Cableray.name http://cableray.name Design, Elegance, Mathematics, and Code Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:01:55 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 Pythagoras http://cableray.name/2011/12/pythagoras/ http://cableray.name/2011/12/pythagoras/#comments Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:49:40 +0000 Cableray http://cableray.name/?p=84

(by H0ppe)

]]> http://cableray.name/2011/12/pythagoras/feed/ 0 PHP coders have no class http://cableray.name/2011/05/php-coders-have-no-class/ http://cableray.name/2011/05/php-coders-have-no-class/#comments Mon, 23 May 2011 01:02:13 +0000 Cableray http://cableray.name/?p=74 I started web programming like many others: modifying code packages such as wordpress, joomla, and drupal. I was just getting used to coding paradigms (and have since gone from 20 cents to several dollars of techniques) and was doing more hacking than designing. Since then, I’ve learned to OOP, and have learned its elegance. Sadly, legacy projects that are more procedural have not developed in the same way I have, especially in the realm of PHP.  Andrew Rickmann elaborates:

Andrew Rickmann — WordPress coders have no class.

Although from a code aspect wordpress may be somewhat behind, I find it is incredibly useful and elegant from an interface and usability perspective.

]]> http://cableray.name/2011/05/php-coders-have-no-class/feed/ 0 Computer Science Axioms http://cableray.name/2010/09/computer-science-axioms/ http://cableray.name/2010/09/computer-science-axioms/#comments Fri, 24 Sep 2010 17:15:30 +0000 Cableray http://cableray.name/?p=67 There are certain principles in computer science that are essential if you wish to be an agile, innovative programmer. I’ve picked up on many of them over the years, although I’m sure there are many more (of varying subtlety) I have yet to learn.
Kevin Kelly learned these when teaching his kids computer literacy (I emphasized my favorites):
  • Every new technology will bite back. The more powerful its gifts, the more powerfully it can be abused. Look for its costs.
  • Technologies improve so fast you should postpone getting anything you need until the last second. Get comfortable with the fact that anything you buy is already obsolete.
  • Before you can master a device, program or invention, it will be superseded; you will always be a beginner. Get good at it.
  • Be suspicious of any technology that requires walls. If you can fix it, modify it or hack it yourself, that is a good sign.
  • The proper response to a stupid technology is to make a better one, just as the proper response to a stupid idea is not to outlaw it but to replace it with a better idea.
  • Every technology is biased by its embedded defaults: what does it assume?
  • Nobody has any idea of what a new invention will really be good for. The crucial question is, what happens when everyone has one?
  • The older the technology, the more likely it will continue to be useful.
  • Find the minimum amount of technology that will maximize your options.

via The Way We Live Now – Home-Schooling for the Techno-Literate – NYTimes.com.

]]> http://cableray.name/2010/09/computer-science-axioms/feed/ 0 SET: a card game for the iPhone http://cableray.name/2009/07/set-a-card-game-for-the-iphone/ http://cableray.name/2009/07/set-a-card-game-for-the-iphone/#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:39:13 +0000 admin http://wordpress.cableray.name/?p=52 SET: a card game for the iPhone. Or your web browser. Addicting little puzzle game. rules can be found at wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_game

]]> http://cableray.name/2009/07/set-a-card-game-for-the-iphone/feed/ 0 Babelgum: Kelly and the Kellygirls – Ferris Wheel http://cableray.name/2009/07/babelgum-kelly-and-the-kellygirls-ferris-wheel/ http://cableray.name/2009/07/babelgum-kelly-and-the-kellygirls-ferris-wheel/#comments Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:06:09 +0000 admin http://wordpress.cableray.name/?p=50 Beautiful stop-motion video.

Babelgum: Coldplay – Strawberry Swing.

]]> http://cableray.name/2009/07/babelgum-kelly-and-the-kellygirls-ferris-wheel/feed/ 0 Biggest Points: Macs v. PCs http://cableray.name/2009/06/biggest-points-macs-v-pcs/ http://cableray.name/2009/06/biggest-points-macs-v-pcs/#comments Sat, 13 Jun 2009 22:56:57 +0000 admin http://wordpress.cableray.name/?p=47 Very good article on the differences between macs and pcs.

Design and eye candy are very different: design is a combination of how it looks, what it does (and doesn’t do), and how it works.

Marco.org – Why you should consider OS X .

]]> http://cableray.name/2009/06/biggest-points-macs-v-pcs/feed/ 0 Site Status http://cableray.name/2009/06/site-status/ http://cableray.name/2009/06/site-status/#comments Mon, 08 Jun 2009 06:44:36 +0000 admin http://wordpress.cableray.name/2009/06/site-status/ The site is more or less up, but there’s some mods and content I need to add before I can call it complete, and move it to the top of my domain.

]]> http://cableray.name/2009/06/site-status/feed/ 0