stargeek
All style and no substanceAll style and no substanceAll style and no substance 03/14/2005 05:27 PM Bloggers block prevents me from writing anything sensible. Which means I'm going to let my bloggers block do it's work, and refrain from posting filler content. Read why. This is a GrokNews Entry: (what is grok?)All style and no substanceGrok Headline matches for All style and no substanceThe Substance of StyleThe Substance of Style 10/30/2003 11:48 PM Adding Style To SubstanceAdding Style To Substance 11/03/2003 08:55 PM It used to be that only high-end companies such as Apple or Sony cared about industrial design -- the distinctive look and feel of their products. But in an age when hardware has become a commodity, many more tech companies are coming to realize that aesthetics matter. By Dean Takahashi (San Jose Mercury News via MyAppleMenu) Andrew Kantor: CyberSpeak - USB drives
|
 If
you're a regular reader of this blog, you probably know that I'm
opposed to unregulated 'free' trade, very worried about the
extraterritoriality of the WTO, NAFTA, Davos and other corporatist
captives, strongly opposed to domestic corporations 'offshoring' jobs,
using influence with the Bush regime and other right-wing governments
to circumvent social and environmental laws and responsibilities, and
a
great believer in taking the pledge to buy local, and in community
self-sufficiency.At the same time, I'm a strong supporter of the UN and other multi-lateral NGOs, and I believe that we each have a responsibility for the well-being of all the people and creatures of this world. Some readers have said this view is inconsistent, and I wasn't quite sure how to respond to such charges. Fortunately, Peter Singer, in his recent book on global ethics, I'll have more to say next week about Bush's fraudulent and despicable Earth Day media blitz, and the major media's shameless lack of critical evaluation of the utter nonsense that his propaganda machine has been churning out this week on the environment -- newspeak of Orwellian proportions. The first part of Singer's book deals with environmental responsibility, and his prescription for increasing it -- immediate ratification of Kyoto by the US and other holdout countries, and introduction of an emissions trading mechanism to make the realization of Kyoto feasible (subject to the need for some oversight on the disposition of the proceeds of such trading when it involves autocratic governments). The second part of the book deals with the global economy, and Singer adroitly tears apart the Economist's (and other neocons') naive assertion that economic globalization somehow benefits both rich and poor countries. He then goes on to prescribe a substantial reform of the WTO and the GATT, which could actually lead to more equitable distribution of wealth and more efficient production of economic goods, while safeguarding human rights, labour and the environment. Unfortunately, the multi-national corporations and corporatists who hold sway in the WTO would never tolerate Singer's prescription, since it would entirely divert the benefits of economic globalization from their pockets to those of the world's poor. The third part of the book deals with international law, and Singer lashes out at Bush for his unconscionable refusal to ratify the International Court of Justice, and for the UN's continued hesitancy to accept a duty (not a right) to intervene in situations of genocide and other humanitarian crises, even within a single nation. Singer is sanguine about the limitations and dangers of 'global government', but supports strengthening the UN to enable it to act as a 'protector of last resort', and including in its mandate the responsibility to supervise elections in all member nations. The fourth and final part goes back to ethical principles and proposes that countries must, in this world where national boundaries no longer have any logistic meaning, set aside national interest and embrace, once and for all, global interest, impartially. That does not mean cultural homogenization, but imposes a responsibility for the reduction of inequality, both of economic resources and personal rights and freedoms. Always the pragmatist, Singer concludes by worrying out loud about how the responsibility for a global ethic could be managed: It
is widely believed that a world government would be, at best, an
unchecked bureaucratic behemoth that would make the bureaucracy of the
EU look lean and efficient. At worst, it would become a global
tyranny,
unchecked and unchallengeable. These thoughts have to be taken
seriously. How to prevent global bodies becoming either dangerous
tyrannies or self-aggrandizing bureaucracies, and instead make them
effective and responsive to the people whose lives they affect? It is
a
challenge that should not be beyond the best minds in the fields of
political science and public administration.
I'd like to believe that this was possible, because if it isn't, we're in serious trouble. We cannot expect national governments to set aside parochial interests, especially when this entails accepting a responsibility that would, for the richer nations, inevitably lead to a drastic redistribution of wealth to poorer nations and hence a sudden and sharp reduction in, at least, economic living standards (if not necessarily well-being). But as John Ralston Saul has so eloquently argued, larger organizations and institutions, whether public or private, are almost always, and inherently, less efficient, less agile, more resistant to change, more hierarchic, and less transparent than smaller organizations. So the challenge is to achieve the best of both worlds, having organizations of global scope and authority and responsibility, but broken up into sufficiently small, autonomous and dynamic units that they are sensitive, resilient, responsible and responsive to the people and communities they serve. We can only hope that "the best minds in the fields of political science and public administration", wherever they are, are up to the task. |
Style One has a chief characteristic of trying to make everything better. When they are healthy, they are morally heroic, making sacrifices for the greater good, balanced in their judgments, uncompromising in their principles. They are concerned about what is right in morals, sometimes in esthetics, and sometimes in other things like literary or movie criticism or even manners. They are objective in their judgments and utterly clear about what is right and wrong. They are prophets and reformers.
If they become unhealthy, the vision narrows and their concerns diminish. They begin to moralize, they can get picky about little rules and they always go by the book regardless of consequence or circumstance. They develop either/or thinking and pay little attention to anyone's emotions.
Ones you may know: Judge Judy on TV, Laura Schlesinger (Dr. Laura on talk radio), Hilary Clinton, Ross Perot, Ralph Nadar, St Paul, Martin Luther, Harrison Ford, Tom Brokaw, Pope John Paul II, The Lone Ranger, Martha Stewart and Miss Manners.
What is your enneagram?
(Via Marju t.)
Checkout the Napkin L&F (look and feel) for Java. Interesting although the best way to use hand-drawn graphics is in contrasting combination with smooth lines and anti-aliased text. They have to be rougher too.
For years Wired Style was the guide for anyone writing about “new media.” In the early days of the internet the venerable Chicago Manual of Style and Strunk & White’s Elements of Style had nothing to say about new words and phrases like internet, World Wide Web, and email so Wired Style became the standard. Like thousands of others, I capitalized Web and Internet because Wired said that’s how to do it. (The current edition of The Chicago Manual of Style covers internet publishing extensively).
Today Wired News has decided that this is no longer to be done. They say that “a change in our house style was necessary to put into perspective what the internet is: another medium for delivering and receiving information. That it transformed human communication is beyond dispute. But no more so than moveable type did in its day. Or the radio. Or television.”
Just as I followed Wired Style, I shall follow this new style. Should you see me improperly capitalizing these words, please rap my knuckles with a yardstick.
I was writing a column this month and mentioned the
upsweep of
solar-powered gear the last few months and my editor's editor (why do
I love blogging again?) was all huh?. And yes, okay, solar
power isn't anything new, but the new high-efficiency panels are
really starting to happen, like this entire new 'Solar Style' line of
gear called the 'PV Solar Chargers." You've got yer solar bag, yer
flip-out notebook charger, ya gotcher cell phone case with a
charger—this stuff is taking off.
The Solar style gear doesn't seem to be quite ready for retail yet, but you can order a 'sample kit' for 200 bucks, which I'm guessing includes a few different units to try out. The press release lists my arch-enemy AirWater Corporation, though, so these might be a force for evil. Be careful. (Thanks, Kelly!)
Press Release [Yahoo]
This photo is amazing.
I wonder if that cord provides power for the "blades" to move in some
way? Link (to
higher res image) (Thanks, Carlo!)homestarrunner.com/tgs9.html
track this
site | 4 links
Western Civilisation's flagship product, Style Master, is a CSS editor. You don't use it to create Web pages; you use it to create the look of Web pages - the font, size, color, and layout of the various elements that constitute your Web pages, as dictated though a CSS "style sheet." Style Master is my ideal of a program that knows a big complicated language so that you don't have to; you do see the actual CSS, but you can interact with it through pop-up menus and checkboxes that list the appropriate options and generate the correct syntax.
Launch your own site and become master of your own domain for next to
nothing. Find out how in this week's episode of Freeloader Friday.
Like Pixels? Check out MacDesign
Web Style Guide, 2nd Edition: I'm not totally sure, but I think this Web site is a complete reprint of this book. I enjoyed the first edition; haven't read the second.
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