Futurist Now » Infobits http://codeforfood.org Semi-coherent ramblings about the past, present, and future Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:40:48 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 Friendfeed invades metaspark http://codeforfood.org/2008/09/07/friendfeed-invades-metaspark/ http://codeforfood.org/2008/09/07/friendfeed-invades-metaspark/#comments Sun, 07 Sep 2008 22:59:13 +0000 Sparky http://codeforfood.org/?p=1018 Metaspark.net has just been redesigned to reflect my friendfeed addiction. If you had been following metaspark as a way to stay current on all things Sparky will likely find this to be a much more complete feed. If you want to see the old version it’s still available at http://sparktography.tumblr.com/.

If you follow metaspark via RSS you will want to move your subscription over to this new feed.

]]> http://codeforfood.org/2008/09/07/friendfeed-invades-metaspark/feed/ 0 Holy orange creamsicle! http://codeforfood.org/2008/06/23/holy-orange-creamsicle/ http://codeforfood.org/2008/06/23/holy-orange-creamsicle/#comments Mon, 23 Jun 2008 23:06:08 +0000 Sparky http://codeforfood.org/?p=1000 If you want to win this:

Then go here to enter the latest Gear Live contest. It might only be a 1st gen iPhone on the eve of the 3G launch, but it’s at the right price: free! There are other prizes too, but who cares: orange creamsicle iPhone!

]]> http://codeforfood.org/2008/06/23/holy-orange-creamsicle/feed/ 0 Metaspark http://codeforfood.org/2008/05/01/metaspark/ http://codeforfood.org/2008/05/01/metaspark/#comments Thu, 01 May 2008 20:20:29 +0000 Sparky http://codeforfood.org/?p=959 Or: Further experimentation with personal aggregation services

After my initial experimentations with personal aggregation basically failed I’ve decided to take another stab at it, but this time with a DIY bent. I registered metaspark.net and am working a complicated series of WordPress plugins to attempt to create the functionality I want.

Unfortunately it’s not entirely baked yet, but keep your eye on that domain – once I get a few RSS aggregation, twitter update, and posting date issues sorted out it should be ready to go fully live, and with style no less.

Stay tuned!

]]> http://codeforfood.org/2008/05/01/metaspark/feed/ 0 Experimenting with aggregation http://codeforfood.org/2008/03/22/experimenting-with-aggregation/ http://codeforfood.org/2008/03/22/experimenting-with-aggregation/#comments Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:20:37 +0000 Sparky http://codeforfood.org/2008/03/22/experimenting-with-aggregation/ In an effort to bring together the wonderful wide world of Sparky* I’m experimenting with Tumblr as an aggregation service. The hopes of my experimentation is to create a single point of contact for all my personal web content. Currently to get every last drop of Sparky goodness (and who doesn’t want that) visits to my blog, Flickr stream, Facebook profile, and Twitter are necessary. By providing this aggregate source of Sparky – henceforth referred to as Meta-Sparky – a single website can be visited to consume Sparky, Sparky, Sparky, and more Sparky.

Without further ado: http://sparktography.tumblr.com/

Update: Tumblr ended up being close to what I want, but not quite it. Tumblr will only allow short form content and won’t import long format blog posts. I also noticed it copies Flickr photos locally and re-compresses them which adds a slight color cast and loses the tack-sharpness that so much effort goes into on the front end.

Anyone know of a better aggregation service with similar features that I could check out? Leave a note in the comments with a link to it. If I don’t find anything readymade I guess I’ll have to roll up my sleeves and make something.

*wonder, wonderment, and wonderfulness not guaranteed. All Sparky all the time has been known to cause health complications in certain situations. If you experience a Sparky lasting more than 4 hours consult with a physician immediately.

]]> http://codeforfood.org/2008/03/22/experimenting-with-aggregation/feed/ 0 Twitter added to sidebar http://codeforfood.org/2008/01/04/twitter-added-to-sidebar/ http://codeforfood.org/2008/01/04/twitter-added-to-sidebar/#comments Fri, 04 Jan 2008 22:44:29 +0000 Sparky http://codeforfood.org/2008/01/04/twitter-added-to-sidebar/ I’m again experimenting with adding my Twitter stream to Futurist Now. People detested the old post style integration so this time I’m trying a live feed view in the sidebar. Leave a comment if you love it or hate it.

I can configure the number of tweets to display – how many do readers find useful? If I just put a single one it shows real-time context without visually overpowering the main content column. On the other hand more gives a better context of what I’m doing, but adds a huge block of text to the sidebar.

]]> http://codeforfood.org/2008/01/04/twitter-added-to-sidebar/feed/ 0 links for 2007-09-22 http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/22/links-for-2007-09-22/ http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/22/links-for-2007-09-22/#comments Sat, 22 Sep 2007 09:43:24 +0000 del.icio.us http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/22/links-for-2007-09-22/
  • MMGalleries | Justin Quinn
    Typographic art! Justin uses old typwriters (heavily modified I’m assuming) to create beautiful images that have surreal and organic qualities.
    (tags: art design typewriter words typography)
  • Cory Doctorow imagines a world in which Google is evil
    My favorite author Cory Doctorow’s short story on Salon.com about what would happen if Google and Homeland Security teamed up for the ultimate in invasive personal search.
    (tags: google story fiction scifi future information internet corydoctorow doctorow)
  • 10 Things to Remember When Confronted By The Police – Avoid the “Bro, Don’t Tase Me” Moment! | Government Dirt
    Great tips for anyone who gets involved in an unfortunate run-in with the police. Particularly if you are innocent remember to follow these simple rules and it will help things go much more smoothly.
    (tags: legal law police arrest howto lifehacks)
  • Run away the ray-gun is coming : We test US army’s new secret weapon
    Remotely deliverable pain, now in a convenient jeep mounted form factor. The Raytheon people seem rather short sighted to not get how something like this is just plain and simple a bad idea.
    (tags: pain torture technology war military science weapon creepy scifi)
    • ]]>     http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/22/links-for-2007-09-22/feed/ 0     links for 2007-09-21 http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/21/links-for-2007-09-21/ http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/21/links-for-2007-09-21/#comments Fri, 21 Sep 2007 09:38:55 +0000 del.icio.us http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/21/links-for-2007-09-21/
  • Americans giving up friends, sex for Web life
    A new study shows that 1 in 3 American’s would rather have the internet than sex! The study also dives into what is more important to people: TV, their cell phones, or the internet.
    (tags: sexuality human study cyberculture culture internet research news)
  • Discover the Power, Speed and Efficiency of Induction Cooking With New GE Profile™ Induction Cooktop
    OK – this is cool: cooking food with magnets. This new induction range from GE allows you to cook food in cast iron and magnetic stainless steel pots without heating up the surroundings, or even the range itself. I wonder what this kind of magnetic field
  • Mike Davidson – sIFR
    Neat! Typography control at a very granular level on the web – it’s very cross browser compliant, downgrades gracefully, and generally is a web designers dream!
  • Intel demos iPhone-like MID of the future
    An iPhone derived Intel prototype of what looks like the ultimate portable device. It looks a bit too long for my tastes, but I certainly wouldn’t mind a slightly larger all-screen iPhone!
    (tags: iPhone intel prototype gadgets future)
    • ]]>     http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/21/links-for-2007-09-21/feed/ 0     links for 2007-09-20 http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/20/links-for-2007-09-20/ http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/20/links-for-2007-09-20/#comments Thu, 20 Sep 2007 09:28:46 +0000 del.icio.us http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/20/links-for-2007-09-20/
  • Location based services for the iPhone – not quite GPS but close
    The folks at Navizon have created a 3rd party application for the iPhone (jailbreaking required) which using cell phone tower latency and triangulation to approximate your location and pass it to the iPhone Google Maps application. Not quite as accurate a
    (tags: GPS location locationbasedservices apple navizon iPhone triangulation math)
  • Kevin Kelly — The Technium — Invariant Ratio of Lifespan
    A nice writeup on lifespan as compared to the physical size of the organisim. I need to get bigger if I want to live forever!
    (tags: analysis lifespan biology science BMI)
  • Travel: Pack Like a Pro with the Bundled Wrapping Method – Lifehacker
    Lifehacker links to both an article and a great diagram on packing for vacation via the wrapping method. These claim that this makes for more compact packing, less wrinkles, and from the looks of it a great way to protect a laptop or similar equipment in
    (tags: lifehacks lifehack packing vacation luggage protection)
  • Losing Money on the iPhone and Making It Up on Volume
    NYT blog post about the iPhone, it’s cost’s, and the kickbacks Apple is getting from carriers. The point that the iPhone price could drop further is an obvious one, but some of the details are interesting.
    (tags: Apple iPhone price AT&T cellphone carriers money finance)
    • ]]>     http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/20/links-for-2007-09-20/feed/ 0     links for 2007-09-19 http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/19/links-for-2007-09-19/ http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/19/links-for-2007-09-19/#comments Wed, 19 Sep 2007 09:34:31 +0000 del.icio.us http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/19/links-for-2007-09-19/
  • NYT takes down ‘the wall’
    The New York Times has long been famous for it’s walled garden of content requiring users to pay to access it. They have finally wised up to the ‘net and will be opening up their content (ad-supported of course) to search engines and the consumer market a
    (tags: google search content NYT reference stories free)
  • Mozilla gets serious about email
    Mozilla is spinning Thunderbird off into MailCo, a $3m startup aimed at making Thunderbird the worlds most powerful open source mail client. Hopefully this move will see Thunderbird upgraded to be more of a competitor to Outlook and other corporate messag
    (tags: mozilla email thunderbird OSS FOSS messaging collaboration)
  • Another Toilet Cruiser Busted | Slog | The Stranger
    For once I agree with the oft-outspoken Dan Savage – this gay restroom sex sting business is getting out of hand. I’ll be the first to agree that sex in a public restroom is just plain wrong – but a proposition of another man clearly isnt.
    (tags: gay gaysex sex proposition sting legal dansavage law)
  • Jack Thompson Says GTA 4 Mission Target is Him; Threatens to Block Release
    Our dear friend Jack Thompson is at it again – this time saying that the latest Grand Theft Auto game is a specific threat to his physical security.
    (tags: gaming jackthompson crazy law lawyer games rockstar GTA GrandTheftAuto)
  • Analysis: Adobe CS3 may not work with Leopard
    Brow beating and chest puffing aside this may mean that CS3 won’t work with Leopard out of the box. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in feeling that I’ll have to wait for this to be addressed prior to upgrading to Leopard – as cool as Apples OS 10.5 looks I
    (tags: Apple Adobe Photoshop CS CS3 Leopard 10.5 compatability)
  • Home Entertainment: Death Star Home Theater
    I need this so badly my spleen hurts. Not only does the guy have the coolest looking home theater setup ever, but he’s stocked to the gills with Meridian gear!
    (tags: Meridian AV hometheater media starwars themed design fan setup movies tech)
  • Steve Jobs fields questions following Apple’s UK iPhone launch
    Some interesting comments by the big Steve himself shortly after he officiated over the UK iPhone launch with O2.
    (tags: iPhone apple hacker revenue business agreement partnership cellphone)
  • Email: Yahoo Mail Innovates, Gmail Stagnates
    I’m an IMAP fan myself, but webmail is here, and it’s obviously here to stay. Lifehacker’s write up on the two providers and some analysis on what each one gets right.
    (tags: Yahoo Google Gmail webmail web2.0 design usability technology email mail)
    • ]]>     http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/19/links-for-2007-09-19/feed/ 1     links for 2007-09-18 http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/18/links-for-2007-09-18/ http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/18/links-for-2007-09-18/#comments Tue, 18 Sep 2007 09:39:07 +0000 del.icio.us http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/18/links-for-2007-09-18/
  • Secrets to Amazon’s success
    Some of the business and technical guidelines that Amazon.com follows – it’s a great recipe of sucsess and looks to empower their employees to improve their platform and innovate.
    (tags: amazon ecommerce business productivity simplicity bestpractices)
  • A peek inside the Gates house
    Download Squad does a deep dive on The big G’s house – it really is a modern wonder of engineering and luxury. Remind me to buy a house like that some day.
    (tags: luxury technology wealthy rich BillGates Microsoft)
  • HOW TO – Transform hand warmers in to liquid ice sculptures
    Now this is cool – Sodium Acetate hypersaturated in water condensing in real time to form cool shapes.
    (tags: chemistry howto hack science design art sodiumacetate)
    • ]]>     http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/18/links-for-2007-09-18/feed/ 0     links for 2007-09-17 http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/17/links-for-2007-09-17/ http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/17/links-for-2007-09-17/#comments Mon, 17 Sep 2007 09:27:11 +0000 del.icio.us http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/17/links-for-2007-09-17/
  • Open source GUI based iPhone unlocking software
    Less than three months – not too bad. I can’t help but wonder if the next iPhone firmware will reverse this hack. With Apple potentially taking a hit in revenue by not getting paid by AT&T it would make sense.
    (tags: iPhone iphonehacker Apple unlock sim hacking hack technology software)
  • hanging limbs
    Art, creepy style
    (tags: creepy art photography hanging)
  • Ow, My Back: World’s Most Expensive Chair Looks Like an Uncomfortable Metal Jelly Bean
    Uncomfortable as it might be this chairs graceful swooping curves look cool. If it were not for the ~$2m pricetag I’d be tempted to get one for Le Cinema Sparks.
    (tags: chair art design metal curved aluminum curves graceful)
  • Productivity: Five Tools to Capture Your Thoughts
    Different ways to capture thoughts via voice. Cool ways to keep those fleeting thoughts at hand!
    (tags: voice voicenotes capture information lifehacks howto tips)
  • Apple’s new iPod checksum cracked by GtkPod coders
    Well that didn’t take long – not weeks after Apple released new iPods featuring security hashes to prevent non-iTunes syncing and some clever lads have cracked the code and unlocked syncing on Linux and other platforms
    (tags: linux hackers iPod iPhone iTunes cracking signature hash)
    • ]]>     http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/17/links-for-2007-09-17/feed/ 0     links for 2007-09-16 http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/15/links-for-2007-09-16/ http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/15/links-for-2007-09-16/#comments Sun, 16 Sep 2007 07:29:41 +0000 del.icio.us http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/15/links-for-2007-09-16/
  • Wacom shipping Bamboo tablets in the US
    These look pretty slick – The extra buttons and scroll wheel could be useful. I might have to replace my Graphire 3!
    (tags: graphics design graphicstablet wacom art drawing photoshop)
    • ]]>     http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/15/links-for-2007-09-16/feed/ 0     links for 2007-09-15 http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/14/links-for-2007-09-15/ http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/14/links-for-2007-09-15/#comments Sat, 15 Sep 2007 07:26:09 +0000 del.icio.us http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/14/links-for-2007-09-15/
  • Google: Google Adds Satellite and 54 New Countries
    Cool – Google Earth is adding new countries. I just popped it open and am having a blast exploring around the Middle East.
    (tags: technology mapping Google Googleearth satellite)
    • ]]>     http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/14/links-for-2007-09-15/feed/ 0     links for 2007-09-14 http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/13/links-for-2007-09-14/ http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/13/links-for-2007-09-14/#comments Fri, 14 Sep 2007 07:26:48 +0000 del.icio.us http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/13/links-for-2007-09-14/
  • MAKE: DIY Flash enhancer
    “Snoot” DIY flash hack for speedlight and similar flashes
    (tags: flash camera diffuser hack DIY tutorial)
  • Secret Facilities: Camouflaged Fridge Chills, Hides Beer at the Office
    Gizmodo points us to a neat office-hack: hiding the beer fridge!
    (tags: hack hiding fridge office productivity productivitykiller)
  • Bell jar bees
    A guy put a bell jar over the entrance of a beehive and took photos of the bees building honecomb within. Neat!
    (tags: honeycomb bee bees photography natural engineering)
  • Aether Knife Light
    A nice modern take on a knife block – complete with blinkenlights!
    (tags: blinkenlights blink led light knife design knifeblock art)
    • ]]>     http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/13/links-for-2007-09-14/feed/ 0     My Twitter updates for 2007-09-12 http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/12/my-twitter-updates-for-2007-09-12/ http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/12/my-twitter-updates-for-2007-09-12/#comments Thu, 13 Sep 2007 07:59:59 +0000 http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/12/my-twitter-updates-for-2007-09-12/
  • Headed home – Red Robin cravings are killing me – I might have to kill them back!
  • The car in front of me on 520 literally just CAUGHT ON FIRE!
  • My Red Robin craving is vanquished, but as a result I am 100% beached on the couch.
  • Watching the TNG finale: All Good Things.
  • Poking around some more with Twitter Tools and configuring the del.icio.us auto-poster. Nothing beats automatic display of gradual content.
  • See – I wasn’t kidding: the car in front of me on the way home really did CATCH ON FIRE! http://tinyurl.com/yutzlr
  • Laying in bed watching bonus content from the Red Dwarf complete collection.
  • Showered and dressed but not really awake…
  • Feeling surprisingly human again after my second cup of coffee.
  • Waiting for the worlds slowest printer…
  • Headed to lunch. Mmmmm lunch!
  • Writing overly-detailed support guides.
  • Cheering our resident iPhone hacker on in his battle for server optimization!
  • Driving home… I wonder if the car in front of me will catch fire again?
    • ]]>     http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/12/my-twitter-updates-for-2007-09-12/feed/ 0     links for 2007-09-13 http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/12/links-for-2007-09-13/ http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/12/links-for-2007-09-13/#comments Thu, 13 Sep 2007 07:24:47 +0000 del.icio.us http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/12/links-for-2007-09-13/
  • iPhone price cut generates 200% sales increase – The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
    An interesting write-up on iPhone sales. Apple is estimated to sell 18,000-27,000 iPhones PER DAY in the US!
    (tags: apple iphone sales estimates ROI pricecut)
  • Beyond Wikipedia: 20 References You Can’t Do Without
    A collection of 20 reference sources on the internet.
    (tags: reference information index research education learning)
    • ]]>     http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/12/links-for-2007-09-13/feed/ 0     Gradual content creation http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/12/gradual-content-creation/ http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/12/gradual-content-creation/#comments Wed, 12 Sep 2007 21:16:32 +0000 Sparky http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/12/gradual-content-creation/ I’ve been experimenting around with Twitter Tools and the del.icio.us auto-post blogging tool. They make for an easy way to gradually add content to Futurist Now without having to actually sit down and write a full post. The web links from the day that interest me can go through a workflow into my del.icio.us account, and inane babble about my day fits quite nicely into Twitter. I’ve placed both of these into the new infobits category to make it neat and tidy.

    Not that I’ll stop writing real content by any means – just an easy way to share things that interest me day to day.

    Update 1 week later: It was a great idea while it lasted, but I’ve pulled the twitter and del.icio.us posts as I’ve gotten a surprising amount of negative feedback from my users. Lesson learned.

    ]]>     http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/12/gradual-content-creation/feed/ 0     links for 2007-09-12 http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/11/links-for-2007-09-12/ http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/11/links-for-2007-09-12/#comments Wed, 12 Sep 2007 07:21:50 +0000 del.icio.us http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/11/links-for-2007-09-12/
  • The unhappier you are, the more ice cream you get
    A machine which fixes unhappiness by adding ice cream
    (tags: hack art make icecream interesting depression treatment)
  • Haiku Productivity: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential | zen habits
    Applying the limitations of Haiku poetry to a GTD like approach to productivity. A little too restrictive for me, but an interesting idea.
    (tags: howto GTD productivity haiku organization tips tricks lifehacks simplicity restrictions)
  • How to: 8 Ways to Get Ringtones Onto Your iPhone – Gizmodo
    Not interested in paying $0.99 a track for ringtones for the iPhone on the iTunes store? 8 other ways to get custom ringtones onto the iPhone.
    (tags: iphone ringtone iTunes howto hack hacker iphonehacker tips tricks Apple)
  • Apple’s Joswiak: We Don’t Hate iPhone Coders – Gearlog
    Apple internal developers take on the iPhone hacking community
    (tags: iPhone hack iphonehacker software Apple)
  • Photoshop Secret Shortcuts
    According to the article these are undocumented Photoshop keyboard shortcuts. I found a few of them documented in the menus, but still a nice list for quick reference.
    (tags: howto photoshop tricks adobe lifehacks photography productivity reference tech tips design shortcuts keyboard keyboardshortcuts)
    • ]]>     http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/11/links-for-2007-09-12/feed/ 0     Twitter Updates for 2007-09-10 http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/10/twitter-updates-for-2007-09-10/ http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/10/twitter-updates-for-2007-09-10/#comments Tue, 11 Sep 2007 07:59:59 +0000 Flickr http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/10/twitter-updates-for-2007-09-10/
  • Laying on the couch, devoid of energy. Thank goodness I still have 2 seasons of Red Dwarf left to keep me company. #
  • Slogging away at work… #
  • Slowly waking up – the 2nd cup of coffee is finally helping. #
  • Fighting with localization – it’s tricky how different languages treat word order and lists. Releasing software in 24 languages is a bitch! #
  • Rationalizing disparate data sources WITH MAGIC. #
  • Experimenting with Alex King’s Twitter Tools for WordPress blogs… #
  • I think I have Twitter Tools set to automatically create a daily twitter digest post on my blog. I will find out if it worked later tonight. #
    • ]]>     http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/10/twitter-updates-for-2007-09-10/feed/ 0     My Twitter updates for 2007-09-09 http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/09/twitter-updates-for-2007-09-09/ http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/09/twitter-updates-for-2007-09-09/#comments Mon, 10 Sep 2007 07:59:59 +0000 Flickr http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/09/twitter-updates-for-2007-09-09/
  • The onslaught of Red Dwarf continues relentlessly. #
  • I find it interesting that SMS texts drain the battery faster on the iPhone than wifi or EDGE does. #
  • Eating brunch at the B&O with some friends. Mmmm Beni Thai Crab Cake Benidict!!! #
  • Getting ready to go on a photowalk. #
  • Home from the photowalk, diving into photoshop now. #
  • Oooh! Some of the photos from todays walk came out really nicely – I’m quite happy with them: http://tinyurl.com/2z5y3h #
  • I’m considering putting together a collection of my photos, chosen and reworked for iPhone wallpapers. Anyone interested? #
    • ]]>     http://codeforfood.org/2007/09/09/twitter-updates-for-2007-09-09/feed/ 3