2006/03/30

Beautiful Quaker poster for an important concept



Walkgently
LeavesofGrass.Org: Walk gently on the earth:
"There is really only one way, now, to save the world: we must conserve.

Throughout recorded history, all true spiritual traditions have counseled against greed and advocated simplicity; the Quaker voice is merely a conservator of that wisdom.

The planet has grown hotter.

Our energy supplies are dwindling.

There is no time like now to heed the Quaker testimony on simplicity."

2006/03/28

Stand back, a new lensmaster has entered the universe.


Squidoo: "Python is Amazing". Well, done to Steve Holden on putting this together. And also for bringing Squidoo to my attention - looks good. I like the "Add to del.icio.us", RSS for changes. I must try building a lens myself....

2006/03/21

More code means more errors


Bitten by the Enterprise Bug - The Daily WTF: "Aaron questioned why it had to be so much more code to load a simple request. The consultants explained: In our experience, enterprise applications require significantly more code as non-enterprise."

The whole article is kind of depressing, but if something requires way more code to be written for no clear benefit then it is probably the wrong way to go as an app. developer. Of course, it could be a good way to go for consultants :-)

2006/03/20

Making it stick.: The Same Old Place:
"Same old story from what I can see. Anyone that wants an agile enterprise can get it using technology that is ten years old or more. There is *no* need to invest in WS-* or an ESB. I think an ESB could be a good investment in some cases but not because of any promise of a 'standards-based platform'."

2006/03/16

Practical Common Lisp wins Jolt award


Google Groups : comp.lang.lisp:
You really earned it Peter , PCL's great book.

Absolutely. I'd recommend it even if you don't really want to learn Lisp - it is a grea example of a pragmatic programming language tutorial!

2006/03/13

Daddy, how do you tie shoe laces?


Seth's Blog: It's hard: "I am now tying my shoes differently."

And so am I !! In the interests of science, I currently have one done with the quick knot, and one with the secure knot. The latter looks a real mess on my leather laces!!

2006/03/10

Marketing Global warming


Man what a cynical view of human nature!Seth's Blog: The problem with "global warming":

"The muted reaction to our impending disaster comes down to two things:

1. the name.

Global is good.
Warm is good.
Even greenhouses are good places.

How can 'global warming' be bad?

I'm not being facetious. If the problem were called 'Atmosphere cancer' or 'Pollution death' the entire conversation would be framed in a different way."

In other words, damn it he's right.

Teamicide


Incentive Pay Considered Harmful - Joel on Software: "teamicide: the inadvertent destruction of jelled teams"

The cubicle more devastating than the A-bomb?


FORTUNE: Trapped in cubicles - Mar. 9, 2006:
"Robert Oppenheimer agonized over building the A-bomb. Alfred Nobel got queasy about creating dynamite. Robert Propst invented nothing so destructive. Yet before he died in 2000, he lamented his unwitting contribution to what he called 'monolithic insanity.'"

Not so many deaths but a life long mental torture for many....

Quote of the day


Quotes of the Day - The Quotations Page: "

'A liberal is a person whose interests aren't at stake at the moment.'

- Willis Player"

Google Writely


Writely Blog:
"Some of you have been worried about our future here at Writely. As one concerned user wrote:

'I love Writely, but... I was wondering, is there any way to send you guys some money? I understand it's free and all, but I just feel bad that you don't charge. Thanks!'


We appreciate the sentiment, and all the support we've gotten from our users, but thankfully, your donations won't be necessary, for one very exciting reason:

Writely is now part of Google!"

Good news - I have a Writely account ( so I can sit smugly whilst others now have to wait to sign-up) and, whilst I haven't used it that much, I really love the idea and look forward to many new improvements - so long as the takeover goes smoothly!

2006/03/06

Why Schools Don’t Educate - The Natural Child Project: "We've all had a bellyful of authorized voices mediated by television and the press - a decade long free-for-all debate is what is called for now, not any more 'expert' opinions. Experts in education have never been right, their 'solutions' are expensive, self-serving, and always involve further centralization. Enough. Time for a return to Democracy, Individuality, and family."
"All Marketers are Liars" - Seth Godin speaks at Google - Google Video