Last week I got a chance to go on a solid 21 mile walk that started with 100 degrees of humid heat, and ended with an abysmal thunderstorm and torrential down pour (kinda fun). This morning it’s 55F and chilly. I do believe it’s likely good ole mother nature forgot what the transition from summer to spring is supposed to be like. Gotta marvel at her unpredictability.
Have you ever wanted to offer your readers enhanced readability for your stylized blog but weren’t sure how? It’s as easy as a two step process using the Instapaper text or Readability bookmarklets.
Last week I loaded up on a hundred+ Drum and Bass and mixed Electronica tracks thanks to Pandora’s discovery engine and the Music Genome project. But I’m having trouble configuring a set of playlists for my favorites which changes with time. Out of the mixed albums I purchased I may decide to regularly listen to only half or fewer of the tracks after a few listening cycles.
On my way into work this morning I waited for the transition between traffic signals just before the sun rose in the distance. Anxiety over a large project delivery was wrestling for my attention with anticipation of my usual pre-work stroll on this perfect spring morning.
A boundless and growing variety of tools comes as little surprise to active developers. It’s not uncommon for me to discover a few new frameworks a day, and read about several popular library updates each week. The same holds true for authors, artists, musicians, and other creatives. No matter what profession we select, there’s an enormous increase in the availability and variety of tools at our disposal.
A reblog via Kevin Kelly. (more…)
The past few days at work I’ve been wrestling with an unruly1 interface which bridges two simulation frameworks. At the interface boundary, our local libraries have been pruned down to a few dozen hierarchical object pointers in nested objects, coupled with nontrivial initialization of state of each object. The sim I’m integrating with is characterized as a mini-soa2 which leverages a modified adevs event simulator as a driver and communication hub. With a rapidly approaching deadline I have taken to coding all sorts of hacks3 that I never would have implemented on calmer days. Alas, the calm days are far fewer than the hectic ones with little hope of change.
I spend the majority of my waking moments filled with fear, frustrations, and dreams, and it’s only in the haze of long hikes that I lose a sense of self. The most cherished gift imparted by long solitary walks is not the healthy exercise, the melodic meditative rhythm, or the time to capture and transcribe thoughts into words, it is the unhindered view of the horizon. I can see beyond my own small role, beyond my limited time here. I can feel the sun and rain and seasons sweep away the precious moments of my existence without a defiant scream to stop. The entirety of my life is not even a dot on the totality of time.
