(ds)

"UPS plots its delivery routes to make as many right turns as possible. In a world where half the..."

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:46:30 -0400

“UPS plots its delivery routes to make as many right turns as possible. In a world where half the driving choices are left turns, they avoid turning left.”

- UPS Figures Out the ‘Right Way’ to Save Money, Time and Gas

Real Editors Ship

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:03:53 -0400

Real Editors Ship:

The web is changing and it needs more editors. Do not dispute me. I love you. Goodbye.

— Paul Ford

"[…] the only person’s code that sucks is my own, and the reason why it sucks is I just..."

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 21:22:55 -0400

“[…] the only person’s code that sucks is my own, and the reason why it sucks is I just haven’t learned how to make it better yet.”

- Your Code Sucks

Confession #67: Say Hello to My Little Friend

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 09:05:49 -0400

Confession #67: Say Hello to My Little Friend:

The realtime web has become a habit. It’s a twitch. I do it without thinking. More importantly, when I succumb to the reflex of checking it every few minutes or seconds, I do so at the expense of thinking.

Solving the Alt-Tab Problem

Fri, 07 May 2010 10:52:48 -0400

Solving the Alt-Tab Problem:

You’ve been using alt-tab to bounce back-and-forth between your text editor and your web browser—you’ve formed a habit. You now click over to your Twitter client to see your friend’s latest updates, click back to your text editor, type a few sentences and hit alt-tab. What happens? Because of your habit, you expect it to go to your web browser, but because the last used application was your Twitter client, that’s where it switches. That’s most likely not what you wanted. What happens next? You generally pause to think, and then use double alt-tab to switch where you wanted to go, which is your web browser. Then you hit alt-tab to switch back to your editor (habit!) and instead it goes back to Twitter. The troubled cycle repeats until MRU’s ordered once again aligns with your habit.

All. The. Time.

String Calculator Kata In Python For this kata, I’m...

Thu, 06 May 2010 11:13:31 -0400

String Calculator Kata In Python

For this kata, I’m slowing down intentionally – typing slower and inserting small, regular pauses so the viewer has time to look around a bit.

Fun With Secret Questions & Answers

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:11:12 -0400

Fun With Secret Questions & Answers:

My new bank […] configures a security question and answer for customer service calls. In addition to your SSN, date of birth, and mother’s maiden name they also ask you the question you specify and wait for the answer you’ve provided.

Hilarity ensues.

The real reason why Steve Jobs hates Flash

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:18:53 -0400

The real reason why Steve Jobs hates Flash :

Very interesting theory of where Apple is heading in the next 5 years. While I can buy into this vision of Apple being wholly focused on the cloud, that begs the “privacy in the cloud” question, echoed by the author in the comments:

Trading off privacy management against convenience is going to be a big story over the next decade.

The question really is: are you willing to trade privacy for convenience?

The Anti-Mac User Interface

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:43:50 -0400

The Anti-Mac User Interface:

Written in 1996

"Instead of designing beautiful data-structures and elegant algorithms, we’re looking up the..."

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:07:42 -0400

“Instead of designing beautiful data-structures and elegant algorithms, we’re looking up the EnterpriseFactoryBeanMaker class in the 3,456-page Bumper Tome Of Horrible Stupid Classes (Special Grimoire Edition), because we can’t remember which of the arguments to the createEnterpriseBeanBuilderFactory() method tells it to make the public static pure virtual destructor be a volatile final abstract interface factory decorator.”

- The Reinvigorated Programmer

The Brett Domino Trio performs a medley of Timberlake This is...

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:39:25 -0400

The Brett Domino Trio performs a medley of Timberlake

This is awesome. Don’t miss the theramin at 3:15.

via thedailywhat

Metallica’s Death Magnetic - CD vs Guitar Hero As another...

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:05:00 -0400

Metallica’s Death Magnetic - CD vs Guitar Hero

As another example, check out what the CD version of Metallica’s latest album sounds like.

HINT: the answer is shit. It sounds like shit.

The Loudness War As linked previously, modern mastering is...

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:50:43 -0400

The Loudness War

As linked previously, modern mastering is homogenizing today’s music. If you don’t believe it, or think you actually prefer it, this video should change your mind.

"here are a few words for the huge community of legal professionals who make their living pursuing..."

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 19:26:42 -0400

“here are a few words for the huge community of legal professionals who make their living pursuing patent law: You’re actively damaging society. Look in the mirror and find something better to do.”

- Tim Bray in Giving Up On Patents

Denial of Expertise

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 19:06:32 -0400

Denial of Expertise:

This was the weekend those of us with high standards lost their remaining residue of patience for ideologues who hyperbolize about open systems without actually creating something people want to use.

Why records DO all sound the same

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 19:06:30 -0400

Why records DO all sound the same:

Because record companies are scared, they don’t want to take risks, and they’re doing the best they can to generate mainstream radio hits.

"Busy, my friends, is a cop-out. It’s a euphemism for everything from “I’m frantic with deadlines” to..."

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 10:28:18 -0400

“Busy, my friends, is a cop-out. It’s a euphemism for everything from “I’m frantic with deadlines” to “I just don’t wanna” to “I feel bamboozled as to what to do next so I’m checking Twitter obsessively to tell people I’m busy.” It’s what we say when we can’t be bothered to unpack what we’re feeling or what we’re working on (or what we’re avoiding).”

- Why I Stopped Working with Busy People

"I began telling them that if they would buy a Mac, I would give them 24/7 tech support without..."

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 08:57:39 -0400

“I began telling them that if they would buy a Mac, I would give them 24/7 tech support without complaint. Initially, they scoffed, but as the Mac became fashionable, I had more and more family members calling to let me know they had switched. Now, most of them are Mac users and the rate of support calls have dropped from several a month to several a year.”

- /the/path/of/most/resistance

Brilliant.

The street as platform

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 09:32:35 -0400

The street as platform:

The way the street feels may soon be defined by what cannot be seen with the naked eye.

You’ll want to Instapaper this one.

The cult of busy

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 09:30:12 -0400

The cult of busy:

This is the cult of busy. That simply by always seeming to have something to do, we all assume you must be important or successful.