Quick note: Hazel Mae Lanphier was born late last night. Mom and baby are fine...gotta run back to hospital, but took a sec to upload a couple of photos: http://photos.robla.net/gallery/v/2006/
It’s about that time
As folks who know us may have heard, my lovely wife (pictured) and I are about to become parents. Not that it's really sunk in or anything, but I imagine it will some time this week, as, well, we're due and the doctors aren't too keen on the idea of letting the baby just chill… Continue reading It’s about that time
Seattle Parking Tax: Money Has To Come From Somewhere
Apparently, Mayor Nickels plans to propose a parking tax for downtown Seattle to fund transportation. Fantastic! That means that the people who commute to downtown from Issaquah or wherever pay some for Seattle transportation (as they should) whereas those of us who live and work in Seattle aren't getting disproportionately taxed.
Apple’s $150 IQ test
I'm not an Apple fanboy by any stretch of the imagination, but I do have to hand it to them with the new laptops. Not points on quality, but on revenue maximizing genius. Specifically, charging $150 more for a black laptop. People will pay for the cachet, and charging $150 is just enough to make… Continue reading Apple’s $150 IQ test
Mobiguous company names
A friend recently told me about yet another mobile startup who I won't name, but suffice to say has yet another one of those generic amalgams of "Mo" or "Mob" with some other word. It got me thinking "hey, I can automate this; maybe save everyone some time"....which I did (at least the first part).… Continue reading Mobiguous company names
What a great picture of me!
I'm on the right, talking to Brian Aker down at the MySQL User Conference. (photo by James Duncan Davidson/O'Reilly Media)
28 years of “You Light Up My Life”
I'm a big supporter of moving back to a 28 year maximum term on copyrights. I've been thinking about how to describe that, and I think I've come up with one way of doing it. Rupert Holmes would still be able to earn a living off of his 1979 hit "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)",… Continue reading 28 years of “You Light Up My Life”
Scan of 1979 Sears Wishbook
It's amazing how vivid smell memory is. I remember the exact odor of the Sears Wishbook 1979 after seeing it on Flickr. I believe the Total Control Racing (TCR) track was the highlight of my Christmas that year. The TCR track was supposed to kick ass because the cars could change lanes, but as it… Continue reading Scan of 1979 Sears Wishbook
“Playing politics” is Bush-speak for “thinking critically”
It seems that whenever Bush or the Republicans trot out the phrase "playing politics", they really mean "thinking critically". Just visit the following links, and replace the phrase "playing politics" with "thinking critically" to see what I mean."But here's the question. The question is, how do you respond to [the intelligence failures]? Do you respond… Continue reading “Playing politics” is Bush-speak for “thinking critically”
Seattle Library/Amazon LibraryLookup bookmarklet
Stumbled into Jon Udell's Library lookup bookmarklet and thought I'd give it a spin. It took some tweaking, but now I've got a Seattle Public Library/Amazon BookmarkletTo use, just drag the bookmarklet above to your toolbar. Visit Amazon, search for a book, and then click on the bookmarklet. It'll check the availability of the book… Continue reading Seattle Library/Amazon LibraryLookup bookmarklet
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