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Designing for the Unanticipated

I don't believe anyone really knows how to design a programming language that's sufficiently internally consistent that it's easy to begin, possible to master with minimal pain, well-optimized for its current domain strengths, and ready to take over the Next Big Niche.

I don't know many (successful) general purpose languages which haven't switched their focus more than once. I think "success" for a programming language means that people use it for purposes the designers never anticipated.

via www.modernperlbooks.com

I think this is true of any product, not just programming languages.

Le Sportsac's PAPER Magazine Bag!

via www.papermag.com

Yes, I Ran Spell Check

Let’s see if the Spielberg bashers put-off by the metaphysics in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be as offended by District 9’s mangled anthropology.

If you saw District 9 on time, you're probably already familiar with Armond White's takedown of the film ("Bullship") and the ensuing blogorrhea. As Adriana pointed out to me, the Nigeria tribe of cannibals living in District 9's are reminiscent of the orcs in Lord of the Rings. It's more surprising today because District 9 is largely a film about race, and LOTR obviously wasn't.

As an Armond White fanboy, I do wish that he'd acknowledge that District 9 is masterfully produced and shot. It's no Transporter 3, but it's surely equal to Transformers 2 or G.I. Joe (all movies that White loved for their kinetic cinematography).

Fast Track to Sourdough

Since April 8th, 2001, the day Sourdoughhome.com was launched, I have received tens of thousands of emails asking questions about sourdough. Questions the writers didn't want to ask in public forums. Questions that revealed the weaknesses in the books and web pages covering sourdough - including this one. These questions, and their answers, have served to hone this web site to a keen edge.

Over those years, I have seen many of the same questions from people who are trying to bake with sourdough again and again. There's a ton of information about sourdough in books and on the Internet. And much of it is contradictory and more of it is just plain wrong. What has been missing is a single page that focuses on the first time you bake sourdough bread. Painlessly.

via www.sourdoughhome.com

Garamond - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Garamond is the name given to a group of old style serif typefaces named for the punch-cutter Claude Garamond (c. 1480-1561). A majority of the typefaces named Garamond are more closely related to the work of a later punch-cutter Jean Jannon. A direct relationship between Garamond’s letterforms and contemporary type can be found in the Roman versions of the typefaces Sabon, Granjon, Stempel Garamond, and Adobe Garamond.

Garamond’s letterforms convey a sense of fluidity and consistency. Some unique characteristics in his letters are the small bowl of the a and the small eye of the e. Long extenders and top serifs have a downward slope.

via en.wikipedia.org

MetsBlog.com » Post Game: Mets 9, Braves 4.

The fourth inning reminded me of the ten-run eighth inning the Mets put together against the Braves on June 30, 2000…those were the days…

I was at that game, I think about it all the time. 

oopsie daisy: Vote for My SXSW Panels. Pretty Please?

Now, I never went to Spring Break when I was in college because, let’s be honest, I didn’t need to prance around a crowded beach in a skimpy bikini in order to rationalize getting drunk and making out with four different guys in two days. However, just because I was never lucky enough to lose a wet t-shirt contest in Cabo doesn’t mean I’ll be trying to make up for it by attending 2010’s SXSW Interactive conference. Don’t get me wrong, though…. This doesn’t mean it’s not one of my absolute favorite events… because it is. Right after Burning Man. After all, there are only two times a year in SF you can count on getting some peace, quiet and freedom from the geeks, hipsters and hippies: September (Burning Man) and March (SXSWi). The streets are free of bitter cyclists, the coffee shops are free of laptops, and you can go to Dolores Park without wanting to kill yourself (and by "yourself," I mean "everyone else")… It’s glorious. Truly glorious.

GitHub on XKCD

Blog It

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At this time, my Mother was Googling "Sister Act."