Inspired by Xkot, I took the “Which ‘Friend’ Are You?” quiz on eMode, and, well, it was no surprise:

Could you be any more like Chandler? The most lovable wiseguy around, you’ve got more than a little Bing inside you, don’t ‘cha? Front and center in your Chandler-ness is that unstoppable wit, keeping everyone in stitches (or at least deflecting uncomfortable situations). And like the Chan-Chan man, you’d never leave your pals out in the cold. But your generosity is so inconspicuous that people often don’t even notice it.

Romantically, a soft, sweet, heart and charming, insecurity rule. You might, however, be held back from love by that nagging little fear of, well, growing up. Ya think? But, like the adorable Mr. Bing himself, it’s just because you care so much and don’t want to let anyone down.

Sometimes the web can be oddly compelling.

When’s the last time you watched a TV show for the first time and thought, “Wow.”? That happened to me last night watching ‘Alias.’ Sort of a cross between ‘La Femme Nikita’ and ‘Felicity’ with a little ‘Run Lola Run’ thrown in, it was fast, exciting, stylish, and most of all, just fun. Jennifer Garner is fantastic as coed/double agent Sydney Bristow. It’s no surprise that ‘Felicity’ comes to mind, since J.J. Abrams created both shows, and Garner even appeared on the curly-haired college series. What a pleasant surprise in this current TV wasteland of new shows like ‘Bob Patterson’ and ‘According to Jim.’ I can’t wait for the next episode.

Oh no! Unauthorized people are trying to take pictures of the World Trade Center! This has gotta stop. Scary stuff, when you think about it. (via evhead)

At the top of the Hancock Building in Chicago is a bank of lights, just below the two giant radio towers. I saw when I was in Chicago this weekend that the lights now glow red, white and blue in three wide bands. I’ve found most of the flag displays over the last two weeks a little excessive, but for some reason I thought the Hancock lights were cool.

I think the American flag is great, and it means a lot to a lot of people. But the thing I fear is a sort of numbing effect. If every time you turn around, you see a flag in some form, doesn’t it begin to lose its meaning, its impact? That’s the effect I don’t want to see happen.

Sign at Four Star Video in Madison:

We are a straight-friendly establishment.
We totally support the right of people to pursue alternative straight lifestyles.

Great sign.

Well, Kevin has already scooped me with a post on the highlights of the Edward Tufte seminar we both attended in Chicago on Friday. But the ideas are so important that I’m willing to risk being called a copycat. Tufte (pron. TUFF-tee) is a genius when it comes to information design, and a wonderfully funny and engaging speaker. His web site is full of good stuff, and his books are classics. What struck me most in listening to him was that what he had to say was such clear common sense, that it only pointed up how little common sense there is in the world these days. The lessons to be learned from his ideas would be useful to anyone dealing with information (which, these days, is everyone).

So, I hereby present my quotes gallery from the day’s presentation:

On design
“Don’t be original – get it right.”
“Good design is clear thinking in action.”
“Great design is endlessly self-effacing.”

On business as usual
“Agencies, departments and programs don’t do things. People do things.”
“Yes, it is warmer in July than it is in December. That’s called the ‘executive summary.’ “

On presentations
“Why would anyone want to give a presentation that left no trace?”
“The biggest thing you can do to improve your presentation is to get better content.”
“Samuel Johnson said about ‘Paradise Lost,’ ‘None ever wished it longer.’ If that’s what he thought about ‘Paradise Lost,’ then what about your presentation?”

On computer and web interfaces
“No matter how good you think your interface is, it would be better if there were less of it.” (by way of Alan Cooper)
“It’s one damn thing after another – also known as a computer interface.”
“On the computer, all data has to pass through Bill Gates….which is the right metaphor.”

I’ve been in Chicago since Thursday afternoon, attending a conference given by one of the gods of information design, Edward Tufte. More on that later, but I thought you might be entertained to see some photos I took while on the trip.

Just finished watching the pilot episode of “Enterprise,” the new prequel Star Trek series, set 100 years before William Shatner’s Kirk shagged every green-skinned girl in the galaxy. It was quite good – small cast, creepy new villains, and a great choice of Scott Bakula as Capt. Jonathan Archer. I must admit that I loved the opening credit sequence – a montage of exploration images, leading up to a one-second shot of the new Enterprise ship blasting into warp. No dreamy spacescapes and gleaming ships gliding through wispy nebulas, just robust human history leading up to one historic moment.

Cool.

I think it’s fantastic that this franchise has finally gotten back to the wonder, the newness of exploration. You can see that excitement on the faces of the cast – imagine being on the crew of the first interstellar spaceship! It was also extremely cool to see James Cromwell’s Zefram Cochrane give the “go where no man has gone before” speech for the first time. I think beyond the boundaries of any syndicated sci-fi series, this culture needs more of that spirit of reaching out to something new, something outside ourselves. I know I’ll be watching.

I’m going to be out of town for most of this week, so posts between now and Sunday will be spotty or non-existent. In the meantime, you should take my advice and write an e-mail to a weblogger you enjoy. Here’s some ideas to get you started:

Tell Haidi how cool she is.
Tell Xkot you like toast too.
Tell Melissa you like her painting.
Tell Kevin you’re glad he’s still there.
Tell Mike things will get better.
Send Miguel your shoes.
Tell Suey you wish you were left-handed too.
Tell Arthur you have hope for peace.