This will be a strange post. I just finished the Harry Potter series, and I’m a bit overwhelmed. I’m quite sure it’s the best series I’ve ever read in many ways. Not in all ways, but in many. Perhaps in most that matter. Anyway, I’ll come back to that later; that’s not the important part. While reading it…
Archives for October 2009
One of Life’s Harshest Realities
There are many harsh things about life. The one people grapple with most is death, of course, but I see another that’s worse in many ways. It’s horribly unfair that we usually cannot live near our friends. When we are children we are stripped from close relationships because our parents had to move, or because their parents had…
Removing Files from a Git Repository Without Actually Deleting Them
Sometimes when you first install git you realize you added a bunch of crap to your repository, which makes it bloated. Or maybe you have junk files like .DS_STORE lying around that you want to keep out of your git goodness. Here’s how to delete from your repository without deleting them from your disk. # git rm -rf…
An Open Letter on Software Patents
My friend Richard is very passionate about software patents, and he’s in the process socializing an open letter he recently wrote to a number of outlets. He asked if I’d post it here as well, so here it is. — 5 Reasons the US Supreme Court should explicitly deny patent protection to software. Software is simply a solution…
Google Voice on a Verizon Android?
So Verizon and Google just announced a strategic partnership. Verizon also stated that they’re embracing openness, which means (among other things) they’re going to allow Google Voice on Android devices on their network. So this solidifies things for me on the mobile device front. At this point I see the comparison like this between iPhone vs. Android: Apple/AT&T…
Daniel Dennett on Free Will
I find this a highly practical argument, but not an absolute or reality-based one. He’s saying that because humans can see things in the future (such as a coming flood due to an oncoming weather pattern) and then take preventative action, we are exercising free will in the most meaningful way possible (harm avoidance)–even if we are actually…