Asymptomatic

There must be intelligent life down here

And That Was Summer?
September 03, 2013
calendar summer events

The kids had a lot of summer vacation.  I think it was pretty filled this year.  We had a couple of project weeks, where we organized some activities and research for the kids each week at a time.  These weeks were occasionally interrupted by holidays, trips to the beach with the grandparents, organized day camps, and play dates with friends.

In the beginning of August, I shuttered my consulting practice and took on a full-time position with ownCloud.  I spent a week in Berlin at the yearly developer conference, and got to meet a lot of my remote co-workers.  So far, the work has been constant, interesting, and rewarding.

Flickrock Is Republishing Your Flickr Photos Without Your Knowing
July 27, 2013
tos photos Flickr abuse copyright

I got a mysterious Tweet from someone I don't know after I posted a photo of our recent back yard camping experiment:  "@ringmaster Check out that Flickr gallery using Flickrock!  flickrock.com/asy"

So that's odd.  Why are my copyrighted photos appearing on this other person's web site? Hey, look! All of my friend's public Flickr account photos are being re-published there, too! That's not cool.  

Walk Once Around
July 20, 2013
work job walk life

A month or so ago, I took a walk around the neighborhood with Berta, as we often do after dinner when there's still light out and the heat isn't overbearing.  These walks often contain what feels like awkward silence, or rather, they would if I would ever shut up.  For whatever reason, regardless of the breathlessness the pace and incline induces on my completely out-of-shape and asthmatic self, I can't help but take the opportunity to fill the silence with some chatter.  At some point, I'll have to ask Berta if she feels this is my habit and whether she'd rather walk silently, since although she does contribute, I feel like she'd rather just walk with her thoughts unpolluted.

Anyway, it was on this one walk when I found myself resisting the urge to offer the usual rhetorical diarrhea, and instead focused on some of my own internal contemplation.  It was actually a really nice day, I remember.  The temperature was just what you'd want in an early summer evening.  The sky was not cloudless, but full of colorful pink and purple twilight-lit clouds.  No cars on the road and a gentle, comfortable breeze.

Google Maps Quirks
July 16, 2013
Google maps UX

I've been using Google Maps at home to find out how long it would take to get from one place to another before I actually do it.  Route planning is really essential to arriving on time, and planning ahead for traffic, when possible, is a useful way to avoid being late for that important meeting or missing the bobblehead give-away at the ballpark.  But it's with this use of Google Maps that I am frustrated, in part because it could do more, and in part because it seems like some features have been omitted in Google's latest Maps re-build.

My first issue is with a new feature that is actually something I've been longing for on Google Maps for the longest time.  I can now create a "Home" address and a "Work" address that reflect those locations, so I no longer have to enter the addresses for those places instead.  This is so handy, since (let's admit it) when Google knows everything about me already, it seems stupid for them not to use that information to make my life easier.  But it has one quirk that I'm not easily able to figure out.

Your Flat-File "CMS" is not a CMS
June 28, 2013
CMS content management

There are a ton of these things popping up these days, these small-footprint flat-file "CMS" tools, and I'm here to tell you that they are not content management systems.

Yes, they manage content. I suppose. I mean, you could say they manage content by allowing you to organize your own content in some pre-determined file structure, if that's what you mean.  If you consider that "content management".