Reads

Reading list of books, magazines, newspaper articles, other physical documents, or online posts

👓 Eagles point the way | Jeremy Cherfas

Read Eagles point the way by Jeremy Cherfas (jeremycherfas.net)

I rant regularly when people abuse Latin binomials by adding an unnecessary article in front of them, like people who refer to "the acanthomyops latipes". As I said at the time:

While I happily refer to the Skidelskys, I would never dream of calling them the Edward Skidelsky and the Robert Skidelsky. How hard is it to use a Latin name as a name?

Now I have a new term with which to beat people over the head. Thanks to a very informative article by Geoffrey K. Pullum over at Language Log (Glenn Frey and the band with the anomalous name) I now know not only that the band was called Eagles, not The Eagles, and also that such a thing -- "which takes no the" -- is called a strong proper name.

P.s. The comments on the Language Log post reveal that many bands, some of which I've even heard of, apparently have strong proper names, Talking Heads being my favourite.

Reminds me of people using the hoi polloi…

👓 Picking nits is part of the good life | Jeremy Cherfas

Read Picking nits is part of the good life by Jeremy Cherfas (jeremycherfas.net)

I started writing this back in November 2013, and put it aside until I had read the Skidelskys' book. I haven't finished yet, but ...

How strange to hear J.M. Keynes himself on the radio, telling us in his clipped tones how in 100 years time we would be eight times richer than we were then, how we would work a 15-hour week, how "Human beings would be more like the 'lilies of the field, who toil not, neither do they spin'." A little extract of Keynes talking about his essay Economic Possiblities for our Grandchildren, written in 1930, ended Laurie Taylor's interview with Robert Skidelsky on Thinking Allowed.

I skate around economics; I'm fascinated by it, although I have no formal training, and I do see how the allocation of scarce resources is the great problem of life. I also feel, as a biologist, that so much of what passes for sound economics is astonishingly naive, no matter how complex it may seem. Bad-mouthing Malthus, for example, just seems fundamentally stupid to me. Skidelsky, as befits a biographer of Keynes, was talking about the idea of enough, rehearsing ideas from his book How Much is Enough?: Money and the good life, co-written with his son Edward Skidelsky.

👓 Analysis: Why Google has become a threat to sovereign law | Privacy Surgeon

Read Analysis: Why Google has become a threat to sovereign law » The Privacy Surgeon by Simon Davies (privacysurgeon.org)

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has lashed out at Google, accusing the advertising giant of collusion with the National Security Agency (NSA) and the US State Department.

Assange believes that Google has entered into a partnership with the US Administration in which the company acts as a foreign policy enabler, influencing overseas governments and helping the White House achieve its global policy objectives. In the process Google has formed strong operational and policy bonds with America’s secretive three-letter agencies that go well beyond those of other companies.

👓 Candidates for GCC board of trustees disclose campaign finances | LA Times

Read Candidates for GCC board of trustees disclose campaign finances by Kelly Corrigan (LA Times)

In the race for a seat on the Glendale Community College board of trustees, three candidates are competing for a seat to represent District 4 in the college's first district-based election.

Two of those candidates — Yvette Vartanian Davis and Rondi Werner — are nearly head-to-head in what they have raised and spent on their campaigns, so far, according to the most recent campaign disclosure statements.

District 4 represents all Glendale neighborhoods south of East Colorado Street, including Adams Hill.

👓 Fans with typewriters | Pelican Crossing

Read net.wars: Fans with typewriters by Wendy M. GrossmanWendy M. Grossman (pelicancrossing.net)

Yesterday in Cambridge, the veteran journalist Charles Arthur held an event at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (CRASSH) that asked this:

Has the public been well served by technology journalism?

Arthur assembled a smart panel of long-serving folks: Andrew Brown, Carole Cadwalladr; and Ingrid Lunden. The notable thing they all had in common: none are specifically "technology journalists". Arthur first covered tennis, computing, and science. Brown made his name writing about Sweden and religious affairs. Cadwalladr is a generalist features writer for The Observer (part of the Guardian. Lunden came to TechCrunch from telecoms and art. I did The Skeptic, and began writing for computer magazines via a personal contact.

Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

Read Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber by Susan Fowler (Susan Fowler)
As most of you know, I left Uber in December and joined Stripe in January. I've gotten a lot of questions over the past couple of months about why I left and what my time at Uber was like. It's a strange, fascinating, and slightly horrifying story that deserves to be told while it is still fresh in my mind, so here we go.

As most of you know, I left Uber in December and joined Stripe in January. I’ve gotten a lot of questions over the past couple of months about why I left and what my time at Uber was like. It’s a strange, fascinating, and slightly horrifying story that deserves to be told while it is still fresh in my mind, so here we go. 

Continue reading Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

👓 If you do this and only this, today will be a good day. | John Henry Müller

Read If you do this and only this, today will be a good day. by John Henry Müller (John Henry Müller)

How I took back my day with a simple text document.

The very first thing each morning (after coffee but before email) I write three sentences in plain text then save this document to my desktop. I call it today.txt.

It is the only file I keep on my desktop to ensure it stays in my purview. The format is simple and looks something like this ...

If nothing else, today I am going to ___________.

I am going to do this by ______ then _____ then ______.

If I do this and only this, today will be a good day.

👓 WordPress Collaborative Editing | Ma.tt

Read WordPress Collaborative Editing by Matt Mullenweg (ma.tt)
I’m really excited about the new Google Docs integration that just launched — basically it builds a beautiful bridge between what is probably the best collaborative document editor on the planet right now, Google’s, and let’s you one-click bring a document there into a WordPress draft with a...

How to Curate Better Podcast Feeds

Read How to Curate Better Podcast Feeds (Degreed)
Originally, I just browsed for new stuff by scrolling through the top picks list on the iTunes Podcasts app. But that was time consuming. After trying out the search functionality on the app, I wished I could search a little better. I decided to look for other resources that I could use to further dial in my selections. Turns out there are some pretty good websites/apps out there to help you do just that. Here are a few of the best ones I’ve found.

My thoughts on what the article leaves out:

For podcast discovery, I love using Huffduffer. It has a simple browser bookmarklet which allows you to bookmark audio to listen to later and creates iTunes or other feeds you can quickly and easily subscribe to on most of the major podcatchers.

Even better it allows you to search for topics and people. Almost everything on the site (including individuals and even the lists of people you’re following) has audio RSS feed as well as other subscription services that you can subscribe directly to. Love Elvis? Search, subscribe, and listen.

As an example, want to know what I’ve been listening to? Check out my feed where you can see a list, listen to it directly, or even subscribe.

Continue reading How to Curate Better Podcast Feeds

The Transparency Bills That Would Gut the EPA | The Atlantic

Read The Transparency Bills That Would Gut the EPA by Ed Yong (The Atlantic)
Two proposed laws would sever the agency from scientific experts, and scientific expertise—all under the guise of honesty and openness.
Continue reading The Transparency Bills That Would Gut the EPA | The Atlantic

The Last Bookbinder on the Lower East Side | Literary Hub

Read The Last Bookbinder on the Lower East Side: An Ancient Trade, Alive on Henry Street by Dwyer Murphy (Literary Hub)
Continue reading The Last Bookbinder on the Lower East Side | Literary Hub

👓 The Setup: John McAfee | Uses This

Read John McAfee: Security consultant (usesthis.com)

My name is John McAfee. I have spent my entire life (I am currently 68) developing security and privacy software systems, and consulting to corporations and governments in containment and national security. One of my more successful creations was The McAfee Information Security Company, which recently announced that they were changing the name of their products.

It may have been because of my recent video. My most notorious association, I believe, was with the government of Belize.

👓 Using | Jason Rodriguez

Read Using by Jason Rodriguez (Jason Rodriguez | Designer, writer, email advocate & product manager)

Inspired by this tweet from Matt Gemmell, here’s a look at what tools I’m currently using to tackle the projects I’m focusing on right now.

I’m trying to use paper and pencil as much as possible for work. So my main tools are an A5 Leuchtturm1917 notebook and my trusty rOtring 600 mechanical pencil in black. I use a bastardized version of the Bullet Journal system, which has replaced the 3-4 different task management apps I was using previously. I’ve extended the system a bit to fit my own needs, including some elements of Patrick Rhone’s Dash/Plus system, as well as adding in sections for tracking what I read, taking my medication, doing monthly reviews pre-migration, and using it as a commonplace book.

For writing, I use Ulysses almost exclusively. I love writing in markdown, and Ulysses’ combination of simplicity and hidden power can’t be beat. I’m just getting started on some longer form writing, though, so I plan on dusting off my copy of Scrivener for those projects.

I just made the jump over to Atom for my coding needs and it’s working out really well so far. For coding and testing emails specifically, there’s nothing better than Litmus Builder.

For illustration and graphics, I use Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo for damned near everything. It feels nice to get away from Adobe products, and I’ve found Affinity’s tools to do everything I’ve needed up to this point. Although, one of my favorite illustration apps is still Paper by FiftyThree. It’s my go-to for quick illustrations to accompany blog posts here and its color fill tool is one of the most brilliant illustration tools ever made. Now, if only we could get layers…

Most everything else I use is very boring. When I need to do things digitally, I just use Apple’s stock apps: Notes, Calendar, Mail, Reminders, iMovie, and Photos.

As far as smaller utilities go, I couldn’t live without Couleurs, CloudApp, Dropbox, 1Password, and Litmus Scope. For more work-y type stuff, I’m a huge fan of Slack, Google Docs, and all of Litmus’ tools. Instant previews is freaking amazing when you work with email on a regular basis.

For hardware, it’s either my Macbook Air (Pro for work stuff), an iPhone, or an iPad Air 2.

👓 Nock Co. – Hightower 3+1 Case in Midnight Blue/Foliage Grey | The Clicky Post

Read Nock Co. - Hightower 3+1 Case in Midnight Blue/Foliage Grey (The Clicky Post)

First and foremost I want to extend my congratulations to Brad Dowdy of The Pen Addict (the legend) and his colleague and newly made celebrity, Jeffrey Bruckwicki, an amazing seamster (cool word) who is becoming a legend in his own right.  These two gentlemen recently set out to create a Kickstarter campaign to present to the world their new brand, Nock Co., and their first offerings in a line of affordable pen, pencil, and notebook cases.