arcodology (n.): the black art of code examination and analysis, performed during software upgrades and/or web site refreshes. arcodologists sift through tangled code fragments, often (but not always) of unknown origin and authorship, in search of meaning, enlightenment, or any shred of code that can actually be re-used. See also frustration, laziness, and cruft.
SPAMOUFLAGE AND SPAMJECTSso, let’s get the easy question out of the way first – why do so many spam messages have weird-yet-compelling subject lines? well, i can’t shed any light on why they’re compelling, but i can say what they’re trying to do…they’re trying to defeat best-of-breed, automated, anti-spam filters by disguising themselves as potentially interesting messages. those subject lines are "spamouflage." (i wish i could lay claim to this term – Wired beat me to it.) this probably comes as no surprise. some of you might even have said, ‘duh’ when you read the explanation above. the better question is, why do these subjectRead More →
the following entry is a (sanitized and expanded) version of an email i recently sent to a client explaining some of the issues surrounding browser compatibility and web developement. it’s amazing these issues persist after years of slowly grinding towards a world of web standards…someday, i hope these ideas will seem quaint: "oh, how cute! they used to have to worry about those things…"
i’ve been following a thread about a fairly well-known blogger who was recently robbed. she has been chronicling some of her feelings (see why my robbery matters), and also pursuing the perpetrators, online.
it makes me wonder about a few things, and reminds me of when i got robbed…
with more social networking tools than you can shake a mouse at (see Judith Meskill’s list for proof), there are bound to be some real losers. so far, i’m not sure if there are any winners, but that remains to be seen…the night it still young.Read More →
ok…this cartoon is really, really funny (if you’re a geek or someone who’s a little fed up with all that email from friendster or orkut or YASNS).Read More →
social networking is all the rage, or at least it seems to be. i keep hearing about it everywhere i turn (NPR, friends, blogs, san francisco magazine, the checker at the grocery store). i have my doubts about most of these players, but there is a recent entrant that pushes a different set of buttons: orkut
hyperlinks are becoming a currency in the digital age, but one limited to those with the power to create and destroy them. i went to a friend’s web site recently (URL withheld to protect the "innocent"), and noticed that the link to my home page had dropped off his blogroll. what??? dropped me from the secondary navigation? had i slighted this friend in some unbeknownst way? was some kind of digital payback going on? granted, it was kind of petty of me to care in the first place, but hey, links matter if you want people to read your site. and why would i writeRead More →
my spam filters have been getting progressively more sieve-like. the spammers are getting smarter at disguising their drivel. at least the email titles provide some entertainment value. for your sampling, here is a list of recent subjects: melville loquacious january moliere afghanistan down draftsman marvelous maudlin gar bolshevik hereof cone Re: MDM, grunya! what’s this Re: HDIIKINY, the procurator understood beauregard actinium roof hackneyed every michaelangelo gallberry formatted ceil foot expletive haunt maul exclaim osaka hydrometer messy nitrogenous hartley adultery bitwise narcosis gelatin mart academy andorra influenza it’s hard to pick my favorites, although any spam email that includes an element from the periodic tableRead More →
i just read an article entitled, can programmers do interaction design? it would be an understatement to say that i disagree with the hypothesis put forward by this author (she believes the answer to the question above is no – programmers cannot and should not do interaction design). in my opinion, her arguments reflect a set of gross stereotypes that have been floating around the web business for awhile (i.e., code monkeys should know their place at the bottom of the web design food chain). her thesis (as i read it) also reflects the more general idea that any person who can do job ARead More →
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