javahead

Breaking through the Wall

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:10:30 -0500

Some great motivational advice from Bill Walsh in Stop Hitting your Invisible Wall:

Try this thought experiment the next time you’re about to sit down to write code, a blog post for your business, or do whatever you do that builds your startup. Forget about the money. Forget about the bills. Forget about whether you deserve or are capable or are too slow or whatever carrots and sticks you’ve been using on yourself.

Instead, think about the challenge of making the code work, writing the post a post that connects. Think about how every line you write brings you closer to deciding your own fate and not taking “suggestions” from managers. Think about the difference you’re going to make in the lives of the people who use your software.

That’s the motivation you need – it’s like rocket fuel.

I could sure use some of that right about now.

Like I said in my previous post, it’s time to start making...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:07:00 -0500

Like I said in my previous post, it’s time to start making things again.

"A huge part of my job these days seems to be impedence-matching between big opaque chunks of library..."

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:02:00 -0500

“

A huge part of my job these days seems to be impedence-matching between big opaque chunks of library software that sort of do most of what my program is meant to achieve, but don’t quite work right together so I have to, I don’t know, translate USMARC records into Dublin Core or something.

Is that programming? Really?

Yes, it takes taste and discernment and experience to do well; but it doesn’t require brilliance and it doesn’t excite. It’s not what we dreamed of as fourteen-year-olds and trained for as eighteen-year-olds. It doesn’t get the juices flowing. It’s not making.

”

- Whatever happened to programming? « The Reinvigorated Programmer

Amen, brother. It’s time to start making things again!

“Honest Movie Titles: Oscars 2010”

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:24:37 -0500

“Honest Movie Titles: Oscars 2010”

The Sandpit on Vimeo (via Shawn Blanc) If you enjoy tilt-shift...

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 09:40:47 -0500

The Sandpit on Vimeo (via Shawn Blanc)

If you enjoy tilt-shift photography, you must watch this 5 minute short. I especially enjoyed the harbor scenes at the beginning and the evening traffic shots near the end.

putthison: lonelysandwich: “Ironing techniques by professional...

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:49:20 -0500

putthison:

lonelysandwich:

“Ironing techniques by professional craftsmen (shirt)” - プロの職人によるアイロンがけテクニック(ワイシャツ)

This short instructional film showcases unmatchably masterful ironing technique that we’d all do well to learn from, but it’s also one of the most absorbing, delicious demo videos I’ve ever seen.

First Look: New Fleet of Star Wars Toys | Underwire |...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:03:28 -0500

First Look: New Fleet of Star Wars Toys | Underwire | Wired.com

You had me at “Hoth Wompa Set”.

Minimalist Star Wars Tourism Posters Already in line to buy a...

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:54:52 -0500

Minimalist Star Wars Tourism Posters

Already in line to buy a set. No, you cannot skip ahead of me.

NorCal Internet Services

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:35:39 -0500

NorCal Internet Services:

This site is so full of win. Ponytail? Check. Rainbow gradient fonts? Check. Animated rubber ducks? Check.

via Clients From Hell

"MobileMe has been updated to offer at least some functionality when accessing the me.com page from..."

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:50:22 -0500

“MobileMe has been updated to offer at least some functionality when accessing the me.com page from Mobile Safari. It doesn’t yet offer full access to MobileMe’s features via the browser, but it does allow access to the “Find My iPhone” feature from an iPhone or iPod touch.”

- MobileMe gets slightly more compatible with Mobile Safari

Another one for the “it’s about time” category. Frankly, I’m surprised Apple hasn’t released released an app specifically for this feature yet.

"When I hear about a great idea that a friend has, I get excited. I can’t wait to see that idea..."

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:09:00 -0500

“When I hear about a great idea that a friend has, I get excited. I can’t wait to see that idea become reality. Then I ask about the idea a few months later, and it often is not one bit closer to completion.”

- Leo Babauta :: Zen Habits

Having ideas is easy. Despite the fact that we like to think the idea alone harbors some inherent value, they aren’t hardly worth the paper they’re written on. Otherwise, why do we allow them to pile up on the corner of our desks like so many discarded candy wrappers?

The fear of failure is what prevents most of us from simply taking the first step toward bringing an idea to life. But even if we overcome that fear, it never really leaves. Its presence is manifest in the layers of complexity that we allow ourselves to construct around the idea. We worry that the idea alone isn’t sufficient and must be propped up with a “glitzy UI” or it needs a longer list of features to gain “traction in the market.” Building those layers is just busy work which keeps us distracted so we can’t spend time worrying about whether our idea has merit. Complexity also serves as a great excuse when the project finally collapses.

Success can be closer than we think, it merely requires the courage to overcome our fears of inadequacy and the steadfast ability to stay focused on the simplest possible solution.

"Today, I ran across an article on the iPhone that was rather the opposite. I completely agreed with..."

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:08:15 -0500

“Today, I ran across an article on the iPhone that was rather the opposite. I completely agreed with the headline and the basic underlying premise. Yet, I found myself scoffing (and sometimes giggling) at the rather ludicrous assertions sprinkled throughout what had promised to be a very reasonable and interesting article.”

- iPhone Development: Opposite World

this article can also be found in the dictionary under “skewered”

"Philadelphia TSA screeners forced the developmentally delayed, four-year-old son of a Camden, PA..."

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:36:40 -0500

“Philadelphia TSA screeners forced the developmentally delayed, four-year-old son of a Camden, PA police officer to remove his leg-braces and wobble through a checkpoint, despite the fact that their procedure calls for such a case to be handled through a swabbing in a private room.”

- TSA forces travelling policeman to remove his disabled four-year-old son’s leg-braces Boing Boing (via ColdForged)

Seems logical. After all, the Taliban and Al-Qaida are teeming with physically challenged 4 year old Caucasians.

"When you pay an insurance company $11,000 per year to micro-manage your sickcare usage, you lose the..."

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:12:46 -0500

“

When you pay an insurance company $11,000 per year to micro-manage your sickcare usage, you lose the status of “paying customer” in the eyes of physicians and hospitals. Customers are “a person or organization that buys goods or services from a store or business.”

The current customer of the sickness industry (hospitals/doctors) is the health insurance industry.

”

- Jay Parkinson :: Should doctors be forced to treat patients promptly?

True “healthcare reform” (ahem, health insurance reform) will NEVER become a reality in this country until the general populous grasps this obvious, yet oft overlooked, truth.

La Tartine Gourmande How have I not seen this site before?!...

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:58:00 -0500

La Tartine Gourmande

How have I not seen this site before?! This absolutely gorgeous blog by food stylist/photographer/writer Béatrice Peltre ranks right up there with other great foodie/photography blogs like Matt Armendariz’s mattbites.com.

A post that includes a Gordon Ramsey quote and an Apple...

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:37:09 -0500

A post that includes a Gordon Ramsey quote and an Apple reference? That’s what we call an automatic reblog in these parts.

minimalmac:

jratlee:

slantback:

It doesn’t matter how amazing the steak is, if it’s served on a cold plate it’s crap. If it’s served with a dull knife it’s crap. If the gravy isn’t piping hot, it’s crap. If you’re eating it on an uncomfortable chair, it’s crap. If it’s served by an ugly waiter who just came in from a smoke break, it’s crap. Because I care about the steak, I have to care about everything around it. (via Contrast | The Blog | The thickness of napkins)

do it right the first time.

Also, what we believe in vs. not what we believe in.

Places Nerds Have Lived

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:45:49 -0500

mrgan:

The garage (1976)

The IT lab (1988)

Mom’s basement (1994)

The cubicle (1998)

The foosball room or, like, whatever you want! (1999)

A smaller cubicle (2001)

The coffee shop (2004)

The big, minimalist, DWR-furnished office (2009)

The garage (2016)

What about the bonus room above the garage? Does that still count as official nerd territory? If not, I guess I have six years to plan my transition.

"Constant vigilance is the price you pay for an elegant application. This means you have to learn to..."

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:08:35 -0500

“Constant vigilance is the price you pay for an elegant application. This means you have to learn to say «no». Your current customers will ask you for a feature they want. Potential customers will tell you that if you add just one specific feature, they’ll buy the app. You can’t be everything for everyone. You have to let some people be customers of your competitors.”

- ignore the code: Removing Features

Planetary Gravity Wells via xkcd It all makes so much sense...

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:48:13 -0500

Planetary Gravity Wells via xkcd

It all makes so much sense now!!

Can I come home now?

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:38:44 -0500

Can I come home now?:

sad outcome for such a valiant effort, methinks