My colleague Robin Yap sent me this video intended to prevent kitchen oil fires. I am not sure who created it or where it is form, but I think it is quite good and worth a look.

Download the file

I have been speaking with a lot of colleagues recently about possible methodological considerations for the liveblogging research project I am doing right now. As I plan to speak about some of the things I learned, I thought I should also create my own policy for blogging about private correspondence. I have never seen any personal policies about blogging publicly about private matters, though it would not surprise me if they exist. I shall start drafting one here:

 Blogging Policy on Privacy

1. I will not relate anybody’s personal, private, or self-identified information when they communicate it with me in confidence.
2. Public presentations and discussions can be blogged under an understanding of Freedom of Speech.

Let’s see, what else is there?

I wonder what happened to Tim O’Reilly’s Draft Blogger’s Code of Conduct?

Technorati Tags: Draft Blogger’s Code of Conduct, Blogging Policy on Privacy, Tim O’Reilly

Still considering some of the things I heard and experienced at Personal Democracy Forum 2007 this past weekend, I am reminded of Thomas Friedman's summary of the three new chapters that will be in his upcoming 3rd Edition of his book, The World Is Flat.

One of the things that stuck me in one of his new chapters was what he discussed around Global Warming, and how the crisis is beyond what we have ever faced before while also being on a greater scale than we can imagine. We have to be the stewards of the earth, he said. What struck me was his reason for why there are not many large protests or civil actions to force rapid change–we will all be dead before the significant changes occurs. This is why we have to be stewards–those who global warming will most affect have not yet been born.

For us Americans, to the best that I can tell from my experience, this is the troubling thing about global warming. We often forget our past and are not the best for planning for the future. How can we be expected to do something that will most benefit those two generations away? After all, we are not too good with setting time tables of any sort; we just go with the flow and hope for the best.

Seth Godin spoke at Personal Democracy Forum on Friday, and I have been considering his message since then. I have read a number of his books, and this is the first time I heard / saw him.

Two of the things he said struck me:

1. "Ideas that spread, win."

Wow, he really got it right. I wonder how all the well-intentioned political folks who attended can best harness that message? While I agreed with a number of those who spoke in the "Is Cyberspace Color-Blind" panel, which focused on the issue of privilege and positionality, I wonder how best to use Seth's message to guide next steps? Any time I hear people refer to issues of race or sex or ethnicity, it seems a bit, well, old. I agree with those who feel they need to speak about it, and I as a white male have (in the last year) become very aware of this issue and how it manifests itself, I wonder how this message or question or issue can be spread in a new way for a new audience. I know I need to explore this more as well. If Seth is right, then how can the issue of privilege and all that comes with it be made alive so that it challenges without closing down the conversation as an "oh, that again." From my business communication work, which is one of my roles as an adjunct instructor, I return yet again to the WIIFM. "What's In It For Me? " How can we use Seth's advice to spread an idea when people need to hear it in a different way? How can issues of privilege and those around race and sex be communicated in a way that hits me in a way that I can hear–in the wallet? No, I am not thinking about lawsuits and such, but rather about how more just business practices can positively affect the bottom line.

2. [back in the days when there was] "no email, no voicemail, no web." I "do not know what we did all day."

I also thought technology was supposed to make us more efficient in less time. Why then do I always have technology issues and more to do within that less time. Somebody surely sold us a bill of goods, I am afraid.

More tomorrow about PDF2007.

I am currently working on some documentation that requires certain readability best practices. Wilie there are a number of instruments to measure this (including the one built into Word), I personally like the Fry Readability Graph. This counts the number of syllables, words, and sentences in 3 100-word passages. To help with this process, I just found a simple way to count this online, at the Fry Readability Program. If you ever need to measure readability, I recommend this simple website to assist with the process.

Posey was diagnosed and treated for a stage 2 mast cell tumor, and she is now recovering. The pathology report came back with good results, in that we think all of it was removed. We will be meeting with the oncologist in two weeks for further consultation, but for now we are just trying to keep her quiet to recover.

For her part, she seems to be back to normal, wanting nothing else than to eat, run, play, and be herself. If only people recover so quickly . . .

I walked through a street fair today on 8th Ave. in Chelsea in Manhattan, and wondered about all the vendors making and selling food in their booths and carts and the like. Lots of people seemed to be eating things as I walked by, yet I could not help to think about the conditions where all this was prepared and cooked. Let's see, no running water and no restrooms with sinks. This does not seem too clean or sanitary to me.

Am I the only one who thinks about this with these local events?

So, Posey came home last night. The line of her stitches is about 1-foot long (large for a 16-pound pug), and I am hesitant to pick her up since I am afraid of hurting her or causing her surgical wound to open. She is sleeping a lot, which is exactly what she needs. She was so happy when she got home, and while she has a limp since for now until she heels, it is evident she is as happy as can be.

Let's hope the tests for the mass that was removed come back with a low stage rating. 

Posey is expected to be recovered enough to be able to come home tonight. She should be as restricted in her movements as possible since she has a lot of stitches and a drainage tube. She is a little trooper!