https://blog.froese.org/ Recent content on darron froese Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us © 2021. All rights reserved. Tue, 29 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2018/05/29/remote-work-for-technology-workers/ Tue, 29 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2018/05/29/remote-work-for-technology-workers/ At the YYC IDIOT Meetup last week, I got to talk about my perspective on remote work. I got to talk about: What’s good about remote work. What’s not good about remote work. How I got my first remote job. Some tips about how you may be able to get a remote job based on that experience. Here’s the slides with the audio recording from the event: I’ve posted the slides on Speakerdeck. https://blog.froese.org/2016/09/21/velocity-running-consul-at-scale/ Wed, 21 Sep 2016 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2016/09/21/velocity-running-consul-at-scale/ I had the pleasure to present this at Velocity NY in New York, New York. I’ve embedded the slides and source code below: Slides at Speakerdeck kvexpress source code Additional links: https://github.com/darron/sifter https://github.com/darron/goshe Video https://blog.froese.org/2016/04/08/srecon-running-consul-at-scale/ Fri, 08 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2016/04/08/srecon-running-consul-at-scale/ I had the pleasure to present this at SREcon16 in Santa Clara, California. I’ve embedded the slides and source code below: Slides at Speakerdeck kvexpress demo source code kvexpress source code Video from the talk is posted on the USENIX website. https://blog.froese.org/2016/01/25/kvexpress-transporting-config-through-consul/ Mon, 25 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2016/01/25/kvexpress-transporting-config-through-consul/ As discussed in my Consul service discovery talk on at Scale14x on Saturday, figuring out a technique which uses Consul’s KV store to move configuration files around has been pleasantly surprising. We released kvexpress - which is a small tool that: Uploads data into Consul’s KV store and prepares it for distribution - usually on a single node. Downloads that data from Consul’s KV store onto a client node, verifies it, writes it to a file and then runs an optional handler. https://blog.froese.org/2016/01/23/service-discovery-in-the-cloud-with-consul/ Sat, 23 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2016/01/23/service-discovery-in-the-cloud-with-consul/ I had the pleasure to present this at Scale14x in Pasadena, California. I’ve embedded the slides and link to YouTube below: Talk on YouTube - Talk starts at around 4:30. Slides at Speakerdeck kvexpress source code https://blog.froese.org/2016/01/05/push-through-it/ Tue, 05 Jan 2016 10:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2016/01/05/push-through-it/ 80 days ago, I decided that I would put real effort into learning to program in Go. I had been working on something I had written in Ruby - from the original Bash script that it replaced - so I knew the problem space very well and I had my first potential project. As I finished the Ruby version, I realized that even though it was “correct” I had overlooked part of the problem space and I needed to extend it more if I truly wanted a comprehensive solution. https://blog.froese.org/2015/11/29/easyredir-url-redirection-service/ Sun, 29 Nov 2015 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2015/11/29/easyredir-url-redirection-service/ A little while ago, one of my oldest friends spent several months refining and launching EasyRedir, a URL redirection service he created to help solve some problems he was seeing. He wanted a simple, easy to use service for managing URL and domain redirects, but most of the ones he saw were anything but - so, as is his custom - he created a really good tool and is offering it as a service. https://blog.froese.org/2015/08/26/monitor-first/ Wed, 26 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2015/08/26/monitor-first/ I had the privilege to present today at Devopsdays Chicago. I condensed a proposed 30 minute talk down to 20 slides in an Ignite format. There’s way more things I could say about Consul - but 5 minutes is just not enough time. Below the slides, I’ve placed the transcript of what I had planned to say - hopefully the YouTube upload will be posted shortly. Slides at Speakerdeck Video on YouTube https://blog.froese.org/2015/04/12/packer-aws-autoscale-chef/ Sun, 12 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2015/04/12/packer-aws-autoscale-chef/ Using Amazon Auto Scaling Groups with Packer built custom Amazon Machine Images and Chef server can help to make your infrastructure better to respond to changing conditions, but there are a lot of moving parts that need to be connected in order for it to work properly. I have never seen them documented in a single place so am documenting it for posterity and explanation. There are 3 main phases in the lifecycle that we need to plan for: https://blog.froese.org/2015/02/04/connecting-gitlab-to-datadog-using-iron.io/ Wed, 04 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2015/02/04/connecting-gitlab-to-datadog-using-iron.io/ Wondering how to get commit notifications from Gitlab into Datadog? There isn’t an official integration from Datadog - but with a small ruby app running on an Iron.io worker, you can create events in your Datadog Event stream when code is committed to your Gitlab repository. You need a few things to make this happen: A free Iron.io account - signup here. A Ruby environment > 1.9 where you can install some gems. https://blog.froese.org/2014/12/30/how-octohost-uses-consul-watches/ Tue, 30 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/12/30/how-octohost-uses-consul-watches/ I’ve been working on octohost lately, updating and upgrading some of the components. One of the things I’ve been looking for a chance to play with has been Consul watches - and I think I’ve found a great use for them. As background, when you git push to an octohost, it builds a Docker container from the source code and the Dockerfile inside the repository. Once the container is built and ready to go, it does a few specific things: https://blog.froese.org/2014/12/15/apache-monitoring-with-datadog/ Mon, 15 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/12/15/apache-monitoring-with-datadog/ At nonfiction, we hosted the sites we built using a number of different hosting providers. The vast majority of the sites are hosted on some Rackspace Cloud instances - they have been very reliable for our workloads. One of those servers had been acting up recently and had been becoming unresponsive for no obvious reason, so we took a quick look one morning when we had been woken up at 5AM. https://blog.froese.org/2014/12/12/abusing-consul-exec-just-because/ Fri, 12 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/12/12/abusing-consul-exec-just-because/ I’ve been setting up a Consul cluster lately and am pretty excited about the possibilities with consul exec consul exec allows you to do things like this: consul exec -node {node-name} chef-client You can also target a service: consul exec -service haproxy service haproxy restart i-f6b46b1a: * Restarting haproxy haproxy i-f6b46b1a: ...done. i-f6b46b1a: ==> i-f6b46b1a: finished with exit code 0 i-24dae4c9: * Restarting haproxy haproxy i-24dae4c9: ...done. i-24dae4c9: ==> i-24dae4c9: finished with exit code 0 i-78f37694: * Restarting haproxy haproxy i-78f37694: . https://blog.froese.org/2014/10/01/aloak-the-worst-domain-registrar-ever/ Wed, 01 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/10/01/aloak-the-worst-domain-registrar-ever/ TLDR: If you’re having problems with a .ca domain name, reach out to CIRA - they may be able to help! Late last year, I started to move 4 domain names off of Aloak - a registrar I had used for years. I was concerned: They weren’t responsive to any request I had made in the last few years. I always had to ask and re-ask and continue to ask for small changes. https://blog.froese.org/2014/08/22/test-kitchen-dropbox-growl-remote-build-server/ Fri, 22 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/08/22/test-kitchen-dropbox-growl-remote-build-server/ I’ve been working on a lot of Chef cookbooks lately. We’ve been upgrading some old ones, adding tests, integrating them with TestKitchen and generally making them a lot better. As such, there have been a ton of integration tests run. Once you add a few test suites a cookbook that tests 3 different platforms now turns into a 9 VM run. While it doesn’t take a lot of memory, it certainly takes a lot of horsepower and time to launch 9 VM’s, converge and then run the integration tests. https://blog.froese.org/2014/06/30/big-octohost-changes-and-the-future/ Mon, 30 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/06/30/big-octohost-changes-and-the-future/ Late last year, octohost was created as a system to host websites: With no or minimal levels of manual intervention. With very little regard to underlying technology or framework. As a personal mini-PaaS modeled after Heroku with a git push interface to deploy these sites. Using disposable, immutable and rebuildable containers of source code. What have we found? Docker is and incredible tool to take containers on Linux to the next level. https://blog.froese.org/2014/06/13/authn-dbd-mysql-ubuntu-trusty/ Fri, 13 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/06/13/authn-dbd-mysql-ubuntu-trusty/ I’m converting a number of old websites that were using mod_auth_mysql - which doesn’t work anymore - and was having a hard time finding clear, concise and working information. First off - DO NOT INSTALL libapache2-mod-auth-mysql - it doesn’t work. I’m not even sure why it’s in Ubuntu anymore, it doesn’t even work with Apache 2.4. Here’s how to do get Apache 2.4 / mod_authn_dbd and MySQL to play nice together: https://blog.froese.org/2014/05/15/docker-logspout-and-nginx/ Thu, 15 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/05/15/docker-logspout-and-nginx/ Two days ago, Jeff Lindsay released logspout - a Docker container that is: A log router for Docker container output that runs entirely inside Docker. It attaches to all containers on a host, then routes their logs wherever you want. As soon as I saw it, I knew that I had to see how I could get the logs out of my Docker containers and into something like Papertrail. With our current Docker setup, we see the logs come into the HTTP proxy server and then out - but there wasn’t a great way to see the logs from inside each Docker container. https://blog.froese.org/2014/05/06/remote-test-kitchen-development-environment/ Tue, 06 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/05/06/remote-test-kitchen-development-environment/ Last week, I was in a hotel with incredibly brutal internet and I really wanted to update my Consul cookbook. I tried for a while, but when it looked pretty hopeless I started to try some remote cloud providers to see if I could speed things up. Rackspace and AWS were no go since they use Xen behind the scenes - which doesn’t work with VirtualBox - so I tried Digital Ocean - and it got farther than anybody else. https://blog.froese.org/2014/05/05/looking-for-a-new-challenge/ Mon, 05 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/05/05/looking-for-a-new-challenge/ Last year, after a lot of soul searching, I realized that it was time to move on from nonfiction - it was time for a change. However when you’ve founded and built a company over 12 years, moving on isn’t so simple, so my business partner and I have been working a for the last few months to simplify and streamline my exit from day-to-day operations. nonfiction is a great company that I’m proud to have built, it will be in my business partner’s capable hands and I couldn’t be prouder of the team that we built together. https://blog.froese.org/2014/03/17/using-octohost-with-heroku-addons/ Mon, 17 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/03/17/using-octohost-with-heroku-addons/ One of the assumptions of octohost is that the code that you git push over, turn into a Docker container and run are ‘immutable’ - they don’t change at all. No file uploads. No databases inside the container. If you’re used to working with Heroku, then this is no surprise at all - but you still may need to connect to a database, or NoSQL data-store. octohost has some basic support for data stores but it’s still not apparent to me that running MySQL, Postgresql or other data store is a good idea inside of a Docker container. https://blog.froese.org/2014/03/14/octo-config-and-octohost/ Fri, 14 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/03/14/octo-config-and-octohost/ I was working on a problem this weekend - not a super hard problem - but an annoying one: When you've got a system that is supposed to trigger at certain times, how can you verify that it's actually happening? The system I was working with is web based - hit a specific URL at a specific time. It’s called keepalive and it runs on Heroku. It hits a few URLs daily - but I wanted to make sure: https://blog.froese.org/2014/02/13/one-hundred-days-of-commits/ Thu, 13 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/02/13/one-hundred-days-of-commits/ 100 days ago, I made a goal for myself to commit something to Github every day. I was feeling a little stagnant and wanted to challenge myself and make sure that I was learning every day. 100 days later, I feel like I’ve kept my momentum. I’ve written Chef cookbooks, created a Chef skeleton framework for myself, built a few websites, started an entire project - octohost, posted to my blog, learned about a whole bunch of new technologies: Serf, Docker, Laravel, built a whole bunch of AMIs, Droplets and Rackspace Images with Packer and Vagrant, wrote an article for Sysadvent, learned about Ansible, built some packages, updated some Heroku buildpacks, released a Capistrano 3 example repo and lots of other things. https://blog.froese.org/2014/02/12/dweet-io-and-laravel/ Wed, 12 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/02/12/dweet-io-and-laravel/ A few days ago, I found out about Dweet.io which is billed as “Ridiculously simple data sharing for the Internet of Things.” The entire concept was pretty interesting to me. I liked the simplicity of it, and how it was so transient - made for machines to talk to machines. I also liked that if a message wasn’t picked up in 24 hours, then it clearly wasn’t important and that message disappeared. https://blog.froese.org/2014/02/08/virtual-hosts-and-domain-names-with-octohost/ Sat, 08 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/02/08/virtual-hosts-and-domain-names-with-octohost/ On our main octohost.io test server, we are running all sorts of different web applications. When we deployed this octohost, we pointed a wildcard dns record to: 54.244.116.169 Every time we push a new container, the octohost knows the name of the git repository and tells Hipache to direct all requests for “name-of-git-repo.octohost.io” to that container. You can also add additional domain name records into a CNAME file inside the repository. https://blog.froese.org/2014/02/07/efficient-docker-containers-using-harp-and-nginx/ Fri, 07 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/02/07/efficient-docker-containers-using-harp-and-nginx/ We’ve been working on speeding up our Docker deploys over the last little while. We took deploys of a simple Harp site from 40 seconds to approximately 3 using this method - but we were still running the Harp server. The Harp server took approximately 20-30MB of RAM at version 0.8 - but had balooned to approximately 60-80MB at version 0.11. We wanted to use the newer Harp, but tripling the memory usage was a bit of a problem. https://blog.froese.org/2014/02/02/need-a-file-on-100-servers-right-now/ Sun, 02 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/02/02/need-a-file-on-100-servers-right-now/ Friday evening I needed to replace a SSH key for one of my developers. I was trying to get out of the office and start the weekend, but since I was heading out of town, I wanted it done right now. My chef-client runs were failing mysteriously and I had no idea what was going on - that seems to be a bigger problem - but I needed this done right now. https://blog.froese.org/2014/01/31/rackspace-openstack-environment-variables/ Fri, 31 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/01/31/rackspace-openstack-environment-variables/ I wanted to build an octohost using Packer and a Rackspace OpenStack Image, but I needed a few environment variables to be setup correctly. Googling for what should be in the ENV variables gave all sorts of contradictory results - here’s what works: # Rackspace export SDK_USERNAME="username" # Same as here: https://mycloud.rackspace.com/ export SDK_PASSWORD="password-to-login" # Not the API key. export SDK_PROVIDER="rackspace-us" # Or rackspace-uk Just posting this here for Google - hopefully you find this and it helps you - I was frustrated for quite a while. https://blog.froese.org/2014/01/29/skeleton-cookbook-repo/ Wed, 29 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/01/29/skeleton-cookbook-repo/ Saw this link here that talks about installing a Ruby gem to help create a good Chef cookbook. It’s a great idea, and if you haven’t built any already, it’s a great start. But as time goes on - you may find that you don’t really like how that particular system does it - or you want to change things. Somtimes those changes aren’t a great fit for the main repo (which you don’t control). https://blog.froese.org/2014/01/02/best-ubuntu-lvm-resources/ Thu, 02 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2014/01/02/best-ubuntu-lvm-resources/ I have been working on setting up a new Linux system at home and have been using LVM on it. I have been wanting to use LVM while I build this box so that I can reset: In case things go wrong and I break things. (Like I have been doing for a couple of days already.) During the build so I can recreate the entire process using Chef Cookbooks at each step. https://blog.froese.org/2013/12/31/javascript-christmas/ Tue, 31 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2013/12/31/javascript-christmas/ This Christmas, I decided that I would take on a challenge over the holidays - and I decided to confront something I previously hated: JavaScript I’ve spent the last 11 years bootstrapping and running a corporate communications business. This means that I haven’t been able to do as much technology work as I’d have liked to. I am a sysadmin who can code - not a developer who can sysadmin - and as such - front end technology such as JavaScript was always very frustrating to me. https://blog.froese.org/2013/12/26/how-do-you-manage-your-home-network/ Thu, 26 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2013/12/26/how-do-you-manage-your-home-network/ In 1999, when I worked as a service tech, I got a bunch of friends together, bought a couple boxes of Cat 5 Ethernet cable and wired the home my wife and I were building. We put about 20 network drops into the house - most of them upstairs and a couple on the main floor - it terminated in my basement. That basic setup has lasted me quite a while - but it didn’t take into account: https://blog.froese.org/2013/12/17/speeding-up-docker-deploys/ Tue, 17 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2013/12/17/speeding-up-docker-deploys/ At nonfiction we’re building a platform to help deploy simple sites for our clients. The platform is called Handbill, under the scenes it’s using Harp and octohost. We were working on trying to make sure that the deploys were happening quicker than they were - 30-40 seconds was just too long. Docker works on the concept of layers (which maxed out at 42 for AUFS - until yesterday’s Docker 0.7.2 release which upped the limit to 127 - wahoo! https://blog.froese.org/2013/12/16/foodcritic-comment-disable-method/ Mon, 16 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2013/12/16/foodcritic-comment-disable-method/ After going through the incredible Test Kitchen Getting Started Guide and finding a couple great starting cookbook templates (skeleton and meez) I got busy building a few new cookbooks: redis, serf, nodejs and hipache for octohost. Part of the process involved running all of my cookbooks through Foodcritic, Tailor and Rubocop which found a ton of improvements and things to clean up. One item that really frustrated me was when Foodcritic gave me an error that I couldn’t really fix - because it wasn’t really an error. https://blog.froese.org/2013/12/13/sysadvent-article/ Fri, 13 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2013/12/13/sysadvent-article/ I got to write an article for this year’s SysAdvent. What is SysAdvent you ask? Let me tell you: One article for each day of December, ending on the 25th article. With the goals of of sharing, openness, and mentoring, we aim to provide great articles about systems administration topics written by fellow sysadmins My article was about controlling some octohost Docker servers with Serf. The article is here - the source code for the article is posted here - and some related Serf/Docker code was posted here https://blog.froese.org/2013/11/27/octohost-v0.5/ Wed, 27 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2013/11/27/octohost-v0.5/ Since we launched 6 days ago, we’ve been busy updating and upgrading octohost with all sorts of upgrades. v0.5 is available now - the Changelog is here but the top 4 highlights are as follows: Docker 0.7 - released recently. The /usr/bin/octo cli which allows for simple management of an octohost server. SSH Agent forwarding is now supported by OpenSSH and sudo - very handy with sudo /usr/bin/octo move sites old. https://blog.froese.org/2013/11/22/announcing-octohost/ Fri, 22 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2013/11/22/announcing-octohost/ We’ve been using Docker as the backend for a project we’ve been working on for the last little while. That backend ended up being the simplest possible web-focused Dockerfile based PaaS we could conceive - with Heroku/Dokku like deploys using nothing but git. We’ve named it octohost - all of the source is available here: https://github.com/octohost/octohost There is already a prebuilt AMI available in US-West-2: ami-26d84216 Or you can build your own with Packer - all templates are included. https://blog.froese.org/2013/06/24/do-not-host-your-own-domain-name/ Mon, 24 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2013/06/24/do-not-host-your-own-domain-name/ If you’re thinking about hosting your company’s public facing domain name in your own server room you should stop right now and rethink that. I live in Calgary, Alberta and we’re currently digging ourselves out of the worst flooding in decades. Our downtown core, where many of the worlds largest oil and gas companies are located, was flooded. The power to most of those buildings has been turned off since last Friday morning - 4 days. https://blog.froese.org/2013/04/23/using-prose-io-as-a-cms/ Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2013/04/23/using-prose-io-as-a-cms/ I saw this link today and was very interested in how they did it. I love the simplicity that you can get when you deploy static files - but managing them has always been a bit of a hassle - and technically above what most of our clients are happy to use. You see, nonfiction has a CMS that we’ve been using for a number of years. It’s PHP/MySQL based and has served us well - but it’s getting a little long in the tooth. https://blog.froese.org/2013/03/09/monitoring-logs-metrics-tools/ Sat, 09 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2013/03/09/monitoring-logs-metrics-tools/ I was getting a demo of a new tool/toolset from the guys at Stackdriver yesterday and we were talking about some of the monitoring/logs/metrics tools I was using. I listed a few, but after we finished the call I realized that I had actually forgotten a whole bunch that we use. In the spirit of Thomas Fuchs' recent post, this post is an overview of some of the tools we use at nonfiction to monitor our servers: https://blog.froese.org/2013/02/19/youre-the-seo-problem-only-you-can-fix-it/ Tue, 19 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2013/02/19/youre-the-seo-problem-only-you-can-fix-it/ That sounds a bit harsh - but ultimately it’s true. Late last year, Smashing Magazine wrote an article about SEO and basically said that: As long as your website is programmed properly. Don’t try to game the system - it’s not a long term strategy. Write original, relevant, interesting website content for people. Keep doing that - it takes time. As people link to your site, your ranking will rise. https://blog.froese.org/2013/02/17/own-your-digital-identity/ Sun, 17 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2013/02/17/own-your-digital-identity/ I am amazed when I see somebody applying for a development job with us and they have a shaw.ca, hotmail or yahoo address. It sort of makes me sad right away - because it shows me that they don’t really take their digital identity seriously. I think that you need to own and control your digital identity. It costs about $10 / year to own a domain name - buy one and use it - make it your identity for as long as possible. https://blog.froese.org/2013/02/06/what-i-want-in-a-canadian-virtual-private-server-provider-/ Wed, 06 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2013/02/06/what-i-want-in-a-canadian-virtual-private-server-provider-/ I'm trying to find a decent Canadian VPS provider that I can use for some of my customers. Yes - I know that having your data in Canada is not really any safer than having it hosted in the USA, but I can't fully convince some of my client's legal departments. I need: 1. The ability to start up additional instances without calling somebody or filling out a form so that they will " https://blog.froese.org/2013/01/03/more-falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-time-wisdom-of-the-crowd-edition-noahsussman-infinite-undo/ Thu, 03 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2013/01/03/more-falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-time-wisdom-of-the-crowd-edition-noahsussman-infinite-undo/ A great many of the false assumptions listed were my own. Especially “time stamps are always in seconds since epoch” and “the duration of a system clock minute is always pretty close to the duration of a wall clock minute.” Whoa did I ever live to regret my ignorance in those two cases! But hey, apparently I’m not the only one who has run into (or inadvertently caused) such issues. https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/29/a-little-chef-advice-is-needed-how-to-move-forward-opschef/ Sat, 29 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/29/a-little-chef-advice-is-needed-how-to-move-forward-opschef/ Chef workflow question... Looking for a little advice here on how to move forward with some Chef built infrastructure. I started going through my chef repo this Christmas - and some ugly little platform version hacks started appearing - so I got to thinking about how better to structure things - and here I am. We have about 20 Rackspace Cloud Ubuntu 10.0.4 boxes running various parts of nonfiction's web infrastructure - they're working great and are current with all patches, etc. https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/22/milk-prices-may-double-in-the-new-year-why-does-this-still-happen-/ Sat, 22 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/22/milk-prices-may-double-in-the-new-year-why-does-this-still-happen-/ It works like this: In order to keep dairy farmers in businesses, the government agrees to buy milk and other products if the price gets too low. The current agriculture bill has a formula that means the government steps in if the price of milk were to drop by roughly half from its current national average of about $3.65 a gallon. Problem is, the current bill expired last summer, and Congress had been unable to agree on a new one. https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/21/it-s-cool-when-clinton-proposes-it-/ Fri, 21 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/21/it-s-cool-when-clinton-proposes-it-/ "These districts are bringing school nurses and counselors together to respond to warning signs like depression or bullying," Clinton said. "They are improving classroom security and expanding after-school and mentoring programs." Clinton also unveiled the $60-million fifth round of funding for "COPS in School," a Justice Department program that helps pay the costs of placing police officers in schools to help make them safer for students and teachers. The money will be used to provide 452 officers in schools in more than 220 communities. https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/20/the-secret-history-of-guns-adam-winkler-the-atlantic/ Thu, 20 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/20/the-secret-history-of-guns-adam-winkler-the-atlantic/ Indisputably, for much of American history, gun-control measures, like many other laws, were used to oppress African Americans. The South had long prohibited blacks, both slave and free, from owning guns. In the North, however, at the end of the Civil War, the Union army allowed soldiers of any color to take home their rifles. Even blacks who hadn’t served could buy guns in the North, amid the glut of firearms produced for the war. https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/18/auditing-shooting-rampage-statistics-daily-anarchist/ Tue, 18 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/18/auditing-shooting-rampage-statistics-daily-anarchist/ The average number of people killed in mass shootings when stopped by police is 14.29 The average number of people killed in a mass shooting when stopped by a civilian is 2.33 via dailyanarchist.com https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/18/man-says-he-had-shooter-in-his-sights-but-chose-safety-over-firing/ Tue, 18 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/18/man-says-he-had-shooter-in-his-sights-but-chose-safety-over-firing/ Meli earlier told a KGW reporter that he heard three gunshots, and then positioned himself behind a pillar in the mall. Meli said he saw the gunman working on his rifle, pulling a charging handle and hitting the side of the weapon.  Meli said he then pulled out his Glock 22 pistol and aimed it at the suspect. But when he saw someone move behind Roberts, Meli decided against firing, concerned he might hit an innocent person. https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/18/off-duty-security-guard-stops-douchebag-/ Tue, 18 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/18/off-duty-security-guard-stops-douchebag-/   Antu says the gunman never made it into the theater itself, thanks largely to the heroic work of the off duty deputy.     "She did what she felt she had to do," Antu said.  "I feel that she saved a lot of lives by taking the action she had to take." via radio.woai.com https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/18/texas-school-district-allows-teachers-to-carry-guns-in-classrooms/ Tue, 18 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/18/texas-school-district-allows-teachers-to-carry-guns-in-classrooms/ There's a lot of talk about how to deal with incidents like the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown Connecticut, and one being floated by conservatives is the idea of arming school teachers and administrators.     That's not a far out idea.  The Harrold ISD in North Texas has allowed teachers to carry guns in the classroom since 2008, according to principal David Thweatt.     "If you are unarmed, these people are going into those areas where they know people will not be able to resist," https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/11/variable-technologies-we-are-a-world-of-gadgeteers-node-is-so-cool-/ Tue, 11 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2012/12/11/variable-technologies-we-are-a-world-of-gadgeteers-node-is-so-cool-/ [[posterous-content:mnlHiJJyrgAcIJbGbFdi]]via variabletech.com https://blog.froese.org/2012/08/20/health-care-battle-heats-up/ Mon, 20 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2012/08/20/health-care-battle-heats-up/ "She may have terminal cancer, but she still goes for walks and even plays a little golf," Day said. "Then she injured her knee, and all she wants to do is enjoy the quality of life she has remaining. She wants to go for her walks. "But the government says, 'No, you have to wait.' They handed an 18-month sentence to a woman who may have only 18 months, or less, to live. https://blog.froese.org/2012/07/16/8-homeboy-industries-reboots-the-lives-of-tattooed-former-gangbangers-and-even-one-ceo-co-exist-world-changing-ideas-and-innovation/ Mon, 16 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2012/07/16/8-homeboy-industries-reboots-the-lives-of-tattooed-former-gangbangers-and-even-one-ceo-co-exist-world-changing-ideas-and-innovation/ From Boyle’s perspective, Homeboy was primarily in the business of hiring people: "We don’t hire homies to bake bread. We bake bread to hire homies.via fastcoexist.com https://blog.froese.org/2012/07/08/jeff-loflin-was-talking-about-sidemount-diving-at-the-dive-shop-today/ Sun, 08 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2012/07/08/jeff-loflin-was-talking-about-sidemount-diving-at-the-dive-shop-today/ I went to a presentation at The Dive Shop by visiting instructor Jeff Loflin on Cave diving and the path to Full Cave (and beyond) last night. It was interesting enough to me, so I bought his new sidemount training video and watched it last night waiting for a chance to try out a sidemount rig today. Today Jeff gave another 1.5 hour presentation on the changes he's seen to sidemount over the last 6 years, he traced its evolution from Europe a few decades ago, to where it is today - the new big thing™. https://blog.froese.org/2012/01/14/canada-s-election-laws-changing-to-reflect-twitter-reality/ Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2012/01/14/canada-s-election-laws-changing-to-reflect-twitter-reality/ The Harper government will repeal the ban on communicating election results while polls are still open, bringing the law into harmony with the realities of today's instant communications. The election night blackout was adopted in 1938, to prevent western voters from knowing the results of the election in the east when they cast their ballots. Minister of State for Democratic Reform Tim Uppal announced via Twitter Friday that the antiquated law will been repealed in time for the next election. https://blog.froese.org/2012/01/12/government-to-gun-owners-we-made-a-mistake-fix-it-for-us-or-go-to-prison-canadian-gun-laws-are-messed-up-/ Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2012/01/12/government-to-gun-owners-we-made-a-mistake-fix-it-for-us-or-go-to-prison-canadian-gun-laws-are-messed-up-/ With the G22 rifle, the RCMP has at least a flimsy excuse for the reclassification— it says because the rifle can be easily shortened by removing the back end, it’s too easily concealable to be a non-restricted rifle (the blame still lies with the government for making the mistake in the first place, but at least that’s something). The decision to ban the AP-80, however, has no logic behind it at all. https://blog.froese.org/2012/01/11/need-to-combine-a-bunch-of-pdf-files-in-pure-ruby-/ Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2012/01/11/need-to-combine-a-bunch-of-pdf-files-in-pure-ruby-/ Found a great set of gems: PDF Merger (also requiresRJB, and iText) Once you've got your JRE installed and iText installed - install the gems: gem install pdf-merger gem install rjb Then this code is as simple as it gets: That's it - works well on OS X - haven't tried it elsewhere yet. https://blog.froese.org/2011/12/25/sysadvent-day-9-data-in-the-shell-some-great-tools-here-/ Sun, 25 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/12/25/sysadvent-day-9-data-in-the-shell-some-great-tools-here-/ The shell is where I live most days, and the shell has pipes. Pipes simply transmit plain text, and many pieces of data I deal with are structured data where staples like grep and sed are not the best. Fortunately, there are lots of tools available to help you deal with these structured formats. via sysadvent.blogspot.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/12/20/mcdonald-s-withdrawal-from-bolivia-capitalism-in-action-institute-of-economic-affairs/ Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/12/20/mcdonald-s-withdrawal-from-bolivia-capitalism-in-action-institute-of-economic-affairs/ Bolivians were never prevented by their government from buying burgers; they simply chose not to do so. This is not a victory over capitalism, it is capitalism. via iea.org.uk https://blog.froese.org/2011/12/19/an-indian-inventor-disrupts-the-period-industry-co-exist-world-changing-ideas-and-innovation/ Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/12/19/an-indian-inventor-disrupts-the-period-industry-co-exist-world-changing-ideas-and-innovation/ When Arunachalam Muruganantham hit a wall in his research on creating a sanitary napkin for poor women, he decided to do what most men typically wouldn’t dream of. He wore one himself--for a whole week. Fashioning his own menstruating uterus by filling a bladder with goat’s blood, Muruganantham went about his life while wearing women’s underwear, occasionally squeezing the contraption to test out his latest iteration. It resulted in endless derision and almost destroyed his family. https://blog.froese.org/2011/12/15/-so-radical-that-it-would-have-been-considered-crazy-had-it-been-pushed-by-the-bush-administration-/ Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/12/15/-so-radical-that-it-would-have-been-considered-crazy-had-it-been-pushed-by-the-bush-administration-/ It's something so radical that it would have been considered crazy had it been pushed by the Bush administration, via m.guardian.co.uk https://blog.froese.org/2011/12/14/the-only-soap-made-with-electrolytes-caffeine-and-punching-sweet-/ Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/12/14/the-only-soap-made-with-electrolytes-caffeine-and-punching-sweet-/ Plenty of soaps are made with natural ingredients. Usually what that means is that they're made of ground-up flowers and tropical fruits. If you’re going to shower, be a man about it. Introducing the only soap made with electrolytes, caffeine, and punching. Don’t waste your time with anything less.  via shop.omniconsumerproductscorporation.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/12/08/devopsanywhere-why-chef-totally-agree-/ Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/12/08/devopsanywhere-why-chef-totally-agree-/ There are many, many reasons to use Chef but the main reason you should use chef is this: You, System Administrator, are too damn smart to spend the rest of your professional life reinventing the wheel. via devopsanywhere.blogspot.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/11/02/-18-months-ago-wall-st-helped-greece-to-mask-debt-fueling-europe-s-crisis-nytimes-com/ Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/11/02/-18-months-ago-wall-st-helped-greece-to-mask-debt-fueling-europe-s-crisis-nytimes-com/ Even as the crisis was nearing the flashpoint, banks were searching for ways to help Greece forestall the day of reckoning. In early November — three months before Athens became the epicenter of global financial anxiety — a team from Goldman Sachs arrived in the ancient city with a very modern proposition for a government struggling to pay its bills, according to two people who were briefed on the meeting. https://blog.froese.org/2011/10/30/why-is-this-cargo-container-emitting-so-much-radiation-magazine/ Sun, 30 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/10/30/why-is-this-cargo-container-emitting-so-much-radiation-magazine/ Montagna, dressed in a polo shirt, jeans, and an orange safety vest, grabbed his radiation monitor—a tan Ludlum Model 3 about the size of a toaster. He plugged in a heavy sensor wand and set the device on the ground 20 yards away from the containers. The Model 3 emits a high-pitched beep every time it detects a radioactive particle; Montagna turned it on, and the meter’s needle swung hard to the right, burying itself past the maximum reading of 500,000 counts per minute. https://blog.froese.org/2011/10/27/the-understatement-android-orphans-visualizing-a-sad-history-of-support/ Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/10/27/the-understatement-android-orphans-visualizing-a-sad-history-of-support/ In other words, Apple’s way of getting you to buy a new phone is to make you really happy with your current one, whereas apparently Android phone makers think they can get you to buy a new phone by making you really unhappy with your current one. Then again, all of this may be ascribing motives and intent where none exist - it’s entirely possible that the root cause of the problem is just flat-out bad management (and/or the aforementioned spectacular dumbness). https://blog.froese.org/2011/10/25/steve-jobs-solved-the-innovator-s-dilemma-james-allworth-harvard-business-review/ Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/10/25/steve-jobs-solved-the-innovator-s-dilemma-james-allworth-harvard-business-review/ When he returned, Jobs completely upended the company. There were thousands of layoffs. Scores of products were killed stone dead. He knew the company had to make money to stay alive, but he transitioned the focus of Apple away from profits. Profit was viewed as necessary, but not sufficient, to justify everything Apple did. That attitude resulted in a company that looks entirely different to almost any other modern Fortune 500 company. https://blog.froese.org/2011/10/18/emptyage-generation-x-doesn-t-want-to-hear-it/ Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/10/18/emptyage-generation-x-doesn-t-want-to-hear-it/ But Generation X is tired of your sense of entitlement. Generation X also graduated during a recession. It had even shittier jobs, and actually had to pay for its own music. (At least, when music mattered most to it.) Generation X is used to being fucked over. It lost its meager savings in the dot-com bust. Then came George Bush, and 9/11, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Generation X bore the brunt of all that. https://blog.froese.org/2011/10/18/the-fraud-at-the-heart-of-student-lending-exposed-the-one-sentence-everyone-should-read-zerohedge/ Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/10/18/the-fraud-at-the-heart-of-student-lending-exposed-the-one-sentence-everyone-should-read-zerohedge/ A key reason why a preponderance of the population is fascinated with the student loan market is that as USA Today reported in a landmark piece last year, it is now bigger than ever the credit card market. And as the monthly consumer debt update from the Fed reminds us, the primary source of funding is none other than the US government. To many, this market has become the biggest credit bubble in America. https://blog.froese.org/2011/10/10/in-praise-of-bad-steve-d-b-grady-technology-the-atlantic/ Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/10/10/in-praise-of-bad-steve-d-b-grady-technology-the-atlantic/ The engineers explained that they had to reinvent inventing to create the iPod, and that it was simply impossible to make it any smaller. Jobs was quiet for a moment. Finally he stood, walked over to an aquarium, and dropped the iPod in the tank. After it touched bottom, bubbles floated to the top."Those are air bubbles," he snapped. "That means there's space in there. Make it smaller." via theatlantic. https://blog.froese.org/2011/10/06/how-to-live-life-like-a-boss-iv-gifs-smosh/ Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/10/06/how-to-live-life-like-a-boss-iv-gifs-smosh/ In life we are given a choice. Do we do things normally, or do we do things... LIKE A BOSS? These people have made the choice to live life like a boss.It's way dangerous, so don't try and be this boss at home! via smosh.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/10/02/bc-court-rules-rogers-zoocasa-real-estate-site-infringed-copyright-breached-terms-of-use-important-canadian-online-legal-case-/ Sun, 02 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/10/02/bc-court-rules-rogers-zoocasa-real-estate-site-infringed-copyright-breached-terms-of-use-important-canadian-online-legal-case-/ The decision includes many important findings on online contracts, trespass, and copyright. The court canvasses the law of online contracts and concludes that website terms of use can be enforceable.  In this particular case, Century 21's terms prohibited copying or scraping its content. By doing so, Zoocasa breached the contract. The court awarded $1,000 in damages for the breach. Note that the court even finds that continuing to link to the Century 21 site (a practice prohibited by Century 21 once it provides notice) was a breach of the contract. https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/29/al-qaeda-anger-as-iran-ruins-its-legacy-ha-ha-/ Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/29/al-qaeda-anger-as-iran-ruins-its-legacy-ha-ha-/ ''The Iranian government has professed on the tongue of its President Ahmadinejad that it does not believe that al-Qaeda was behind 9/11 but rather, the US government,'' read the article, published under the byline Abu Suhail. ''So we may ask the question: why would Iran ascribe to such a ridiculous belief that stands in the face of all logic and evidence?'' The article demands that Mr Ahmadinejad stop his efforts to ''to discredit 9/11'' with conspiracy theories, accusing him and his country's leaders of exploiting anti-American sentiment for political gain and engaging only in ''lip-service jihad''. https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/15/belmont-club-the-strange-case-of-george-w-bush/ Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/15/belmont-club-the-strange-case-of-george-w-bush/ The American Scholar article by Walt Harrington entitled Dubya and Me is reminder that “man is a mystery”. Harrington, whose politics were very different from Bush admired him to the point of fascination. Defending him against critics who saw the Texan as a chimp, Harrington retorted, “I didn’t vote for George W. I disagree with him on the Supreme Court, environment, abortion, the death penalty and affirmative action. So I voted against this good and decent man. https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/15/the-2-billion-ubs-incident-rogue-trader-my-ass-matt-taibbi-rolling-stone/ Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/15/the-2-billion-ubs-incident-rogue-trader-my-ass-matt-taibbi-rolling-stone/ Nonetheless, thanks to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act passed in 1998 with the help of Bob Rubin, Larry Summers, Bill Clinton, Alan Greenspan, Phil Gramm and a host of other short-sighted politicians, we now have a situation where trillions in federally-insured commercial bank deposits have been wedded at the end of a shotgun to exactly such career investment bankers from places like Salomon Brothers (now part of Citi), Merrill Lynch (Bank of America), Bear Stearns (Chase), and so on. https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/09/f-16-pilot-was-ready-to-give-her-life-on-sept-11-the-washington-post/ Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/09/f-16-pilot-was-ready-to-give-her-life-on-sept-11-the-washington-post/ “I’m going to go for the cockpit,” Sasseville said. She replied without hesitating. “I’ll take the tail.” It was a plan. And a pact. via washingtonpost.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/06/life-below-600px-paddy-donnelly-i-have-always-loved-this-/ Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/06/life-below-600px-paddy-donnelly-i-have-always-loved-this-/ Some people would have you believe that you aren't reading this. Why? Because it's not 'above the fold'. via iampaddy.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/06/rookie-higher-learning-looking-back-on-high-school-is-better-than-high-school-/ Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/06/rookie-higher-learning-looking-back-on-high-school-is-better-than-high-school-/ You might feel at times that you are ugly and disgusting and unlovable. Some of you might feel as though you are beautiful and hot and cool and awesome. Know this: When you’re in your 20s you go through, like, a time machine of opposite days. What I mean is, everyone who thinks they are hot shit in high school eventually turns into cold diarrhea by their 30s. And all you ugly nerds will eventually start to sparkle like geodes. https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/02/adrian-cockcroft-s-blog-i-come-to-use-clouds-not-to-build-them-good-stuff-here-/ Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/02/adrian-cockcroft-s-blog-i-come-to-use-clouds-not-to-build-them-good-stuff-here-/ My question is what are the alternatives to AWS from a developer perspective, and when might they be useful? However I will digress into a little history to frame the discussion. There are really two separate threads of development in cloud architectures, the one I care about is how to build applications on top of public cloud infrastructure, the other is about how to build cloud infrastructure itself. https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/02/examining-5-oilsands-claims-by-daryl-hannah-cbc-debunking-environmental-claims-/ Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/02/examining-5-oilsands-claims-by-daryl-hannah-cbc-debunking-environmental-claims-/ Actress and activist Darryl Hannah was arrested this week in Washington D.C during a protest against extending TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oilsands crude from Alberta through six U.S. states to refineries in Texas. On Wednesday, Hannah appeared on CBC's Power & Politics to debate Alykhan Velshi, founder of Ethicaloil.org, a website devoted to defending Canada's oil industry. During the debate, Hannah made claims about the oilsands, some of which CBC News investigated: https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/02/mark-cuban-on-the-record-the-big-picture-smart-guy-/ Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/02/mark-cuban-on-the-record-the-big-picture-smart-guy-/ I’d like to tell you that he travels with an entourage, that he’s unapproachable, that you play by his rules. But I’ve never met a celebrity so honest, so unguarded, so willing to go on the record as Mark Cuban. He’s got no agenda, he’s just being him. Maybe you know him as the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, the NBA champs. Maybe you saw him on “Dancing With The Stars”. https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/02/practical-nerd-the-hidden-price-of-free-bad-spotify-i-did-not-know-that-/ Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/02/practical-nerd-the-hidden-price-of-free-bad-spotify-i-did-not-know-that-/ Google searching this time uncovered something not immediately disclosed by Spotify: the application employs built-in peer-to-peer networking technology to share streaming music from its cache on my computer with other Spotify users who want the same tunes, presumably taking the load off Spotify’s own servers. There’s almost no mention of this P2P functionality on Spotify’s own site. And no way to throttle or turn off the upstream P2P use in either the free or paid version which, probably, is a key part of Spotify’s business and technology model. https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/02/scifri-videos-where-s-the-octopus-octopi-are-cool-/ Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/02/scifri-videos-where-s-the-octopus-octopi-are-cool-/ When marine biologist Roger Hanlon captured the first scene in this video he started screaming. (If you need to see it again, here's the raw footage.) Hanlon, senior scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, studies camouflage in cephalopods--squid, cuttlefish and octopus. They are masters of optical illusion. These are some of Hanlon's top video picks of sea creatures via sciencefriday.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/01/throttle-bandwidth-on-mac-os-x-ben-collier-oldie-but-a-goodie-/ Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/09/01/throttle-bandwidth-on-mac-os-x-ben-collier-oldie-but-a-goodie-/ To limit the con­nec­tion speed on your Mac to a 56k modem for test­ing your web­site load­ing speed, pop this into terminal: via bencollier.net https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/31/anti-nuclear-policies-leave-germany-scrambling-for-power-and-it-s-only-going-to-get-worse-/ Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/31/anti-nuclear-policies-leave-germany-scrambling-for-power-and-it-s-only-going-to-get-worse-/ Germany was all in a lather to shut down its nuclear reactors after the disaster at Fukushima panicked the country’s leaders. What if a similar tsunami and earthquake hit Germany? Nevermind that Germany, unlike Japan, isn’t located on an ocean coastline prone to tsunamis. The point was to make a public show of devotion to alternatives (even if that might mean coal), and please Euro envirozealots. So Berlin declared that it would shut down eight of its 17 reactors immediately, and the rest within a decade or so. https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/31/github-flow-scott-chacon-on-the-interwebs-i-like-this-/ Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/31/github-flow-scott-chacon-on-the-interwebs-i-like-this-/ So, what is GitHub Flow? Anything in the master branch is deployable To work on something new, create a descriptively named branch off of master (ie: new-oauth2-scopes) Commit to that branch locally and regularly push your work to the same named branch on the server When you need feedback or help, or you think the branch is ready for merging, open a pull request After someone else has reviewed and signed off on the feature, you can merge it into master Once it is merged and pushed to ‘master’, you can and should deploy immediately via scottchacon. https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/28/flyjsonp-could-be-handy-at-times-/ Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/28/flyjsonp-could-be-handy-at-times-/ FlyJSONP is a small JavaScript library, 2.38KB (1.13KB gzipped), that allows you to do cross-domain GET and POST requests with remote services that support JSONP, and get a JSON response. via alotaiba.github.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/10/a-trillion-bytes-of-data-friday-hides-a-lot-of-sins-high-frequency-trading-/ Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/10/a-trillion-bytes-of-data-friday-hides-a-lot-of-sins-high-frequency-trading-/ Last night over 14 months after the Flash Crash, US regulators finally sent subpoenas to HFT firms. In light of that and the games that were played last week, I offer more insights into HFT from my friends at Nanex, which supports what our HeatSeeker saw as the quants had their way with the markets to the detrement of all investor classes: On Friday, Aug 5, 2011, we processed 1 trillion bytes of data for all U. https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/10/afghan-president-urges-clerics-to-discourage-turban-bombs/ Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/10/afghan-president-urges-clerics-to-discourage-turban-bombs/ Afghan President Hamid Karzai met recently with members of the country’s clerical councils to get their assistance in persuading insurgents not to hide explosives in suicide bombers' turbans or in other religious or cultural symbols. The Taliban, however, appear to have responded by hiding a bomb in a mosque in Kandahar province. In the last five weeks, suicide bombers have killed the mayor of Kandahar and a senior cleric in the city with small amounts of explosives hidden in their turbans. https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/10/belmont-club-disputing-darwin/ Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/10/belmont-club-disputing-darwin/ Nature’s default method for dealing with failure is natural selection. It subjects individuals to a survival test and if they fail, they die. Having died they remove themselves from the gene pool (and probably the meme pool as well) and are heard from no more. Left to themselves the brood of the Welfare State would fare poorly. Without skills, having torched their surroundings and having, in the words of one Australian self-confessed Leftist “shit on their own doorstep” they would pick their surroundings clean and then perish from basic starvation. https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/08/belmont-club-the-turn-of-the-card/ Mon, 08 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/08/belmont-club-the-turn-of-the-card/ Meanwhile the markets continued to fall as investors fled to gold and ironically — Treasury Bonds. The Los Angeles Times notes that the Dow Jones average fell 600 points by midday on a Monday opening. “The appetite for Treasury bonds suggests that the Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the U.S. has not shaken the faith of investors in U.S. bonds.” It also suggested that the market’s skittishness was related to the general weakness of the economy rather than just being an outcome of the downgrade. https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/08/button-sluts-and-web-actions-the-nascar-effect-totally-agree-/ Mon, 08 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/08/button-sluts-and-web-actions-the-nascar-effect-totally-agree-/ The NASCAR Effect Web actions begin to solve the problem of the NASCAR effect, where many sites today are completely littered with social buttons and share widgets. Like race cars slapped with promo stickers, blogs and businesses have filled their footers, sidebars, and whitespace with buttons for saving and sharing posts or pages on each and every remotely popular social site. via flatfrogblog.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/08/debt-downgrade-why-congress-and-s-p-deserve-each-other-the-curious-capitalist-time-com/ Mon, 08 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/08/debt-downgrade-why-congress-and-s-p-deserve-each-other-the-curious-capitalist-time-com/ Having Standard & Poor's downgrade the creditworthiness of the U.S., and warn the country about further downgrades, is a little like having the Catholic Church lecture Scout leaders on the proper behavior toward boys. The moral authority seems to be wanting. S&P, you may recall, is one of the ratings agencies (the others being Moody's and Fitch) that greased the skids of the financial crisis by awarding AAA ratings to tranche after tranche of mortgage bonds called collaterized debt obligations, or CDOs. https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/07/belmont-club-the-white-swan-monday-should-be-interesting-not-in-a-good-way-/ Sun, 07 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/07/belmont-club-the-white-swan-monday-should-be-interesting-not-in-a-good-way-/ CNN reports that Timothy Geithner is will attend a teleconference meeting with G7 finance ministers. “The talks expected to occur before Asian markets open for Monday trading follow Friday’s downgrade of the U.S. credit rating to AA+ from the top rank of AAA. It was the first time in history the nation was rated below AAA.” Events are now moving faster than the stately pace of jet travel can keep up with. https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/06/it-just-went-from-bad-to-far-far-worse-as-germany-says-italy-is-too-big-for-efsf-to-save-zerohedge/ Sat, 06 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/06/it-just-went-from-bad-to-far-far-worse-as-germany-says-italy-is-too-big-for-efsf-to-save-zerohedge/ If Germany is now against this, which appears to be the case, it pretty much means, well, game over. Add the uncerainty over the unwind of the Europe rescue "gamechanger" as one of the more naive CNBC anchors said yesterday, and Monday is now guaranteed to be a bloodbath. As for those saying China will gladly step in and fund a $5 trillion EFSF shortfall, they may want to read the following article from Reuters https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/06/operation-fast-and-furious-ace-of-spades-hq/ Sat, 06 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/06/operation-fast-and-furious-ace-of-spades-hq/ The smartest administration in the history of the world conceived of this plan. The plan was to just let thousands of weapons flow to murderous drug cartels. And then take those cartels down. But they didn't take the cartels down, because they didn't track the guns. They instead were to follow the money, but they also didn't do that. A US border agent was killed due to the illegal arms sent to a neighboring sovereign country in this massive covert operation. https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/03/lorne-gunter-canada-shows-u-s-the-way-on-government-spending-taxes-full-comment-national-post/ Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/08/03/lorne-gunter-canada-shows-u-s-the-way-on-government-spending-taxes-full-comment-national-post/ Jason’s main point is Canada bit the fiscal bullet in the mid-1990s and so has been in a better position to weather the current economic storm. While much remains to be done to bring taxes and government spending down, by reducing spending 16 years ago (and not ramping it up outrageously since), we are coming out of the recession faster than the States. And, of course, the Liberals deserve the credit for the belt-tightening of 1995 that help leave us in such a good position today. https://blog.froese.org/2011/07/02/-right-to-die-can-become-a-duty-to-die-telegraph/ Sat, 02 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/07/02/-right-to-die-can-become-a-duty-to-die-telegraph/ Imagine that you have lung cancer. It has been in remission, but tests show the cancer has returned and is likely to be terminal. Still, there is some hope. Chemotherapy could extend your life, if not save it. You ask to begin treatment. But you soon receive more devastating news. A letter from the government informs you that the cost of chemotherapy is deemed an unjustified expense for the limited extra time it would provide. https://blog.froese.org/2011/06/30/the-obama-administration-opens-formal-contacts-with-the-muslim-brotherhood-by-andrew-c-mccarthy-the-corner-national-review-online/ Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/06/30/the-obama-administration-opens-formal-contacts-with-the-muslim-brotherhood-by-andrew-c-mccarthy-the-corner-national-review-online/ Reuters reports that the Obama administration has established a policy of formal contacts with the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood is the world’s most important Islamist organization. It is openly, unabashedly committed to the destruction of the United States and the West. In typical Obama fashion, this disastrous decision to engage America’s avowed enemies has been couched as the mere continuation of prior policy: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is reported to have confirmed that the U. https://blog.froese.org/2011/05/27/cookie-law-deferred-for-one-year-this-is-going-to-be-a-pain-if-it-applies-outside-the-eu-/ Fri, 27 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/05/27/cookie-law-deferred-for-one-year-this-is-going-to-be-a-pain-if-it-applies-outside-the-eu-/ The EU's Privacy and Communications Directive comes into force on 26 May. It requires user's consent before using cookies - the text files that help organise and store browsing information. Technically all firm must comply with the law but the UK has said that it needs more time to find a workable solution. The government said that it was looking for a "business-friendly" solution and believed in light-touch regulation. https://blog.froese.org/2011/05/05/here-s-why-stephen-harper-really-won-the-globe-and-mail/ Thu, 05 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/05/05/here-s-why-stephen-harper-really-won-the-globe-and-mail/ Anyway, they argue, it really wasn’t such a victory after all. Mr. Harper, they say, failed to broaden his base (even though he conquered Fortress Toronto, where he’d always been shut out), and won only 40 per cent of the popular vote (just like Jean Chrétien and Bill Davis). One commentator compared his win to George W. Bush’s “stolen” election of 2000. If you want to understand why Mr. Harper loathes the mainstream media, look no further. https://blog.froese.org/2011/04/22/at-the-park-/ Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/04/22/at-the-park-/ [[posterous-content:JeGxudfjlIqtEuvaEsFB]] https://blog.froese.org/2011/04/21/my-take-is-judas-in-heaven-or-hell-god-only-knows-totally-agree-/ Thu, 21 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/04/21/my-take-is-judas-in-heaven-or-hell-god-only-knows-totally-agree-/ What is interesting to me is that in the upper room where Jesus and his disciples shared their last supper together, the 12 disciples all talked about how they were so great. Peter left the room and denied Jesus three times.  Judas left the room and sold Jesus out for 30 coins. One committed suicide, and one went on to build the church as we know it today. Both Peter and Judas committed the same sin. https://blog.froese.org/2011/04/20/belmont-club-an-event-foretold/ Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/04/20/belmont-club-an-event-foretold/ The common face of totalitarianism is not, as cinema often depicts, that of uber-Nazis marching in satanic rows, or of cultured madmen planning the extinction of millions with violin music softly seething in the background. Its quotidian face is one of petty, arbitrary, unappealable abuse. For the average man life under tyranny consists of being precisely zero in a society that can do anything — anything at all — to him. https://blog.froese.org/2011/04/07/old-time-family-baseball-ervinadem-too-bad-this-guy-works-in-seattle-/ Thu, 07 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/04/07/old-time-family-baseball-ervinadem-too-bad-this-guy-works-in-seattle-/ The Mariners beer vendor is now only a tweet away. The next time someone asks you what kind of practical application Twitter has, you show them this profile. via oldtimefamilybaseball.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/04/07/recipe-for-baked-wordpress-carpeaqua-by-justin-williams-w3-total-cache-looks-pretty-good-/ Thu, 07 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/04/07/recipe-for-baked-wordpress-carpeaqua-by-justin-williams-w3-total-cache-looks-pretty-good-/ Brent Simmons is still frustrated because so many sites Daring Fireball links to are inaccessible because of the massive amount of traffic it brings. Making your WordPress site Fireball-proof is not hard and anyone who can’t find the minimal amount of time to do it probably shouldn’t be self-hosting in the first place. via carpeaqua.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/04/02/reconsidering-the-goldstone-report-on-israel-and-war-crimes-interesting-mea-culpa-/ Sat, 02 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/04/02/reconsidering-the-goldstone-report-on-israel-and-war-crimes-interesting-mea-culpa-/ Some have suggested that it was absurd to expect Hamas, an organization that has a policy to destroy the state of Israel, to investigate what we said were serious war crimes. It was my hope, even if unrealistic, that Hamas would do so, especially if Israel conducted its own investigations. At minimum I hoped that in the face of a clear finding that its members were committing serious war crimes, Hamas would curtail its attacks. https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/25/yemen-president-saleh-nears-deal-to-resign-wsj-com-another-one-bites-the-dust-/ Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/25/yemen-president-saleh-nears-deal-to-resign-wsj-com-another-one-bites-the-dust-/ Yemen's president and the country's top general are hashing out a settlement in which both men would resign within days, people familiar with the situation said, raising crucial questions of who will end up leading a key, though embattled, U.S. counterterrorism ally. The outlines of a peaceful transition, to a civilian-led transitional government, emerged amid rising tension over the standoff between Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and pro-democracy protesters backed by Gen. https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/24/the-ad-contrarian-social-media-s-massive-failure-hmm-interesting-/ Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/24/the-ad-contrarian-social-media-s-massive-failure-hmm-interesting-/ The idea behind the program was that you, the consumer, got to engage with Pepsi by voting for the "Refresh" projects you deemed most worthy. There were also other opportunities to engage through an enormous online effort -- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, website, blogs. Millions of dollars were also spent in what might be called "traditional advertising in support of social media." Skeptics (such as yours truly) have been eagerly awaiting a report card on this initiative as it is the first real test case for a major brand implementing a massive transfer of marketing resources from traditional advertising to social media. https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/23/why-you-should-be-weird-scott-berkun-more-on-the-site-love-it-/ Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/23/why-you-should-be-weird-scott-berkun-more-on-the-site-love-it-/ They told Van Gogh he used too much paint, and Englebart that the mouse was pointless. Galileo and Copernicus were called heretics for seeing the world for what it was. Dylan and Guthrie were told they couldn’t sing and that they had nothing to say. DaVinci’s helicopters and Tesla’s radio waves stayed in notebooks for years, as the ideas were too weird for ordinary minds to understand. via scottberkun.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/18/difficult-or-not-follow-your-convictions-tech-news-and-analysis-this-is-very-cool-/ Fri, 18 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/18/difficult-or-not-follow-your-convictions-tech-news-and-analysis-this-is-very-cool-/ Bill had been in San Francisco after attending the TED Conference. After our little lunch, he told me he was going to go home. For you and me, jumping on a plane would have been the normal course of action. Not for him; he doesn’t fly. “When I became an environmental diplomat, I took a stand not to fly again until we plant the trees we need to re-balance the planet,” he said. https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/16/an-atomic-rant-nate-wiger-vs-software-race-conditions-aren-t-very-fun-/ Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/16/an-atomic-rant-nate-wiger-vs-software-race-conditions-aren-t-very-fun-/ Bottom line: Any operation that can alter a value must return that value in the same operation for it to be atomic. If you do a separate get then set, or set then get, you’re open to a race condition. There are very few systems that support an “increment and return” type operation, and Redis is one of them (Oracle sequences are another). via nateware.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/15/making-life-easier-with-git-shas-in-your-http-headers-read-the-comments-too-/ Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/15/making-life-easier-with-git-shas-in-your-http-headers-read-the-comments-too-/ Do you know what code is running on your servers? Perhaps someone deployed something in a weird way and circumvented your normal deploy-logging process. Maybe you suspect an application server didn't actually restart. Maybe you just want to know quickly because you're lazy. My answer to this question has been adding the Git SHA of the currently running code to the HTTP headers of my app via blog.andrewvc.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/14/twitter-angers-third-party-developers-with-no-more-timelines-urging-doesn-t-look-great-/ Mon, 14 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/14/twitter-angers-third-party-developers-with-no-more-timelines-urging-doesn-t-look-great-/ Twitter quickly updated the app, and while it didn't make the bar removable, it did make it less intrusive so that it did not overlap tweets. But for many users, the "Dickbar" became a sign of what a world in which only Twitter writes the Twitter apps could be like: one without choice, unlike the situation that has prevailed so far, in which anyone could write an app via the API. https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/13/a-few-decent-redis-links-found-some-good-stuff-here-this-weekend-/ Sun, 13 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/13/a-few-decent-redis-links-found-some-good-stuff-here-this-weekend-/ http://simonwillison.net/static/2010/redis-tutorial/ http://www.scribd.com/doc/33531219/Redis-Presentation http://redis.io/topics/twitter-clone http://masonoise.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/updated-redis-cheat-sheet/ http://rediscookbook.org/index.html http://blog.mjrusso.com/2010/10/17/redis-from-the-ground-up.html https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/13/a-list-apart-articles-a-checklist-for-content-work-some-good-principles-here-nf/ Sun, 13 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/13/a-list-apart-articles-a-checklist-for-content-work-some-good-principles-here-nf/ In content strategy, there is no playbook of generic strategies you can pick from to assemble a plan for your client or project. Instead, our discipline rests on a series of core principles about what makes content effective—what makes it work, what makes it good. Content may need to have other qualities to work within a particular project, but this list is limited to qualities shared across all sorts of content. https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/13/cypress-ceo-responds-to-nun-s-urging-a-politically-correct-board-make-up-love-this-guy-/ Sun, 13 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/13/cypress-ceo-responds-to-nun-s-urging-a-politically-correct-board-make-up-love-this-guy-/ A search based on these criteria usually yields a male who is 50-plus years old, has a Masters degree in an engineering science, and has moved up the managerial ladder to the top spot in one or more corporations. Unfortunately, there are currently few minorities and almost no women who chose to be engineering graduate students 30 years ago. (That picture will be dramatically different in 10 years, due to the greater diversification of graduate students in the '80s. https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/11/earthquake-in-japan-alan-taylor-in-focus-the-atlantic-crazy-images-/ Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/11/earthquake-in-japan-alan-taylor-in-focus-the-atlantic-crazy-images-/ [[posterous-content:GDEabEAqaqEyBniAIjxx]]via theatlantic.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/11/tuning-mysql-on-the-path-some-nice-simple-mysql-tuning-information-here-/ Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/11/tuning-mysql-on-the-path-some-nice-simple-mysql-tuning-information-here-/ In the past two weeks, I have been called in for some near-emergency tuning of two rails applications that recently went into production. One was for a state-level government agency, the other was for a startup that recently went into production and found performance problems as their app grew in popularity. In both cases, the first place I looked was the innodb table settings for mysql - and in both cases, I found things that could immediately help the application in question. https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/10/cross-browser-testing-with-selenium-sauce-labs-interesting-service-nf/ Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/10/cross-browser-testing-with-selenium-sauce-labs-interesting-service-nf/ We run your Selenium tests 10x faster in parallel, cut your infrastructure overhead, increase the velocity of your agile development process, run browsers in the cloud, deliver live test video, provide secure tunnels and live/breath Selenium testing. via saucelabs.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/10/red-alert-saudi-police-fire-on-protesters-in-oil-hub-here-goes-the-kingdom-/ Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/10/red-alert-saudi-police-fire-on-protesters-in-oil-hub-here-goes-the-kingdom-/ Saudi police have reportedly opened gunfire on and launched stun grenades at several hundred protesters March 10 rallying in the heavily Shiite-populated city of Qatif in Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province. via app.response.stratfor.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/07/a-first-step-towards-prosecutions-anger-in-egypt-revelations-will-be-explosive-/ Mon, 07 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/07/a-first-step-towards-prosecutions-anger-in-egypt-revelations-will-be-explosive-/ The protesters who stormed the offices of Egyptian state security this weekend say the buildings are proof of "the greatest privacy invasion in history", filled with transcripts of phone conversations, surveillance reports and stark reminders of the torture carried out inside. Hundreds of protesters seized the state security building - a prominent symbol of the Egyptian government's brutality - after hours of protests in 6th of October City on Saturday night. https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/03/the-charlie-sheen-glossary-winning-warlocks-and-more-vulture/ Thu, 03 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/03/the-charlie-sheen-glossary-winning-warlocks-and-more-vulture/ Charlie Sheen proper noun, verb, Sheened, Sheening 1. the actor whose erratic behavior may have cost him his lucrative job as a sitcom lead 2. the perfectly legal, yet dangerous substance that said actor claims to use recreationally, e.g., "I'm on a drug. It's called Charlie Sheen. It's not available. If you try it once, you will die" 3. the act of behaving in a manner akin to this actor, as in Trey Parker and Matt Stone telling David Letterman that they were " https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/01/rumsfeld-s-rebuttal-by-victor-davis-hanson-city-journal/ Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/03/01/rumsfeld-s-rebuttal-by-victor-davis-hanson-city-journal/ It would be hard to find another American—George H. W. Bush, perhaps—with Rumsfeld’s aggregate government experience. He worked for Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and George W. Bush. He met every president since John F. Kennedy. Over some 50 years, Rumsfeld had been a Navy jet pilot, a four-term U.S. congressman, the head of numerous offices in the Nixon administration, and chief of staff of the Ford White House. He became both the youngest and the oldest man ever to serve as secretary of defense, first under Ford and then under George W. https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/28/small-nuclear-war-could-reverse-global-warming-for-years-just-a-wee-one-/ Mon, 28 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/28/small-nuclear-war-could-reverse-global-warming-for-years-just-a-wee-one-/ The global cooling caused by these high carbon clouds wouldn't be as catastrophic as a superpower-versus-superpower nuclear winter, but "the effects would still be regarded as leading to unprecedented climate change," research physical scientist Luke Oman said during a press briefing Friday at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C. Earth is currently in a long-term warming trend. After a regional nuclear war, though, average global temperatures would drop by 2. https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/28/top-news-sites-journalists-at-google-news-13-221-sources-since-2004/ Mon, 28 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/28/top-news-sites-journalists-at-google-news-13-221-sources-since-2004/ This list of news sites was produced by Newsknife from our observation of the main Google News site since early 2004. (See how we rate). Some sites may no longer be appearing at Google News. via newsknife.com Some of the sources are not very good - I've seen other estimates that about 4500 (out of the all time 13,221) are decent. https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/27/cats-quote-charlie-sheen-lolcats-with-sheenisms-somebody-s-had-a-little-too-much-coke-/ Sun, 27 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/27/cats-quote-charlie-sheen-lolcats-with-sheenisms-somebody-s-had-a-little-too-much-coke-/ [[posterous-content:qDcphuBIBrwAxHEfnFAF]]via mediumlarge.wordpress.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/26/charles-hugh-smith-egypt-libya-et-al-demographics-the-oil-curse-and-post-colonial-karma/ Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/26/charles-hugh-smith-egypt-libya-et-al-demographics-the-oil-curse-and-post-colonial-karma/ What is unfolding after four decades of suppression is a full-blown crisis of legitimacy. Regardless of their purported ideological flavor, the ruling Elites all relied on the same system of governance: offer a simulacrum of public purpose to the world and the populace, and ceaselessly pursue private confiscation of national income and resources. Now, at long last, the consent and compliance of the ruled has dissolved. It's certainly valid to place responsibility on the colonial powers for leaving behind socially and economically crippled nations with hastily drawn borders; but that would be leaving out the opportunities squandered for half a century by the local Power Elites which took the reins of power from the colonial empires. https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/26/how-canada-can-help-libya-the-west-doesn-t-have-the-stomach-to-actually-commit-to-r2p-/ Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/26/how-canada-can-help-libya-the-west-doesn-t-have-the-stomach-to-actually-commit-to-r2p-/ But strong words must be paired with strong action. Canada and the international community must stand by the people of Libya who, like so many others throughout the Arab world, seek the basic human rights that should be enjoyed by all who desire them. Whereas the protests elsewhere have led to relatively peaceful transitions or to dialogues for reform, Libya’s rulers have chosen repression and slaughter. Our response may very well determine whether the next authoritarian government threatened follows Gadhafi’s lead. https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/26/our-limited-options-in-libya-let-libya-split-up-/ Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/26/our-limited-options-in-libya-let-libya-split-up-/ The Toronto Star’s Haroon Siddiqui offers another possible, admittedly imperfect, solution to the Libyan problem. Gadhafi has already lost the eastern half of the country, he reasons, so why not just let the East “peel off” and become its own country. Gadhafi might wage a brutal war to win it back, but Siddiqui thinks it’s more likely he will “let it go to keep what he has,” and the international community could flood the East with aid, effectively salvaging half the country while waiting for Gadhafi to die. https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/26/sex-brothels-and-the-real-tyranny-threatening-the-arab-world-the-devil-you-know-no-good-options-/ Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/26/sex-brothels-and-the-real-tyranny-threatening-the-arab-world-the-devil-you-know-no-good-options-/ Or at least they did until last month’s Jasmine Revolution. But last week, faster than you could scream ‘Allahu Akbar’, hundreds of Islamists raided Abdallah Guech Street armed with Molotov cocktails and knives, torching the brothels, yelling insults at the prostitutes and declaring that Tunisia was now an Islamist state. As soldiers fired into the air to disperse them, the Islamists won a promise from the interim government that the brothels would be permanently closed. https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/23/ahmadinejad-mideast-leaders-should-heed-calls-for-change-cnn-com-you-re-next-bub-/ Wed, 23 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/23/ahmadinejad-mideast-leaders-should-heed-calls-for-change-cnn-com-you-re-next-bub-/ Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Wednesday urged Middle East leaders to listen to the voices of citizens who have taken to the streets in masses to demand a change in government -- though such protests in his own country have been crushed with brute force. Ahmadinejad "strongly recommended such leaders to let their peoples express their opinions," the Islamic Republic News Agency reported. via cnn.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/23/al-qa-eda-in-iraq-alienated-by-cucumber-laws-and-brutality-cucumbers-are-male-/ Wed, 23 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/23/al-qa-eda-in-iraq-alienated-by-cucumber-laws-and-brutality-cucumbers-are-male-/ Besides the terrible killings inflicted by the fanatics on those who refuse to pledge allegiance to them, Al-Qa'eda has lost credibility for enforcing a series of rules imposing their way of thought on the most mundane aspects of everyday life. They include a ban on women buying suggestively-shaped vegetables, according to one tribal leader in the western province of Anbar. Sheikh Hameed al-Hayyes, a Sunni elder, told Reuters: " https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/21/live-blog-n-africa-mideast-protests-libyan-pm-terrorists-causing-protests-this-just-in-cnn-com-blogs/ Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/21/live-blog-n-africa-mideast-protests-libyan-pm-terrorists-causing-protests-this-just-in-cnn-com-blogs/ Two Libyan Air Force pilots defected to Malta on Monday after being asked to bomb Libyan citizens, a Maltese government source said. The pilots' fighter jets were armed with rockets and loaded machine guns, the source said. Malta is a short flight from Libya. via news.blogs.cnn.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/20/doesn-t-look-like-it-s-illegal-to-use-non-canadian-data-storage-misconception-yyccc-nf/ Sun, 20 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/20/doesn-t-look-like-it-s-illegal-to-use-non-canadian-data-storage-misconception-yyccc-nf/ The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (the Act) does not prohibit organizations from outsourcing their operations across international borders. via priv.gc.ca I've heard this a ton of times working for clients in Calgary, but this Case Summary would seem to indicate that's incorrect. https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/18/soulmate-a-redis-backed-service-for-fast-autocompleting-for-one-of-our-next-projects-maybe-nf/ Fri, 18 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/18/soulmate-a-redis-backed-service-for-fast-autocompleting-for-one-of-our-next-projects-maybe-nf/ Have you ever felt so close to someone that it seemed like the two of you were finishing each other’s sentences? Well, as a Valentine’s Day gift to the community, we at SeatGeek have distilled some of Cupid’s magic into a Redis-backed service for doing exactly that: Soulmate is a tool for building fast autocompleters. Give it a try right now on SeatGeek. Inspired by Auto Complete with Redis, Soulmate uses sorted sets to build an index of partially completed words and the corresponding top matching items, and provides a simple sinatra app to query them. https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/15/curveball-how-us-was-duped-by-iraqi-fantasist-looking-to-topple-saddam-world-news-the-guardian/ Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/15/curveball-how-us-was-duped-by-iraqi-fantasist-looking-to-topple-saddam-world-news-the-guardian/ As US secretary of state, Colin Powell gathered his notes in front of the United Nations security council, the man watching — Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, known to the west's intelligence services as "Curveball" — had more than an inkling of what was to come. He was, after all, Powell's main source, a man his German handlers had feted as a new "Deep throat" — an agent so pivotal that he could bring down a government. https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/14/belmont-club-making-sense-of-things-iran-yemen-bahrain-jordan-whatdoesitmean/ Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/14/belmont-club-making-sense-of-things-iran-yemen-bahrain-jordan-whatdoesitmean/ But the administration’s attempts to bestride events seem hollow. What appears to be happening is that everything in the Middle east is the same as it always was, only more so, and in a way that has shredded the diplomatic green baize routine. None of the hatreds, fault lines, corruption, ethnic divisions, schisms and vendettas of the region have been resolved; only now they are in the open and clamoring in the street, fueled by Google, Facebook and Twitter. https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/14/bush-program-helped-lay-the-groundwork-in-egypt-the-boston-globe/ Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/14/bush-program-helped-lay-the-groundwork-in-egypt-the-boston-globe/ The program, which provided millions in direct funding to prodemocracy groups, helped dispatch 13,000 volunteers to observe Egypt’s parliamentary elections in December. Thousands of those monitors, angered by what they said was blatant election rigging, joined the protests. Some became outspoken leaders; others used the networking and communication skills they learned to help coordinate 18 days of rallies. “The very fact that they saw the fraud firsthand has contributed to them turning from monitors into activists,’’ said Saad Eddin Ibrahim, founder of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies, which has used a share of the US funds to train volunteers. https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/13/i-ve-moved-all-my-day-to-day-files-into-the-cloud-now-/ Sun, 13 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/13/i-ve-moved-all-my-day-to-day-files-into-the-cloud-now-/ A little while ago, I decided that I wanted to be more flexible with where I was working, so I started slimming down the files I was keeping and started moving all of my data into the cloud. This weekend I finally completed that task and all of my work files that I use are now synched up using Dropbox. I still have 2/3's of my space available - but have thrown out a TON of files that I was keeping for no good reason at all. https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/13/the-dirty-little-secrets-of-search-long-term-gaming-google-doesn-t-help-you-/ Sun, 13 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/13/the-dirty-little-secrets-of-search-long-term-gaming-google-doesn-t-help-you-/ Does the collective wisdom of the Web really say that Penney has the most essential site when it comes to dresses? And bedding? And area rugs? And dozens of other words and phrases?The New York Times asked an expert in online search, Doug Pierce of Blue Fountain Media in New York, to study this question, as well as Penney’s astoundingly strong search-term performance in recent months. What he found suggests that the digital age’s most mundane act, the Google search, often represents layer upon layer of intrigue. https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/12/alcohol-kills-more-than-aids-tb-or-violence-who-didn-t-know-that-/ Sat, 12 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/12/alcohol-kills-more-than-aids-tb-or-violence-who-didn-t-know-that-/ Alcohol causes nearly 4 percent of deaths worldwide, more than AIDS, tuberculosis or violence, the World Health Organization warned on Friday. Rising incomes have triggered more drinking in heavily populated countries in Africa and Asia, including India and South Africa, and binge drinking is a problem in many developed countries, the United Nations agency said. via news.yahoo.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/12/algeria-shuts-down-internet-and-facebook-as-protest-mounts-can-we-go-for-a-third-/ Sat, 12 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/12/algeria-shuts-down-internet-and-facebook-as-protest-mounts-can-we-go-for-a-third-/ Plastic bullets and tear gas were used to try and disperse large crowds in major cities and towns, with 30,000 riot police taking to the streets in Algiers alone. There were also reports of journalists being targeted by state-sponsored thugs to stop reports of the disturbances being broadcast to the outside world. But it was the government attack on the internet which was of particular significance to those calling for an end to President Abdelaziz Boutifleka's repressive regime. https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/07/maatkit-never-heard-of-this-before-looks-useful-/ Mon, 07 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/07/maatkit-never-heard-of-this-before-looks-useful-/ Maatkit tools try to make complicated tasks simpler and more reliable.  Most of these tasks involve something like gluing together difficult commands inside MySQL.  Most of the tools try to do something useful by default.  Some of them are only for advanced power users who really know what they’re doing.  All of the tools go to great lengths to be careful and safe with your data, sometimes to the point that users think there’s a bug when they’re really seeing unexpected behavior that protects them from some obscure problem they didn’t think of. https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/07/why-egypt-s-military-cares-about-home-appliances-planet-money-npr/ Mon, 07 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/07/why-egypt-s-military-cares-about-home-appliances-planet-money-npr/ The Egyptian military has been notably non-confrontational during the recent wave of protests, defending the right of people to protest and protecting the protesters from attacks by pro-regime forces. One reason for the military's peaceful response: the unique role it plays in the Egyptian economy. The military owns "virtually every industry in the country," according to Robert Springborg. via npr.org https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/05/who-s-afraid-of-the-muslim-brotherhood-the-globe-and-mail/ Sat, 05 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/05/who-s-afraid-of-the-muslim-brotherhood-the-globe-and-mail/ When these parties are allowed a role in democratic government, there’s a pattern. Remember, however alarming their ideas about women and Israel, the Muslim Brotherhood and its neighbouring parties represent the people who explicitly rejected the violent option (and were shunned and sometimes attacked for this by the jihadists) because they wanted a place in a legitimate government. There’s zero chance of Egypt’s uprising turning into the 1979 Iranian revolution or the terrorist violence of Hamas; there are no parties, and no Egyptian constituency of any size, seeking a theocracy. https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/03/report-algeria-to-lift-state-of-emergency-cnn-com/ Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/02/03/report-algeria-to-lift-state-of-emergency-cnn-com/ The president of Algeria plans to lift a state of emergency soon that has been in effect for nearly 20 years, the Algerian Press Service reported Thursday. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said he would lift the ban in the "very close future," the news service said. Bouteflika's announcement comes about two weeks after government opponents marched in the North African nation to demand that the ban be lifted. The demonstrators also called for the release of detainees and the restoration of individual and collective freedoms. https://blog.froese.org/2011/01/30/-ll-cool-j-vs-the-prodigy-mama-said-kick-ass-102bpm-master-by-djtopcat/ Sun, 30 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/01/30/-ll-cool-j-vs-the-prodigy-mama-said-kick-ass-102bpm-master-by-djtopcat/ LL Cool J's classic Mama said knock you out acapella over The Prodigy's-Stand up the theme music from the movie Kick Ass via soundcloud.com https://blog.froese.org/2011/01/29/belmont-club-the-king-s-speech-hopefully-good-comes-from-this-/ Sat, 29 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/01/29/belmont-club-the-king-s-speech-hopefully-good-comes-from-this-/ The left wing Israeli newspaper Haaretz says that Egyptian army officers in Cairo’s central square have tossed aside their helmets and joined the crowd. “The Army and the people are one,” they chanted. MSNBC’s photoblog shows protesters jubilantly perched on M1A1 tanks. The real significance of these defections is that the army officers would not have done so had they not sensed which way the winds were blowing — in the Egyptian officer corps. https://blog.froese.org/2011/01/29/the-egyptian-unrest-a-special-report-stratfor-interesting-times-ahead-/ Sat, 29 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/01/29/the-egyptian-unrest-a-special-report-stratfor-interesting-times-ahead-/ After three decades of Mubarak rule, a window of opportunity has opened for various political forces — from the moderate to the extreme — that preferred to keep the spotlight on the liberal face of the demonstrations while they maneuver from behind. As the Iranian Revolution of 1979 taught, the ideology and composition of protesters can wind up having very little to do with the political forces that end up in power. https://blog.froese.org/2011/01/14/hypergraphia-finding-a-needle-in-haystack-facebook-s-photo-storage/ Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/01/14/hypergraphia-finding-a-needle-in-haystack-facebook-s-photo-storage/ Facebook currently stores over 260 billion images, which translates to over 20 petabytes of data. Users upload one billion new photos (~60 terabytes) each week and Facebook serves over one million images per second at peak. via muratbuffalo.blogspot.com That's unreal. https://blog.froese.org/2011/01/04/not-everything-you-read-online-is-true-/ Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2011/01/04/not-everything-you-read-online-is-true-/ I read somewhere online that part of King Tut's curse meant that you had to wear a pink tutu for the rest of your life. This is supported by many scholars and is documented extensively in the archaeological literature.   PS - explaining to your kids that not everything that's online is true is hard. https://blog.froese.org/2010/12/25/angry-father-castrates-daughter-s-older-boyfriend-yourtango/ Sat, 25 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/12/25/angry-father-castrates-daughter-s-older-boyfriend-yourtango/ We've all dated someone who didn't pass our parents' approval meter, but nothing, not even Dad's "rules for courting my little girl" lectures, can beat how this 47-year-old German man taught his daughter's older boyfriend a lesson. Helmut Seifert, father of a seventeen year-old girl, castrated Philip Genscher, 57, with a bread knife after an anonymous tipper notified him of their relationship. via yourtango.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/11/24/top-48-ads-that-would-never-be-allowed-today/ Wed, 24 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/11/24/top-48-ads-that-would-never-be-allowed-today/ [[posterous-content:BfsiAEdwCeGDgmlFEcmi]] via owni.eu Oh my. https://blog.froese.org/2010/10/24/rioters-rampage-protesters-block-french-airports-wtf-/ Sun, 24 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/10/24/rioters-rampage-protesters-block-french-airports-wtf-/ Riot police in black body armor forced striking workers away from blocked fuel depots in western France, restoring gasoline to areas where pumps were dry after weeks of protests over the government proposal raising the age from 60 to 62. Riot officers in the Paris suburb of Nanterre and the southeastern city of Lyon sprayed tear gas but appeared unable to stop the violence. After months of largely peaceful disruptions, many protests erupted into violence this week over the government's push to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. https://blog.froese.org/2010/10/06/multiculturalism-and-its-discontents-big-questions-online/ Wed, 06 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/10/06/multiculturalism-and-its-discontents-big-questions-online/ Here is something I have learned the hard way, but which a lot of well-meaning people in the West have a hard time accepting: All human beings are equal, but all cultures and religions are not. A culture that celebrates femininity and considers women to be the masters of their own lives is better than a culture that mutilates girls’ genitals and confines them behind walls and veils or flogs and stones them for falling in love. https://blog.froese.org/2010/09/24/american-hero-coates-negates-a-year-of-justice-department-spin-on-new-black-panther-case/ Fri, 24 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/09/24/american-hero-coates-negates-a-year-of-justice-department-spin-on-new-black-panther-case/ I testified before the Commission in July that Obama political appointee Julie Fernandes made it clear that the Voting Section at the Justice Department would not be bringing any more cases against traditional national racial minorities, like the members of the New Black Panthers. Under oath, Coates corroborated my testimony. The public has been wondering for over a year why the case was dismissed. Coates testified why today: [There is a] deep-seated opposition to the race-neutral enforcement of the Voting Rights Act against racial minorities and for the protection of whites who have been discriminated against. https://blog.froese.org/2010/09/24/colbert-storms-capitol-hill-for-migrant-workers-cnn-com/ Fri, 24 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/09/24/colbert-storms-capitol-hill-for-migrant-workers-cnn-com/ After all," he said, "it was the ancient Israelites who built the first food pyramids. But this is America. I don't want a tomato picked by a Mexican. I want it picked by an American, then sliced by a Guatemalan, and served by a Venezuelan in a spa where a Chilean gives me a Brazilian. via cnn.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/09/16/how-can-the-large-hadron-collider-withstand-one-petabyte-of-data-a-second-/ Thu, 16 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/09/16/how-can-the-large-hadron-collider-withstand-one-petabyte-of-data-a-second-/ Why is there something rather than nothing? That's the kind of question the Large Hadron Collider in CERN is hopefully poised to answer. And what is the output of this beautiful 17-mile long, 6 billion dollar wabi-sabish proton smashing machine? Data. Great heaping torrents of Grand Canyon sized data. 15 million gigabytes every year. That's 1000 times the information printed in books every year. It's so much data 10,000 scientists will use a grid of 80,000+ computers, in 300 computer centers , in 50 different countries just to help make sense of it all. https://blog.froese.org/2010/09/15/molly-norris-artist-behind-everybody-draw-mohammad-day-goes-into-hiding/ Wed, 15 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/09/15/molly-norris-artist-behind-everybody-draw-mohammad-day-goes-into-hiding/ At the urging of the FBI, Molly Norris, the Seattle-based illustrator and cartoonist whose satirical drawing marking "Everybody Draw Mohammad Day" resulted in death threats, global protests and impassioned debate about religion and censorship, has been forced to change her name and abandon her former life as a result of her controversial cartoon. via aolnews.com Not super surprising - but sad. https://blog.froese.org/2010/09/07/mongodb-is-web-scale-mynosql/ Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/09/07/mongodb-is-web-scale-mynosql/ via nosql.mypopescu.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/09/01/iraqi-civilian-reacts-to-obama-s-war-speech-the-daily-beast/ Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/09/01/iraqi-civilian-reacts-to-obama-s-war-speech-the-daily-beast/ Raheem, who lost a son to a stray American bullet a few years ago, is a pragmatic and pious Shiite Muslim who argues that while the cost of the invasion was high, Iraqis now have their first opportunity to do what they want—whether that means building a secular democracy or a religious autocracy. “We feel that Bush has done something good for us, despite all the mistakes,” said Raheem, as we made our way through the dusty streets of Baghdad. https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/27/chef-meets-the-ipad-with-openstack-the-openstack-blog/ Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/27/chef-meets-the-ipad-with-openstack-the-openstack-blog/ Since OpenStack was announced, we’ve seen a flurry of activity in the developer community. Hundreds of people have made over a thousand contributions and we couldn’t be more excited. Today I’d like to share one of the more unconventional contributions with you. Most of the development activity in OpenStack is in the storage and compute systems, but we also have front end projects for people who use OpenStack and need an easy way to manage their cloud resources. https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/26/iran-has-material-for-1-2-atom-bombs-ex-iaea-aide-super-/ Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/26/iran-has-material-for-1-2-atom-bombs-ex-iaea-aide-super-/ Iran has stockpiled enough low-enriched uranium for 1-2 nuclear arms but it would not make sense for it to cross the bomb-making threshold with only this amount, a former top U.N. nuclear official was quoted as saying via news.yahoo.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/26/venezuela-more-deadly-than-iraq-debates-why-wow-/ Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/26/venezuela-more-deadly-than-iraq-debates-why-wow-/ In Iraq, a country with about the same population as Venezuela, there were 4,644 civilian deaths from violence in 2009, according to Iraq Body Count; in Venezuela that year, the number of murders climbed above 16,000. Even Mexico’s infamous drug war has claimed fewer lives. via nytimes.com Wasn't Chavez supposed to fix that sort of stuff? Worker's paradise and all? https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/23/students-welcome-to-college-parents-go-home-nytimes-com/ Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/23/students-welcome-to-college-parents-go-home-nytimes-com/ As the latest wave of superinvolved parents delivers its children to college, institutions are building into the day, normally one of high emotion, activities meant to punctuate and speed the separation. It is part of an increasingly complex process, in the age of Skype and twice-daily texts home, in which colleges are urging “Velcro parents” to back off so students can develop independence. via nytimes.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/22/euthanasia-s-slippery-slope-margaret-somerville-the-mark/ Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/22/euthanasia-s-slippery-slope-margaret-somerville-the-mark/ The medical authority of the U.S. state of Oregon – where physician-assisted suicide is legal – seems to have adopted this approach. Shortly before he died this month, Montreal journalist Hugh Anderson wrote in The Gazette that Oregon “has acknowledged that when it turns down an application to cover the cost of an expensive new drug, it sends out simultaneously a reminder that the state's assisted suicide program is available at an affordable cost. https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/22/mercatornet-human-animal-robot-world-s-most-dangerous-idea/ Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/22/mercatornet-human-animal-robot-world-s-most-dangerous-idea/ Wrestling with difficult questions is routine work for ethicists. But some are much more difficult than others. MercatorNet’s question, “What did I believe was presently the world’s most dangerous idea?”, falls in the former category. My response, “The idea that there is nothing special about being human and, therefore, humans do not deserve “special respect”, as compared with other animals or even robots”, might seem anodyne and a “cop out”, but I’d like to try to convince you otherwise. https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/22/terry-glavin-a-warning-to-the-war-weary-world-just-watch-what-your-peace-will-bring-you-/ Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/22/terry-glavin-a-warning-to-the-war-weary-world-just-watch-what-your-peace-will-bring-you-/ Killing aid workers is what the Taliban does. It is what the Taliban wants to do. But read the four principles Watkins mentions as though they were some sort of pass you could wave under a Talib's nose so he won't chop your head off. It is precisely because these are the principles that govern a humanitarian aid worker's service that the Taliban targets them and kills them. It is precisely because the delivery of humanitarian aid in a place like Afghanistan cannot be " https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/17/happens-all-the-time-to-us-do-you-guys-do-x-no-why-not-because-it-doesn-t-work-sorry-we-can-t-use-you-/ Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/17/happens-all-the-time-to-us-do-you-guys-do-x-no-why-not-because-it-doesn-t-work-sorry-we-can-t-use-you-/ Meanwhile, the Wired cover spawned Push media conferences, push media consultants, push media investment strategies, and uncountable push media nightmares. The Push story widely perceived as an advertisement for our own Push products. But it was not a marketing tool. It was an instrument of self-conviction. via aether.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/15/in-praise-of-fast-food/ Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/08/15/in-praise-of-fast-food/ Eating fresh, natural food was regarded with suspicion verging on horror; only the uncivilized, the poor, and the starving resorted to it. When the ancient Greeks took it as a sign of bad times if people were driven to eat greens and root vegetables, they were rehearsing common wisdom. Happiness was not a verdant Garden of Eden abounding in fresh fruits, but a securely locked storehouse jammed with preserved, processed foods. https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/18/we-are-sterling-cooper-mad-men-on-twitter/ Sun, 18 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/18/we-are-sterling-cooper-mad-men-on-twitter/ Fan fiction. Brand hijacking. Copyright misuse. Sheer devotion. Call it what you will, but we call it the blurred line between content creators and content consumers, and it's not going away. We're your biggest fans, your die-hard proponents, and when your show gets cancelled we'll be among the first to pass around the petition. Talk to us. Befriend us. Engage us. But please, don't treat us like criminals. This site exists to catalogue the conversation around AMC's Mad Men and its fanbase across the social web. https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/17/ideas-having-sex-reason-magazine/ Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/17/ideas-having-sex-reason-magazine/ But the greatest impact of an increasing-return wave comes long after the technology is invented. It comes when the technology is democratized. Gutenberg’s printing press took decades to generate the Reformation. Today’s container ships go not much faster than a 19th-century steamship, and today’s Internet sends each pulse little quicker than a 19th-century telegraph—but everybody is using them, not just the rich. Jets travel at the same speeds they did in the 1970s, but budget airlines are new. https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/17/nini-and-the-european-dream-under-30-unemployment-rate-of-44-wtf/ Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/17/nini-and-the-european-dream-under-30-unemployment-rate-of-44-wtf/ But it’s not really a joke, because now almost everyone is NINI. The under-30 unemployment rate in Spain has just hit 44 per cent, twice the adult rate. Italy also has passed the 40 per cent mark, and Greece has gone even further. If you count all the people who’ve given up looking, it means the number of people between 20 and 30 who have any form of employment in these countries is something like one in five. https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/15/will-alberta-s-cowboys-soon-bite-the-dust-the-globe-and-mail-rural-vs-urban-divide/ Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/15/will-alberta-s-cowboys-soon-bite-the-dust-the-globe-and-mail-rural-vs-urban-divide/ People raised on a farm have a deeply respectful but entirely different view (some would argue far more realistic) of livestock and their connection with humans than do people who live in cities. Downtown and in suburbia, the long-standing philosophical and theological line drawn between humanity and the world’s other creatures grows ever more blurred: When animals are experienced primarily as pets and when food bountifully appears in grocery stores and restaurants without evidence of violence, the death of an animal is a tragedy. https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/13/re-kevinrose-old-spice-this-guy-is-awesome-/ Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/13/re-kevinrose-old-spice-this-guy-is-awesome-/ via youtube.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/11/access-hulu-from-outside-the-u-s-without-a-proxy-server/ Sun, 11 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/11/access-hulu-from-outside-the-u-s-without-a-proxy-server/ [[posterous-content:BaoeGatoHDeeeIvDbAdt]] via lifehacker.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/07/tired-gay-succumbs-to-dix-in-200-meters-omg-wtf-bbq/ Wed, 07 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/07/tired-gay-succumbs-to-dix-in-200-meters-omg-wtf-bbq/ [[posterous-content:DqbtAnBtlpvpjCsnsfBI]]via reuters.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/06/u-a-e-diplomat-mulls-hit-on-iran-s-nukes-washington-times/ Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/06/u-a-e-diplomat-mulls-hit-on-iran-s-nukes-washington-times/ "I think it's a cost-benefit analysis," Mr. al-Otaiba said. "I think despite the large amount of trade we do with Iran, which is close to $12 billion … there will be consequences, there will be a backlash and there will be problems with people protesting and rioting and very unhappy that there is an outside force attacking a Muslim country; that is going to happen no matter what." "If you are asking me, 'Am I willing to live with that versus living with a nuclear Iran? https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/03/payback-time-budget-in-the-red-illinois-has-stopped-paying-bills-nytimes-com/ Sat, 03 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/07/03/payback-time-budget-in-the-red-illinois-has-stopped-paying-bills-nytimes-com/ Even by the standards of this deficit-ridden state, Illinois’s comptroller, Daniel W. Hynes, faces an ugly balance sheet. Precisely how ugly becomes clear when he beckons you into his office to examine his daily briefing memo. He picks the papers off his desk and points to a figure in red: $5.01 billion. “This is what the state owes right now to schools, rehabilitation centers, child care, the state university — and it’s getting worse every single day,” he says in his downtown office. https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/30/australian-angel-saves-lives-at-suicide-spot-this-guy-is-awesome-/ Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/30/australian-angel-saves-lives-at-suicide-spot-this-guy-is-awesome-/ For almost 50 years, Don Ritchie has lived across the street from Australia's most notorious suicide spot, a rocky cliff at the entrance to Sydney Harbour called The Gap. And in that time, the man widely regarded as a guardian angel has shepherded countless people away from the edge. What some consider grim, Ritchie considers a gift. How wonderful, the former life insurance salesman says, to save so many. How wonderful to sell them life. https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/29/cephalopod-fortune-teller-paul-the-octopus-picks-germany-to-beat-argentina/ Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/29/cephalopod-fortune-teller-paul-the-octopus-picks-germany-to-beat-argentina/ Paul, an octopus in Germany, has made international headlines with his perfect record predicting the outcome of Germany's World Cup matches. On Tuesday, the cephalopod chose the national squad to defeat Argentina on Saturday. But it could be a tight game. via spiegel.de https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/29/iphone-vs-htc-evo-htc-evo-vs-iphone4-i-don-t-care-/ Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/29/iphone-vs-htc-evo-htc-evo-vs-iphone4-i-don-t-care-/ via laughingsquid.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/25/italy-puts-seismology-in-the-dock-nature-news/ Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/25/italy-puts-seismology-in-the-dock-nature-news/ The deadly earthquake that struck the central Italian city of L'Aquila on 6 April 2009, has had a bizarre aftershock: some of Italy's top seismologists could face charges of manslaughter for not alerting the population before the disaster. The indictment has outraged experts around the world, who note that earthquakes cannot be predicted and who say that the Italian government neglected to enforce building codes that could have reduced the toll. https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/25/theories-fail-to-take-atoll-herald-sun/ Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/25/theories-fail-to-take-atoll-herald-sun/ You remember Tuvalu, of course, even if you've never figured quite where it was. Click here to have your say at Andrew's blog For years this glittering string of atolls has been shoved in your face as the poster islands of the global warming faith - this Eden we were killing with our Western sin. How often we were told it could be the first Pacific nation to be swallowed by the rising seas caused by our evil gases. https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/22/nicholas-zambetti-liveview-for-iphone-ipad/ Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/22/nicholas-zambetti-liveview-for-iphone-ipad/ LiveView is a specialized remote screen viewing application intended as a tool to help designers create graphics for mobile applications, it has also proven to be useful for creating quick and dirty simulations, demos, and experience prototypes. For visual designers — Develop pixel–perfect graphics for the iPhone and iPad quickly and easily with a live view of your canvas/artboard while you work. For interaction designers — With your iPhone or iPad tethered via WiFi, you can interact with software prototypes and demos running on your Mac to communicate and iterate your concepts quickly. https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/18/palm-we-don-t-know-what-the-hold-up-is-on-mobile-flash-electronista/ Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/18/palm-we-don-t-know-what-the-hold-up-is-on-mobile-flash-electronista/ Adobe hasn't given any signs that it's close to porting Flash to webOS, Palm said in an AT&T online app development seminar on Thursday. When asked about the multiple delays, a representative said that Palm didn't 'know what the hold-up is' with getting it ready. Adobe itself hasn't commented on the state of the webOS version or of other platforms. via electronista.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/15/map-where-americans-are-moving-forbes-com/ Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/15/map-where-americans-are-moving-forbes-com/ More than 10 million Americans moved from one county to another during 2008. The map below visualizes those moves. Click on any county to see comings and goings: black lines indicate net inward movement, red lines net outward movement. via forbes.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/13/belmont-club-the-singer-not-the-song/ Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/13/belmont-club-the-singer-not-the-song/ Perhaps the last stage of nihilism is the rejection of life itself. A world from which all transcendence is banished will eventually find that it cannot define life in terms that are worthwhile. Having abolished every measure of value it will find that even its own achievements are equally worthless. If that were all then nihilism would simply destroy itself and everyone else could carry on. But that is not all. https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/12/gobar-gas-read-the-whole-article-just-3-pages-lots-of-pictures-/ Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/12/gobar-gas-read-the-whole-article-just-3-pages-lots-of-pictures-/ It’s important to consider the less easily monetized yet real benefits from using Gobar Gas. Saving 2,500 kilograms of trees per family each year has long-term economic value, and it keeps the birds and squirrels happy. Improved health from better sanitation and the absence of constant wood smoke in the home has clear economic benefits, as does the ability to send children, freed from the labor of searching for fuel, to school. https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/10/bp-spills-coffee/ Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/10/bp-spills-coffee/ via youtube.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/08/misreading-tehran-by-reza-aslan-abbas-milani-azar-nafisi-and-others-foreign-policy/ Tue, 08 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/08/misreading-tehran-by-reza-aslan-abbas-milani-azar-nafisi-and-others-foreign-policy/ With a full 12 months now between us and the election, the time is ripe to start revisiting the hype and hope in a year of writing: which stories were overblown, what stories were missed entirely, and what can be gleaned about Iran's annus horribilis from a more thorough understanding. FP asked seven prominent Iranian-Americans, deeply immersed in both the English- and Persian-language media, to look through the fog of journalism at what actually happened in Tehran -- and why so many of us got it so wrong. https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/08/the-freegan-establishment-nytimes-com/ Tue, 08 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/08/the-freegan-establishment-nytimes-com/ Kit is a freegan. He maintains that our society wastes far too much. Freeganism is a bubbling stew of various ideologies, drawing on elements of communism, radical environmentalism, a zealous do-it-yourself work ethic and an old-fashioned frugality of the sock-darning sort. Freegans are not revolutionaries. Rather, they aim to challenge the status quo by their lifestyle choices. Above all, freegans are dedicated to salvaging what others waste and — when possible — living without the use of currency. https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/08/why-didn-t-video-phones-take-off-/ Tue, 08 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/06/08/why-didn-t-video-phones-take-off-/ The answer, in a kind of trivalent nutshell, is: (1) emotional stress, (2) physi­cal vanity, (3) a certain queer kind of self-obliterating logic in the micro­economics of consumer high-tech. via ilxor.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/23/for-us-surrender-is-out-of-the-question-mother-jones/ Sun, 23 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/23/for-us-surrender-is-out-of-the-question-mother-jones/ I'd done my homework before leaving the States. I had read about the Karen. But I'd only seen the word written down, and had assumed that it sounded like the name of my parents' blond divorced friend. I didn't know how it was pronounced any more than most Westerners would've been certain how to say "Darfur" 10 years ago. via motherjones.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/22/google-takes-on-apple-at-i-o-conference-kara-swisher/ Sat, 22 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/22/google-takes-on-apple-at-i-o-conference-kara-swisher/ Note to Google: A scary search behemoth with a stranglehold on Internet advertising isn’t really believable as a victim of “The Man”–in this case, Apple CEO Steve Jobs. via kara.allthingsd.com Although, it does make things more interesting. Will features and choice be better and more popular than control and reliability? Dunno yet. https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/21/belmont-club-i-feel-like-i-owe-it-to-someone-/ Fri, 21 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/21/belmont-club-i-feel-like-i-owe-it-to-someone-/ Once Muslim clerics had made the publication of the cartoons punishable by physical violence it became obligatory to defy it. via pajamasmedia.com The Facebook page has been taken down - wonder why. https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/21/-there-is-nowhere-to-put-them-so-killing-them-is-the-easier-and-democrat-preferred-option-/ Fri, 21 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/21/-there-is-nowhere-to-put-them-so-killing-them-is-the-easier-and-democrat-preferred-option-/ Killing wanted militants is simply “easier” than capturing them, said an official, who like most interviewed for this story support the stepped-up program and asked not to be identified. Another official added: “It is increasingly the preferred option.” … via pajamasmedia.com If you cannot capture somebody OR try them and keep them off the street/battlefield - the net result during warfare is that they get killed. Which option allows you to correct mistakes? https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/18/davidwarrenonline-com-oil-plugging/ Tue, 18 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/18/davidwarrenonline-com-oil-plugging/ The imagery seemed to suggest that every time you went to a BP pump, you were filling up your car with sunshine. via davidwarrenonline.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/18/expert-recommends-killing-oil-soaked-birds-can-i-get-the-pelican-crunch-combo-/ Tue, 18 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/18/expert-recommends-killing-oil-soaked-birds-can-i-get-the-pelican-crunch-combo-/ [[posterous-content:IthhzgzwBIFFjeBnFglv]] via spiegel.de Might as well not waste them - maybe KFC or Pollo Loco can come up with a new special. https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/15/how-to-get-hummingbird-installed-on-ubuntu-9-04/ Sat, 15 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/15/how-to-get-hummingbird-installed-on-ubuntu-9-04/ It's pretty easily actually - pretty much just have to follow this script. Hummingbird can give you a look at your site's traffic in real time. It's written using node.js. https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/11/50-most-extraordinary-churches-of-the-world-bored-panda/ Tue, 11 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/11/50-most-extraordinary-churches-of-the-world-bored-panda/ [[posterous-content:nuvJEafpbiqAaDbkrosn]]via boredpanda.com Some very interesting churches here. https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/07/small-dick-joke-has-tsa-worker-beaten-up-after-security-scanner-incident-gadling-com/ Fri, 07 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/05/07/small-dick-joke-has-tsa-worker-beaten-up-after-security-scanner-incident-gadling-com/ During a training session at Miami International Airport, a TSA supervisor joked about the size of the manhood of one of his colleagues who had just stepped into the machine. The supervisor was operating the equipment when he made the remark - so his joke could have been based on facts. Rolando Negrin couldn't appreciate the jokes about his genitalia, so at the end of his shift, he used a police baton to beat up the supervisor in an airport parking garage. https://blog.froese.org/2010/04/29/simple-varnish-http-accelerator-configuration-for-a-cms-/ Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/04/29/simple-varnish-http-accelerator-configuration-for-a-cms-/ I've been working on a config for a CMS that's about to get pounded in the next couple of months - here's what it does: 1. Everything that flows through Varnish has a 5 minute TTL set - keep the origin server lightly loaded. 2. If Varnish can't get to the origin server, there's an hour to get it right - a "grace" period. That's pretty much an eternity in web years so it should be OK. https://blog.froese.org/2010/04/22/vacationing-a-human-right-eu-chief-says-wow-/ Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/04/22/vacationing-a-human-right-eu-chief-says-wow-/ The European Union has declared travelling a human right, and is launching a scheme to subsidize vacations with taxpayers' dollars for those too poor to afford their own trips. via vancouversun.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/04/15/ia-designing-for-ipad-reality-check/ Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/04/15/ia-designing-for-ipad-reality-check/ Over the last two months we have been working on several iPad projects: Two news projects, a social network and a word processor; we worked on those applications without having the actual device to test. The question “Are we designing desktop applications, web sites or something entirely new?” has been torturing us until that magical package from New York finally crossed our door sill. Here is a quick write up of design insights before and after the appearance of the iPad at our office. https://blog.froese.org/2010/04/09/css-killswitch-non-destructively-black-out-a-difficult-client-s-website-with-the-click-of-a-button-/ Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/04/09/css-killswitch-non-destructively-black-out-a-difficult-client-s-website-with-the-click-of-a-button-/ CSS Killswitch lets you non- destructively black out a difficult client's website with the click of a button. via csskillswitch.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/04/08/resty-tiny-script-wrapper-for-curl/ Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/04/08/resty-tiny-script-wrapper-for-curl/ Resty is a tiny script wrapper for curl. It provides a simple, concise shell interface for interacting with REST services. Since it is implemented as functions in your own shell and not in its own command environment you have access to all the powerful shell tools, such as perl, awk, grep, sed, etc. You can use resty in pipelines to process data from REST services, and PUT or POST the data right back. https://blog.froese.org/2010/04/07/u-s-approves-targeted-killing-of-american-cleric-nytimes-com/ Wed, 07 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/04/07/u-s-approves-targeted-killing-of-american-cleric-nytimes-com/ The Obama administration has taken the extraordinary step of authorizing the targeted killing of an American citizen, the radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who is believed to have shifted from encouraging attacks on the United States to directly participating in them, intelligence and counterterrorism officials said Tuesday. via nytimes.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/30/-humans-are-too-stupid-to-prevent-climate-change-his-solution-is-to-remove-modern-democracy-sure-/ Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/30/-humans-are-too-stupid-to-prevent-climate-change-his-solution-is-to-remove-modern-democracy-sure-/ "I don't think we're yet evolved to the point where we're clever enough to handle a complex a situation as climate change," said Lovelock in his first in-depth interview since the theft of the UEA emails last November. "The inertia of humans is so huge that you can't really do anything meaningful." One of the main obstructions to meaningful action is "modern democracy", he added. "Even the best democracies agree that when a major war approaches, democracy must be put on hold for the time being. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/27/an-ex-cia-spy-explains-iran-s-quest-for-nuclear-weapons/ Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/27/an-ex-cia-spy-explains-iran-s-quest-for-nuclear-weapons/ Khamenei considers the Koran to be the ultimate source of guidance. One Koranic tenet is that you should deceive your enemies until you are strong enough to destroy them. Khamenei is employing this when he makes his declarations to the West. via csmonitor.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/26/continuous-deployment-at-imvu-doing-the-impossible-fifty-times-a-day-timothy-fitz/ Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/26/continuous-deployment-at-imvu-doing-the-impossible-fifty-times-a-day-timothy-fitz/ Continuous Deployment means running all your tests, all the time. That means tests must be reliable. We’ve made a science out of debugging and fixing intermittently failing tests. When I say reliable, I don’t mean “they can fail once in a thousand test runs.” I mean “they must not fail more often than once in a million test runs.” We have around 15k test cases, and they’re run around 70 times a day. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/26/leander-vyvey-22-floor-roof-jump-this-guy-s-crazy-/ Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/26/leander-vyvey-22-floor-roof-jump-this-guy-s-crazy-/ via youtube.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/26/nosql-vs-rdbms-let-the-flames-begin-stu-mp/ Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/26/nosql-vs-rdbms-let-the-flames-begin-stu-mp/ I’ve been getting solidly flamed recently, as have my former coworkers at Digg, my friends at Twitter, etc. about our adoption and promotion of various NoSQL storage systems. It seems that some DBAs are very, very upset that us internet kids are considering abandoning SQL’s ship. I’m not here to throw out a bunch of insane numbers, benchmarks, or flame back, but I did want to point out why SimpleGeo and others are jumping onto the NoSQL bandwagon. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/24/hidden-consequences-of-the-new-health-care-plan-change-incentives-change-behaviours-/ Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/24/hidden-consequences-of-the-new-health-care-plan-change-incentives-change-behaviours-/ In short, for those who are now privately insured through employers or by direct purchase, there would be substantial incentives to become uninsured until they become sick. The resulting rise in the cost to insurance companies as the insured population becomes sicker would raise the average premium, strengthening that incentive. via washingtonpost.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/23/blue-light-special-envy-labs-looks-interesting/ Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/23/blue-light-special-envy-labs-looks-interesting/ So today we’re announcing the public release of our modified version of Clearance, which we’re calling Blue Light Special. In addition to its user authentication system, Blue Light Special provides a simple role system with built-in support for admin users, the ability for an admin to impersonate other users, and starting points for your application layout and administration interface. via blog.envylabs.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/23/mojito-discover/ Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/23/mojito-discover/ Mojito is a WiFi enabled stand-alone device to display your chosen content & services. MyMojito is the online control panel we designed so you can quickly and easily customize and organize the services you wish to subscribe to. MyMojito & Mojito work as a system to create the best live notification system with built-in social networking features and great new content discovery tools to keep you forever inspired. via mymojito. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/23/rack-throttle-http-request-rate-limiter-for-rack-applications/ Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/23/rack-throttle-http-request-rate-limiter-for-rack-applications/ This is Rack middleware that provides logic for rate-limiting incoming HTTP requests to Rack applications. You can use Rack::Throttle with any Ruby web framework based on Rack, including with Ruby on Rails 3.0 and with Sinatra. via datagraph.rubyforge.org https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/21/reclusive-charles-saatchi-answers-questions-from-the-public-on-nigella-being-fat-and-dirty-tricks-in-the-art-world-mail-online/ Sun, 21 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/21/reclusive-charles-saatchi-answers-questions-from-the-public-on-nigella-being-fat-and-dirty-tricks-in-the-art-world-mail-online/ Do you believe in market research? I have spent too long being able to manipulate the answers I want from market research to rely upon its findings any more than I do weather forecasts. Many of the great success stories in marketing only came about because someone at the top of an organisation wanted to ignore the research and follow his own prejudices - on the basis that all his competitors would be carrying out the same research, receive back the same conclusions, follow them slavishly --and he would therefore be left with a unique proposition for his own product, which he in any event believed in. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/19/iphone-football-real-kick-very-clever-idea-a-little-crazy-/ Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/19/iphone-football-real-kick-very-clever-idea-a-little-crazy-/ via youtube.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/19/top-10-mobile-email-preview-test-tools-good-little-roundup-/ Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/19/top-10-mobile-email-preview-test-tools-good-little-roundup-/ [[posterous-content:bwdAGfzlAJDaoqGyeoov]] via theemailguide.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/19/visual-guide-to-nosql-systems-nathan-hurst-s-blog-lots-of-good-info-here-/ Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/19/visual-guide-to-nosql-systems-nathan-hurst-s-blog-lots-of-good-info-here-/ via blog.nahurst.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/18/placehold-it-quick-and-simple-image-placeholders-cool-idea-/ Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/18/placehold-it-quick-and-simple-image-placeholders-cool-idea-/ How does it work? Just put your image size after our URL and you'll get a placeholder. via placehold.it https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/17/mobile-opportunity-the-future-of-publishing-why-ebooks-failed-in-2000-and-what-that-means-for-2010/ Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/17/mobile-opportunity-the-future-of-publishing-why-ebooks-failed-in-2000-and-what-that-means-for-2010/ It's a great time for ebooks. There are at least six ebook reader devices on the market or in preparation. A major business magazine predicts that up to seven million of these devices will be sold next year. A major consulting firm says ebook sales will account for ten percent of the publishing market in five years. And an executive at the leading computing firm predicts that 90 percent of all publishing will switch to electronic form in just 20 years. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/17/my-mom-s-on-facebook-/ Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/17/my-mom-s-on-facebook-/ via youtube.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/16/mrtopf-de-blog-archive-all-recordings-from-nosql-live-boston-now-online-/ Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/16/mrtopf-de-blog-archive-all-recordings-from-nosql-live-boston-now-online-/ All recordings from NoSQL Live Boston now online! Today I finished uploading all recording I made from the NoSQL Live conference in Boston. They are now all located at COM.lounge TV (which I also reactivated for this). This also means that they are available in podcast form. via mrtopf.de https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/15/benjamin-meyer-s-blog-git-achievements-kinda-fun-/ Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/15/benjamin-meyer-s-blog-git-achievements-kinda-fun-/ This weekend I created a little application called git achievements. Similar to the XBox360 Achievements you can unlock all sorts of Achievements while you use git. It brings a bit of fun (and bragging) to those who use or who are learning git. via benjamin-meyer.blogspot.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/15/spencer-pratt-leaves-the-hills-to-fight-cyber-crime-wtf-they-don-t-make-prada-keyboards-man-/ Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/15/spencer-pratt-leaves-the-hills-to-fight-cyber-crime-wtf-they-don-t-make-prada-keyboards-man-/ "In the last few months I have discovered a new passion and new purpose to my life," Pratt told PEOPLE. "With this in mind, I have decided to take a break from my obligations to MTV's "The Hills" and discontinue filming any more episodes for this current season." Currently studying software engineering with a focus on encryption at USC, Pratt said he's headed to work for American Defense Enterprises in their cyber security division. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/13/a-couple-of-interesting-jquery-links/ Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/13/a-couple-of-interesting-jquery-links/ Some neat stuff here - so many plugins: 45 Fresh Useful JavaScript and jQuery Techniques and Tools - Smashing Magazine 17 jQuery Plugins for Easy and Efficient Reordering and Filtering Page Elements | tripwire magazine And some intro stuff I'm leaning towards going through shortly: jQuery: The Write Less, Do More, JavaScript Library Tutorials - jQuery JavaScript Library Tutorials:How jQuery Works - jQuery JavaScript Library https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/13/aviary-looks-really-cool-too-bad-i-don-t-have-it-in-my-non-google-apps-docs-/ Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/13/aviary-looks-really-cool-too-bad-i-don-t-have-it-in-my-non-google-apps-docs-/ via readwriteweb.com So often, all I need to do is resize, crop and save a compressed GIF/JPG. This looks useful. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/13/bakon-vodka-ew-/ Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/13/bakon-vodka-ew-/ Yes, Bacon Vodka. Bakon Vodka is a superior quality potato vodka with a savory bacon flavor. It’s clean, crisp, and delicious. This is the only vodka you’ll ever want to use to make a Bloody Mary, and it's a complementary element of both sweet and savory drinks. via bakonvodka.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/13/designing-for-conversion-a-couple-interesting-links-/ Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/13/designing-for-conversion-a-couple-interesting-links-/ Somewhere, Superficial, & So Much More: Designing for Conversion Experiences | Carsonified How to Increase Conversions on any Website in 45 Minutes https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/13/some-geo-location-web-links/ Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/13/some-geo-location-web-links/ Found a couple of these lately - not sure how good they are but they look interesting: Entering The Wonderful World of Geo Location - Smashing Magazine Getting Started with Yahoo! GeoPlanet Explorer | Carsonified https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/13/the-state-of-open-government-in-canada-o-reilly-radar/ Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/13/the-state-of-open-government-in-canada-o-reilly-radar/ Open government isn't about just one government. That's why I got in touch with David Eaves, a public policy entrepreneur and a speaker at this week's Gov 2.0 International online conference. In the following Q&A, Eaves weighs in on the state of open government in Canada. He also talks about the ironic adoption of open government behind firewalls, and he calls government's insistence on only releasing completed projects a " https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/12/-grid-cool-little-js-tool-/ Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/12/-grid-cool-little-js-tool-/ This is a little tool we created for our Analog holding page. It inserts a layout grid in web pages, allows you to hold it in place, and toggle between displaying it in the foreground or background. To see it in action, hit G on your keyboard. via hashgrid.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/12/la-based-formspring-me-service-to-reveal-identities-of-anonymous-users-sneaky-/ Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/12/la-based-formspring-me-service-to-reveal-identities-of-anonymous-users-sneaky-/ Twelve administrators of the website Formspring.me, including CEO Mark Baxter were arrested on Monday for data phishing and misleading the public, when the site was revealed to be a "social experiment," which will culminate in the automatic revealing of users' private data on April 1, 2010. Baxter, 28, was sentenced in Van Nuys Superior Court for the creation of said website, which allows users to "send and receive anonymous questions, and learn more about people you find interesting by following their answers. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/10/galactica-sabotage-cool-remix-/ Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/10/galactica-sabotage-cool-remix-/ via youtube.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/10/saying-yes-to-nosql-going-steady-with-cassandra-digg-about/ Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/10/saying-yes-to-nosql-going-steady-with-cassandra-digg-about/ The last six months have been exciting for Digg's engineering team. We're working on a soup-to-nuts rewrite. Not only are we rewriting all our application code, but we're also rolling out a new client and server architecture. And if that doesn't sound like a big enough challenge, we're replacing most of our infrastructure components and moving away from LAMP. Perhaps our most significant infrastructure change is abandoning MySQL in favor of a NoSQL alternative. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/10/tynt-insight-sorry-techcrunch-facebook-is-not-the-biggest-driver-of-social-sharing-on-the-web-/ Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/10/tynt-insight-sorry-techcrunch-facebook-is-not-the-biggest-driver-of-social-sharing-on-the-web-/ So how much sharing happens every month? Let’s take a rough cut at the numbers: there are an estimated 1 trillion to 1.4 trillion page views on the web per month. I’ll use the 1 trillion number for this analysis. Our Tynt data shows that slightly over 2% of all page views result in content sharing via copy/paste meaning over 20 Billion sharing actions. By comparison, explicit sharing buttons built into many content pages result in about 400 million shares every month. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/09/5-reasons-why-your-company-should-be-distributed-toni-org/ Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/09/5-reasons-why-your-company-should-be-distributed-toni-org/ Our company Automattic is distributed, and I’m ready to sing the praises of running a business in this way. BTW, I think distributed (“evenly spread throughout an area”) is a better description than the more commonly used virtual (“nearly real or simulated to be real”) for a company that has people working from all over the place instead of a centralized office. In Automattic’s case, we currently have over 50 employees spread across 12 US states and 10 countries. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/09/conan-twitter-tracker-how-conan-met-sarah-conan-on-twitter-is-awesome-/ Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/09/conan-twitter-tracker-how-conan-met-sarah-conan-on-twitter-is-awesome-/ This afternoon, we spoke with Sarah Faith Killen and her fiance, John D. Slowik, Jr., via Skype from their bedroom in Fowlerville, Mich., and we intended to share that video until we saw what an amateur job we did with that recording. So, we'll tell you the story because that's what we do best here at Show Tracker: tell stories. Sarah, 19, and John, 21, will celebrate their third anniversary on March 13 and are getting married on Sept. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/09/p2-wordpress-theme-like-twitter-in-a-box/ Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/09/p2-wordpress-theme-like-twitter-in-a-box/ P2 is a theme for WordPress that transforms a mild-mannered blog into a super-blog with features like inline comments on the homepage, a posting form right on the homepage, inline editing of posts and comments, real-time updates so new posts and comments come in without reloading, and much more. Here’s a quick video tour of the best features: via p2theme.wordpress.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/09/what-if-everybody-in-canada-flushed-at-once-wow-this-is-insane-/ Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/09/what-if-everybody-in-canada-flushed-at-once-wow-this-is-insane-/ The water utility in Edmonton, EPCOR, published the most incredible graph of water consumption last week. By now you’ve probably heard that up to 80% of Canadians were watching last Sunday’s gold medal Olympic hockey game. So I guess it stands to reason that they’d all go pee between periods. But still—the degree to which the water consumption matches with the key breaks in the hockey game is stunning https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/07/weekend-interview-with-mosab-hassan-yousef-they-need-to-be-liberated-from-their-god-wsj-com/ Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/07/weekend-interview-with-mosab-hassan-yousef-they-need-to-be-liberated-from-their-god-wsj-com/ "I'd seen enough killing. I was a witness to lots of death . . . Saving a human life was something really, really beautiful . . . no matter who they are. Not only Israeli people owe me their lives. I guarantee many terrorists, many Palestinian leaders, owe me their lives—or in other words they owe my Lord their lives." He says he used his influence at Shin Bet to get the Israelis to try to arrest Hamas and other Palestinian figures rather than blow them up with missile strikes. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/07/why-ad-blocking-is-devastating-to-the-sites-you-love/ Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/07/why-ad-blocking-is-devastating-to-the-sites-you-love/ My argument is simple: blocking ads can be devastating to the sites you love. I am not making an argument that blocking ads is a form of stealing, or is immoral, or unethical, or makes someone the son of the devil. It can result in people losing their jobs, it can result in less content on any given site, and it definitely can affect the quality of content. It can also put sites into a real advertising death spin. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/06/britain-s-islamic-republic-/ Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/06/britain-s-islamic-republic-/ Dispatches investigates a fundamentalist Islamic group headquartered in Britain, and its claims to have placed its 'brothers' in positions of political power here. Using undercover recordings, investigative journalist Andrew Gilligan reveals the group's ambitions to create a worldwide 'Islamic social and political order,' and the concerns of a mainstream party that they are being 'infiltrated'; and talks to the Muslims who want to stop it. via channel4.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/06/israel-we-think-kills-a-terrorist-the-world-freaks-out-russia-kills-and-silence-double-standard-much-/ Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/06/israel-we-think-kills-a-terrorist-the-world-freaks-out-russia-kills-and-silence-double-standard-much-/ The Washington Post notes the absence of publicity surrounding these hits. Jackson Diehl writes that while the Dubai police have been even handed, stories of hits by Russia on Islamic rebels just have no legs. They’re below the fold. To his credit, police chief Tamim tried to subject Russia to the same treatment he has given Israel. At a press conference last April, he named the author of the crime as Adam Delimkhanov, a Kadyrov associate who is a member of the Russian parliament, and said he would ask Interpol for his arrest. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/06/steve-jobs-ipad-won-t-support-iphone-tethering-lame/ Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/06/steve-jobs-ipad-won-t-support-iphone-tethering-lame/ Not one to mince words, Steve Jobs squashed all hope of the iPad supporting iPhone tethering for wireless internet access with one word — “No.” via mashable.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/06/video-bmw-s-1000-rr-pulls-off-the-old-tablecloth-trick-fun-/ Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/06/video-bmw-s-1000-rr-pulls-off-the-old-tablecloth-trick-fun-/ via autoblog.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/05/6-critical-wordpress-plugins-you-should-have-installed/ Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/05/6-critical-wordpress-plugins-you-should-have-installed/ Design Instruct and Six Revisions only uses six WordPress plugins. We’ve kept our plugins to the bare essentials—any other features we add to our WordPress installation, we develop ourselves specifically for our sites. via sixrevisions.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/05/conan-pledges-to-change-one-woman-s-life-on-twitter-this-is-super-funny-/ Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/05/conan-pledges-to-change-one-woman-s-life-on-twitter-this-is-super-funny-/ Sarah Killen loves gummy dinosaurs, coke syrup, peanut butter and now Conan O’Brien. The Michigan gal — not a fan of Russell Bigos, her sister-in-law’s treadmill singing or cleaning — happens to be the only person that the jilted late night personality follows on Twitter. Conan, who up until minutes ago wasn’t following a single person, decided to change Sarah Killin’s life by following her and her alone. Conan announced the news via Twitter — likely with the help of his Twitter army. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/04/courts-not-politicians-stand-up-for-free-speech/ Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/04/courts-not-politicians-stand-up-for-free-speech/ While our politicians may shy away from protecting freedom of speech and human rights commissions may trample it, it's encouraging that judges still appreciate its importance. It helps that most judges are well versed in the subtleties of the law, like the part about this freedom applying to even buffoons. It's not explicitly spelled out in most legislation, which is perhaps why so many seem to miss it. via calgaryherald. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/04/everything-is-terrible-can-t-stop-punching-1-40-is-my-favorite-scene-/ Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/04/everything-is-terrible-can-t-stop-punching-1-40-is-my-favorite-scene-/ I HIGHLY recommend seeing this whole film: 'Deadly Prey.' It's quite well known in the VHS fetish community, and for damn good reason! It's like Battle Royale meets Rambo meets Delta Force but somehow with more punching. It's the most fun I've had with my VCR since Andy and the Airwave Rangers... maybe. via everythingisterrible.com Whenever you can beat somebody to death with their own limb, that is a whole bunch of awesome in a can. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/04/harpoons-are-for-pussies-shooting-guns-underwater-/ Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/04/harpoons-are-for-pussies-shooting-guns-underwater-/ via youtube.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/04/how-myspace-tested-their-live-site-with-1-million-concurrent-users-very-cool/ Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/04/how-myspace-tested-their-live-site-with-1-million-concurrent-users-very-cool/ For MySpace, the goal was to test an additional 1 million concurrent users on their live site stressing the new video features.  The key word here is ‘concurrent’.  Not over the course of an hour or day… 1 million users concurrently active on the site. It should be noted that 1 million virtual users are only a portion of what MySpace typically has on the site during its peaks.  They wanted to supplement the live traffic with test traffic to get an idea of the overall performance impact of the new launch on the entire infrastructure. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/04/kswedberg-s-jquery-tmbundle-at-master-github/ Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/04/kswedberg-s-jquery-tmbundle-at-master-github/ This is a TextMate bundle to help with jQuery functions. via github.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/03/faye-dirt-simple-pub-sub-for-rack-and-node-js-very-cool-/ Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/03/faye-dirt-simple-pub-sub-for-rack-and-node-js-very-cool-/ Two way communication in the browser isn’t easy. James Coglan brings aims to change that with Faye: Faye is an implementation of the Bayeux prototcol, a publish-subscribe messaging protocol designed primarily to allow client-side JavaScript programs to send messages to each other with low latency over HTTP. Essentially, Bayeux lets applications publish and subscribe to data in named channels, both in the browser and the server: via thechangelog. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/03/using-intelligence-from-the-al-mabhouh-hit-stratfor/ Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/03/using-intelligence-from-the-al-mabhouh-hit-stratfor/ Dubai’s police force has been steadily releasing new information almost on a daily basis, which has been driving the news cycle and keeping the story in the media spotlight. The most astounding release so far has been nearly 30 minutes of surveillance camera footage that depicts portions of a period spanning the arrival of the assassination team in Dubai, surveillance of al-Mabhouh, and the killing and the exfiltration of the team some 22 hours later. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/02/campaign-monitor-for-your-mobile/ Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/02/campaign-monitor-for-your-mobile/ Today we're super excited to announce a new mobile optimized version of Campaign Monitor that gives you and your clients quick access to great looking reports on any campaigns you've sent. It's fast, looks great and is available now. Just head to your account on any popular mobile device like an iPhone or Android and the mobile version will be shown by default. You don't need to install anything, because it is a web application, not a native phone application. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/02/google-moderator-i-had-no-idea-this-existed-/ Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/02/google-moderator-i-had-no-idea-this-existed-/ Let your audience decide Get to know your audience by letting them decide which questions, suggestions or ideas interest them most. Everyone's voice is heard The voting box at the top of page focuses attention on submissions recently added and on the rise, making it simple and easy to participate. Be creative Include people in your preparation for lectures, interviews and hard decisions or work together to organize feature requests and brainstorm new ideas. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/02/no-you-can-t-pick-my-brain-kicking-sand/ Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/02/no-you-can-t-pick-my-brain-kicking-sand/ Strategic and creative counsel is one of the most under-monetized aspects of being in the communications and marketing business. Would you ask a lawyer to coffee to “pick his brain?” Do you think a profession as ruthless as they are known, and whose services are enlisted regularly and paid well for, would dole out a hour advice to you for $3.50? Unless he’s your dear friend, what’s in it for him? https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/02/performance-tuning-for-phusion-passenger-an-introduction-alfa-jango-blog/ Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/02/performance-tuning-for-phusion-passenger-an-introduction-alfa-jango-blog/ Phusion Passenger (aka mod_rails) allows for easy and scalable deployment of Ruby on Rails applications on Apache or Nginx servers. Part of what makes it so easy is that it comes with suitable default settings right out of the box, so that you don’t need to concern yourself with any of the details when deploying your application to production. However, once you’ve launched your application and people start actually using it, you may find server experiencing excessive swapping once the traffic begins to pick up. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/02/skinput-appropriating-the-body-as-an-input-surface-very-cool-/ Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/02/skinput-appropriating-the-body-as-an-input-surface-very-cool-/ via youtube.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/01/5-best-iphone-apps-for-controlling-your-mac-or-pc/ Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/01/5-best-iphone-apps-for-controlling-your-mac-or-pc/ There are literally dozens and dozens of iPhone and iPod touch apps that can control your PC (be it Mac, Windows or Linux ()), but after using and testing the big players in this field (and even the small ones), I’ve found five of my favorites. Check them out and be sure to leave your own suggestions in the comments. via mashable.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/01/red-menace-stop-the-ug99-fungus-before-its-spores-bring-starvation/ Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/01/red-menace-stop-the-ug99-fungus-before-its-spores-bring-starvation/ The men move three steps right to a slightly more robust clump of wheat. The Australian asks: “Yandanooka?” “25 MR?” comes the tentative reply from a mustachioed Nepali in a green baseball cap. They slide over to inspect another stalk, and then another. To the women at the tap, faces scrunched in puzzlement, the call-and-response sounds like gibberish — and to most of the world, it is. But to the jumpsuited strangers in East Africa — a group of elite plant pathologists — these codenames and numbers are a lingua franca, describing just how badly a crop has been ravaged by disease. https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/01/tweethook-twitter-data-pushed-to-you-/ Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/03/01/tweethook-twitter-data-pushed-to-you-/ TweetHook makes receiving Twitter Search data simple and automatic. Using the power of webhooks, setting up a continuous search on Twitter is a snap. Enter your query, enter your webhook URL, sit back and enjoy the data! Learn More » via tweethook.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/28/belmont-club-humble-pie-this-guy-is-always-a-great-read-/ Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/28/belmont-club-humble-pie-this-guy-is-always-a-great-read-/ Think of Greece as California … the problem is there are never enough of “the rich” to fund the entitlement state, because in the end, it disincentivizes everything from wealth creation to self-reliance to the basic survival instinct, as represented by the fertility rate. In Greece, they’ve run out Greeks, so they’ll stick it to the Germans, like French farmers do. In Germany, the Germans have only been able to afford to subsidize French farming because they stick their defense tab to the Americans. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/28/notes-from-a-production-mongodb-deployment-boxed-ice-blog/ Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/28/notes-from-a-production-mongodb-deployment-boxed-ice-blog/ Back in July last year I wrote about our migration from MySQL to MongoDB. We have been running MongoDB in production for our server monitoring service, Server Density, since then – 8 months – and have learnt quite a few things about it. These are the kind of things that you only experience once you reach a certain level of usage and it is surprising how few issues we’ve had. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/28/technology-the-data-deluge-the-economist/ Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/28/technology-the-data-deluge-the-economist/ Everywhere you look, the quantity of information in the world is soaring. According to one estimate, mankind created 150 exabytes (billion gigabytes) of data in 2005. This year, it will create 1,200 exabytes. Merely keeping up with this flood, and storing the bits that might be useful, is difficult enough. Analysing it, to spot patterns and extract useful information, is harder still. Even so, the data deluge is already starting to transform business, government, science and everyday life (see our special report in this issue). https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/27/cleaning-up-zone-files-with-a-simple-ruby-script-/ Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/27/cleaning-up-zone-files-with-a-simple-ruby-script-/ This highly manual process is not super fun. So I wrote a quick script to take a look at my Bind configuration files and tell me who wasn't using me any more. First of all, I had to get all of the zones from my zone files - that is a simple 1 liner: Then I took that file and ran it through this simple Ruby script: https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/27/wired-exclusive-how-google-s-algorithm-rules-the-web/ Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/27/wired-exclusive-how-google-s-algorithm-rules-the-web/ This year, Google will introduce 550 or so improvements to its fabled algorithm, and each will be determined at a gathering just like this one. The decisions made at the weekly Search Quality Launch Meeting will wind up affecting the results you get when you use Google’s search engine to look for anything — “Samsung SF-755p printer,” “Ed Hardy MySpace layouts,” or maybe even “capital Burkina Faso,” which just happens to share its name with this conference room. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/26/hundreds-of-chilldren-found-in-mass-grave/ Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/26/hundreds-of-chilldren-found-in-mass-grave/ Three mass graves were discovered in the sub district of Dubiz in Kirkuk. Announced the Kurdish daily news paper ASO on Sunday, Feb.21st. These graves are to be excavated by the Ministry of Anfaled and Martyrs of Kurdistan regional government in a near future.  “The graves are holding remnants of children from both Chamchamal and Garmyan areas”. Sayd Fazil Amin the head of KRG martyrs office in Kirkuk told ASO, these kids were taken into captivity during 1988 Anfal campaign against the Kurds. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/26/mike-subelsky-s-blog-lean-startup-tools-for-rails-apps/ Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/26/mike-subelsky-s-blog-lean-startup-tools-for-rails-apps/ A few months ago I was invited to dinner with the Geeks on a Plane crew when they stopped in Washington, and had the opportunity to meet one of my heroes, Eric Ries, author of the Startup Lessons Learned blog. His descriptions of lean startup techniques and philosophies have had a big influence on the way I design and build software. Eric asked me what specific tools Rails developers could use when building a lean startup. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/26/searching-for-saddam-a-five-part-series-on-how-social-networking-led-to-the-capture-the-iraqi-dictator-by-chris-wilson-slate-magazine-/ Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/26/searching-for-saddam-a-five-part-series-on-how-social-networking-led-to-the-capture-the-iraqi-dictator-by-chris-wilson-slate-magazine-/ The war in Iraq will always be remembered for the failures of intelligence that preceded it and the insurgency that bedeviled coalition forces long after President George W. Bush declared an end to major combat operations. Amid all that disaster, the capture of Saddam Hussein has become a forgotten success story. It's an accomplishment that wasn't inevitable. In a five-part series that begins today, I'll explain how a handful of innovative American soldiers used the same theories that underpin Facebook to hunt down Saddam Hussein. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/25/about-this-blog-free-peepcode-blog-damn-this-is-cool-/ Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/25/about-this-blog-free-peepcode-blog-damn-this-is-cool-/ Many developments in computer science have nothing to do with the capabilities of computers, but with the way we use them. A few years ago, an article on Airbag Industries1 inspired me to think about writing a blog with a unique design per post. There are many benefits: It encourages creativity both at the computer and away from it It’s like a code kata for design You can easily experiment with cutting-edge CSS3 features or just learn CSS2 You’ll learn how to build a style foundation for other designs in other applications On the downside, it takes more time than simply writing prose. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/25/belmont-club-the-last-bubble/ Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/25/belmont-club-the-last-bubble/ The only way to prevent a catastrophe, according to Johnson and Boone, is to cut deficits back and reform the financial system to avoid future hanky-panky. But neither is very optimistic it can be done. The actors benefiting from the short term bubbles are simply too powerful to keep anyone from wresting control of the wheel. And if the reformers ever succeed the money men will simply corrupt them all over again. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/25/high-scalability-paper-high-performance-scalable-data-stores-/ Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/25/high-scalability-paper-high-performance-scalable-data-stores-/ The world of scalable databases is not a simple one. They come in every race, creed, and color. Rick Cattell has brought some harmony to that world by publishing High Performance Scalable Data Stores, a nicely detailed one stop shop paper comparing scalable databases soley on the content of their character. Ironically, the first step in that evaluation is dividing the world into four groups: Key-value stores: Redis, Scalaris, Voldmort, and Riak. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/25/inside-america-s-coolest-workplace-rob-dyrdek-s-fantasy-factory/ Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/25/inside-america-s-coolest-workplace-rob-dyrdek-s-fantasy-factory/ Who do you look up to in business? I'm going to shoot big. Richard Branson. We flew Virgin here. He was a great influence on me -- very young, reading an article with him about the simplicity of when you do everything yourself, you're a millionaire. When you inspire an army around you to do everything for you, you're a billionaire. You know? And I think that was a big turning point for me personally in the sense of like, man, you create and manage and creatively build a vision, and then you hunt down the strongest, brightest, most driven people to help push each one individually. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/25/i-m-a-congressman-get-me-out-of-here-kind-of-ironic-/ Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/25/i-m-a-congressman-get-me-out-of-here-kind-of-ironic-/ In his prepared testimony, Fred Roitz, executive vice president of contracts and chief sales officer for Xe (a.k.a. Blackwater), disclosed that his company, through its subsidiary Presidential Airways, evacuated a congressman from Niger during a recent military coup. That caught the eye of Mother Jones reporter Daniel Schulman, who decided to figure out who, exactly, the congressman in distress was. Turns out it was none other than Rep. Alan Grayson, the Florida Democrat who has made his reputation by going after military contractors. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/25/new-relic-rpm-officially-supports-rack-and-sinatra-finally-/ Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/25/new-relic-rpm-officially-supports-rack-and-sinatra-finally-/ New Relic's RPM, an application performance monitoring and reporting system, has today announced it has added full support for Sinatra and Rack-based Ruby applications to its traditionally Rails-centric service. It's been possible to hack in support for non-Rails apps into New Relic before, but this move brings them officially into the fold with all of the features only Rails apps used to be able to take advantage of. via rubyinside. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/25/plainview-software-the-barbarian-group/ Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/25/plainview-software-the-barbarian-group/ What is Plainview? Plainview is a full-screen web browser. That’s it? Well, it does a few other things – but yeah, basically that’s it. via barbariangroup.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/24/employees-telling-the-truth-in-social-media-isn-t-that-kinda-the-point-/ Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/24/employees-telling-the-truth-in-social-media-isn-t-that-kinda-the-point-/ What's the role of a social media representative - to repeat the press releases on Twitter? Or to engage with customers who have unpleasant feedback to share? Something in the middle? I don't think one answer suits all companies - every culture is different - but I have to imagine that any company employing an "online customer presence," using social media, should be ready to accommodate and engage negative feedback - even from the social media rep. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/24/google-real-time-search-now-includes-a-fraction-of-facebook-status-updates-/ Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/24/google-real-time-search-now-includes-a-fraction-of-facebook-status-updates-/ Google has just announced via tweet that it’s integrating Facebook Page updates into its real-time search results. Google first revealed that this was coming back in December, when it first started including real-time data in its search results. Other data sources for Google’s real-time results include MySpace and Twitter. via techcrunch.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/24/this-is-part-of-why-twitter-is-important-it-s-a-whole-new-ecosystem-/ Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/24/this-is-part-of-why-twitter-is-important-it-s-a-whole-new-ecosystem-/ In the first seconds and minutes after the quake, anyone tapping "earthquake Mountain View" (or the name of any other nearby municipality) into Google's search field found that the only hits pertaining to the new quake were ... tweets. While the Google results page included direct information feeds from the USGS and a slick Google Maps display of recent temblors, none reflected the latest event. Official USGS-confirmed data on the quake wouldn't show up until 10:20 a. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/24/video-world-s-strongest-boy-breaks-air-push-up-record/ Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/24/video-world-s-strongest-boy-breaks-air-push-up-record/ A five-year-old boy has put professional bodybuilders to shame by breaking the world record for "air push-ups". Guiliano Stroe, a five-year-old who has been called the world’s strongest boy, caused a sensation when he performed 20 air press-ups live on Romanian television. The physically demanding exercises, which involve raising the body from a horizontal position into a handstand with the feet never touching the ground, are more commonly performed by adult bodybuilders. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/23/how-to-order-a-beer-in-50-languages-erv-this-is-for-you-/ Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/23/how-to-order-a-beer-in-50-languages-erv-this-is-for-you-/ If there's one universal constant in human society, it has to be alcohol. Rare indeed is the culture that hasn't worked out the tricksy process of fermenting and/or distilling some type of vegetable matter -- be it malted barley, potatoes, honey or grape juice -- into a brew containing a significant percentage, as the dictionary puts it, of an "organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/22/a-cautionary-tale-in-healthcare-reform-los-angeles-times/ Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/22/a-cautionary-tale-in-healthcare-reform-los-angeles-times/ But two decades later, New York's experience offers a cautionary tale: Making isolated changes to the complex medical insurance system can have unwelcome consequences. Premiums in New York are now the highest in the nation by some measures, with individual health coverage costing about $9,000 a year on average. And nearly one in seven New Yorkers still lacks health coverage, a greater proportion than before the law was passed. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/22/-it-s-my-health-and-it-s-my-choice-danny-williams-says-/ Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/22/-it-s-my-health-and-it-s-my-choice-danny-williams-says-/ And the Premier addressed with his usual frankness his decision to go to the U.S. instead of having the procedure done in Canada. “I was warned by my staff that this could be an issue,” he told Mr. Hutton. “But from my own perspective I said look, here’s our communications plan. It’s quite simple. This is my heart. It’s my health and it’s my choice,” he said. via theglobeandmail. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/22/no-one-knows-what-the-f-they-re-doing-or-the-3-types-of-knowledge-/ Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/22/no-one-knows-what-the-f-they-re-doing-or-the-3-types-of-knowledge-/ How could I win such an award, being in a room with so many great entrepreneurs and so many exciting companies and business ideas? There were companies in the competition already making a million dollars in yearly revenue (eligibility for the competition required that your company be making less that $3 million annually). By comparison, I wasn’t even making enough to quit my day job yet. I had to fake a doctor’s appointment that day just to attend the awards ceremony. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/22/nuclear-power-s-time-has-come-amen-/ Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/22/nuclear-power-s-time-has-come-amen-/ One of the things I learned is that we've already been burying nuclear waste in New Mexico at the waste isolation pilot plant for 10 years now. Works fine. It's a salt formation 3,000 foot thick -- you go half a mile down and that salt formation has been there for 250 million years. It's not going anywhere. ... It's a perfectly good place to stash this stuff if you want to get rid of it. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/20/10-ways-to-automatically-manually-backup-mysql-database-noupe/ Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/20/10-ways-to-automatically-manually-backup-mysql-database-noupe/ [[posterous-content:HhkdAdqwrxreeexvlgBx]]via noupe.com Lots of good stuff here. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/20/belmont-club-you-mean-now-/ Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/20/belmont-club-you-mean-now-/ The really interesting thing about the administration’s increase in the use of targeted hits, its unwillingness to take custody of prisoners and indeed to hand them over to people like the Pakistani military; and indeed its declining ability to take any enemy combatant alive at all is that it is rooted not in what Anderson called Dick Cheney’s “brutish, simplistic” determination to defend America, but in President Obama’s desire to live up to the highest standards of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/19/25-beautiful-examples-of-coming-soon-pages/ Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/19/25-beautiful-examples-of-coming-soon-pages/ Coming soon" pages are a great way to tide over your visitors until you finish your new website. They can be used as a teaser for your future website, or places to simply put your information where people can get to it while you are under digital construction. We are going to look at a collection of how websites are successfully using "coming soon" pages. via sixrevisions.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/19/linode-and-ubuntu-9-10-are-the-bomb-/ Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/19/linode-and-ubuntu-9-10-are-the-bomb-/ I just installed pretty much everything I need using a apt-get and ruby gems - here's the script: And that is awesome - that box is pretty much ready to go now. That took 2 hours - mostly because I did it 2 times to make sure I got it right. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/18/-assassins-had-mahmoud-al-mabhouh-in-sight-as-soon-as-he-got-to-dubai-times-online-/ Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/18/-assassins-had-mahmoud-al-mabhouh-in-sight-as-soon-as-he-got-to-dubai-times-online-/ Mahmoud al-Mabhouh took no notice of the two men who joined him in the lift of his hotel in Dubai during the short ride to the second floor on the afternoon of January 20. One was short and portly with a moustache, the other tall. Dressed in sports gear and carrying tennis rackets, they looked like any other European tourists visiting the Gulf state for some winter sun. He did not realise that the two men were part of an 11-strong team that had come to kill him. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/18/will-phone-companies-ever-learn-or-do-they-just-not-care-telus-rogers/ Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/18/will-phone-companies-ever-learn-or-do-they-just-not-care-telus-rogers/ One of my key employees' phone broke recently - email reception was spotty - nobody could fix. After a little while running through the Telus help lines she was told: "Too bad, you'll have to wait 2 weeks - got nothing else for you." Waiting 2 weeks for a new cell phone during our busiest time of year is not an option, so her and I chatted and I told her to call them back and be a little more forceful. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/17/augmented-reality-for-maintenance-and-repair-very-cool-application-/ Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/17/augmented-reality-for-maintenance-and-repair-very-cool-application-/ via youtube.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/17/belmont-club-different-strokes/ Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/17/belmont-club-different-strokes/ Why doesn’t America use skilled humans like the supposed Israeli hit team? For two reasons: somehow, for causes social scientists have yet to explain, using people to kill people creates a public revulsion but blowing them up from a robot circling tens of thousands of feet above is politically acceptable. The second reason for not sending men after men is that the public has a similar revulsion to taking prisoners of whom you demand questions. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/17/panic-on-the-right-way-to-re-engage-your-readers-email-manners-done-well-/ Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/17/panic-on-the-right-way-to-re-engage-your-readers-email-manners-done-well-/ In short, if you haven't contacted your list in a while, you're merging lists, or you plan on changing the frequency of your newsletters, then a permission reminder email is not only best practice, but graceful manners. via campaignmonitor.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/17/the-meaning-of-marjah-stratfor/ Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/17/the-meaning-of-marjah-stratfor/ Why Marjah? The key is the geography of Afghanistan and the nature of the conflict itself. Most of Afghanistan is custom-made for a guerrilla war. Much of the country is mountainous, encouraging local identities and militias, as well as complicating the task of any foreign military force. The country’s aridity discourages dense population centers, making it very easy for irregular combatants to melt into the countryside. Afghanistan lacks navigable rivers or ports, drastically reducing the region’s likelihood of developing commerce. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/17/this-is-part-of-why-i-like-the-promise-of-webfinger-/ Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/17/this-is-part-of-why-i-like-the-promise-of-webfinger-/ To Chris, the @reply would "just work" regardless of what network I was on. Assuming the other party supported the above protocols, this could have worked to identi.ca, cliqset.com, friendfeed.com, twitter.com, facebook.com, etc. And the protocols themselves are easy, likely only a simple extension of endpoints these networks are already exposing. And not only is this process fully decentralized (i.e., there doesn't need to be a Google in the middle), it delegates very well, so that domain owners wouldn't have to implement it themselves -- but they could later if they wanted to. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/17/why-is-google-afraid-of-facebook-part-ii-facebook-s-traffic-passes-yahoo/ Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/17/why-is-google-afraid-of-facebook-part-ii-facebook-s-traffic-passes-yahoo/ Social network Facebook has passed Yahoo! and is now nearing Google in the #1 spot for most monthly unique visitors from the US, according to traffic analyst firm Compete. Compete just published its January numbers this morning and reported that nearly 134 million US web users visited Facebook last month. Google saw nearly 148 million. via readwriteweb.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/16/dante-s-internet/ Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/16/dante-s-internet/ [[posterous-content:daFAkksttojEhziekaBH]] via 1.bp.blogspot.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/16/facebook-drives-44-percent-of-social-sharing-on-the-web/ Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/16/facebook-drives-44-percent-of-social-sharing-on-the-web/ If you are still wondering why Google is pushing so hard with its new product Buzz, it is because it wants in on social traffic. For many sites on the Web, social traffic coming through Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace is beginning to rival, and in some cases overtake, search traffic as the single biggest source of traffic. This traffic comes from shared links, photos, and videos. By its own numbers, 5 billion pieces of content are shared on Facebook every month. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/16/facebook-is-the-web-s-ultimate-timesink-it-s-a-destination-site-/ Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/16/facebook-is-the-web-s-ultimate-timesink-it-s-a-destination-site-/ The average U.S. Internet user spends more time on Facebook than on Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Microsoft, Wikipedia, and Amazon combined. Think about that for a moment. via mashable.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/16/gmail-facebook-integration-now-gmail-with-200-of-the-interruptions/ Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/16/gmail-facebook-integration-now-gmail-with-200-of-the-interruptions/ This alpha release of the Gmail Facebook integration extension will allow to see your friends' facebook notifications. Currently quite a number of things still need work, but the basic integration is working properly. via chrome.google.com I actually might like this if I could get it to work. ;-) https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/16/one-webkit-to-rule-them-all-/ Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/16/one-webkit-to-rule-them-all-/ via mashable.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/16/rock-sugar-don-t-stop-the-sandman-/ Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/16/rock-sugar-don-t-stop-the-sandman-/ via youtube.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/-verbose-curl-ing-up-with-webfinger-and-pubsubhubub/ Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/-verbose-curl-ing-up-with-webfinger-and-pubsubhubub/ This morning I've been playing around with WebFinger and PubSubHubub. One of the great things about open web APIs is that you can tinker around with them without even writing an application. Just use curl! via dashdashverbose.com This is why I love the web - you can always tinker using ASCII. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/hacker-dojo-this-is-a-cool-idea-too-bad-it-s-2-400km-away-/ Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/hacker-dojo-this-is-a-cool-idea-too-bad-it-s-2-400km-away-/ The Hacker Dojo is a community center for hackers and thinkers to meet, discuss, learn, and create.    We are located at 140 South Whisman Road in Mountain View, CA. [map]  via hackerdojo.pbworks.com Is there an equivalent one of these in Calgary? https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/lack-of-direction-on-climate-change-hobbles-carbon-trading-nytimes-com/ Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/lack-of-direction-on-climate-change-hobbles-carbon-trading-nytimes-com/ Investors are steering clear of energy-saving projects meant to generate carbon credits, and traders in Europe are hunkering down through a period of consolidation that is disappointing to those who had hoped carbon markets would grow quickly into a $2 trillion-a-year business. While the European Union’s Emission Trading System is ticking along, it is looking increasingly likely to be the only big game in town for years to come. Those who see carbon trading as the best way to cut worldwide emissions quickly are wondering if their vision of a global network of markets, encompassing the United States, Australia, Japan and other countries, will ever be realized. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/management-secrets-of-the-grateful-dead-the-atlantic-march-2010-/ Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/management-secrets-of-the-grateful-dead-the-atlantic-march-2010-/ via theatlantic.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/migrating-to-the-twitter-streaming-api-a-primer-gnip-delivering-the-web-s-data/ Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/migrating-to-the-twitter-streaming-api-a-primer-gnip-delivering-the-web-s-data/ The streaming API is going to be a boon for companies who collect keyword-relevant content from the Twitter stream, but it does require some work on the part of developers.  In this post, we’ll help explain who will benefit from using Twitter’s new Streaming API and some ways to make the migration easier. via blog.gnip.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/notify-io-is-the-2010-webhook-version-of-the-cannon-shot-from-1994/ Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/notify-io-is-the-2010-webhook-version-of-the-cannon-shot-from-1994/ The power came back on, and we put the damnable program on the FTP server, and two million people all started attempting to download it at once, before we had even posted the announcement message, and we're done done done and I suppose now we can all live happily ever after. We sat in the conference room and hooked up the big TV to one of the Indys, so that we could sit around in the dark and watch the FTP download logs scroll by. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/the-hexacopter-awesome-flying-machine-video-/ Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/the-hexacopter-awesome-flying-machine-video-/ via wimp.com That's awesome. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/uniform-sexy-forms-with-jquery/ Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/uniform-sexy-forms-with-jquery/ Have you ever wished you could style checkboxes, drop down menus, radio buttons, and file upload inputs? Ever wished you could control the look and feel of your form elements between all browsers? If so, Uniform is your new best friend. via pixelmatrixdesign.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/waves-that-injured-surf-audience-were-sneaky-but-not-rogue-cnn-com/ Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/waves-that-injured-surf-audience-were-sneaky-but-not-rogue-cnn-com/ Spectators at the Mavericks Surfing Contest were standing on the beach at Princeton-by-the Sea, California, on Saturday morning when large waves knocked them down. More than 12 people were injured, according to local reports; video of one of the waves was recorded by CNN affiliate KRON of San Francisco. They were "sneaker waves," waves near the shore that are unexpectedly and significantly larger than others occurring at the time https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/web-numbr-track-numbers-from-anywhere-on-the-web/ Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/15/web-numbr-track-numbers-from-anywhere-on-the-web/ Extract any number from any webpage and graph how it changes over time via webnumbr.com Cool little service. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/14/feedproxy-activity-streams-translation/ Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/14/feedproxy-activity-streams-translation/ Building proprietary feed parsing is a pain and with FeedProxy for Feeds you don't need to. Driven by the same translation services powering Cliqset.com, FeedProxy translates feed data from over 80 services into persistent Activity Streams compliant Atom feeds. Forget worrying about understanding proprietary feed formatting and learn a single, open standard for expressing what people are doing around the web. via feedproxy.cliqset.com Cool - there's a bunch of people already doing this. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/14/gnip-delivering-the-web-s-data/ Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/14/gnip-delivering-the-web-s-data/ Gnip.com Re-Launching February 2010 The Gnip Internet Data Collection Appliance version 2.0 Collect all available statuses, posts, comments, photos, videos, bookmarks, and more from dozens of sites. Monitor your hosted Gnip Data Collector in realtime with 100% insight into what%u2019s happening and why. Manage your rules to maximize data collection and minimize latency; or let Gnip%u2019s software do it for you. Focus on creating value with the data, leaving the collection to us. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/14/notify-io-web-notification-system-supporting-growl-snarl-prowl-twitter-webhooks-libnotify-and-more-/ Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/14/notify-io-web-notification-system-supporting-growl-snarl-prowl-twitter-webhooks-libnotify-and-more-/ via notify.io https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/14/notify-io-is-very-interesting-/ Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/14/notify-io-is-very-interesting-/ In about 30 minutes I was able to get a website I maintain notifying me when certain things happen using a single line of Ruby code:res = Net::HTTP.post_form(URI.parse(NOTIFY_URL), {'text'=>'Somebody is looking at that page.', 'link'=>'http://example.net', 'title'=>'Website', 'api_key'=>NOTIFY_API_KEY})Very cool - I'm going to add this to a few other sites where it makes sense. I've always wanted Growl notifications when certain things happen on sites I manage - this is the best way I've seen to make it happen. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/14/postbin-debug-web-hooks-never-knew-about-this-cool-/ Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/14/postbin-debug-web-hooks-never-knew-about-this-cool-/ PostBin lets you debug web hooks by capturing and logging the asynchronous requests made when events happen. Make a PostBin and register the URL with a web hook provider. All POST requests to the URL are logged for you to see when you browse to that URL. via postbin.org https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/14/the-jason-salas-experience-7-questions-for-superfeedr/ Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/14/the-jason-salas-experience-7-questions-for-superfeedr/ Superfeedr is the brainchild of French developer Julien Genestoux, a leading authority on the emerging crop of applications and systems based on delivering data with extremely low-latency.  The project is the evolution of Notifixious (which I've previous profiled), which sought to help content creators by making the distribution of RSS- and Atom-based feeds currently in use more expedient. via jasonsalas.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/14/web-hooks-and-the-programmable-world-of-tomorrow/ Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/14/web-hooks-and-the-programmable-world-of-tomorrow/ via slideshare.net This is super old (in web years) but super good. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/13/stop-listening-to-your-customers-venturebeat/ Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/13/stop-listening-to-your-customers-venturebeat/ So where did they go wrong, and how can you avoid making the same mistake? It’s simple. Never ask people what they think of your product or idea. via entrepreneur.venturebeat.com Interesting. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/13/why-i-like-webfinger-and-one-thing-i-don-t-like/ Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/13/why-i-like-webfinger-and-one-thing-i-don-t-like/ I like webfinger for a couple/few reasons: 1. It reminds me of finger - which was cool. Sort of an old school twitter/blog before the web. 2. It got me using OpenID again, which I've had an account for forever but: I could never remember which browser I installed the certificate in. I could never remember the URL. 3. It can help to group a person's online identity together - at least the parts that you want to show. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/12/bbc-sport-vancouver-2010-olympic-luger-nodar-kumaritashvili-dies-after-crash/ Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/12/bbc-sport-vancouver-2010-olympic-luger-nodar-kumaritashvili-dies-after-crash/ Prior to the Vancouver Games, no Winter Olympic athlete had been killed during an event. But the 1964 Games in Innsbruck were overshadowed by the deaths of two competitors before it began. via news.bbc.co.uk That's not a great record to have. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/12/google-chart-tools-interactive-charts-aka-visualization-api-/ Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/12/google-chart-tools-interactive-charts-aka-visualization-api-/ The Google Visualization API lets you access multiple sources of structured data that you can display, choosing from a large selection of visualizations. Google Visualization API enables you to expose your own data, stored on any data-store that is connected to the web, as a Visualization compliant datasource. Thus you can create reports and dashboards as well as analyze and display your data through the wealth of available visualization applications. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/12/mosquito-death-ray-in-action-at-ted-video-/ Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/12/mosquito-death-ray-in-action-at-ted-video-/ Nathan Myhrvold is an inventor and killer of mosquitos with lasers. The mosquito death ray demoed in the video below was built in-house by Myhrvold’s company Intellectual Ventures Lab from parts purchased on eBay. Every 43 seconds, a child dies from malaria. Given the constraints of current methods for fighting the disease, Myhrvold put the scientific minds of his company to the problem of eradicating the mosquitoes themselves. The lasers recognize and track the insects, measuring the frequency of the wingbeats to determine their gender. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/12/simple-webfinger-server-written-in-sinatra-datamapper/ Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/12/simple-webfinger-server-written-in-sinatra-datamapper/ I wanted to setup a simple webfinger server for myself today and there was nothing around so I wrote my own - it's really basic: http://github.com/darron/webfinger-sinatra Grab it and improve - you can see it in action here: http://froese.org/.well-known/host-meta http://webfinger.froese.org/webfinger/darron@froese.org Grab it, fork it, do whatever you want with it - let me know if there's any questions. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/12/webfinger-enabled-by-google-just-recently/ Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/12/webfinger-enabled-by-google-just-recently/ This is a docudrama about Webfinger. Put your email address into the box above, click the button, and take a peek behind the curtains. We promise we won't send you any email, nor will we share your address with anyone. via webfinger.org Stick your Gmail address in the box and see what pops up - it will be anything on your Google Profile page. Interesting. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/11/iran-claims-new-success-in-uranium-enrichment-awesome-/ Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/11/iran-claims-new-success-in-uranium-enrichment-awesome-/ President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asserted Thursday that Iran has produced its first batch of higher-grade enriched uranium and declared that his country is now a "nuclear state," although he continued to deny that Iran has any intention of building nuclear weapons. via washingtonpost.com The type of technology they're using makes no sense unless they're developing nuclear weapons. It's only a matter of time until Israel does what they think is necessary to survive - especially since Ahmadinejad threatened to wipe them out again today. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/11/obama-s-iran-reality-check-yeah-not-good-/ Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/11/obama-s-iran-reality-check-yeah-not-good-/ The bottom line is that Iran continues to delay the West, in a crisis that began when secret Iranian nuclear plants were uncovered in 2002. Since then, Iran has reacted to the leverage applied against it by increasing its atomic work. It claims the right to enrich under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and that same logic would give it the right to increase the level of enrichment. Washington's current strategy of holding out for engagement while moving toward sanctions may not be enough to break this cycle. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/11/schneier-on-security-interview-with-a-nigerian-internet-scammer/ Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/11/schneier-on-security-interview-with-a-nigerian-internet-scammer/ Scam-Detective: How did you find victims for your scams? John: First you need to understand how the gangs work. At the bottom are the "foot soldiers", kids who spend all of their time online to find email addresses and send out the first emails to get people interested. When they receive a reply, the victim is passed up the chain, to someone who has better English to get copies of ID from them like copies of their passport and driving licenses and build up trust. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/11/the-situation-vs-the-ipad-cross-between-rocky-rambo-and-stallone/ Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/11/the-situation-vs-the-ipad-cross-between-rocky-rambo-and-stallone/ via youtube.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/11/uncle-chuck-wow-that-s-insane-/ Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/11/uncle-chuck-wow-that-s-insane-/ via youtube.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/5-insightful-ted-talks-on-social-media/ Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/5-insightful-ted-talks-on-social-media/ As social media has become a game changer for industries across the board, you can bet the experts at this year’s TED conference will have their sights set on peeling back the hype and getting at the core of what social technology has in store for this year and beyond. Perhaps the best part of the TED conferences is that videos of the talks are archived and free to view right on the organization’s website. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/a-collection-of-printable-sketch-templates-and-sketch-books-for-wireframing-thx-asidebeside-/ Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/a-collection-of-printable-sketch-templates-and-sketch-books-for-wireframing-thx-asidebeside-/ [[posterous-content:cJCugmzDFwmadnIbicky]] via geekchix.org Very cool. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/aerial-photos-of-world-trade-center-attack-are-released-nytimes-com/ Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/aerial-photos-of-world-trade-center-attack-are-released-nytimes-com/ Newly released aerial photographs of the World Trade Center terror attack capture the towers’ collapse, from just after the first fiery plane strike to the dust clouds that spread over Lower Manhattan and New York harbor. World Trade Center Aerial Photos The images were taken from a police helicopter carrying the only photographer allowed in the air space near the towers on Sept. 11, 2001. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/bbc-tells-news-staff-to-embrace-social-media-or-leave-/ Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/bbc-tells-news-staff-to-embrace-social-media-or-leave-/ BBC news journalists have been told to use social media as a primary source of information by Peter Horrocks, the new director of BBC Global News who took over last week. He said it was important for editorial staff to make better use of social media and become more collaborative in producing stories. "This isn't just a kind of fad from someone who's an enthusiast of technology. I'm afraid you're not doing your job if you can't do those things. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/hands-on-d-d-on-the-microsoft-surface-this-is-nuts-/ Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/hands-on-d-d-on-the-microsoft-surface-this-is-nuts-/ via crunchgear.com I never got to play this as a kid, but this looks very cool. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/httpry-great-little-app-to-help-see-live-web-traffic/ Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/httpry-great-little-app-to-help-see-live-web-traffic/ httpry is a specialized packet sniffer designed for displaying and logging HTTP traffic. It is not intended to perform analysis itself, but to capture, parse, and log the traffic for later analysis. It can be run in real-time displaying the traffic as it is parsed, or as a daemon process that logs to an output file. It is written to be as lightweight and flexible as possible, so that it can be easily adaptable to different applications. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/looking-for-a-cheap-ssl-certificate-give-these-guys-a-shot-/ Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/looking-for-a-cheap-ssl-certificate-give-these-guys-a-shot-/ [[posterous-content:epGFbCbsBdxmzfbwBbJt]] via ssl.theplanet.com I've been using them for years - you can't beat $15. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/spreedly-subscriptions-as-a-service-cool/ Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/spreedly-subscriptions-as-a-service-cool/ Spreedly handles everything you need to make money - initial signup, upgrades, cancellations, etc. - so you can build your business and not a billing system. via spreedly.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/theymakeapps-com-home-of-the-finest-mobile-app-makers/ Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/theymakeapps-com-home-of-the-finest-mobile-app-makers/ [[posterous-content:nBAfyzgjiJfGDiFDgFwj]]via theymakeapps.com Kind of like Haystack/Sortfolio except for mobile apps dev. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/visualizing-6-years-of-facebook-infographic-/ Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/visualizing-6-years-of-facebook-infographic-/ Facebook was launched on February 4, 2004 and has come a long way from a Harvard-only networking site in the intervening years. In fact, Facebook has undoubtedly become the world’s largest social network, with over 400 million users worldwide and more than 900 employees. Let’s take a closer look at what kinds of numbers and user activity this growth translates to. The following infographic explores Facebook’s growth over the past 6 years. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/why-web-developers-should-switch-to-google-chrome/ Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/10/why-web-developers-should-switch-to-google-chrome/ [[posterous-content:hoqJtBvmwJDhwIDGvvga]]via net.tutsplus.com Some of my guys already have. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/09/google-buzz-5-things-you-need-to-know-buzz/ Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/09/google-buzz-5-things-you-need-to-know-buzz/ Google Buzz brings status updates, links, videos and other shared features into the Gmail interface. If you've updated through Facebook or Twitter you'll be comfortable with the process: enter a quick sentence or paragraph describing ... well, anything really. Your thoughts. A recommended link. A question. It's all fair game. 1. How does Google Buzz work? Google Buzz appears as an option in you Gmail navigation (you may not see it yet because it's being rolled out in waves). https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/09/socialmod-social-media-moderation/ Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/09/socialmod-social-media-moderation/ We moderate - our team of Mechanical Turkers moderate your content. via socialmod.com I was just looking for this the other day for a client - this is perfect. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/08/entrepreneurs-beware-of-vanity-metrics/ Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/08/entrepreneurs-beware-of-vanity-metrics/ This is the curse of vanity metrics, numbers which look good on paper but aren't action oriented: website hits, message volume, or "billions and billions served." They look great in a press release, but what do they accomplish? via blogs.hbr.org I used to run into this a ton when our web analytics also tracked hits. When we switched to using Google Analytics some of our clients really wanted the old numbers back because they were so much larger. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/08/former-soviet-dissident-warns-for-eu-dictatorship/ Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/08/former-soviet-dissident-warns-for-eu-dictatorship/ PB: But all these countries that joined the European Union did so voluntarily. VB: No, they did not. Look at Denmark which voted against the Maastricht treaty twice. Look at Ireland [which voted against the Nice treaty]. Look at many other countries, they are under enormous pressure. It is almost blackmail. Switzerland was forced to vote five times in a referendum. All five times they have rejected it, but who knows what will happen the sixth time, the seventh time. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/08/newfoundland-premier-williams-out-of-icu-recovering-well-from-heart-surgery/ Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/08/newfoundland-premier-williams-out-of-icu-recovering-well-from-heart-surgery/ Last week, deputy premier Kathy Dunderdale said the criticism of Williams was unwarranted and an invasion of his privacy. She said the premier would address the issue after his return home. via canada.com It should be possible for ANYBODY in Canada to use their own money to pay for a medically necessary procedure - but unless you're actually wealthy, that is pretty much impossible. We HAVE to pay approximately 1/3 of our taxes to the government for our medical care - there is no ability to take that 1/3 and pay somebody else. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/08/optics-shriek-hypocrisy-danny-williams-in-the-usa/ Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/08/optics-shriek-hypocrisy-danny-williams-in-the-usa/ So when he flew southward for heart surgery, leaving wintry St. John's behind, he had to have known what it would look like. And not given a hoot. Here's the nub: Williams is the guy who leads the province, the jurisdiction responsible for administering the health care of its half-million citizens. And he's publicly decided it isn't good enough to serve his medical needs. True, in the absence of details about his actual condition, it is fair to speculate that the procedure he needed is not readily available at home, either through lack of equipment or expertise. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/08/sketchpad-online-paint-drawing-application/ Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/08/sketchpad-online-paint-drawing-application/ Check out this website I found at mugtug.com Very cool. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/08/the-most-unethical-act-losing-a-war/ Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/08/the-most-unethical-act-losing-a-war/ Moreover, the film points out that in a total war against a ruthless foe, half measures are of no use. After all, the ordinary Germans who served in Adolf Hitler’s army and worked in the factories that produced the weapons and other material that made his crimes possible never wavered in their loyalty to the Nazi regime, even as the Reich was reduced to ruins around them. This fact undermines the notion that Allied air-war theorists fervently believed in: that bombing could break the will of a nation. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/07/facebooker-on-rails-facebooker-on-rails/ Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/07/facebooker-on-rails-facebooker-on-rails/ Getting started Here’s how to get rolling: Make sure you have a Facebook account. You can sign up here if you don't have one. Consider making a test account. You may want to create a Facebook test account. That way if you use this site to send notifications, invite friends, or post to your wall you won't bother your real friends. If you do do this, you're welcome to add Kohl Hallstrom and Jacob Hallstrom as friends to interact with. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/06/15-fantastic-finds-on-the-google-code-repository/ Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/06/15-fantastic-finds-on-the-google-code-repository/ Google Code Repository is a section of Google that, just like SourceForge, allows developers to upload their code for others to use under license. The repository was launched in 2006 and after searching through its archives, I found a number of interesting scripts and other goodies that would be an asset in any website owner/website builder’s arsenal. via sixrevisions.com There's a few good links here. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/05/cloudhead-io-very-simple-blogging-engine-free-hosting-on-heroku/ Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/05/cloudhead-io-very-simple-blogging-engine-free-hosting-on-heroku/ toto is a git-powered, minimalist blog engine for the hackers of Oz. The engine weighs around ~230 sloc at its worst. There is no toto client, at least for now; everything goes through git. via cloudhead.io https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/05/credibility-is-what-s-really-melting-mark-steyn-opinion-macleans-ca/ Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/05/credibility-is-what-s-really-melting-mark-steyn-opinion-macleans-ca/ But where did all these experts get the data from? Well, NASA’s assertion that Himalayan glaciers “may disappear altogether” by 2030 rests on one footnote, citing the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report from 2007. In fact, the Fourth Assessment Report suggests 2035 as the likely arrival of Armageddon, but what’s half a decade between scaremongers? They rate the likelihood of the glaciers disappearing as “very high”—i.e., more than 90 per cent. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/05/live-coding-rails-3-upgrade-free-peepcode-blog/ Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/05/live-coding-rails-3-upgrade-free-peepcode-blog/ For several months people have wondered, “Where can I download a video that features a developer stumbling through an upgrade of a Rails 2 app to Rails 3?” I’m proud to say that an answer is now available! via blog.peepcode.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/04/danny-williams-a-giant-hypocrite-/ Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/04/danny-williams-a-giant-hypocrite-/ To support his attack, Williams referred to a briefing note containing quotes from Harper's writings before he became prime minister, including one on health care. "What we clearly need is experimentation - with market reforms and private delivery options within the public system," Williams attributed to a Harper speech made in Charlottetown. via thewesternstar.com That quote makes me smile. He uses the words "private delivery options" as a political smear during elections and then runs out and makes use of them when his own life is at risk. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/04/editorial-have-a-heart-danny-williams-speak-up-/ Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/04/editorial-have-a-heart-danny-williams-speak-up-/ If Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams urgently needed heart surgery that could not be performed in Canada, all he has to do is say so and the controversy over his decision to seek medical care in the U.S. will end. Even if Williams, a millionaire who donates his salary as premier to charity, paid for it himself, it's hard to criticize anyone for using their own resources to seek the best medical care available. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/04/-give-danny-williams-a-break-no-way-/ Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/04/-give-danny-williams-a-break-no-way-/ The main criticism dogging Williams, of course, is while buying health care is fine for a rich person, what about those Canadians who can't afford to leave medicare coverage behind, and jet off to the U.S. on a wing and a prayer and an Amex card with no limit? The short answer is by going to the U.S., Williams is actually saving Canadian taxpayers money, while taking himself out of the lineup for treatment covered by medicare. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/04/kim-jong-il-s-regime-is-even-weirder-and-more-despicable-than-you-thought-/ Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/04/kim-jong-il-s-regime-is-even-weirder-and-more-despicable-than-you-thought-/ Visiting North Korea some years ago, I was lucky to have a fairly genial "minder" whom I'll call Mr. Chae. He guided me patiently around the ruined and starving country, explaining things away by means of a sort of denial mechanism and never seeming to lose interest in the gargantuan monuments to the world's most hysterical and operatic leader-cult. One evening, as we tried to dine on some gristly bits of duck, he mentioned yet another reason why the day should not long be postponed when the whole peninsula was united under the beaming rule of the Dear Leader. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/04/lorne-gunter-what-s-good-for-danny-williams-/ Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/04/lorne-gunter-what-s-good-for-danny-williams-/ Thankfully, Mr. Williams has enough money that he can fly off to wherever the best care exists. I wouldn't resent him using the money he has earned to buy better care or faster care. I wish him a full and speedy recovery. But why don't the rest of us have the option of escaping socialized medicine, too? What I resent is the way premiers and prime ministers won't free you or me to buy insurance that would enable us to procure first-class care in times of need. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/04/remi-e-commerce-using-rack-payment/ Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/04/remi-e-commerce-using-rack-payment/ Rack::Payment lets you add 5 lines of code to your Rails (or any Rack-based) application and you can start accepting single payments! via remi.org https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/03/life-saving-surgery-stalled-by-budget-cuts/ Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/03/life-saving-surgery-stalled-by-budget-cuts/ Retired teacher Jo Danielson is living on the edge with an abdominal aneurysm, a dangerous bulge in her aorta, the largest single artery in the body. But because Danielson, 73, also has heart disease and diabetes, doctors have told her she wouldn't withstand the major abdominal surgery needed to expose the aorta and fix it. Instead, doctors have recommended for a less invasive, endovascular aneurysm repair, in which a device called a " https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/02/fiorito-the-cops-came-and-took-my-gun-thestar-com/ Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/02/fiorito-the-cops-came-and-took-my-gun-thestar-com/ The last time I used it, I was walking along a hydro cut when I surprised a deer in the long dry grass. She leapt away in slow motion, flanks rippling, nostrils flaring; too beautiful. I haven't hunted since. I own no shells. But it's my gun, dammit. I guess, when the Feds began the long-gun registry, I should have lied and not bothered to register the damn thing. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/01/2014-are-they-serious-/ Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/01/2014-are-they-serious-/ Google isn’t alone in dropping IE6: when Apple launched its MobileMe service it raised eyebrows by never supporting IE6 in the first place; similarly, Microsoft itself won’t be supporting IE6 in its own Office Web applications. Microsoft has been encouraging Windows users to update to IE7 and IE8, but doesn’t plan to force anyone to do anything: Microsoft officially intends to support IE6 through early 2014. via digitaltrends.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/01/inventor-unveils-7-000-talking-sex-robot-cnn-com/ Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/01/inventor-unveils-7-000-talking-sex-robot-cnn-com/ To some men, she might seem like the perfect woman: She's a willowy 5 feet 7 and 120 pounds. She'll chat with you endlessly about your interests. And she'll have sex whenever you please -- as long as her battery doesn't run out. Meet Roxxxy, who may be the world's most sophisticated talking female sex robot. For $7,000, she's all yours. via cnn.com Why do the inventors of these things always look like their best customers? https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/01/l5-remote-turn-your-iphone-or-ipod-touch-into-a-universal-remote/ Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/01/l5-remote-turn-your-iphone-or-ipod-touch-into-a-universal-remote/ With the L5 Remote, you have the power of a whole coffee table full of remotes with the elegance and simplicity of your iPhone or iPod touch. via l5remote.com Cool. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/01/michael-v-hayden-obama-admnistration-takes-several-wrong-paths-in-dealing-with-terrorism-washingtonpost-com/ Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/01/michael-v-hayden-obama-admnistration-takes-several-wrong-paths-in-dealing-with-terrorism-washingtonpost-com/ We got it wrong in Detroit on Christmas Day. We allowed an enemy combatant the protections of our Constitution before we had adequately interrogated him. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is not "an isolated extremist." He is the tip of the spear of a complex al-Qaeda plot to kill Americans in our homeland. In the 50 minutes the FBI had to question him, agents reportedly got actionable intelligence. Good. But were there any experts on al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in the room (other than Abdulmutallab)? https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/01/premier-danny-williams-going-to-u-s-for-heart-surgery-probably-against-the-unjust-law-/ Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/01/premier-danny-williams-going-to-u-s-for-heart-surgery-probably-against-the-unjust-law-/ Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams is set to undergo heart surgery this week in the United States. CBC News confirmed Monday that Williams, 59, left the province earlier in the day and will have surgery later in the week. The premier's office provided few details, beyond confirming that he would have heart surgery and saying that it was not necessarily a routine procedure. via cbc.ca The fact that this is against the law in Canada is pure bullshit. https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/01/what-browser-this-is-a-good-idea-if-it-didn-t-exist-i-was-going-to-make-it-/ Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/01/what-browser-this-is-a-good-idea-if-it-didn-t-exist-i-was-going-to-make-it-/ You are using: Firefox 3.5 released July 2009 via whatbrowser.org https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/01/your-customers-are-asking-to-be-engaged-by-your-site-give-it-to-them-/ Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/02/01/your-customers-are-asking-to-be-engaged-by-your-site-give-it-to-them-/ Was in a meeting this afternoon with a client who was testing their site with some users. What we found out was interesting. The site was rated very positively by 95% of the visitors but they were all asking for one more thing: Engage us - give us a reason to come back because otherwise we won't. We've been working with this client for a long time, and have always pushed for more dynamic sites with more timely information - we almost never have gotten that through the design phase because: " https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/acorn-the-image-editor-for-humans-/ Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/acorn-the-image-editor-for-humans-/ Acorn is an image editor built for the Mac with simplicity in mind. Fast, easy, and fluid, Acorn provides the tools you need to alter and enhance your images, without any overhead. Acorn feels right, it won't drain your bank account, and you don't need a Ph.D. in computer graphics to use it. via flyingmeat.com I've been using this almost all day and really like that the key commands are VERY similar to Photoshop - all of the key ones I use all the time without thinking are the same so far. https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/automating-a-portion-of-the-rails-3-upgrade-process/ Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/automating-a-portion-of-the-rails-3-upgrade-process/ I’ve been playing with upgrading some apps to Rails 3 (some open-source, some not), and I’ve sort of gotten some of the process down to a science. So what does a developer do when something is down to a process? Automate! I’ve created a (pretty hacky) gem named rails-upgrade (installable by a simple gem install rails-upgrade) to automate some of the more annoying parts of the upgrade from Rails 2. https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/filmed-ridden-by-the-same-guy-that-filmed-edited-http-imonahorse-com-fb/ Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/filmed-ridden-by-the-same-guy-that-filmed-edited-http-imonahorse-com-fb/ via vimeo.com Nice work Matt! https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/never-seen-this-before-yycapps-com-yyc/ Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/never-seen-this-before-yycapps-com-yyc/ In February 2010 a new blog dedicated to promoting Calgary Developed iPhone Apps will be launched. The goal of this new web site is provide a one stop resource for information on the latest iPhone Apps being developed by local developers. This site will be a FREE RESOURCE for developers to get their latest application showcased and even get a review up before it's launched on the iTunes App Store. https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/pushing-a-simple-static-site-to-heroku-/ Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/pushing-a-simple-static-site-to-heroku-/ It's so easy that it's bound to be closed at some point Your index.erb needs to live in the /views/ folder. Your images and things need to live on /public/. That's pretty much it. https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/so-i-need-to-get-a-vps-cloud-server-of-some-sort-any-recommendations-/ Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/so-i-need-to-get-a-vps-cloud-server-of-some-sort-any-recommendations-/ It's mostly for basic, personal web projects (about 3.5GB worth of old photos and video) that won't serve a ton of traffic, but I also need to experiment so that I can:Be more knowledgeable about the various solutions out there.Automate all facets of server acquisition and maintenance: Chef, Puppet, Capistrano, PHD, moonshine, etc. I want this thing to build itself, rather than to have me having to spend weeks configuring it and setting it up.I know of:SlicehostRackspace CloudEC2 (which probably won't work because of the persistence issues)LinodeprgmrWebbynodeI don't need DNS hosting (already use DNS Made Easy), Email (using Google Apps), or any sort of webmin like interface. https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/stevenf-com-i-need-to-talk-to-you-about-computers-i-ve-been-/ Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/stevenf-com-i-need-to-talk-to-you-about-computers-i-ve-been-/ The thing is, to talk about specific hardware (like the iPad or iPhone or Nexus One or Droid) is to miss entirely the point I’m about to try to make. This is more important than USB ports, GPS modules, or front-facing cameras. Gigabytes, gigahertz, megapixels, screen resolution, physical dimensions, form factors, in fact hardware in general — these are all irrelevant to the following discussion. So, I’m going to try to completely avoid talking about those sorts of things. https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/the-jihadist-next-door-nytimes-com/ Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/the-jihadist-next-door-nytimes-com/ More than 20 of those fighters have come from the United States, many of them young Somali-Americans from a gritty part of Minneapolis. But it is Hammami who has put a contemporary face on the Shabab’s medieval tactics. In a recent propaganda video viewed by thousands on YouTube, he is shown leading a platoon of gun-toting rebels as a soundtrack of jihadi rap plays in the background. He is identified by his nom de guerre, Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki, “the American,” and speaks to the camera with a cool, almost eerie confidence. https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/victims-lost-9-3-billion-to-419-scammers-in-2009/ Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/victims-lost-9-3-billion-to-419-scammers-in-2009/ Advance-fee fraud (AFF), also known as 419 scams and Nigerian scams, exploded in 2009, with victims losing more money than ever before. This is according to the latest analysis from Dutch investigation firm Ultrascan—a company that has been monitoring the activities of 419 scammers since 1996—which says that victims lost almost 50 percent more money in 2009 than 2008. via arstechnica.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/westboro-baptist-church-protests-gets-protested-outside-twitter/ Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/31/westboro-baptist-church-protests-gets-protested-outside-twitter/ Yesterday, the Westboro Baptist Church and their subtly-named picket group, God Hates Fags, brought their dog-and-pony-show to San Francisco. That's right -- the freaky people came to freak out the freaky people. The religious group, based in Topeka, Kansas, usually pickets soldiers' funerals, reasoning that they died defending a gay-loving country. Thursday, they set their sights on a larger target: the headquarters of the social-media giant Twitter. Apparently, God hates Twitter. https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/30/carbon-traders-quit-emissions-market-amid-drop-in-demand-not-that-i-m-too-sad-/ Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/30/carbon-traders-quit-emissions-market-amid-drop-in-demand-not-that-i-m-too-sad-/ Banks and investors are pulling out of the carbon market after the failure to make progress at Copenhagen on reaching new emissions targets after 2012. Carbon financiers have already begun leaving banks in London because of the lack of activity and the drop-off in investment demand. The Guardian has been told that backers have this month pulled out of a large planned clean-energy project in the developing world because of the expected fall in emissions credits after 2012. https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/30/i-have-always-wondered-why-ichat-is-missing-from-the-iphone-/ Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/30/i-have-always-wondered-why-ichat-is-missing-from-the-iphone-/ And I think that the omission of it from the iPad as well is curious. If they want to appeal to "regular users" as an internet device - it just seems really odd. Most of the "regular users" I know do a few things online: Surf (Facebook, MySpace) Email Games Chat Hopefully they add a camera for v. 2 and then have video chat as an option - just like every laptop and iMac sold for the last 4-5 years. https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/30/it-s-stories-like-this-that-make-me-glad-my-programming-is-all-on-the-web-/ Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/30/it-s-stories-like-this-that-make-me-glad-my-programming-is-all-on-the-web-/ Mr. Jerome-Parks died several weeks later in 2007. He was 43. A New York City hospital treating him for tongue cancer had failed to detect a computer error that directed a linear accelerator to blast his brain stem and neck with errant beams of radiation. Not once, but on three consecutive days. via nytimes.com https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/29/i-think-i-need-to-start-blogging-again/ Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/29/i-think-i-need-to-start-blogging-again/ So here goes. https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/18/added-the-ability-to-embed-thumbnails-in-the-generated-page/ Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/18/added-the-ability-to-embed-thumbnails-in-the-generated-page/ So now, if you’ve put a link to Twitpic or Yfrog, it’ll show the image thumbnail next to the link. We’ll see if it’s kept - just playing around with it for now. https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/16/added-website-previews-to-bund-li/ Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/16/added-website-previews-to-bund-li/ Now, whenever you hover over a link on bund.li - you’ll see a preview of the site it’s referring to. That functionality is from websnapr and should work for almost any website. https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/12/bund-li-went-live-today/ Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/2010/01/12/bund-li-went-live-today/ It still has a long way to go, but it’s basically working. Release early, release often. Now to make it not look so bad. bund.li https://blog.froese.org/404/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/404/ 404: Page not found Sorry, we've misplaced that URL or it's pointing to something that doesn't exist. Head back home to try finding it again. https://blog.froese.org/pgp-key/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/pgp-key/ My new key can be downloaded here. -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- xsBNBFEgjNIBCAC5F3BLtFvjkavl8khrQZzntjVr+bfPOy7I/kK8nLSdomgAp1Z7 GKvQKwvbPY8E/X6/+ODMQzp6I7CaOKGfs4endlKwB6tgp9bnaL9wPQ51BNw5dFFL 2lnorqSSOPBjfEjuqR0IE8ptrjoNABihGOD/K/HAqCKCAZRxbfueZ+NVf7e24zvl OiV+it+0BI3DRgG5kjLuX9yuZDRwS30H7eNlD2YUfiSWTzV/kdFYiIcmZQyTA+7U U4iWWJyEOZdmrjGzzJILZUnBseDOZqUXQFoWtq+AIqGKKL7Xc/PWhpiIX7+JpXWq WVRNhmHhXwhR5IQVqkfTqPtuBoaV6eX3/PMhABEBAAHNIURhcnJvbiBGcm9lc2Ug PGRhcnJvbkBmcm9lc2Uub3JnPsLAkgQTAQIAJQIbAwYLCQgHAwIGFQgCCQoLBBYC AwECHgECF4AFAlarsUcCGQEAIQkQhNSmhohdx3IWIQSbkMb6gTdsvSaf/46E1KaG iF3HcvxJB/43KBYUw0NiSbDrmTggO71UUgLUSr6DjQgihDNfZgDoPMB258TMLi6m raBEkjWVf2K6eYbdDpNR9LwS6d8zhrBbCq731gWAh0QsfN7LLIispXTPUbRs43JO d5BW+5MCOl5CVNH18dTThMp2pVfernpeHm/7SsMHDhE4rdlqQrT/kJCf9g1Rfl5M UWZK0m6OOjdI8gUHr1QPdWXo98MCTAbZ09TGGQlc3VnU6r9hKzGXXOpbOmyLRBBD 7lDp8w4dzOy/qT9TWgaOOzOWFxP2rw4shyrvWocGpt/aUxP8xeAg4ZRu7ja2M13/ G5g02DBIFf1OyPjR28NVnKEtxj9Fi5KQwsCPBBMBAgAiBQJRIIzSAhsDBgsJCAcD AgYVCAIJCgsEFgIDAQIeAQIXgAAhCRCE1KaGiF3HchYhBJuQxvqBN2y9Jp//joTU poaIXcdyNtIIAK1d7fBi/HNgG3t24vhoz5OW/Ms8heobis/eO0PJpb9H5JBh0zbG +pL+Z/07u5jAJjaFIBboMygTLoU60uf5XOOyIjI/+b86KiDpLDlBbTQqc7h9cvap E2GxKSZ0OW82Npqn+msGW85k1wwU0PpFHz/x1gC6j5X7Z35uERy7B13GvPRb+rUD 4PD3Z8JosYwOnwCIfgy9ctx14VOSQoPGQp8GiskF0kKoOwf7SH4FwKBzm64GFsfk VjLiRj+ewl6wAEgo7FAMkQm72YTd9oZO8AEn/vyWn1F2pXbgGgI9nmIXKP5sbaOD t26b/pq0Aw6x2h9Yy/8/IEXzGdWopDhoHNvOwE0EUSCM0gEIAM6tMzBdwyI1dwYg 4cAZNaU9NRpsjcC5i+RJyrFjixP7/V6NZ+RzyVmgR4uIyDEnL8WMg2/wALDEaveo /cMo2ZD8jrt5RUA9WBz9QY2bnXoxW+o45mWBMjsrNY+vnwahXPWAjTPjCHazimhw 1Lz+EcGWJc156uWiQGMRdRAtkX4Y8O7FXUmnTdDjuucJas5Adtkr9wtjWuPe852b DigQByBXOn0x81XPnQMZEE2pEn4XJZa331Z2x1yEXX8gjM8MIdjYzadUshXqwXWv 0obn9X5Cw1b11rEKV/3U+JQbG3Hhkhx4QjGuC7YEmhPi6LClvNFz0ycpRNXgUDLW etZf3cEAEQEAAcLAdgQYAQIACQUCUSCM0gIbDAAhCRCE1KaGiF3HchYhBJuQxvqB N2y9Jp//joTUpoaIXcdyofcH/1Sc+fx+ku+Iz4+I2jWhnOUl6qRvJWG2au/ix/yu yEyXtJJo2AvJF1yEi2VRRM4z+oaE0HvXy0J/yQE4/7qcJJ8hqqwuNYPtZJMT2D+6 4iLFy5H5vJn1Yr+37NMRnzTgGHTm6pGqMFIE3t1pVwf3aXo5sX6BiBgexTumgVgR VVxY3LSMDm1vY2po470y8ixAd02YBuHnUXtrhAc52yelGvEdJ68c97nAKrzkGHjR CaOFoVLZ8gpW3jbxpr+LZ6kqotqgcmqjlMcsrWBBiYwVh3loMwgc4GRseliyzpOU uhwNDHr49anhzYc9z+6Xm5Tr3Fft1lEwEKjALOyKuW7gmwA= =2DCR -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- https://blog.froese.org/presentations/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.froese.org/presentations/ May 2018 - Remote Work for Technology Workers September 2016 - Running Consul at scale - Service discovery in the cloud April 2016 - Running Consul at Scale - Journey from RFC to Production January 2016 - Service Discovery in the Cloud with Consul August 2015 - Monitor First - Monitoring as a First Step to a New Service March 2015 - Scuba and Ops - What can we learn from the underwater environment - Speakerdeck - YouTube