TypePad doesn’t have any of the great Flickr connectivity that Vox does, and I really wanted a way to quickly post photos from my Flickr account to this blog. So begat this hack:
Fligr, the Flickr grabber.
Drag the link to your browser toolbar (or click to test on this page). Hooray, easy HTML to poach photos!
Yesterday I was reminded of a few pithy truisms about Ye Olde Internets: Never post anything on the internet that you aren’t comfortable with it existing forever. On the internet, copyright is largely irrelevant. APIs and the ecosystem they support provide interesting mechanisms for discovering both new works and infringement.
I’m pretty liberal with usage rights. In general, if someone isn’t deriving income from the reuse of something I’ve created, then I don’t request compensation, only credit. I’ve considered using a blanket Creative Commons license for [most of] my stuff, but haven’t researched it enough to understand all the ramifications. For now, everything is ©, All Rights Reserved. This has proven to work well. I used to create textures for the indie mapping scene. Occasionally I’d get reports from people who’d played a game that reused my textures without credit (or compensation), but in all cases a few phone calls or emails resolved the situation.
Yesterday I saw a Google link to a Flickr DNA page for my photos. From there, I clicked to a related Technorati page with references to my photos. Curious, I dug in a bit more and found these minor references:
Simple, nothing crazy or too profound, but interesting to see what other people think is interesting.
Spotted at the Strand a couple days ago on the aging/self-help table near the front.
OK, I’ll bite: I think Apple will introduce the MacBook Air with 3G chipset of some sort and announce a partnership with AT&T for flat-rate unlimited data access.
It’s been ten years since The Prodigy released the epic / controversial / banned / aired / lauded / awarded / imitated video for Smack My Bitch Up. Lately I’ve thought it wouldn’t be a bad accompaniment to a Mike Skinner track. It’s still a piece of genius, even post-Gondry, post-Cunningham. Click through for (NSFW) video.
In the New York Times today: Steven Pinker writes “The Moral Instinct” and Caitlin Flanagan opines about Juno.
One morning at my local, Piccino, I inquired where Jamie was. “He moved to New York,” was the reply. I was dismayed, SF had lost a prodigal barista and a good soul. Fast-forward a year, and by complete chance I walk into this tiny place, Abraço Espresso (7th street @ 1st Ave) and there was my friend! He and his business partners (also San Francisco expats) have brought ristretto perfection to the East Village.
We were greeted like old friends, crowded into the tiny space between the door and the bar; which evoked the Linden kiosk in Hayes Valley with its combination of walnut and fogged plexiglass, stainless steel and the hulking Marzocco.
We stayed for an hour and a half, chatting with Jamie’s business partners, sampling the food (and of course the divine espresso). Took photos and met new friends, got directions to a haberdashery and enjoyed the warmth of the space.
Abraço doesn’t have decaf or soy milk (they make their own almond milk from scratch for the dairy-averse). There’s no wi-fi or MP3s being pumped into the air. The music comes from an LP, the turntable perched atop a cage shelf already crammed into the impossibly tiny, but well-laid out space. Nothing feels out of place, object, patron or otherwise.
The neon sign that’s visible through the window from 1st ave:
I finally finished watching Amelie. I’m struggling with both loving the film (I’d now consider it a favorite) and being dismayed by the dismantling of a central premise of the story, that Amelie doesn’t need a boy (or love from a boy) to be happy.
I went looking for an iPhone Subway Map, after having failed to assemble my own (in both PDF and 4K raster) and found this useful bit of kit from Khoi Vinh.
I also found a very pretty, well-designed, legible and enjoyable blog. I suppose you’d expect that from the design director of NYTimes.com. Did I mention the design is great? (Also eerily familiar. He also posted about The Wire this week.)
Also, I think Banksy friended me on Flickr.