update What I've been up to for the past 8 months This post is for friends and family that I don't get to catch up with as often as I'd like to. You likely know I write software, but you may not know what
music Nahko and Medicine for the People: Aloha Ke Akua This is another song that I've been listening to a lot lately. It resonated with me in a significant way the first time I heard it and after many listens, it's just as
music The Album Leaf: Twentytwofourteen Occasionally you hear a song and there's just something about it that touches you - it speaks to you in some way - a unique resonance. I knew that about this song after
project Orbit Viewer: A Space Apps Project On April 11-13 I participated in the International Space Apps Challenge sponsored by NASA and AUT. It was a great event and the challenge we picked was Visualize the Astroid Skies. Specifically, the
perspective Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.
python Python versions and virtual environments This is just a reminder to myself for the next time I need to set up Python virtual environments in the future - after having not done it for a while.
machine learning Perceptron and sigmoid neurons In my ongoing quest to learn R and machine learning, I'm working my way through a most excellent book titled Neural Networks and Deep Learning, which sports a most intuitive URL ;) It's written
devops Moving VMs across Azure subscriptions I spent most of the day moving virtual machines from one of my personal Azure subscriptions, where I was doing some testing, to Little Lot's subscription. While I could certainly spend more time
r Connecting RStudio on OS X to SQL Azure This post describes what I did to query SQL Azure data from inside RStudio.
winjs Using external libraries/frameworks (like Angular) with WinJS Approaches to address the "Unable to add dynamic content" error in WinJS apps.
politics Lawrence Lessig: We the People, and the Republic we must reclaim With rapid-fire visuals, Lawrence shows how the funding process weakens the Republic in the most fundamental way, and issues a rallying bipartisan cry that will resonate with many in the U.S. and beyond.
atheism Alain de Botton: Atheism 2.0 Alain de Botton suggests a "religion for atheists" (call it Atheism 2.0) that incorporates religious forms and traditions to satisfy our human need for connection, ritual and transcendence.
angular Single Page Apps with AngularJS and BreezeJS My early thoughts on AngularJS and BreezeJS and what I'm using to learn them.
sbc The Intel Galileo My first impression of the Intel Galileo and how it compares to the other single-board computers I've been playing with.
music MC Xander: Spaceship Earth I can’t post that last video without following it up with this one: my favorite MC Xander song and video. In terms of sound, I actually like this video over the release
music Dub FX, CAde, Pete Philly & Mr. Woodnote: Supernova Pilot Like many (I’m guessing), I found MC Xander through watching DubFX videos (bd is also a connection). There are heaps of great DubFX videos and even some good collaboration ones, but I
music Muris Varajic: Final Dance In that last post I mentioned “I don’t know how many times I’ve viewed this video, but it’s a LOT.” Well, that got me thinking about this video, which I’
politics Tamar Gendler: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Politics and Economics Who gets what and who says so? These two questions underlie and inform every social arrangement from the resolution of schoolyard squabbles to the meta-structure of human societies. They are also the basis of political philosophy.
music MC Xander: Sick Of The Lies In terms of sound, I actually prefer the version of this track on the Eyeopeness release, but I’m a big fan of Ben Dowden (bd FILMS) and his from-start-to-finish-with-no-cuts-or-breaks style - and
science Paul Zak: Trust, morality — and oxytocin? Neuroeconomist Paul Zak shows why he believes oxytocin (he calls it "the moral molecule") is responsible for trust, empathy and other feelings that help build a stable society.
javascript Presentations from Russia My talks were on building single-page web interfaces with modern tools and technologies and applying modularity to your JavaScript.
cybersecurity Misha Glenny: Hire the hackers! Underworld investigator Misha Glenny profiles several convicted coders from around the world and reaches a startling conclusion.
theory of change Julia Bacha: Pay attention to nonviolence Brazilian filmmaker Julia Bacha asks why we only pay attention to violence in the Israel-Palestine conflict -- and not to the nonviolent leaders who may one day bring peace.