May 2012
4 posts
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My Brother's Music →
Check it out if you like Techno, Dubstep, House, etc.
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Light Table →
So, it looks like someone else was inspired by Bret Victor’s talk and decided to do something about it. This looks really cool and implements some of the same ideas I have for Z (code is broken down to functions, not files). It looks nice. I wish they would do Java/ruby (right now they are only targeting Clojure and Javascript) but still, looks awesome.
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Buying Happiness →
Great post by Jeff Atwood about the latest science on happiness. I’ve been reading Stumbling on Happiness myself, and he makes a lot of the same points. What I find most surprising/interesting are the following:
Buy many small pleasures instead of one big one (another reason to go small)
Buy less insurance (I had a feeling this was true)
Follow the herd (we aren’t very good at...
April 2012
7 posts
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Watchitsfullofstars:
Happy Earth Day 2012
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Bret Victor - Inventing on Principle (or "show the... →
Really great talk about an alternative path or “career” in software which resembles social activism. I’m not sure that part really applies to many people but the stuff he demos is amazing.
Reginald Braithwaite - Beautiful Failure →
Interesting talk from CUSEC 2010 by Reginald Braithwaite. He makes some good points:
Don’t follow in the footsteps of sages (seek what they sought)
Don’t confuse correlation with causation (tools != success)
The plural of anecdote is not data
History is written by the survivors
A market for lemons (bad currency pushes out the good)
Local maximum (sometimes you need to leap)
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Zed Shaw - The ACL is Dead (or why working at big... →
I watched this video from CUSEC 2008. Partly it’s about how the ACL (Access Control List) is not a turing complete language, but mostly it’s about working within a huge corporation and all the crap thattends to go with it (and advice for programmers in general). I have very little experience of this, but he reminds me why I’m happy working at a small company.
Warning: Lots of...
February 2012
3 posts
1 tag
2011 Garden Recap
It was a fairly good year for the garden, although I didn’t get to devote much time to it. We doubled the garden size from the previous year and had two whole different seasons of growth (spring/summer, and fall). We can do this since we’re in Florida. We grew (in descending order of success): green beans, black beans, basil, tomatoes, radishes, various types of lettuce, egg-plant,...
Mr. Fancy Pants, Jonathan Coulton
TED: Shawn Achor: The happy secret →
Really good talk about the “Happiness Advantage” and how you can cultivate happiness. If you like the talk, consider buying his book, The Happiness Advantage
January 2012
3 posts
“Anyway, if I was still in those stuffy, hateful rooms where they plotted to ban...”
– TODAY in BoingBoing. (via areasofmyexpertise)
BlackBeltFactory is now KnowledgeBlackBelt →
This is a link to my profile on KnowledgeBlackBelt, it has exams on Java, and many other programming-related things.
Jon Coulton →
June 2011
1 post
January 2011
1 post
2 tags
December 2010
1 post
“the stone age didn’t end for a lack of stones”
October 2010
1 post
September 2010
6 posts
“We’ve already fallen behind in areas like alternative energy, better batteries,...”
– Newsweek: The Sad Truth About Facebook - Friends Without Benefits
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Announcing the iMicrowave
What would a Microwave look like if it was built by Apple?
Much like how it revolutionized the music-player, Apple has just revolutionized the Microwave. The iMicrowave was announced in a press conference earlier today.
We got rid of all those buttons, and gave you a seamless and intuitive interface. You’re gonna love it.
-Steve Jobs
Much like the iPod and iPhone, the iMicrowave has...
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SciDB: Relational daddy answers Google, Hadoop,... →
Michael Stonebraker’s name probably doesn’t jump very high in many minds outside computer science, yet it was Stonebraker’s quick thinking 40 years ago that paved the way for the industry these better-knowns call home.
MapReduce, Hadoop, MongoDB, Cassandra, etc. Stonebraker responds with VoltDB and now SciDB keeping ACID and improving speed.
“In the 1980s, the...
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Being Moderate sucks
No one pays attention. It’s not interesting. It’s much more interesting to compare people to Hitler (or threaten to burn holy books), than to have an actual nuanced, complex position on things. Nuanced is boring. Extremist is exciting. In this case maybe boring is the better option.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
– Arthur C. Clarke, Profiles of the Future
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Apple TV
The new Apple TV announced today looks really great:
Built-in wifi, ethernet, power unit
All streaming, HD content
Rent TV shows for 99 cents, movies for around 5 bucks
YouTube, Netflix, other connections
Stream music and movies from your PC or Mac
Look at your photos on your computer
Rotten tomatoes reviews
Price: $99
Really small
[Update] Limitations/issues:
Limited to ABC and Fox...
August 2010
31 posts
1 tag
Double dip?
Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’m not saying I have any special powers to predict the future. In fact, who knows? Maybe the economy will come roaring back tomorrow. But here are a few data points that say otherwise:
You don’t have to like Tony Robbins to watch this video. He makes a good argument that we might be facing another down-term before things get better.
Texas...
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Tech Predictions
Every one has their own ideas about what’s coming next, and I don’t claim to have any insider knowledge into the future, but I’d like to share my thoughts. Take them or leave them. I’m always interested in what’s coming in the future, especially technology. All new technologies develop in S-shaped waves (exponential growth that slows to a plateau). In fact, these...
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The political chemistry of oil
As oil washes up against the coast of Florida, does anyone really think BP could ever undo all of the long term damage that is done? The cost in lost tourism alone is huge. It will take a long time before tourists feel it’s safe to return to those beaches. I see commercials from west-coast towns just trying to reassure everyone: “Don’t worry, there’s no oil here.” Of...
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Simplicity vs. Choice
A good counter-argument to 37-signals’ less features = better by Joel on Software.
If you don’t have time, or don’t want to watch it (Joel does tend to ramble on (no offense, I think Joel is great)), here’s the summary:
more features correlates to more customers
it’s not about removing features, it’s about removing complexity (and unimportant choices)
often,...
This pretty much sums up how I feel about facebook. It’s not about privacy, it’s about ownership: http://oppugn.us/posts/1276871673.html
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The iPad is Great, but the Apps Need Work
I wrote this 3 months ago, but just got around to publishing it, sorry :/
Like many developers, I have mixed feelings about the iPad. Whatever you think of the iPad, the first Apps written for it are a different story. Jakob Neilsen’s Alert Box has a great report on them. In summary here are some of the main headings:
Wacky interfaces
Inconsistent interaction design
Crushing print...
Private jets to go on show at Brighton Photography Biennial - Telegraph http://bit.ly/anVZGk — If only commercial airplanes looked like…
RT @BTRIPP: Check out my review of “Rework” by @jasonfried at http://btripp-books.livejournal.com/98114.html
RT @ashwinram: RT @mark_riedl: Disruption in computer game industry http://bit.ly/axkwvM. Concept of experience is changing. Innovations …
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Derek Sivers Book Reviews
I love book reviews and books, which is why I will be adding mine here on my web-site soon.
I’m inspired by the book reviews of Derek Sivers. My only complaint is many of his reviews are actually too long. For now here are some short summaries of Derek Sivers book reviews (most recent first):
The Culting of Brands : Turn Your Customers into True Believers - Douglas Atkin
A person...
RT @hooges: I fully expect that my next piece of furniture will be “licensed” to one house. @loydcase
free tip: don’t get hot frying oil in your eye. it hurts. (I’m okay now) #freetip
RT @mashable: Apple Launches “Try Before You Buy” Apps - http://mash.to/2lNgX
27 Utilities for Saving and Sharing Code Snippets | Design Shack http://bit.ly/9NmsPN —-> anyone ever use any of these?
Wow that's a long time for a movie →
Cult hit, Colin Fitz Lives! finally going to be in theatres after 13 years
I’m not suggesting anyone give out emails in plain text, btw. blah at gmail, or just go to my website and click “ask me anything”
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The Upside of Irrationality - by Dan Ariely →
Derek Sivers review. He is so thorough.
it’s already noon? oops. darn you twitter!
RT @kevinrose: facebook is starting to feel cluttered/busy/noisy.. anyone else get that feeling?
RT @deadprogrammer: best idea for a 404 page (click on the Shoggoth/Unicorn), worst business idea ever http://goo.gl/6Mq2