reflections

So, today is the OneDayBlogSilence. It’s a noble idea, suggesting that bloggers should keep silent for a day in memory of those who died at Virginia Tech (and thoughtfully including “all the victims of our world” in case that wasn’t enough). I’m sure the idea will receive massive support from the blogging community, but I’ve decided not to take part.

I’m not shunning the idea out of disrespect - in fact, far from it. I simply think that the blogosphere at large is both powerful and intelligent, and capable enough to plant the seeds needed to prevent massacres like VT from happening again - and I think the best way we can do this is by doing the complete opposite of keeping silent!

It seems ironic to be writing this post at a time when the media has already got bored with the topic. The BBC’s World News page currently makes no mention of anything even vaguely related to the tragedy - choosing instead to concentrate on topics like Australia’s cricket win and how Scientist’s have reversed memory loss. Much more important subject matter, obviously. Now, I’m not suggesting that every news channel should talk about VT every day - but, with the unfathomable power it wields, wouldn’t you think that the media could perhaps do something constructive about it - and force the people who can change things to do just that? They seem to be able to do it for other reporters, so why not for the people who died at VT?

If the media aren’t going to change things for the better, then maybe we can? Blogging is growing at a fantastic rate, and ‘ordinary people’ are beginning to make use of blogs as official sources of news, so perhaps we’re actually in the perfect position to bring forth a change of public opinion - one which reverberates back to the halls of power in every country, and in every tongue? It doesn’t matter what your thoughts and ideas for preventing a repeat of VT, tell everybody about them - and keep on shouting about it until you’re blue in the face! Your ideas will probably differ to mine, and to everyone elses - but surely the whole point of blogging is to open new channels of communication, and to defend your viewpoint - isn’t it?

I will just say that I find it hard to believe that there are some people out there in the world who truly feel that the Virginia Tech killings only happened because the students were unarmed. According to them, if VT had not put a ‘no concealed weapons on campus’ rule in place a year earlier, and everyone had been carrying guns, then there wouldn’t have been so much bloodshed. For the record, I don’t agree… If a single soldier carries a gun then only a few will be wounded, but if every soldier is armed then it becomes a war.

So, what do I think might actually help to prevent a tragedy like this happening again? Well, I strongly feel that Cho’s mental state played a massive part in what took place.

For example, did you know that the campus Professors and administrators were forbidden by federal law to discuss Cho Seung-Hui’s emotional and psychological problems with his parents? The vast majority of college students are over 18, and technically autonomous - even though many are still living with their parents’ support. Their medical information can’t be shared with anyone without their permission. Senator Rosalind Kurita from Tennessee is trying to pass a law that will change this. The Senator’s nephew committed suicide during his first year away at school, so she knows first hand how access to medical information and psychological profiles would help prevent deaths. She is heading up an initiative that would allow college students to sign a waiver granting their parents access to medical information in a time of emotional crisis. The program is currently being tested at Middle Tennessee State University, with plans to expand to every college and university in the state starting this autumn (fall).

Cho was mentally ill, showed signs of violent thoughts, wrote plays with violent and graphic undertones, and he was a loner. Did he get the care he needed though, not just for his sake but for the safety of others?

As our world continues to expand, we are forced further from our neighbors, our co-workers, and our families. Perhaps we should start reaching out more often, with greetings and positive words - and perhaps we should be giving time to those who we thought we had no time for? If we do this then we will be creating a better role model for our children, who will then have the ability to bridge social gaps and avoid repeating past mistakes.

In closing, I would like to send my sincerest and heartfelt sympathies not only to the family and friends of those that died, but also to Cho Seung-Hui’s parents and family. I cannot begin to imagine the sorrow that either group is currently dealing with, nor what they will have to live with for the rest of their lives.

Thank you for your time.

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http://www.marketingsource.co.uk/secretworld

In my experience, the business of data can be a pretty boring one, and I can think of about a thousand things I’d rather do than look at columns of numbers, and lists of names and addresses. It would be enough to make my hair curl, if I had any left.

I think it’s quite refreshing to see that Marketing Source (marketingsource.co.uk) - a UK company that deals in the business of direct marketing - has taken the time to make their new Flash microsite both funny and interesting.

If you’re not British then some of the jokes might not quite hit the mark, but have a look anyway for the right way to deal with an otherwise mundane subject!

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I visit A List Apart on an almost daily basis. It’s a source of thoughtful and useful articles and information, and my daily read would be bland without it!

So, it was with great pleasure that I spent ten minutes today completing their 2007 Web Design Survey. This is the first of what will hopefully become an annual occurence, and looks at the web design industry and those that work in it. If that includes you then you should take part too - as it gives all of us an ideal (and rare) opportunity to see the whole picture when it comes to what we love!

What do you think will be the outcome, and what trends do you think we might see emerging as a result of the survey?

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Do you design web sites of any type - from blogs to full-blown corporate e-commerce solutions? Perhaps the only site you design is your own one? Well, one of the problems that faces every web designer at some time is that of testing your site on all the major browsers. In case you’re interested, this is how my current visitor’s browser useage breaks down:

Having three of four versions of each major browser installed at the same time and on the same machine is not only an administrative nightmare, but damn near impossible too! If you’re lazy like me then you probably end up testing on just the very biggest ones - I typically test in IE6, IE7, Firefox 2 and maybe Opera. What about all the others though - the MacOS browsers (particularly difficult if you only have a Windows machine) and the Linux builds?

Well, I’ve discovered [via thepaperbull.com] an easy way to not only test your site on the usual suspects, but also to see what happens to it on other platforms and more obscure browsers!

Browsershots.org allows you to enter your web address, select from an enourmous list of browser/platform combinations, choose screen resolution and plugin availability - and then a little while later (dependant on how long the queue currently is) will generate screenshots of what each of your selected browsers saw when they hit your site!

I think this is an incredible idea - and like all good ideas I’m amazed that this is the first time somebody’s done it! Oh, and did I mention that this is a FREE service?!? Well, what are you waiting for - the end of the browser wars?

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Five days ago I set up this blog with Dean J Robinson’s fantastic Redoable Wordpress Theme. I knew I was going to end up restyling it a little - Dean’s theme is incredibly popular, and I didn’t want my blog to look like loads of others!

So, the refresh is now done - and I’m quite happy with the results! I’d like to build my own original theme from the ground up eventually, but until I get time to do that I’m happy to base my site on one of the best!

What do you think then? Does anyone else give a damn about it apart from me?!

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