This one must have slipped by the tech writers…

Photos from our trip in July. We went to Mackinac Island with Jill’s girlscout troop and then went camping on the shores of Lake Superior at Twelve Mile Beach…

Security related applications tend to tell usability people to screw off because security is the prime concern. This is the basis for having ridiculous password length and type requirements (with almost 0 innovation on that front), password change policies, and (my personal favorite) the exceeded number of attempts lockout.

Not only does every site out there require that you create a password that conforms to their own policy (which rarely overlaps with anyone else’s) you have to remember it, lest we lock you out of your account for an unspecified amount of time. Is it that much of a security risk to tell me I have to wait X mins?

Sure, someone could run a brute force on my account (couldn’t you just detect that and shut it down?) or someone could try to guess among the 40 most common passwords or so, but really, what are the chances of that succeeding considering the ridiculous password policies we have today?

So here we are, I’m locked out of another of my accounts because of a culture of intentionally bad design inflicted on people who need to be taught not to forget their credentials. It’s a sick process and one in which none of the incentives are lined up to fix it. Sigh.

Homer: Is it Batman?

Marge: No, he’s a scientist.

Homer: Batman is a scientist

Marge: It’s not batman!

Gotta love the bouncer-esque tone of the message. “I’m sorry, your name isn’t on the list, there are no options that someone like you can set.”

If god is a Cubs fan, he’s a confusing god at best.
Find Credit: mattbot.

How does this make them any money?

United Airlines said Friday it will start requiring minimum stays for nearly all domestic flights beginning in October. It is also raising its cheapest fares by as much as $90 one-way.

…

For example, travelers booking the cheapest seats between Chicago and Minneapolis or Boston and San Diego will now be forced to stay three nights or the entire weekend, Urbanski said.

Are they getting some sort of kickback from the hotel industry? If so, how is that legal?? Again, it’s the airline industry somehow proving that they can survive despite providing consumers exactly what they don’t want. High speed trains please.

*Saves up down payment for giant SUV*

Inner City Snail.

[Image Credit: AP/Morry Gash]

The contrast couldn’t have been greater. McCain’s barf-green backdrop of lame in front of a crowd that could have been mistaken for my Econ 101 lecture class was a complete dud. Hillary’s oddly worded “victory” speech pushed the envelope of political suicide. But Obama’s speech, just wow. I’d never seen anything like it before. My TV cut to a huge arena with U2’s Beautiful Day drowned out by a massive crowd hitting registers reserved for only for the most intense release of joy. Then, Barack Obama floated onto the stage and to the helm of the Democratic party as a scion of the post-boomer generation and in his own way, delivered a speech that in every way was post-vietnam, post-racial, post-Rovian, post-Clintonian and put a stake in the ground to galvanize a generation to build a future that Bush, Rove, McCain and Clinton never could. It brought tears to my eyes.

To those who grew up with the now nostalgic Clinton years marked by prosperity and marred by the philandering and corruption, and the Bush years - the darkest hour of American values - scarred by the anti-intellectualism, cronyism, incompetency and outright evildoing; Obama represents what could be a pivot point in the politics of this country. If he wins, Obama may pass some of the legislation he’s touting in his policy briefs, but his landmark will be the reformation of the American political continuum and ushering in a new generation to power. His election could mark a change in direction that will affect future administrations for many years to come.

I’ll never forget last night.