Ch-Ch-Changes

Apple makes computers and iPods. To make the computers valuable and worth people's money, they make software. To help sell iPods, Apple sells music.

Pearson does a lot of things, so many things, it might make your head spin. Broadly, they're about making you smarter. (I should propose as a new slogan: "We can't make you smart, but we can make you smarter."). Pearson has three divisions:

• The Penguin book group, home of the famed Penguin classics,
• The Financial Times, which attempts to explain global capitalism to you, and, our new friend,
• Pearson Education. You're a bright person, I'll let you guess what Pearson Education is about.

PowerSchool makes software that schools and school districts use to manage their student's information. Hence the phrase Student Information System. Scheduling, attendance, grades, etc. You use a web browser to use most parts of the program. In 1997, when PowerSchool began, that was revolutionary. Today, it's prosaic.

Apple bought PowerSchool from its founder and initial investors just 5 years ago, about 6 months before the first iPod was released. At the time, one might suppose, Apple was interested in stemming their decline in education sales.

We learned last week that Pearson has purchased PowerSchool from Apple.

If you are a geek working at PowerSchool, you might be less than thrilled about exchanging your employee discount on iPods for a discount on the complete set of Penguin Classics. However, you might be thrilled for the product. Since PowerSchool has nothing to do with selling iPods and very little to do with selling computers (it's cross-platform, running equally well on Macs and Windows boxes), it didn't make much sense to be part of Apple's product line. But Pearson Education is all about what PowerSchool is all about. It looks, to me, like a good match.

On Privacy

Wired

The most common retort against privacy advocates -- by those in favor of ID checks, cameras, databases, data mining and other wholesale surveillance measures -- is this line: "If you aren't doing anything wrong, what do you have to hide?"
...
We do nothing wrong when we make love or go to the bathroom. We are not deliberately hiding anything when we seek out private places for reflection or conversation. We keep private journals, sing in the privacy of the shower, and write letters to secret lovers and then burn them. Privacy is a basic human need.

Talking Points Memo:

"...this dogmatic post-9/11 insistence on acting as if human history began suddenly in 1997 or something. The United States was able to face down such threats as the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany without indefinite detentions, widespread use of torture as an interrogative technique, or all-pervasive surveillance. But a smallish group of terrorists who can't even surface publicly abroad for fear they'll be swiftly killed by the mightiest military on earth? Time to break out the document shredder and do away with that pesky constitution."

Dear NSA

Dear NSA:

Q: My wife suggested that I get this new haircut, how does it look?
A: It's fine -- but what's up with the pedicure?

Thanks John.

Muggy and GPa

Molly has been pretty tickled as she outgrows her various family members. She's been taller than her mom for ages. She was catching up with Grandpa. This picture was taken during the summer of 2005.
Muggy and GPa.JPG
Originally uploaded by leehinde.

It's the end of the world, but I feel fine.

After explaining how Lou Dobbs was going to be stationed at the Mexican border, this article ends with:

Elsewhere, media mogul Rupert Murdock threw his support to Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), as was first reported in the Book of Revelation.

Work / Life Balance

Got some time on your hands? Google work/life balance. (ok, so I saved you a step, thereby improving the ratio - see how easy this is?)

You didn't ask, but my theory is, there is no work/life balance. It's only life. You get one. Enjoy all of it or make peace with what you can't change or move on.

Don't worry, this is for me, not you. I have no insight into what you need. :-)

The Gorey Details

An Invonvenient Truth is coming to a theater near you.

And, who would have thunk it, Al Gore is funny. (Actually, his concession speech was pretty funny. "I called Governor Bush to congratulate him and promised I wouldn't be calling back...")

We would be so much better off if he'd been able to take office after winning the popular vote...

(All of this because of this link.)

Somewhere between 1978-80

Photo_031305_002
Originally uploaded by leehinde.

I can date this picture because there's a wedding ring and Carrie went to Calvin. (I googled Carrie, she doesn't get any hits. How rare is that?)

How To Make Me Smile

Yep yep Yep Yep

Dad recognized as a founder....

Public plaque.JPG
Originally uploaded by leehinde.

There was a nice ceremony today at the SacState Aquatic Center.
Once again a couple of hours of people saying nice things about dad. This time nice things were said about others as well. I didn't mind sharing.

All the founders got lifetime passes to the center. Dad's goes to Mom. I want to see her out there kayaking...

Class warfare

Telegraph: "Angry economy passengers are said to have stormed the first-class cabin on an international flight from Pakistan to Britain."

Geek Humor

If you click on a link in a Gmail message a new window is opened. The redirect is handled by a url that starts with wyciwyg://. I had noticed that before, but not noticed it. My guess is it stands for 'what you click is what you get"

The other Lee

Props to old family friend Lee Herman. Stop by and say hi and maybe he'll post more often. :-)

Molly Olly Olly

Molly turned 17 and went to the prom last month.


(click the image (a close up of her dress) to see other pre-prom pictures.)