Programming and Writing

Software

I really enjoyed this quote from Brent Simmons in an interview with John Gruber.

I’ve always thought of it this way: a good writer reads a lot of books. They see how other writers solve problems. They pay attention to what’s happening now as much as they pay attention to the classics. Good writers are readers first, but eagle-eyed, careful readers.

I think good developers are the same: they look at other apps. They “read” those apps, the problems they have and how they solve them. They notice trends, they notice new solutions, they notice when things work and when they don’t.

 

It reminds me of some passages from a book I’m reading right now, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott:

Bird by BirdHowever, in the meantime, we are going to concentrate on writing itself, on how to become a better writer, because, for one thing, becoming a better writer is going to help you become a better reader, and that is the real payoff. […]

Writing can give you what having a baby can give you: it can get you to start paying attention, can help you soften, can wake you up. […]

Because for some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. they show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die. They are full of all the things that you don’t get in real life — wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. And quality of attention: we may notice amazing details during the course of a day but we rarely let ourselves stop and really pay attention. An author makes you notice, makes you pay attention, and this is a great gift. My gratitude for good writing is unbounded; I’m grateful for it the way I’m grateful for the ocean.

That’s how I feel about software.

Asynchronous Voice IM

Asides, Ideas

I wonder what a true voice IM clent would look like. The beauty of I’m that is lost in clients like Skype is it’s impossible to maintain several asyncronous near real-time conversations at once. You can hear this problem is you ever listen to a taxi radio. Perhaps when you focus different windows it could catch up on the discrete voice clips since the last time you were on that window. The whole chat UI could be a button you hold down while speaking, like a HAM radio.

Original Indiana Jones

Quote

For the first time in his life Rahn met someone even more obsessed with finding the Grail than he was. Indeed, so confident was Himmler of finding the Grail that he’d already prepared a castle – Wewelsburg in Westphalia – for its arrival. In the basement, surrounded by busts of prominent Nazis, was an empty plinth where the Grail would go.

The original Indiana Jones: Otto Rahn and the temple of doom. Truth is stranger than fiction.

In San Francisco

Uncategorized

And the weather is gorgeous! Rode the BART from the airport, and it was the most comfortable public transporation I’ve ever been on. The Muni was about the same as any other subway/train thing I’ve been on, except every third person had white iPod earphones on and a Powerbook in their lap. I’m sitting in Crepes on Cole and it’s a very nice place, the food smells great and the music is good. Very cozy. Can’t wait for Tantek to get here so we can eat. What amazes me right now is the number of people just walking around. Lots of babies, lots of dogs. Lots of people holding dogs like babies. It would be easy to sit here and people watch all day. What’s funny is in the back of my mind I half expect every face that walks by to belong to a web celebrity, like at SxSW.

What If

Uncategorized

What if there was a gathering of the leaders, speakers, visionaries, teachers, mentors, and founders of the web? What if there was non-stop, extensive discussion of the pressing issues of web development and practice? What if this meeting of peers had the nicest people you will ever meet, every one of them so friendly and accessible that it makes you appreciate humankind? What if you were given the opportunity to meet with the very people who shaped your education and development in your most formative years? What if this magical event ended too soon?

I wanted to say goodbye, at least for now, to all of the wonderful people I met at South by Southwest Interactive this year. I feel really privileged.

Update: Doug Bowman has some similar thoughts.

Catching up on March

Asides,

March is almost over, but email-wise I’m just getting started. Between the travel, conferences like SxSW and WordCamp, the 2.5 release, and the wisdom tooth stuff I’ve got stuff backed up even from Febuary. I’m back home this week so I’ll be doing as much catch-up as possible. If you get a response to an old email from me, that’s why.

The app that changed my life is Simplenote, linked to Notational Velocity. I have Simplenote on my phone and Notational Velocity on my computer, and I’m obsessed with to-do lists and lists about my to-do lists. It allows me to have my lists on my phone and my lists on my computer, and they sync… if you are a list freak, with lists of lists, it will change your life.

— Lena Dunham

From a talk with Kara Swisher on Re/code. Listen to the whole podcast, Simplenote comes up at the 48-minute mark. Hat tip: Toni Schneider.

Gmail Invites

Asides

Gmail invites. The only thing I get on my Gmail account (mmmmmm@gmail.com) are people begging for invites, which has gotten very old very fast. It’s almost as bad as the people who stumble across my old Orkut entry and feel it’s my duty to invite them. I’ve given out one account so far, and it was to Simon.