Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Monsters From the Id - Social Media and 21st Century Politics



Forbidden Planet, released in 1956, was a groundbreaking movie in a range of aspects, only a few of which were in special effects.

The "planet" was previously home to a technologically "superior" race - the Krell.  During the course of the movie, we learn this civilization had created an infrastructure that could manufacture anything and deliver it to anyone with a thought.  It sounds like a great idea when Robby the Robot was creating jewels and clothing for Altaira or whiskey for the spaceship's drunken cook.

But the technology couldn't differentiate between a conscious wish and a subconscious nightmare.  So when the Krell slept, and the "Id" came alive, their technology delivered their greatest horrors.  No one was spared - not the most intelligent, not even the creators of the technology.

It is now 2016 and it is time to cut the bullshit daydreaming that our voting communities can be "united" after venting themselves on the Internet during election season.

The US Civil War was 150 years ago, and even though the USA is legally one country, the cultural prejudices and hostilities between North and South persist to this day.

Neither Trump nor Clinton will "unify" the US, regardless of who wins today.  It's unreasonable to call your opponent's supporters a "basket of deplorables" and expect them to fall in line with your inauguration.  It is equally unreasonable to make unfiltered knee-jerk smart-ass comments about your personal nemeses day after day for months and think all will be forgotten on November 9.

It's not just national politics.

In my little burg, the greatest advocates of "preservation" have torn elements of our community to pieces all in the name of keeping physical relics alive.  Our elected officials have turned to petty dictators in an effort to mold our city into their personal living room.  And ran afoul of the state government within 6 months of our last municipal election.  But that isn't new.  For years one representative or another has advocated for one group's lifestyle in this city to the detriment of others.  All in the name of "building community".  I have a flash for you, Barney - you don't create a community by turning elements of it against each other over residential lifestyle differences.

Then there's the nuclear arsenal of the carpool set:  school redistricting.  We have our playdates, we have our chance meetings on the playground.  We have our scouts, and youth groups and sports teams.  Then the idea of rearranging our school populations rolls in like a live grenade and the monster devours everyone again.  Think I'm exaggerating?  Read for yourself and decide.  You can figure out the personalities with a few minutes of research.

With all of the blog posts and social media clips and screenshots - nothing will be forgotten. No matter how many photo ops are taken or how many charity projects supported after the fact, everyone will remember getting attacked and hurt.   Everyone will remember who was on what side, and what attack they made.  Forgiveness is another topic altogether and I'm not holding out too much hope for that either.

The Krell planet eventually found peace - when the population disappeared and there was no one left to dream up a monster.

The best any elected official at any level can hope for in 2016 is a cessation of hostilities.  An equilibrium between groups whose POVs are irreconcilable.  It takes superhuman objectivity and a committed refusal to engage in combat online.  That's a very short list of capable people.  No one can achieve it perfectly.  But "unity"?  Forget it.  It's gone.  Mutual coexistence while minimizing overt hostility is the best you can shoot for.

I can't watch the returns tonight.  Likewise when keeping up with local politics, I do it alone, in a closed office.  Best when social media is turned off.

Migrating databases, debugging source code and managing household paperwork has never looked so good.  It's peaceful and it puts the Id to sleep.


Thursday, October 27, 2016

INTRODUCING: Rik Emmett & RESolution9



It's been just about 4 years since I got that late-evening call from Rik Emmett to take over the maintenance of his website.
Here's the first blog post detailing the initial work.  Once I got the software and theme code updated, keeping it all maintained and bug-free is a much smoother and less time-consuming process.

The only constant in website creation and maintenance is change and there have been quite a few.

First, the overall site design got upgraded to a fully responsive design where all elements adjust to the screen size, however large or small.  A lot of the graphics could be recreated with source code instead of image files, so the site runs faster now too.  If I've said it once, I've said it 100 times, fully-responsive design for small screens/mobile devices is no longer optional.

Just making a quickie mobile-friendly front page and leaving the rest of the site to desktop-only may fool the search engines, but it cheats your customers.  As of this morning, a full 40% of this site's visitors are made on a tablet or phone; 30% of all sales in the e-commerce store is made from a mobile device.

There is no reason that a smartphone visitor must endure a sterile, stripped-down shadow of a website.


Next was improved social media integration.  Photos are managed via Flickr, videos are managed via YouTube and those channels are fed into the site via plugins.    Most social media sites (including Google properties) have an API that will connect to a website in the hands of a webmaster who can walk through the steps.  Adding media galleries to social media where possible cuts down on the amount of site maintenance and hands-on programming required and speeds up the website and makes updating content easier by using multiple channels every day.

Video page, powered by YouTube:


Photo gallery page, powered by Flickr:



All of this slicing and dicing and planning for unknown future contingencies has paid off.  Rik recently signed with Mascot Label Group based in the Netherlands for a new rock album.  The team just got bigger.

Rik and I have gotten into a comfortable groove where I can make design and layout adjustments where they are necessary at my own direction.  But once a record label gets involved, the contract is law - literally.

The first image in the post is the new album jacket/CD insert.  (Yes, there is a limited pressing in vinyl.  Some serious music fans swear by analog recordings to this day.)  The graphic artists working for Mascot are also based in the Netherlands and they're calling the shots on designs for the new project, RESolution9.  North America-based label operations are in New York.  Large-venue booking agent is in Montreal.  Small-venue booking agent in the US is in Philadelphia.  Small-venue booking agent in Canada is in Toronto.  News media have expanded from predominantly the US and Canada to almost every country in Europe, with intense hot spots in Germany and Scandinavia.  My job in this machine is to integrate the designs for the project into Rik's current site, with the graphic artists' approval.

Thank God they speak English fluently because my Dutch is non-existent.  :-)

Between Mascot's internal machine and my content management planning, this process couldn't have been easier.  Even considering that adding a new splash page (entry page into the site with calls to action) is more than just slapping a single image onto a web page and calling it a day.  The artists sent me a file of the cover image that allowed me to extract all of the individual elements, then reconstruct them into a format that looks just like the record jacket on a laptop - but will reconfigure itself into a comfortable arrangement on a cell phone or tiny tablet.  

Then I set up the page so that it could become the first page a visitor sees.  Again, there were timelines and deadlines and "go live" was planned down to the minute within a specified time zone, dictated by a project manager.  Everything was loaded into the site the night before, and changing the front page literally took 2 seconds when I got the alert.

Most jobs that I work on currently require me to work independently and report to the site's owner.  But being part of an international team has a special buzz all its own and a unique satisfaction when the composite machine runs smoothly.  The fans and music buyers don't notice the work, they notice the results.  Working in different states, different countries, different continents, makes no difference at all.  And when the info goes live in the right venue at the right time, they spend money, and we all earn our living.

I didn't make the videos, but updating the site with video embeds is all in a day's work.  Here's the original album teaser for your enjoyment!


Thursday, October 6, 2016

DHA Meeting October 9 - First Presentation of Proposed DCSS Land Swap and more

Everyone is invited to bring your questions and be part of the conversation on these initiatives that will impact Dunwoody education.  As usual I'll try to live stream the speakers on Facebook.

Board of Directors Meeting 
Sunday, October 9, 2016 @ 7:30 P.M.
 North DeKalb Cultural Arts Center, Room 4 
5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd, Atlanta, GA 30338


Presentation and Discussion – Austin Elementary School land swap and ball field relocation between City of Dunwoody and DeKalb Board of Ed.
Chris Pike, Dunwoody CFO

Chris Pike, the city’s CFO, will present details on the just-announced deal with the school system to swap land for a new Austin Elementary school and for the Dunwoody Senior ballfields to be relocated to Peachtree Middle.  This is the first of several public presentations to the community and is a great opportunity to understand the deal and discuss its impact on Dunwoody.

More info and news announcement.

Presentation and Discussion – Ballot measure for proposed creation of an Opportunity School District— State Senator Fran Millar and State Representative Tom Taylor


Also on the agenda will be a presentation by Senator Millar and Representative Taylor on the proposed constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot on November 8th to create a statewide “Opportunity School District” to allow the state to take over chronically failing schools (including quite a few in DeKalb County).