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Category Archives: etc

SOPA, Media Conglomerates, and the Moral Obligation to Boycott

01-Feb-12

SOPA, in its current form, is dead. But the fight to keep the internet an open platform for communication, creativity, and commerce is far from over. Pacts like ACTA are in some ways more troubling than SOPA/PIPA, as they represent attempts of copyright extremists to do an end-run around the US Congress. (Rep. Daniel Issa [...]

IKEA standing desk

09-Jan-12

In the spring of 2011, I converted to a standing desk. At that time, I was unsure that I’d want to stick with the setup, and thus I didn’t want to spend the money on a proper standing setup. So my conversion to standing was effected by a motley collection of milk crates, thick books, [...]

2011

01-Jan-12

A bunch of stuff happened in 2011. I quit graduate school I traveled a bit: WordCamp Phoenix, API Workshop at MITH, Jamaica, NC barbecue roadtrip, THATCamp I co-taught a class about WordPress in the graphic design program at Queens College I proved myself the 76th best crossword solver in the universe I taught an intro [...]

Do something about SOPA

13-Dec-11

Hey you! Do something about SOPA and PROTECT IP.. The Stop Online Privacy Act (and its cousin in the Senate, the PROTECT IP Act) are inching closer to passage. Time is running short for you to do what you can to stymie this legislation, which could very well destroy the open internet as we know [...]

If high tuition is “normal”, then “normal” sucks

22-Nov-11

In the wake last night’s flap at Baruch College, I saw a number of tweets in my “CUNY” search column that expressed a sentiment like the following: “CUNY students are complaining about a $300 tuition increase? They’re spoiled – $300 is nothing, and CUNY tuition is already a bargain.” (Several were less politely phrased than [...]

Project Reclaim and the email dilemma

14-Oct-11

One of the main 2011 goals for Project Reclaim is to get my email out of Gmail. Heavy reliance on Gmail raises a number of red flags. For one thing, email is central to my business and personal life online, and provides the best archive of my online past (get the important stuff first). For [...]

Done with Apple

12-Oct-11

In my 2010 year-in-review post I made a passing mention to my decision not to buy any more Apple products. Most people who know me can probably guess the reasons behind the decision, but recently I’ve had some discussions that made me think that it’s worth a blog post to spell them out. First is [...]

They’ve got Wally covered

25-Aug-11

We came back from a mini-vacation in Wisconsin yesterday to find a package on our table addressed to Wally. Inside was this beautiful quilt: The very cute card was inscribed, in part: “Commissioned by Paul Gibbs. Made by Andrea Rennick”. Paul and the Rennicks are a few of my friends from the WordPress and BuddyPress [...]

Building a baby photo site with WordPress

17-Jul-11

My wife and I just had our first baby, which is the occassion for much nachas and, by extension, picture sharing. Facebook is, for better or for worse (emphasis on the latter), the de facto place for such sharing to happen. For a number of reasons – a desire to be somewhat selective about who [...]

Welcome, Walter

28-Jun-11

He decided to surprise us four weeks ahead of schedule. How’s that for dramatic? Mom and baby are doing great. Walter Joseph Gorges 6lb 8oz June 28 2011