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Note to Readers: You may have been redirected

Apr 25, 08:51 PM by Rich Webster

Hi Kids. If you seemed to have hit one blog for a few seconds, then were redirected here, my apologies. I’ve redone my blog in TextPattern, and needed everyone hitting the old WordPress pages to come here, instead. This may mean you’ll have to browse for your article. Sorry.

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Hope for the Future

Feb 1, 02:29 PM by admin

Regardless of what happens on the national political stage, things are coming back on the business front. Particularly the future of the Internet and computing in general.

I went to a venture conference: People were positive again.

I go to the blogs: There’s new products aplenty, many with environmental and social progress built-in.

I go to the stores: Design is improving, which means people are investing in imagination, esthetics, and beauty.

I drive through suburbia: Architecture is regaining detail. Concrete tilt-ups have architectural embellishments added on, instead of just being boxes. New buildings have increased variation and style. Parking lots are less rectilinear, and often feature natural streams with actual plants instead of just running water under the parking lots and calling it “drainage.”

I watch TV and find people on HGTV, Discovery Channel, TLC redesigning their homes in elegant and creative ways. I see “Extreme Homes” and “Rezoned” properties celebrated! And, on my favorite show, I see Engineering and Science celebrated and made fun… and assumptions of the ages turned into real-world analysis and observation: MythBusters!

We need a political version of MythBusters!

Let’s see the actual performance of Trickle Down Economics (also known as “piss on the little guy”). Let’s see the Laffer Curve laughed at! You might not recall that Arthur Laffer drove the economic theory of the Reagan administration with a little curve drawn on a napkin. If you do remember, maybe you don’t remember that he did it to get across the idea to one Dick Cheney, who was too dense to get it without pictures. What he still didn’t get is that the curve didn’t mean a whole lot.

Let’s test the theory of: “Blow up a middle east country and see if the pieces, when they fall from the sky, automatically form democracy!” Oh, yeah, that’s what Iraq and Palestine are about. Oh yeah, it doesn’t work. Oh well, keep blowing things up anyway.

Let’s test the theory that concentrating the most toxic substance known to man, by the ton, and heating water to generate power is a good idea. Oops. Now we have tons of toxic waste and can’t get rid of it. Oops. Most of the power we generate is lost in transmission on the power grid. Well, it’s still better than Hippies with solar panels… Well, no.

Let’s deregulate everything: no rules, no enforcement, the market will decide! Oh, yeah: Savings & Loans, Enron, The ‘29 stock crash, the 2000ish dotcom crash, the great depression, the $3/gallon gas prices, GM and Ford bankrupt, Airlines bankrupt, mad cow disease, water shortages, workers injured, crippled, and killed on the job… what’s next? Keep the Repugnicans, and you’ll see the spiral continue. Hire Democrats and it might get back to normal levels. Hire smart people, regardless of their hair, whether they look French, or are “boring”, and we might get a good country again. One we can take pride in. One that doesn’t torture people.

There are two (or more) Americas. Liberal. Conservative. But there’s only one functional America. It is made up of optimistic, idealistic people and looking to solve problems, not run from them or pretend they don’t exist. They don’t care where an idea comes from, if it works. They pay people fairly, treat people fairly, and understand that individuals thrive if everyone does better. Not just if individuals can act in purely selfish ways.

Look at the 90’s in the U.S. Amid the rise of conservatism was a progressive streak a mile wide. As a result—while there was a widening of the difference between rich and poor—the poor improved their lot: They made 1/3 more in that decade, relative to the cost of living. The lesson is that the rich got richer and the poor got richer, too. Now that we have conservatives in control, the poor are getting poorer. And the rich aren’t doing as well either.

Why? It’s simple: People who are doing better spend more on the little (and big) extras. The extras constitute the difference between a baseline economy (food, housing, clothing, fuel, transportation) and a vibrant economy (restaurants, organics, elegant homes, nice appliances, fashion, driving machines, personal statements, road trips, vacations, family reunions). All the latter items constitute Business Opportunities: choice, variation, personalization, aesthetics, art, design, gourmet, lifestyle… you name it. Without these opportunities you have little square houses, little square businesses, downward price pressures, downward wage pressures, utilitarian scrimp and save.

Spend time in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, Roseville, then travel to Kansas or central Illinois. See the difference. Conservatism makes for a baseline economy (in Kansas). Progressives and Liberals make for a vibrant economy. It’s the economy, stupid. Of course… a vibrant economy may also be more wasteful. This is a cautionary note. But it is also about solving problems. And waste is not automatic.

There is a creative culture out there, and it’s moving on without conservative America. And, it will win. That is my hope for the future.

The Real State of the Union

Feb 1, 01:08 PM by

While Georgie spoke last night, it became obvious that he and the Republican Party are aware of what America wants done. The speech addressed those things (with a few notable exceptions) and contradicted only a couple things (like Iraq).

Problem is: that’s been true all along. Problem is: they say what we want to hear (mostly) and then do the opposite.

We want governance, not politics. Collaboration between the parties, not competition. Not petty politics. Yet the Repugnicans, Bush included, have completely divided this nation, intentionally. It is the foundation of their strategy. It is what Karl Rove is hired to do. It is what Tom Delay was hired to do. It started, mostly, with the Contract on America, and has escalated since.

We’re addicted to oil? No. We’ll accept alternatives. We’re addicted to driving, to warm homes, to convenience. This is our bread and butter. Oil is just what’s put on the plate… And Repugnicans have resisted, battled, fought to keep it that way. They’re not stopping now. Bush says we need alternatives? Yeah, we’ve been saying that for decades. But the Bushies have stopped that progress cold.

Fortunately, the private sector has moved forward. We have biofuels, solar, efficient lighting, efficient homes… it’s all cued up and ready to go. It would be nice if the Feds would support it.

Foreign policy? Yes we need engagement. We DON’T need assault. Yet aggression is what Bush has served up.

Retirement plans? Medical reform? Yes!!! So what did we get: a plan to DESTROY Social Security and a completely broken Medicare Drug Plan (passed based on fraudulent cost estimates).

The Repugnicans funded their rise to power largely by fighting environmental laws, and by killing socialized medicine. This got them big bucks to get into office. They continued the rise by auctioning off our government and our tax dollars to the highest bidders. Total corruption of the political process.

That’s what Bush has done, and will continue to do until he is impeached.

My New Blog on WordPress

Nov 26, 01:33 PM by

Welcome to my new blog, same as the old blog.

I started this blog the easy way: using Blogger.com. But Blogger is weak in several key areas:

a) most important: categories!
Categories applied to articles result in named archives. This is critical for finding articles later, and for accumulating Google cred.

b) Pages: static pages that don’t appear on the blog, but are navigable from the blog. This is great for non-changing material. This turns the blog into a real website, in a sense.

c) User access control: I won’t actually use this for my blog, in all likelyhood. But any group or business blog needs this feature.

d) Plug-ins: Extends the capabilities of the blog.

and more…

So I followed the directions for moving a Blogger blog to WordPress. I must’ve done something wrong, so I ended up republishing all the archives (about a year’s worth) using Ecto. I had to process each one individually, but it’s done now.

Only problem: all the articles are dated the day I moved them. I can use WordPress’s admin area to restore the original dates, though.

Also, I lost the comments.

All of which is probably solved by careful preparation but, why bother?

It’s a wondrous thing! The Worst President, Ever is helping a poor person!

Nov 26, 01:24 PM by

Well, I’m not THAT poor, but it is the holidays, and the web design business is always spotty for a freelancer, so the extra $400 and counting that I’m making from selling the “Worst President, Ever” merchandise through CafePress.com is very welcome.

If I go past $500, I’ll donate half the additional proceeds to a good cause. I think I’ll try to come up with merchandise to battle John Doolittle locally. He’s been a Bush Thinkalike since before anyone ever heard of Bush in California.

He’s opposed the efforts of Robert Matsui (who recently died, and has been replaced by his wife Doris Matsui) to improve the levee system around Sacramento forever, because he wants to build Auburn Dam. The levee repairs are necessary regardless of whether a dam is built, and can be addressed more immediately than a dam. Oh, and the dam was being built on earthquake faults. But of course, conservatives don’t believe scientists when they say that’s a bad idea.

Anyway, if we can make people aware that he’s Bush, Jr…

Thank you all… and especially BoingBoing

Nov 26, 01:24 PM by

Thanks for all your comments, including the angry ones!

Yes, I am a bit of a hippie, raised in Northern California. I haven’t smoked pot since college, but some of my best friends do. I find it hard on the lungs. I miss the giggles, though. It also helps with anger management, so maybe some of you should try it.

Many have noticed that this is based on those “W” stickers that were ubiquitous before the last election. Others have had the same idea, but weren’t technical enough to get it “good enough”. The “Worst Ever” line has been around for a long time. But, it is important at this point to make it clear that the decision in ‘04 was a bad one, and we have learned from our mistakes.

One guy suggested that the quality of stickers at CafePress isn’t that good. If this isn’t just a flash-in-the-pan, I’ll set up an ecommerce site and have the work done at a higher level. CafePress is awesome for having a brainstorm and putting it out there… but the choices are limited, for obvious reasons. It tends to push the prices a little high, too. I do hope the quality is satisfactory, please let me know if it isn’t.

If you want to order in quantity, or to get wholesale pricing, drop me an email. I can get a much better price for you!

People are Catching On

Nov 26, 01:23 PM by

You still have to worry about the 37%, but the trend is in the right direction, Bush is in trouble.

Keep in mind, people, that Bush has not vetoed a single thing out of congress, and that means that any blame that goes to Bush, goes to the Republican Party as a whole. Bush may be the point man on the lying, cheating and stealing, but there is an organization that created the institution that he rode in on. That’s the Party.

Still, I had to whip this up:

Worst

I’ve made these into bumper stickers, oval stickers, buttons, T-shirts, golf shirts and more at CafePress. Go to my store there, to buy!

Note: I used CafePress to do this quickly, but they charge quite a bit. If you want wholesale or volume purchases, I can get better pricing. Email me

PS. Thanks, BoingBoing

10 Tips for the Business Blogger

Nov 26, 01:23 PM by

Here’s some useful tips for business bloggers via Lifehacker.

And, on a related note: Ten Blogging Hacks from Micropersuasion.

Back to Information Architecture

Nov 26, 01:23 PM by

This guy’s doing some cool things: EcoLanguage

These animated diagrams are great to visually show how economics works. He should switch to Flash, so the images are clearer, and larger, without the download time. And a professional voice-over would be good. But this is by far the clearest way to explain economics.

And people need to understand economics, badly.

This is Information Architecture approaching it’s highest potential.

Finishing up the D.C. Travelblog

Nov 26, 01:23 PM by

We wrapped up our DC vacation by going out to Virginia.

Actually, the day started with a trip to the National Zoo. Laura and I found the zoo a depressing place. We saw pandas (the new baby panda was not out in public, yet) leopards, and more. But we were glad when we got a call from my brother-in-law Richard saying he was ready to go on an expedition. We cut the visit short and headed to the gate on Connecticut Ave. NW, where Richard picked us up.

Our final destination was the beautiful Harper’s Ferry National Park. Richard took us there in his new Honda Accord, which is equipped with a navigation system. We set the destination as the National Park, and it took us there. Only, it didn’t take us to the entrance. Instead it took us the the nearest border of the park, which is across the river, just under the railroad bridge. This is some distance from the actual entrance to the park.

This turned out to be a good thing. Instead of turning and going back to the highway, we looped out through the Blue Ridge Mountains, lovely farm country, in full fall colors! It was stunningly beautiful.

When we looped back around to the highway, it was a short trip in, over the river and along it, up to a parking area, then a short (about a mile) shuttle ride in. By this time it was late afternoon.

When we finally got back through traffic to DC, we met Wendy at McCormick and Schmick’s, a really great restaurant! There are about 50 restaurants started by the same guys. All of them that I’ve tried have been really, really good. Our favorite was Splendido’s in San Francisco, which unfortunately seems to have closed. The Kuleto’s restaurants seem to be related to these, too. The Apple Pie was the best I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a few.

We flew out from Dulles at 7:30pm, and with the time change we arrived in Sacto at 10:30, but it felt like we’d been on the plane all night. It was windy and bumpy on approach, but the landing was smooth. We stayed at my sister Betsy’s overnight and made our way home the next day.

Great Trip!