Articles
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The way I (sometimes) *wish* I worked
June 22, 2009
Read moreMatt Mullenweg, creator of the WordPress blogging platform, was recently featured in Inc. magazine’s “The Way I Work” column… the compartmentalization he has set up between the different aspects of his work (and life) are pretty interesting. I’m not sure just anyone could achieve it, let alone command the freedom to even try half the things Mullenweg’s done, but he has some insightful solutions.
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Fast Bikes
June 10, 2009
Riding home from work the other night, I tried to chase down someone I spotted a block ahead of me (not maliciously; it’s useful to have a “rabbit” to get the heart rate up a bit!)
I wasn’t making any progress, though.
Then I realized:
Electric bike.
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What to do with GM?
June 3, 2009
Read moreNow that we, the people, own GM – what should we do with it?
As the new stewards of a once-crucial part of the national economy, it seems to me that we owe it to ourselves to act like self-interested business owners. That means making information-driven choices. If the previous owners of the business (e.g. shareholders, and the corporate board) had made prudent decisions, they would still be the owners; now it’s our turn – can we do better?
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Why do you use the software you choose?
April 16, 2009
Read moreMy last post led me to thinking about the software I use every day: “What am I using mostly? And why?” So I have tried to make a list. (Note - this is exclusive of any technical software, which these days doesn’t get used much anyway.)
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Making Trees
April 11, 2009
Read moreGenerative trees 
I’ve been making trees this morning.
Some years ago, I bought an intriguing book: The Algorithmic Beauty of Plants, by Prusinkiewicz and Lindenmayer. I occasionally pick it up and read pieces, and always find it fascinating. The book does a great job describing the concept of L-systems, named for the second author, in which a few very simple rules can generate incredibly complex patterns. Studying how plants grow, the authors realized that the rules governing plant growth can be approximated with algorithms, producing very realistic-looking results.