Author Archives: Karl

See Philadelphia in a new (and old) light: Developing Philly and The Great Experiment

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Karl

“Developing Philly” just posted the fourth update in its ongoing series to share the evolving and growing Philadelphia technology and media scene with the world. Each episode is under 15 minutes and is worth every minute of your time. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Coding, Software Engineering, Programming, Philly, PhillyFuture.org | Comments Off

“The Gentle Seduction”, by Marc Stiegler

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Karl

Marc Stiegler wrote a short story for Analog Magazine in 1989 called “The Gentle Seduction” that is a hopeful take on the Singularity. It reminded me of a much older short story by Isaac Asimov, “The Last Question”. Both are … Continue reading →

Posted in Coding, Software Engineering, Programming, Movies, TV, Radio, Comics, Books | Tagged , , | Comments Off

For my friends learning Emacs, some guides for starting fast

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Karl

Sacha Chua: “How to Learn Emacs: A Hand-drawn One-pager for Beginners” David Röthlisberger: “How to learn Emacs” “Emacs Rocks!” “The Mastering Emacs Reading Guide”

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Read how a few Philly students organized themselves to a few hundred to be heard

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Karl

AxisPhilly: Isaiah Thompson: “How a few Philly high school students organized themselves into a few hundred in four days”: It began, not surprisingly perhaps, with a modest online message. About two weeks ago, school district officials had announced, once again, … Continue reading →

Posted in Communications, Connection, the Internet, the Web, and Media, Philly, Public Service, Civics, Government and Activism | Comments Off

“Rebuilding the News”, How Did We Get Here and Why?

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Karl

All great innovations come from an alchemy of the present *built* on the past. If you can tear it apart, see it from multiple perspectives, and observe the feedback loops that feed into the systems that drove you where you … Continue reading →

Posted in Coding, Software Engineering, Programming, Communications, Connection, the Internet, the Web, and Media, Journalism, norgs, and the future of news, Philly, PhillyFuture.org | Comments Off

Technically Philly launches their redesign

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Karl

Technically Philly launched a new version of their website this week. It is a fantastic redesign and kudos to all. There is a subtle shift that’s taken place here, that deserves some additional congratulations. Homegrown Technically Philly is now an … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, norgs, and the future of news, Philly | Comments Off

NICAR 2013 Links

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Karl

Mike Ball, coworker and friend, wrote up a great summary of what he saw at NICAR 2013. It was great hearing his enthusiasm when he got back from what sounds like was a fantastic conference. Check out his post. More … Continue reading →

Posted in Coding, Software Engineering, Programming, Communications, Connection, the Internet, the Web, and Media, Journalism, norgs, and the future of news, Public Service, Civics, Government and Activism | Comments Off

Dancing with Cinderella

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Karl

Our family dentist, a father, saw me yesterday for a cavity. Earlier this week he had given my daughter a checkup. I told him about a dance night at her school that I was getting ready for. He suggested dancing … Continue reading →

Posted in Emma, Friends, Family and Life, Music | Comments Off

Code.org launches and includes a must-watch video

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Karl

Code.org, a non-profit foundation dedicated to growing computer programming education, launched and shared a video on YouTube that, if you’re concerned about education, or are looking for inspiration, is a a must-watch. YouTube: Code.org: What Most Schools Don’t Teach – … Continue reading →

Posted in Coding, Software Engineering, Programming, Education | Comments Off

Life Lessons from Programming: Check your assumptions

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Karl

Jon Udell wrote a short piece that resonated with me on taking a principle from software engineering and applying it to discourse and relationships: “Check your assumptions”. He takes the idea that when debugging, you should: Focus on understanding why … Continue reading →

Posted in Coding, Software Engineering, Programming, Communications, Connection, the Internet, the Web, and Media, Friends, Family and Life | 1 Comment