Oct15
Traveler tip: Virus protection for your USB thumb drive
I’ve been using a lot of internet cafes recently. A lot of internet cafes and a lot of different computers. Viruses are rampant – and not just the poo causing kind. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Everything Else’ Category
Jun7
Kutiman – musician or producer?
I don’t think that anyone can argue that this guy has talent. Sorting through all of youTube to come up with hundreds of clips and then stitching them together to create an entirely new tune is nothing short of genius.
Where I get tripped up is in trying to explain to people what is going on. Is Kutiman a musician? Or is he a producer? Does it even matter?
We, as humans, love to classify things. Love to create order where there is none. Putting a name and a definition on something gives us the feeling that we have controlled the situation, somehow contained the chaos inherent in the universe.
It makes me wonder, are we capable of enjoying anything for the simple fact that it exists parallel to ourselves in that fleeting moment? And as new age and zen as it may sound, I believe we are not only capable, but we are at our best when we do achieve that moment.
Apr5
My Animal Home
Very cool single purpose site. Not sure if it is officially from Animal Collective or not…
Apr3
Remember what our fathers said…
Remember what our fathers said: As long as you let fear and the internet make your decisions for you, you’ll be safe. And why trust our fathers? Look at our last president, he never let evidence or reality get in the way of a decision.
I couldn’t agree more. At 7:41 am it was sunny and breezy. I’m glad no one took a risk, to do so would have been irresponsible.
Apr2
This is why I love the Internet
Every now and then something happens that reminds me why I love the Internet so much, and why I love working in the web industry. Yeah, it’s a little geeky but it’s also full of real people doing real things and having real conversations — which sometimes get quite heated.
Point in case: Jason Fried from 37signals posted this blasting of Get Satisfaction on Signal vs. Noise, 37signal’s massive soap box company blog. The comments on the post quickly ran into the hundreds with people on both sides of the issue, though comments siding with Jason clearly outnumbered those sticking up for Get Satisfaction.
But the amazing part comes next. The guys and gals over at Get Satisfaction first responded in the comments,
Gosh, we messed up on the wording of that badge and are changing it pronto. The wording on that badge was actually intended to explicitly state that the space was NOT OFFICIALLY SANCTIONED by the company, but that doesn’t come off at all. The idea is to encourage openness, and provide a badge for companies that want to be associated with it. This was just unfortunate phrasing (one small part of an ongoing redesign effort), and doesn’t reflect our values, as I think many, many people and companies who’ve used our service can attest.
— Gus* Thor Muller, Get Satisfaction
Then, within just a few hours they had arranged a live video cast, with the sole purpose of answering questions from the public. Anyone could sign in and ask a question and get live, on-screen answers. After that, they penned two thoughtful responses to the situation and posted them on their blog, an Open Letter to Jason Fried and a post to their blog, talk plainly about the whole affair and what they planning to do to address the problems that Jason pointed out.
Name me one other industry and prides itself on transparency so much that the founders of a company would come out and say, multiple times, in no uncertain terms, that they were wrong. Not misunderstood, just flat out wrong. It actually seemed, as Garrett Dimon pointed out, that the Get Satisfaction employees were fighting amongst themselves to take the blame on this one. What?! Fighting to take blame? What the hell are these guys smoking?
Finally, today, Jason Fried posted again on Signal vs. Noise, noting that Get Satisfaction had begun addressing some of his concerns and giving, what I would characterize as, an explanation of why he was so annoyed with Get Satisfaction in the first place. Customer Experience. Two companies, both with very large online audiences, having a very heated and very public discussion because they are both doing their best to stick up for the customer (albeit in slightly different ways).
So, yeah — the internet might be a little geeky and I’ll be the first to admit that I spend way too much time in front of the screen, but every now and then stuff like this reminds me that it’s not a faceless, empty void that I’m sinking hundreds and hundreds of hours into; it’s a vibrant, opinionated and very real forum full of real people. And I like that.
* Oops, I wonder who Gus Muller is and why his name was in my head. Thanks for the comment Thor and the correction, sorry about that.
Apr2
Too much time on your hands
Don’t get me wrong, I think this video is awesome, but does anyone else wonder what obligations and/or prior commitments these guys had to shirk off in order to spend every waking hour herding sheep around and video taping it? Still, I guess you have to hand it to them; herding sheep into a mural of the Mona Lisa is seriously impressive.
Feb8
‘Merica
Well, I may be “to old” but at least I have a third grader’s grasp of the English language.
Jan14
The Road to Roubaix
Saw this film last weekend, the director was down from DC to do a Q & A after the film was over. It was really cool, sounds like they just decided they were going to make a film (they were still photographers, not filmmakers) and they went ahead and did it. Showed up in France with no press passes or prior arrangements and just got the shots. Pretty inspiring story to go along with a pretty inspiring race.
Jan12
‘Tis the Season
As I sit down to write this, in the aftermath of Christmas and New Years, I feel I may be quite late. By this time of the year, most people have forgotten Christmas, forgotten which gift was from whom, forgotten the family squabbles (of which I’m happy to report, there were none), and forgotten the raging hangover that accompanied New Years. All the same, I am going to write a little bit about it. I had two Christmases this year. I am lucky enough to be blessed with a family that understands that I will probably never spend December 25th at home again. Which, I know, is a sad thought. But Christmas is the one time of year when both Gina and I can get time off to go to Dublin to see the Smyths and all of our friends. Last year we only had five days, into which we jammed far too much. This year we had 11 days (it was supposed to be 12 except that our outbound flight was cancelled), into which we jammed far too much. It was a great trip, as they usually are. We were blessed with beautiful weather and a few hikes. We were also blessed with a wedding while we were there. Which is a great way to see the people that you are over to see. Two people decide they are going to get married and then gather all the people you are dying to hang out with in one place for you. Very nice of them, don’t you think? I’m not going to bore you through the details of the entire trip, I’ll just post a few photos for you to help you waste a little more of your day.
Dec8
50,000 words, a new job and skiing before Thanksgiving
Yeah you could say that I’ve been busy.
Let’s start with the novel. I posted here before say that I was taking part in NanoWriMo this year. First off, it was great fun overall and I did finish make my 50,000 word goal by the end of the month. Having a deadline on something as large as a novel (even a small one like 50k) is such a good thing, it forces you to just pour the words out onto the page. No matter how bad they are, and believe me, they are bad. Everyone writes crap for a first draft, especially under a deadline, but as many writers that chimed in on the NanoWriMo pep talks each week said, “A shitty finished novel will always beat an unfinished great novel.” I am inclined to believe them if only to stroke me ego a little. So make your plans now, signup for NanoWriMo 2009 and write yourself a novel!
The new employment situation: I am the new front-end web developer for Entermotion. They are a Kansas based company that builds webpages for clients and also develops web apps under the moniker Paste Interactive. It’s, so far, been a fantastic gig. I am super busy day to day and I am now working from home. It is a remote job, meaning that I can work from wherever – this is going to be pretty key for the impending move to Italy next winter.
And no, I haven’t moved to Colorado. I’m not sure who did the snow dance so well this fall but I’ve already skiied 4 days this year. Three at Whitegrass on the xc sticks and then yesterday at Snowshoe on the tele skis. It’s been all beautiful snow and soft powder (east-coast style, no cold-smoke). Here’s to the wonders of winter and the beauty of sliding down a hill really fast with sticks attached to your feet!
A few images of the xc at Whitegrass from the last few weeks for your viewing pleasure.
