This blog post is around seven or eight years overdue. Anyway, I had been musing about energy grids at the time and thinking about things like long-distance alternating current (AC) power transmission, the rise of solar panels, and electronics. I figured in 15-20 years (so about 7-12 years from now), we’d start seeing direct current (DC) power being more available from the wall. Before that can happen, people need a supply of DC power and devices that use DC power.
B is for Blockchain
This is part of an on-going series of “Blockchain according to jono” in which I try to explain blockchains to both a non-technical and technical audience. This post describes some of the basic things blockchain enables.
Hello world!
This is a continuation of Debeakered.
Secure Docker ambassador
As part of my work at Sojourn Labs (more about this at a later time), I’ve recently been working with creating a secure private cloud based on CoreOS, Docker (basically, a lightweight virtualization system), and some decade-old (or older) hardware. Different applications within the cloud need to communicate with each other securely. For example, our wiki needs to communicate with our database server. To link two Docker containers on the same machine together, one need only instruct Docker to create a link between the two. Things get more interesting when the communicating containers reside on different machines.
The Proprietary Ties that Bind: Part I — Instagram, not the last straw
In yesterday’s New York Times, there was an article about people getting angry over changes to Instagram’s privacy policies under Facebook rule. Rebecca Lieb of the Altimeter Group was quoted as saying
There are always Facebook users who say ‘This is the last straw,’ [but] there’s not a lot of portability. Where would you go?”
Continue reading “The Proprietary Ties that Bind: Part I — Instagram, not the last straw”
Testing is sexy
Writing a slick iPhone app is exciting. Building a communication tool that changes how people communicate is stimulating. Hacking1 into a bank’s security system to pull of a heist is the stuff of Hollywood. “Liberating” information from classified sources can lead one to be hailed a hero. Writing test cases for code is sexy. Wait… what?
Continue reading “Testing is sexy”
- cracking [↩]
Star Light, Star Bright
Star light, star bright,
The first start I see tonight;
I wish I may, I wish I might…
Hey, that’s no star…
It’s a satellite!
Looking up into space as a kid was so much simpler. Camping in the woods is no escape.
No more Rob
Maybe she was right; I am obsessed with Rob — I was clicking refresh over and over for this one. But he’s gone, now: Rob Ford removed from office. As you might have noticed, now that the Globe and Mail has gone behind a paywall, I’m reading the Toronto Star for my local news.
Let's Ask the Internet: Dropping a course
How do you suggest to a student that you think he/she should drop a course? Let’s ask the Internet!
“How to tell someone” … autocomplete suggestions “you love them” or “you have herpes”.
Nope. These questions might be related — just not to my question.
“How to tell someone you think” … “they have borderline personality disorder”.
Closer.
“how to tell someone you think they should drop” … “a class”. Bingo.
No relevant results. Why did you suggest that autocompletion?
Open letter to the Internet:
Dear Internet,
I thought you knew everything. When I was three, I used to think my parents knew everything, too. Now, I see that I am wrong again. How many times can one face disillusionment in life?
Sincerely,
Twice Burned
Edit: Internet’s response:
Subject: Re: How many times can one face disillusionment in life?
Dear user 7138620,
You can activate your Microsoft Office Home Edition product key up to three times.
Digitally yours,
The Internet
The War on Toronto
I’ve been following the current hearing about Mayor Ford and his alleged run-in with the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act (MCIA). Over lunch, I explained to Daniel Levy, one of Steve’s new students, the gist of what is happening. Daniel, hailing most recently from Winnipeg1, rightly wondered if the Mayor’s oafishness is due to cherry-picked quotes from the media. Continue reading “The War on Toronto”
- Daniel had his bike stolen the week after he arrived and now he gets to hear about our mayor. Welcome to Toronto! [↩]