After 3 years, nearly 1500 updates, exploration from many angles, numerous conversations, and wastebaskets full of crumpled analysis, I’m proud to say, I grok Twitter. Like I’ve never grokked it before1. I also know why Twitter, Friendfeed, Facebook, et al, are better* than WordPress, Blogger, MovableType, etc. And it’s completely the blog-engines’ fault. They’re some …
Monthly Archives: November 2008
Home is Where the Blog Is
Back in June of ’08, I wrote a (relatively-speaking) lot here. Writing here is much more satisfying than almost any of my neigh 5k 160-character updates. Aside from the obvious freedom-to-be-verbose and control over visual presentation, and self-archiving, here is satisfying. Here is home. Elsewhere isn’t. When you comment here – it feels neighborly. Elsewhere …
Opening Line
Over the weekend, when the boy and I were out and about, we shared the following exchange – on each and every occasion. (automatic doors opens) “Papa, are those doors magic?” “Any sufficiently advanced technology, son…any sufficiently advanced technology….”
The Wrong Stuff
“When software works, it all looks the same. When it doesn’t work, it all looks different.” “How’s that?…Fella, I said, How’s that?” “When software doesn’t work, it all looks scared.” (apologies to Tom Wolfe)
Right Now, This Blog is ESTP
Typealyzer just Myers-Briggs-ed the most recent posts on here. Turns out this blog is…. …happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period …
Failing to Scale
Years ago, Google did something brave, bold, and innovative. They opened up GMail to a miniscule number of people and gave them a couple handfuls of invites to share with others. At the time, I assumed that strategy was as much about marketing as about scaling the service up. These days – when the tiniest, …
I Think We Got All 4
Remember, a few months ago when crude oil was at it’s highest (Unleaded hit >$4 in my neighborhood) and natural gas was spiking as well? Considering both are falling (Unleaded is currently $1.85 in my neighborhood), both are sold in US Dollars on the world market, and the US Dollar is trading at it’s highest …
13 Levels of Engagement: Football Edition
There are a small number of NFL games I watch each season. Sunday’s Vikings vs. Packers game always makes the list. Sitting in the comfort of my own home – just a couple miles from where this down-to-the-wire game was played – my mind wondered how engaged I was in the game. I sketched out …
Continue reading “13 Levels of Engagement: Football Edition”
Financial Shock: The Bad Decisions that Got Us Here
Financial Shock A 360º Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion, and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis is an amazing read. Amazing for 2 reasons: It was published in early 2008 and is covering – in-depth – the issues the news media is just now picking up on – e.g. the Fed nearly bailed …
Continue reading “Financial Shock: The Bad Decisions that Got Us Here”
9 Things Cullect Taught Me About Software
Forcing people to create an account to use your software is a bug. if you’re not scared to deploy, you’ve stopped caring. Murphy is alive and well. Google and a bookself of technical books can be equally useless. Good software is like an iceberg. if you ask for money, people will give it to you. …
Continue reading “9 Things Cullect Taught Me About Software”