My Worldview has a Loose Tooth

Agreement that FB API Sucks

2011-06-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a post with a thoughtful discussion about the badness of the FB API--the Graph API in particular.

Why is the facebook API so crappy?

Facebook Developer Documentation

2011-06-08T06:45:00.000-07:00

I'm writing a small Facebook application. So, of course, I'm reading their developer documentation, and I'm finding it's frequently just wrong!

From: http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/fbml/iframe/

That's a screenshot of a widget that's supposed to show you the results of loading an fb:iframe into your canvas page... Facebook can't even figure out how to do it!!

</rant>

Facebook is pushing out updates to its platform at a ridiculous pace. While this is a good thing for user applications (ie. Gmail, flickr, etc.), it is destructive for bodies of code intended to be platforms for 3rd party development. This is especially true if the documentation can't keep pace with the change.

I've worked with poorly documented software libraries in the past. The key difference here is I had the code available to read. I could always find out what I actually needed to pass into the code to make it work... Facebook's source code is not available. The only window into the platform is the documentation.

This is not the first Facebook Canvas application I've done. Given the option, I will not make Facebook applications in the future. Dealing with the api churn and poor documentation is such a time sink that it quickly becomes a net loss.

And the discussion of #(%1 %2) continues!

2011-05-30T23:46:00.000-07:00

<tomoj> #(%1 %2) seems like it should have a name somehow
<amalloy> &(-> inc (.invoke 1))
<sexpbot> ⟹ 2
<amalloy> often almost as good as giving it a name
<tomoj> #(apply % %&) ?
<tomoj> does that do what I think it does
<amalloy> no
<amalloy> &(#(apply % %&) println 1)
<sexpbot> ⟹ 1 nil
<amalloy> oh. huh. maybe it does?
<amalloy> tomoj: i have a bad habit of asserting you are
wrong. i hope you don't mind
<tomoj> (apply #(apply % %&) f x y z) is (f x y z)
<tomoj> if people agree with me I see no real
need for them to say anything to me mostly
<amalloy> tomoj: sure. it's just that usually i'm *wrong* when i
tell you you're wrong :P
<tomoj> er
<tomoj> (f x y z) is (#(apply % %&) f x y z), right
<amalloy> tomoj: i assumed %& was "all the arguments", not "all
the args i haven't touched yet"
<amalloy> but apparently it's not
<amalloy> &'#(% %&)
<sexpbot> ⟹ (fn* (p1__17398#
rest__17399#))
<amalloy> &'#(%2 %&)
<sexpbot> ⟹ (fn*
(p2__17407# rest__17408#))
<tomoj> wacky
<amalloy> tomoj: how so?
<tomoj> the one disappears
<amalloy> well, naturally
<tomoj> that's interesting..
<amalloy> you're not
referring to it, and %& can't somehow include it
<tomoj> yeah
<clojurebot> excusez-moi
<tomoj> so is (#(apply % %&)
#(apply % %&) f x y z) also (f x y z)
<amalloy> *blink*
<tomoj> &(#(apply % %&) #(apply % %&)
#(apply % %&) #(apply % %&) + 1 2 3)
<sexpbot> ⟹ 6
<amalloy> i guess it must be
<tomoj> what is that strange thing
<amalloy> a delegator?
<tomoj> it's $
<amalloy> tomoj: i guess. but $ is only useful because of its
order of precedence
<amalloy> in a lisp it's not much good
<amalloy> i guess you can combine it with apply to get out
something useful
<tomoj> well, `($) ($) ($) ($) (+) 1 2` is 3
<amalloy> &(apply #(apply % %&) [+ 1 2)
<sexpbot> ⟹ 3 ; Adjusted to (apply (fn* (apply p1__17442# rest__17443#)) )
<tomoj> huh..
<tomoj> so.. (partial apply #(apply (resolve %) %&)) is almost like eval
<tomoj> but no macros, no special forms
ERC>

UPDATE: As amalloy later said, this doesn't resolve the other arguments, so it wouldn't work as an eval. Wow, is it close though :-p

A neat tidbit from #clojure

2011-05-30T23:25:00.000-07:00

On the #clojure channel of irc.freenode.org opqdonut_ posted this fun little tidbit:

Some Clojure experiments

2011-05-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

I was playing with the labrepl project, and doing some basic looping/recursion exercises. In doing those exercises I wrote the following three functions to find the minimum and maximum values in a sequence:

I then wrote this timing function:

I ran 1000 iterations of that loop for each of the three functions. I was saddened to see how much slower the version that manipulates maps was compared to the other two. Here are the resulting average times:

minmax-1 => 0.3881 msecs
minmax-2 => 0.2400 msecs
minmax-3 => 1.8923 msecs

While I was disappointed by the performance of minmax-3, it was cool to see how fast destructuring is. Especially considering that destructuring is very idiomatic Clojure and used frequently.

Clojure Videos

2011-05-28T16:59:00.001-07:00

Here's a great list of videos discussing Clojure.

Clojure & Google App Engine

2011-05-27T22:26:00.000-07:00

So, I've recently (re)discovered Clojure. Things have matured quite nicely since last I took a look at it.

Right now I'm using it to develop a quick Facebook canvas application for a friend of mine. I'd like to upload a screencast detailing how to do this. I don't know when I'll get that done but it would be quite nice.

Relevant Clojure libraries:

I'm still developing this, and I'm also fairly unfamiliar with the Clojure library ecosystem. There are sure to be more relevant libraries soon!

It's so awesome to have a lisp that embraces the modern world!

Interesting iPhone Security Issues

2010-08-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

It kinda speaks for itself... wait it's a video, it does speak for itself...

Android Smartphone

2010-07-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how much my computing center of gravity has shifted to my android smartphone. I only touch my laptop when I need heavy computing tasks such as software development.

I'm quite shocked how much use can be crammed into such a small form factor as my HTC Evo.

I can't easily express how mad this makes me

2010-07-21T06:15:00.000-07:00

BP has been photoshopping images of their oil spill response: http://www.americablog.com/2010/07/bp-photoshops-fake-photo-of-command.html

The Washington Post has an article on it too.

S. 510: FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

2010-07-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

I recently wrote a letter to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand:

Esteemed Mrs. Gillibrand,

It has come to my attention that you are a co-sponsor of the Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510). As one of your constituents, I respectfully ask that you withdraw your support for this bill.

The language of the bill would make it difficult or impossible for farmers to set up roadside stands selling their produce. It would also imperil many farmers' markets.

If this were allowed to happen the availability of locally grown foods would be greatly reduced. The economic and environmental impact of this change would be large. As you know much of New York is rural with much farmland. Also, shipping food across the country and even around the world emits a large quantity of greenhouse gases.

I understand that the intent of this bill is to safeguard our food supply and ensure our well being. It seems, however, that our food supply is very safe as it is. I fear that this bill will only marginally improve our safety while jeopardizing both the economy of much of New York and sustainability efforts relating to the food supply around the nation.

Respectfully,

Brian Rowe

That pretty much sums up my position on this. Though those of you interested in Codex Alimentarius, and so forth, may be interested in looking here.

Android Development

2010-07-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

So, I've decided to try my hand at developing an/some Android application(s). I've had some interesting ideas for nifty cell phone applications for a while. They range from simple to fairly ambitious. I'm hoping to make some money with them, so I'm not going to divulge any information about them yet.

I've recently acquired an HTC Evo, and I'm currently plugging along with the development of one of my simpler ideas. It's a simple application from the software engineer's perspective, but I think it'll be quite useful to a typical cell phone user. I'm cautiously optimistic about it's potential to sell on the Android Market.

Speaking of the market... In order to get a developer account, I had to create a website dedicated to my software products. For the time being, I copped out and created another blog. It's titled Brian's Android Development, and you can see it here.

Common Lisp v. Python

2009-12-03T18:46:00.000-08:00

So, I've recently implemented a neural network in both Python and Common Lisp. On a network with 2 input nodes, 10 hidden nodes (in one layer) and 1 output node, my python implementation was capable of running approximately 10 training epochs in one second (on 500 training data points).

This was not nearly fast enough. This was being done for an assignment, and we were told to implement multiple weight learning algorithms, each one was to be run for 2 million epochs!

I reimplemented the network in common lisp, and initially got approximately the same performance (20 epochs/sec), but by adding type information and declaring (optimize (speed 3)) in a few key functions and inlining a few others, I magically got 10 times the performance. Finding which functions were "key" was an absolute snap using SBCL. In the past, I have found it painful to profile code in other languages (including Python).

Common Lisp is amazing. In the past I was a massive fanboy of the language, but its dearth of libraries has caused me to slide back towards Python. This recent experience has recharged my love for lisp.

Hi!

2009-12-03T18:12:00.001-08:00

It's been too long since I've posted anything here.

Open Letter to the Obama-Biden Administration

2008-11-08T12:49:00.001-08:00

To Whom it May Concern,

In many ways am excited by the ramifications of and possibilities inherent in an Obama-Biden Administration, but I understand that you are busy and will get directly to the point.

There have been many worrying precedents set by the Bush Administration. Perhaps most worrying to me are that administration's use of singing statements. Some of them seem to be nearly contemptuous of the legislative branch and it's role in our government.

Historically, it seems difficult for a new administration to relinquish powers gained by a previous one. So, it is of interest to me what philosophy the Obama-Biden White House will have on the Unitary Executive theory and signing statements in particular.

I appreciate your time, and I am excited about the change that this administration is poised to bring to America and the world.

Sincerely,

Brian Rowe

I sent that to the Obama-Biden administration using the website they have set up at change.gov. When I get a response I will post it here.

Wanna Know About the Credit Crunch?

2008-10-13T16:45:00.001-07:00

Listen to this: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=365

Election '08: Sara Palin!? My Decision is Made

2008-10-03T21:03:00.001-07:00

Democrats almost never have a great sound-bite, but here the McCain-Palin ticket has served one up. Palin cannot complete a thought. We just had eight years of incompetence in George W. Bush. The mere risk of this woman inheriting the Oval Office is enough to swing my vote to Obama-Biden.

When Bush ran for the Presidency in 2000 his simple speech and "folksy" behavior was charming. We were sick of suave Washington politicians who could smile and dazzle (or baffle) us with their cunning tongue. So we leaped for what seemed to be a straight-talking down to earth candidate. I am concerned that many people will make a similar choice with regard to Sarah Palin.

Fast-forward eight years from Bush's first campaign. The United States has been grievously damaged by misstep after misstep, as we all know. I am not trying to tie McCain to Bush's legacy. In fact, I believe that is a cheap political trick and is condescending to the American people, but McCain is not a young man. I don't know the actuarial tables, but I think there is something near a one in three chance that he does not live through his first term. In that terrible circumstance Sarah Palin would be our President. That is a wholly terrifying thought.

Please, take some time to read up on Sarah Palin.

Wow

2008-09-24T20:29:00.001-07:00

This looks really amazing. Imagine form input taken directly from your web camera... That would be one of those simple innovations that changes many things.

Well, That Would Have Been Nice

2008-05-08T20:47:00.001-07:00

This would have been nice at my previous job.

Sorry about lack of posts

2008-04-21T03:37:00.001-07:00

I have meant to continue blogging about epistemology and its relation to statistics and extremisan, but deadlines are fast approaching. Bear with me, and I'll soon begin posting again.

Green Washing?

2008-04-16T06:52:00.001-07:00

I got this email today from HSBC:

Dear BRIAN ROWE,

Small changes can make a big impact. That's why HSBC has partnered with The Arbor Day Foundation to help the environment.

Now, when you switch to environmentally-friendly eStatements, HSBC will plant a tree with The Arbor Day Foundation.

On the surface, that sounds really good, and it is. I will take them up on their offer. Yet, I'm annoyed.

If HSBC wanted to make an impact on environmental issues, they would just do it (sorry Nike). I expect that if a large enough number of their customers switch to eStatements, then HSBC will actually make money on this deal. Thus their tree-planting scheme is simply marketing. This is all just cynical assumption on my part, but just because it's cynical doesn't mean it's wrong.

HSBC, be a leader, and give The Arbor Day Foundation the windfall from this switch to eStatements.

PAINful threats and the Climate Crisis

2008-04-13T19:25:00.001-07:00

I have a friend who is fairly eloquent in claiming that we should not worry too much about the Climate Crisis. I hope he sees this:

Shell History Meme

2008-04-13T10:49:00.001-07:00

There's a meme going around in the Ubuntu community. It seems that listing one's shell history is currently all the rage:

brian@gandalf:~$ history|awk '{a[$2]++ } END{for(i in a){print a[i] " " i}}'|sort -rn|head
172 java
105 git
58 cd
50 ls
18 ssh
18 ipod-touch-mount
15 sudo
11 ipod-touch-umount
7 exit
5 nspluginwrapper

Curse you, AI class requiring the use of Java!!

Oh, yeah and I just got myself a new iPod Touch...

So What Is Extremistan

2008-04-10T21:25:00.001-07:00

Nassim Taleb's Extremistan is an interesting "place." It is a place dominated by power-laws, the "long tail" if you will. In these systems the vast majority of events are small and inconsequential, yet from time to, exceedingly rare, time, a massive event can occur which outweighs everything which occurred before. That is to say, this sort of system does not obey the Law of Large Numbers.

For example, consider human height verses human income. Human height is a system whose values (or events as I referred to them above) fall along the well known Gaussian distribution (or bell curve). This means that the average height of a random sample of humans is stable. If you measure the height of 10,000 people and then include the tallest person in the world the average will not change in any meaningful way.

We cannot repeat this experiment with incomes. Bill Gates' income utterly dwarfs the average person's income. The average income of the 10,000 people would not reflect the average income of the same set of people plus Bill Gates.

This has major consequences for prediction--induction, to be more precise. Inductive reasoning holds that if we observe an experiment return a certain result many times, then we are justified in expecting that it will continue to achieve that same result in the future. I will have more to say about induction, or Hume's Problem, in the future.

My next post will be a bit more technical. I'm going to drill into what I meant by: "the average will not change in any meaningful way." We'll see that there's circular reasoning going on at the heart of statistics, and that it is inescapable.

Al Gore's New Slideshow

2008-04-08T11:57:00.001-07:00

All I can say is: "damn." Go here and discuss.