comics and postponements

Sigh. If only my biology textbooks had been written as comics like this one. It looks far more interesting and engaging. Imagine one of these for physics!

Graphic novels really are taking off lately. A lot of classic literature has been adapted for the genre: Edgar Allan Poe, Treasure Island, Call of the Wild, H.G. Wells, even Macbeth, as well as the previously mentioned Pride and Prejudice. I just wonder how close they keep to the original. That's why I can't listen to abridged audio versions of books - I want the whole story please.

I've read that DTV conversion may be delayed because not enough people have their entertainment systems set up for it. It was defeated in the House vote, but it's not entirely dead yet. It sounds like the percentage of people not ready for it is fairly small, and most TV stations are ready to switch on February 17th, so a delay would mean they'd have to keep analog going along with digital, which sounds expensive. Part of the problem is the backlog of people who applied for the DTV converter vouchers and haven't received them yet. I suspect another part of the problem is procrastination. It isn't like the deadline hasn't been well advertised. Ads and commercials all over the place. What are people waiting for?

The only problem I had was the poorly written instruction booklet that came with my converter box. I had to e-mail the manufacturer twice to get clarification. Since my brain is so tuned to plain language for my job, I wince especially hard when I read things supposedly written for the masses that assume the masses have telepathic abilities that will magically make them understand badly written content.

The other postponement, which I think is a good one, is the CPSC's proposal for a one-year stay of testing and certification for components in children's products. This law was going to bankrupt small business crafters almost overnight because it was too broad. These crafters can't afford to pay for the kind of testing that large manufacturers use to certify that their products are safe for children. They need an alternate safety check that keeps them in line with the law but lets them make a living too. I've got a lot of friends who were on the brink of closing up their virtual shops and having their creativity squashed solely because of this law. I'm glad they've got a little breathing room so that a more reasonable plan can be worked out.