Author: Carl Setzer

A blogger blogging from just north of Seattle.

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Burmese military threatens monks

Carl Setzer

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Burmese military threatens monks

As understandable as the energy surrounding Ahmadinejad’s speech at Columbia, the chain of events in Myanmar is much more compelling to me. The steady escalation has me convinced that we face one of two outcomes: another fierce crackdown by the junta, or their overthrow. And, it’s quite possible that a display of intense brutality could very well precipitate the collapse of the regime. Very tense times for a regime that might be a much better fit for the title “evil” leveled against Iran.

VW Gets Gross

Carl Setzer

Uh, let me just say that this ad is rather nasty…but funny. It does make you worry about all those VW fans out there.

Thought for the day

Carl Setzer

I seek to avoid the abyss of impotent cynicism and misanthropy. Instead, I long for elegance and quality.

Thought of the day

Carl Setzer

Do you remember when beaming addresses was going to replace business cards? The delights of the original Palm. Of course, some would say that Google is about to do the same thing, but I doubt it. It’s too hard to sift the “wheat from the chaff”.

Quote of the Day

Carl Setzer

"The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them." — George Orwell

 

It’s frightening, at times, how relevant Orwell is currently. The man was amazingly prescient. It still amazes me how little his concerns have been heeded. Some find great comfort in the idea of a huge, omnipresent government. One irony is that this is true for many on either ideological extreme. Of course, for these folks, a large, deeply monitoring government is exactly what we need to ensure adherence to their brand of morality. If this government were to adopt the philosophies of their opposition, then it’s intrusive.

My Childhood

Carl Setzer

This fellow was a key part of my childhood. What a delight to find Mr. Patches is still the hinterlands of Puget Sound.

JP Patches

OS Ideas

Carl Setzer

Idea number 1: make a stripped down Linux build. This would be to extend the life of older systems, as well as craft something that would simply scream on current systems.

2: take an OS and gut all the visual compentry, then craft a system that is maximized for blind users. Seems wasteful of system resorces to utilize an tweaked version of Windows or Mac, with all the visual stuff going on and not adding value.

An English Teacher in Porto: In Search of Joanne Rowling

Carl Setzer

An English Teacher in Porto: In Search of Joanne Rowling

You JK Rowling fans should enjoy this. Christopher Rollason explores Porto, Portugal following in the footsteps of Rowling, who lived their in her lesser days.

Advertising Age – Garfield The Blog – Comcast Must Die

Carl Setzer

Advertising Age – Garfield The Blog – Comcast Must Die

Reading this first reminds me of my own Comcastic experience (shudder). However, I also think about these at a larger level. Customer service is a serious problem industry-wide, and it might be so throughout significant segments of the economy. Consider Jeff Jarvis’ “Dell Hell” campaign, or the constant vilification of every cellular carrier (just read the comments in any CNET carrier review). Service is dreadful on a macro level. Those companies that specialize in exceptional customer experiences (Nordstrom’s the first to come to mind) seem to be thriving. The anger that these experiences generates needs to considered by these companies. No amount of PR will rebuild relationships thus sacrificed. Steven Covey’s model of the emotional bank account is apt. Sadly, so many companies are grossly overdrawn, and will be forced to declare bankruptcy.