tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57231582024-02-28T06:02:54.009-06:00Jamie Laing"We must let the world tell us how the world is, and accept no other sources as authentic."Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163469955421473675noreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-17359652715687852262020-01-22T16:52:00.000-06:002020-01-22T16:57:48.508-06:00Setup of Sonatype Nexus Repository Manager on SynologyThis took me a while to find. Hoping to spare you that time, I thought I'd share.<br />
<br />
If you are installing the Sonatype Nexus Repository Manager on a Synology device running Docker, you'll note that you need to explore the container filesystem in order to locate a file named "admin.password" in order to log into the application as administrator and complete setup.<br />
<br />
Getting to this file on the Synology is not particularly straightforward.<br />
<br />
Also, the hints Sonatype provides for the file location is not correct, at least in my instance which is "Sonatype Nexus Repository Manager OSS 3.20.0-04".<br />
<br />
To find the file:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Establish an SSH connection to your Synology unit.</li>
<li>Elevate your permissions using Sudo.</li>
<li>Assuming your Docker instance is installed on volume1, change directories to /volume1/@docker/volumes</li>
<li>You may see one or more subdirectories here. I only had one, and the directory name is a long GUID. Change to this directory.</li>
<li>Notice that the important file named "admin.password" is located here, not where they tell you.</li>
<li>use the command "cat admin.password" to list out the contents of the file. The password will be quite long.</li>
<li>Go back to your browser and log into your Sonatype instance using this password.</li>
<li>Enjoy.</li>
</ol>
<div>
If any of this is unclear let me know and I will provide more instructions.</div>
Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-12527620788880640722017-07-06T18:05:00.001-05:002017-07-06T18:05:19.006-05:00Is Blogger still a thing?Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything here. I suppose it's because I got involved with Google+, but also I've been busy starting up a robotics company in my spare time.<br />
<br />
Tomorrow, 7/7/17, at 7am, I'm finally putting my first product, Simula, officially up for sale at http://www.ChicagoRobotics.net. It's been a remarkable amount of work getting to this point, and I loved every minute of it. I had to teach myself robotics from the ground up, including circuit design, 3D modelling, circuit board manufacture, behavior tree development... man when I look back at all that it really looks daunting. It's a good thing I was too stupid to come to my senses and stop myself, because it's not really rational.<br />
<br />
Well anyway, I'm back, and I'll be posting more. I'm just wondering if Blogger is the right place these days... fortunately I'm all wired up with Google Analytics so I'll be able to figure out where exactly is the new hotness.<br />
<br />
Here is a video that describes Simula:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/F95ZCFvYiPw/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F95ZCFvYiPw?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-37202719305342743922015-01-28T07:59:00.002-06:002015-01-28T07:59:42.147-06:00Projects & Snow globes<div class="MsoNormal">
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teams are like snow globes; they function best after a good shake-up.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-68629837829857260282014-12-09T17:17:00.000-06:002015-04-16T17:34:53.143-05:00Eagle PCB to Autodesk Inventor - how to do itThis is mostly a note to myself, but I thought I'd share it in case it helps somebody.<br />
<br />
To get an Eagle PCB board outline & drills into Inventor, you use the DXF export utility in Eagle.<br />
<br />
Before exporting, make sure Eagle is only displaying the following layers, assuming you're using the default layer setup:<br />
17 - Pads<br />
20 - Dimension<br />
44 - Drills<br />
45 - Holes<br />
46 - Milling<br />
<br />
(Note, you might want to select additional layers, but I'd start with these first, because Inventor chokes on more.)<br />
<br />
Next, click File/Export/DXF and save your file someplace. I stick them in a sub-folder of my Eagle project named "Export".<br />
<br />
Now go to Inventor and open the DXF file. An import routine will be triggered, use these values:<br />
<br />
Selective Import, layers 20 and 44. Look at the drawing to confirm you're getting what you want.<br />
<br />
Check - Wires<br />
Specify units - mm (if that's what you used in Eagle)<br />
Check - Constrain End Points and Apply Geometric Constraints<br />
Select "New Part - Project wires to 2D sketch"<br />
Mapping options - Check "Map all layers ... single sketch"<br />
<br />
Click Finish.<br />
<br />
<b>Tada! </b> There is your board as an Eagle sketch, properly sized, ready for extrusion.<br />
<br />
Now, you might ask, "Why are you displaying those layers in Eagle for the export, but then ignoring them in Inventor?" The answer - it looks like Eagle has a bug. Without enabling all those layers, the drills don't come across. At all. Frustrating, but surmountable.<br />
<br />
Also... if you're getting your boards made by OSHPark.com, then you can go ahead and extrude the board at 1.8mm in thickness. This is the same value for both 2 and 4 layer boards.Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-53228876153889484812013-09-02T12:00:00.000-05:002013-09-02T12:00:15.073-05:00Meshbot 2 chassis design releasedI published "Meshbot 2" my second 3D printed robot chassis design on Thingiverse, you can check it out <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:144317" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:144317" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://thingiverse-production.s3.amazonaws.com/renders/9a/ad/32/2f/99/DSC02247_display_large.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-79441075315362673902013-08-06T12:32:00.001-05:002013-08-06T12:32:18.678-05:00So many grindstones, so little noseI'm so thankful that I get to do the kind of work I do. Writing software is a blast!Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-74664577011220364572013-07-06T12:04:00.000-05:002013-07-06T12:04:08.580-05:00Human evolution - Selfishness vs. AltruismJust read a great article:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.economicpopulist.org/content/human-nature-needs-be-back-business?google_editors_picks=true" target="_blank">http://www.economicpopulist.org/content/human-nature-needs-be-back-business?google_editors_picks=true</a><br />
<br />
In it, there is a nice quote from Darwin. This side of Darwin's thinking was ignored by his robber-baron lauding "social Darwinist" contemporaries:<br />
<br />
<em>An advancement in the standard of morality will certainly give an immense advantage to one tribe over another. A tribe including many members who, from possessing in a high degree the spirit of patriotism, fidelity, obedience, courage and sympathy, were always ready to aid one another, and to sacrifice themselves for the common good, would be victorious over most other tribes; and this would be natural selection.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
This perspective was not ignored by Kropotkin:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kropotkin#Cooperation_and_competition" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kropotkin#Cooperation_and_competition</a><br />
<br />
Kropotkin was misunderstood and belittled by his western contemporaries, as Gould describes in this great article:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.marxists.org/subject/science/essays/kropotkin.htm" target="_blank">http://www.marxists.org/subject/science/essays/kropotkin.htm</a><br />
<br />
Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-84006707758070384712013-06-07T12:58:00.001-05:002013-06-07T12:58:34.743-05:00Please make the Patriot Act go away<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57588168/u.s-intel-chief-blasts-leaks-on-web-phone-use-tracking/"><strong>U.S. intel chief blasts leaks on web, phone use tracking - CBS News</strong></a><strong>: "I'm angry, and I was the one that wrote the law. And I think that the Justice Department and the NSA have abused this by going to far," said Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc., who helped craft the Patriot Act.</strong><br />
<br />
<br />
I would just like to say to Rep. Sensenbrenner, what exactly did you think was going to happen? Have you not read enough history to know where these things inevitably go? The Patriot Act was, at best, naive. At worst, it's an unfettered invasion of privacy reminiscent of Hitler's "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enabling_act" target="_blank">Enabling Act</a>" or the actions taken by Joseph McCarthy (Sen. R-Wisc) during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism" target="_blank">Second Red Scare</a>.Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-51625395081407374652013-04-09T20:10:00.001-05:002013-04-09T20:10:11.232-05:00Just for you<div><p dir=ltr>Alliteration alleviates all ailments, and any antipathy.</p>
</div>Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.com0Northbrook, Northbrook42.127525 -87.82896tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-87226850510123747272013-01-04T16:05:00.000-06:002013-01-04T16:05:43.046-06:00Thought for the dayA friend just sent me a great link that I thought I would share:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://scottberkun.com/2013/quit-your-whining/">http://scottberkun.com/2013/quit-your-whining/</a><br />
<br />Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-65231792525305815422012-10-25T13:01:00.001-05:002012-10-25T13:01:43.516-05:00WHAT!?! Something in our ecosystem actually improved a bit?!<a href="http://www.tgdaily.com/sustainability-features/67085-antarctic-ozone-shows-big-improvement">Antarctic ozone shows big improvement | TG Daily</a>Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-77569233655008063042012-10-10T08:44:00.001-05:002012-10-10T08:44:05.665-05:00Toyota recall reminds me of biodiversity issuesThe article in question makes a point: "The massive size of the newly announced recall underscores the risks manufacturers like Toyota face when they share basic components on a wide range of vehicles hoping to improve manufacturing economies of scale."<br />
<br />
This is the same issue farmers face when choosing to grow a single type of crop, and the world faces as we trample individual cultures. It's an interesting problem, because you can't argue with the profitability of such decisions, but you need to be wary of the unintended consequences.<br />
<br />
The article:<br />
<a href="http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/10/14333663-toyota-to-hold-worlds-biggest-car-recall-for-16-years?lite">Toyota to hold world's biggest car recall for 16 years - Bottom Line</a><br />
<br />
<br />
This also makes me think of the book I'm reading, <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/1491-Revelations-Americas-Before-Columbus/dp/1400032059" target="_blank">1491</a></em> by Charles Mann. In it, Mann describes how the original Americans not only engineered corn from the original plant <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zea_(genus)" target="_blank">teosinte</a>, but developed a method of farming called a "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milpa" target="_blank">milpa</a>" which is essentially the exact opposite approach, in agriculture, of that taken by Toyota in sharing a single part across multiple models. <br />
<br />
Wikipedia quotes Mann:<br />
"A milpa is a field, usually but not always recently cleared, in which farmers plant a dozen crops at once including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maize" title="Maize">maize</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avocado" title="Avocado">avocados</a>, multiple varieties of <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squash_(fruit)" title="Squash (fruit)">squash</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bean" title="Bean">bean</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melon" title="Melon">melon</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato" title="Tomato">tomatoes</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chili_pepper" title="Chili pepper">chilis</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_potato" title="Sweet potato">sweet potato</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%ADcama" title="Jícama">jícama</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranth" title="Amaranth">amaranth</a>, and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mucana" title="Mucana">mucana</a>.... Milpa crops are nutritionally and environmentally complementary. Maize lacks the amino acids <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysine" title="Lysine">lysine</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryptophan" title="Tryptophan">tryptophan</a>, which the body needs to make <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein" title="Protein">proteins</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niacin" title="Niacin">niacin</a>;.... Beans have both lysine and tryptophan.... Squashes, for their part, provide an array of vitamins; avocados, fats. The milpa, in the estimation of H. Garrison Wilkes, a maize researcher at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, "is one of the most successful human inventions ever created."<br />
<br />
The point here is that Toyota receives the <em>intended benefit</em> of reduced cost and a simplified supply chain through standardizing on a particular part across models and product lines, but it receives the <em>unintended consequence</em> of increased exposure in the event of part failure, and also increased exposure to supply company failure if it decided to source the part from a single manufacturer.<br />
<br />
Had Toyota selected a milpa-like approach on the part, such as sourcing multiple variants of the part, and sourcing those parts from multiple suppliers (to be fair I think Toyota spreads supplier risk already) then complexity is certainly increased, but risk is reduced, and one can imagine a host of other unintended benefits.Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-82092544968085447302012-10-03T06:54:00.001-05:002012-10-03T06:54:59.849-05:00Intelligence effort improperly collected information about citizens, not terrorists | Lubbock Online | Lubbock Avalanche-JournalThis is just wrong, and it needs to be fixed. I'm glad to hear the program is on the chopping block.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2012-10-02/intelligence-effort-improperly-collected-information-about-innocent-citizens">Intelligence effort improperly collected information about citizens, not terrorists | Lubbock Online | Lubbock Avalanche-Journal</a>: One fusion center cited in the Senate investigation wrote a report about a Muslim community group's list of book recommendations. Others discussed American citizens speaking at mosques or talking to Muslim groups about parenting.<br />
<br />
No evidence of criminal activity was contained in those reports. The government did not circulate them, but it kept them on government computers. The federal government is prohibited from storing information about First Amendment activities not related to crimes.Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-32834858448238969452012-05-29T11:26:00.001-05:002012-05-29T11:26:07.644-05:00Three Things That Should Trouble AppleI thought this was sensible and realistic:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://kickingbear.com/blog/archives/305">kickingbear» Blog Archive » Three Things That Should Trouble Apple</a>Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-76374845820446317822012-03-24T15:52:00.000-05:002012-03-24T15:57:57.538-05:00Understanding people based on email addressAs much as we try to avoid it, we all quickly summarize the people around us based on small bits of information. Nobody said it was fair, but we judge people based on dialect, race, clothing, posture, and even walking gait. Because I work in technology, I thought I would share some of my admittedly unfair biases based on email address.<br />
<br />
These are currently in no particular order, and I expect to update this post several times as I think through this issue.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Me.com or Apple.com</li>
<ul>
<li>Didn't fully use the internet until they bought an iPhone.</li>
<li>Loves to hate Microsoft products.</li>
<li>Brings out phone to show pictures of children, food, or recent vacation shots in an aggressive, unpleasant manner.</li>
<li>Will freak out when MobileMe shuts down in June, 2012.</li>
<li>Thinks the term "App" means something specifically about iPhone.</li>
<li>Believes Steve Jobs was an inventor/scientist.</li>
</ul>
<li>AOL.com</li>
<ul>
<li>Old person.</li>
<li>Probably does not know what a scroll bar is.</li>
<li>Thinks PowerPoint users are technology geniuses.</li>
<li>Externalizes internet problems.</li>
<li>Believes that prior to retirement, Bill Gates knew when they opened an email.</li>
<li>Frequent Facebook poster, uses "post to board" instead of "private message" causing everyone embarrassment.</li>
</ul>
<li>Comcast.net</li>
<ul>
<li>Probably a converted AOL user.</li>
<li>Knows how to unplug a router to restore Comcast service, or has a younger person around who does this for them.</li>
<li>Doesn't know IMAP from a hole in the ground.</li>
<li>Thought the hacker scenes in "Swordfish" were believable.</li>
<li>Leaves hundreds of application windows open and rarely restarts machine.</li>
</ul>
<li>Gmail.com</li>
<ul>
<li>Watched Tron 2010 in 3D the first month it came out.</li>
<li>Owns an Android phone but has bought at least one Apple device.</li>
<li>Has an opinion about password length.</li>
<li>Owns, or has considered owning a Prius.</li>
<li>Wears goofy shoes.</li>
<li>Cuts off bicycles when driving, but hogs lane when riding bike.</li>
</ul>
<li>Yahoo.com</li>
<ul>
<li>Buys the magazines found at grocery store cash registers.</li>
<li>Forwards spam email to friends.</li>
<li>Computer(s) infected with multiple viruses</li>
<li>Never backs anything up.</li>
<li>Asks people simple questions that could easily be Googled from the phone they are holding.</li>
<li>Possible creationist.</li>
</ul>
</ul>Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-5049715212893064062012-03-13T17:27:00.001-05:002012-03-13T17:27:16.390-05:00Samsung Supplies Apple With Touch Screen for New IPad - BusinessweekThe sun never sets on the Apple/Samsung lawsuits, and yet still...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-13/samsung-supplies-apple-with-touch-screen-for-new-ipad">Samsung Supplies Apple With Touch Screen for New IPad - Businessweek</a>Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-65249552667298053392012-01-17T16:32:00.000-06:002012-01-17T16:32:07.820-06:00Technolog - Wozniak likes his Android phone a lot<a href="http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/17/10175148-wozniak-likes-his-android-phone-a-lot">Technolog - Wozniak likes his Android phone a lot</a>Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-31101492889629316152012-01-09T01:49:00.000-06:002012-01-09T01:49:07.677-06:00Someone messed with Texas, after being clearly told, "Don't mess with Texas."<a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/01/09/144761572/texas-redrawn-voting-rights-states-power-in-court">Texas Redrawn: Voting Rights, States' Power In Court : NPR</a>Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-92409974029030802011-12-15T12:04:00.000-06:002011-12-15T12:04:44.428-06:00US troops scramble to hand off last-minute security 'details' to Iraqis - CSMonitor.comI am glad the Iraq occupation is coming to an end, and it's great that so many troops will be back for Christmas. I do however find it surprising and perhaps foolish that we are leaving behind so little equipment for the Iraqi forces to maintain security. I wonder what the rationale is on that.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2011/1213/US-troops-scramble-to-hand-off-last-minute-security-details-to-Iraqis/(page)/2">US troops scramble to hand off last-minute security 'details' to Iraqis - <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">CSMonitor</span>.com</a>: The performance of the Iraqi soldiers has been all the more impressive, US troops here note, given that the Iraqi security force unit with responsibility for airport perimeter security has only one pickup truck and one small Humvee.Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-56507242587473724742011-11-23T16:57:00.001-06:002011-11-23T16:58:20.650-06:00Xmas tree lighting<div><p>At the  Daley center for the xmas tree lighting!</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOEOfBCC5G8Hjf_nVhrtTo46KIizGI1f-1gDWU43imHFpffttTzHyf2fwlahb7qnrLksLdU1zI1lBciGNYFzNbQoo8L9W9qCh2gR2X09TXO2NJ4y0OECe0JrULMxed95Ksyl1/' /></div>Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.com0The Loop, Chicago41.88228 -87.62941tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-9912038570314248492011-11-09T11:40:00.000-06:002011-11-09T11:42:30.100-06:00GAAS - Gameplay As A ServiceI just read an <a href="http://blogs.cio.com/cio-role/16614/games-gamers-and-new-business-strategy" target="_blank">interesting article</a> by Michael Hugos in CIO that has really got me thinking. If games are becoming more acceptable in the workplace, and we've got services like Amazon's Mechanical Turk, could it be possible that the two concepts converge into something like Gameplay As A Service?<br />
<br />
In this scenario, workers would be in a game environment but would do actual work, and that work could be structured and packaged so that organizations could purchase the service in a manner similar to SaaS. Immediately science fiction examples of this come to mind, like the book "Ender's Game" and the movie "Sleep Dealer".<br />
<br />
The thing is, all these pieces are in place, and people seem to be aching to do the work. I was recently given a demo of a virtual world that a friend built in a mining simulation game. The complexity and effort that was put into what he built was absolutely stunning. Couldn't (or perhaps even "shouldn't") that desire to create and build be put into the marketplace somehow?Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-20463030314878393682011-09-28T20:01:00.000-05:002011-09-28T20:02:29.291-05:00Speed costs - How fast do you want to spend?<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6261332-shop-class-as-soulcraft" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255606925m/6261332.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6261332-shop-class-as-soulcraft">Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2847553.Matthew_B_Crawford">Matthew B. Crawford</a><br/><br />My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/216563063">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br /><br />This book is fantastic. As a former carpenter, who at the risk of sounding self-congratulatory thought myself a craftsman, I found his writing to open up a deep sense of kinship. This is a man who cares deeply about his work and his society. As someone who now works extensively with technology and computers, I found his mild technophobia a little misplaced but highly likeable. I see no difference between working with physical objects and working with bits and bytes, but that's my personal feeling and no reflection on the book; Crawford's yearning for quality, self direction and improvement rings true. Readers may find deeper appreciation for their own jobs after reading this.<br /><br/><br /><br/>Some reviewers complained about the language being overly complicated or "hard", and that just makes me sad for books generally and the American education system specifically. His writing is as beautiful and well crafted as it gets, and those people should stop expecting pabulum, whip out a dictionary, and <em>grow up</em>.<br /><br/><br /><br/><br/><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/6484851-jamie-laing">View all my reviews</a>Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-11021070180191805492011-09-27T15:59:00.000-05:002011-09-27T15:59:30.763-05:00CDC provides Zombie Apocalypse protocolsTalk about disaster preparedness, the CDC has Zombie outbreak recommendations, just in time for Halloween...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bt.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies_blog.asp">CDC <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">EPR</span> Social Media Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse - Blog</a>Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-52216916655542636922011-09-19T10:57:00.000-05:002011-09-19T10:57:19.834-05:00Google Wallet now live, at least in one San Francisco coffee shop - ComputerworldHey Ted, Google NFC is going live...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9220110/Google_Wallet_now_live_at_least_in_one_San_Francisco_coffee_shop">Google Wallet now live, at least in one San Francisco coffee shop - Computerworld</a>Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723158.post-74109864293619537702011-09-16T15:46:00.001-05:002011-09-16T15:55:51.442-05:00Google Apps has made life difficult<div><p>It has taken me hours to undo the mess created by the Google Apps account migration tools.  Google plus remains hosed.  I love the free site hosting from Google apps but the cost had been high!</p>
<p>At least I can post from the Android Blogger app again.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Apps/thread?tid=4b919410fbc4a619&hl=en">More on this mess</a>.</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wsDZNkOcmqd-xrLgk9AEt1QmaRHmp6M5q3Fgb95Qh8SiLROsgPCWwOu1m6heuXOFxH4dRUm-42-gCAb3nNkc8rgVhO18g73G392lAG1yWUrg6c56LNLTval4J3Almtne1e6m/' /></div>Jamie Lainghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16936679678962530070noreply@blogger.com0