So yeah, anyway, due to a series of events, I have volunteered to watch my parent’s store on July 3rd and July 4th so that they can finally take some well deserved time off and go on a short vacation. What this means, is that I’ll have their place to myself the night of the 3rd. It’s out in the middle of no-where, and is kinda scary at night, so I was thinking maybe I should invite some people over to keep me company. Anyone interested? Here are some things you can look forward to if you come:
alcohol (remember, the liquor store is less than a mile away) =D
fireworks (far enough from civilization so as not to be an issue)
movies (50 inches of DLP goodness)
fire (roast marshmallows or hotdogs or fingers, you decide)
I don’t want this to be a big deal, but I’m looking at getting 10-20 of my close friends together for this. Drop me an email if interested.
-Tom
I’ve been reading Hackers and Painters and am about done. To say this book has had a profound influence on me would be an understatement. I’ve already decided that starting a technology startup is in my future, I’m more interested in the prospect of grad-school, and *gasp* I’m gonna re-learn Lisp. I was interested in the language when I took my Artificial Intelligence class, but was told it had no practical value. Now I’ve come to think that Lisp has more merit than originally assumed, so here I go. It’s definitely a neat language.
Oh yeah, but I titled this post as “Good Design”, primarily because I wanted to list the elements of good design as stated by Paul Graham. I’m listing it here more for posterity, so I can look back at them when I want to. If you, the casual reader, are interested in reading the essay where Mr. Graham talks about good design, it’s freely available to read online, it’s called Taste for Makers.
good design…
…is simple
…is timeless
…solves the right problem
…is suggestive
…is often slightly funny
…is hard
…looks easy
…uses symmetry
…resembles nature
…is redesign
…can copy
…is often strange
…happens in chunks
…is often daring
-Tom
Something I’ve realized lately is that I’m not a big fan of “social networks” or “online communities”, al la LiveJournal and MySpace. It’s not that there is anything wrong with them, it’s just that I have enough friend’s as it is that I don’t do a good job at keeping in touch with. Also, sometimes these groups have a tendency to turn in to popularity contests. I have no problem with these communities as a rule, and fully support them. I just think I have different priorities and need to work on improving the friendships I currently have, not make new ones.
-Tom
Snow Patrol - How to be Dead