This is a nice interveiw (audio) with Gladwell from CBC. More and more I'm finding myself returning to his ideas, especially as they relate to the need for space and context for individuals to grow personal drive. I've striven to do this professionally with the courses I've created over the…
via planet.mozilla.org: Clint writes in to nominate Aaron Train (aaronMT) for his tireless work on audio/video tests last week. Aaron’s one of Dave Humphrey’s Seneca students who took on audio/video testing after completing his project on private browsing. He’s been doing a great…
One of the central defining characteristics of software, any software, is that it is unfinished. This is a point most easily understood in the context of open source software, where being half-dressed is easier to see because the curtains aren't drawn. It's not a criticism. It's what software is. This…
I don't think it's a secret that I use and love emacs as my primary text editor for development and such. I make a habit of trying to convince innocent and maluable students to give it a try (how many of my students have been burned by tabs vs. spaces…
I don't know what to do with this except post it: I have to say, I think this is pure crazy, and it's only a matter of time before he joins Timothy Treadwell. It's a romantic idea, and a great video. I'm not sure it's much more than that.…
I wrote previously about a personal experience of failure as a way of exploring ideas that I want to elaborate on now. My subject was work on a Thunderbird bug that involved some complicated string work. My intention in writing the post was to attempt to expose a philosophy of…
I'd be remiss if I didn't draw my faithful readers' attention to an annual event that begins today. It's December, and with the cold and the snow comes the rebirth of a revolution. I'm of course talking about No Shaving In December, NSID to the initiated. Today I was thrilled…
We've been talking about robots for a while, the girls and me. They were fascinated to know that a machine could put a car together, for example. We built our first robot out of an old Kleenex box, some nails, popsicle sticks, and a paper plate. My oldest daughter wrote…
Today, as I made lunch for the girls, I noticed an interesting flock of birds in our conifers. My wife had noticed them too while they were skiing. I thought they looked like Pine Grosbeaks, but too small. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were White Winged Crossbills! I've seen…
I'm going to have something to say in a little while about two of my favourite topics: coping and failure, and on the meaning and implications of each. They are linked in important ways. However, today I'm going to model some of what I'll say then, and to do it…