Tag Archives: Tech

Building gnuplot on OS X

Posted on 2014-11-10 by jcs

As part of my on-going efforts to get my new MacBook Pro set up with my normal working environment, I tried to compile gnuplot. The first problem was that libpng and libgd were not installed so there was no png … Continue reading →

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Microsoft

Posted on 2014-11-08 by jcs

Still evil after all these years.

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Dowsing

Posted on 2014-11-07 by jcs

Wilfred Hughes makes an acute observation: Trying to get good signal is the modern dowsing. — Wilfred Hughes (@_wilfredh) October 29, 2014 Sometimes, it does seem like that.

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A Highbrow Explanation of Why MS Word is Terrible

Posted on 2014-11-01 by jcs

Regular readers know that I have a profound dislike of word processors and especially of Word. I consider it the apotheosis of broken and user-hostile software. To me, Emacs and Org Mode are so far superior that Word would not … Continue reading →

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2600

Posted on 2014-10-30 by jcs

The New Yorker has a nice article about the 2600 magazine. If you’re familiar with 2600, you’ll enjoy reading about the history of magazine and its editor. If you’re not familiar with it, here’s your chance to see why it’s … Continue reading →

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Dying Languages

Posted on 2014-10-25 by jcs

What do you think of this article by Jeff Cogswell? The article posits that 5 popular languages are dying and will shortly cease to be used in any significant way. The languages are Perl Ruby Visual Basic.Net Adobe Flash/Air/Action Script … Continue reading →

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A Movement I Can Get Behind

Posted on 2014-10-23 by jcs

A great idea from Christopher Moore. I hate it when Web sites do this. Even more if there’s sound. Dear Web Devs, if your page auto-plays video, I'm gone. Immediately. Please tell your clients it's a bad idea. Please RT … Continue reading →

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Lots of New

Posted on 2014-10-23 by jcs

Here at the International Irreal Headquarters there are lots of new things to explore and play with. First, there is OS X Yosemite, the new Apple OS. I’ve been playing with it for a few days and like it so … Continue reading →

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The Need for a Central Office

Posted on 2014-10-21 by jcs

Via Jean-Philippe Paradis we have Paddy Foran explaining why “We need to have everyone together in an office.” is just hokum. At least when it comes to development shops. Dear people insisting that workers must be together in an office … Continue reading →

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Garbage Collection and Your Refrigerator

Posted on 2014-10-19 by jcs

Jonathan Magen has a nice introduction to garbage collection. In it he illustrates various garbage collection strategies by using the same algorithm to get rid of old food in the refrigerator. It’s not a deep technical discussion but is perfect … Continue reading →

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