Blog – Page 79 – Paul Schreiber

Dear loved-ones,
I make the following statement in a sound state of mind and of my own volition:

If I am rendered comatose and determined to be in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) for a period longer than one month and if no imminent cure is forthcoming, I do not wish to be kept alive by artificial means including but not limited to nourishment, hydration, etc.

However….

If, due to the absurd political state of affairs in this country, my persistent vegetative state and impending unplugging can be parlayed into some sort of political leverage, I wholly endorse using my predicament in whatever way possible for the purposes of passing legislation favorable to my general political and ethical outlook. Here is a list of top-tier causes I support and will continue to support, both while in my PVS and after my eventual death.

Debt Relief to Impoverished Nations: I will agree to stay in a PVS for an indeterminate amount of time if the United States aggressively pursues a policy of debt relief and debt forgiveness to developing and impoverished nations.

…

google gets it

Joe Beda explains the Google development model. Highlights:

There is, by and large, only one code base at Google. This has many advantages. Most obvious is that it is really easy to look at and contribute to code in other projects without having to talk to anyone, get special permissions or fill out forms in triplicate.
…
Teams are actively encouraged to share the most intimate details of their projects with the rest of the company.

marketing sucks

Jeff Veen, asked to judge an interactive design competition, rails against those still not on the cluetrain:

User-centered design vs. marketing and image Most sites had no sense whatsoever of how to engage a potential customer through the Web. Of all the consumer electronics sites I evaluated, for example, not one compared to sites like dpreview.com, a deep content web site dedicated to digital cameras. The focus was consistently on “hip and cutting-edge” music and imagery of attractive people having fabulous lives because of their recent purchase. When I buy a camera, I want to download the user manual and see sample photos taken at different qualities and resolution. Who on earth is doing marketing at these companies? Certainly no one who has taken pictures.

culture of life

clean cars on the way?

Salon notes how the automakers have backed themselves in to a corner:

With this agreement, the automakers unilaterally disarm from their long-standing position that they cannot make clean cars. In fact, they have sued to overturn the California Clean Car Law which is the basis for Canada’s action. The auto companies are now in the awkward position of telling a judge that they cannot make the same cars in California that they will make in Canada.

applying for a job at ikea

law professors say the darndest things

it’s like profquotes, only for law school:

Student: I knew where the line is, so maybe I tell my client to commit perjuryâ€¦
Professor: There is an argument that professional responsibility should be taught in the first year, but that argument has not yet prevailed at the law school, but consider yourself Exhibit 1 at the next faculty meetingâ€¦