August 2011

Another Fine Homemade Parachute Page, Crafted With Love

Fanboys

Posted on Thu, Aug 25, 2011 by James in Design

Let’s just say yes up front.

If you’re a Mac user, now or at any point, you probably remember the models you used with great, perhaps alarming, clarity. Perhaps the first one was at school, or a friend’s house. Most likely not the office, but there are exceptions. You may have vivid memories of some aspects of the then-current OS: some version of 7 or 8, or, if you’re on that side of thirty, maybe Jaguar or Panther. Maybe even iOS. Maybe you remember beige Macs; maybe bondi. Maybe all you know is aluminum and white polycarbonate.

Voices and Writing

Posted on Thu, Aug 18, 2011 by James in Writing

Many years ago, while teaching, on one of those interminable Professional Development daze, the one inspiring presentation I saw was by a law professor, explaining how he was using the web in his courses on First Nations and Justice to build an academic journal. Every section of the class planned and wrote a peer-reviewed and edited issue, which built on previous years’ work, and would in turn be built on. He and his students used the web as a viable publishing platform in a way print never could be, economically or technically.

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Patent Lawsuit

Posted on Mon, Aug 15, 2011 by James in Poetry Cornered

I
Among twenty snowy mountains,
The only moving thing
Was the fax of the patent lawsuit.

II
I was of three minds,
Like a blog post
In which there are three patent lawsuits.

III
The patent lawsuit whirled in the blogosphere.
It was a small part of the pantomime.

IV
An OS and an OEM
Are one.
An OS and an OEM and a patent lawsuit
Are one.

The Case of the Clandestine Cephalopod

Posted on Mon, Aug 8, 2011 by James in squidwatch

The best camouflage you will ever see. This guy comes out of cloak like a startled Romulan warbird, then fires (ink) and hurriedly makes off for a more, ahem, neutral zone. (Also does a great imitation of a walking rock.)