Pushnote: All talk and no trousers

13th
Jan. × ’11
By dominic

PushNote is a new service that will be known, for good or ill, primarily for being announced over Twitter by Stephen Fry, who is one of their investors. Similar attempts have been made in the past for a cross-site commenting platform, Google Sidewiki for example, and none have taken off. I really want a service like this to work as having a single point-of-entry for communication and discussion across all sites would be fantastic, but there are a few fundamental issues with this one that will stop me from subscribing to it wholesale at this time:
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Crying foul

11th
Jan. × ’11
By dominic

I recently watched the Twilight movies and, having not read the books, and with no intention to do so, actually enjoyed them.

There, now that’s out-of-the-way, we can get on with the rest of this post. See, after I watched them, I wrote up a really long article defending the movies and arguing that the criticisms that are usually leveled at the franchise are, at best, easily dismissed and, at worst, unwarranted. But then I realised that I don’t need to pick apart the criticisms piecemeal and I can write something much more general. So here goes, I hope you’re ready:

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Speed: Give me what I need

9th
Dec. × ’10
By dominic

Do you host your site through dreamhost? If not, you should. They’re fantastic and great.

In fact, they just got even more fantastic: http://blog.dreamhost.com/2010/11/04/mod_pagespeed-now-available/

If you already use them, you should totally go and turn this feature on. Go ahead, I’ll wait here.

To save you reading their blog post: They have enabled mod_pagespeed as an option for domain managers. This module dynamically rewrites pages before they’re served to make them faster to download and faster to render. Why is this good? Well if everyone used it, you could browse twice as many sites with pictures of puppies, kittens, or sugar gliders in the same amount of time.

Full disclaimer: This is one of the projects I work on.

</shameless plug>

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In which the word ‘intereading’ is coined

27th
Nov. × ’10
By dominic

In between ending my old job and starting my new job, I had 10 weeks off. In that 10 weeks I started a lot of the little projects that have been on my mind (and finished none, of course): a z80 emulator (the cpu from a gameboy) and some bits of the graphics processor, a short story, the start of a longer story, an iPad version of the old Fighting Fantasy books (which someone beat me to releasing), and an iPad framework for developing old-school text adventure games. Most of these projects were just clearing out dusty corners of my cerebral filing cabinet, but I was most excited about playing with the notion of books and interactivity on the iPad.

This next bit may seem like a non-sequitur, but i’ll pull it all back together in a bit. I promise.

I’ve admired Oliver Jeffers‘ work for ages. I own a few of his books, have a large print of his in the bedroom, and have a tattoo appointment booked to get a tattoo inspired by another of his images.

Here’s where this post comes back together: This is one of those ideas that I wish I’d had. It’s a version of Oliver Jeffers’ latest book, The Heart and the Bottle, developed for iPad with beautiful, whimsical interactions for the reader.

As an aside, we’re probably going to want to start using a more active noun for someone who reads interactive books. An interacter, perhaps? Or intereader?

Anyway, I cannot wait until there are more books like this, and if I was a kid I would interead this over, and over again.

Who am I kidding; I will be intereading it over, and over.

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Pumpkins scream in the dead of night

27th
Oct. × ’10
By dominic

Let’s talk about pumpkins.

I’m not a fan of pumpkin, but I do appreciate their versatility and I love that during the Hallowe’en season so many people take opportunity of the pumpkin carving tradition to explore cooking at home. Whether it’s soups, pies, cupcakes, or cookies, the insides of that gourd-like squash have a huge number of uses, and anything that encourages people to cook more food instead of ordering in is a good thing.

However, around my neighbourhood I see another use for pumpkins: They’re left uncarved and whole to rot on peoples’ stoops. I’ve realised this year just what a waste this is and it’s really bothering me, so you get to read all about my feelings here, the only soap-box I have. Read More »

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So long, LucasArts

30th
Sep. × ’10
By dominic

I have a lot of things to thank LucasArts for. If it wasn’t for Day of the Tentacle, Monkey Island, X-Wing, Tie Fighter, or the Dark Forces games, I would not have been drawn to programming as a career, and specifically game development.

Without the opportunity they gave me to lead the game development team at Lucasfilm Animation Singapore, I would not have realised how much I want to code rather than manage.

They brought me to the US, and specifically to San Francisco which is the best city I’ve ever lived in, and has rapidly become my home.

They gave me the chance to work on The Force Unleashed II,which was a phenomenal technical challenge and during which I learned a huge amount from some incredibly smart people.

Then, when it was time, they set me free to run wild, and gave me the chance to find a new challenge.

This whole path facilitated by them has led me to today, when I accepted a new job at somewhere I have wanted to work for years: Google.

So long, LucasArts, and thanks for all the fish.

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Goodnight Eddie

29th
Sep. × ’10
By dominic

When I last wrote about Eddie, it ended up being the day that I let him go. It had been a rough two weeks for him, and as much as I wanted to believe that he was going to get better any day, he wasn’t. I saw the x-ray images. I saw how much he was quietly suffering.

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The Big Blue C

24th
Aug. × ’10
By dominic

I was fine when he said it was cancer. I was still fine when we discussed different types of cancer and the prognosis for each. I was even fine when we discussed the relative merits of compassionate euthanasia. What got me was this line in the printed client instructions:

Indulge him in whatever he wants. Do not hesitate to take him to the park in the sunshine.

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Outside Lands

19th
Aug. × ’10
By dominic

A really quick post between bouts of caring for Eddie with short reviews of bands I saw at Outside Lands last weekend.

Gogol Bordello
Everything I’d hoped that a Gypsy Punk band would be. Thick accents, an accordion, charisma, and tonnes of energy.

My Morning Jacket
I just kept wishing it was Radiohead up there as they do the same thing only much better. Clearly talented, but painfully insincere.

Wolfmother
A near perfect incarnation of a late 60s rock band. The covers of Teenage Wasteland and Riders on the Storm were fun, and I’m sure the drummer is a young Keith Moon.

The Devil Makes Three
Not quite Bluegrass and not quite Skiffle. A three-piece of banjo, acoustic guitar and stand-up bass who play the most infectious country grooves with smart lyrics. A perfect start to Sunday morning.

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Having read the story of this band, and seeing them get set up, I was fascinated to hear what they sounded like. The stage was full of instruments and I counted at least eight musicians. The sound that many people create is incredible to hear live, and I just wish the music had been compelling enough for me to stay past the first song.

Slightly Stoopid
Drifting between reggae, punk, surf rock and hip-hop, Slightly Stoopid were another great bit of scheduling for Sunday afternoon in the sun. Laid back grooves and a fun time for all.

Social Distortion
Why, oh why, have I not been seeing these guys live every time they play anywhere near me. The quintessential punk rock played with the attitude and swagger that only comes from knowing how good you are and loving every second you’re on stage. Awesome to experience, and one of the nicest mosh pits I’ve every had the pleasure to fight my way through to get to the front.

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What a guy! Makes you cry. Und I did.

12th
Aug. × ’10
By dominic

Eddie is ill. This should not be a surprise; he is, after all, fifteen years old which is a fair stretch for a dog. What is a surprise is the suddenness with which his illness has affected him.

We always knew about the  swollen liver, the heart murmour, the chronic ear infection, and the hardening retinas, but when he stopped eating and started being visibly ill every day, it was clear something else had gone wrong. After a spate of blood tests, it seems he has liver/gall bladder disease, pancreatitis, and cholangiohepatitis. If that sounds scary, well it is.

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