Compassionate Curmudgeon

Nettle Takes on the ACLU

One of my favorite weblogs is Nettle, which specializes in critiques of the user experience at various and sundry web sites. For example, Nettle did an excellent series on Netflix; if you are considering signing up for Netflix, you really ought to read what Nettle has to say.

Recently Nettle confronted the ACLU over its privacy policies and the design of its web site and managed to get the ACLU to make some changes. It's a good story in three parts: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Watch Those Stairs

Shortly after I moved into my current house, my parents paid a visit.

Although my mother isn't normally critical, I had been careful to do a thorough cleaning from top to bottom. Shortly before they arrived, I realized that the one area I hadn't cleaned was the staircase that leads down to the basement. Oh, well, I thought; no big deal.

The visit went well, but as we climbed the steps from the basement I heard my mother exclaim quite loudly: "Oh, these stairs are so dirty!"

It was only later on that I realized that she had actually been commenting on how sturdy the stairs were...

Commodore Perry

The nytimes has an interesting Op Ed piece by Christopher Benfey about Commodore Perry and the opening of Japan to trade with the West:

This year marks the 150th anniversary of Commodore Matthew Perry's fabled "opening" of Japan. If you said, "Commodore who?" you wouldn't be alone. Commodore Perry -- Matthew Calbraith Perry, to be exact -- has faded from American memory, even though every Japanese school child knows his name.

In 1853, Perry brought a fleet of four heavily armed "Black Ships" into Edo Bay, near present-day Tokyo, and demanded, in the name of President Millard Fillmore, that Japan open its ports to American ships. Japan, which had been closed to foreigners for more than two centuries, complied, and Perry steamed home expecting a hero's welcome.

He was disappointed, for Washington had more pressing concerns than a tiny archipelago across the Pacific: namely, the extension of slavery into the West and the threatening noises about secession from Southern senators. Perry decided he needed public relations help.

more

Although Commodore Perry's name may have faded in the American consciousness, he's well known, of course, to any fan of Stephen Sondheim, whose Pacific Overtures (written in collaboration with John Weidman) tells the story of the interaction between Japan and the West.

921 Delay

Update 2004/01/04: Finally some good news.

[sigh] There appears to be a delay in the release of the Dish 921 High Definition PVR.

My dealer has been unable to obtain a unit so far. More info as soon as I get it.

BTW, DISH seems to be adopting the more-accepted DVR (Digital Video Recorder) terminology, probably to reduce consumer confusion. Good for them.

Which Founding Father Are You?

Online personality tests can be fun, even if they are meaningless.

For example, this test tells me that I'm most like John Adams:

Which Founding Father Are You?

As I said, meaningless but fun.