o l l a v

How a Cloud Forms

2011-09-19T19:00:00.001-04:00

A knot of dew mounts her blade, plants a clammy kiss. The jerk cuts her off. -- Beth Bentley, Don't (Haiku 1) Why do you do what you dew? Sweet life to flowers the misty gateway of morning In our joints, our veins, our hearts what cycles in the seasons in all things that flow "water of life" "is" not "of" So it is to you dear water I write now and warn you that I'm telling every poet I know:

oh rose

2011-09-12T19:00:00.001-04:00

Somewhere inside I'm terrified that the words will not arrive I'll be left alone on the platform eaten inside by the invisible worm Yet I know what I've always known for poets it's not like that we ... wait ... patiently for the train that keeps no schedule but always arrives in station

Weird NJ #34

2011-09-11T22:16:00.000-04:00

Weird NJ #34

Blue Cliff

2011-09-11T18:13:00.002-04:00

Blue Cliff

Ikea Table and Wacko Cat

2011-09-11T18:10:00.000-04:00

Ikea Table Wacko Cat

interpretation perspective

2011-09-05T19:55:00.000-04:00

As I turn the corner, I find a woman is blocking my path. "Bad dog," she berates her sweet eyed black lab. His disheveled fur seems in conflict with his seeing eye dog sign that is strapped to the handle bar that is strapped to him. But despite his appearance, this is not a day off for him. I hear her say "that's a bad seeing eye dog that eats lettuce off the floor." I flash back to my dad

Irene

2011-08-29T23:10:00.000-04:00

Shadows relate choreography on the window shade as trees dance in the wind I'm reminded of the muppets when I was five on a black screen long dancing yellow and orange creatures sang they were just part of the show but despite knowing they were good (and I should not be scared) something in the shape of it something in their long rope thin bodies something in their movement foretold of a reason

Iowa Waters

2011-08-22T19:00:00.001-04:00

There were floods the summer I went to Iowa though the worst was over, the street lakes had not receded but there was a path not yet chosen to the University a detour sign here and there and I had arrived at the admission office I was sat down and I heard, but could not listen details of the creative writing program said to be the best this next path was not marked I just saw a road I could

email enhancement

2011-08-16T21:49:00.000-04:00

It'd be useful if you could flag emails with a setting for how soon you want a response, like 1 day, 1 week, or 1 month. People would be less likely to be abuse the "important" flag and it would give people an instant gauge on whether they need to read the email now or later.

The Last Sabbath

2011-08-15T19:00:00.003-04:00

The day the entire world observed the Sabbath was like a normal day. For years it had been known that the time was at hand. Everyone was of the same faith and on some level we all knew the truth of it. Many organized events were held but there was always an obstinate teen, an emergency, or a bitter mourner who pushed the time off for another day. And truly what a small thing it was weighed

architecture

2011-08-14T21:47:00.002-04:00

There are the corners of the cornice (the buildings ornamental edge) reaching up and bending to hold the sky up There's the fermented wheat of rye in the glass Chemistry in a cup, spirits to bend my spirits There's me, there's you, and the smile when I say so and despite the noise, a melody comes through And I wish I could stand like the building but I know I would crumble for my heart I am

cycles

2011-08-14T21:46:00.000-04:00

Thus when the moon circles you, you shall call it a month and when you circle the sun, you shall call it a year Night will cycle often, but around light it is rare this you shall remember: you will see much little-evil in the short cycle and you shall see some little-good but the great-good is a grand cycle You will not have perspective until the circumference is known.

Dragonfly Wings

2011-08-14T21:45:00.000-04:00

The dragonfly's wings are like feathers of ink bleeding across the paper. The body a single stroke ending in a drop. But most amazing is this: flight is possible on wings so delicate

in the medium

2011-08-14T21:42:00.002-04:00

The pigeons swirl They are summer's autumn leaves rising and falling in arcs They bank to a building grab little footholds then fly off singing where to? where to? each following more than leading Their rise and fall is a marvel a stream on the tide that unknowingly we walk through every day

Reptiles in the Mind

2011-08-14T21:41:00.000-04:00

This is the short line that grows. Remember when you met her? Good. Such memories we call nostalgic because with time we can polish them like brass handrails. What was once corroded green, shimmers in bright flame. With time it is always so. The truth is in the instruction not the execution. The truth is in the verb, the action, the movement. How can the evasive live in stasis? Trust that which

Rabbi Pinchas

2011-08-14T18:53:00.000-04:00

Here are my two favorite quotes attributed to Rabbi Pinchas: If someone finds it necessary to honor me, that means he is more humble than I. Which means he is better than and saintlier than I. Which means that I should honor him. But then, why is he honoring me? Please, Please, never raise your voice at a human being; a human being is precious, so precious

this evening's post

2011-07-07T22:23:00.002-04:00

I've posted three poems tonight as I have missed three Monday postings in a row. For the past few years I've managed no consistency in my writing. Or perhaps I write exactly as I used to but only my awareness has changed. What remains constant is my lack of satisfaction and desire to do better.

untitled poem

2011-07-07T22:16:00.000-04:00

The rain falls pitter pat, pitter pat the flowers bend to sleep against the arbor pinks and reds; petals piter pat, pitter, pat they lean against the arbor. Tomorrow they'll ascend. What it is to bloom to gently explode to unfold Unfurled, no longer green or compact or warm or safe Do they know of what they were? Full of possibility and small like raindrops pitter pat pitter pat pitter pat

I need this far more than you

2011-07-07T21:56:00.000-04:00

I want to ask if it is good, have I written one true thing But where am I to take my words when distinguishing drivel is a solitary endeavor The lies are always on the page but they must be honest in revealing truth and it must be new, but not for me, for you and this last thing, it must be mine though we stand on shoulders when we do so we climb to seclusion and I must be at peace with who I

background music

2011-07-07T21:46:00.000-04:00

Listen to the crackle of the record revolving We perfect the reproduction But there is only the musty smell of ash on your sweater You were there in the autumn forest and here is a reminder of only a single tree

Creating charts in ColdFusion

2011-06-26T07:56:00.001-04:00

If you are charting two lines, one with more data points than the next (as when you chart year to date vs. previous year), cfchart will make the lines equal length. You can change this by switching to isInterpolated="false" in the cfroot\charting\styles\default.xml file. Credit for this solution goes here.

crumbs

2011-06-13T19:00:00.002-04:00

"Paradise Lost" is not (C) Bill Rood

trains

2011-06-06T19:00:00.001-04:00

i think often that i love trains but i forget the love was not my own just as America was not theirs my love of trains comes from a college class mate who told me stories of history how the auto won beat the train with its dependency on something stable such a mistake to need tracks but i forget the love was not my own Date: April 8, 2005 1:52:25 PM EDT

What brought you back to spirituality?

2011-05-30T19:00:00.002-04:00

guess you could say i read about it i was reading lots of things in college but really i don't know slowly it slipped in i let my guard down left my mind open and my heart expanded Date: July 5, 2005 3:58:47 PM EDT

The Song of the Flame

2011-05-23T19:00:00.000-04:00

There's something wonderful about stove top coffee The gushing sound of the water pouring into the cup A brief parting of the silence in the still of morning Instant coffee foaming as it transforms from solid into liquid The foam that comes from within, swirls to the top, and settles resting It is the process more than the outcome: Rinsing the pot, filling it, lighting the range. The gas sings a

Kiddush English translation

2011-05-21T19:35:00.000-04:00

A year or so ago we were given the honor of saying the blessing over the wine at a very happy occasion. We said the traditional Hebrew but wanted a more modern English version so we slightly modified a version we found online to read. Sharing just in case anyone else could use it. Blessed is G-d ruler of the universe who has created the fruit of the vine

2 roads diverged in a yellow wood*

2011-05-16T19:00:00.001-04:00

Consumed with thoughts from 3 in the morning My mouth sometimes ran wild like my mind Only hindered by my friend Who said he didn't put much stock in thoughts of the night Wait...until morning It happens still I sit awake Snuggled closely with my love But even in marriage we can be alone Just for moments, but even in the best of company we can be alone. And I know it is the solution but i hate

my poetry

2011-05-15T10:59:00.000-04:00

As one of my previous entries indicates, I have been doing a lot of thinking about who I am and what I am doing with my life. Over the past few years I have largely not been writing. From time to time during that period I have thought I was through the writer's block and celebrated a single work as a come back only to return to rarely picking up a pen and writing drivel when I did so. Some

On the Wings of the Phoenix

2011-05-14T10:29:00.000-04:00

The phoenix you are expecting tonight was just a bird before becoming ashes and dust. Ashes like me, dust like you. The phoenix itself was just a bird and it had to fail to become a story. That is, if it’s true that death is a story or if it’s true that death is failure if it’s true that death is anything at all. The story of the phoenix tells us that which can burn always has hope. The

untitled poem

2011-05-14T09:56:00.000-04:00

I’m going through a time which one might say that’s all life is and I’m trying to accept that I can try even though maybe I won’t be a superstar. See for a lifetime I had to be famous if I was going to try if I would bother to live but now maybe it is ok to try but just be just succeed to be ... me originally composed 2011 May ? read at Art House 2011 May 5

digital writing and reading

2010-10-09T12:08:00.005-04:00

Jan Swafford argues that we read differently on paper and offers experience with students editing their writing on paper. As the article of his paper states he is arguing "why e-books will never replace real books." I wonder though if advances in touch screens will change this. Ever since realizing that our cat appears to understand that I interact with an iPad but he seems to have no clue

Political Parties and Genetics

2010-10-09T10:36:00.002-04:00

I was impressed when I read in one of Steven Pinker's books that identical twins separated at birth tended to vote along the same party lines. I thought of the idea again when I came across The Psychology of Conservatism Academic Press, by G.D. Wilson. According to wikipedia "His 1973 theory that a heritable trait reflecting fear of uncertainty underlies social attitudes in all fields has much

eReaders - iPad vs. Kindle

2010-08-14T16:56:00.003-04:00

The predictions that Amazon is making about paperback sales are interesting. I like their customer centric stance even if I'm just the tiniest bit skeptical when they say the price cuts are all about the customer -- thing is, it shows they have their eye on the right spot. The chatter around the new Kindle is interesting and has little to do with the device as the message that comes with it. I

What Kindle and iPad eBook sales may mean

2010-08-01T07:12:00.003-04:00

The predictions that Amazon is making about paperback sales are interesting. I like their customer centric stance even if I'm a little skeptical when they say the price cuts are all about the customer, because it shows they have their eye on the right spot (customer). The chatter around the new Kindle is interesting and has little to do with the device as the message that comes with it. I feel

The price of freedom and free is vigilance: Facebook privacy thoughts

2010-05-01T09:48:00.003-04:00

A friend posted within Facebook about how we should all read the article "Facebook privacy" on the Library at the End of TimeMy first thought is if Facebook worries you, what do you think about Google (and I'm well aware of who pays for this blog)?This seems to be the new internet business model (which I would credit my friend, but he's the one who will later be revealed as very privacy conscious

Scala

2010-04-22T07:45:00.004-04:00

Through a friend's influence I decided to play around with Scala. The easiest way to install it on OSX is macPORTS, according to the O'Reilly book. Turns out macPORTS had two curve balls for me. The first is that at work we have all remote rsync disabled, so I had to use this setup:modified /opt/local/etc/macports/sources.conf to not use rsync with this line: http://www.macports.org/files/

ISNI

2010-04-10T08:30:00.005-04:00

I heard about the The International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI) at O'Reilly TOC and figured I'd look into it later. On the one hand as one who dabbles with code and system design, any standard that gives a code to a name is great. And the more open, the more people that sign up, so the more likely it is to be a practical standard (as opposed to a academic standard, which is theoretically

The Quilly Little Hedgehog

2010-03-31T18:18:00.001-04:00

We saw a wonderfully written and directed film called "The Lives of Others" about the secret police in East Germany and suddenly I knew how to write a poem based on a poetry group assignment about a headless hedgehog. I had also just heard that in Poland hedgehogs are abundant (I gather its like squirrels in Jersey)."The Quilly Little Hedgehog"The quilly little hedgehogrolls into a ballhe is

Year in Review

2010-03-31T18:15:00.002-04:00

We are starting a new New Year's Eve tradition, creating a year in review canvas. We have created one the past couple years. It starts with canvas board (26" x 32") and various markers, pencils, and paints. We spend the night remembering events and doodling about the past year to create a sort of drawn collage of the past year.

xkcd

2010-03-31T18:06:00.003-04:00

TOC: twitters

2010-02-24T22:26:00.002-05:00

here's my twitter stream from the TOC (Tools of Change) conference: that's all she wrote - O'Reilly TOC is over for 2o1o about 7 hours ago via web working with audiences we know that some create more value than others - Dale Dougherty -- might not be good rgrdng internet democratizing about 11 hours ago via web enhancing ebooks is not adding bells and whistles, just enhance the reading

TOC: wednesday keynotes

2010-02-24T14:20:00.003-05:00

frances pintler ice cream metaphor: your content is plain vanilla ice cream. your printed physical book is an ice cream cone. your ice cream sundae is an enhanced ebook. Greco & Wharton: university presses & open access - public tax dollars should be used for online copies - cover the copy costs for the digital files - press is then open to make cash off printed copies - works for US, but

TOC: agile

2010-02-24T14:19:00.001-05:00

dave thomas, andy hunt (the pragmatic programmers) medium size publisher - the accidental publisher - both programmers that read books, but no nothing of the industry - riding out the current storm - would not have gotten into publishing if they knew what it meant - did all their own work when using a publisher (even had to do own indexing), so figured why not self publish categories to satisfy

TOC: Doing Your Own Thing

2010-02-24T10:33:00.007-05:00

dale dougherty (make magazine) 84,000 people listed their primary occupation in the US census. Amateurs like to act like pros. The audience likes this too. entusiasts - do something that builds a following based on what they do (see guitar zero) your idea becomes my idea Create Your Own Economy by Tyler Cowen - twitter & facebook can be seen as tools of production, not consumption. the user

TOC: secrets of digital publishing

2010-02-24T10:16:00.002-05:00

rick joyce, peter costanzo he who is learning the most is likely to succeed enhanced = organic = hard + rethink layout + casting "the shake" + what wants to be audio + takes 6 months for an app, 7 days a week + 3rd party development gets expensive (it costs a lot of money to get programmers to do what you want) the fact that its hard is the reason to do it. it gets easier each time less is

TOC: Taking the Middle

2010-02-24T09:27:00.009-05:00

digital democratizes as price to entry and distribution are much lower. low overhead favors small publishers who's large cost is usually in printing as opposed to large publishers who through scale do not incur high costs (relatively) for printing. Bomb magazine - arts related since 1981 - expanded audience through website - received grant to change static site into dynamic site - put legacy

TOC: Afternoon Keynotes

2010-02-23T17:55:00.002-05:00

ignite ================== erin (wordnik) data about words. smart words. looks like tagged media. where the words came from, who used them, etc. ================== liza daly (ibis reader) global conversation of our lives bookworm - upload your book into the cloud ibis is web based like bookworm but mobile focused. works on PSP3 books as autonomous agents, know things about their existence

TOC: DRM, digital content, and the consumer experienc: lessons learned from the music industry

2010-02-23T14:28:00.003-05:00

kirk biglione (medialoper.com) the future of all media is still digital. media companies are challenged by this transition. consumers have been burned by DRM and are carrying that baggage with them to the book world. even though the book industry hasn't done anything yet. if we are not going to make the same mistakes as the music industry then we all need to agree on what those mistakes were.

TOC: rethinking copyright in the digital world

2010-02-23T13:43:00.007-05:00

edward colleran, rafat ali, sree sreenivasan, eric schwartz as news publishers, 9 times out of 10 if we ask people to take something down or change it, they comply. everyone in the world who's interested in copyright is in this room ;) recommended sites: mashable.com readwriteweb.com lifehacker.com hulu represented a very big moment when they allowed people to embed a certain clip from hulu

TOC: a different model

2010-02-23T13:37:00.002-05:00

kassia krozser (booksquare), anneal james (harlequin digital) models: publishing originals backlist model (backlist rights will be hot topic) fast market (news oriented, rapid, timely) o'reilly safari (subscription model) subscription has built in drm, when they stop paying they no longer have access korina express is experimenting with no drm, lower/higher advance, world rights/contracts.

TOC: running two companies

2010-02-23T13:34:00.004-05:00

dominique rachat (sourcebooks) be a digital entrepreneur while running a traditional book publishing company sourcebooks is entirely bootstrapped. not knowing anything about the industry was a great benefit. moved from 1 book to 300 and from 1 employee to 75. symptio is experimenting with selling eBooks in brick and mortar locations "we have very bad data in this industry." transformation

TOC: O'Reilly Tools of Change Tuesday Keynotes notes

2010-02-23T10:41:00.003-05:00

peter collingridge (apt) "enhancing the ebook"bookseer.com - recommends books with simple interface 25thestate.com - animation feels book value is going down, but technology can bring it back new company: enhanced edition - splits: consultancy developer marketer key decision: be premium be intuitive as possible features: use ePub - synchronize audio to text concept to product = one year

Lincoln

2009-10-15T08:50:00.001-04:00

"ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S BEARD: THE IDEA OF AN 11-YEAR-OLD GIRL!"

to be named

2009-10-15T08:30:00.001-04:00

We are named from birthBefore we are knownand in the momentWhen we seek knowledgeWe are asked to name ourselves.You, seeker of knowledgeName your pathPlace a name in your momentOf acceptance of how little you knowOf how difficult it is to say what something isYou must name yourselfSomething no oneExcept maybe yourselfCan knowAnd in a momentOf self discovery and changeYou must freeze it all in a

Tohuvabolu

2009-10-15T08:28:00.000-04:00

The morning commuteA mix of slow thought and fast movementLike an old recipeFamiliar and without thoughtLike an old familiar friendForgot to ask what's newBecause it never isAnd when it isYou never knewNever askedMoved through the conversationLike a crowd of strangersThat you know well enoughTo predict and avoidPass by with minimal contactConversation held highTo escape depthIt so slows us

art - poetry based on an idea by Daphna

2009-09-26T09:52:00.001-04:00

Art is an islandEvery approach from the water is possibleBy north, by south, by east, by westThere are many ways to an islandBut it is tough to live thereNo island has everythingJust as no man is an islandBut to be there for a timeHas a certain effect

Smart Car stuff

2009-09-16T21:55:00.004-04:00

Check out the interesting pic of an electric Smart Car from an auto show. It's the third pic in the slide show.Also, Kenwood produced an amazing DVD/CD/GPS that Smart is putting in the ForTwo. Here's what the newsletter had to say: smart USA is now offering a Kenwood entertainment/navigation system as optional equipment on all 2010 models or as an aftermarket unit on all smart fortwos. [...] The

iPod Hard Drive Replacement

2009-09-12T18:11:00.017-04:00

Although I only ever dropped my old iPod once, my newer iPod fell on the cement about once a week for a few weeks in a row. I would watch it fall in slow motion, its metallic case gleaming in the sunlight as it twisted and turned. On impact, the protective case would immediately split open plastic falling to the side leaving the iPod free to slide along the pavement scratching the face.The

who amazon owns

2009-08-02T11:01:00.004-04:00

Here's a great use of mixing subway map and corporation ownership for visual presentation. It is also an interesting look into how Amazon.com has grown.

All Points West

2009-08-02T09:52:00.009-04:00

Yesterday I went to see Gogol Bordello at this festival I knew something vaguely about. The Jersey summer torrential downpours this year left the ground muddy, but there was no rain on the one day we were there. The festival was All Points West and all I knew was the name kinda confused me since it is an East coast thing. I dug through their site though and found this:During the 19th and early

Prosey poem idea

2009-07-12T13:46:00.002-04:00

For one who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders it would have been better to be born in a less troubling time.Or maybe worry for that kind of person like an immune system: There be allergies of worry created from the lack of true worries to put upon the shoulder. Maybe some are created to hoist the world's troubles upon their shoulders and others are there to see the burdened ones

dishwasher repair - an article for the DIY folks - part 2

2009-05-25T08:04:00.009-04:00

Yup, it's all apart again. After replacing the solenoid, I closed the lock, ran the dial around to the different cycles, and saw the solenoid open and close the drain as it should. I didn't have time then for a full cycle so I figured the real test would have to wait.When I did have a chance, I ran the washer and it burnt out the solenoid again. I was going to closely watch it for its maiden

dishwasher repair - an article for the DIY folks

2009-05-19T21:41:00.008-04:00

Over the weekend I turned the dishwasher on and within only a minute or so there was a light burning smell. It went away just as quickly as it came and I wondered if I imagined it or it was someone cooking next door. I went to the computer and the vague smell of dishwasher soap wafted into the room. I walked into the kitchen to find suds floating across the floor.My wife and I turned off the

Looting Broke Dreams

2009-05-07T00:13:00.007-04:00

What I am is all that I can carry. -Deborah DiggesAll I can dreamis that which I carry.For a decade I dreamtof high school hallwaysand last nightfor the first timeI dreamt of my workplaceand the characters weren't rightthey were real people - not partsAssignment by Group Consensus: Loot my dreams(unless you prefer the homophone: lute)

A Cottage in the Woods

2009-05-06T07:48:00.003-04:00

I plan on writing more about our adventure, but for now, here's some thumbnails.

How I've Never Heard Red

2009-05-06T07:35:00.005-04:00

Friday is blue some sayand others arguehow mauve is Thursdaybut either way it is truethat an artist is eight times more likelyto be a synesthete than me or youand that makes me wonderis it in the DNAa genetic gift from generation to generationand a barrier to would be artistswho are without oddball notionsbut in my strange way of thinkingI wonder, knowing that I'm not normalwill I force things

Take a moment to mitigate the urgent

2009-05-01T23:35:00.009-04:00

Ever since I had a history teacher who made us draw maps with lakes, mountains, cities, and boarders form memory, I've know how to tell I was going to learn from something in a way that changed me. My first reaction to those map tests was negative, but I must say -- and I know teenage me would hate this -- I must say I actually look back on those positively. I've always liked maps and diagrams of

The Great Bicycle Rebuild part 1

2009-05-01T22:38:00.010-04:00

When I transitioned from elementary school to middle school (from 4th to 5th grade) I fell outside the bus limit. Since school was close to a mile away and my first bike was a BMX type that didn't coast, my parents got me a new bike. I fixated on a crazy mountain bike with 32 speeds (I'd had none of course on the BMX). They agreed and for awhile I rode it back and forth to school. This was close

Woodland home dream

2009-05-01T22:17:00.005-04:00

A friend posted a link to a Low Impact Woodland Home which caught our imagination. For a long time I've thought that building your own home would make it somehow more of a home, more yours. Maybe it's because of the work I put into my Mustang shaping it into my car with my sweat and busted knuckles. I felt a bit of pride in knowing no one would be happier with the car than I since it was designed

what's with all the old posts on this blog?

2009-03-29T08:26:00.002-04:00

Now and then I create posts for this blog and save them as drafts. This morning I finally got around to publishing them and decided to leave the publish dates as the date I composed the draft.

People Who Read Don't Know How to Live

2009-03-25T11:47:00.003-04:00

I don't think anyone would be surprised to think that literature is sometimes thought of as being a high brow kind of thing. In fact some probably feel that is a great thing. The idea though that all of reading has moved up to that deluxe apartment in the sky known as the ivory tower is surprising. A recent survey in the UK concerning attitudes about reading found that in many such families,

isinglass finings

2009-03-21T07:14:00.004-04:00

After a Facebook friend posted about Guinness not being vegetarian, I looked into it.The issue is isinglass finings which come fish. It is "the purest form of animal gelatin" that is basically used as a filter. So it's not actually an ingredient, but small amounts make it into your beer or wine which is of course important to some vegetarians (like me). According to wikipedia:Isinglass is a

ColdFusion threads and hung servers

2009-03-17T11:41:00.003-04:00

We had an issue today at work with ColdFusion brought to its knees by some unknown processes. The result was the error "java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: unable to create new native thread"As I often do when googling a CF issue, I wound up on TalkingTree. Through it I found an Adobe post where I learned that you can send a kill -3 to the cfusion process and it will cause a full thread dump in the

Making the private public and the corporate world

2009-03-15T11:40:00.000-04:00

Is the same intuition that makes one want to separate public from private tied to what makes good corporate citizens?When I first joined Facebook some time back it was because there was chatter about it at my workplace (somehow my personal world pushed me into MySpace but not Facebook). As an IT professional I made an account for wholly professional and not personal reasons. I found it humorous

smart parking

2009-03-14T21:22:00.002-04:00

From the smart USA Newsletter, vol. 17Need a place to park in the New York City area? smart USA is excited to announce partnerships with three New York City area parking companies. Meyers Parking, Icon Parking Systems and AviStar Airport Parking now offer smart fortwo owners a 50 percent discount off daily and monthly posted parking rates at hundreds of locations across New York City.[...]

On Project - the personal story

2009-03-14T11:37:00.002-04:00

When I worked on my first intranet application I worked with a lead programmer and a project manager. We would code all day long and maybe once every two or three months we would have a meeting, but usually product specs were communicated in ten minute meetings where the client or project manager dropped by and explained something. These ten minute meetings would rarely be as much as twice a week

On Project - the concept

2009-03-14T10:33:00.003-04:00

What if corporations could offer developers the opportunity to go on project in the same way some go on sabatical? It can be so difficult for internal developers (as opposed to consultants) to free themselves of the beneficial, but distracting corporate world. A unique benefit of full time developers is that they can build a deep business knowledge, but that can come at the cost of being too

extreme programing

2009-03-14T10:28:00.004-04:00

When I started my first large project in the corporate IT world (a project that had epic scope creep compared to anything else I've worked on), I worked with just one other programmer and a project manager. We actually functioned in a way that was similar to extreme programing, but I think it worked only because it developed naturally. Also as a side note, the situation worked will even when the

I can eat glass but it hurts me.

2009-03-13T09:14:00.002-04:00

Turns out there's more hype than reality to claims that unicode is fully supported in the current operating systems. We looked at OSX and Windows 2000 and the support was frustratingly close, but had issues. Looks like some of it has to do with default settings, but there were also some experiments we did that convinced me it's not so simple. We were looking into it because we were nervous when

The Optimistic Oracle

2009-03-05T23:55:00.001-05:00

Every now and then we get the error "ORA-08177: can't serialize access for this transaction" in an application at work. It's usually on small bits of code that are AJAX like (I never write true AJAX and I'm not sure it happens all that often) and could be run frequently by the user by just clicking a button a few times. My assumption is that its an over zealous person double clicking and

2009-03-05T23:40:00.001-05:00

Crawling at Night: A Novel by Nani Power My review rating: 4 of 5 starsThis is a very dark book and though I enjoyed it, it was depressing. There are parts that are just simply beautiful though -- especially the ending, which is quite poetic if a bit trite in the framing. I think in the end it is a book about childhood and growing up which I did not realize at first. View all my reviews.

Words & Lines

2009-03-03T21:07:00.002-05:00

This sentence does not matchthis one here on the second linethere is no shared rhythmand not a bit of rhyme in themnot a bit of it is poeticand only in this senseare they all a setbut this sentence mentions youand this one remembers our first kissand so there's beauty deep inthough don't confuse the wordswith those things and give them any credit at all

Modern Sonnet

2009-03-03T21:06:00.000-05:00

Sonnet this is because author says soimpressive poem when you think on itmeter exact not one beat off, you knowthe rhyme, the scheme, the rules, I’m sick of itthis unfamiliar beat requires much thoughtand you poor reader in unfamiliar meterI have tried to write a sonnetso now you knowit is difficultthink of sonnets and how impressive they are(don't think of this)the rhyme must fall each time in

creative person

2009-03-03T20:41:00.004-05:00

I've decided to write short stories. No, that's not right written. I wrote some short stories and decided I'm going to write short stories. And something else. As I've mentioned to many people, I've had difficulty writing any descent poetry for the past couple years. It's not that I don't write at all, but I have lost the habit of it, so on the rare occasion that I pick up pen I write drivel.I

Story: Writers Retreat

2009-03-03T20:39:00.001-05:00

When I went as an unknown to the writer’s retreat it was not long before word traveled and I was approached. My status as one without status held a certain intrigue, so after breakfast and while on my way to the garden, two women stopped me. As round themselves as their old fashioned glasses and with words of excitement, ready for spring, much like their sun dresses, they asked what I was working

TOC after thoughts: a little summary of ideas

2009-02-23T21:24:00.005-05:00

People are tools of change not technology, but no change happens when you don't go about it in the right way. Many inventions fail because the brilliant inventor was a mediocre marketer, but those same inventions sweep through the world when a brilliant marketer picks them up. For publishing, the impediments of change in the digital age surround rights. Digital Rights Management (DRM) gives

Valentine's Day Adventure Day

2009-02-16T21:52:00.022-05:00

Our tradition each year for Valentine's Day was to ride the Roosevelt Island tram to Roosevelt Island where we would go to the Trellis Dinner for diner and stroll along the East River. The view from the tram down the avenues of NYC and the East River is amazing.The tram has always been special to us since it was a destination on our first adventure day. The desire to ride the tram along with the

TOC after thoughts: marketing to the next generation

2009-02-16T09:23:00.004-05:00

After becoming excited about the data Facebook offers as far as ad marketing goes (while wearing my work hat -- while wearing my home hat I don't like it), I was then disappointed at how the data is summed. The data is amazingly better than what you have for print advertising and you can still learn a lot about your marketing effectiveness, but it could go further. I was working with a friend on

The Open Source Coffee Table Book: Publishing Pop Culture in the Digital Age

2009-02-11T17:57:00.002-05:00

Nina Paley The cutting edge of free expression has been open software. Nina has comic strips with a free license, but can't get a publishing house that won't pick it up. For technical and educational books it is possible, but not for anything else. She's going to release a film under the Creative Commons Share Alike. Free culture <> communism Free culture = Free Enterprise + Free Markets

TOC: NaNoWriMo

2009-02-11T17:33:00.001-05:00

81% of people feel they have book in them. Jeff thanked God that all of the stories didn't get out. This is the story of when that happens. National Novel Writing Month NaNoWriMo challenges anyone to use their website and write 50,000 words from scratch in November. Encouraging emails are sent out and people can post manuscripts to get and give advice. If you get to 50,000 words you upload your

TOC: Topics from the TOC Tag Cloud (toc.oreilly.com)

2009-02-11T16:29:00.001-05:00

Kat: It's about the reader stupid Fatazia?? Meyer?: For a long time people were in love with Amazon for the wrong reasons and afraid of Google. Amazon is this sleeping giant that wants to be a publisher. Jeff Bezos basically said he's out to destroy the business of publishers. They are working to become Apple. Kindle = iPod unless publishers take control. Amazon will have all control over prices

TOC: Speaking the Same Language

2009-02-11T16:28:00.001-05:00

Least favorite thing about standards: Tim Spalding: Bookstores are not online, they are web 1.0. You should be able to browse inventory online and know if something is in stock. Kirk: DRM doesn't help anyone OTIS: The best way to decide if you want a book is to read the excerpt. Publisher's should make the excerpt easily accessible. Random House keeps a spreadsheet of the videos with authors,

TOC: New Reading Habits, New Distribution Models

2009-02-11T12:22:00.001-05:00

Japan has a system and expectations (KaiTai) of what literature should look like with for instance whitespace on the page inserted by the author for the mobile device. In the US this hasn't happened yet, but people are into the idea of the serialized novel. Especially people with frantic lives who don't have the time to sit down with a book for a couple hours. Daily Lit is looking to create

TOC: Understand your Consumer BEFORE you Define your Strategy

2009-02-11T12:21:00.001-05:00

20-30 year olds buy 35% of their books online. baby boomers = 20% and over 60 is less than that Now is the absolute worst possible time to cut back on research. PubTrack -60-75 questions -book acquisition -individual activities -key demographics consumer metrics -Book buyer profiles -purchase metrics -dollars -actual selling price -occasions -reasons for purchase -marketing awareness -

tweat

2009-02-11T11:00:00.001-05:00

I joined twitter today http://twitter.com/ollav

TOC: morning keynotes day two

2009-02-11T10:25:00.003-05:00

Nelan COO LexCycle, maker of Stanza 2008 was the inflection point for eBooks. $44 million wholesale eBook sales in last 4 quarters. This is new territory and the numbers are not easy to come by, but it is a small part of the business for sure now. Oprah, Bezos, Sony are all talking about eBooks recently, so it's hit mainstream (LexCycle downloads went through the roof after Oprah spoke).

eBook Pricing Afterthoughts

2009-02-11T08:46:00.001-05:00

The essential thing missing from the eBook pricing discussion at TOC yesterday was quantity. Publishing is an industry which has great difficulty (not without reason of course) at determining the quantity that will be sold. There are many reasons why this is difficult for print books and it is in some ways a more essential question because balancing availability with demand is at least seen as

TOC afternoon keynotes

2009-02-10T17:28:00.002-05:00

Jeff Jarvis What Would Google Do (WWGD)? Hypocrisy warning: Because the author got an advance he published a traditional book and did not "eat his own dog food" and make the book searchable. The link changes everything Everybody needs a little SEO Think distributed (people don't have to come to us) We need to do the work of publishing in public It's about the process (EG blog) not a product

TOC: Pricing Digital Products

2009-02-10T15:17:00.007-05:00

[On NPR the other day they were talking about the Kindle and the reporter said how publishers love it because it is so much cheaper for them. From my experience this is simply not the truth, but it definitely is the public perception. As you can see below Sarah Lloyd argues that the costs for a text are fairly fixed and not based much on the format. As an audience member pointed out though the

TOC: If Shakespeare had a Hard Drive - Matthew Kirschenbaum

2009-02-10T14:28:00.004-05:00

[My interest in this session is that archiving the data surrounding a book may be a service a publisher can offer. If everything is digital the publisher has the authority to say, this was the original version, this is the first edit, this is an actual correspondence with an editor, etc.] Today nearly all literature is born-digital in the sense that it is composed on a word processor and saved