Sometimes it’s the little coincidences that seem to be telling you you’re on the right path, stick to it. The setup… In this case, driving back from Baltimore yesterday I had a long discussion with Thomas about why programming sucks, why programmer’s tools aren’t as good as we tend to think they are, why programmers […]
Instead of 1,000 words, let me just give you a picture to introduce this article: Thanks, eBay. Caution: probably outdated screenshot. This one’s from the library, folks, about a year old. But at one point, it was there, and really… that’s enough for me. It was the best of times, it was the worst of […]
I’ve got an article up now at ThinkVitamin, the very awesome web developer / designer / entrepreneur weekly run by the lovely people at Carsonified (née Carson Systems). So, if you’re dying for your Slash7 fix, you might want to read Product Pages: So Much Suck, So Easy to Fix.
Owning an expensive camera does not a photographer make. Knowing how to annotate music does not a composer make. Having a fancy journal does not a writer make. Being good at CSS does not a designer make (nor does CSS make anything beautiful). Being able to write HTML does not a user interface expert make […]
Creative Commons-licensed, copyright thetourist. This is an Olivetti Valentine portable typewriter, photographed in the Musem of Modern Art. I just bought one, which inspired this post. Aside from my obsession with letterpress, I’m also obsessed with pen and paper, clay, photography (darkroom work, especially), Polaroids (1, 2), old postcards, unusual collage media, antique engraved book […]
And the joy of craft. The nicest thing as anyone’s ever said about my work is ‘It’s always so suitable to the purpose.’ Yes, make it attractive, but make it be what the text needs it to be. Whereas in the wild and wooly world of computer typography, there are no rules. The old guys […]
Another experiment. I dug up yet another scribbly half-baked essay and decided to turn it into an audio entry. I have a nice mic that I bought for this purpose and I’m learning a bit about audio production here and there (thanks Geoff!). The final result, not edited except to remove 3 “ums” (which I […]
Found this nugget in an essay I started a while back. The rest of the essay’s mostly a waste, but I like these questions! What do you think? Do you cook from rote? Do you envy people who can wander into a grocery store, grab a seemingly incoherent list of ingredients and, without any guide […]
As many of my long-term readers know, I’m often promising new content that never shows up. Partially it’s because the last 6 months have been absolutely nuts for me, and partially it’s because I have a problem with perfection. I know I have a problem with perfection and I fight it, but let’s face it, […]
I had a blast at this year’s OSCON and FOSCON. I got out more and met tons of wonderful people. It seems like more Ruby folks were in attendance than last year, too. I think, though, on the balance, I’d rather not keep doing 3 talks every time I go. But maybe that’s just me […]
