Over the past few days I have managed to put together enough patches for SifterReader that it is usable for me from my phone. I’ve submitted pull requests to the developer, but until he pulls them in, if you want to try using the app on your phone you will have to build it yourself.Continue reading “Software Progress”
Author Archives: pirateguillermo
Bagpipe Surgery
The other day at my lesson my instructor was tuning up my drones when he noticed an unexpected breeze on his wrist. Uh-oh. The grommet for the outside tenor had cracked and I needed a new bag. Fortunately, I knew that this or something like it was coming and already had a new bag justContinue reading “Bagpipe Surgery”
Organizing my Life
Listing saves us. It is a way of exporting intelligence into the environment. Every datum the environment remembers for you is one datum you don’t have to remember. I am absolutely in favor of this, but it gets me into trouble when the systems I use don’t work well together. The smartphone and web servicesContinue reading “Organizing my Life”
If I Were Better, I’d Be Good
As I put my pipes away from this morning’s practice, feeling wrung-out and self-critical, I panted, “Well, if I didn’t suck I’d be pretty good!” I thought about all the evenings when the Badb had been skimming through her viola practice, not really paying attention to her playing just in a rush to get itContinue reading “If I Were Better, I’d Be Good”
Lesson Learned
This morning I competed at the Santa Cruz Scottish Festival and placed quite well. This despite what I felt to be grave problems with my performances, which goes a long way in support of the advice, “No matter what happens, keep playing!” My mind and fingers went completely blank midway into my first tune butContinue reading “Lesson Learned”
Nothing New under the Gubmint
So, this week people are getting pretty exercised about how the NSA, in some super secret operation code named “PRISM,” has been watching everything people are looking at on the web and keeping track of what phone calls are being made and received. Wil Wheaton posted on Google+ that he’s gonna cancel all his VerizonContinue reading “Nothing New under the Gubmint”
Log of Damocles
I took the weed trimmer to the grass on the creek side of the house this afternoon. The grass had grown unchecked since, well, last fall. When we moved to the woods, I was really happy and thought, “Yeah, this is great! I’m never gonna mow the lawn again!” Except that knocking the grass downContinue reading “Log of Damocles”
It Smells Branded in Here
Things go in cycles. I know this, and yet I’m always a little surprised when the entrepreneurial cycle comes around to me again. Yesterday, I was at a St. Patrick’s Day party as my genius wife’s plus one, and I wound up having several conversations with people who are working hard on their new projects. IContinue reading “It Smells Branded in Here”
What Globalization Means to Me
In 1995 I decided to stop eating animals. As I was living in San Francisco it really wasn’t hard to find good food made by someone else and which didn’t contain meat. Traveling inland even a couple of hours, though, was traveling to a world where “vegetarian” meant, “eats alfalfa sprouts and avocado and, um,Continue reading “What Globalization Means to Me”
It’s in the Air
Junglemonkey and I are in Boston for a few days. She’s here for the AWP conference, and I’m here as her plus one. I love that she wanted me along. I would absolutely have missed her if I’d been at home all week while she attended the conference, never mind that she’s going to beContinue reading “It’s in the Air”