"The Two Things"

Grok Headline matches for "The Two Things"

When Things On Your Mac Do Cool Things
You Didn't Expect Them To... Or
Adventures In Mac-Based Audio

When Things On Your Mac Do Cool Things
You Didn't Expect Them To... Or
Adventures In Mac-Based Audio 01/03/2004 12:11 AM
If you play an instrument, write songs, sing, or wish you could do any or all of the above, take a look at DigiDesign's amazing little Mbox, a complete audio production system with many uses. By Bob LeVitus (Mac Observer via MyAppleMenu)

""I’m not the kind of artist who feels
that I have a mission of any kind
whatsoever. The 19th century was about
that. What right do I have? In many ways
it robs people of a lot of things. I’m
an average enough person to point to the
things that I’ve..."

""I’m not the kind of artist who feels
that I have a mission of any kind
whatsoever. The 19th century was about
that. What right do I have? In many ways
it robs people of a lot of things. I’m
an average enough person to point to the
things that I’ve..." 07/13/2004 03:21 AM

43 Things Web Service API on 43 Things

43 Things Web Service API on 43 Things 04/17/2005 10:05 PM
43 Things Web Service API on 43 Things .. 43things adds web services API

43things.com/about/view/web_service_api
track this site | 2 links

Good things, bad things

Good things, bad things 03/06/2004 02:03 AM
Good thing: to have surge protection on your computer array.
Bad thing: kick accidentally the surge protection thingy so that the wall socket becomes loose, and have a big, catastrophic power failure.

Good thing: to be able to read your blogs while eating breakfast
Bad thing: to drop a bun in your cereal, and have milk splashed all across your laptop

Good thing: iTunes for Windows
Bad thing: Windows

Good thing: actually having sunlight in the mornings.
Bad thing: the mornings.

Good thing: upcoming go -tournament (http://takapotku.suomigo.net - feel free to come by and say hi!) next weekend.
Bad thing: not sleeping enough before the weekend.

Jack Valenti says stupid things --
really, really stupid things

Jack Valenti says stupid things --
really, really stupid things 08/03/2004 07:46 PM
Tim Wu has rounded up some of the dumbest things that Jack Valenti said -- and he's found some real howlers, things that make Jack's infamous condemnation of the VCR ("the Boston Stranger of the American film industry") look like a walk in the park.

On the nascent cable industry, in 1974
"[Cable will become] a huge parasite in the marketplace, feeding and fattening itself off of local television stations and copyright owners of copyrighted material. We do not like it because we think it wrong and unfair."

On the dangers on media concentration, 1984 Op-Ed
"Will a democratic society allow just three corporate entities to wield unprecedented dominion over television, the most decisive voice in the land? There are now only three national networks .... There will never be more than three national networks."

On the public domain, 1995
"A public domain work is an orphan. No one is responsible for its life. But everyone exploits its use, until that time certain when it becomes soiled and haggard, barren of its previous virtues. How does the consumer benefit from the steady decline of a film's quality?"

Link (Thanks, Patricio!)

Three things

Three things 12/28/2004 11:31 AM

Actually it turns out I do have a few things on my mind.

First, the scale of the human tragedy of the tsunami. An interview on CNN with a young rock climber from Hawaii, vacationing in Thailand, talks about how only a few of her colleagues died. In normal times, the few that died would be the story. Many of the people they interview are shaking and crying, many hours after the tragedy. It's the rare thing, a real story involving human beings.

Second, think about the billions we're spending on Iraq, and for what? The Republicans who defend the war say Iraqis were suffering under Saddam, okay, this is a lot of suffering and unlike the Iraqi suffering, this has a solution, money spent here will rebuild and there won't be "insurgents" to tear down the repairs and kill our people as they try to help.

Third, and I know there's no chance of this making a difference, maybe the Iraqis could put down their guns, stop beheading people, stop blowing things up, elect a damned government, and let us leave so we can have a future and so we can help when other tragedies happen. I'm sorry we invaded, and I'm sorry we re-elected the monster that invaded you. Now we have to go. It's just a feeling I have. The problems of the Iraqis seem so small when compared ot the problems of Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia. The problem in Iraq is in their minds. Can't they solve it? We sure can't.

The Next Big Things

The Next Big Things 11/06/2003 10:45 PM
"Steve Jobs has come along and made it simple for us." By Doug Bedell (Dalls Morning News via MyAppleMenu)

Five Things I Know About Me

Five Things I Know About Me 07/13/2004 02:12 PM
Collect them all!

43 things

43 things 01/02/2005 06:34 AM
43things

43things.com
track this site | 3 links

The little things

The little things 11/12/2003 08:00 PM

We put together a bookmarklet today that allows our editing staff to jump instantly from looking at a story on one of our web sites to the interface for editing it within our current content management system. It took about 5 minutes development time, plus an extra 15 minutes spent showing it to people, setting it up on machines and demonstrating how it works. It's hard to over state how well this new shortcut was received by the people who spend hours every day using the system. For end users, a little feature can sometimes go a very long way.

FC Now: It's the Little Things

FC Now: It's the Little Things 12/19/2004 03:36 PM
For lunch today, I went to Chipotle for a burrito. The server was friendly, my order prepared quickly, and the burrito delish. But the neat little touch -- the clue -- that helped make the experience worth repeating? At the...

The top 1,000 things to know

The top 1,000 things to know 12/19/2004 03:06 PM

Seth blogs about the top 1,000 things for a 13 year old to learn. I agree with him. The most important thing I learned in school was how to touch type.

Comment - TrackBack

40 things

40 things 12/22/2004 01:09 AM

1. What did you do in 2004 that you’d never done before?

- Suck up to clients and not say what I believed in - 'cause I needed the money.

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

N/A - I don't do resolutions - but I tried to lose weight and failed.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

- Yes my wife. Her name is Lucy - she was born the day before my biorthday on Jan. 12th.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

- Yes my father - Davis S. Canter - union leader, politician (the good kind), my inspiration.

5. What countries did you visit?

- Italy, France, Belgium, Holland, England, Ireland, Canada - and I live in a very strange, foriegn place - but at least we're in a blue state (though CA voted 46% for evil.)

6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?

- Digital Lifestyle Aggregation -the PeopleAggregator, a finished WebOutliner and lots of happy employees.

7. What dates from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory?

- Jan. 12th - Lucy's birth, Aug. 30th my father's death, July 31st my eldest son's and wife's birthday and Nov. 3rd my twin son's Bar Mitzvah.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Finally figuring out what business Broadband Mechanics is in. We're buulding 'digital lifestyle aggregators'.

9. What was your biggest failure?

1UP.com - it could have been great - but we fucked up.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

- Baruch Ha'Shem - no. But my friend BigDave had his kidney transplant!

11. What was the best thing you bought?

- BigDave's mom's used car. Great deal, great friend.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?

- Twin son's Bar Mitzvah
- Mimi's learning how to sing and dance - on her own
- Lots of happy cleints, growing business

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

- Lack of imagination when it comes to new kinds of micro-content and micro-contnet publishing in general. Sad and pathetic. And podcasting. Even sadder.

14. Where did most of your money go?

- Babylon

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

- Open Source Infrastructure - and how ever effort I put into it - not only helps me and our company, but also the world. Talk about killing trhee birds with one stone!

16. What song/album will always remind you of 2004?

- "Ambush in the night" - Bob Marley (all guns pointed at me now....)

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

happier or sadder? happier
thinner or fatter? always going up
richer or poorer? richer in money. richer in happiness

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

- Hung with my sons more.....

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

- Blog

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

- eating Chinese food and watching a movie. What all good Jews do on X-Mas day.

21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?

- my wife - Lisa.

22. Did you fall in love in 2004?

- yes - over and over again with Lisa.

23. How many one night stands in this last year?

- yah, right

24. What was your favourite TV program?

- Alias

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

- more than anyone else - I hate the entire concept of fascist, imperialist, Amerika - and all it stands for. Fuck you - red states.

26. What was the best book(s) you read?

- N/A - my 250+ feedskeep me busy.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?

- Blind Guys from Alabama

28. What did you want and get?

- progress in DLAs, healthy children, bank account.

29. What did you want and not get?

- PeopleAggregator, WebOutliner

30. What were your favourite films of this year?

- um, gee, what films came out this year. I can't remember any.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 47 and I went to the hospital with my eldest daughter to see her new baby sister who was born the day before. You don't have birthdays like that very often! BTW my eldest son was at Lucy's birth.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

- Having money to build what I wanna build.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?

N/A

34. What kept you sane?

- family, blogosphere and knowing that I'm consistently about 10 years ahead.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

- Heather Graham

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

- Legalized Marijuana

37. Who did you miss?

- my friend Dave Winer

38. Who was the best new person you met?

- oh god, too many to mention. Simon Grice, Lucas Gonze, Carl Wescott, Monette, Rich Seidner, the Marqui folk, Leonard Brody, Dick Hardt, the Bryght dudes (Boris and Roland), the Tucows dudes (who I haven't even met yet!), Alf Eaton, Kjetil Larsen, JD Lasica, the Laszlo folks, Dave Toole, Seb Paquet, the list goes on and on - it's been a hell of a year!

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004.

- slow down, it'll all come to you, just stockpile those ideas, they'll be usful - later.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?

"Rasta Man virbration - yah, positive!"

"Got to have a good vibe"

All things come to an end.........

All things come to an end......... 11/13/2003 05:20 PM
The journey of my jacket is quickly coming to an end. Can you guess who the last person in the...

Getting Things Done?

Getting Things Done? 07/17/2004 01:15 AM

"wish you hadn't said certain things"

"wish you hadn't said certain things" 06/15/2004 12:12 AM

The Two Things

The Two Things 06/12/2004 04:45 AM
The Two Things: People love to play the Two Things game, but they rarely agree about what the Two Things are .. Glen Whitman's Two Things .. has put up a webpage

csun.edu/~dgw61315/thetwothings.html
track this site | 6 links

Things never done before

Things never done before 05/01/2004 11:37 AM
There's a Finnish blogmeme spreading now: list the things that you've done for the first time this year. Here's one of mine:

Drinking all these behind the sauna, direct from the bottle.

They're all a part of Finnish national romantic scenery, immortalized by hordes of people, who are very good at optimizing the price/inebriation ratio.

things aren't going so well

things aren't going so well 09/14/2004 07:17 AM
The American Spectator .. make this stuff .. SCAMMED:"

spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=7099
track this site | 6 links

"these things"

"these things" 09/27/2004 11:18 AM

"66 Things To Think About"

"66 Things To Think About" 06/16/2004 11:01 PM

"ten things"

"ten things" 11/14/2003 03:32 AM

"43 things"

"43 things" 01/03/2005 05:15 PM

"26 Things"

"26 Things" 11/02/2003 09:45 PM

all the things you can get it to do

all the things you can get it to do 04/09/2004 04:08 PM
list of the thousands of commands .. Subservient Chicken exposed!

xeni.net/images/bb/clipData.html
track this site | 6 links

Things that shouldn't need to be said

Things that shouldn't need to be said 02/10/2004 02:49 AM

But sometimes arguments cross a line beyond which everybody gets hurt, including the Net. I see that happening here. Even though I'm no technologist, it's clear to me that the Net has been improved, radically and fundamentally, by RSS and other standards like it (even if they come, as Mark claims RSS does, in 9 incompatible versions). [Doc Searls]

Must we still, at this late date, reiterate and underscore Doc's point? Apparently, we must. Sigh. ...

Things to do...

Things to do... 02/10/2004 02:46 AM

Font for post-its remains Coates.ttf as made with Fontifier.

Read the comments

Oh, the Things They'll Know

Oh, the Things They'll Know 04/11/2005 11:32 PM

Brent was playing outside with his friends after dinner tonight. When he came inside, he plopped down on the couch next to me and watched me respond to some email. After a few minutes, he said, “Can I talk to one of your friends?” I said, “You mean you want to chat with one of them online? Sure.”

So we opened up Trillian and found Karen was online. Even though I know she’s terribly busy, she was kind enough to chat with Brent for a few minutes. I told him she had been in the military, so he asked a couple of questions about that. She most graciously responded. As I watched their conversation, I noticed Brent using IM language that I didn’t even know he knew. In fact, when he threw “nvm” out there, both Karen and I were stumped. (Turns out it stands for “never mind.”) Then he threw in ppl, kewl, and cya at various points. Astounded (remember, he’s only nine-years old and he hasn’t gotten into IM yet), I asked him where he was learning all of this. Guess where?

Yep – Runescape.

One of the big motivations for Brent learning to read has always been video games. He played Playstation before he could read, and when I used to tell him it was time to shut down, he’d pull up the options screen and ask how to save his game. My response was always, “You tell me. Find the one that says ‘save.’” Runescape has helped him learn to read faster, because the text others type can scroll by pretty quickly.

So now he’s learned to read (certainly faster), learned to type (certainly faster), and now he’s learning IM slang, all thanks to Runescape. Interesting literacy lessons there.

Of course, I wonder what else he’s learning….

Three Things to Know About Your ETF

Three Things to Know About Your ETF 04/07/2005 03:03 PM
ETFs can be great, but sector plays can also be the biggest sucker bet since the lottery. Here's how to check under the hood.

"Things to Come"

"Things to Come" 03/19/2003 10:44 PM

One of these things is not like the
other one...

One of these things is not like the
other one... 03/20/2003 08:31 AM

Scoble compares and contrasts ActiveWords with Smart Tags.  He also links to the record of how ang ry he got about Smart Tags.  That thread on the decentralization list makes most of the arguments on either side of the debate, and I have to admit the debate was a real eye-opener for me.  Many people reacted exactly opposite to how I would have expected them to react to Smart Tags.  I am still convinced that Smart Tags represented a revolution in Renmin Voice, and I want to see the concept become a natural part of people's lives.  But now I have a better understanding of why Scoble objected. 

Ari suggests that a more cooperative approach may be what's necessary.  And Scoble raises the issue of "push vs. pull".  I think Jon Udell's LibraryLookup Bookmarklets represent a good example of "Smart Tag"-like technology that is done in a cooperative and non-intrusive way. 

Jon Udell's LibraryLookup also puts the lie to Charles Cooper's news.com piece claiming that IE dominance has thwarted innovation.  Jon proved that one guy can extend the browser to do something very useful to people's lives, "semantic", and futuristic -- all without ever having to fire up a compiler.  The only things getting in the way of browser innovation right now are lack of imagination, lack of volition, and the giant sucking sound of people wasting their lives trying to rewrite software that's already matured (like word processors and file servers).

~

On this first day of the current war, I for some reason keep remembering the Yeats poem about "When you are old and gray and full of sleep", and the poem below.  I don't know why, but they seem appropriate. 

It's really incredible to think back to the first Gulf war, and realize how much of what we live is new.  In 1991, we wouldn't have been able to argue about Smart Tags, we didn't have blogs, IM, or even the web.  I chafe with impatience at every roadblock that keeps us from realizing our destiny of Renmin Voice, but when put in perspective,  the industry has made vast progress between these wars.  How can anyone be a pessimist?

~

Wine comes in at the mouth

And love comes in at the eye;

That's all we shall know for truth

Before we grow old and die.

I lift the glass to my mouth,

I look at you, and sigh.

-W.F.B. Yeats

Two Things

Two Things 04/09/2004 03:55 PM
Thing #1: The past month was one of the busiest, most beautiful, most exciting months of my life. Everything... (175 words)

39 things I should do

39 things I should do 06/05/2005 11:56 PM

If you're into food, and wondering, "what the heck should I do next?" check out the [UK] Observer's list, The top 50 things every foodie should do.

To celebrate OFM's fiftieth edition, we asked some of our favourite bon viveurs what they considered most essential to do before they died.

Amazingly, I've already done ten of the items they've listed! Is that because I'm a "bon viveur"? Maybe a little, but also I've liked cooking and food for a very long time. Of what they've recommended, I've already completed the following:

3) Dismember a chicken
I learned this last summer when I was working at a restaurant. Our chef said everyone needed to know how to break down a chicken. Now I do. I haven't done it since.

6) Dine at the French Laundry
May 2002. I can't imagine you're reading my site and haven't read my review, but if that's the case get thee to It's All About Finesse immediately! Now start saving your dollar a day!

18) Shuck an oyster
I first learned this in 1994 on Cape Cod, where indeed just as they recommend, I enjoyed 'wild native oysters, from a forgotten oyster bed'. I last shucked two dozen for my family at Christmas.

20) Wolf down a hotdog on Coney Island
July 4, 2003. I ate one. Japanese super-eating legend Takeru Kobayashi ate 44 1/2 in twelve minutes. A photo of Kobayashi in action!

24) Be cooked for by a legend
(See #6)

32) Shop till you drop [at La Boqueria in Barcelona]
When I visited Barcelona in October, 2003 I spent many hours exploring this amazing market, though I never bought anything because I was staying in a hotel and had nowhere to cook.

33) Catch your own dinner
They recommend deep-sea fishing for tuna in Barbados. I went fishing for bluefish off Nantucket in August, 2003 and cooked up the riches for dinner with my family. Bluefish is my favorite, and I think one of the best meals you can eat (but only if you're in the northeast of the United States in July or August) is bluefish baked with breadcrumbs, butter, and lemon; steamed sweet corn, with butter and salt; and boiled red potatoes. If you don't have strawberry shortcake for dessert, with real whipped cream and homemade shortcake, you haven't gone all out.

39) Visit Pierre Gagnaire in Paris
I did this in June 2003. For some reason, I never wrote about it. Drat, I wish I had.

40) Bake a loaf of bread
I can't even remember the first time I baked a loaf of bread, but it must have been around 1986. I started my culinary adventures in the baking arena (cakes and sweets) before moving into the savory world of cooking. Of course, the Guardian says, "If your loaf is a true San Francisco-style sourdough then all the better." And I say, "No!" Yuck. I don't like sourdough. I had enough "San Francisco-style sourdough" when I lived in San Francisco to last my whole life.

47) Kill a pig
The last on the list, I did this over the 4th of July weekend, 1994. Some folks I knew in college had a little tradition of doing this. At a farm in New Hampshire, we (by which I mean a friend named Danny) killed the pig and bled it. Then we all took part in gutting and skinning it (writing now, it sounds more "Lord of the Flies" than it was). We roasted it in a pit for a very long time, and the result was the best thing I'd ever tasted. I had never liked pork before that, and I didn't for a very long time after. But everything we ate that day was incredible.

They also recommend that you:

9) Pick your own [mushrooms]
But I've never done this. I had a class in college called Plants and Humanity and we learned from our biology professor never to pick mushrooms in the wild. He said it was too dangerous, even with books and training, because the possibility of making a mistake was too great. I learned a lot from Prof. Ellmore, and to this day I still recall much of what he taught, so I'm going to trust my gut and skip the picking of wild mushrooms. The 39 remaining items could easily take the rest of my life as it is, I don't want to end it prematurely by eating a Death Cap!

Getting Things Done

Getting Things Done 02/01/2005 09:12 PM

Getting Things Done with Your Mac

Getting Things Done with Your Mac 03/14/2005 05:33 PM
MacDevCenter.com: “Being a smug Mac user is one thing, but even the smuggest of us (including me) have problems staying organized.”

Ten Things to Do with IIS

Ten Things to Do with IIS 10/25/2002 03:31 PM
It would be nice if everything ran in a vacuum so that when something goes wrong you know what caused it, but in the real world most software is dependent on other software. ASP, ASP.NET, ColdFusion, JSP, Perl are no different... they run on top of IIS. Here's a list of ten ways to make IIS the best it can be.

things you can't say

things you can't say 01/05/2004 04:58 AM
ruminations

paulgraham.com/say.html
track this site | 4 links

I don't know what to think of things
like this

I don't know what to think of things
like this 06/22/2005 01:45 AM

Interesting, I was awarded a spot on the A lways On/Technorati Open Media 100 as a "trendsetter." I don't know how they determined who is on the list or why, or even what "open media" means, but I'll take it and add it to my list of dubious accomplishments like "Shift Magazine's Top 25 Web Personalities."

Looking for fun things you can do with a
PGP/GnuPG key

Looking for fun things you can do with a
PGP/GnuPG key 01/27/2004 10:57 PM

When I was asked "What else can you do with a PGP/GnuPG key beyond the normal signing/encrypting of files and e-mail messages?", I thought about it and came up with a couple of ideas... but the question continued to nag at me and I finally decided to do a 5-minute "lightning talk" at an upcoming OCLUG meeting to talk about the topic.

I've come up with a list of ideas and would appreciate any other suggestions that folks may have. PGP-encrypted IM, signing web pages... more... I am especially interested in things that "regular users" (i.e. non-developers) can do with PGP keys.
Grok Description matches for "The Two Things"
GrokA matches for "The Two Things"

"The Two Things"

The following phrases have been identified by the grok system as matching this entry: