David Remer: Background Info

Ad-Rotation in JavaScript

Thu, 15 Jan 2004 03:54:04 GMT

Ad-Rotation is widespread and important for many sites, such as those that offer free services. In this article, you'll learn how to generate random advertisements in JavaScript, and explore some other features along the way. By Jonathan Fenocchi. 0114 [WebReference News]

Results Retracted On Ecstasy Study

Sun, 07 Sep 2003 11:47:27 GMT

[Washington Post: Nation and Politics] Scientists at Johns Hopkins University who last year published a frightening and controversial report suggesting that a single evening's use of the illicit drug ecstasy could cause permanent brain damage and Parkinson's disease are retracting their research in its entirety, saying the drug they used in their experiments was not ecstasy after all.

Animation Tips and Tricks

Fri, 05 Sep 2003 17:22:51 GMT

In this month's column, the focus is on the animation process, covering file formats, storyboarding, esthetics, polygonal reduction, image maps, weighted optimization, etc. By Nathan Segal 0905 [WebReference News]

MINIMUM WAGES

Mon, 01 Sep 2003 15:00:15 GMT

A few days ago I received an email from Nathan Newman bringing his postings about the minimum wage to my notice. If you want to know more about labour in the USA, check out Nathan's blog.

Can employers be so mean as to deny their workers the right to a decent living? Apparently they can. The fight for a minimum wage in the US can be compared to the fight to retain European social benefits, which are under heavy fire these days, also in the Netherlands. The same reasons are mentioned by the right-wing parties to cut benefits or to be against the minimum wage. The employers want low labour costs and as many people as possible working for the lowest possible wages. For wages to be low, there must be an excess of labour, which means high unemployment. That's exactly what Bush did; the loss of jobs in the US since Bush is enormous.

In fact, good benefits for workers are good for the economy, the companies, trade and industry, and the national revenue. The money people receive as benefits goes straight back into the economy. These benefits are not very high individually, so everything is spent on housing, food, clothing, essential things. This keeps the economy going. The level of spending also has an influence on the amount of taxes the state receives.

If well thought out this circular course stabilizes the economy. If you reduce benefits (or have no minimum wage) the circle is broken. It's the buying power that drives business. Reduce this power and consumption is less. People with benefits spend all their money, a millionaire doesn't, he puts it away, speculates with it, transfers it abroad. A high level of benefits guarantees continued spending. When benefits are reduced the national economy feels the full impact of this.

An other advantage of a good social benefits system (including minimum wages), is that there will be less criminality, people won't have to look for illegal suppletion of their meagre earnings. Moreover, they will be healthier and need less health care. Just imagine the huge savings for the government in the justice and health departments. You could consider social benefits to be equally beneficial to people as to businesses. In a way, it's a form of subsidizing business, with the additional advantage that's it keeps a lot of people alive and relatively happy.

Why do right-wing capitalists begrudge others a decent living, when they themselves take more that their share of the cake and feel they have a natural right to it? It's immoral. It's mean. It's unfair and not productive. The dogmas of privatization and deregulation can only lead to the enrichment of the few to the detriment of the masses. That's exactly what is going on: the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer. A nation is more than a clique of rich people.

How can the rich be so spiteful? They just take whatever they want, so why would the rank and file not have the right to take back what is their natural right: "Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality." (Article 22 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights). [Heli's Heaven and Hell Radio]

Theodore Roosevelt

Mon, 01 Sep 2003 14:47:47 GMT

"When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer 'Present' or 'Not guilty.'" [Quotes of the Day]

Public vs. Private Colleges

Sat, 30 Aug 2003 01:38:43 GMT

Which schools provide the most brain for the buck? [The Motley Fool]

Eleanor Roosevelt

Sat, 16 Aug 2003 15:50:35 GMT

. "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." [Quotes of the Day]

Immanuel Kant

Fri, 15 Aug 2003 03:51:59 GMT

. "Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life." [Quotes of the Day]

Albert Einstein

Sun, 10 Aug 2003 15:23:49 GMT

. "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." [Quotes of the Day]

Martin Luther King Jr.

Sun, 10 Aug 2003 15:22:21 GMT

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

John Kenneth Galbraith

Sat, 09 Aug 2003 18:32:26 GMT

. "Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite." [Quotes of the Day]

A (CSS) Horse of a Different Color: Pt 1.

Thu, 31 Jul 2003 03:52:58 GMT

Currently, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is working on enhancements and improvements to CSS. One of these deals with color, and HSL (Hue, Saturation and Lightness) has been proposed as a a more intuitive way of specifying color values than hexadecimal code or RGB decimal values. By Keith Schengili-Roberts. 0618 [WebReference News]

Browser Specific Parameter Settings.

Thu, 31 Jul 2003 03:52:29 GMT

Today, we discuss how to conditionally set certain HierMenus parameters based on the user's browser, platform, or some other user-specific condition. With a little JavaScript know-how, these can be accomplished via minor adjustments to your HM_Loader.js file. By D. M. Ragle 0624 [WebReference News]

Expandable/Collapsible Content.

Thu, 31 Jul 2003 03:51:32 GMT

Sometimes content itself, not presentation or navigation, brings a subtle usability challenge. When page text is unavoidably long and complex, the mass of material can lead to confusion through a loss of context. Join Author Michael Matti as he presents a solution to this problem. 0627 [WebReference News]

HTML Utopia: Chapter 4: CSS Web Site Design, Pt. 3.

Thu, 31 Jul 2003 03:49:31 GMT

The development of any Website begins with its design. In this and the following chapters, you'll move from tables to using CSS as your primary page layout tool and learn a new set of design principles. By Sitepoint. 0707 [WebReference News]

A (CSS) Horse of a Different Color - Part 2.

Thu, 31 Jul 2003 03:48:33 GMT

In the previous article, we looked at some of the ways the current draft CSS3 module on color would provide Web developers with new and innovative ways of setting CSS color values. If adopted, it will also provide the means for setting a range of transparency and opacity values as well. By Keith Schengili-Roberts. 0725 [WebReference News]

A (CSS) Horse of a Different Color: Pt 1.

Tue, 29 Jul 2003 18:08:06 GMT

HTML Utopia. Chapter 1: Getting the Lay of the Land. Pt. 1.

Tue, 29 Jul 2003 18:07:34 GMT

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) were designed to deal with issues that HTML cannot handle. CSS lets you separate the style and layout of your HTML files from their content, without compromising its structure. By Sitepoint. 0623 [WebReference News]

Expandable/Collapsible Content.

Tue, 29 Jul 2003 18:04:31 GMT

HTML Utopia: Chapter 3: Digging Below the Surface, Pt. 2.

Tue, 29 Jul 2003 18:03:43 GMT

This chapter completes our look at the "mechanics" of CSS: the background you need to have to work with the technology, which covers six topics. To learn more, read on... By Sitepoint. 0630 [WebReference News]

HTML Utopia: Chapter 5: Building the Skeleton, Pt. 4.

Tue, 29 Jul 2003 18:02:59 GMT

This chapter focuses specifically on creating the basic structural layout of a Web page or site using CSS, covering multi-column layouts, boxes, borders, the famous Box Model of CSS design, two and three-column page layouts, etc. By Sitepoint. 0714 [WebReference News]

David Remer's web site, Political News - Analysis gets reviewed by Rosemarie

Sun, 27 Jul 2003 01:21:16 GMT

The Political News & Analysis impressed me. Here at one website political information is just at your fingertips -- no searching of the web and not finding information on third parties and off the wall political interests. The purpose of this website: "Daily political news from around the world that affects, or may affect, the United States. Plus, critical analysis of issues behind the headlines. Links to political parties & news items from the parties. If it's political, it's probably here." [go to Review..]

The Charter.

Thu, 26 Jun 2003 09:49:55 GMT

Past notes: On this day in 1945 the United Nations was formed. Read how the Guardian saw the occasion in its leading article. [Guardian Unlimited]