Book reviews for March 2017
By Robert Ellison.
UnHappenings by Edward Aubry
4/5
Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
4/5
News: When should web designers use modal overlays?
By Robert Ellison. Updated on Sunday, November 6, 2022.
When should web designers use modal overlays?
"OK, yes, there are times when modals make sense (compose new tweet comes to mind), but if the web has a bigger annoyance than this (apart, possibly, from autoplay video), I don't know what it is."
Please enjoy the irony of trying to read this article on a mobile phone while the text shifts crazily around the page to make room for the autoplay video ad.
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Cataract Creek
By Robert Ellison. Updated on Friday, August 20, 2021.
Cataract Creek on Mount Tamalpais in Marin, California (long exposure photo).
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(Published to the Fediverse as: Cataract Creek #photo #tamalpais Long exposure photo of Cataract Creek on Mount Tamalpais in Marin, California. )
Vernal Equinox 2017
By Robert Ellison. Updated on Saturday, October 1, 2022.
Vernal Equinox 2017 happens right now, as rendered in Catfood Earth.
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(Published to the Fediverse as: Vernal Equinox 2017 #code #earth #equinox #spring #autumn #vernal The exact moment of Vernal Equinox 2017 as rendered in Catfood Earth. )
Green Belt
By Robert Ellison. Updated on Thursday, August 12, 2021.
Photo from the Interior Green Belt on Mt. Sutro in San Francisco, California.
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(Published to the Fediverse as: Green Belt #photo #greenbelt San Francisco's Interior Green Belt on Mt. Sutro )
Book reviews for February 2017
By Robert Ellison.
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
5/5
Stories of Your Life was made into Arrival, and it's a great story but just one of many in this book. Only one fell flat for me. Ted Chiang has a thought and then takes it so devastatingly literally that it will take you a while to stop thinking about it.
The End Has Come (The Apocalypse Triptych, #3) by John Joseph Adams
4/5
A cunning ploy - like most sets of short stories this is a mixed bag. The sting in the tail is that most continue in some form through all three books in the series so you have to read all three (if you have trouble not finishing a story, there isn't an executive order or anything). It's probably more of an investment than the material warrants (I'd have preferred a single and more tightly edited volume). It does however include a new strand of the Wool saga as well as a few other standouts so if you have the time, dive in.
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Resist Report
By Robert Ellison. Updated on Saturday, October 21, 2017.
My February resolution was to do something to #Resist Trump every day. Here's the breakdown:
Calls to Congress: 77
Non-profits donated to: 15
Failing media subscriptions: 4
Protests attended: 2
Advocacy sites launched and promoted: 1
I'll ease off a bit and try something else in March. But the routine of doing something every day has been really helpful. I've gone from saying I really should do something to actually getting in the habit of actively resisting.
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(Published to the Fediverse as: Resist Report #politics ##resist Breakdown of a month of daily resistance to the presidency of Donald Trump. )
Drone School
By Robert Ellison. Updated on Saturday, February 19, 2022.
Having glued on a GoPro I try and fail to fly my new drone.
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(Published to the Fediverse as: Drone School #etc #video Drone School - how not to fly a drone. Gluing on a camera might have affected the center of gravity. )
DeepCoder
By Robert Ellison. Updated on Thursday, August 5, 2021.
New Scientist hypes DeepCoder:
"Software called DeepCoder could allow non-coders to simply describe and idea for a program and let the system build it"
Coding is nothing but simply describing an idea for a program. As simply as possible but no simpler. Won't be really useful without an AI product manager.
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(Published to the Fediverse as: DeepCoder #etc #ml The problem of fully describing a thing is often most of the work involved in building it. )
Corporate Goddesses
By Robert Ellison. Updated on Sunday, May 3, 2020.
Once you've noticed the Corporate Goddesses you can't un-see them, a set of sculptures by Muriel Castanis at 580 California in San Francisco.
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(Published to the Fediverse as: Corporate Goddesses #photo #sanfrancisco Photo of three of the Corporate Goddesses, Muriel Castanis sculptures in San Francisco, California. )
