Daily Office:
Thursday
Morning
¶ “G” is for Goltz: For the true skinny on what’s been going on in Georgia, visit Michael J Totten’s Middle East Journal, where reporter extraordinaire Tom Goltz — the go-to guy for what’s going on in the Caucasus — backs up Georgian government spokesman Patrick Worms, making only a few small corrections in the official account.
Noon
¶ Creative Contradiction: Lance Arthur warns that you do not want the creative director job — especially if you’re creative.
Night
¶ Bloatware: When I went back over this story, about how Best Buy is handling bloatware (the come-ons for software that are loaded by manufacturers onto new computers), I thought that there was something about customers telling a representative what they wanted; but, no: that was in this story, about camera phones.
Oremus…
Morning, cont’d
§ Goltz. Tom Goltz’s three Caucasus “Diaries” — Azerbaijan, Georgia, Chechnya — are ripping reads that also happen to be true-life accounts of strife on the frontier of a troubled former empire (Russia). From being a reporter who lost caste by “getting involved,” Mr Goltz has emerged as an elder statesman of Caucasian affairs. Considering how wildly well-informed you’ll be after you’ve read his books, they’re sinfully entertaining. (Full disclosure: Mr Goltz and I share a classmate — high school in his case, law school in mine. Over the years, I’ve grown to be honored by the connection — which remains indirect. This here is no friendly log-rolling.)
Noon, cont’d
In retrospect, it was my own fault for not being better at articulating why teal is bad. That’s all it comes down to in management of creative endeavors — no matter how much experience you have, or knowledge or training, if you can’t explain why teal is bad (or good) you’re bound to fail.
Night, cont’d
§ Bloatware. Someday, all computer sales will be on-line, even for units that you’d like to pick up across the street (tomorrow or the next day). You’ll pre-order preferences, say, by checking off the names of applications that you use. Your reseller will install the software (charging small upgrade fees where applicable). When you get the damned thing home, you’ll plug it in and it will work right away. No setup!
The number of people who are over thirty, have never used a computer before, but would like to buy one now has to be closing in on zero. And yet new computers are packaged as though it were skyrocketing.