So I'm sitting here chugging along, drinking my coffee and trying to wake up, when Windows tells me that it has succesfully downloaded new critical updates and they are ready to install. I usually take a peak to see what Microsoft is up to, and this time, Critical Update #KB833407 was ready to "update the Bookshelf Symbol 7 font.. The font has been found to contain unacceptable symbols". A little hunting around finds that, for some reason, some people got this patch in February (probabily due to my new installation of Office), and yes indeed - it's a swastika that gets removed.

All commentary about why I don't need Microsoft sensoring my software aside, it's interesting that the company chose to embrace PR rather than educate users about the traditional (read: long term, not in the last hundred years) meaning of the swastika. Not surprising, mind you, but certainly interesting.

What I'm still curious about is why this is considered a "critical update" ..

Looking for some good homemade, artisan sourdough bread in Savannah? Look no further than Brown Bear Bread :) Site's currently kind of sparse, but I suspect it will find more content as time progresses.

I received Microsoft Office 2003 today in the mail, and have had a quite pleasant experience with it so far. The upgrade was painless, and the most noticable new feature in Outlook is already providing a tremendous amount of value: the preview pane that pops up as a floater, temporarily, when a new email arrives is a godsend!

I'm also enjoying the somewhat bizzare sounds of Amon Tobin; I bought it the other day on an impulse buy after hearing it at the bean, and while it's like nothing I've ever cared to listen to, I'm absolutely enthralled with it. It's got just enough of a breakbeat to be interesting, but not nearly enough as to be classified as "techno".

Also received Stolie's new CD as a thank you present for letting her crash at our house on her last tour (you're welcome!).

I like mail :)

Yesterday's Information Architecture class introduced the ideas of concept mapping and process flow diagramming - essentially, the foundations of logical state diagramming. Each time I teach this, I'm continually impressed with the speed at which designers come to understand the logic necessary to complete a state diagram, as well as the speed at which they come to reject the entire process as being "too hard" or "too complicated" or simply "too boring". I did, however, get an interesting vibe from this class in particular; they seemed to really embrace the ability to form hierarchy and boundaries around a problem space, which is critical to understanding the structure of a complex problem.

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Later, in a discussed with Tom, we were reflecting on pricing of software; although the initial reaction to a $500+ pricetag on a suite of software applications is "them theivin' bastards!@!", he had a very good point, and it's one that doesn't usually enter into the argument of pricing innovation: if Microsoft were to begin to charge $20 for their office suite, they would still turn a profit, yet that pricetag would put Adobe out of business in a second. Microsoft's pricing is sustaining the industry, and in turn sustaining much of the world economy.

Think about that before you go pirate a version of Word because it "costs too much" ..

on spam .. Techdirt has an interesting blurb about how spammers are using various forms of spyware to trick readers into opening spam - specifically, embedding names of loved ones in headers and titles. It's interesting to read this in light of the slashdot article "Confessions for two: A Spammer Spills it All". It's actually quite profitable, but I can't believe the sheer amount of time necessary to turn a quick buck; it really sort of emphasizes the underlying "get rich quick" mentality of most of the country - and even the world - today. This article discusses the method of using spam as a social and economic indicator; tongue in cheek, really, while this discusses the overall bottom line effects on the US economy.

Summer classes started off today with a yawn; my first class is small - five people - but full of talent, so I'm not too concerned about it. Tomorrow is Information Architecture and Interaction Design Studio, and I have big ideas about 435 .. I'm hoping to get some work published out of that, giving both the students and myself something to be pretty jazzed about.

And speaking of getting published .. Here's an article I wrote.

Go me.

Today was a long one, full of sanding, washing and staining. The screen porch looks fantastic, and I can't wait to see how the stain sets up.

Jess and I spent most of the day playing together and avoiding the g8 fiasco, except the g8 fiasco turned out to be pretty sad. What if you held a protest and no one showed up?

This is growing upstairs on our back porch :) It's pretty fantastic.

School starts in a few weeks; I'm ready, and my classes are small but filled with talent. Can't really ask for more, can you?