“The ‘Great American Novel’ is the concept of a novel that is distinguished in both craft and theme as being the most accurate representative of the zeitgeist in the United States at the time of its writing.” (wikipedia) “My current theory is that programming is quite literally writing. The vast majority of programming is not …
Author Archives: Garrick van Buren
To Do: Just One Project Today
First quarter, things were so crazy I had gone to blocking off specific days for specific projects. I had gotten into a comfortable rhythm with my schedule and was able to move quite a few things forward quickly. Second quarter, things lightened up a bit and I went back to blocking off multiple projects per …
Are Groupon’s Investors Asking for a Public Bailout?
Over the past couple years, I’ve consulting on a number of projects (at least 4) in the same space as Groupon (et al). This model of providing a heavily discounted coupon on local merchants just doesn’t sit right with me – for two reasons. it applies significant downward pressure on the merchant’s overall prices (even …
Continue reading “Are Groupon’s Investors Asking for a Public Bailout?”
Maybe with coupons?
“How do you value a business that could do $3 billion in revenue this year but might not be able to keep the lights on in 12 months?” – Conor Sen
Spring in the Browser
Last autumn, inspired by a conversation with Jamie Thinglestad, I took a couple lunch hours and hacked together a tool that dramatically improves my web browsing experience. Since then, I hadn’t used it much. Nor have I revisited it to polish it up. Jamie and I have shared it with a small handful of people …
Why Can’t Smart Phones Read?
I’ve been investigating useful uses for QR codes and while I’ve got a couple…they still feel rather flimsy. Like the QR Code is being used as a cute novelty – rather than a way to enhance communication. QR Codes are inherently temporary (as in, tomorrow a better encoding technology will exist and today’s readers aren’t …
John’s Phone
To this day – the Palm Treo, for all it’s flaws, was my favorite phone. The team that designed the phone UI – had experience actually making phone calls. Every phone I’ve had since – including my current one – I’m less confident of that. Instead, I have a pocket-size computer that always promises to …
Impression
I had a really fun lunch today at the Bewiched Deli (I highly recommend the roast beef w/ horseradish sandwich). As we were sharing some of the projects ideas we’re working on he stops the conversation suddenly and commands: “Stay away from advertising. If I have to beat it into you – I will. Stay. …
Fermenting: Sour Cider (Mach I)
I’ve been itching to make a cider. Yet, since it’s off season, I don’t feel like going too crazy. So, I thought I’d make a nice simple recipe. If successful, this should be ready around Thanksgiving. If really successful, it’ll be gone by then. Sour Cider (Mach I) 4 gallons Indian Summer apple cider ~2 …
Fermenting: Aloysius Amber Rye
Turns out, I’m addicted to Hopville’s Beer Calculus in much the same way others are addicted to Angry Birds. And the game play (get a group of ingredients to match a beer style) I find just as engaging. The first of many recipes I’ve been working on is this Amber Rye in dedicated to my …