MikeAmundsen › Comments

it's taken some time, but i now have a pretty good idea of what i will be working on for the next year or so. i even have a sufficiently odd name for this work (always important, of course[grin]): Afforded Agents sufficiently, odd, right? the problem currently, the "device trend" is going up; we're getting more and more devices connected to the internet every day. last year Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg predicted we'll reach 50 billion devices by 2020. not bad, eh? along with this device explosion is a parallel (related) trend to progam each device individually; treat each new model to it's own "native" coding. billions of snowflakes. another (unrelated) trend is the explosion of "open data." the notion that data should be freely available for anyone to access and use. and this is a big deal. last August, Franz, Inc reported successfully loading and querying a trillion triples. a lot is good, right? not all the time. un-afforded currently all these devices and all this data are just... - MikeAmundsen

"being principled works; always works. it works because sticking by your principles is the end, not the means. the _results_ of sticking by your principles is a by-product, not a goal. i see your point, tho. when your goal is to gain "eyeballs" you end up "going where the eyeballs are." that makes sense. of course, gaining eyeballs isn't a principle.  it turns out, you usually have to weigh your principles against your goals. sometimes you pick one, sometimes the other. it's pretty rare you get both to align." - MikeAmundsen

"wait, you "gave up" because.... rather than stand on principle, you'd prefer the 400,000 followers you get from G+? i hope you don't mean that." - MikeAmundsen

it's official! i've signed to do a new book for O'Reilly. the working title is "Programming the Web with Cloud9" and it covers the Cloud9 brtowser-based IDE for building Web apps. i've been using the IDE for several months (actually put myself on an "all c9, all the time" regime for a while) and have really been impressed. in fact, over the last sveeral weeks i've actually been bummed out when i ran into a few cases where i actually needed to use my local workstation to handle a task instead of relying on "C9 and the Cloud" to do it all. hey, it happens[g]. hardware, software, wetware while the main focus of the book is the Cloud9 editor, it will also cover other 'cloud-based' developer tools including CouchDB, github, and Heroku and more. in addition to the actual software and hardware, i am also digging into the 'wet-ware' aspects of cloud-based programming. this includes how cloud-based dev tools affect teams, collaboration, project schdules, code quality, etc. along the way, i... - MikeAmundsen

over the last couple months, i've been experimenting with a "new" development stack; what i call a "cloud stack." this development environment consists of a set of independent, but complimentary tools and services - all available via the Web. they make up a "full stack" for web development that is, IMO, quite enjoyable to work with. even better, i find it a very productive environment, too. hello, cloud i've noticed that, along with the rise of "the cloud" as an infrastructure model, there is also a corresponding development model. this model provides a cloud-based environment that includes editing, debugging, testing, source control, project mgmt, and deployment; all accessible from nothing more than a modern (i.e. HTML5-compliant) browser. and, just as the process of virtualizing the hardware stack has acted as a distruptive technology for the back office, this emerging virtual programming environment will, i suspect, prove to be just as disruptive, too. my current cloud stack of... - MikeAmundsen

"Photographs like Moore, Marchand, and Meffre’s succeed, at least, in compelling us to ask the questions necessary to put this story together—Detroit’s story, but also the increasingly-familiar story of urban America in an era of prolonged economic crisis. That they themselves fail to do so testifies not only to the limitations of any still image, but our collective failure to imagine what Detroit’s future—our collective urban future—holds for us all." - MikeAmundsen from Bookmarklet

Here is one way I talk about HTTP and Fielding's REST model: the way of HTTP HTTP was designed to favor long term (measured in years/decades) run-time stability over ease of implementation. to do this, it relies on some very simple (but powerful) constraints: every machine that operates over the WWW is constrained to a very tiny executable interface (what we know as the HTTP verbs). The details of this restricted interface are documented in a protocol that rarely changes over time and even when it does change, great pains are made to ensure these changes do not invalidate past implementations. every message sent over that interface consists to two basic parts: control data as a set of name-value pairs (HTTP Headers) and a single self-describing message body. This body can be "described" as 1) a structured document (text/html), 2) a binary image (image/png), 3) a list of arguments (application/x-www-form-urlencoded), etc. in HTTP the message contains not just data, but also... - MikeAmundsen

"What is surprising about the Shaw et al. model is that, rather than defining the software's architecture as existing within the software, it is defining a description of the software's architecture as if that were the architecture." Roy T. Fielding "If you think the menu 'is' the meal, you'll have to eat your words." Alfred Korzybski - MikeAmundsen

valuable guidance when designing a Hypermedia API (emphasis and brackets "[]" mine): Think of each action by the user [of your API] as an attempt to step in the right direction; an error is simply an action that is incompletely or improperly specified. Think of the action as part of a natural, constructive dialog between the user [and/or user-agent] and the system [your API]. Try to support, not fight, the user's responses. Allow the user [and/or user-agent] to recover from errors, to know what was done and what happened, and to reverse any unwanted outcome. make it easy to reverse operations; make it hard to do irreversible actions. Design explorable systems [APIs]. Donald A. Norman in The Design of Everyday Things, 1988. - MikeAmundsen

How can design signal the appropriate actions? ... One important set of signals comes through the natural constraints of objects, physical constraints that limit what can be done. Another set of signals comes from the affordances of objects, which convey messages about their possible uses, actions, and functions. ... Affordances suggest the range of possibilities, constraints limit the number of alternatives. The thoughtful use of affordances and constraints together in design lets a user determine readily the proper course of action, even in a novel situation. The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman, pg 82 - MikeAmundsen

"Pretty much every web service that uses HTTP verbs is calling itself RESTful these days, but what does that even mean? What makes a service RESTful? Why would you write a service using the REST style? Why are most services that call themselves RESTful actually just RPC in REST clothing? Steve will answer all these questions and more, as well as discussing where following strict REST does not make sense." - MikeAmundsen from Bookmarklet

"Hofstede’s Power distance Index measures the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. This represents inequality (more versus less), but defined from below, not from above. It suggests that a society’s level of inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders." - MikeAmundsen from Bookmarklet

"The value of a well-designed object is when it has such a rich set of affordances that the people who use it can do things with it that the designer never imagined." Donald Norman, 1994 - MikeAmundsen

"Can we feed the more than 9 billion people anticipated to live on this planet in 2050 without destroying Earth’s life support systems? In an article slated to appear as the cover story in the Oct. 20 print issue of Nature, a team of researchers from the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Germany conclude we can – if we successfully pursue sustainable food production on five key fronts: halting farmland expansion in the tropics, closing yield gaps on underperforming lands, using agricultural inputs more strategically, shifting diets and reducing food waste." - MikeAmundsen from Bookmarklet

"Here in Kentucky, many of our students don't read outside the classroom. But we're trying to change that in our English department. We need Nooks to help out students to appreciate reading and what books can do for you later in life. E-Readers make reading an enjoyable and educational experience for everyone. The eReaders would allow our students to take advantage of the accessible virtual libraries available today." - MikeAmundsen from Bookmarklet

"“Actions” is a big feature that adds significant power to the OData protocol, and has me for one very excited. Actions allow you to model behavior with high fidelity and without compromise, and their conditional availability leaves the server in full control nudging OData further towards HATEOAS." - MikeAmundsen from Bookmarklet

"Norquist’s group, Americans for Tax Reform, asks all candidates for office to promise not to raise taxes. In remarks on the House floor, Virginia Rep. Frank Wolf blamed Norquist’s pledge for preventing an open conversation about how eliminating tax credits and deductions could help reduce the deficit. “Have we really reached a point where one person’s demand for ideological purity is paralyzing Congress to the point that even a discussion of tax reform is viewed as breaking a no-tax pledge?” Wolf said." - MikeAmundsen from Bookmarklet

"For operant conditioning to happen, we need to feel pleasure when we receive a good stimulus and an unpleasant feeling when we receive a bad stimulus. We can see this from when the brain goes wrong: when the ability to feel a sweet little dopamine kick at a pleasurable stimulus is impaired, learning too is impaired. To learn to associate our behaviour with something pleasant, we need to be able to feel good. It is hardly surprising, then, that the system which we have in place taps into this basic system so well. We spend money, we receive something nice, we feel very good about that. It’s nice to have nice things, and so it’s nice to spend money. We learn to become consumers, because ultimately the stimulus-response effect is positive. Spending money is all too simple. We walk into the shop, bung our money down, and in return we get our nice new handbag or book or delicious burrito. A sweet little dopamine kick tickles our mesolimbic pathways. The response gets carved in deeper." - MikeAmundsen from Bookmarklet

"a solution to the evolving-over-time problem for dist-net apps is to bind clients and servers via a shared understanding of hypermedia controls. IOW, change the binding from first-class domain elements to an abstract expression of those elements; to elements (links and forms) that make "animating" dist-net apps possible." - MikeAmundsen from Bookmarklet

in 1921 Alfred Korzybski published Manhood of Humanity. in this work (and in subsequent editions) Korzybski lays out his basic premise that what makes humans unique is their ability to adapt and evolve more effectively than any other animal to date. he claims this is due to our ability to use "time" as a key abstraction; to evolve over time. the technique we use to accomplish this (he claims) is the ability to pass our knowledge down the generations (writing, etc.). we make "time" an ally in our evolution and adaptation. he called this uniquely human capability "time-binding." effectively evolving over time; time-binding... hmmm.... "There are two ways to slide easily through life; to believe everything or to doubt everything. Both ways save us from thinking. " Alfred Korzybski, "Manhood of Humanity", 1921 binding examples for dist-net apps when we write dist-net apps today, the problem of "binding" the client to the server must be addressed. i've mentioned this stuff before in this... - MikeAmundsen

"A Silicon Valley investor and senior administration officials warned the White House to reconsider having President Obama visit a solar start-up company because of its mounting financial problems, saying he might be embarrassed later. “A number of us are concerned that the president is visiting Solyndra,” California investor and Obama fundraiser Steve Westly wrote to Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett in May 2010. “Many of us believe the company’s cost structure will make it difficult for them to survive long term. ... I just want to help protect the president from anything that could result in negative or unfair press.”" - MikeAmundsen from Bookmarklet

"Hence, we've decided to stop throwing draconian XML parsing failed error messages, and instead, attempt to reparse the document automatically as HTML. Instead of showing an error message in the browser, it's now dumped to the console, so as a developer, you can still find XML parsing error warnings in Opera Dragonfly and the Error Console if you want to." - MikeAmundsen from Bookmarklet

"Photographer Peter McBride traveled along the Colorado River from its source high in the Rocky Mountains to its historic mouth at the Sea of Cortez. In this Yale Environment 360 video, he follows the natural course of the Colorado by raft, on foot, and overhead in a small plane, telling the story of a river whose water is siphoned off at every turn, leaving it high and dry 80 miles from the sea. In the video, McBride, a Colorado native, documents how increasing water demands have transformed the river that is the lifeblood for an arid Southwest." - MikeAmundsen from Bookmarklet

"Hart was best known for his 1971 invention of electronic books, or eBooks. He founded Project Gutenberg, which is recognized as one of the earliest and longest-lasting online literary projects. He often told this story of how he had the idea for eBooks. He had been granted access to significant computing power at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. On July 4 1971, after being inspired by a free printed copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, he decided to type the text into a computer, and to transmit it to other users on the computer network. From this beginning, the digitization and distribution of literature was to be Hart's life's work, spanning over 40 years." - MikeAmundsen from Bookmarklet

recently, i started thinking more about the concept of "affordances" and how that relates to my experiments in hypermedia designs. the trigger for these recent thought was a post by @danja and a few subsequent page entries to the W3C Wiki on RDF affordances. Danny's wiki entries point to a handful of other folks who have wrtten about affordances recently, too. all good stuff. affordances it's a funny word; made up word, actually: The affordances of the environment are what it offers ... what it provides or furnishes, either for good or ill. The verb 'to afford' is found in the dictionary, but the noun 'affordance' is not. I have made it up (page 126). The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception (Gibson, 1986) not long after Gibson made up the word, Donald Norman used it, too: ...the term affordance refers to the perceived and actual properties of the thing, primarily those fundamental properties that determine just how the thing could possibly be used. (pg 9) The [Design|Psychology]... - MikeAmundsen

"right now i am of the opinion that a single set of aspects of hypermedia affordances can be identified. that this set would be universal to all hypermedia designs; no matter the protocol used (HTTP, FTP, etc.), the data format used (HTML, JSON, etc.). and that set of aspects should be enough to "construct" any hypermedia control needed in order to support a particular action in a distributed application." - MikeAmundsen from Bookmarklet

"It should have been evident to clear-eyed observers that the Republican Party is becoming less and less like a traditional political party in a representative democracy and becoming more like an apocalyptic cult, or one of the intensely ideological authoritarian parties of 20th century Europe. This trend has several implications, none of them pleasant." - MikeAmundsen from Bookmarklet

"The 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa is a year away, but the campaign for president is in full swing and most of the candidates have accumulated substantial records on our Truth-O-Meter. Here's how they have fared:" - MikeAmundsen from Bookmarklet

things seem to appear to me in threes. not sure why that is. usually because i almost always assume at least three possible solutions for any identified problem. an old habit. the pledge but there you are. i think in threes. and i've been thinking about this quite a bit lately. i've been inspired by several events in the last few weeks (three weeks maybe[grin]?). the most notable of these is last weekend's RESTFest 2011 event in Greenville, SC. we spent q good portion of the weekend hacking hypermedia using my ALPS Microblog experiment as a starting point. i learned several cool things. i think some other folks did, too. the turn one of the things that i got out of the weekend was a clarified understanding of the co-operative roles that play out in a hypermedia system when it is implemented over a distributed network. in our case, we were using the Web, HTTP, XHTML, and some specs for a microblog problem domain. the task was to build servers and clients that implement the spec and... - MikeAmundsen

"1980: Ronald Reagan runs for president, promising a balanced budget" - MikeAmundsen from Bookmarklet