Now it’s all ruined. Take a look for yourself (click to enlarge):

Yes, this is the new University of Sydney website template. I kid you not. A generous person might call it “functional”. A less generous person might… well, let’s leave this blog G-rated. It’s grotesque. It has all the charm of a late 90s website. It carries none of the personality that the university aims to project, and all of the air of design-by-committee and oh-look-I-learnt-css-in-24-hours. There’s no warmth; the design alienates.

For bonus marks, it even displays in Arial on a Mac.

(For comparison, here’s a screenshot of the website as at 5 January.)

It is a common experience that ugly people have satisfactory social lives – Boris Karloff is not known to have been a recluse – and it is a popular belief for the truth of which I am unable to vouch that ugly men are particularly attractive to women.

Trivia: Lord Millett has a Chinese name, 苗禮治 (miu4 lai5 ci4), presumably because he is now sitting on the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong.

Photo taken by Dan

Lipstick on a pig?

The point is that capital works – from a new police station to a new port – deliver a flow of services stretching over 20, 30 or 40 years. Borrowing to cover, say, half the cost of the work is a way of sharing its cost between the present and future generations who will benefit from its services.
(full article)

Ross Gittins is a genius – this article is probably the best explanation I’ve seen of why the government should borrow to pay for infrastructure.

I missed the staff presentation on it today (doh!) but the “Brand Book” is up on the Brand website for university staff to view. It’s nice and glossy, and contains statements of what the university stands for, what the university believes in, and how the brand is developed on a more practical level.

And it has the new logo too! However, I’m led to believe that there are serious legal consequences for me if I post it up here, so I won’t. But I must say that I have a positive impression of it – it’s a logo that acknowledges the past, while presenting a fresher image of the university. Although some might consider it a heresy to change the logo at all, I can imagine some much, much worse alternatives – I’m just relieved they haven’t gone for something minimalist, abstract or just plain-old Web 2.0.