“You should analyse which cookies are strictly necessary and might not need consent. You might also use this as an opportunity to ‘clean up’ your webpages and stop using any cookies that are unnecessary or which have been superseded as your site has evolved.” [pdf] Upshot: Strictly necessary cookies don’t require explicit user consent. Which …
Author Archives: Garrick van Buren
Why I Auto-Renew Domain Names
A couple weeks back, I had this idea for a new web app. Like so many of these ideas – I wrote it down. Just to get it out of my head. This afternoon, I get an email from my sister describing the need for a web app not unlike the one I wrote down …
Turn On, Tune In, Opt Out
For a couple years now, I’ve felt Timothy Leary’s 60’s mantra ‘Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out‘ has gained new relevance. The first two sections of the triplet seemed quite obvious. We can even re-use Leary’s explanation of them. The third section was more elusive. While Leary preferred to describe it as a commitment on …
Pegging Us Afloat
One of the reasons I love economics is it’s complexity. Sure, in theory the principles are simple – their application across a global scale are awe-inspiring, and frame-shattering. Take this passage from former Obama economics advisor Christina Romer on the terribly selfish reason China owns so many Treasury bonds: “For years, China has deliberately accumulated …
First Crack #127. A Guitar, Bass, Electric Trumpet, and Bryan Schumann
Bryan Schumann and I talk about composing music, improvising music, and whether the classical guitar pairs better with an upright bass or an electric trumpet. Bryan Schumann’s links: Beznau Music Shop http://www.beznau.com/bddschumann http://www.myspace.com/bddschumann DeSchuVoemann Listen to A Guitar, Bass, Electric Trumpet, and Bryan Schumann. [27 min]
First Crack #127. A Guitar, Bass, and an Electric Trumpet
Bryan Schumann and I talk about composing music, improvising music, and whether the classical guitar pairs better with an upright bass or an electric trumpet. Listen to a Guitar, Bass, and an Electric Trumpet
This Beer Tastes Like Corn
For the past week all the commercial beer I’ve tasted has this flat, grey, toffee-textured, corn-like taste. Doesn’t matter if I’m drinking at one of many brew pubs in Wisconsin or a sixer of something imported from the 49th state. In all cases, this taste is so strong the beer is undrinkable. Thankfully the first …
“Laugh at perfection. It’s boring and keeps you from being done.”
There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion. Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done. There is no editing stage. Pretending you know what you’re doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you’re doing even if …
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GOOG Bonds Now in Beta
“…if the economy improves and interest rates rise, Google will have executed a very profitable trifecta: it could repatriate its cash at a lower tax rate and buy back its bonds at a discount. And even if none of this works out, Google’s cost of borrowing $3 billion will only be about 2.3%, which in …
Towards Freetail
In the past couple weeks, I’ve been stuck in a queue at the supermarket, IKEA, or other big box with lots of self-service checkouts. Stuck. Contemplating whether standing the queue actually took longer than finding the items I wanted. That maybe, just maybe, this entire endeavor could be made more efficient and joyful. Rather than …