When you're barely 2 days into a new month and Medium tells you you're almost out of free reads.

FINE. I'll pay.

I wrote a tech book several years ago for O'Reilly, which itself was a dream come true. I'm still amazed I got that deal done, and the fact that my name was on a title with a unique animal on the cover is SUPER cool.

Back then, their publishing system was based on Git with their own markup language, and it was sort of a chore to use. Easy and straightforward, but laborious. I spent 3 entire days just (re)formatting my drafts to their code. They've upgraded it since, I see, based on the same fundamental versioning idea and still using Git. Neat!

I've also done tech writing for .NET Magazine, which used Word's change tracking, and penned articles for other publications using Google Docs, or even drafts in WordPress.

Have all of you run into interesting systems used by publishers to manage content?

ON PERSONALIZATION: I'm so conditioned into not allowing non-algorithmic recommendations (i.e., from friends) to reshape my taste profile that I watch YouTube & TikTok videos sent to me only on the web & in Incognito Mode so they won't influence my recommender's suggestions.

At scale - especially with the volume of stuff that I get everyday from actual people - it has a noticeable effect. it basically negates the benefit of true personalization, because what my friends send me is interesting to THEM, not necessarily ME.

This book isn't at all what I thought it was going to be. I hoped it would be patterns and practices to writing better code...it's more like a philosophical Chicken Soup for the Developer's Soul. Self-care for syntax geeks.

And by that merit, it's actually quite good.

My morning productivity so far: compiling some code while a full-length show I edited renders. (Not pictured: the machine learning model I'm also training.)

I pity my processor.

It was at the very moment when I pushed a new version of my app merely to update its logo that I realized I'd become what I despise most.

I compiled/built the TinyML book demo using the Sparkfun Edge microcontroller, which lets you load trained deep learning models onto an extremely low-powered device for edge computing. The board runs inferences, albeit slightly inaccurately. It's a great demo that runs out of the box, but there's room for improvement...which is totally part of the fun!

https://tiktok.com/@jasonsalas671/...

I've had a hard time getting on board with Google using the "Yes, and..." approach in design sprints. IMHO, it's tough to apply a stream-of-consciousness from improvisational theater to building software. Two completely different arenas.

Personally, I've always applied the "No, because..." approach, designing pessimistically/programming defensively, while still being innovative, creative & empathetic. I get the psychology of public criticism making teammates butthurt & stymieing future contributions...but that's maturity.

Here's the dataset, model training, and output phases for a generative adversarial network I wrote that basically learned about...Me, and subsequently created a custom social media avatar.

I wrote the damn thing and it still couldn't figure it out. I'm too complex. My therapist was right.

Google, circa 2013: We made smart glasses!
Most people: They're dorky. I won't use them.
Google: We integrated our services! Voice- & gesture-driven!
Most people: Nope. Too dorky.

Apple, circa 2020: We might be working on smart glasses.
Most people, sight unseen: Take my $$$.

Cannibalism.

The innovation of the 80s: Teddy Ruxpin, Hypercolor and Magic Shell were WAY ahead of their time. Tell me I'm wrong.

I wish I'd thought of that.

I've been programming for 24 years, and my eyesight only began to erode 18 months ago. As luck would have it, exactly 18 months ago I started coding web apps exclusively in my IDE's dark mode, then previewing my work in an all-white browser. Huh.

If my GitHub contributions graph was any more pathetically anemic, it would be my dating history.

Misused phrases by non-tech people I can't stand in 2020: "the new normal" & "telework". It's like how in 2018 everyone used "algorithm" like they knew what they were talking about. Same thing in 2007 with "accelerometer".

I guess I can also amend in my long, ongoing, storied history of bad calls, failed projections and stellar forecasting that:

- I invested an embarrassing amount of time, money and hope learning Adobe AIR
- I've sent-away for the https://inventhelp.com patent registration kit at least twice
- I've publicly declared that OAuth would never last
- I actually thought Microsoft was onto something with J++
- I bought a bunch of shares of World Wrestling Federation stock the day it went public
- I've stated on my movie podcast that I'll defend until my last breath my argument that Godfather III may be the best film in the series

Can I pick 'em, or what? ;)
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Part 1 of my bad calls: https://devrant.com/rants/2786266/...

- Think YOU'VE got a personality complex? I'm a software engineer who majored in marketing.
- Think YOU'VE got a phobia about failing? I wrote a book on developing for Google Glass. And tech edited another on Hailstorm.
- Think YOU'VE got self-confidence issues? I had a run of 7 straight rejections by companies in the Fortune 500.
- Think YOU'VE got reservations about flexing your certifications? I held a MCP in FrontPage.
- Think YOU'VE got paranoia about your degree? My MBA's from the University of Phoenix.
- Think YOU'RE a glutton for punishment? I - Think Android Content Providers are a good idea.
- Think YOU'VE got a confusing skill set? A hiring manager told me I was "too passionate about technology to work here at Microsoft".
- Think YOU'VE got issues with intellectual property? I was given a cease-&-desist order for the first domain I registered.
- Think YOU'VE got false bravado? I had over 400,000 followers on Google+.

While all of these are hilarious quips and great social ice breakers, they're all 100% true. Enjoy your day. ;)

So...has anyone created one of those rooms that Facebook's pushing so hard? Me neither.

I'm so over Fibonacci demos. It's become the Northwind database of algorithm examples.

Maybe a Rubik's Cube solver as a change of pace, perhaps?