In drama, every character has two roles in the drama itself, outside of the dramatic role in and of itself: these roles are “actor” and “object.” There’s a lot of term confusion, because in drama an actor is one who plays a role, and in context here it’s the same term but a different interpretation. [...]
Repost: What framework authors are doing wrong
This is a repost, from an old blog of mine. Originally posted on 9 March, 2006. I finally figured it out. I’ve been struggling to work out how to explain to various framework authors and supporters why I think what they are telling people is not right, or why the frameworks are flawed, with very [...]
Repost: Tips on writing articles
As editor of TheServerSide.com in the past, I had a lot of opportunity to see what worked in online writing and what didn’t. Since it was a core part of my job to be efficient online, I also did a lot of research into various techniques, and while I certainly can’t claim to be an [...]
Repost: I miss email.
I miss asynchronous conversation. I miss the ability to have an actual thread of thought preserved in something less ephemeral than memory, or in some chat log somewhere on one of my systems’ hard drives. I miss the ability to not be there if someone has an observation I’m interested in. I don’t want to [...]
Repost: Caches, an unpopular opinion, explained
I have an unpopular opinion: caches indicate a general failure, when used for live data. This statement tends to ruffle feathers, because caches are very common, accepted as a standard salve for a very common problem; I’ve been told that cloud-based vendors say that caches are the key to scaling well in the cloud. They’re [...]
Repost: I love new words
I love words. I love them a lot. I could cuddle them and hug them and call them “George.” I have read dictionaries and encyclopedias, in search not only of new knowledge, but in search of wonderful, new, intriguing words. I have favorite words, and I rejoice when I find new words. Reigning champions on [...]
Repost: Vulnerability
What do I want to say? Well, here’s a stab at it: vulnerability is hard. I know I’m not as well-known as I could be. In part, that’s because my talents just aren’t that good. I’m not some world-beating artist, or an author whose name sells books (or generates millions of hits). I think I’m [...]
Repost: Some suggestions for those making presentations
Presentations are rarely any fun to give or attend, and could be – if the presenters pay attention to some details. The first problem, in a nutshell, is focus. The second problem is focus. The third problem? Well, that’s way different: it’s focus. If you, as a presenter, recognize that you have to focus – hard – [...]
Repost: Finding the weak point…
Yesterday, while reading something that was, well, a bit of a storm in a teacup, it struck me what I like least about the blogosphere, about the whole mediasphere, in fact. It’s that we take sides. I do this sort of thing a lot. I’ll read something that is limited to sphere “A”, and then [...]
Repost: Hey, Orson Scott Card…
There are some excellent science fiction/fantasy series out there: A Song of Ice and Fire, The Foundation Series, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Earthsea, Middle-Earth, The Gap Series, the Sprawl stuff from William Gibson (Neuromancer, et al), the CoDominium series from Niven and Pournelle… and Orson Scott Card’s Ender series. Highly recommended reading, all of [...]