Data on Developer Skills
New and updated for 2018
Powder in Clair de Lune
This is the reason I love climbing and snowboarding the high places of Oregon’s mountains. The bit at top is magical.
Pow Surf 101 from Kurtis Jackson on Vimeo.
Traffic flow simulated on 30 different kinds of 4-way junctions
Here’s a really fascinating animation and analysis of traffic flows with different intersection methodologies. More interesting is that they were done with off-the-shelf steam games/tools found on Steam. I think
Network Extensions 2
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=812125426
Traffic Manager: President Edition
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=583429740
Some interesting observations:
- 4 way intersections with lights (235 cars/min) is only slightly better than a no light free-for-all (191 car/min)
- Standard roundabouts with stops are really horrible, but get pretty interesting and good with a few simple improvements
- There’s a lot of interesting junction/interchange types I’ve never seen before
Highest Form of Disagreement
Democracy is a contact sport. Everyone gets bruises. Even the winners. And the kind of bickering we see today is not only unproductive.
It’s cowardly.
If you don’t have the guts to focus on ideas and stop tearing down individuals, you belong in the stands, not on the field. I want more leaders who are brave enough to focus on ideas and not ad hominem attacks. I want more leaders who are willing to say, “I hate everything she stands for, but I do not hate her. And neither should you.”
And I want more Americans who demand these kinds of debates for the sake of our democracy. Just ideas against ideas, let them fight it out, and if you lose, come back with better ideas.
Are millions of Americans ready to start fighting fair for the sake of our democracy? For the sake of solving common problems we all face?
Oregon Coast Storm Surge
A reminder that the Oregon coast is one of the most deadly coastlines in the world.
The coast has been getting pounded by some huge waves in the last few days. 30 and even mammoth 60 foot waves have been recorded. One even crashed into a set of condos, some coastal buildings have been damaged, and at least 1 person has been swept out to sea and presumed dead at this point.
Here’s some video of the storm surge coming in. A reminder that sneaker waves and surges will toss 1000lb downed trees around like matchsticks and drag you or your car wherever they go.
Automotive cabin experience at CES
Here’s a glimpse at the new kinds of in-car automotive experiences coming you way. This one is from Harman.
Owners vs Stewards
When we take the radical view that all of creation is granted to us for a short time, that it is GIFTED to us, was created for us to live in, was handed to us by those that came before, and we will hand to our children and their children – then we start seeing ourselves as stewards, not owners. The difference seems subtle, but it is hugely counter-cultural – and hugely freeing.
This idea carries to all things, not just possessions like houses, money, jobs, the environment. It also means even our families. Instead of talking about ‘our/my children’, we instead see we are granted stewardship over our children until they become adults. This view requires we realize our children are unique people that do not ‘belong’ to us, but each is entrusted to us for a short time and has a unique path to God with gifts to give to others and creation. Our job as parents is to help them find that way. There is much sadness in our world because people believe children are somehow ‘theirs’ or expect them to fulfill parental desires and expectations – but not seen as amazing gifts granted to us to care for a short time.
This notion of stewardship is granted to us from the very moment of Adam and Eve – who were given ‘dominion’ over the rest of creation not to abuse it or use it however we wanted – but to be co-creators, co-stewards, with God. It is essential to any Christian view of our lives, the lives of others, our environment, the world, and the things we possess. Christ’ parables again and again talk of servants and stewards given temporary roles over another’s property, goods, and servants. If we can adopt this radical notion that everything that passes through our lives is something we are given stewardship over, not ownership, we can live not attached to the things we own, but with a gentle, freeing detachment.
Aliens: The Ride and How far we’ve come
Hin Nya constructed an incredible virtual roller coaster which incorporates the haunting visual and auditory elements of the Aliens films in an insane 15-minute-long ride, built with the theme park simulator app Planet Coaster. Headphones recommended.
Not long ago, it would have taken whole teams to put together an experience like this – what a world we live in.
Star Wars ‘played’ by writing
Love the little sounds of pencil writing on paper? If so, try this out – Star Wars music played – by writing in a certain way.
Step in the right direction?
Appears the pressure is being recognized by Facebook? Facebook said it’s making major changes to shift users’ news feeds back toward posts from friends and family and away from businesses and media outlets
“By making these changes, I expect the time people spend on Facebook and some measures of engagement will go down,” Zuckerberg wrote. “But I also expect the time you do spend on Facebook will be more valuable. And if we do the right thing, I believe that will be good for our community and our business over the long term too.”