MSNBC provides a graphic representation of the change in unemployment over time, both nationally and per-state, from the all-time low of 4.4 percent in March 2007 until now. (Well, so it claims - actually it goes from Sept 2007 at 4.7% until May 2009 at 9.4%.)
Jul
03
2009
Jul
03
2009
“… consumers complain of VCRs that defy efforts to program them, pens that won’t write unless they’re held vertically, and car doors that routinely swing shut on the driver’s emerging foot.
In nearly every industry, good design is the holy grail sought for bragging rights, for its aesthetics and usability, and in no small part because it will enhance the firm’s bottom line. The iPod and the computer mouse are two designs widely hailed as revolutionary. They are pleasing to the eye and were created to respond to human behavior—how we listen to music, how we use a computer keyboard. They forever changed the way those things are done.”
Jul
03
2009
As someone who spent a long, long time in school (and mostly loved it) this wry, funny note from Dr Garry Stevens highlights some of my own questions about modern academia: “If medicine was taught like architecture, first-year med students would spend most of the year describing exciting ideas about completely hypothetical surgical techniques to their tutors. Along the way they would reluctantly attend lectures about the human body and how to take someone’s blood pressure. All this would be conveyed through slides. No-one would see a real body or apply a sphygmomanometer. One of the most popular subjects would be medical history. Aristotle’s four humours would be studied at length. Students would write long essays about the significance of Roman medicine. They would discuss the enduring importance of Galen, probably throwing in some illustrations from one of the Renaissance editions of his works. One assignment would probably ask them to make a model of the human anatomy as Galen understood it. High grades would be awarded to the best models. A few of the students would fall in love with Galen’s aesthetics, and seek to promote his ideas for the rest of their academic and professional lives.” Exaggerated, but perhaps with just enough truth to bite? One of my favourite professors gently lamented that—unlike law or medicine—due to the emphasis on originality, he had no real way to pass on the great body of architectural knowledge as a codified whole. Some hold the view that this is quite a good thing, but I consider architecture both art and science, and have wondered if too much stress on creativity and originality can be just as pathological as the lack of it?
Jul
02
2009
Salesman: this new supercomputer can do half your job for you!
Business Executive: great! I’ll take two.
Sean Sutherland in Great Riddles, Giggles, and Jokes.
Jun
26
2009
Do engineers and programmers care about concepts like beauty and elegance? Should they? Designers have always known that looks matter—that the outside (interface) matters. But deep in the heart of those building the inside—the technology most users never see—lies the sensibility of an artist. In a kind of “Design Eye for the Code Guy” way.
…
“He was telling me how he feels like he has to sit and tweak his code over and over until it not only acts right, but looks right. It cannot be merely functional, it must be beautiful, as well.”But the best part was a comment by “Morten” that included the line:
“As for spending too much time on making the code look right down to the last indentation - my code has been called “girl code” for the same reason…”
…
“The best computer scientists are, like [Henri] Vaillancourt, technologists who crave beauty.
There is the ever-present danger when you discuss beauty in science, mathematics, and technology that readers will assume the word is being used metaphorically… And could a mathematical proof, scientific theory, or piece of software be “beautiful” in the real, literal way that a painting or symphony or rose can be beautiful?
Yes.”…
These principles, beautiful in themselves, will set the stage for the next technological revolution, in which the pursuit of elegance will lead to extraordinary innovations.”
Although I’ve never spoken of it, I agree with the premise of this article 100%.
I have spent countless hours perfecting not only the functionality of a program but the beauty of the design and implementation. This is the 21st century, code should be presented elegantly — the days of spaghetti code are (or at least, should be) behind us.
Jun
26
2009
Jun
25
2009
my design principles
education. innovation. technology. design. entrepreneurship.Jun
25
2009
Jun
19
2009
Jun
16
2009
I’ve been traveling for a few days, and still have a bit left. I started this trip with a journey into Cottonwood, MN for the wedding of one of my best friends (dating back to high school). The next day, I flew to Austin, TX in order to present a collaborative proposal (with Drexel Libraries) for information-literacy development at the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Exposition and Conference. I was originally planning on hopping from Texas to my hometown in Arkansas, but, alas, my parents will be taking a rare vacation on a cruise in Alaska. Instead, I’m returning to my current home in Philadelphia after this conference. Anyway, about the airports…
So far this trip, I’ve visited 3 airports: Philadelphia, PA (PHL); Sioux Falls, SD (FSD); and St. Paul Minneapolis, MN (MSP).
PHL gets mixed reviews (as always). Wifi is available for students with card code from the information desk (inconveniently located _outside_ of the security checkpoint). The lines weren’t terribly long, but the directions to my gate (given by my airline agent) were terrible. In order to reach my gate, I passed through security, followed a long deserted corridors under active construction, exited the secure area by necessity, and re-entered through a different point. That’s right- I had to go through security twice. During my second pass, I was told there was a shuttle to avoid this run-around, but no signage pointed me in the correct direction. The gentleman in line next to me had the same troubles. Problematic..
FSD is small, simple, quaint. Tiny and convenient. But, ‘twas a bit chilly. This airport boasts only 8 gates servicing United, Delta and a few others. (Note that NWA operates entirely through Delta, and US Air operates entirely through United at this airport). There is a single gift shop and restaurant-bar inside the security checkpoint. Similarly, only one restaurant is available outside security. In case you’re bored, there’s free wifi with a simple registration process. Alternatively, you can chat up the locals; as you might expect in a small town, the staff were über friendly. I held a tab open at the restaurant with no credit card, and haggled the price of a sweatshirt down in the gift shop (it was chilly, remember). After leaving my bag unaccompanied (in the otherwise empty facility), the friendly security guard put it behind his desk for me. And, yes, it was literally almost empty. On my travel out of Sioux Falls at 7am, there was zero people in line at the ticket counter or security checkpoint, and only one other passenger already waiting. The lady at the gift shop knew (at 8am) that I was taking the 11am NWA flight to Austin; that tells you how few flights leave this airport. After haggling for the sweatshirt, I curled up to sleep. There are chairs with no arms and table sections that can be semi-comfortably slept across (disclaimer: I can sleep almost anywhere). When I awoke hours later, I was surrounded by people, but no one disturbed me the entire time. Sweet dreams..
On the opposite end of the spectrum, MSP is a large and sophisticated airport catering to an international crowd and operating as a hub for NWA. Navigation is simple. The directions I was given were accurate, and the train to my concourse was immaculate. There were even fairly nice carpets in sections and full-size antique planes as decoration. Classy..
So far this trip, I’ve visited 3 airports: Philadelphia, PA (PHL); Sioux Falls, SD (FSD); and St. Paul Minneapolis, MN (MSP).
PHL gets mixed reviews (as always). Wifi is available for students with card code from the information desk (inconveniently located _outside_ of the security checkpoint). The lines weren’t terribly long, but the directions to my gate (given by my airline agent) were terrible. In order to reach my gate, I passed through security, followed a long deserted corridors under active construction, exited the secure area by necessity, and re-entered through a different point. That’s right- I had to go through security twice. During my second pass, I was told there was a shuttle to avoid this run-around, but no signage pointed me in the correct direction. The gentleman in line next to me had the same troubles. Problematic..
FSD is small, simple, quaint. Tiny and convenient. But, ‘twas a bit chilly. This airport boasts only 8 gates servicing United, Delta and a few others. (Note that NWA operates entirely through Delta, and US Air operates entirely through United at this airport). There is a single gift shop and restaurant-bar inside the security checkpoint. Similarly, only one restaurant is available outside security. In case you’re bored, there’s free wifi with a simple registration process. Alternatively, you can chat up the locals; as you might expect in a small town, the staff were über friendly. I held a tab open at the restaurant with no credit card, and haggled the price of a sweatshirt down in the gift shop (it was chilly, remember). After leaving my bag unaccompanied (in the otherwise empty facility), the friendly security guard put it behind his desk for me. And, yes, it was literally almost empty. On my travel out of Sioux Falls at 7am, there was zero people in line at the ticket counter or security checkpoint, and only one other passenger already waiting. The lady at the gift shop knew (at 8am) that I was taking the 11am NWA flight to Austin; that tells you how few flights leave this airport. After haggling for the sweatshirt, I curled up to sleep. There are chairs with no arms and table sections that can be semi-comfortably slept across (disclaimer: I can sleep almost anywhere). When I awoke hours later, I was surrounded by people, but no one disturbed me the entire time. Sweet dreams..
On the opposite end of the spectrum, MSP is a large and sophisticated airport catering to an international crowd and operating as a hub for NWA. Navigation is simple. The directions I was given were accurate, and the train to my concourse was immaculate. There were even fairly nice carpets in sections and full-size antique planes as decoration. Classy..
Cody Ray is a student researcher by day and a budding entrepreneur by night. If you're looking for a tech savvy businessman, or a business-minded geek, he's your man.
These pages contain a frequent mind dump of things I like or see or use or find or say or read or whatever. Open Source, Entrepreneurship, Education, GTD, Web 2.0, Linux, Sustainability, Politics, Philosophy, Technology, and the like.
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