I wanna preface this by saying that I am not an expert in foreign affairs nor do I have a better or more acceptable solution. I just don’t like the one offered.

Most, if not all, of the people of the world have heard of the execution of Saddam. He was a bad man and probably deserved to die. I just can’t seem to get comfortable with the idea that we should be the ones to decide that.

I’m not here to argue religion, politics or semantics. I just know that in hearing about how it was carried out and in seeing some of the video I got a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. In the long run what does it gain us? He was a beaten, broken, and powerless man - did we really need to kill him?

I realize the Iraqi people made the final decision on the matter and carried out the consequences. But it still doesn’t sit right. I guess my point is if we want to come to a final, peaceful resolution with the people that hate us and try to destroy us (terrorists, rogue nations, etc.) - do we really think we’re going to get that by trotting an old man out, hanging him and showing the video on CNN?

If anything, I think it will make it worse. If we really want to earn the title of “The Greatest Country in the World” I think we have to come up with some better solutions. I wish I was smart enough to help.

No random tidbit today…

I was perusing through my RSS feeds the other day and came upon two posts that caused polar opposite feelings for the future of web design in relation to web standards, CSS and what I hope to do with my life.

The first was Smashing Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful CSS-Based Web Designs in 2006.   Seeing some of the beautiful, cutting edge and still standards compliant sites that people can design is uplifting.  I can learn a great deal and draw lots of inspiration from more then a few on the list.  I thought it might be a sign that the days of the past - nested table designs, tag soup and such - might finally be starting to move into the past.

Unfortunately I came upon a separate post that leans 180 degrees the other way - Are Web Standards Bad for Business.  I had hoped this was a post written by someone new to the field or ignorant of the benefits.  This was not to be.  The writer is well versed on what standards compliance means and, in fact, someone who practices designing compliant sites.

Coming from a site that had a lot of “legacy” code that I spent a lot of time upgrading - as well as my as yet limited skills could - to more compliant CSS/XHTML form, a lot of the points he made hit home.  Sometimes you have no control.  Sometimes what the customer buys before you’re even involved handcuffs you with regard to design and no matter how hard you fight you can’t always win.

It’s hard enough setting yourself apart from the pack when (quote from same blog) “print based designers with no desire or experience in web standards design can churn out “pretty” cookie cutter web sites via using various automated software product.”  To have to teach about why standards compliance are worth it as well just makes it that much more difficult.

If Molly and Meyer can’t come up with a better solution, I don’t think I can.  I just hope that I see more of the former in the future, rather then the latter.

Random Tidbit: Since this post is already talking about explaining programming/design to the non-programmer/designer I wanted to list an interesting post along the same line.  Check out The Iceberg Secret, Revealed on Joel on Software.

Hopefully this Christmas sees you and yours happy and safe - and of course with a good haul of goodies. Although I honestly like giving more then receiving I did get several items of interest that I would recommend.

Breaking Benjamin: Phobia - I have not had a chance to listen to this fully because of various computer problems (one of the pitfalls of using Windows I suppose) but “The Diary of Jane” is worth it hands down.

CSS: The Definitive Guide, 3rd Edition - The “bible” (not to be too sacrilegious on Christmas) of web designers is out with a new edition detailing the 2 new browsers - IE 7 and Firefox 2. Have only skimmed through it, but if you use CSS, buy it.

Nerf N-Strike - I have quickly become assembling a Nerf arsenal since a random Nerf war at an unspecified dorm ended with me being with my current girlfriend. Plus they’re damn fun and - as long as you avoid shooting anyone in the eye and expensive (lcd, plasma) electronics - relatively safe. I would also recommend the N-Strike Maverick (my first Nerf firearm) and, soon to be added to my collection, the N-Strike Long Shot Blaster. Any Nerf gun with a scope is just prodigious. A must have for any cubicle environment - just make sure to stock up on spares. I’ve included the Toys “R” Us links simply because Wal-Mart doesn’t have them online - they’re actually slightly cheaper if you can find them there though watch out for missing darts.

By the way - check out this sweet Nerf mod. I’m so jealous.

Random Tidbit: Though I like their deals, I hate the fact that typically they don’t have those deals in stock - either online or when you actually make the trip to the store. I think I also like their work policy. Who are they? Best Buy.

One of the key problems as a web designer is the fact that things change so quickly and staying on top of the new ideas, styles, web trends, SEO methods and browser updates can be challenging and time consuming. One of the easiest things to do to combat this is to use RSS feeds. This is not something new - many people have them built into their Google or other custom homepage - but what can be challenging is adding all the important feeds. Especially if you don’t have an RSS reader setup.

Lucky for you I just did this and felt that since it is so time consuming, I would share the results of my effort with you - in case you are new to web designing and don’t have an RSS feed and/or reader or you simply want to supplement your feeds with some of mine.

First, if you don’t have an RSS reader I recommend GreatNews - it’s a freeware version that so far seems to be doing ok. As I mentioned before though, if you have a Google or Yahoo account, they have them built in as well as Firefox.

As for getting your feeds setup, you can download mine here. They are in .doc format so you will have to open and save them as .xml (or possibly .opml) for it to work correctly. I am not an expert with XML conversion, so if it doesn’t work for you simply e-mail me and I can send you it in straight XML form.

My feed contains relevant tags from sites like Wordpress, Del.icio.us and Technorati - as well as some popular sites like Digg. Enjoy.

Random Tidbit: A great collection of Calvin & Hobbes snowman comics. Priceless.

I’ve been reading an excellent book recently that I saw on a list of the 5 books every geek should read and wanted to recommend it as the best on the list. It is also one of the few books I would actually recommend that you see the movie first - simply because of how odd the book is. It is the 6 books of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy - better known as the The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide.

Be forewarned that it can be odd and seemingly pointless at times, but if you get it, it can be one of funnier books that you will read. It also has some interesting bits of philosophy in it - mostly poking fun at or exploring the oddity that is life.

I have read 4 of the other books and would recommend them as well. Neuromancer seems to be where they get a lot of the ideas for the Shadowrun books. Ringworld also seems to be an idea well for several other series. Finally, Asimov was always a good science fiction writer.

Enjoy. And remember - don’t panic.

Random Tidbit: It’s always important to remember The Ten Commandments of Web Design.