date: '2005-09-19 15:49:08' layout: post slug: okcancel-%ef%bf%bd-comic status: publish ref: http://www.ok-cancel.com/archives/comic/ title: OK/Cancel � Comic wordpress_id: '84' categories: Programming
As a software developer I found the OK/Cancel � Comics a really fun and informative insight into the point of view of a user experience designer.
date: '2005-09-17 16:21:50' layout: post slug: common-rest-mistakes status: publish ref: http://www.prescod.net/rest/mistakes/ title: Common REST Mistakes wordpress_id: '83' categories: Programming
Nice guidelines to REST in Common REST Mistakes. I particularly liked the closing summary:
Overall, the thing to keep in mind is that REST is about exposing resources through URIs, not services through messaging interfaces.
I first saw Donald Brown's list of human universals as an appendix to Pinker's “Blank Slate”. It is quite a stunning list of things that seem to be common to all humanity, including things you might have thought were unique to your particular culture. Thanks to Jack Fenner for putting up this slightly modified version of Brown's list.
date: '2005-08-06 18:34:00' layout: post slug: engineers-need-to-understand-how-the-mind-works status: publish ref: http://www.edge.org/documents/archive/edge3.html title: Engineers need to understand how the mind works wordpress_id: '80' categories: Science
I like this point of view of Pinker (From Edge 3):
Computer technology will never change the world as long as it ignores how the mind works. Why did people instantly start to use fax machines, and continue to use them even though electronic mail makes much more sense? There are millions of people who print out text from their computer onto a piece of paper, feed the paper into a fax machine, forcing the guy at the other end to take the paper out, read it, and crumples it up—or worse, scan it into his computer so that it becomes a file of bytes all over again. This is utterly ridiculous from a technological point of view, but people do it. They do it because the mind evolved to deal with physical objects, and it still likes to conceptualize entities that are owned and transferred among people as physical objects that you can lift and store in a box. Until computer systems, email, video cameras, VCR's and so on are designed to take advantage of the way the mind conceptualizes reality, namely as physical objects existing at a location and impinged upon by forces, people are going to be baffled by their machines, and the promise of the computer revolution will not be fulfilled.
[...] [The problem is that the] machines were designed by engineers that aren't used to thinking about how the human mind works. They're used to designing machinery that is elegant by their own standards, and they don't think about how the user is going to conceptualize the machine as another object in the world and deal with it as we've been dealing with objects for hundreds of thousands of years.
date: '2005-07-29 17:46:00' layout: post slug: maybe-available-to-help-your-project status: publish ref: http://eamonn.obrien-strain.com/bio/ title: Maybe available to help your project wordpress_id: '79' categories: Personal
You might want to have a look at my resume if you are in the San Francisco area and looking for a senior technologist with a lot of programming and research experience.
Here are some hints as to why I might be available:
HP drops 4 research groups in downsizing (SF Chronicle)
HP Labs also decimated (The Register)
Research Unit at HP to Be Cut (LA Times)
date: '2005-07-08 11:17:24' layout: post slug: how-to-capture-video status: publish ref: http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/capture/start.html title: How to capture video wordpress_id: '78' categories: Product
It looks like Capture Guide will be a good resource for me as I try to figure out the best way to capture broadcast video to disk.
date: '2005-06-15 15:34:07' layout: post slug: free-background-music-loops status: publish ref: http://www.flashkit.com/loops/ title: Free background music loops. wordpress_id: '72' categories: Product
Great. I just found this source for music loops that I can use as background for my synthesized video.
date: '2005-06-09 11:09:28' layout: post slug: comparison-of-different-sql-implementations status: publish ref: http://troels.arvin.dk/db/rdbms/ title: Comparison of different SQL implementations wordpress_id: '71' categories: Programming
Comparison of different SQL implementations is a useful reference.
I am writing some SQL that I would like to work with Sqlite, Derby, and MS Access. It turns out there is more variablility than I thought. Most annoying is that autoincrment is handled differently by each.
Thanks to the E-Language mailing list for pointing me to this example of why JavaScript is a much more interesting language than you might think.
(Caiỹdean) (Nua)
Cúirt an Mhean-Oíche Brian Merriman
Ba ghnáth mé ar siúl le ciumhais na habhann
Ar bháinseach úr is an drúcht go trom,
In aice na gcoillte i gcoim an tsléibhe
Gan mhairg gan mhoill ar shoilseadh an lae.
Do ghealadh mo chroí nuair chínn Loch Gréine,
An talamh, an tír, is íor na spéire
Ba thaitneamhach aoibhinn suíomh na sléibhte
Ag bagairt a gcinn thar dhroim a chéile.
Ghealfadh an croí bheadh críon le cianta
Caite gan bhrí nó líonta le pianta
An séithleach searbh gan sealbh gan saibhreas
D'fhéachfadh tamall thar bharra na gcoillte
Ar lachain ina scuain ar chuan gan cheo,
An eala ar a bhfuaid is í ag gluaiseacht leo,
Na héisc le meidhir ag éirí anairde
Péirse i radharc go taibhseach tarrbhreac,
Dath an locha agus gorm na dtonn
Ag teacht go tolgach torannach trom,
Bhíodh éanlaith i gcrann go meidhreach mómhar,
Léimneach eilte i gcoillte im chóngar,
Géimneach adharc is radharc ar shlóite,
Tréanrith gadhar is Reynard rompu.
...
Cúirt an Ṽean-Oík̃e Brian Merriman
Ba ĥnáĥ mé ar siúl le ciuw̃ais na haŵann
Ar ŵáinseak̃ úr is an drúk̃t go trom,
In aice na gcoillte i gcoim an tsléiṽe
Gan w̃airg gan w̃oill ar ĥoilseaĥ an lae.
Do ỹealaĥ mo k̃roí nuair k̃ínn Lok̃ Gréine,
An talaṽ, an tír, is íor na spéire
Ba ĥaitneaw̃ak̃ aoiṽinn suíoṽ na sléiṽte
Ag bagairt a gcinn ĥar ĥroim a k̃éile.
Ỹealfaĥ an croí ṽeaĥ críon le cianta
Caite gan ṽrí nó líonta le pianta
An séiĥleak̃ searṽ gan sealṽ gan saiṽreas
D'~éak̃faĥ tamall ĥar ŵarra na gcoillte
Ar lak̃ain ina scuain ar k̃uan gan k̃eo,
An eala ar a ŵfuaid is í ag gluaiseak̃t leo,
Na héisc le meiŷir ag éirí anairde
Péirse i raĥarc go taiṽseak̃ tarrṽreac,
Daĥ an lok̃a agus gorm na dtonn
Ag teak̃t go tolgak̃ torannak̃ trom,
Ṽíoĥ éanlaiĥ i gcrann go meiŷreak̃ mów̃ar,
Léimneak̃ eilte i gcoillte im k̃óngar,
Géimneak̃ aĥarc is raĥarc ar ĥlóite,
Tréanriĥ gaĥar is Reynard rompu.
...