they went to banking or e-commerce Web sites and intercept
their information. Or they could send hijacked users to
dummy Web sites and get them to give personal information.
Other Web browsers, such as Netscape and Mozilla aren't
vulnerable, Benham said.
