Silly rabbit, elseifs are for kids. (Just fixed 5th remaining bug before my last tXt_blaster deployment)
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July 2008 Archives
Almost hit by a car as I left the office tonight. Many thanks to the drunk woman who shouted "watch out!" as she stumbled out of Asia SF.
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Heading home for a quick bite, then more work. Trying to do as much as possible before switching jobs Monday.
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Had to bail on tonight's poker game to finish some tXt_blaster stuff. Bummer, dude. Cool features though!
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I don't want to turn into one of those guys who always promotes his blog on twitter, but I like how this turned out: Link
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Last week I mentioned a column by Seth Godin who had written about Apple's iPhone 3G launch. He made several suggestions where Apple could better handle the gap between supply and demand. Much to its credit, Apple seems to have taken the advice to heart:
The world is still trying to make sense of Cuil, the new search engine started by former Google engineers, so I was interested to hear Seth's take:
Seth argues that an icon must "stop working" for something to supplant it. But did Yahoo! or Lycos or AltaVista stop working when Google rose in prominence? No - people flocked to Google because it was sufficiently superior. They didn't know Yahoo! sucked at finding information until they saw how much better Google did the same thing.
Don't get me wrong, de-throning Google will require a convincing competitor. Their means of offering a better search will be revolutionary, something nobody today has thought of (i.e. not Cuil, at least in its current incarnation). But I refuse to believe a better search engine will get ignored simply because people are happy with the status quo.
"They started prequalifying people at 6:30 a.m. Within three minutes of arriving, I was given a serialized tag that is linked to an actual iPhone and I'm guaranteed to get one."
The world is still trying to make sense of Cuil, the new search engine started by former Google engineers, so I was interested to hear Seth's take:Once there's an icon in place, it's there because it's working. It serves a purpose, it carries useful information and performs a valuable function. There will never (or not for a generation, anyway) be the next Marilyn Monroe because this Marilyn Monroe isn't broken. Countless artists have seen themselves as the next Jackson Pollock, but as far as the lay public is concerned, we don't really need one, thanks very much.Much of what Seth writes I support. But wasn't Yahoo! the Marilyn Monroe of search before Google? I think Seth's analysis of Jackson Pollock and Marilyn Monroe makes sense, but his connection to tech fails. There isn't anything wrong with Jackson Pollock because he satisfies all the requirements for a role he himself defines. Seth is 110% correct that nobody can out-Pollock Pollock. But can anyone make a search engine to out-Google Google? Sure, I think that's possible.
Google, of course, is the Marilyn Monroe of search. I have no doubt that someone will develop a useful tool one day that takes time and attention away from Google, but it won't be a search engine. Google, after all, isn't broken, not in terms of solving the iconic "how do I find something online using my web browser" question.
Seth argues that an icon must "stop working" for something to supplant it. But did Yahoo! or Lycos or AltaVista stop working when Google rose in prominence? No - people flocked to Google because it was sufficiently superior. They didn't know Yahoo! sucked at finding information until they saw how much better Google did the same thing.
Don't get me wrong, de-throning Google will require a convincing competitor. Their means of offering a better search will be revolutionary, something nobody today has thought of (i.e. not Cuil, at least in its current incarnation). But I refuse to believe a better search engine will get ignored simply because people are happy with the status quo.
You know you're close to releasing a product when you finally get around to testing it in IE. And 5 painful hours later you're even closer!
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keypress event handlers always confused me. They still do, but this helps: Link
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Quite different from my parents and sister, I've never been a big traveler. I enjoy my time abroad, but there's so much to explore in my backyard that I usually fail to see the point of spending time and money flying around the world. Until I see something like this.
What an awesome video. I'm having a hard time picking my favorites, but Ireland and Tonga look pretty rad. Who wants to come with me?
What an awesome video. I'm having a hard time picking my favorites, but Ireland and Tonga look pretty rad. Who wants to come with me?
Seriously though, congrats Ramsey. I think I want to do a half marathon sometime. Not now, but sometime.
Moshi moshi. Link
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Why do finance apps with great functionality have terrible interfaces? I'm looking at you Mint and PageOnce. Why can't you look like Vimeo?
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A couple weeks ago my mom was interviewed on TV where she talked about her job supervising all the elementary school libraries in Santa Barbara. It's a long interview but I found a good two-minute segment where she talks about the difficulty of buying books in the face of repeated budget cuts.
I promised her I wouldn't post this to YouTube, but she never said anything about Vimeo! Congrats mom, you did great.
I promised her I wouldn't post this to YouTube, but she never said anything about Vimeo! Congrats mom, you did great.
You know you're editing photos in Aperture when you're quitting iCal to free up RAM, despite having 5 gigs in your machine.
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In July my family joined some old rafting buddies to float the Grand Canyon. It was a great trip for all involved, and for me particularly because I rowed my own boat and survived to tell the tale. Although I've been rafting for years and rowed the majority of other rivers, the Grand Canyon is an entirely different beast. I couldn't have done it without the advice and tutelage of the more experienced oarsmen (more on this later).
My big camera didn't see much use, but my small Canon took some amazing snapshots. I've been hording them for too long, so here they are. E-mail me directly if you'd like full-size originals.
One of the fun parts of rafting is the unpredictability of the river. Fluctuations in water flow can pacify or precipitate a rapid, which means the same arrangement of rocks can be a thriller or a yawner at different times. It's not uncommon to raft the same river in April and August and not recognize the same rapids. Most rivers rise and fall seasonally, although some damned rivers change more often. In the case of the Grand Canyon, the damn at Lake Powell fluctuates throughput at a period of 24 hours. This becomes immediately apparent when one wakes up in the morning to find their raft beached 5 feet from the water, a rookie mistake that often requires unloading the entire boat to rectify.
But even given a constant flow of water, rapids remain mercurial. Two boats separated by 30 seconds can experience vastly different runs, even when both are oared by seasoned experts. A million things will change, whether it's variations in wave crest height, momentary water velocity, or boat weight. John Dunlap, pictured left, is a retired tugboat captain who understands this all too well. Despite being the strongest, tallest and most experienced oarsman on our trip, "Big John" was forced from his boat no less than three times on our trip. Dr. Bill had the unfortunate opportunity to catch the last of these on camera.
John's setup and execution was perfect (even the group watching from shore thought he was golden), but the river had other plans. Lava Falls is the biggest and scariest rapid on the Grand Canyon, so we're all happy that nobody got hurt. It all goes to show how the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
My big camera didn't see much use, but my small Canon took some amazing snapshots. I've been hording them for too long, so here they are. E-mail me directly if you'd like full-size originals.
One of the fun parts of rafting is the unpredictability of the river. Fluctuations in water flow can pacify or precipitate a rapid, which means the same arrangement of rocks can be a thriller or a yawner at different times. It's not uncommon to raft the same river in April and August and not recognize the same rapids. Most rivers rise and fall seasonally, although some damned rivers change more often. In the case of the Grand Canyon, the damn at Lake Powell fluctuates throughput at a period of 24 hours. This becomes immediately apparent when one wakes up in the morning to find their raft beached 5 feet from the water, a rookie mistake that often requires unloading the entire boat to rectify.But even given a constant flow of water, rapids remain mercurial. Two boats separated by 30 seconds can experience vastly different runs, even when both are oared by seasoned experts. A million things will change, whether it's variations in wave crest height, momentary water velocity, or boat weight. John Dunlap, pictured left, is a retired tugboat captain who understands this all too well. Despite being the strongest, tallest and most experienced oarsman on our trip, "Big John" was forced from his boat no less than three times on our trip. Dr. Bill had the unfortunate opportunity to catch the last of these on camera.
John's setup and execution was perfect (even the group watching from shore thought he was golden), but the river had other plans. Lava Falls is the biggest and scariest rapid on the Grand Canyon, so we're all happy that nobody got hurt. It all goes to show how the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
Still at the office, finishing some projects before Friday Night begins. Tacos and mojitos @ Zach Brown's, then maybe some Mission bars?
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Impromtu concert on 16th and Valencia. Link
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When I worked for Apple they gave every employee The Ideavirus by Seth Godin. I hope they accept his critiques about the recent iPhone 3G rollout. From the article:
Principle 1: Use the internet to form a queue. If you have a scarce product, you almost certainly know it's scarce in advance. Instead of taxing customers by wasting their time, reward the early shoppers by taking orders online. A month before sale date, for example, tell them it's coming. If you sell out before ship date, that's great, because next time people will be even quicker to order when they hear about what you've got. (And you can do this in the real world, too--postcards with numbers or even playing cards work just fine.)My roommate Mike had a similar idea, basically to enroll through iTunes and print an iPhone "boarding pass" at home. It would still solve the unlocker problem, plus you wouldn't have people who schlep themselves to the store only to find they can't buy the phone for whatever reason.
A hot band that regularly sells out on the road, for example, could put a VIP serial number inside every CD or t-shirt they sell. Use that to pre-order your tix.
Just came across this article from The Wag detailing how Gavin Newsom brokered our stolen passwords back to safe hands. Two points need to be made here. First, how awesome is our mayor? And second, although I don't sympathize with the guy in jail, I love how he "forgot" an important component as a checksafe that Gavin delivered it as he requested. Sounds like something out of a Mission Impossible movie.
For more on Newsom check out this interview he did last week at Netroots Nation. I had no clue he was such a policy wonk. I'm only recently following him but he seems like a reasonable guy.
For more on Newsom check out this interview he did last week at Netroots Nation. I had no clue he was such a policy wonk. I'm only recently following him but he seems like a reasonable guy.
It's humbling to know that I can still spend half an hour diagnosing an if ( x = 5 ) { print x }, "Why is it printing true??" bug. Sigh...
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Awesome sandwich, thank you Ted's! Link
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Worked in the office from 8:30 to 8:30 today. Were I a betting man I'd wager that I'll work when I get home too. Hoo-ray!
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Were it the case I could sell tickets to this shitshow they'd be going for $500 a pop. And I'd be the first to sell his own seat...
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Ooops. That's not new in 2.0. Link
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On my Mac I use the Harmonic widget to add lyrics into my MP3s. My favorite feature on iPhone 2.0: Click album art and it shows the lyrics!
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Sushi time... Link
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Eating leftover chili, getting ready for Dark Knight in a little bit. Link
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OH: "I know this is random, but what ever happened to Ricky Martin. I mean, he was an international sensation!"
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Love the new iPhone, but I WILL jailbreak to get iCopter back.
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Looks like Stevens Creek Software has another hit on their hands (and a growing history of defensive diatribes): Link
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Cal football tickets go on sale tomorrow morning. Get fired up! Link
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Bloom's Saloon on P. Hill is the place to be right now. Come hang out!
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CSS spring cleaning. There's some old stuff in here!
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It seems like everyone is sleepy today. Could it be the heat? Or maybe just that time of the week...
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There's nothing funnier than overhearing a coworker struggle (and fail) to conference together their two lines. "Are you there? Hello? Shit"
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Call me old fashioned, but dehydrated envelope sealant should not be flavored. Grandma needs her birthday card, but I'm licking a paper sleeve coated with dried Starburst-flavored high fructose corn syrup. It's disgusting.
Go flavorless or go home, that's all I'm saying.
I didn't know tree-sitters got the G4 channel. From today's Daily Cal:
A few hours after a message was posted on a community activism Web site, asking for a "ninja" to accept a "mission" to reinforce the dwindling tree-sitter population-someone accepted the challenge.
My favorite part of the article comes later:
Last week four of the seven remaining protesters descended from the grove, including the outspoken "Dumpster Muffin." Jeff brings the tree-sitter count back to four.
I thought I knew some crazy kids at Cal. Apparently I'm way out of my league.
Mike officially got me hooked on Sigur Rós. This song reminds me of Life Aquatic every time: http://download.sigur-ros.co.uk/sigur_ros-staralfur.mp3
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Exploring lunch spots near the new office. 9th and Howard isn't exactly a mecca of culinary excellence...
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So I'm going to try out this "blogging" thing that seems to be all the rage these days. My plan is to segregate (or relegate, depending on your disposition) technical mumbo-jumbo and professional posts to Tobin Industries (www.tobinindustries.com). This blog will be more personal, complete with weekend outings, culinary feats and recreational photography. You know, the interesting stuff. Thanks for tuning in!
Not gonna lie, getting pretty tired of FBJS. Apparently "new Date( msecs )" is verboten. Must use "d = new Date(); d.setTime( msecs )". Duh?
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On Friday I spent 15 minutes trying to find 'Evoo' in the ethnic foods aisle at Safeway. Sounded like an asian spice at the time. Duh Brian.
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Just sold my 8GB iPhone on eBay for $376. Hard to believe it only lost $24 dollars in value since September.
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So, big news for me today! I've decided to join the amazing folks at Meraki. They build beautiful stuff and I'm 110% stoked. www.meraki.com
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