(6:33 PM)
3/30/2007
(3:00 PM)
Windows Vista vulnerability
Microsoft Windows Animated Cursor Handling Vulnerability - Advisories. browse to a web page in IE that exploits this, and the web page can execute arbitrary code (love that phrase) on your machine.(2:55 PM)
Triplr
Triplr - web service that turns semantic web data into triples. fucking cool. also, funny to be turning C libraries into web services, the way they used to turn C libraries into scripting libraries/languages (php, etc.)
an example of using triplr to turn stuff from geonames.org int JSON: Geonames machine tags, Triplr.org and JSON, oh my!. again, let's add *another* layer of tagging to our photos. machines should be doing this for us. via simon willison.
(2:41 PM)
Kossoy Sisters
I'm *so excited* that this album is finally available again: The Kossoy Sisters: Hop On Pretty Girls. It should arrive... while I'm out of town.(2:24 PM)
NIPSA
what does NIPSA stand for? -- it's a term on flickr for "Not In Public Site Areas," which means that a photo that is "NIPSA'd" won't show in searches/everyone's photos/etc. two kinds of things can be "NIPSA'd": nudity/inappropriate photos, and things that are "not photos" (images of illustration, screenshots, non-photo website graphics, etc.) FlickrHelp: non photos are marked NIPSA.
except now there's no more NIPSA, because flickr introduced filters. tagging is easy enough, but then we add titles and descriptions. place them on maps. add more machine tags. mark whether a photo is a photo, an illustration, or a screenshot. mark who the photo is 'suitable' for. all cool features, but all adding another layer of complication. eh.
(2:57 AM)
somewhat quick and dirty
fix to get special characters into twitter. php's html_entity_decode() doesn't handle numeric entites (in php 4.4, at least), but you can do what you need with regexes (as in this comment). except then, cell phones probably don't have right and left quotes, m dashes, etc., so everything should be extra-plain text anyway. a small translation array, for use with php's strtr():
$entities2plain = array(
""" => '"',
""" => '"',
""" => '"',
"&" => "&",
"&" => "&",
"&" => "&",
"'" => "'",
"'" => "'",
"'" => "'",
"–" => "-",
"–" => "-",
"—" => "--",
"—" => "--",
"‘" => "'",
"‘" => "'",
"’" => "'",
"’" => "'",
"“" => '"',
"“" => '"',
"”" => '"',
"”" => '"',
"…" => "...",
"…" => "...",
);3/29/2007
(5:18 PM)
GeoRSS
GeoRSS - this the kind of specific, namespaced xml I was thinking about the other day. (looks like RSS readers are a whole lot more ready than browsers to take this on, xml-wise?)(4:39 PM)
infographic
pretty: All (known) Bodies in the Solar System Larger than 200 Miles in Diameter. via dy links.(3:23 PM)
uri opacity
some dense nonsense disputing "cool URIs don't change" and the importance of semantic URIs: RestWiki: Opacity Myths Debunked. (nonsense because of the writing style, not because of the content). via kalsey.com/blog. relates to the Applied Web Heresies talk I linked the other day.(2:53 PM)
software
CleanArchiver - make archives on Mac OS X without cruft like .DS_Store. via adam kalsey, who is a Sacramentan.(12:41 PM)
expanding "orgasm"
nose orgasms! knee orgasms! Exploring the Mind-Body Orgasm. via myvag.net3/28/2007
(10:37 PM)
snow sculptures
International Snow Sculpture Championships. almost every year there's something mathy. (2002's mathy sculpture)(9:47 PM)
film quote
Just watched "This Gun for Hire"; at one point the (somewhat thick) cop says to his (gorgeous, lively) girlfriend: "Look sugar, what does it take to get you to darn my socks? Cook my cabbage? Sorta confine your magic to one place and one customer?"(8:03 PM)
omnipresent
when you upload photos to blogger, they automatically become part of a picasa photo album. weird. blogger always seems pretty seperated from other google web properties.(7:58 PM)
parents and email
my dad has this weird "networking" habit: after a phone call, he will send (often within the next hour or two) a follow-up email that says "it was good to talk to you." my mom, when I don't phone her, will send "hi, I love you" emails every few days, even when she knows I won't respond (because I'm bad at email, not because I'm avoiding her).(2:54 PM)
can't prepare food for sale at home.
supposedly. Whose Permit Do I Need? (pdf) - business licensing in Sacramento. Also: "If you will conduct business under a name other than one that contains your legal last name, the legal name of a corporation, or any name that suggests additional owners ("John Smith and Company," etc.) you need to file a Fictitious Business Name (FBN) Statement with the County..."(1:26 PM)
metaprogramming
Metaprogramming JavaScript Presentation. I don't get metaprogramming. yet. via simon willison.(1:14 PM)
web framework design artifacts
notes from an ETech 2007 talk: Applied Web Heresies. via simon willison. I don't understand a lot of it. Things that the talk considers artifacts of outdated constraints: "template systems, hidden fields, meaningful query parameters, and sessions stored in databases." (Heresy and Fried Onions)(3:17 AM)
frameworks vs libraries
why frameworks fit php and libraries fit javascript. via On PHP and Libraries at ParticleTree, which has good comments (but I'm too lazy to pick through the links, for now).(2:09 AM)
sorry
because the format fits and I wanted to play around, I put Pantextual on Twitter. kind of. when I run the script. which I would post, but eh (it's based on this script). it'd be more useful as a drupal module/wordpress plugin/whatever; running a cron job for a non-regular event is too dumb.
p.s. MagpieRSS is a slick RSS parser for PHP.
(1:47 AM)
oscms photo
this photo is prettymuch emblematic of the summit ben and I went to last week: row of dudes on powerbooks, listening to a presentation.3/27/2007
(8:00 PM)
(7:40 PM)
frustration
people who "work on websites" but can't manage to type a link in their [unnamed service organization I'm affiliated with] blog posts? what? also, when people can't manage their line breaks?(6:36 PM)
software use
iusethis (me) is like social source commons (me): social application sites (list what apps you use).(6:20 PM)
SubEthaEdit
SubEthaEdit 2.2 is available for free. (2.2 is an old version, current is 2.6.2)3/26/2007
(9:21 PM)
dead parrot sketch
much-linked youtube video of email scammers performing Monty Python's Dead Parrot sketch.(9:15 PM)
software
stop motion animation software for mac os x: FrameThief. via gariet at the ctc vista blog.(9:05 PM)
from my mom
iRack on YouTube. That dude is not Steve Jobs because his shirt is a crew neck, not a mock turtleneck.(8:56 PM)
sighting
jug band at V & 12t sts, sunday.(4:47 PM)
HTML5 crazy
HTML5 has gone from 0 to 60 in maybe three weeks. waffle → Now in glorious HTML5 (via daringfireball). I'm skeptical of trying to standardize "semantic markup" because everyone has their own ideas about structure. People forget that when we write HTML, we're tagging text, the same way that we tag photos on flickr or links on del.icio.us. Tagging works in the aggregate, but isn't a precise labeling solution for small sets of stuff. or, one person's <article> is another's <section>, and it's ridiculous to expect people to use a language like HTML uniformly.
If they're going to introduce namby-pamby tags like <article>, we should just all start making our own custom XML schemas. Then the nitpickers could stop whining about having to shoehorn web content into inaccurate markup. </pseudo-sarcasm> And how much of our "structure" is subjective as far as our supposed machine audience is concerned? Wouldn't popularizing some semantic XML schemas for things like blogs, articles, calendars, addresses—like microformats but in namespaced xml—be both more flexible and more useful?
Long and short: HTML won't ever fit all web sites semantically (where do semantic tags fit in web apps?). Either we can continue to live with imperfect tagging (works fine for me, now) or we can make some precise definitions for specific types of data (also fine by me: I'm imagining DreamWeaver with an "Insert Address" button, etc.)
3/23/2007
3/20/2007
(5:11 PM)
projecting
I'm having a hell of a time trying to figure out how to project the US Census' cartographic boundary files, which are "unprojected" when you download them. "Unprojected" means that the coordinates are referenced by latitude and longitude, and is sometimes called "geographic" projection. I think. If I knew how to "define" the current projection, I could easily project it into a new one. again, I think.(3:09 AM)
more colon than you can handle
so, I mentioned the giant colon in the Maine Mall, but somehow I missed the virtual tour. The tour urges you to "Expose Yourself," shows photos of breast models for practice feeling up breasts, and offers this final paragraph:
Before you walk through the gigantic 20-foot-long, 8-foot-high colon to see healthy colon tissue and the various stages of colorectal cancer, refresh your anatomy knowledge to fully understand what the colon and rectum are all about! Listen to stories about early detection screening for colorectal cancer, including Katie Couric.
now that I've spoiled the highlights of the tour, you should go check out their inspiring digital photos. thanks for pointing me to the tour, Jen.
3/19/2007
(8:05 PM)
37signals' new web app
Highrise is out. It's a "CRM" - Client Relationship Manager, or something. a sort of contact manager where tasks and past correspondance is part of contacts, so there's a task list aspect to it too.(7:09 PM)
three articles
three articles on a grant that CCRH recently recieved to do affordable housing work with Native American tribes in Lake County:
- Tribes receive housing grant from USDA
- Grant will help tribes with housing projects
- Supes Explore Housing Options ("supes"?? getting a little casual with their county officials, or something)
(5:47 PM)
airport wifi guide
Airport Wireless Internet Access Guide. the biggest airports are the ones that cheap out (except Las Vegas). sweet: of the 5 airports I'll see in April (SMF, LAS, IAD, JAX, CLS, and PHX) only IAD (Washington DC, Dulles) charges for internet.(2:04 PM)
word that annoys me
prehensile3/18/2007
(6:01 PM)
post-nasal drip
apparently post-nasal drip happens because the cilia in your nose aren't able to move all the mucous being made to the right place (out your nose). having post nasal drip can give you a sore throat. you should treat the cause of the mucous if it's bacterial or allergy related, but mine I'm treating with a mucous thinner (rite aid's expectorant/decongestant) and saline nose spray (like Ocean... or the store brand). also drinking tea and applying warm compresses over your sinus cavities can help thin mucous and reactivate under performing tillia. and keeping hydrated helps thin mucous too. or you can hum "om."(5:24 PM)
mmm
sesame seeds on vanilla ice cream.(3:06 AM)
Awareness Month!
Mathematics Awareness Month - April. for some reason I thought March was Math Awareness Month. it would make more sense to me, because Pi Day is in March.(3:04 AM)
"Colossal Colon"
March is women's history month, and also colon cancer awareness month: there is a giant colon at the Maine Mall this weekend. via meyer.(2:49 AM)
the show with zefrank
everyone's all over it, but I'll repeat: Ze Frank was one of the awesomest things on the internet over the past year. last show.(2:45 AM)
curbing students' internet use
at the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai, they blame the decline of camaraderie among students on web addiction and so are shutting the internet off 11pm-12:30am every night to try to get students to socialize/sleep. they tried this on us at the MSSM, trying to get us to sleep. "Stop surfing, make friends, students told." via uncertain principles.3/17/2007
(8:55 PM)
gill sans
on Gill Sans, the typeface: Typotheque: Eric Gill got it wrong; a re-evaluation of Gill Sans. interesting study of proportions. via daringfireball.3/16/2007
(6:55 PM)
burning railroad bridge
A railroad bridge in Sacramento caught fire yesterday afternoon; the Sac Bee really got dramatic with the pictures: Photo Gallery - Trestle Fire. There's also been this huge gray smudge visible in the sky, and the smoke is supposed to be toxic. In the pictures from up close near the fire the smoke is thick and black. Authorities think it was arson, 1400 feet of track will have to be rebuilt, and 20 trains per day normally run on that route. article at the sac bee.3/15/2007
(5:39 PM)
TIGERurrg
TIGER� Overview - TIGER is a system the US Census Bureau uses to, uh... do mapping things? that's why I should read this overview. the census bureau's tiger site.
update: TIGER files are so named because the Census Bureau's geographical feature database is called TIGER. TIGER files are the Census Bureau's take on shapefiles: they contain data on geographical features (roads, boundaries, census areas, etc). I don't think they contain census data.
(5:35 PM)
Cartographic Boundary Files
map boundary files from the US Census Bureau. shapefiles for GIS.3/14/2007
(8:19 PM)
march break
the next episode of Veronica Mars (#16) isn't until April. The last one was towards the end of February. episode list at the IMDB.(5:50 PM)
dinosaurs rule!
dinosaurs - What if the asteroid had missed? oh, cool! maybe there would have been a civilization of dinosaurs! more cool is the thought that, given the right nudges, lots and lots of animals could have occupied the niche that we do (uh, I mean, taken over the world like we have). If we're lucky, there'll be an opportunity for second round of some sort. waaaay in the future, I guess. via kottke.(5:41 PM)
pop diversity
Sacramento is "America's most diverse city" says Time Magazine. huh. via my roommate mike.(2:56 PM)
make it complicated, and pretty
slowed-down digital photography. photographs taken with a canon point-and-shoot through a Kodak Brownie viewfinder through a cardboard tube to reduce the ammount of light. photos by Emily Horne of asofterworld.(2:32 PM)
self-awareness
interesting: "johari window" - you pick words that you think describe you, then have other people pick words for you, then compare. "describe me. (people, on me). unfortunately, it requires participation of other people. bah, other people. also interesting: should you describe yourself based on what you think/know other people will percive, or on how you percieve yourself? guess it depends on what you want to test. via brownfemipower.(3:15 AM)
interaction beyond the formal interface
talking about interaction design through things like "center of gravity" and "range of distribution" (where on your person you carry things, and how far personal effects stray from you): Jan Chipchase - Future Perfect: Center of Gravity Archives. especially: "When an object can be any shape or size what shape or size should it be?" and some presentations. via a bit of ethan zuckerman's TED coverage, I think.(3:07 AM)
journalist-programmers
journalist-programmers - webheads coming into their own in the newsroom. via simon willison.3/13/2007
(10:59 PM)
web typography presentation
presentation on web typography from SXSW. has an interesting bit on "rhythm" -- leading plus paragraph margins plus text and header sizes. treats "web typography" as "real" typography, which is unusual. via kottke.(3:00 PM)
"several ways to skin your cat..."
cat = tiger. Uno - for switching out the brushed metal. mac os x software.(3:43 AM)
fixie paint job
I'm wondering how the paint job on this pink fixie is done... it's some sort of printing (money, almost?) laid in pink over white. color scheme aside, sweet.(3:10 AM)
in the velodrome
track stands in the velodrome (youtube). this is funny, tactical gamelike bike racing, and they still end up going 41 miles per hour. 1990 sprint world championships.3/12/2007
(9:39 PM)
web app numbers
really interesting: the numbers behind some web apps. customer stats: visits, conversions, revenue/customer. money: cost to build and maintain. as one commenter mentioned, this kind of stuff is invaluable to consultant types (actually, anyone building a business off of web apps). via simon willison.(2:28 PM)
making KML
creating KML for Google Earth from ArcGIS [pdf]. There's a free plugin/script thing.(3:27 AM)
more Pi Day
There are a bunch of possible Pi Days: in dd/mm/yy places, july 22; the 314th day of the year (Nov 10). I stick to March 14, though. Pi Day at wikipedia.3/11/2007
(10:22 PM)
basketball shoes
cheap basketball shoes as a social statement. in this week's NYTimes. the shoe is called "the Starbury."(10:20 PM)
essay
largely plagiarized essay by Jonathan Letham: The Ecstasy of Influence, at Harper's Magazine.(3:16 PM)
Pi Day is coming up
my friend Amy made this video for Pi Day: Pi Day Song (Lose Yourself in the Digits).3/09/2007
(7:49 PM)
shaping the evolution of bacteria indirectly
encouraging bacteria to "evolve towards harmlessness"—remove their usual spread vectors, and they become less toxic... so something like a good sewer system can reduce the deadliness of cholera. (part of Ethan Zuckerman's continuing coverage of TED).(6:28 PM)
Nonprofit CMS
Nonprofit CMS: This is the blog I was looking for two years ago. Unfortunately for the me of two years ago, it was just started this month by my good friend Ben. It's addressed to people working on web things for small- to mid-sized nonprofits, but I see it being relevant at places like individual departments of colleges or universities, small professional groups, etc. It looks like it will be talking about things like strategies for solving technology problems more than specific solutions, ways to sell your organization on interesting but not-yet-mainstream technologies, and things to address as organizations move forward with their use of technology. (I'm really excited about this.)(3:05 AM)
Ira Glass on telling engaging stories
Ira Glass on storytelling (video): a progression of events is inherently attention-grabbing; ask and answer questions; show the meaning behind the story. via waxy links. more.(12:59 AM)
tonight
night o' 1,000,000 phone calls. or 4.3/08/2007
(9:53 PM)
Noir of the Week
Noir of the Week. blog with writing about one film noir in detail every week. thanks, kb.(2:05 PM)
mapping US demographics
Social Explorer Maps - mapping US census demographics. Most interesting: you can look at census data sets 1940-2000, and you can make slideshows. via kottke.(12:17 AM)
widget tutorial
Expandable Widget Tutorial, for making widgets for mac os x's dashboard. via daringfireball.3/07/2007
(7:34 PM)
working. hard.
my supervisor keeps me busy with things like this video of a monkey with a mirror.(7:20 PM)
conference blogging
Ethan Zuckerman is the best conference blogger I've seen; check out his coverage of TED2007. TED = "Technology Entertainment Design." every session post is the kind of excellent article you find biweekly (if you're lucky) at other blogs. good today: Steven Pinker on the decline of violence. EZ's coverage of Pop!Tech 2006 was what introduced me to his blog.(2:45 PM)
Aliya recommends
PC Mag and Tiger Direct for buying pc hardware like external hard drives for backup. I prefer newegg.(2:03 PM)
Jitterbug - dumbed down cell phones
if they made cell phones that worked like actual phones (or, phones like mine) these dumb old people phones would not exist ("They will be a hit with the elderly.") (jitterbug phones).(1:44 PM)
flowchart
Ray Smuckles decision making flowchart (Achewood - March 1, 2007). via I forget who.(1:05 AM)
Ping recommends
Mozy Online Backup - 2 gigs free, encrypted, keep your own private key if you want. currently Windows only. random glowing review. (also, gross: someone is almost splogging at this blog of positive Mozy reviews: Mozy Review.)(12:58 AM)
chart
funny indexed-style chart on attractiveness and relationships. via the aformentioned Projectionist.3/06/2007
(11:47 PM)
stupid new words
I'm really annoyed that people felt the need to invent a new word for a blog: "tumblelog." "blog" is bad enough. this one has some good snippets, though: Projectionist: A tumblelog.(1:00 PM)
"hypermilers"
people who adjust their driving style for maximum efficiency. excellent article about insanely efficiency-minded drivers: "This Guy Can Get 59 MPG in a Plain Old Accord." via kottke.(12:11 PM)
tourism
"Poorism" - poverty tourism. Article at the Smithsonian about tours through a Mumbai (formerly Bombay) slum: Next Stop, Squalor. via Ethan Zuckerman.3/05/2007
(6:27 PM)
amazon was quick.
new camera just arrived. the old one already looks antique.(5:48 PM)
bicycle tires
forum thread on budget 27" bike tires. come up a lot: the panaracer pasela 27". apparently walmart sells cheap 27" kenda tires for $6.(1:17 PM)
california snow report
where I go to check recent snowfall at Tahoe ski areas: California Ski Report.(1:11 PM)
portable hard drives
It seems like Amazon is having a big sale on Western Digital "Passport" drives right now: Western Digital 120 GB drive for $107.(4:24 AM)
dragon in Galway's Project '06 parade
big puppet dragon. another from Galway during the arts festival/Project '06 week this year: street magician. not quite magical, but a good show.(3:49 AM)
boycott
RIAA boycott in March? eh. interesting, though: RIAA Radar can tell you whether an album was released by an RIAA member.(3:40 AM)
redirecting...
redirecting urls with apache. mod_alias. permanently, temporarily, etc. replaced. also, 410 = "gone."(3:38 AM)
lunar eclipse
pretty lunar eclipse composite. of last night's lunar eclipse, which was visible to "most of the inhabited world." except california. via kottke.(3:03 AM)
animal dress up
a dude dressed up as various animals using some random clothing items and occasionally a sleeping bag. via plasticbag.(2:59 AM)
protests and rioting in Denmark
On Thursday the Danish police forcibly evicted people from a building in Copenhagen that has been a squatter haven since 1982. They did this by dropping anti-terrorist police onto the roof of the building by helicopter and sealing off surrounding streets with police officers in anti-riot gear. The building had been sold by the government in 2000 (which the squatters viewed as unlawful because it was inhabited), and the new owners had been threatening eviction since last year. Thursday afternoon the police used tear gas to disperse 1000 demonstrators. Then there were protests (some of which turned into riots) Friday and Saturday (Sunday too?). Rioters threw cans of paint, cobblestones, and molotov cocktails at police. They also flipped and set fire to cars, and built street barricades with trash bins. Basically, people went apeshit, which I don't understand. I think that behind this, the building was more than just a squat, it was a cultural center for a lot of anarchist and punk youth. It not only provided living space for people, but organizing and event space. It was actually a theater, and has hosted concerts by, among others, Björk and Nick Cave. So while I disagree with the violence, I think that this kind of free space can be really important to building alternative communities, and the fact that it existed for so long and with so much use is pretty unique and almost idyllic. And it's no good that the government feels like they can/should end that kind of space in that manner.
I read a few articles, but this was the best: "Eviction protesters fight Danish police" at the Ledger Enquirer (AP Wire story). also, the hosted concerts tidbit from the ap story at nytimes.
3/03/2007
(1:18 PM)
mail maintenance hack
"Vacuuming" Mail’s Envelope Index to make Mail faster. sqlite maintenance. via stevenf. (for Mail on Mac OS X)(2:29 AM)
numb ring fingers/pinky
"handlebar palsy" - cyclist's hands. apparently the handlebars should be 2-4 inches below the seat. usually. more bike adjustments (but no handlebar things there, or maybe there are, but I didn't bother to read it).3/02/2007
(6:59 PM)
feature
oh, cool: WordPress.com now has inline LaTeX. just a neat feature. via simon willison.(6:49 PM)
Octavia Butler
"Octavia Butler forced me to rethink contemporary American politics in ways that Thomas Pynchon never will." Octavia Butler was an awesome black woman science fiction writer. This reminds me, I need to read more of her (and possibly, less of Thomas Pynchon... but that seems to be taking care of itself).(4:54 PM)
Ally recommends
Pieces, a pizza place in Sacramento at 21st and Capital. She says it's the only pizza-by-the-slice place in town, and not to get fooled into getting the regular pizza: always get the pesto.
She also recommends a sushi place in San Francisco at 14th and Church, because it's cheap. Apparently, it's really really super cheap: she and four boys ate a full meal there for $30.
(4:18 PM)
typing in Windows
in order to type the "cent" symbol under Windows, you have to either use the numeric keypad, open the character map, or add an "international" keyboard layout.
- numeric keypad: hold down Alt and type "0162"; it won't work if you type it on the numbers above the keyboard. A few more examples here: Windows Alt Key Numeric Codes. You can find the alt key code for any character in Windows' Character Map.
- character map: it's located in Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Character Map. click on the character you want, then hit the "select" button, then the "copy" button, then paste it into the place where you wanted it five minutes ago.
- adding an "international" keyboard layout: gives Mac-like key combos to get tildes, etc. Doesn't seem like it's optimized for regular typing, though. also, a CTC Vista member posted instructions for setting up an interneational keyboard.
(2:49 PM)
spreadsheets = mini-apps
it's cool how spreadsheets can become mini-applications; excel jockeys can hack together whatever they need, and if it's documented or fairly clear, pass it onto their friends. a spreadsheet I made recently (the one I wrote about before) may go on to be used for general project tracking at the county office I made it for. great! way better than their scattered previous solutions. but at the same time, I worry that someone will look at it and be all, "wow, what a giant hack." even though it has some pretty neat features, like filling in a row from another sheet, referenced by the value first column (first col = sheet name).
(thinking about this partly because of something about Anil Dash; I heard the spreadsheets-as-mini-apps from his blog in the first place, a while ago)
(1:40 PM)
cc at work
I'm trying to work out a straightforward way to get Creative Commons (or other open licensing) in the door at my workplace; I know I could make use of it in my own contributions at work, but I feel that it would be irresponsible to use it in an unsustainable way. If I make content available under a CC license, people after me will have to respect, and therefore understand, that license. I think it'll be easier to bring up (as an idea, and licensing as a necessary step) when I start creating stuff (ie, the "rural toolbox") for more public consumption. I don't want to just throw CC into the confusion.3/01/2007
(6:30 PM)
more gender at web conferences
another post on the gender at web conferences thing ("kerfluffle," as I called it before). also by a dude.
[we have a] project set up with the specific intention of finding new blood for [our conference]. We’ve invited people from outside our circle of expertise and interests and asked them to suggest speakers. The idea is to deliberately introduce diversity, to stir things up a bit and ultimately, to put together the most kick-ass line-up of speakers we can.
Is this tokenism? Absolutely not. I fully concur with Eric when he says:
What’s important is technical expertise, speaking skills, professional stature, brand appropriateness, and marketability.
But I don’t believe that this attitude conflicts in any way with the desire to increase diversity.
I don't really enjoy this topic because it intrudes on the idea that I can go drink beer and play pool with the boys any time I want. that's an idea that really only holds up when I'm not drinking beer or playing pool, but it persists in my head anyway. on the other hand, this topic thoroughly pisses me off; I'm on the "diversity is important and people are being excluded" side, but also the side that says "it's not a numbers game." read a post recently that brought up childcare issues--it's [more than just] tough to coordinate, and some women feel unprofessional when they bring it up. (via this post, which mentions the prohibitive cost of conferences to freelancers. and says, "it is becoming a 'circle jerk.'")
(5:34 PM)
media snacking
wired's latest issue is on "snacking"—media snacking! via kottke. on link blogs:
The link blog was the first Internet organism, built from a collection of the simplest cellular units of the networked society: links. ... The link is its own genre: sparsely worded, underlined, a discrete distillation of a new world that lies on the other side of a click.
also from the snack issue, this article on longer tv shows; they're becoming long-form movies (Lost and 24 being the usual examples, but what I watch works too: Battlestar Galactica, Veronica Mars, Firefly). 45 mins/episode * 12+ episodes = 9+ hours/season. 9 hour movies! (exclaimation point of incredulousness) I'd add that this is encouraged by tv shows' availability on DVD. I don't think that more involved tv shows are necessarily full meals; I think they're snacks designed for gluttony.
(5:27 PM)
multitouch displays coming from Apple?
stevenberlinjohnson.com: Multitouch Everywhere! proposes that Apple is going to come out with multitouch displays throughout its product line. it's far fetched to imagine this happening for June (iPhone release/WWDC), I think, but I have suspected that Apple (and computing) is moving towards a more physical interaction model. via kottke.(4:13 PM)
California and towns
if a California place is labeled with "CDP" after its name, the CDP stands for "Census Designated Place," and the place isn't an incorporated city. Also, in California, if a place is incorporated it is a city; there are no towns. or townships.(3:16 PM)
show for sat march 3 in sac
looks like a kind of interesting show at the fool's foundation this saturday: MUSIC - Antlers , Vis Vida, Modernstate, Bulbs & Minivan at Fools Foundation (guess who's in sacramento! now I will have to leave the house!)(1:56 PM)
Markdown in Javascript
Showdown - Markdown in Javascript. via daring fireball. (markdown is a formatting syntax for plain text; it makes sense on its own, but markdown translates it into html markup)
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