Monday, October 31, 2005
Halloween at Microsoft
This year my sons dressed as Harry Potter and Superboy for Halloween. Every year Microsoft has a day for children to come through the halls and trick-or-treat. Baskets and buckets of candy are outside most offices and in common areas. It's a warm (and dry!) place for kids and they can collect a lot of candy. I also took my older son trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. Despite the chilly weather and occasional drizzle, there were quite a few kids out. Similar weather in Boston would normally cut way down on trick-or-treating. I guess the kids here aren't as bothered by a little rain.
I heard a report the other day that estimated that Americans would spend about $1 billion on Halloween candy this year. People tend to buy much more than they need so that they "won't run out". But somehow all that excess candy get eaten...
I heard a report the other day that estimated that Americans would spend about $1 billion on Halloween candy this year. People tend to buy much more than they need so that they "won't run out". But somehow all that excess candy get eaten...
Death of the Death Star Logo?
SBC Communications announced last week that it will adopt the AT&T name following the completion of its acquisition of the company. But they're not going to use the AT&T logo. The plan is to "unveil a fresh new logo". SBC's logo is pretty ugly. I shudder to think what sort of "fresh new logo" will appear for the merged company. As much as people liked to make fun of the AT&T logo as looking like The Death Star, it's a classic logo and is part of AT&T's identity. Whoever is doing the new logo design is going to have to work a miracle to make the design crowd happy.
Carve your own pumpkin
It may be too late to carve a real pumpkin for Halloween this year but you still carve this one.
How rich are you?
Find out how rich you are compared to the rest of the world. Details on how the calculations are done can be found here. It's a gross simplification of wealth — it doesn't account for cost-of-living differences nor accumulated wealth vs. salary. But the intent is laudable: to make you feel rich so that you'll give some of your "extra" money to a worthwhile charity.
Taboo
I'm not sure what got me thinking about this the other day but I wondered about the etymology of the term Taboo. It's clearly not English. A little digging turned up the origin. Taboo comes from Tongan, a Polynesian language. It was brought back from Polynesia by British explorer James Cook. I wonder what word was used in English before taboo was imported? Or was a taboo subject just so difficult to discuss that there wasn't even a word for the general concept?
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Bouncy Balls
Back in July an ad agency dropped 250,000 colored superballs down a San Francisco hilltop street (the corner of Filbert and Leavenworth). Here's the resulting TV commercial for the Sony BRAVIA. Very nice.The superballs must have a matte finish because they don't really look three-dimensional.
Watching this I wonder how they got the city to allow them to do this? Also, I wonder if they had to hire "ball wranglers" to collect them after the shoot? Anyone living in San Francisco or nearby know? (Via BoingBoing)
Update: Ned points out in the comments that there's a Behind The Scenes video available here. It shows how they launched and then collected the balls or each shoot. The clip has a lot of talking heads but the action scenes are fun to watch. I liked the sequence where the crew run for cover as the Bouncy Ball hailstorm comes cascading down the street. The sound of the balls being shot out of cannons and bouncing down the hill gives a menacing feel. Someone could probably combine the commercial and some of the content here into the trailer for Attack of the Bouncy Balls.
Did the Jedi Have It Coming?
This article makes the persuasive argument that the Jedi had it coming. (Via Damien Wang)
Update: Andrew points out in the comments Jonathan V. Last's article The Case for the Empire in The Daily Standard.
Update: Andrew points out in the comments Jonathan V. Last's article The Case for the Empire in The Daily Standard.
Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?
Do you think your math skills have gotten rusty? Check here and see if you can handle an 8th grade math quiz.
Snowstorm packs October surprise
Snow in October? Wow. Boston weather has sure gotten weird.
Friday, October 28, 2005
DriveTime
Ravi Jain has started a video blog he calls DriveTime. He records during his daily commute to work. Ravi lives in the Boston area and commutes to work from Jamaica Plain through Coolidge Corner and on to Allston.His driving route is through relatively congested areas giving him plenty of time to chat — coincidentally his drive take him right by my old apartment in Brookline.
Ravi is looking for guests for his video blog. They just have to be willing to accompany him on his commute. It's a clever idea. And unlike the bland sameness of the typical talk show, on Ravi's show there's the excitement of almost getting side-swiped by another car, as happened during his second show. Boston driving is always an adventure.
Sox vs. Socks
Last year the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series title since 1918. This year the Chicago White Sox won their first World Series title since 1917. But why are these two teams called "Sox" and not "Socks"? Slate's Explainer has the answer.
Note: in the business world, SOX has taken on a meaning that's a lot less exciting. That is, unless you're a company that sells SOX compliance services.
Note: in the business world, SOX has taken on a meaning that's a lot less exciting. That is, unless you're a company that sells SOX compliance services.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Hyperion image
NASA's Cassini spacecraft took this amazing image of Saturn's moon Hyperion. It looks like a massive chunk of coral.
Fog and Frost
This was an exceptionally pretty morning: a thin coating of frost covered the grass and plants. Between the frost and the crystal-clear blue sky was a thin layer of fog. The combination with Mount Ranier visible in the distance was stunning. I should have stopped to take a few pictures but I doubt that I would have been able to fully capture it all.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Pop!
At a school activity last night, several kids were disappointed that there wasn't any pop. Pop? That's right, we live in pop country now. In the US there's the great Pop vs. Soda divide. I grew up in upstate New York. To me it'll always be soda. In the Boston area most people say soda although as I noted before, you often hear people say "tonic" — a term that doesn't appear on the diagram.
By the way, what's up with these people who call soft-drinks Coke? That's like saying Google rather than web search. Which makes me wonder... Coca-Cola is very aggressive at protecting their trademark. Isn't Google worried about their trademark rights as their name gets used as a generic term for web search?
How Much Is My Blog Worth?
Dane Carlson has created a web app using Technorati's API to compute the dollar value of a blog. Here are my results:
My blog is worth $21,452.52.
How much is your blog worth?
Tagged
Attaching a radio-tracker collar or tag to an animal is common in wildlife research. Obviously the tagged animal isn't aware that its location is being tracked. But what about tracking people? How would you feel about having your location tracked? Services that offer location tracking via cellphone networks have become popular in several countries especially Korea. I understand the potential benefit but it sounds invasive. And cellphones aren't the only devices that can disclose your location. Applications such as Location Finder can use WiFi access points or reverse IP lookup to determine where you are.
There's an old New Yorker cartoon with the caption "On the Internet no one knows you're a dog". Perhaps not but they may know where you are.
There's an old New Yorker cartoon with the caption "On the Internet no one knows you're a dog". Perhaps not but they may know where you are.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Alpha breaks record
Each year the National Weather Service designates a set of 21 names for North Atlantic tropical storms. The names progress alphabetically with alternating female/males names using all the letters of the alphabet except for Q, U, X, Y and Z. The Greek alphabet (Alpha, Beta, etc.) is used to name any additional storms. That's why this hurricane season's record-breaking 22nd tropical storm is named Alpha. I wonder what happens if a Greek-lettered storm is notable. Do they retire the name?
Monday, October 24, 2005
Make It Stop
When I receive a voice message at work it's automatically transferred to my Inbox as a mail message with an audio file attachment. It's a handy feature. But connecting phone and email systems can have unintended consequences. When I started at Microsoft and opened my Inbox for the first time it contained several hundred voicemail messages. Each was about 60 seconds long. The calling numbers were from all over. A new one appeared every few minutes. A simple mail rule dealt with that but why are they arriving and how can I make them stop? The message content was the key. Each one was a sequence of beeps. It sounded like Fax machines were trying (and retrying) to connect to something. A little detective work turned up what they were looking for. My work number had been used at one time by MSNBC as a Fax number. The fix? My number was changed and the influx of messages stopped. That works fine for me but it would be nice if there was some way to return the phone system equivalent of an HTTP 404 or 302 status so that Fax machines would stop trying connect.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Animatronic Chimpanzee Head
Wow, this is creepy — Sharper Image is selling a fully-animated, lifelike, robotic chimpanzee head. It is amazing: watch the video. But what's it for? Well, you can put the chimp in "Guard" mode: when someone enters the room, it can be programmed to be in a "Feisty" mood where he'll swing his head quickly from side to side and screech. Just imagine the fun.
Under the Sea... And Back
We went for a drive on Saturday afternoon and stopped in Mukilteo to visit a lighthouse on Puget Sound. We saw a large group of people standing by a boat launch. A couple of tow trucks and a van full of equipment were parked nearby. The group seemed to be waiting for something to happen. But what? They were waiting for a submerged SUV to surface.
While launching a boat into the water an inexperienced teenage driver had allowed the family's SUV to get too far into the water. The boat trailer and truck were dragged into Puget Sound. Fortunately no one was hurt but the SUV and trailer were completely submerged. They weren't visible from the surface.
When we arrived a diver had just surfaced. He had connected a tow cable to the truck to pull it out. We watched it slowly emerge. The back windows were burst open. It wasn't clear if that was from the force of the water on the way out or on the way under the water.
The photo below was taken a couple minutes after they started towing. The boat you see in the background was the one launched from the trailer. The Dad is on board. He looked concerned but less upset than I would expect.
Update:This was on the local television news on Sunday night. They showed video of the SUV going under. Before it sank, the owner tried to nudge it to shore with his boat but was unsuccessful.
While launching a boat into the water an inexperienced teenage driver had allowed the family's SUV to get too far into the water. The boat trailer and truck were dragged into Puget Sound. Fortunately no one was hurt but the SUV and trailer were completely submerged. They weren't visible from the surface.
When we arrived a diver had just surfaced. He had connected a tow cable to the truck to pull it out. We watched it slowly emerge. The back windows were burst open. It wasn't clear if that was from the force of the water on the way out or on the way under the water.
The photo below was taken a couple minutes after they started towing. The boat you see in the background was the one launched from the trailer. The Dad is on board. He looked concerned but less upset than I would expect.
Update:This was on the local television news on Sunday night. They showed video of the SUV going under. Before it sank, the owner tried to nudge it to shore with his boat but was unsuccessful.
Friday, October 21, 2005
We share your pain
Years ago in the Domino discussion forum a business partner was upset about some product behavior. He got pretty wound up and said that he would "hunt down" the developer responsible for the feature and "use a cheese grater" on him. (The original thread seems to be gone now but I found this reference to it).
The business partner wasn't really going to attack anyone. He eventually calmed down and apologized. Nevertheless, I think we can all relate to this level of frustration. For example, while using a certain product, I often wished that I could directly share my frequent misery with its developers. This Microsoft TechEd video shows what it might be like to have developers "sharing your pain". Very funny. (Via Volker)
The business partner wasn't really going to attack anyone. He eventually calmed down and apologized. Nevertheless, I think we can all relate to this level of frustration. For example, while using a certain product, I often wished that I could directly share my frequent misery with its developers. This Microsoft TechEd video shows what it might be like to have developers "sharing your pain". Very funny. (Via Volker)
Service awards
Ever wonder what to do with those tchotchkes you got from your employer? Sell them on eBay. For example, look at this auction item for a Royal Selangor Pewter Puzzle that was given as an award to honor five years of service. Apparently it wasn't five years of fun:Bidding is closed The puzzle sold for AU $32. (Via Chuck)
This puzzle can usually only be earned by those who have an exceedingly high pain threshold, but now it can be yours to buy. You will be able to impress your friends who will be in awe of your stamina and resilience.
The puzzle is made of genuine royal selangor pewter and is the Khun Phaen puzzle which attempts to tell the ancient story of a young man who was driven insane by a large corporation.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
The Pitch
Even though it was written nine years ago, this article from suck.com is a disturbingly accurate pitch for some Web 2.0 startup:It goes on to describe a web-based word processor (Wordprocessor.com) and its horizontal spinoffs: Calculator.com, Spreadsheet.com, Database.com and Presentation.com. Visionary! (Via Waxy.org)
Idea: Microsoft Word meets Hotmail... on the web!
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Curious George Goes To IBM
While reading Curious George Goes to the Hospital to my younger son this evening, he kept insisting that the title of the book was Curious George Goes to IBM.I'm not sure how he came up with that. He knows that I used to work at IBM but I'm not sure how Curious George got into the mix. He didn't provide any additional details but it is an amusing thought. What would that be like?
Every Curious George book has the same basic outline:
- George goes somewhere.
- George sees something he likes.
- George is curious.
- George does something bad.
- Chaos ensues.
- Whatever George did wrong ended up doing something good.
- George is a hero.
Al Shamshoon
The Simpsons are now being shown on the Arab satellite network MBC. The translated series is called Al Shamshoon. I wonder what Arab viewers are going to think of Americans now? Then again, the show does give a more balanced view of American life than a lot of the news media. 
Some changes to the show were required due to cultural differences. Homer's Duff beer will now be soda, hot dogs will become Egyptian beef sausages, and donuts will become Arab cookies called kahk. With these and other changes, Al Jean, executive producer of The Simpsons is concerned that the show won't be the same:One thing that didn't change is that Homer still says "D'oh!" (Via Andrew)
Some changes to the show were required due to cultural differences. Homer's Duff beer will now be soda, hot dogs will become Egyptian beef sausages, and donuts will become Arab cookies called kahk. With these and other changes, Al Jean, executive producer of The Simpsons is concerned that the show won't be the same:
If he doesn't drink and eat bacon and generally act like a pig — which I guess is also against Islam — then it's not Homer
Blackberry Infestation
There's nothing more irritating than to look up at a meeting and see someone hunkered over a tiny keyboard, typing away with their thumbs, when they should be paying attention. What is the source of their distraction? A BlackBerry. Blackberries are so additive that they've been nicknamed CrackBerries.
On my morning drive to work, I saw a sign offering a solution to this addiction. It says:
Seems a bit radical. Oh, it's for removal of that other kind of blackberry.
Note: yeah, cellphones such as my Treo 650 are addictive too. But it's harder to make a joke about Treo infestations.
On my morning drive to work, I saw a sign offering a solution to this addiction. It says:
Blackberries killed and removed.
Contact us at (123) 456-7890 for a quote.
Note: yeah, cellphones such as my Treo 650 are addictive too. But it's harder to make a joke about Treo infestations.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Titanic Inflatable Slide
Last weekend we visited Remlinger Farms in Carnation, WA. It was a nice Fall day and the kids had a great time. In addition to the usual hayrides, pumpkin patch, corn maze, etc. they also have a number of rides and climbing structures. One that I found pretty tasteless was a giant inflatable slide in the shape of a sinking Titanic. You climb up through the center and slide down the deck into the waves. The slide is manufactured by China Inflatables.The Titanic sank 93 years ago. Hundreds of people lost their lives. Now it's an inflatable slide? I guess part of the reason is James Cameron's Titanic. The strong visuals of passengers sliding down the tilting deck. And 93 years is a long time. The event is a very distant memory. But I still think the inflatable is pretty tasteless.
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
My son and I were browsing books at Third Place Books yesterday and made an exciting discovery: The Complete Calvin and Hobbes. Wow. This is the ideal gift for a serious Calvin and Hobbes fan. The collection consists of three hard cover books within a slipcase. The books have all ten years of the strip in chronological order.On a related note: I enjoyed this list of the 25 Great Calvin & Hobbes Strips. Lots of my favorites are here. The series of strips on The raccoon story is terrific. I also really like the over-the-top Sunday strip with the title "His eye twitches involuntarily".
Google 2084
Tongue-in-cheek speculation on what Google's home page may look like in 2084. Frankly, I don't think we'll have to wait too long for most of this.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
The Life
Excellent article by John Gruber on the life of an independent software developer. It's hard to become successful as an indie but success has its own challenges. The more software licenses you sell, the more customers you have to support. And the less time you have to write code.
Friday, October 14, 2005
Escape from Rhetundo Island
Escape from Rhetundo Island is a new game from the same author as Hapland and Hapland 2. The approach is a little different but it's the same basic idea — get your stick-figure safely through a series of levels. Requires Flash 8, anything earlier won't work.If you get stuck, keep clicking around — I'll add some hints in the comments if you want. Timing is critical to finish each level. You're going to go through a lot of stick-figures before you finish. (Via MilkAndCookies)
A Bombardier's Reflection
James Earl Jones writes about his experience making Dr. Strangelove. (Jones played B-52 bombardier Lt. Lothar Zogg). Among the interesting anecdotes, Jones relates how director Stanley Kubrick asked George C. Scott to do over-the-top performances of his lines as "warm-ups" but ended up using many of these in the final cut of the film. Note: while reading the article it was hard to avoid hearing the deep, menacing voice of Darth Vader. (Via kottke.org)
Thursday, October 13, 2005
The Package
Got fifteen minuites to spare? Try to figure out what's in the mysterious package that was left on your desk. Clever idea. (Via weblog wannabe)
Annotations
After using C# attributes for a while, I remembered Pete Lyon's post about Java annotations. He linked to Robin Sharp's rant: Annotations: Don't Mess with Java. Note: Java 5 annotations are conceptually identical to C# attributes.
On my last Java project we hadn't moved to Java 5 yet so I haven't used Java annotations. However, based on my experience with C# attributes, I disagree with Robin's assessment. Annotations are a powerful way to extend runtime information. This is a good thing. And it's cleaner than earlier approaches. For example, to take advantage of Java serialization you mark a Java class as serializable by edxtending the Serializable interface. But Serializable is a "marker" interface. It has no methods. It's used because there's other way to annotate the class.
Part of Robin's complaint is that annotations are "decorative" data not metadata. So is using Serializable an example of metadata that's merely "decorative"? I don't understand why Robin feels that this is an important distinction. Also, annotations go beyond simple markers — they can contain data. Here's an example related to Serialization: in Java when you want to lock down a version of a class, you add a serial version uid as a static class member. But this static variable isn't used in the class itself — it's just metadata (er, decorative data) for the Java serializer. In my opinion using an annotation to define a serial version uid would be cleaner.
Also, just as with Javadoc, annotations allow you to keep your descriptions in one place. For example, with EJB 2.0 and earlier you had to use a separate ejb.xml file to define EJB classes. There was no way to do it directly in the language. Some people used XDoclet to work-around this limitation. XDoclet defines Javadoc extensions to automatically generate EJB deployment descriptors. Annotations are a cleaner approach and are built into the language.
So what else are annotations good for? Here's an example: JUnit is great for automating unit tests. It uses introspection to execute static test methods in a test suite. Annotations would be a powerful addition to this framework. Each test could have additional information. Rather than just a raw test method name, you could annotate the test with a description, a test ID, etc.
In summary, developers can abuse annotations but that's true of any language feature. Maybe the syntax looks a little odd at first blush but I don't agree with Robin that they're a "solution looking for an problem". As I've mentioned Java Serialization could have been done more cleanly using annotations. EJB 3.0 will use annotations. Likewise .NET other features such as Web Services, XML Serialization, etc. are implemented using C# attributes.
On my last Java project we hadn't moved to Java 5 yet so I haven't used Java annotations. However, based on my experience with C# attributes, I disagree with Robin's assessment. Annotations are a powerful way to extend runtime information. This is a good thing. And it's cleaner than earlier approaches. For example, to take advantage of Java serialization you mark a Java class as serializable by edxtending the Serializable interface. But Serializable is a "marker" interface. It has no methods. It's used because there's other way to annotate the class.
Part of Robin's complaint is that annotations are "decorative" data not metadata. So is using Serializable an example of metadata that's merely "decorative"? I don't understand why Robin feels that this is an important distinction. Also, annotations go beyond simple markers — they can contain data. Here's an example related to Serialization: in Java when you want to lock down a version of a class, you add a serial version uid as a static class member. But this static variable isn't used in the class itself — it's just metadata (er, decorative data) for the Java serializer. In my opinion using an annotation to define a serial version uid would be cleaner.
Also, just as with Javadoc, annotations allow you to keep your descriptions in one place. For example, with EJB 2.0 and earlier you had to use a separate ejb.xml file to define EJB classes. There was no way to do it directly in the language. Some people used XDoclet to work-around this limitation. XDoclet defines Javadoc extensions to automatically generate EJB deployment descriptors. Annotations are a cleaner approach and are built into the language.
So what else are annotations good for? Here's an example: JUnit is great for automating unit tests. It uses introspection to execute static test methods in a test suite. Annotations would be a powerful addition to this framework. Each test could have additional information. Rather than just a raw test method name, you could annotate the test with a description, a test ID, etc.
In summary, developers can abuse annotations but that's true of any language feature. Maybe the syntax looks a little odd at first blush but I don't agree with Robin that they're a "solution looking for an problem". As I've mentioned Java Serialization could have been done more cleanly using annotations. EJB 3.0 will use annotations. Likewise .NET other features such as Web Services, XML Serialization, etc. are implemented using C# attributes.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Video iPod
This morning's Apple announcement was another example of how Apple continues to make this industry interesting. The video iPod isn't the first portable device that can store and plays videos but it's the first video iPod. Which gives the device instant iPod cachet. And it means that there's iTunes support for purchasing music videos and television programming.
The new iPod's screen is small but I've watched videos on my comparable Treo 650 screen. It's a better experience than you'd expect. And notice that Jobs talks about music videos, home videos and television shows. He doesn't really mention feature-length movies although clearly there's sufficient storage on the device for movies. Is this a licensing issue or is there another device in the pipeline that will be more suitable for movies?
The new iPod's screen is small but I've watched videos on my comparable Treo 650 screen. It's a better experience than you'd expect. And notice that Jobs talks about music videos, home videos and television shows. He doesn't really mention feature-length movies although clearly there's sufficient storage on the device for movies. Is this a licensing issue or is there another device in the pipeline that will be more suitable for movies?
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
gada.be
Gada.be is a new metasearch service. That may not sound too interesting but check out the features. One thing that's cool is that you can form a search query as a hostname. For example to search for my name, you just type http://bob.congdon.gada.be. Great for doing a search from a mobile device. (Via Robert Scoble)
Unusual words from other languages
This BBC review of the book The Meaning of Tingo inspired readers to submit their own unusual non-English words and phrases. This article lists the best of the submissions.
There's an American equivalent to number 15, the Icelandic phrase setja upp gestaspjot. We refer to this as a cat "playing the cello".
There's an American equivalent to number 15, the Icelandic phrase setja upp gestaspjot. We refer to this as a cat "playing the cello".
Monday, October 10, 2005
Bubble Bubble, Build's In Trouble
Large software projects usually have an automated build process: software is automatically built and tested on a schedule. As changes are checked into source control throughout the day, continuously rebuilding and testing the software can detect when a check-in causes problems. If code doesn't compile or pass unit tests, the build process sends out an email. But it's easy for build status emails to get lost in the flurry of daily email traffic. What to do? How about build-monitoring lava lamps? As long as the build is happy, the green lava lamp is on. But if someone checks in code that causes the build to break then the red lava lamp will turn on and start to churn up angry red blobs of lava.To make this work, lamps will need to be displayed in a prominent location so that developers can see them. Not always feasible for distributed teams. What to do then? How about the Lava Lamp Cam?
(Via Engadget)
The Slough
There's a restaurant in Woodinville, WA called McCorry's on the Slough. I drive by it all of the time and sometimes wondered about the curious name. The restaurant is near a bike path that follows the Sammamish River for several miles. Recently when talking to a local, he referred to the marshy Sammamish as "the slew". Synapses fire: slew == slough. McCorry's is on the Sammamish aka The Slough.
This was a gap in my education. I thought that slough was pronounced slof like cough. And, in fact, for a different meaning of the word, slough is pronounced this way. The "ough" ending has several different pronounciations: cough (of), dough (oh), hiccough (up) slough (ew), tough (uf), through (oo) . Geez, what a mess. It reminds me of this piece.
This was a gap in my education. I thought that slough was pronounced slof like cough. And, in fact, for a different meaning of the word, slough is pronounced this way. The "ough" ending has several different pronounciations: cough (of), dough (oh), hiccough (up) slough (ew), tough (uf), through (oo) . Geez, what a mess. It reminds me of this piece.
Due to unusually high call volume...
I hate the automated phone response systems that are commonly used by banks and utility companies. So I try to resolve problems on my own or use the company's web site. But sometimes there's no choice, you have to call them. The automated phone system usually asks you a few simple questions and then waits for you to key in an account or phone number. This is quick and easy. But when you need to talk to someone you hear the ominous phrase "Due to unusually high call volume..." then you wait. And wait. And wait. It doesn't matter what time of the day you call, you're told that there's "unusually high call volume". So the call volume can't be that unusual. This is just dishonesty. And then, to add insult to injury, when you do finally get a live person on the line, the first thing they ask for is the account or phone number that you keyed in during the menu prompts in the beginning. Arrgh! Usually the folks who answer the phones are friendly but not always able to help. You've only reached the outer ring of their system. So they put you on hold while they bump your call to someone else. Sometimes the call drops out. Sometimes you get to revisit the hits of 1970s while waiting. But then patience may be rewarded and they find someone who can actually resolve your problem. You hear then tap a few commands or click on an internal web site and "you're all set!". Other times they just confirm your fears. Yes, you are screwed and there's nothing we can do.
I don't have anything against people who work at call centers but clearly the people who design and manage these systems are well-versed in Dante's Inferno.
I don't have anything against people who work at call centers but clearly the people who design and manage these systems are well-versed in Dante's Inferno.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Google Reader
Google has a new RSS reader. The UI is interesting but slow and clunky. Even though the banner says that it's Beta software, it feels like an Alpha release. When I imported feeds via OPML there was no obvious feedback that it was doing anything. It appears that it imported the feeds in the background but it's pretty hard to navigate through them. I'm sure that Google Reader will improve over time but for now I'm sticking with Bloglines.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
The Matthew effect
The Matthew effect alludes to a passage from the New Testament that, taken out of context, can be interpreted as "the rich get richer, the poor get poorer". According to the Wikipedia entry:Jason Kottke's blog post on the Matthew effect reminded me of Acquired Situational Narcissism. When we treat someone like they're a big shot they become a big shot.
In sociology, Matthew effect was a term coined by Robert K. Merton to describe how, among other things, eminent scientists will often get more credit than a comparatively unknown researcher even if their work is similar; it also means that credit will usually be given to researchers that are already famous: for example, a prize will almost always be awarded to the most senior researcher involved in a project, even if all the work was done by a graduate student.