2009
Wow, Google is quick
Two hours after I wrote it, one of my blog articles is already in the Google index. I’m impressed. →
The Principle of Charity (2)
A very simple example. Someone else is working on a problem, and I think of a very simple solution. So I walk over and ask “Did you think of X?” →
iMarketing 101
Someone in Kraft marketing is on track for a pretty big bonus this year. →
The Aliens Have Landed
Next day, the dawn was a brilliant, fiery red and I wandered through the weird and lurid landscape of another planet; for the vegetation which gives Mars its red appearance had taken root on Earth. As Man had succumbed to the Martians, so our land now succumbed to the Red Weed. →
And so it goes, around again.
Once foreach is implemented, the precedent has been set: whenever the lack of blocks [is an issue], don't fix the underlying problem, work around it with a variant on what we have already. →
This Decade in Tech
There are three stories in IT journalism. →
A Letter to My Younger Self
This is your future self. I'm 33 now and I've been given the opportunity to reach back in time and give you one piece of advice. You won't understand it today but if you hold it close to your heart you will one day thank me for it. →
Facebook Advertising X
Reputable sites often run disreputable adverts, but generally they blame their provider and take steps to avoid the offending ads appearing again. Facebook, though, is the provider. →
Slices of Nerd Domestic Bliss
If I had to be trapped on a desert island with only one person, I'd want someone who looked remarkably like a boat. →
On the iPhone App Store’s Prohibition of Emulators
I was chatting to a developer from a competing phone company at JavaOne, and he was telling me how annoying the competition found Apple's ability to turn the negatives of their platforms into positives. →
After WWDC
ne of the cool things about WWDC is that for the most part, the libraries and APIs that are unveiled to developers are the stuff that Apple has been using to develop the software that runs, and runs on the next version of Mac OS X, and now feels are mature enough to make available to third party developers. →
Two countries separated by a big ocean.
A recent comment on an internal Atlassian blog tries to sum up the subtle social dynamics involved in coordinating work between San Francisco and Sydney. →
Swine Flu FAQ
According to the CDC, swine influenza A (H1N1) is a flu virus that normally infects pigs. Occasionally the virus mutates so that it can infect humans, and since the human immune system is not properly equipped to deal with the virus it can be quite a serious infection. →
One of these things…
…is not like the other. →
#herebeforeyouidiots
…dear Twitterers. If you actually give a shit that you were #herebeforeoprah, you're doing it wrong. →
The DiggBar controversy summarised in two easy screenshots.
It's all a question of framing. →
Earth Hour, 2009
Photos from Earth Hour 2009, Sydney →
The Time Out Corner
For what it's worth, I'm going to be at the Atlassian Summit. I'm looking forward to meeting a lot of cool people doing cool shit with our software who I've only previously encountered over the Internet. →
Beer Snake
Video taken during the innings break of the Twenty20 match between New Zealand and Australia at the SGC. →
Slow News Day
Yes, it's true. Back in 1996 the Web was new and everyone used AOL. Therefore there was nothing to do on the Internet. →
Gender, demographics and targeted web ads
“I see a very simple solution to avoid the ire of increasing numbers of folks online, a very simple option M or F or ‘I’m not telling’ or ‘don’t use this information for ad-targeting’ and the same on ages.” →
The DOM Stigma
I guess the fact that there is starting to be such a thing as idiomatic Javascript demonstrates if not a maturity of the language, then at least a promising late-adolescence. →
Have you ever…
Have you ever done anything which you hoped would be wiped out by the passage of time? →
25 Things…
I was hit by another one of those ‘tell me something about you’ memes, so here is another random 25 facts about Yours Truly. →
Birdy Num Num
We get parrots. →
Why NULL is special
I've heard a lot of explanations over the years for why NULL != NULL in SQL, but this evening the Atlassian intranet produced the most succinct, real world explanation I've read, thanks to Matt Ryall. →
I am not Elvis
Artificial Intelligences are always at their most funny when they're still learning. →
Data Detectors
The Data Detectors feature in Apple Mail always surprises me. It's one of those features that works far better than I ever expect it to. For example, given this email… →
Headaches, irritability and an inability to concentrate.
The stupid thing is that I'm only doing this because a little voice in my head says I should be. It's not like my over-consumption of Diet Coke has been having any kind of negative effect on my day to day existence, I just don't like the idea of being addicted to something. →
Censorship Fail
It seems we run our public forums with the default "bad words" filter enabled. Where the list of bad words is stored or where it comes from I don't know, but some of the things it chooses to censor can be a little surprising. →
Backups: a cautionary tale
Your backup system is measured by two things. Firstly you need to be sure the backup itself works. As the old saying goes, “nobody cares if you have backups, only if you can restore them”, and there are few things more painful than discovering at the worst possible moment that you've been putting all that effort into writing junk data, day after day. Secondly, you need to worry about the set of circumstances that could cause you to lose both your original data and your backup at the same time. →
Ragged Fringes
After seeing Episode 10 of Fringe, I came rather close to jumping out of my couch and shouting “sack the script editor!” I know a fantasy show requires a strong dose of suspension of disbelief, but this makes it <i>more</i> important to have the show at least be internally consistent otherwise the whole house of cards comes falling down. →