Reading about the latest in digital id standard proposals at PlaNetWork, and afflicted with the usual skepticism, well articulated by John Beatty.
I just don’t think that the big need is for universal single sign-on — whether we’re talking about corporate schemes, or touchier-feelier, better-intended open standards proposals from IDCommons and friends.
I think that there’s a big opportunity to develop design patterns for private and public spaces, supporting:
* progressive disclosure — create things in smaller groups, and share them with more people
* intimacy gradients — enabling groups to create more private and more public spaces
* easy group-forming, with socially congenial invitations
These design patterns are different from the more familiar:
* targeted marketing — a corporation snags your ID and tries to sell you stuff
* access control — how an organization restricts access to resources
I’m glad that someone is working on the standard for representing ID and enabling interoperability, and will be happy to use something standard when it exists.
I’m more interested in the design of the living room, front porch, and block party, than in coming up with a standard for front door locks.
Month: June 2004
Zen and the art of home maintenance
So, I decided to call a plumber for the leaky faucet after all. I looked up the instructions to fix the faucet and realized that, despite the fact that it’s a simple repair — in theory, within my modest capabilities — a typical kitchen faucet disassembles into separate 18 parts, several of which might be worn out. The repair requires a few tools and supplies I don’t have, including a larger wrench, a seat-grinding tool, and plumber’s grease.
The most likely scenario is that it’s straightforward — disassemble, replace the top washer and re-assemble. A less likely but dreaded scenario — I take the thing apart, need to buy 3 tools, replace multiple parts, and it’s still dripping when I put it back together.
Instead, I got a 150-foot hose and hosed the exterior of my house, weeded the gravel walk, snipped dead leaves from the cast iron plants, and drained the rarely-used hot tub (to refill tonight). Now I can call the plumber, as a reward for being a responsible homeowner.
I love the Small Hands blog, where Our Heroine gardens every week, cooks every day, and tells beautiful stories about flowers and meals. You need to put time every week to experience the feeling and reality that you’re making something beautiful, rather than the feeling that you’re just barely fending off the forces of entropy and decay.
Billie Holliday’s singing “Stars fell on Alabama”. People are playing chess in on the back deck. The Green Muse sandwiches are not optimal for dinner but the place is just perfect for reflection.