this is mikel.org

Michael Boyle's weblog

Updates here have been

by

sporadic due to a great deal of busy-ness, but also because I’ve been working on a new design and playing around with Moveable Type, the new micro-CMS on the market.

The new design is going to be pretty nice, I think (if I do say so myself), but I’m having trouble rendering it using no-tables techniques. My current thinking is that the world should progress in that direction ultimately, and for extremely simple pages it is much more efficient to work with than tables are. Trouble is, there are just as many fudges and workarounds required as there were using tables, which pretty much makes the whole endeavour beside the point. So I’m going to have to make a decision – and right now, I’m leaning towards using tables. The point of all-CSS design is to dispense with workarounds and browser silliness (at least one of the points is to do so). If I can’t do that, I don’t see the point in making the switch.

Naomi Klein

by

: Game Over: The End of Video Game Wars.

When I was in undergrad I published my first and only paper in a journal. It wasn’t actually much of a paper, and I never followed up on the subject very seriously, but it resonates a bit now.

The paper was about the rise of trade unionism in the First World War in Germany and the UK. The story is often forgotten, but it’s important. The British Union movement staunchly resisted the war effort, and in particular resisted giving in blindly to the government’s demands due to “wartime considerations”. They fought tooth and nail for concessions in working hours, in pay rates, and most importantly for recognition by the state.

Britain still won the war (with lots of help from others of course), and not in spite of the Unions, because the criticisms they brought to the table improved the conditions of people in general, which led to greater success and support in general for the war effort.

There’s a lesson in this for us, today. Important parts of societies can be critical of their government and strive for improvement while not dooming the whole effort. Societies can be improved during crisis periods, and such improvement doesn’t always mean blindly following along, necessarily.

The price of freedom, it is said, is eternal vigilance. That applies equally, always, inwards as well as outwards. The external foe is not the only threat.

Tom Coates

by

says it’s not enough simply to mourn. I wish it were otherwise, but I agree with him entirely on this point. We are in the midst of a period of extreme danger, and thinking, feeling people must gather up the strength to fight all forces who would use this for their shallow, fundamentalist, outrageous political goals.

Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson have already blamed this on gays and lesbians and a general moral lassitude in the US (and presumably in the West in general). This is absolutely wrong, and although we may hurt, we cannot just let objectionable, fundamentalist views such as that to slide without remark.

Many people (Jish being but one) are reporting mistreatment of people who are or are taken to be Arabs. This is unconscionable, and if you’re a thinking person, you know it’s unacceptable. Do something about it, if you are a witness to such behaviour.

As we speak, politicians are meeting to discuss serious curbs on speech that are certainly unwise and arguably unconstitutional. Like the Son of Star Wars in the military arena, laws such as this would do little do deal with any security problems leading up to a tragedy such as the one this week – and yet, liberty will likely come under attack though little, if any, evidence has been or will be put forward to justify these laws.

It is a time to mourn and grieve. It is also a time to speak out, and to act.

Arts Friend Social Networks Wired Canada Canadian Politics Funny Music Browser Blogging NYTimes Sports Business Microsoft Google US Politics Search Apple Software War Web Design Media Personal Web GNE Design International Affairs Test Montreal Internet Email Copyfight
Michael Boyle Blog