January 2012
23 posts
IRC Perfection in OS X
I still haven’t found what I’m looking for, but that could be because I’m not sure what it is.
I think my first IRC client for OSX was Colloquy. At some point Adium gained IRC-ability, and so I switched to that, using it for IRC and chat both. Then I switched again, to Textual for IRC and a short while later, iChat for chat.
I really like Textual, but it has a few bugs. Since...
“I’m going to make a raw political statement here. A guy like Romney is a good...”
– Vice President Joe Biden talks Mitt Romney and the Republican way of thinking. (via politicore)
From the Republican perspective, It might even be the only way to do it — not just the quickest. If the Republicans are right, then the Democrats efforts to avoid the inevitable will just make...
Apple’s Massive Numbers And Some Context →
I’ve been trying to wrap my brain around the quarterly numbers from Apple today. Before the press release went out, I had pulled up bookmarks of the highest predictions I could find. I still had them in my browser when I read the actual numbers. The predictions all fell short. Every. Single. One.
Siegler rounds up some of the comparisons that help put the big numbers in context, but...
“Candidly, those who count on quote ‘Hollywood’ for support need to...”
– Chris Dodd Warns Of Hollywood Backlash Against Obama Over Anti-piracy Bill
In an interview with Fox News, the head of the MPAA had a “warning” for the President and members of Congress up for reelection in 2012. “Don’t ask me to write a check for you when you think your job...
We Don't Need SOPA Because DMCA Is Already Broken... →
I remember when the DMCA came out. It sounded terrible! Over the years, many sites have been delighted by its “Safe Harbor” provisions, protecting them from extra legal trouble so long as they jumped through some appropriate hoops. The truth is, DMCA is still as bad as it was 13 years ago.
It seems like what’s most needed is indeed what this article suggests: penalties for false...
The Rise of Developeronomics →
It’s probably a sign of how insular my world is that I believe this article to be essentially true. I wonder, if one is not reading an article telling one how awesome one is, does it feel true to you as well?
Also, the “-10x” folks? I’ve worked with one. It’s every bit as bad as he says. Maybe worse.
“Nobody minds banks and creditors being greedy. But we can’t live with big...”
– Credit Card Firms: They Don’t Just Steal From Cardholders
Matt Taibbi reports on a Bloomberg story. I’m link-quoting Taibbi because I love his concluding sentence.
“I don’t think I’m breaking any news or blowing minds when I point...”
– Nerds and Male Privilege
Harris O’Malley hits the ball out of the park with this article. Sadly, it’s already clear from the comments that many people aren’t willing or maybe able to even agree that there is a problem. That seems like it would be a decent first step on the road to...
“But this is hardly customer service. It’s actually getting in the way of a...”
– Why Best Buy is Going out of Business…Gradually
Yes! This! Exactly this!
I don’t mind shopping retail when it’s not a miserable experience. I’m not crazy for preferring to order from Amazon most of the time.
December 2011
31 posts
Facebook Spam
A few weeks ago, my wife complained that she was getting unexpected and unwanted posts in her Facebook feed. I found that she had a number of things in her “Interests” section in which she was not actually interested. Hmmm. We cleaned that up, but today we find a bunch more.
She’s definitely not clicking anything. Are sites able to add interests without user interaction? Does...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-12-18) →
Stevie Wonder (2)
Mannheim Steamroller (2)
The Jackson 5 (1)
José Feliciano (1)
Mavis Staples (1)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-12-11) →
Cars, Khakis, Cola (13)
Michael Bolton (9)
Céline Dion (8)
Vangelis (8)
R.E.M. (7)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
“I think humans constantly scan their environment to build a mental model of...”
– Stuff
This Paul Graham essay is worth re-reading at least once a year. Probably a few times a year. This time of year seems very appropriate.
GOP Objects To 'Millionaires Surtax'; Millionaires... →
I’ll be the first to admit that this story is silly. It’s fluff in an environment that should ostensibly be all substance. However, it also tickles my funny bone.
The gist is that Republican lawmakers describe hypothetical small-business owners who for some reason haven’t incorporated, so all of their business income is counted as personal income, making them millionaires on...
“So that’s what happened to the 292 women and men were arrested last Wednesday....”
– My Occupy LA Arrest, by Patrick Meighan
It seems Patrick Meighan is upset. Much of the upset is the result of his rough treatment at the hands of the LAPD, which may be seen as somewhat subjective and difficult to confirm. The rest is due to what he describes as “massive, coordinated...
My Obsession Right Now
I’ve spent far, far too much time in the last few weeks at BoardGameGeek.com, but that’s not my favorite site. I’ve known about that one, so it suffers from the familiarity.
No, my favorite site combines two of my favorite things: iPads and boards games. It’s iPadBoardGames.org.
(For what it’s worth, I generally refer to these as “table games” rather...
Andrew Munn - The Reason Android is Laggy →
Andrew Munn, a former Google intern, describes a few architectural differences between Google’s Android on the one hand and Apple’s iOS, Microsoft’s WP7, RIM’s QNX, and Palm’s WebOS on the other. Specifically he claims that Android’s existence as a prototype prior to the public release of iOS meant that Android isn’t optimized for a touch-screen...
