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A super way to get easy access to your pages on backpack, it even allows you to post new notes and uses Growl to trigger reminder notification
December 2005 Archives
I'm not the first to think this, but working through the rails tutorials really felt like being back working with HyperCard. I think it is the speed with which you can get something working that makes it feel similar. Hypercard was basically a loosely database backed rapid application development kit. It got so many people building applications to make their lives better. Simple ones in the main, but Hypercard enabled people to build programs.
Rails feels similar in many ways, it is clean, Ruby gives is a lovely syntax and the MVC model feels right. Certainly there is a surge of interest, in the day between me visiting Foyles and then revisiting to buy the Pragmatic Programmers Agile Web Development with Rails book, they'd sold at least eight copies. Given the advent of high speed broadband and wireless perhaps Rails will allow for a flourishing of home brewed personal apps to make people's lives a better place. (I know all this is possible with perl etc, but RoR seems so much more friendly)
So, maybe a bit early to be thinking about New Year, but my plans for the next year have already coalesced. I'm going to get out and run more, I've been rubbish this year, since the summer when we went mountaineering, I've done nothing. I'd blame it on house moving plans and changing job, but really I just haven't had the inclination.
Second on my list is to add to my writing repetoire, regular readers will know I've been writing for Macworld on and off this year, two features and a few reviews. Recently, I discovered a strong desire to write fiction, it is a reawakening of a five year old plan to write, born out of a storyboarding course I went on at Central St Martins. I'll probably start with some shorts, which might well end up on here.
Lastly, I've also got a real desire to write code again, Python and Ruby in particular appeal. So I've been plugging my way through the Ruby on Rails tutorials and am booked on a Python course too. NovelContext needs some work, so I'd better get on and make that prototype. Releasing some open source software would be satisfying, we'll see.
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A comparison between Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica showing that they have pretty similar error rates
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Nature's editorial on wikipedia, in light of the comparison between Wikipedia and Encyclopedia, as it points outt, we all can change wikipedia ourselves today, so go and do some fact checking
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Our new Nature web publishing weblog's article from Timo on the wikipedia comparison article.
John Peel's Home Truths, from Radio 4, is to thankfully go off air in the Spring. It has been guest presented by a range of people in the last year and none of them came even close to matching the quality of Peel. The programme resonated to him and I'm glad a new programme will replace it on Saturday morning. It was hard to listen to other people doing the programme. Andrew Kershaw on Today this morning was on fine form, even giving a half decent Peel impersonation. He was pleased to see it go too, so am I.
The conversation then moved on to what needs changing on Radio 4, Andrew Kershaw seems to have quite radical plans, but some of those he mentioned eg You and Yours are defintely right for the chop. Just a Minute and Quote Unquote seem overripe too. Radio 4 does some great comedy, but these aren't the highlights. I'd keen Woman's hour and Midweek though, but more From Our Own Correspondent please. I'll admit that really, like most people I'm a weekday morning and weekend listener, so the daytime schedule, particularly in the afternoon I've never really listened to much.
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This kind of works, I think, but it might be really useful, more python needed
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Someone grabbed his source feed and repackaged it into opml and sent it everywhere
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if you can speak italian fun is at the end of this link, macosx google earth
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Beautiful space images
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interesting looking workshop next year in Edinburgh
Tomorrow I head off to Boston and New York, to get a taste of a proper winter. Apparently in Boston it'll not even get above zero during the day, BBC forecasts for Boston and NY. It is a short business trip to see my collegues on the US side of Nature. I haven't been to the East Coast for ages, so it'll be good to revisit. Sadly I'll not have much time for fun and games, as it is an out and back trip, with a day in each.
Still plenty of thinking and writing time.
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A huge collection of packaging from the 20th century
