Gratitude Day 8: Unsung Heroes, Human and Algorithmic
I was thinking today about some of the algorithms that shape our world today, which are largely unknown and unsung, and some of the people behind them.
Now, I do not have a CompSci degree, so my knowledge of the subject is very limited, but I thought I'd take the next few days delving into this subject as far as my knowledge (and ability to skim Wikipedia 😃) can take me!
Coming up tomorrow: PackBits!
Gratitude Day 7: The Art of Translation
A decade ago, I took a graduate course called "The Art and Craft of Translation" that really opened my eyes to just how beautifully messy and interpretive the act of translation actually is.
Like a lot of people, I had very surface, black-and-white preconceptions of what translation is. I thought …
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Gratitude Day 6: Music
I wrote about personal music libraries on Day 2, but I'm just talking about music in general now.
I think music is so commonplace and accessible that we often forget what a strange miracle it is. How would you explain music to a completely alien being that had no concept …
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Gratitude Day 5: Dates
(I mean the fruit)
I know there are all kinds of amazing tropical fruits that I've never had an opportunity to try, but among all of the fruit I have had, I think dates are the most underrated.
Incredibly sweet and just a little chewy, with a vaguely mollasses-like taste …
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Gratitude Day 4: Virtualization / Emulation
I think I first heard about emulation in the early 1990s. Some kind of magical software could make your Mac pretend it was a PC, albeit quite slowly. It was very niche and expensive software, but it allowed folks to run software designed for a completely different architecture. Black magic …
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Gratitude Day 3: Cats!!
Ok, seriously forget that supposed rule about the internet being for, uh, "spicy media." Forget that exploitative nonsense. Seriously. Call me a prude, I don't give a rip.
The Internet is for CATS. I sense that Vint Cerf, Bill Joy, Kirk McCusick, Al Gore, and the other parents of the …
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Gratitude Day 2: Personal Music Libraries
Over the past few years, I've been on a journey of migrating from streaming services to personal music libraries. I haven't yet made the jump from streaming video services to personal video libraries, but it's definitely on my radar.
I got an Apple Music account right about when it first …
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Gratitude Day 1: Text
I wanted to start this month's theme off with something pretty light and easy to write. Indeed, I've written about the beauty of "plain text" at length last year:
Without re-hashing the specifics …
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A September Theme: 30 Days of Gratitude
This morning, I briefly skimmed through a post Robert Birming blog entitled "SepThemeBear - create your own theme."
When I say skimmed, I don't think I read much more than the title, honestly. I was on my phone, and reading on my phone is not an enjoyable experience for me, as …
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My Failed Tech Predictions
Tech writers love making at times outlandish predictions. I remember in the early 90s thinking back very glibly about John C. Dvorak's prediction (more of a comment, really) that the mouse was a questionable, unproven peripheral, and probably wouldn't ever take off as a main input device. How ironic that …
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