Awesome history mixed with branding and ad. Animated almost on par with a Pixar short...?
Been ramping it up for junior during the late summer - at 3.5 he mostly has Duplo, but we've built one Technic crane (8+) and now two small Cars cars (5+) that he gets to play with and put back together as they break a bit.
-
...and the sun shines for a sort of indian summer - guess that makes for blogging weather as well...
Wednesday, September 12
Tuesday, July 24
Repost: instant book-lovin'
Found this while cleaning up my posterous "space" - from way back in October 2010 - and really the only thing worth calling a "post" over there.
But the points are still valid - even if the tech reading has slowed down a bit in terms of books - got a bit o.d'ed there for a while - too much reading compared to coding or use of the materials.
Just (28.10.10) bought and starter reading JS patterns, and one small thing (or three) struck me as a good sign of the times in publishing;
RT @OReillyMedia #Ebook Deal/Day: JavaScript Patterns - $11.99 (Save 50%) Code DDJPT #pdc10 http://oreil.ly/da1HrC
— Tim O'Reilly (@timoreilly) oktober 28, 2010
First off, I bought it directly from O'reilly - via a promotional tweet. Forwarded by Tim O'reilly - direct relationships works really well in defined niches or areas of interest, social curation at its best, and serendipity in effect as I had just read some comments regarding the book (@rmurphy and the pubsub hubbub )
Secondly, the acknowledgments features not only bloglinks but twitter names for users such as @rem (not only html5 mad skillz) - sign of the times in terms of discovery and dialogue globally, weaving between timezones and cultures. And out in the open, not behind closed doors or sites, but on blogs and open streams available for all.
And finally I logged on and started reading the pdf version in Safari on the iPad because the laptop ran out of juice before I got around to syncing out the epub (or emailing myself the pdf) - instant gratification triggered the purchase right now rather than getting the kindle version at some later date when I really have the time to read it properly.
Going digital means less bad vibes for picking up more books - but that also actually leads to reading more because they are available, and I don't have to lug them around.
Monday, July 23
Timeout: short sweet
An escapepod original, and that I have no problem understanding or endorsing;
EP352 Food for Thought
-
- SPOILER WARNING
-
“I am here to fulfill a causation loop.”
most
awesome
ending
ever
This is what makes short stories so great. Set up, execution and boom. Just mindblowing. Oh the implications.
Sunday, July 22
The detour most travelled?
Seth; Quick shortcuts (in search of):
There aren't many actual shortcuts.
There are merely direct paths...
ouch... bite the bullet, jump the gun and all that. So now what?
The main reason for jumping on the wagon when Seth Godin did his kickstarter, was short gems like the one above. Just a quick post - shared for free - that gets the mind racing. Gained more from a single idea post than from some thick business books.
Sure, a lot of them center on the same kind of themes, but each one has a different kernel.
Like this one. A shortcut is not a useful concept. Because it implies that your are not taking a journey, not learning, not doing everything you could - should - would.
And that is just as bad as doing nothing, procrastination by another name. Avoiding the tasks or goals that should be front and center.
So - new week ahead. Set the sights.
The main reason for jumping on the wagon when Seth Godin did his kickstarter, was short gems like the one above. Just a quick post - shared for free - that gets the mind racing. Gained more from a single idea post than from some thick business books.
Sure, a lot of them center on the same kind of themes, but each one has a different kernel.
Like this one. A shortcut is not a useful concept. Because it implies that your are not taking a journey, not learning, not doing everything you could - should - would.
And that is just as bad as doing nothing, procrastination by another name. Avoiding the tasks or goals that should be front and center.
So - new week ahead. Set the sights.
Friday, July 20
Throw away the crutch
GODIN; Competition as a crutch:
This brings to mind the staircase question, in that making the rules and the playing field is a core tenet for doing innovation. At least of the breakthrough kind.
Take the iPad versus the other tablets. Apple went beyond phones, net pc and failed mixtures, into something different. Big as a magazine. Not for stuffing in your pocket on the go, but for sitting back on the couch at the end of a long day. It redefined an unknown need.
As long as you are doing benchmarks or competitor analysis, you will stay in the shallow end of the pool, playing with the other kids.
Then one day you strike out, start to swim, and discover a world filled with islands, beaches and enjoyment.
The problem with competition is that it takes away the requirement to set your own path, to invent your own method, to find a new way.
This brings to mind the staircase question, in that making the rules and the playing field is a core tenet for doing innovation. At least of the breakthrough kind.
Take the iPad versus the other tablets. Apple went beyond phones, net pc and failed mixtures, into something different. Big as a magazine. Not for stuffing in your pocket on the go, but for sitting back on the couch at the end of a long day. It redefined an unknown need.
As long as you are doing benchmarks or competitor analysis, you will stay in the shallow end of the pool, playing with the other kids.
Then one day you strike out, start to swim, and discover a world filled with islands, beaches and enjoyment.
Thursday, July 19
Timeout: rewind, reboot
As the sun is slowly turning the bottom skies pink and purple, and my son has fallen asleep after waking from a mix of fever and nightmare, I sit here still feeling the "punch" in the gut from the story of the day.
It fits into some of the other posts here lately, from Flich to just do it type discussions.
So, set aside an hour for listening. And then some time for reflection.
PodCastle 211: The Axiom Of Choice
Sunday, July 15
Push it out - pebble coming
Pebble started off with a rather humble kickstarter page - then it went truly viral and ended up with a "slight" over-signup:
So much so in fact that they had to limit the number of backers for all the regular levels, meaning that in order to get a single watch you had to get in reasonably early. I almost missed it, thinking that there would surely be enough time before the deadline. But as I saw the numbers dropping of free slots it was a race against time. In the end I probably ended up with on of the five or so last slots on the table.
Now I'm looking forward to getting one, not sure if I will make my own tools or apps, but will surely skim the code - like they said in the video, the sub/pub style connections seem easy enough to set up and get (pun intended) running.
Already swapped from Motion GPS to Runkeeper for my bike trips, in anticipation of getting a proper "hud" feeling over the summer. Says a lot, happy enough with Motion and the data there, but playtime trumps pure utility.
On a side note there is a bike mount on its way from Deal Extreme so the phone will be getting a bit of an airing on its own prior to the pebble arrival
- ...and the sun shone for most of the day keeping it warm - but a steady wind up to 10 m/s gave a bit of wind chill...
$10,266,845
PLEDGED OF $100,000 GOAL
$10,266,845
PLEDGED OF $100,000 GOAL
So much so in fact that they had to limit the number of backers for all the regular levels, meaning that in order to get a single watch you had to get in reasonably early. I almost missed it, thinking that there would surely be enough time before the deadline. But as I saw the numbers dropping of free slots it was a race against time. In the end I probably ended up with on of the five or so last slots on the table.
Now I'm looking forward to getting one, not sure if I will make my own tools or apps, but will surely skim the code - like they said in the video, the sub/pub style connections seem easy enough to set up and get (pun intended) running.
Already swapped from Motion GPS to Runkeeper for my bike trips, in anticipation of getting a proper "hud" feeling over the summer. Says a lot, happy enough with Motion and the data there, but playtime trumps pure utility.
On a side note there is a bike mount on its way from Deal Extreme so the phone will be getting a bit of an airing on its own prior to the pebble arrival
- ...and the sun shone for most of the day keeping it warm - but a steady wind up to 10 m/s gave a bit of wind chill...
Friday, July 13
Timeout: Nix magical journey
Another timeout? Already? And in the middle of the day?
Oh, the joys of async publishing, writing, listening and distribution.
What better way to celebrate all that than with a podcast episode.
PodCastle episode #207: Hope Chest from May 8, 2012 is a "PodCastle Giant" - meaning that it clocks in at just over an hour. But it is time well spent. It is read by Mur Lafferty (the Mighty, Mighty) - their tagging, not mine - giving it that extra bit of geek-fu goodness on the way.
PodCastle episode #207: Hope Chest from May 8, 2012 is a "PodCastle Giant" - meaning that it clocks in at just over an hour. But it is time well spent. It is read by Mur Lafferty (the Mighty, Mighty) - their tagging, not mine - giving it that extra bit of geek-fu goodness on the way.
And, most importantly, it is written by Garth Nix, amongst his 54 books on amazon is also an ebook collection of Hereward & Fitz who have made many a fun journey on PodCastle.
This story is a bit darker, it is in many ways a classical "coming of age" or "heroes journey". But with q few twists and turns along the way to keep the listener paying rapt attention.
Thursday, July 12
Zen and strangeness of machines
This is the second part of my braindump, notes and reflections as I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
Part one is just a short link away; Zen and the struggle of blogging
And so we move on, along the journey across America, but also into the mind and madness.
 |
| instagram - tech for art? |
Blind alley, though. If someone’s ungrateful and you tell him he’s ungrateful, okay, you’ve called him a name. You haven’t solved anything. @ 846The theme for this part of the story is mental models. We start to dig deeper into the split between how the two men relate to technology - Motorcycle Maintenance. The resistance to technology and insights makes a twisted sense when compared to the attitude of the farmers.
When you want to (and can!) make a better life, it makes sense to understand and celebrate the technology that makes that possible.
But when it is a given for life as you know it (love it or hate it...) - then it becomes much easier to try to mentally rebel. To break free from the small things, because you are too dependent on the larger comforts to let go. Clinging on for the love of life.
Framing makes a small detail stand out.
Like the two instagram snapshots I've added here.
One is of a lamppost not ten yards from my front door. But one day I walked on the backside of it, and two pictures "jumped out" at me. The one included above and it's twin, where the bracket was loose and the nails all gone.
The other is a daytime shots of normal clouds. But taken with my sunglasses as a "natural" filter before the choices of instagram it seems magical and mystical. The ease of use of the built in filters made me think of other ways to adjust the images on the fly.
l
But it also imposes a context that isn't there in "real life"
Sometimes we have to step outside, in order to see things in another, wider context. Or simply to bring in wild ideas that trigger new usable ideas.
We also need the models and simple boxes to cope. In a episode of House MD from 2005 (summer reruns in Norway as well...) the patient was another doctor working on helping fight malaria across Africa. And House implied that the ability to "zone out" the problems across the world (or just in the next town over) was a Darwinian trait we should cherish. If we don't focus on helping kin and those close, then they aren't there for us when we need them. And then we all fail.
 |
| The best camera is the one you have with you |
“That’s what you don’t see in a car, I suppose.”
Framing makes a small detail stand out.
Like the two instagram snapshots I've added here.
One is of a lamppost not ten yards from my front door. But one day I walked on the backside of it, and two pictures "jumped out" at me. The one included above and it's twin, where the bracket was loose and the nails all gone.
The other is a daytime shots of normal clouds. But taken with my sunglasses as a "natural" filter before the choices of instagram it seems magical and mystical. The ease of use of the built in filters made me think of other ways to adjust the images on the fly.
l
But it also imposes a context that isn't there in "real life"
Sometimes we have to step outside, in order to see things in another, wider context. Or simply to bring in wild ideas that trigger new usable ideas.
We also need the models and simple boxes to cope. In a episode of House MD from 2005 (summer reruns in Norway as well...) the patient was another doctor working on helping fight malaria across Africa. And House implied that the ability to "zone out" the problems across the world (or just in the next town over) was a Darwinian trait we should cherish. If we don't focus on helping kin and those close, then they aren't there for us when we need them. And then we all fail.
We were both looking at the same thing, seeing the same thing, talking about the same thing, thinking about the same thing, except he was looking, seeing, talking and thinking from a completely different dimension. @ 983Again with the frames and models - now we are moving beyond just relating to tech, and into the perceptual models themselves.
I got my first solid intro to the practical applications of using varied frames of reference first year at uni. A course built around Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal's classic management book (fourth edition, original in 1984) presenting the the four frame model. The main takeaway is how things "make sense" within each frame of reference, for the people who have "the glasses on" and play by the rules they understand or believe. Internally consistent logic.
It gives us mental maps to OUR world for US. And it also helps to better understand others and their actions. At least if you take the time to step back, examine the situation or relationship from other models or viewpoints.
And the final quote of this post sets the stage for some more ideas, but just a simple number for now: 227
The split in the book also brings to mind the "thinking - feeling" dimension. The third Jungian split in Myers Briggs test. How we (think/prefer to) make decisions.
Unusual behavior tends to produce estrangement in others which tends to further the unusual behavior and thus the estrangement in self-stoking cycles until some sort of climax is reached. @1253
Wednesday, July 11
Timeout: Horror with Yeats
Nice a break? Take a trip in time and space with a 'horror' story from the poet Yeats.
I'm still a bit backlogged on podcast, even after cutting down to the bare essentials, but the trifecta of story-goodness that is EscapePod, PseudoPod and PodCastle still maintain center stage.
But this story, namely Pseudopod episode #273: The Crucifixion of the Outcast by William Butler Yeats - originally published in 1897, and podcasted on March 16th, 2012 - is a standout piece.
The descriptions, the characters, the tone. Dark, but not extremely scary or bloody. Poetry in action.
Get it in iTunes, over at the site or from the link;
Sunday, July 8
Zen and the struggle of blogging
As I basked in the sun this afternoon, I finally got around to starting a re-read of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
It was one of the first book I bought for the Kindle, way back on July 19th 2010 - so I just made it before it had lingered for two years. Part of the reason is that I've read the book before, guessing round 1996 or so. So the urge to read it has ebbed and flowed a bit. But today seemed like the perfect day to jump back in.
The intention is to read it it suitable chuncks, then use a nugget or two to spark of a post here, repeat until completed. Then reread the posts and make one final reflection on the book, the process and my thoughts.
Last time I read in during a binge of beat novels mixed with some epic fantasy. This time it is a possible first dive into more active reading - with Ulysses, Gravity Rainbow and Infinite Jest on the long list for fall (dark nights and rain presumed suitable backdrop)
Guess this might be called the zen simplicity? The simple act of commitment, it is either to obvious or to much.
For someone who loves what they do, the simple fact that a lot of people "just do the job" seems almost unreal. Why would anyone stay in a job just to do it, if it doesn't five them more than a paycheck?
And visa verca, why would any one actually be "married to the job", when they could just leave it behind at 5 and start enjoying their leisure time?
- ...and the sun shone truly brightly all day and long into the night - finally summer ...
It was one of the first book I bought for the Kindle, way back on July 19th 2010 - so I just made it before it had lingered for two years. Part of the reason is that I've read the book before, guessing round 1996 or so. So the urge to read it has ebbed and flowed a bit. But today seemed like the perfect day to jump back in.
The intention is to read it it suitable chuncks, then use a nugget or two to spark of a post here, repeat until completed. Then reread the posts and make one final reflection on the book, the process and my thoughts.
Last time I read in during a binge of beat novels mixed with some epic fantasy. This time it is a possible first dive into more active reading - with Ulysses, Gravity Rainbow and Infinite Jest on the long list for fall (dark nights and rain presumed suitable backdrop)
Caring about what you are doing is considered either unimportant or taken for granted.Read more at location 551
Guess this might be called the zen simplicity? The simple act of commitment, it is either to obvious or to much.
For someone who loves what they do, the simple fact that a lot of people "just do the job" seems almost unreal. Why would anyone stay in a job just to do it, if it doesn't five them more than a paycheck?
And visa verca, why would any one actually be "married to the job", when they could just leave it behind at 5 and start enjoying their leisure time?
- ...and the sun shone truly brightly all day and long into the night - finally summer ...
Here a quark, there a...?
Some potentially big science news over the weekend - looks like the CERN teams working with the LHC might have found the Higgs Boson.
I'm not going to take a shot at explaining just why it is such a big deal - but the video below is a very good overview. Sufficient to say that it might change a lot of our understanding of the Universe and matter.
I got it via NASA... which I in turn found via Jay Rosen @NYU on twitter, it was his crowd sourced recommended overview of the story. The power of networks and digital access.
Another solid piece well worth a read was in NYT - snappy title and all; "Physicists Find Elusive Particle Seen as Key to Universe"
I'm not going to take a shot at explaining just why it is such a big deal - but the video below is a very good overview. Sufficient to say that it might change a lot of our understanding of the Universe and matter.
I got it via NASA... which I in turn found via Jay Rosen @NYU on twitter, it was his crowd sourced recommended overview of the story. The power of networks and digital access.
Another solid piece well worth a read was in NYT - snappy title and all; "Physicists Find Elusive Particle Seen as Key to Universe"
In Geneva, 1,000 people stood in line all night to get into an auditorium at CERN, where some attendees noted a rock-concert ambiance. Peter Higgs, the University of Edinburgh theorist for whom the boson is named, entered the meeting to a sustained ovation.Must say that what I most wanted to see was a Big Bang Theory instant update from Sheldon, but so far no luck.
Saturday, June 30
Strike a pose - there IS something to it
Another non-online Wired piece - on the Harvard Business School (assistant) professor - Amy Cuddy - and her work on body language as a life hack.
Turns out that not only will visualizing an action help you as you perform it, but doing "high power poses" before you do an interview or a performance will makes you (appear) more competent and enthusiastic!
Says a lot about mind over matter - and the old adage of "think happy thoughts". Not only at the moment influences you and thereby the audience. But up front actions spill through.
Does that makes us really simple mammals, or extremely adaptable? Borderline magic? You don't see me doing it, yet it changes how you see me.
How many other factors transfer across time? Will smiling a lot before a meeting transfer into a good mood regardless of expressions during the meeting? And does it work when the audience is aware of it, looking more intently on the actual performance and trying to read the body language behind the body language?
Where do I sign up for taking a masters degree and digging into this? Seriously, it sparks of some many questions and permutations.
Hungry for more, check out the video of Amy Cuddy from PopTech
Or just get it on with Madonna - Vogue your way into the good spot.
Turns out that not only will visualizing an action help you as you perform it, but doing "high power poses" before you do an interview or a performance will makes you (appear) more competent and enthusiastic!
Says a lot about mind over matter - and the old adage of "think happy thoughts". Not only at the moment influences you and thereby the audience. But up front actions spill through.
Does that makes us really simple mammals, or extremely adaptable? Borderline magic? You don't see me doing it, yet it changes how you see me.
How many other factors transfer across time? Will smiling a lot before a meeting transfer into a good mood regardless of expressions during the meeting? And does it work when the audience is aware of it, looking more intently on the actual performance and trying to read the body language behind the body language?
Where do I sign up for taking a masters degree and digging into this? Seriously, it sparks of some many questions and permutations.
Hungry for more, check out the video of Amy Cuddy from PopTech
Or just get it on with Madonna - Vogue your way into the good spot.
Write me a story - it's good for you
Clive T column in Wired 20-05, talks about the creative benefit of writing fanfic.
Interesting points on the value of working within constraints, having to mold your story to the rules and themes of the "canon" you are working with. But it is unclear why this would be better or preferable to "pure" creation, be it written or other forms of art.
When you play in someone else's sandbox, you just go with the rules - sure, you can hear things in a vacum - rather than exploring the boundaries and rules you find suitable.
So, fanfic as a testing grounds, a "gateway drug" into creating - and most importantly into taking feedback on the work you make?
- ...and the sun was here, then it hid away again, playing with us for the weekend once again...
Interesting points on the value of working within constraints, having to mold your story to the rules and themes of the "canon" you are working with. But it is unclear why this would be better or preferable to "pure" creation, be it written or other forms of art.
When you play in someone else's sandbox, you just go with the rules - sure, you can hear things in a vacum - rather than exploring the boundaries and rules you find suitable.
So, fanfic as a testing grounds, a "gateway drug" into creating - and most importantly into taking feedback on the work you make?
- ...and the sun was here, then it hid away again, playing with us for the weekend once again...
Friday, June 29
Splat!
Planning on digging into some more Dexter over the weekend - so it was fun to see a story on new equations for blood spatter in Wired (20-05 issue, story not online, apps only)
There is, however, a Wikipedia article on "bloodstain pattern analysis" - with a solid assortment of images and animations (like the one linked on the left) explaining some of the maths and science behind it.
Also came across "Introduction to Blood Spatter Analysis"- a full on handout with excersises and tasks, taking you through the very basics of measuring and identifying patterns. It is from back in 2003, but the basics should still apply pretty well.
Dropping single drops from assorted heights, then onto multiple drops from same height, assorted surfaces and so on. #Science
Sometimes the smallest things can make a huge difference.
 |
| Illustration, trajectories Wikipedia |
Also came across "Introduction to Blood Spatter Analysis"- a full on handout with excersises and tasks, taking you through the very basics of measuring and identifying patterns. It is from back in 2003, but the basics should still apply pretty well.
Dropping single drops from assorted heights, then onto multiple drops from same height, assorted surfaces and so on. #Science
Sometimes the smallest things can make a huge difference.
Wednesday, June 27
Maybe? Not an option
Do or do not. ..............
Did you fill out the rest of the quote?
Did it just jump into your head?
Why is it so memorable? Because it juxtaposes the normal way of saying it. Sure, but also because the point goes deeper. It makes sense on a base level.
Posted a long time ago about saying hell yeah based off a podcast by CC. Now he just had a post on saying NO. Which iterates some of the same points. Don't do anything just to do it. Don't do it halfway or partially. If you can't commit - don't bother. And if the other party can't? Same.
And by that little round a bout we get to the inspiration for the detours, namely
Did you fill out the rest of the quote?
Did it just jump into your head?
Why is it so memorable? Because it juxtaposes the normal way of saying it. Sure, but also because the point goes deeper. It makes sense on a base level.
Posted a long time ago about saying hell yeah based off a podcast by CC. Now he just had a post on saying NO. Which iterates some of the same points. Don't do anything just to do it. Don't do it halfway or partially. If you can't commit - don't bother. And if the other party can't? Same.
And by that little round a bout we get to the inspiration for the detours, namely
CREATIVITY IS YOUR BIRTHRIGHT
the title font just looks so right, guess we'll have to keep it...! The post is not new. I mailed it to myself end of May in 2011. No comments, no notes, just the link. No idea anymore where I picked it up unfortunately. And no idea what I might have planned on writing.
But that is the great thing about being in this wonderful month of June - flow all the way.
Flow is a wonderful, and sometimes necessary, state. It is great when coding (rather than debugging or just tweaking). And when writing it is the fuel for the fire. Writing begets writing. One post sparks off ideas for more.
So why is that post from last year worth your time? Because of the attitude - birthright puts a spin on the rest of the post. This isn't just something you should pick up for fun or profit. It is something you are entitled to. Something you need to have, to use, to develop. Nurture it.
....chair-dancing to "lets go crazy" - vintage Prince & The Revolution...
Tuesday, June 26
j.d.i (-borderline rant)
Almost timely, but last weeks issue was really spot on this week - picking up the theme from the other day;
(explainer from NYdojo)
Moving. On wards. Learning. Doing.
You never know when the magic strikes. So don't just wait around for another chance.
Flinch
Carpe Diem
There are so many ways to say it, but only one way to do it - JUST DO IT.
Work out
Read
Learn
Discuss
Share
How should you work out? Try one thing, then move on. The evaluate, or move on. Keep at it until it now longer gives the boost, the kick, the energy above and beyond what you put into it.
How often? Often enough. Be consistent, but don't over do it. LIfe is a marathon if done right, so keep at it, take a break and get back on the horse. And then use the energy for moving on down the list.
What should you read? A little bit of everything. Read for fun.But also for learning. Read to expand your horizon, and to challenge yourself. Read as a reward, and as relaxation.
Learning? A little something new every week or month. Dive into Codecademy or pick a course at Khan. Watch a TED talk and then pick up some background insights.
And then transform the learning into insights - by reformulating the points, by discussing at home, work or online.
FInally, take what you got out of the discussion, and share it - blogg it, put it on Quara or write a book. Giving back, and sharing forward. Keep the loop flowing.
shikin haramitsu daikomyo
(explainer from NYdojo)
Moving. On wards. Learning. Doing.
You never know when the magic strikes. So don't just wait around for another chance.
Flinch
Carpe Diem
There are so many ways to say it, but only one way to do it - JUST DO IT.
Work out
Read
Learn
Discuss
Share
How should you work out? Try one thing, then move on. The evaluate, or move on. Keep at it until it now longer gives the boost, the kick, the energy above and beyond what you put into it.
How often? Often enough. Be consistent, but don't over do it. LIfe is a marathon if done right, so keep at it, take a break and get back on the horse. And then use the energy for moving on down the list.
What should you read? A little bit of everything. Read for fun.But also for learning. Read to expand your horizon, and to challenge yourself. Read as a reward, and as relaxation.
Learning? A little something new every week or month. Dive into Codecademy or pick a course at Khan. Watch a TED talk and then pick up some background insights.
And then transform the learning into insights - by reformulating the points, by discussing at home, work or online.
FInally, take what you got out of the discussion, and share it - blogg it, put it on Quara or write a book. Giving back, and sharing forward. Keep the loop flowing.
Monday, June 25
Substitution - it really subs to be you
Seth, in an email this time - Domino;
A New York City publisher probably needs $2000 a page to acquire, edit, typeset, print and distribute a book (making up a number from thin air). A self-published ebook author needs $1 a page.
That’s not a cost-efficiency. That’s a totally different industry. But the if the viewer/reader doesn’t treat the two products as fundamentally different, if reading or watching one is a replacement for the other, then a crisis is right around the corner.
Dis-intermediation is one thing. But the democratization of production? Making everything digital, and then making the tools free? That is the real "killer".
And no, it is not the "same" tools as used by the pros, but for a lot of things, good enough is more than enough. It doesn't need to have 80 footnotes for each chapter if that is hard to make, it can just have a free companion book of notes, sources and ideas for further reading.
Take the Flinch, by Julien Smith. Yes, literally take it. It is free. Written, proofed, edited and with a cover. Uploaded to Amazon, hosted and distributed by them as well. All for free. Because the ideas are what matters. Getting more people exposed to it means more people hcaniging their life and our world.
Sure it might also give a boost to the rest of the Domino back catalog, some more traction for the blog, and related sales for Amazon of Pressfield amongst others. But the main point is that putting out a book for free can be close to free.
And it goes for a lot of other media content as well. The variety of choice enabled by global instant distribution, combined with digital back catalogs? Stunning.
Case in point; audio content and yours truly.
(Caution; shameless self-links ahead - back in time)Once upon a time audio was music. And music was cd's (well a few records and a bunch of tapes, but it took off with the shiny disc).
As I grew older I picked up back catalog for artists I liked, one or five golden oldies, and new releases every now and then. Then I had a rather modest 150. That is one a week for three years.
Then I got online radio streaming - and so I could listen any time and "any where"(well, at uni anyway). Whole new world, less planned music, more new and unknown stuff.
Then I got the Zen Micro. And started making digital copies of those 150 cd's. And enjoying them all over again in new ways.
Then I got podcasts - and suddenly a whole new world of audio content on the go poured in. First a lot of "talk". The stories as Escapepod led to Podcastle and Pseudopod. And now music at work - Tiesto, Gareth Emery, Sebastien B keeps me in the zone when coding or doing number crunching.
So from simply music, today there are four audio content sets competing for my time;
- 150+ albums in iTunes
- DAB and streaming Pinnell radio
- Music podcasts at work
- Assorted podcasts on the go
Most of them at little or no cost to me beyond already sunk cost such as the radio, the internet connection and the iPhone.
And then there is Spotify and Wimp...
- ...and the sun is back - again - mixed day today, but bright summer nights keeps the sun on past 21:00 ...
One man - no vote?
In the latest Wired to make its physically way all over here, the first article is a real mind bender;
"How Selecting Voters Randomly Can Lead to Better Elections" talks about the ancient Greek model (or Athenian to be poignant) and how it is influencing experiments and discussions today in order to improve the electoral process.
"How Selecting Voters Randomly Can Lead to Better Elections" talks about the ancient Greek model (or Athenian to be poignant) and how it is influencing experiments and discussions today in order to improve the electoral process.
For a backgrounder or refresher - start with Wikipedia.
And then dive into other materials, like the History Channel.
Why do we vote? Or have the right to do so?
Because or voice should be heard, and because the whole population together should feel 'responsible' for the politicians and their actions. As they take actions on our behalf.
And as the actions or inaction impacts more and more of our lives, so should the involvement and the shared understanding grow?
Is the US vastly different? Well, in terms of political ads and spending it certainly stands out. Here in Norway the political ads are strictly legislated, in terms of when, how and who. But social media and tools like Google Adsense is blurring the lines between information and campaigning.
So, should we "outsource" the care for politics - to a random sample, or to those who really really care?
Or, should perhaps the media and the politicians work together to expand the insight and transparency, and radically change how politics is discussed? Or should we as citizens ourselves take control of the agenda?
Holder de ord is one such initiative - an open source collaboration (github!) to present voting data from the Norwegian parliament. It translates as "do they keep their word" - and is similar to sites like They Work For You in the UK
Is 60% or 50% enough? Or would it be better to have a representative selection of a few hundred? Would it make a difference? For the politicians, for us, for the future?
Sunday, June 24
Just do your stuff
Going more and more pure digital - added a subscription for Fast Company on the iPad, and started off wtih the 100 creative people issue. Way back when (before this blog, actually last century...) used to subscribe to both FC and Wired, but along the boom and bust FC got axed. And I've been meaning to pick itup again for some time now. But with the digital price approaching a single printed copy at the newsstand there really wasn't any need for consideration.
Now I just need to find a good way to get the ideas easily off the app and into the blog. (All the while working away at the Wired backlog stack still occupying a corner of the desk)
But enough meta, and onto the meat
Best quote so far from the 100 most creative list;
It is so easy to just get into the funk, and let it bring you down as well.
Getting both that tweet in the stream and reading the CeeLo piece on the same day felt like a happy coincidence. And it sparked another boost of energy, creativity and finally now blogging.
This is going out 'realtime', with the archive posts coming up being backdated to fill the gaps from last week.
As a suitable side note, the soundtrack for this writing is Girl Talk and All Day. A true example of making impossible into possible. Mashup (archive ftw) at it's finest?
18.5 days of music on the laptop feels like magic. Sure Spotify and Wimp brings everything and then some. But I still enjoy having "my" collection - since it allows for fun trips down memory lane, like picking up Tommy Tee from 1998 and Dr Dre from 2001, or working out again to Prodigy, like way back when.
...and the sun made a short but crucial appearance today - otherwise it feels like the end times, rain rain rain for days and days...
Now I just need to find a good way to get the ideas easily off the app and into the blog. (All the while working away at the Wired backlog stack still occupying a corner of the desk)
But enough meta, and onto the meat
Best quote so far from the 100 most creative list;
"I want to say that, instead of im-possible, I'M possible,” ... "And so are you.” CeeLoSure there are thing that are impossible. And sometimes we meet people we feel are impossible. But just move beyond it. focus on yourself and how you can move (yourself or others) forward.
It is so easy to just get into the funk, and let it bring you down as well.
Amazing how much better things get when you improve the bits you have control over rather than ranting about the ones you don't.
Getting both that tweet in the stream and reading the CeeLo piece on the same day felt like a happy coincidence. And it sparked another boost of energy, creativity and finally now blogging.
This is going out 'realtime', with the archive posts coming up being backdated to fill the gaps from last week.
As a suitable side note, the soundtrack for this writing is Girl Talk and All Day. A true example of making impossible into possible. Mashup (archive ftw) at it's finest?
18.5 days of music on the laptop feels like magic. Sure Spotify and Wimp brings everything and then some. But I still enjoy having "my" collection - since it allows for fun trips down memory lane, like picking up Tommy Tee from 1998 and Dr Dre from 2001, or working out again to Prodigy, like way back when.
...and the sun made a short but crucial appearance today - otherwise it feels like the end times, rain rain rain for days and days...
Saturday, June 23
From the third rock outwards
Wired had a piece on the Mars simulation mission - where they got to interact with some of the participants before and during the 'trip' to Mars.
I tried to find my original post on the announcement and call for participants, but only found this piece from 2007 on finding new planets way out there. And the reason was that I only posted about it in Norwegian. Back on November 1st 2009 actually. Here is a quick blurb, translated and edited;
Have you planned your vacation next year and the year after? If you really need a break ESA might be looking for you, as they are planning a full simulation of a round trip to Mars.
And quotes from the full ESA Call for Candidates, deadline on November 5th 2009;
The concept is incredible in many ways.
I tried to find my original post on the announcement and call for participants, but only found this piece from 2007 on finding new planets way out there. And the reason was that I only posted about it in Norwegian. Back on November 1st 2009 actually. Here is a quick blurb, translated and edited;
Have you planned your vacation next year and the year after? If you really need a break ESA might be looking for you, as they are planning a full simulation of a round trip to Mars.
And quotes from the full ESA Call for Candidates, deadline on November 5th 2009;
"The crew will follow a programme designed to simulate a 250-day journey to Mars, a 30-day surface exploration phase and 240 days travelling back to Earth. The isolation facility at IBMP in Moscow, Russia"
"... aged 20–50, motivated, in good health and no taller than 185 cm… Selection will be based on education, professional experience, medical fitness and social habits."
The concept is incredible in many ways.
First off, the fact that we are actively planning and working on ways to explore Mars is beyond cool. And by we I refer to humanity in its broadest sense. Taking the long term view, we need to be able to get off Earth at some point. Either due to our own actions or inactions - or because the Sun makes things to hot for comfort.
Secondly, actually locking someone up for more than 500 days? For science? That needs a pretty "big hairy goal" to justify. And the billions an actual trip wold probably cost, combined with the end goals do certainly fit that category.
But how to you go from thinking and acting like you are locked in a box, to acting like you are actually the first humans bound for, and landing on, Mars?
Sure, Big Brother and the rest of reality TV has shown that a lot of people are completely able to forget where they are. But then you have the actual prize in the end to vye for. And on a real trip, that prize would be truly spectacular. As for sitting in a box? Not going to get you all that much attention when you get out.
Still, I would have signed up for the real thing. Strings be damned - to boldly go and so forth.
Friday, June 22
Glory, glory - what's the story?
Story inspiration this time - Pseudopod - is mainly a horror podcast, but episode 266 is as much about life as things that go bump in the night.
The theme brings to mind Bruce Springsteen and "Glory Days" (embed below) - looking back as much as ahead, or simply at right now. Living in the moment, or for the moment.
Sure there might be wonderful things hidden behind the fence.
But there might just as easily be things best left undisturbed.
We glorify youth, and by extension say that growing up is not a goal as such, just something that happens as you try to (re)capture that feeling of owning the world and everything in it. When everything was all about the here and now, when it felt like nothing outside mattered, and everything was still possible - because tomorrow hadn't started.
But every day is a new day, every dream another chance. Carpe Diem isn't just about the big dreams. It is also living life as it happens. Every day a little piece of the puzzle. Every (chance) encounter another moment to savour.
So, as summer is setting in, projects and deadlines are winding down, are you preparing for fall, or just staying in the zone of now?
The theme brings to mind Bruce Springsteen and "Glory Days" (embed below) - looking back as much as ahead, or simply at right now. Living in the moment, or for the moment.
Sure there might be wonderful things hidden behind the fence.
But there might just as easily be things best left undisturbed.
We glorify youth, and by extension say that growing up is not a goal as such, just something that happens as you try to (re)capture that feeling of owning the world and everything in it. When everything was all about the here and now, when it felt like nothing outside mattered, and everything was still possible - because tomorrow hadn't started.
But every day is a new day, every dream another chance. Carpe Diem isn't just about the big dreams. It is also living life as it happens. Every day a little piece of the puzzle. Every (chance) encounter another moment to savour.
So, as summer is setting in, projects and deadlines are winding down, are you preparing for fall, or just staying in the zone of now?
Thursday, June 21
And thus we reach the end of 2011. Or at least the bottom of the stack of Wired from last year. Still got a solid dose of 2009 prepped for future ideas. But it feels good to be blogging, having cleared out the draft pile and move the last issues from 19- into the basement.
Had a post on Hunch. And how they had ended up. This time it is Quora. The profile talked about the influx of users, the money raised and the addictability of pushing answers out there. And to loop it back Quara has some answers on Wired as well.
My take? A fun playground, mainly for friends of friends of friends - and for those that want a bit more opinionated 'facts' than they can get on Wikipedia, but without reading a handful blogg post to get it.
There is still a lot of start up, and by extension tech topics covered. But there is also a lot of "long tail" content, like where to get biltong in Amsterdam.
Not my first place to go to for information, but would and could probably be included when doing a bit more general research. Possibly also because it hasn't gotten any google love for the subjects I've needed additional details on lately. Blogs, groups or Wikipedia tends to cover the results.
(this is also the last "back dated" post - filling in the gap week and making June-12 a truly all time high in terms of posts, 22 and counting - passing October of 2004)
Had a post on Hunch. And how they had ended up. This time it is Quora. The profile talked about the influx of users, the money raised and the addictability of pushing answers out there. And to loop it back Quara has some answers on Wired as well.
My take? A fun playground, mainly for friends of friends of friends - and for those that want a bit more opinionated 'facts' than they can get on Wikipedia, but without reading a handful blogg post to get it.
There is still a lot of start up, and by extension tech topics covered. But there is also a lot of "long tail" content, like where to get biltong in Amsterdam.
Not my first place to go to for information, but would and could probably be included when doing a bit more general research. Possibly also because it hasn't gotten any google love for the subjects I've needed additional details on lately. Blogs, groups or Wikipedia tends to cover the results.
(this is also the last "back dated" post - filling in the gap week and making June-12 a truly all time high in terms of posts, 22 and counting - passing October of 2004)
Wednesday, June 20
The insights of Khan
Another back issue of Wired, another post based loosely on a theme explored.
Nothing less is the driving force for Khan Academy, featured in 19-08 (link added):
It must be exhilarating going into school now - knowing that if you don't really get things the way the teacher tries to explain it, there is Wikipedia, Youtube and dedicated sites for most things to give you a second shot. And most of them for free (well, provided you have a computer and internet connection - or can access one at school, the library or similar)
see video in context and with links to the "rest" of Art History collection
Aside; noticed now that the piece was written by Clive Thompson. No wonder it resonated, love the writing style, even if a few of the regular columns seems a bit rehashed. Guess it comes with the turf, and is the reason I try not to reread to much of my own old stuff.
Education - and how we can change it using digital tools.
Nothing less is the driving force for Khan Academy, featured in 19-08 (link added):
Khan’s videos are anything but sophisticated. He recorded many of them in a closet at home, his voice sounding muffled on his $25 Logitech headsetThe piece also had an overview of some other edu sites, on the second page online. But with John Resig aboard the Khan team I can't help but but hope for and expect (more) great things from them in the years ahead.
It must be exhilarating going into school now - knowing that if you don't really get things the way the teacher tries to explain it, there is Wikipedia, Youtube and dedicated sites for most things to give you a second shot. And most of them for free (well, provided you have a computer and internet connection - or can access one at school, the library or similar)
see video in context and with links to the "rest" of Art History collection
Aside; noticed now that the piece was written by Clive Thompson. No wonder it resonated, love the writing style, even if a few of the regular columns seems a bit rehashed. Guess it comes with the turf, and is the reason I try not to reread to much of my own old stuff.
Sunday, June 17
You make what you measure
C.S Penn piece with the snappy title; What cake can teach you about metrics:
It is almost sad that the mantra "you get what you measure" is so little understood. Focus on call times and everybody will escalate or 'try this then call back'.
Not because people are evil (...) but because we are good at adapting. And at learning how our rewards work. If we can adjust our behaviour easily we will. As long as the cost of change is less than the imagined (or subconscious) reward, there will be an effect.
So take the time to find the balanced overview, take the time to dig into the factors - and think about what you would do yourself if the goals changed.
Just look at measuring a website
Users?
Pageviews?
Bounce rate?
Time on page?
Engagement, actions?
ARPU?
Frequency?
Recency?
There is a reason for tools like Google Analytics having all this and more. One nail does not a house build. The interplay, to consequences and the trends. Not the actual number as of last night. Either the number the last five seconds, then the last 30 minutes. Or the last month.
...and if you need more specifics on all that jazz - there is no one like Avinash. Read. Do. Learn.
The next time someone insists that they need a simplified, single dashboard metric of all your marketing performance, remind them that they are far more comfortable with 5-6 metrics (cups, teaspoons, inches, temperature, ounces, etc.) for a simple cake.
It is almost sad that the mantra "you get what you measure" is so little understood. Focus on call times and everybody will escalate or 'try this then call back'.
Not because people are evil (...) but because we are good at adapting. And at learning how our rewards work. If we can adjust our behaviour easily we will. As long as the cost of change is less than the imagined (or subconscious) reward, there will be an effect.
So take the time to find the balanced overview, take the time to dig into the factors - and think about what you would do yourself if the goals changed.
Just look at measuring a website
Users?
Pageviews?
Bounce rate?
Time on page?
Engagement, actions?
ARPU?
Frequency?
Recency?
There is a reason for tools like Google Analytics having all this and more. One nail does not a house build. The interplay, to consequences and the trends. Not the actual number as of last night. Either the number the last five seconds, then the last 30 minutes. Or the last month.
...and if you need more specifics on all that jazz - there is no one like Avinash. Read. Do. Learn.
Saturday, June 16
Magazines go web?
Several concepts and developments so far this year, in bringing a more flexible set of tools for presenting content on the web, in the browser.
Adobe is really pushing the boundaries and working hard to maitain a position as both tech and thought leader. Issue #3 of Appliness just came out, and as both a tech demo and a reference the first two were solid. (Even if the site has bugs in the archive links on the blog, and lacks links for the authors listed...)
And the work on text flow inside containers first released as a special version of webkit? Stunning. Took some time but it made it into a few builds.
Looking forward to hear if there is any further enhancement in the iOS 6 package. It is listed as "partailly" supported in the upcoming Safari 5.2. Thankfully the specs are moving ahead independently of the test cases.
Shame can't get the demo to run properly now in v19 [woops - forgot the about:flag - has to be enabled manually for now...] - here is the announcement and link from back in november 2011:
- ...and the sun is fading in the sky as this is written - had to pump up both the screen and the backlight from 1 to 3. Still not putting on the lights. Summertime. When the living is easy...
Adobe is really pushing the boundaries and working hard to maitain a position as both tech and thought leader. Issue #3 of Appliness just came out, and as both a tech demo and a reference the first two were solid. (Even if the site has bugs in the archive links on the blog, and lacks links for the authors listed...)
And the work on text flow inside containers first released as a special version of webkit? Stunning. Took some time but it made it into a few builds.Looking forward to hear if there is any further enhancement in the iOS 6 package. It is listed as "partailly" supported in the upcoming Safari 5.2. Thankfully the specs are moving ahead independently of the test cases.
Shame can't get the demo to run properly now in v19 [woops - forgot the about:flag - has to be enabled manually for now...] - here is the announcement and link from back in november 2011:
Corlan provides a demo page that enables you to see text reflow in action (assuming you've the latest release of Chrome, naturally)
Netmag piece on Chrome support
- ...and the sun is fading in the sky as this is written - had to pump up both the screen and the backlight from 1 to 3. Still not putting on the lights. Summertime. When the living is easy...
Friday, June 15
Play my life
 |
| First time back in OSLOVE post 22.7 the roses held the ground |
and a blank canvas
just a tagline remains
vague ideas of original intent
replaced with a new world
where roses are more powerful
more lasting
and more widespread
than hate, or fear,
or cries for a starring role
if not as hero, then villain or anti-hero
from pain to gain
life, death, love, remembrance
OSLOVE.
 |
| 28.7 #KRS |
Thursday, June 14
Natural 11
Wired 18.11 - the "natural" breast issue caused a bit of a stir. But what got my attention was something completely different.
Phineas & Ferb mainly. The piece was just around the same time as they started airing big time on Disney Channel over here. I must admit to being pleasantly surprised to hear that the were Disney made (or paid, same distinction).
Became a fan watching it with junior (who wanted to hear the songs over and over and over and over... especially the "big tune" #1 song - he has since moved on to Dora as the main "want to see")
I had some fun with the ToonTips - short clips showing how to draw one character in one simple pose, using the stylus and the iPad to sketch out some simple characters (heads at least). The simple style makes it both memorable and replicable even for a simple dabbler such as me. Even downloaded and printed out a four page guide for when junior gets around to drawing somewhat planned.
Then there was the launch (?) of wired.com/rawfile - photoblog with a twist. Which is still going strong, actually ended up there a few days ago for the 'screaming' images (one seen left - worth reading and seeing the whole piece)
And finally, WDYDWYD. What a fun acronym, impossible to sound out compared to saying it in full. And so simple to understand when you have heard or read it once.
What is it that motivates you? Makes the blood pound a little bit more, makes you get out of bed in the morning?
Seeing it's been taken a step further with a .com - get some text on an image to express it - WHY do you do what YOU do?
Sometimes just asking it makes things clearer. And sometimes if you really dig into the answers you might find that it is time to change.
Be it a pivot or a "war" - or a FLINCH! (still free, still awesome, still nagging me)
- ...and the sun is probably shining today, so I'm out at the swings, while the nice servers pushes this out there for you. Yes YOU.
Phineas & Ferb mainly. The piece was just around the same time as they started airing big time on Disney Channel over here. I must admit to being pleasantly surprised to hear that the were Disney made (or paid, same distinction).
Became a fan watching it with junior (who wanted to hear the songs over and over and over and over... especially the "big tune" #1 song - he has since moved on to Dora as the main "want to see")
I had some fun with the ToonTips - short clips showing how to draw one character in one simple pose, using the stylus and the iPad to sketch out some simple characters (heads at least). The simple style makes it both memorable and replicable even for a simple dabbler such as me. Even downloaded and printed out a four page guide for when junior gets around to drawing somewhat planned.
And finally, WDYDWYD. What a fun acronym, impossible to sound out compared to saying it in full. And so simple to understand when you have heard or read it once.
What is it that motivates you? Makes the blood pound a little bit more, makes you get out of bed in the morning?
Seeing it's been taken a step further with a .com - get some text on an image to express it - WHY do you do what YOU do?
Sometimes just asking it makes things clearer. And sometimes if you really dig into the answers you might find that it is time to change.
Be it a pivot or a "war" - or a FLINCH! (still free, still awesome, still nagging me)
- ...and the sun is probably shining today, so I'm out at the swings, while the nice servers pushes this out there for you. Yes YOU.
Wednesday, June 13
If you see it, can you DO it?
Small hassle with going backwards through the stacks - this post was a draft initially put between two other ideas, that have sort of evolved into something else. But there is still a link of some sort to the topics of how we can learn so much more with digital access - and at the same time how machine learning is actually starting to pan out. Not as the AI of old sci-fi, but as topic masters.
Wired 19.01 was the issue that originally covered "the other" C:A and his musings on "computer assisted innovation" (CAI) - as seen on the TED stage when the LXD kicked it. [wikip] Dance is just one of many fields where the ability to instantly and repeatedly view others across the globe has turned up the speed of innovation, change and adaptability.
My initial response on reading the piece on CAI, and watching the video, was "VIEW SOURCE".
For myself and a lot of others picking up web development in the early to mid nineties consisted of a few books, some newsgroups and mailing lists - and a lot of 'learning by looking'. "View Source" - it was how the web was built; share the insight into the code, then deconstruct it, comment it and do something more.
Video means that ANY skill or niche can "play" along - and thereby get "innovation at net speed" - no printing time, no time to wait for the traveling freak show or circus to amaze you, no waiting around for the start of season 2 (or for season one to get to Norway in the first place...)
Instant access, instant gratification. Instant inspiration.
And the other noteworthy subject was a part of the AI package - on stock bots, going too fast and too large to be understood? Far way from the early 90-ies comp sci I read at university. Memory and disk space was still at a premium. Java was starting to turn up and promise a bit more hassle free environment (hello Applet!), but for hard core coding there was C++
...and for the most dedicated even Assembly was taught, used and discussed.
Thankfully (?) the iOS success has raised awareness of a stricter coding paradigm and the need for more than just a casual understanding to do dev.
Sure, you can whip up a simple hello world without more than skimming the tutorials. And you can wrap your web app into a native powerhouse using Phonegap and the likes. But as soon as you start into the more complex functionality performance and structure is taking a solid hit from messy code.
Wired 19.01 was the issue that originally covered "the other" C:A and his musings on "computer assisted innovation" (CAI) - as seen on the TED stage when the LXD kicked it. [wikip] Dance is just one of many fields where the ability to instantly and repeatedly view others across the globe has turned up the speed of innovation, change and adaptability.
My initial response on reading the piece on CAI, and watching the video, was "VIEW SOURCE".
For myself and a lot of others picking up web development in the early to mid nineties consisted of a few books, some newsgroups and mailing lists - and a lot of 'learning by looking'. "View Source" - it was how the web was built; share the insight into the code, then deconstruct it, comment it and do something more.
Video means that ANY skill or niche can "play" along - and thereby get "innovation at net speed" - no printing time, no time to wait for the traveling freak show or circus to amaze you, no waiting around for the start of season 2 (or for season one to get to Norway in the first place...)
Instant access, instant gratification. Instant inspiration.
And the other noteworthy subject was a part of the AI package - on stock bots, going too fast and too large to be understood? Far way from the early 90-ies comp sci I read at university. Memory and disk space was still at a premium. Java was starting to turn up and promise a bit more hassle free environment (hello Applet!), but for hard core coding there was C++
...and for the most dedicated even Assembly was taught, used and discussed.
Thankfully (?) the iOS success has raised awareness of a stricter coding paradigm and the need for more than just a casual understanding to do dev.
Sure, you can whip up a simple hello world without more than skimming the tutorials. And you can wrap your web app into a native powerhouse using Phonegap and the likes. But as soon as you start into the more complex functionality performance and structure is taking a solid hit from messy code.
Tuesday, June 12
Lost in time
An assorted braindump for Wired 17.12 - so pushing this one backwards in time, more to come, more to go.
www.fora.tv - TED talks for the masses...? Seems like a sort of dumping post for mid-list conferences that want something more than their own blog and vimeo posting for attention. Mixing premium (500) with free (10000+) content. But since this is the first time I've re-heard about it since then mayhap the need just isn't there? More than easy enough to embed from vimeo or youtube and then use social media to promote it yourself - or have the attendees and presenters do it.
Photojojo - iPhone lenses @ $40 ?
I'm still planning on getting a small "pocket lens", now with being back on iOS and a 4s it makes even more sense. Sort of.
Apps like Instagram makes for a different scope of photos. And while it isn't true macro, it can go pretty close for that weird urban, industrial too real look.
Guess it would make an ideal impulse buy, but haven't seen them in the local "almost" Apple Store. Guess not official enough to carry. Or too slim margins.
Snap on the right is from my "Android stint" - found the new "from you phone" option in Blogger. Actually cool. But short codes like WP would wow me more.
(sidenote; just put a macro-band in the shopping cart, just for a few fun shots. Chance of completing purchase? 60%...)
Ads noted; 2 * QR codes, google Goggles ad - is it really smarter, simpler than a code url or sms txt call to action? Especially with pretty custom short url available; jr.ly/FORD11 ? Or is it about being "innovative" in print? Expanding boundaries because url or text didn't track well enough (or perform?) Guess it comes from reading the paper and most magazines at home - don't really feel the need to read more on a tiny screen, when I can just google or type my way towards the full picture.
Also had a short post in the Start section on Competitive coding - using Pascal and C++ as the languages. No java. So in a way basics still rule? Pascal was the first 'real' language I was thought at uni, then we moved on to C++. While those a year later got a new class with java as intro.
Thinking back to a world where Java was the new hotness, that today is ObjectiveC and Apps. Back then it was Applets to rule them all. Same concept really. Make some dedicated code, play on top of a set of API's and a runtime. And distribute the file across purely digital channels.
That failed - at least compared to the hype and the potential. While the iPhone that initially touted web apps broke the bank and then some in terms of full on apps. Chance, planning, maturity or something more?
Blasting out tunes from the past in iTunes - jumping around in the grunge, heavy and punk genre buckets.
Right now "Moonchild".....
www.fora.tv - TED talks for the masses...? Seems like a sort of dumping post for mid-list conferences that want something more than their own blog and vimeo posting for attention. Mixing premium (500) with free (10000+) content. But since this is the first time I've re-heard about it since then mayhap the need just isn't there? More than easy enough to embed from vimeo or youtube and then use social media to promote it yourself - or have the attendees and presenters do it.
 |
Bussing away - tap tap tap |
I'm still planning on getting a small "pocket lens", now with being back on iOS and a 4s it makes even more sense. Sort of.
Apps like Instagram makes for a different scope of photos. And while it isn't true macro, it can go pretty close for that weird urban, industrial too real look.
Guess it would make an ideal impulse buy, but haven't seen them in the local "almost" Apple Store. Guess not official enough to carry. Or too slim margins.
Snap on the right is from my "Android stint" - found the new "from you phone" option in Blogger. Actually cool. But short codes like WP would wow me more.
(sidenote; just put a macro-band in the shopping cart, just for a few fun shots. Chance of completing purchase? 60%...)
Ads noted; 2 * QR codes, google Goggles ad - is it really smarter, simpler than a code url or sms txt call to action? Especially with pretty custom short url available; jr.ly/FORD11 ? Or is it about being "innovative" in print? Expanding boundaries because url or text didn't track well enough (or perform?) Guess it comes from reading the paper and most magazines at home - don't really feel the need to read more on a tiny screen, when I can just google or type my way towards the full picture.
Everyday magic that we are to busy to really enjoy?
LaCie - MosKeyTO - 8gb usb MINI drive - $19 list price now, should be around NOK 200? It is almost too small not to use. As a quick backup, drop box sync or just keylogger ;) In fact they've even added in matching cloud storage from something called 'wuala'.Also had a short post in the Start section on Competitive coding - using Pascal and C++ as the languages. No java. So in a way basics still rule? Pascal was the first 'real' language I was thought at uni, then we moved on to C++. While those a year later got a new class with java as intro.
Thinking back to a world where Java was the new hotness, that today is ObjectiveC and Apps. Back then it was Applets to rule them all. Same concept really. Make some dedicated code, play on top of a set of API's and a runtime. And distribute the file across purely digital channels.
That failed - at least compared to the hype and the potential. While the iPhone that initially touted web apps broke the bank and then some in terms of full on apps. Chance, planning, maturity or something more?
Blasting out tunes from the past in iTunes - jumping around in the grunge, heavy and punk genre buckets.
Right now "Moonchild".....
Sunday, June 10
Neuro-pattern-light
I hate the new blogger. It killed the original version of this post as I hit save. Then I tested a new blank post and it failed again. Could somebody please tell Google that there is this thing called iPad, and if their solutions continue to work as poorly a lot of users are up for grabs. I have already stopped most my newsletters to gmail because the use is a hassle (yeah, could add it as account, but with work email that was a hassle in the first iteration at least)
And now tumblr looks really good, why even wordpress is starting to come around to ios as a platform of choice with the app growing stronger every incremental release..
On to the recreation, thankfully only two paras in before hit the save, but still two too many...
Read neuromancer et al in early teens at school, when computers consisted of commodore 64 (or a 128 as I had), used mainly for games and the occasional demo. A friends father had a Mac that we got to use for a few school projects - typing up the report and putting in some pictures.
Then picked up the bridge books more or less at university, where dot com was becoming a phrase, but a bit before the boom/bust really started. Back when Fast Company was still mostly about business trends.
And pattern rec is one of the last printed books I bought (fiction and regular non fiction at least) - spook country and zero history were delivered directly to a kindle or the kindle app on iPad. Read digitally and instantly on release. No time lag for cross Atlantic distribution or priorities.
My teens, my twenties, my thirties. As the world has gone digital and then some, so has my life. as the future has become today, so his books have merged into "reality", blurring the lines more with each passing chapter.
For books and background, check the Amazon author page
The magic of not having. So good quote - had to brutally trim it down a bit, because you really should go over there and read the whole thing. Now. Come back afterwards. More to come here as well...
Because it is easy to add in the blanks, merge things (like a mobile phone and a mp3 player... Or a pc and a phone), but close to impossible to even remember back five or ten years, how much of a leap a simple innovation like the Palm Pilot was. An actual digital assistant in your hand. And it could do other things. Small games. Like magic.
More of Dickens is definitely on my too read list, inspired this time by a piece on new bio on him. The British televised versions are great, and the podcast librivox version of two cities is killer. Like Stackpole, I firmly believe that the model he used to serialize his fiction is finding a new life in terms of shorter ebooks, faster turnaround for stories and generally more adaptability to reader expectations.
Woot! Loop in time. Arcade games as the driver, then apple as the trigger for seeing it "everywhere". Merging insights and intuition, that's what makes the book so much more than just a cool story.
Today Apple is slowly moving us away from the PC age, into mobile and tactile with the iOS touch interface. And once more games are actively taking a huge part in both pushing the hardware (thereby feeding the need for upgrades and rapid development) and the user interface - Angry Birds as touch training. Speed, precision and flexibility.
The best way to get someone comfortable with a mouse back in the win 3 age was Solitare or Minesweeper. Sit them down, show them some serious stuff, then give them a ten minute "break" - after opening the program. We learn when we want to learn, when there is a clear reward rather than just an obligation.
Putting things in perspective? How to compare to Dickens? Is he dystopian or simply telling of the underbelly of the dressed up pig?
I for one didn't really think of Neuromancer as dark at the time, compared to something like Alien it was a happy place all around, with cool tech and the chance of making it big.
That is one thing that is changed with the latest novels - or perhaps as much with my reading and views - sure there is a potential big score, but you get the feeling that just getting out or onwards is as much of a goal for the characters.
The settings are more "glamour" compared to the first books, but in many ways it still feels more empty and forsaken. The art hidden from view, giving only a select few the enjoyment or the experience. The secret clips and the chase for just a little bit more.
First read about the interview care of one of the @greatdismal musing, but at that time the only online version was via a sub to P.R, so that was $5 lost revenue for them, as I'd have gladly paid for just the issue or the article (more or less the cost of a single copy newspaper here, so comparable value)
But then I saw it rt and checked the link - lo and behold, the full version is up. So it seemed a great test for iOs 5 reader mode, and also for the new +style blogger. First is OK, but lacks page jump/pagination (skip full screen height down).
The other is another crappy google conversion. As a blog writer, the original blogger was as good as or better than any seen since. New might be ok on pc, but today that is close to irrelevant. Same reason can't really care about plus itself. Plain sucks compared to any twitter app.
And now tumblr looks really good, why even wordpress is starting to come around to ios as a platform of choice with the app growing stronger every incremental release..
On to the recreation, thankfully only two paras in before hit the save, but still two too many...
Neuro-pattern-light...or why I love william gibsons writing.
I think it has a lot to do with growing up alongside his three trilogies.Read neuromancer et al in early teens at school, when computers consisted of commodore 64 (or a 128 as I had), used mainly for games and the occasional demo. A friends father had a Mac that we got to use for a few school projects - typing up the report and putting in some pictures.
Then picked up the bridge books more or less at university, where dot com was becoming a phrase, but a bit before the boom/bust really started. Back when Fast Company was still mostly about business trends.
And pattern rec is one of the last printed books I bought (fiction and regular non fiction at least) - spook country and zero history were delivered directly to a kindle or the kindle app on iPad. Read digitally and instantly on release. No time lag for cross Atlantic distribution or priorities.
My teens, my twenties, my thirties. As the world has gone digital and then some, so has my life. as the future has become today, so his books have merged into "reality", blurring the lines more with each passing chapter.
For books and background, check the Amazon author page
INTERVIEWER: For someone who so often writes about the future of technology, you seem to have a real romance for artifacts of earlier eras.
GIBSON: It’s harder to imagine the past that went away than it is to imagine the future. What we were prior to our latest batch of technology is, in a way, unknowable.... very, very difficult to conceive of a world in which there is no possibility of audio recording at all. Some people were extremely upset by the first Edison recordings. ... It sounded like the devil, they said
The magic of not having. So good quote - had to brutally trim it down a bit, because you really should go over there and read the whole thing. Now. Come back afterwards. More to come here as well...
Because it is easy to add in the blanks, merge things (like a mobile phone and a mp3 player... Or a pc and a phone), but close to impossible to even remember back five or ten years, how much of a leap a simple innovation like the Palm Pilot was. An actual digital assistant in your hand. And it could do other things. Small games. Like magic.
Emergent technologies were irreversibly altering their landscape. Bleak House is a quintessential Victorian text, but it is also probably the best steampunk landscape that will ever be. Dickens really nailed it, especially in those proto-Ballardian passages in which everything in nature has been damaged by heavy industry.
More of Dickens is definitely on my too read list, inspired this time by a piece on new bio on him. The British televised versions are great, and the podcast librivox version of two cities is killer. Like Stackpole, I firmly believe that the model he used to serialize his fiction is finding a new life in terms of shorter ebooks, faster turnaround for stories and generally more adaptability to reader expectations.
... I remember walking past a video arcade,... seeing kids playing those old-fashioned console-style plywood video games... were so physically involved, it seemed to me that what they wanted was to be inside the games
...one day, I walked by a bus stop and there was an Apple poster. ... holding a life-size representation of a real-life computer that was not much bigger than a laptop is today. Everyone is going to have one of these, I thought, and everyone is going to want to live inside them.
Woot! Loop in time. Arcade games as the driver, then apple as the trigger for seeing it "everywhere". Merging insights and intuition, that's what makes the book so much more than just a cool story.
Today Apple is slowly moving us away from the PC age, into mobile and tactile with the iOS touch interface. And once more games are actively taking a huge part in both pushing the hardware (thereby feeding the need for upgrades and rapid development) and the user interface - Angry Birds as touch training. Speed, precision and flexibility.
The best way to get someone comfortable with a mouse back in the win 3 age was Solitare or Minesweeper. Sit them down, show them some serious stuff, then give them a ten minute "break" - after opening the program. We learn when we want to learn, when there is a clear reward rather than just an obligation.
I’ve always been taken aback by the assumption that my vision is fundamentally dystopian. I suspect that the people who say I’m dystopian must be living completely sheltered and fortunate lives. The world is filled with much nastier places than my inventions, places that the denizens of the Sprawl would find it punishment to be relocated to, and a lot of those places seem to be steadily getting worse.
Putting things in perspective? How to compare to Dickens? Is he dystopian or simply telling of the underbelly of the dressed up pig?
I for one didn't really think of Neuromancer as dark at the time, compared to something like Alien it was a happy place all around, with cool tech and the chance of making it big.
That is one thing that is changed with the latest novels - or perhaps as much with my reading and views - sure there is a potential big score, but you get the feeling that just getting out or onwards is as much of a goal for the characters.
The settings are more "glamour" compared to the first books, but in many ways it still feels more empty and forsaken. The art hidden from view, giving only a select few the enjoyment or the experience. The secret clips and the chase for just a little bit more.
First read about the interview care of one of the @greatdismal musing, but at that time the only online version was via a sub to P.R, so that was $5 lost revenue for them, as I'd have gladly paid for just the issue or the article (more or less the cost of a single copy newspaper here, so comparable value)
But then I saw it rt and checked the link - lo and behold, the full version is up. So it seemed a great test for iOs 5 reader mode, and also for the new +style blogger. First is OK, but lacks page jump/pagination (skip full screen height down).
The other is another crappy google conversion. As a blog writer, the original blogger was as good as or better than any seen since. New might be ok on pc, but today that is close to irrelevant. Same reason can't really care about plus itself. Plain sucks compared to any twitter app.
Saturday, June 9
Who loves you, and who do you love?
Starting off this back-post with a little bit of mood music, setting the mood and the stage. Bringing us back to England in the late nineties. With the rave track The messiah, featuring the quotes borrowed as a title; Who loves you, and who do you love? [Running Man]
This is part of my history, but also of a lot of myths. The summer of love. The happy generation. Bringing youths together in new ways, before Internet and mobiles dominated.
"Tribalism’s hothouse atmosphere has turned history into myth. ..., we use myth not to inform, but to bond"
Stories for children? Lies for adults... as they said in the Science of Discworld books. History is a selection, a bias, strengthens over time to support an image, an ideal, a group. But do we need it anymore at the national level?
Does it make sense to talk about the nation state in a grand perspective, when it is 14 billion years and change... And then at least ten thousand years of intelligent life (pun intended re source)?
Norway as a modern state dates back to 1905 or 1814, first parted from Denmark into a union with Sweden and then Independence. So why trace routes past four hundred years of assorted constellations jut to find a "true" past?
I for one am more influenced by ancient Greece, assorted enlightenment ideals, some English poets, thinkers and tinkerers. Not to mention the global, but US centric, online digital mash up of it all. Sure I enjoy the sagas and tales of old Norse gods and exploits. But they no more impact my daily life than does the Odyssey.
"We can found our identity on personal taste, not national myth. The future, in this reading, belongs to supranational groupings—football fans, jazz lovers, “Twilight” addicts—whose bonds soar over state boundaries like cut-price airlines"
Not one identity, but a mix suited to you, based on when and how you grew up, went to university and worked. Geography meet ideas. Limits, meet boundless.
So, I might be a Norwegian by birth, but I am a geek, a ManU man, 'enga in my heart and so on.
Not quite a brown coat, but certainly a wheedon'esqu gibson'reading free tweeting digitized mind.
Also an ex-consultant and an ENTJ, which pegs me more than any national boundary could ever possibly do. Personality goes a long way...
"Any worthwhile identity must grow from self-awareness as well as self-esteem, and the sceptical temperature of contemporary life is conducive to a journey of self-knowledge"
And with tools like blogs to reflect and for some also debate, the options are endless. To bad the time isn't. But keep on telling the stories, shaping the myths and maybe, just maybe you'll figure out; Who loves you, and who do you love?
...if not: it's time to start RUNNING
Friday, June 8
The challenges of (geek) parenting
This is just pure genius. "We have to have the talk"
Need to get a "Han shot first" tee for junior soon.
Thursday, June 7
Yes MItch, there is a long tail...
Post by Mitch Joel, lamenting the lack of long tail or democratic split of ad revenues; Your Media Is Controlled By A Handful Of Companies (Yes, Even The Internet)
October 3, 2011, worldwide digital advertising accounted for about $64.03B. Google generates approximately 364% more revenue from advertising than it's next closest rival, Yahoo! With Facebook at $1.86B in advertising revenue (excluding virtual currencies/goods) for 2010
For once I have to disagree with the point he is making. And the reason is quite simple; Google doesn’t generate all of that on google.com or from their own sites as such– quite the opposite;
Google Sites Revenues - Google-owned sites generated revenues of $6.74 billion, or 69% of total revenues, in the third quarter of 2011. This represents a 39% increase over third quarter 2010 revenues of $4.83 billion.
Google Network Revenues - Google’s partner sites generated revenues, through AdSense programs, of $2.60 billion, or 27% of total revenues, in the third quarter of 2011. This represents a 18% increase from third quarter 2010 network revenues of $2.20 billion
Taken from http://investor.google.com/
So in their Q3 for 2011 alone the Google network revenues were above FB for the whole of 2010 (2.2 vs 1.86) – and that money IS the long tail! Sure some of it also goes to big media companies from the NYT down to our fvn.no – but it also goes to blogs and small niche sites.
(Sidenote; does blogger.com count as “google owned” in this split? If so the the actual long tail part could be even bigger)
So, if you go beyond the headline, into the numbers, there is proof positive that this wealth at least is “trickling down”!
When is a kilo perfect?
Two teams of scientists are struggling to create the perfect kilogram. I'm reading about it on the WIRED app: http://wrdm.ag/ff_kilogram(full direct no-redirect link)
Been reading a bit about systems and measurement in general in the pre-modern world lately, and I remember this Wired piece vividly. The incredible richness of detail in the work. Eight digits of precision and then some. Fixed things aren't really fixed until they can be consistently defined, replicated and remade independently of the base item.
And to think how we take it for granted, every time we pick up something from the store, or order a beer. We just assume that we are in fact getting a pint or half a litre. And that the weights in one store matches those in another, not to mention across the five different lanes in each. Technology makes the magic mundane.
Aside;
the wired app is fun to play with, and it helped quite a bit when they added sharing options within the app. Even so, as a print subscriber I mostly download the special content - such as the new digital re-release of the first issue, and the special on Steve Jobs they got out quickly last year.
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