All posts by JT

…Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn’t allow you that. He doesn’t let you off that hook. Christ says: No. I’m not saying I’m a teacher, don’t call me teacher. I’m not saying I’m a prophet. I’m saying: “I’m the Messiah.” I’m saying: “I am God incarnate.” And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet, we can take. You’re a bit eccentric. We’ve had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don’t mention the “M” word! Because, you know, we’re gonna have to crucify you.

— Bono (source: “Bono on Jesus”)

1) everything that’s already in the world when you’re born is just normal;

2) anything that gets invented between then and before you turn thirty is incredibly exciting and creative and with any luck you can make a career out of it;

3) anything that gets invented after you’re thirty is against the natural order of things and the beginning of the end of civilisation as we know it until it’s been around for about ten years when it gradually turns out to be alright really.

Apply this list to movies, rock music, word processors and mobile phones to work out how old you are.

— Douglas Adams (source: douglasadams.com/dna/19990901-00-a.html)

That is one of the many things I do love about the WordPress community is that users, at any level, do have access to the brains of people that really know what they are doing with WordPress. Developers, core commiters, themers, etc., — they are accessible in a way that I’ve not seen in other communities — and that is a very valuable thing.

— Lisa Sabin-Wilson (@lisasabinwilson) via Code Poet Interview

“I think one of the things that really separates us from the high primates is that we’re tool builders. I read a study that measured the efficiency of locomotion for various species on the planet. The condor used the least energy to move a kilometer. And, humans came in with a rather unimpressive showing, about a third of the way down the list. It was not too proud a showing for the crown of creation. So, that didn’t look so good. But, then somebody at Scientific American had the insight to test the efficiency of locomotion for a man on a bicycle. And, a man on a bicycle, a human on a bicycle, blew the condor away, completely off the top of the charts.”

…

“And that’s what a computer is to me. What a computer is to me is it’s the most remarkable tool that we’ve ever come up with, and it’s the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.”

Steve Jobs

Facebook’s IPO reminds us, it’s all about the paycheck.

Uncategorized, ,

Big-news-headline events tend to bring out the worst in sensationalist headlines and journalism, and Facebook’s IPO story is no different.

In this post, we are enlightened as to the “3 ways Facebook plans to exploit you the user, in order to justify their plans to increase revenues, profit, and valuation,” all while “FB users get nothing.” While I wouldn’t put it past Facebook to have some nefarious deeds up it’s sleeves, are we really surprised they are selling and going to sell more of our information so that they can continue to earn (and earn the shareholders) ga-zillions of dollars? Also, did you think when you first signed up for a Facebook account, “Hey, maybe if someday I’ll get a big paycheck for being such a valuable user”?

Well, that thought wasn’t on my mind. If you’re anything like me, you signed up to keep up with friends and to share what’s going on. As indignant as you may be about the news of their exploitation, when they roll out a new nifty feature, you, like me, will likely sign right up, and try to get all your friends to as well. It’s an eco-system. They make you happy, they get paid for the data you willingly give them, and that makes the shareholders happy. They make you mad, or cease to hold value for you, they cease to make money and cease to make the shareholders happy. It’s how business works, folks.

I think if anything, this is a good reminder or learning experience for you as you sign up for new social sites, and give your name and email to every startup’s launch page that pops up. Your interest is what pays the bills… If you don’t want your name/email/interests to be used to conduct business, then you best not use these services.