Kevin Farner's Blog

Knocking out some books this weekend

2012-05-26T21:08:26Z

I decided to turn this rainy Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend into a catch-up on reading day, especially because I had so many in-process books. So I wrapped up all these books today.

Turing's Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe

I have become fascinated with the math/computer science history of the 1930's to 1950's lately. This book was exactly what I was looking for.

The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation

I enjoyed this book almost as much as Turing's Cathedral, just a great portrait of a particular period in American history and some key characters in it.

Man's Search For Himself

This book is entirely different than the other two and I can't remember how I even came by it, but, it is a book written in the early 1950's about the state of man, and I was delighted that this book helped inform the previous two, and visa versa. Namely, the first two books talked about the math and science involved in computers and bombs during the middle of the 20th century, and Rollo May's book looks at the ramifications of that from a psychoanalytical perspective. The other thing I liked about this book was how relevant it is 60 years later.

The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work

I saw the author's Ted Talk online and bought the book and am 100% onboard with it's findings.

A History of Reading

Not that this was a light read, but it was less taxing intellectual and just an enjoyable treatise on the title that I found enjoyable.

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2012-05-26T21:07:00Z

The first thing necessary for a constructive dealing with time is to learn to live in the reality of the present moment...
The more obvious reason why confronting the present produces anxiety is that it raises the question of decisions and responsibility...
The most effective way to ensure the value of the future is to confront the present courageously and constructively.

~ Rollo May. Man's Search for Himself

the highest Moment

2012-05-26T21:04:34Z

Then dared I hail the moment fleeing:
'Ah, still delay - thou art so fair!'
The traces cannot, of mine earthly being,
In aeons perish-they are there-!
In proud fore-feeling of such lofty bliss,
I now enjoy the highest Moment - this!

~ Goethe, quoted by Rollo May. Man's Search for Himself

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2012-05-26T20:59:03Z

Wonder is the opposite to cynicism and boredom; it indicates that a person has a heightened aliveness, is interested, expectant, responsive. It is essentially an "opening" attitude...

~ Rollo May. Man's Search for Himself

Change as a good thing

2012-05-24T18:07:20Z

This is a great article about the San Antonio Spurs that relates to anyone who has been doing something for a long time.

(Background: The Spurs and Lakers are the two teams that can be called a basketball dynasty over the last 10-15 years having won 4 and 5 titles respectively in that timeframe. The Spurs have had to undergo some radical shifts in their style of play over the last couple year.)

This secton is a gem.

On a professional level, Popovich said that the change wasn't merely a product of necessity, but also rejuvenating for a coaching staff and roster that had known only one thing for the better part of a decade.
"It was great because we'd been the same team for a long time," Popovich said. "If you want to keep winning you have to be aware of changes that might need to be made. It was pretty obvious we had to do it. But it did make it more fun. I think the players enjoyed it, too. They were probably getting bored of the same old stuff."
This is the language of a creative person, someone who values not only result, but the process of his work. Popovich isn't just a tactician, he's one of the most expansive thinkers in the game.

~ Efficiency Experts Strike Again

re: stacks

2012-05-08T03:45:53Z

I've been a fan of Bon Iver since For Emma, Forever Ago came out, and being a Minnesota, WI person (lived in WI my whole life until 2004 then moved to MN) I'm sure made me like the album more, but for whatever reason, I've been listening to that album on repeat for days now. The whole album is great, but the song re:stacks is just staggeringly beautiful.

A good use case for QR Codes

2012-05-08T01:03:23Z

I was recently at the new Science Building at the University of Minnesota. It is a beautiful, modern, building with lots of useful technology.

Outside each classroom is a sign with a QR code. The QR Code takes you to the online schedule for the STSS building, which is actually quite helpful.

"We're just not interested in making software we don't love"

2012-05-03T19:01:00Z

Part of our ethos is that the people working on the software are also users, and passionate about it – we develop software that we want to use ourselves. We’re just not interested in making software we don’t love. If some users decide to go elsewhere because our crazy ideals – that’s no way to run a business! – drive them mad and they just can’t wait, we understand that, appreciate it, but such factors cannot have any influence on our design and development process, and we hope we’ll win them back with an end product that is worth waiting for.

~ The Cellar Door » Scrivener for iOS: An Update (There’s a Long Road Ahead Yet)

squarespace

2012-04-30T22:50:47Z

Really enjoying Squarespace for this blog. The iPhone app, which I am using for this post, is fantastic, and the web UI is great too.

Copy Style / Paste Style on a Mac

2012-04-26T01:52:01Z

Note to self:

To do the equivalent of Microsoft Office's 'Format Painter' function (which copies the formatting of a block of text and then pastes it to another) on the Mac:

Don't look in the Edit menu where copy and paste are
Go to the Format Menu
Look for Copy Style and Paste Style
Repeat as needed