Saturday, January 17, 2015

Binders Full of Women in Tech

Commentary: To bring 'binders full of women' into tech, we must get on the same page - GeekWire


Why should this matter to you if you’re a tech CEO like me and trying to build a company? We know now that adding women at every stage of a tech company’s growth (and most especially in the earliest stages) improves profits, stabilizes revenue, decreases legal costs for financial malfeasance, reduces public relations fiascoes, improves product quality and decreases marketing missteps, and creates a better working environment. It’s stupid on every level not to acknowledge the obstacles women face when they try to join a tech company.


This article by Tarah Wheeler Van Vlack is fantastic. We need tech companies to make this a big deal.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Here’s What Happens When You Install the Top 10 Download.com Apps

Here’s What Happens When You Install the Top 10 Download.com Apps:

We installed the top 10 apps from Download.com, and you’ll never believe what happened! Well… I guess maybe you might have a good guess. Awful things. Awful things are what happens. Join us for the fun!

Omigod. Such a train wreck. I have seen all this and worse on my sons' PCs. Just try getting a Minecraft mod without being deceived into downloading some invasive software.

Thursday, January 08, 2015

16 Year Old Quits School to Code

http://www.joeeames.me/?p=11

A man is taking steps to allow his high school daughter to code full-time.

There could be a number of reasons why this would make sense to do, but he lost me completely when he said, "or she could be sitting in yet another history class" like it's a bad thing. We are not burdened with an overabundance of history knowledge. Ugh.

Wednesday, January 07, 2015

Children At Play


I have coworkers who do stupid shit like this for fun.

Crazy Cool

The Internet of Anything: The 3-D Printer That Can Spit Out Custom Electronics | WIRED:

Mechanically, the company’s printer isn’t that different from a MakerBot or one of the dozens of other 3-D printers now on the market. The real breakthrough is the conductive ink the printer uses to print electronic circuits. The ink has a toothpaste-like consistency and unlike something like solder, it can be pushed through a nozzle at room temperature.

This is starting to get interesting.

Reasons not to use Uber

The great Richard Stallman on Uber:

To recover our privacy and make democracy safe, we need to redesign digital systems so that they do not collect information about people in general. First step, don't help any new ones gain a foothold.

I've personally never ridden in an Uber, but every couple of weeks there's a new story about how creepy they are.

Tuesday, January 06, 2015

The Path to Closing Guantánamo - NYTimes.com

The Path to Closing Guantánamo - NYTimes.com:

The road to closing Guantánamo is clear and well lit. We are now approaching the 13th anniversary of the opening of the Guantánamo detention facility. Imprisoning men without charges for this long — many of whom have been approved for transfer for almost half the period of their incarceration — is not in line with the country we aspire to be.

Close it already. We've taken the moral low ground now for over a decade.

Monday, January 05, 2015

Dog Food

True story: today, our ancient labrador mutt got out of the yard (she’s doing that a lot since a dead tree smashed a section of our fence) and we found her trotting down our quiet street with a whole, intact pizza slice in her mouth. I tried to get a picture of her, but she ran away to the neighbor’s yard and proceeded to bury the pizza in the yard.

It lies there still, and Elizabeth and I were just debating which is worse: to leave your dog’s pizza in the neighbor’s yard, or get caught digging it up. 

Sunday, January 04, 2015

Saturday, January 03, 2015

What Shape are You? - Made of Metaphors

What Shape are You? - Made of Metaphors:

Once you think in this way, you can interact with any other leader as a peer, working elbow-to-elbow, of one mind on what needs doing. Until you think in this way, without even realizing it, you are implicitly asking for those above you to insulate you from reality, to build you a little sandbox where you can work.

I found this essay really thought-provoking. It's about how to perceive and evaluate the value that individuals contribute to a creative endeavor.

(Via http://softwareleadweekly.com/)

Best Wii Games: Editors' Choice Games Reviewed at IGN

Best Wii Games: Editors' Choice Games Reviewed at IGN

As I write this, my sons are playing on the refurbished Nintendo Wii they got for Christmas. It's an old enough console that it's probably verging on "vintage", but the great thing about getting an old system is that you can pack your library with only the best games ever made.

I usually rely on the IGN Editor's Choice list to figure out what was the best of the best.

We're currently rocking Skyward Sword (Zelda), Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and New Super Mario Bros.

Also, Angry Birds Star Wars, just because Dean digs it.

Tamar Adler’s Health Soup

in addition to death and taxes, we can be confident of future illness.

Elizabeth made this on New Year’s Day. It’s good for what ails you: Health Soup Recipe - NYT Cooking

Related: I loved Tamar Adler’s book, An Everlasting Meal. It's a collection of essays about how to be more intuitive with your cooking, and less preoccupied.