inkscar's bits & pieces

Bye bye Tumblr

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 19:52:00 +0200

I have been complaining about Tumblr a number of times in the past. I would link to those posts if I could find them, but I can’t. This is one of the reasons why I have been complaining — for all those years, Tumblr couldn’t figure out a decent search function.

On top of that, there is no way one can backup or export data (unless using a Mac which statistically is still a rather low probability anywhere outside Hipsterville).

Tumblr have made smart decisions and their software is so easy to use that .. yes, any idiot can do it. I like the way I can post fast and from anywhere. Good but lacking in important aspects, as many in their line of business have noticed.

While pondering a substitute, I came to the conclusion that I wouldn’t really want to maintain a blog. Content has become bigger than the carrier and before I build yet another minimal template elsewhere, I’d rather spend my time reading and discovering and thinking aloud. That sort of thing.

I guess from here it would be Google+ for sharing linkages, photos and ranting about things that occupy my mind and Gimme Bar for collecting artefacts of aesthetic or educational value. Or no value at all. The former, as you know, have brilliant search and offer download of all data one would like to backup. The latter back your data in Dropbox on the fly. The way it should be.

Oh, and before I go: With a bit of PHP and the Gimme Bar API, some folks have put up a tumblog par excellence. Au revoir!

Update: ~~I have settled down with Wordpress as tumblog. At least I can export my data there.~~

Update2: Currently half-way posting over here at Blogger.

Facebook’s Failed IPO: A Fall Worthy of Icarus - Dissent Magazine - Online Features

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 19:50:58 +0200

Facebook’s Failed IPO: A Fall Worthy of Icarus - Dissent Magazine - Online Features:

A very interesting read although I had to read some parts a few times before I understood what was behind the investment lingo.

Hats off to HP who have done the cookies notification thing in a...

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 23:07:06 +0200

Hats off to HP who have done the cookies notification thing in a rather useful manner.

Rules for Dads Raising Daughters (The Good Man Project)

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:39:58 +0200

Rules for Dads Raising Daughters (The Good Man Project):

psychotherapy:

via The Huffington Post:

This week, science confirmed what all parents (and all people who have parents) already know — paying attention to your kids matters. And dads need to be just as attentive and loving as moms if they want to grow healthy, well-adjusted adults. When it comes to fathers with daughters, there are unique challenges associated with this endeavor.

Over at The Good Men Project, Marcus Williams and Joanna Schroeder teamed up to help. Their solution, the list that follows, is one of the best rule books we’ve seen…

1. Tell her she’s pretty, but tell her other good things about herself more.
It’s not that telling a girl she’s pretty is bad. It’s not. The point is that it shouldn’t be the only kind of compliment she gets, so she doesn’t feel that only her appearance matters. Compliment her intelligence, her resourcefulness, her imagination, her hard work, and her strength. Don’t pretend that her looks will never matter, but teach her not to judge herself or let herself be judged only on looks.

2. Teach her that handymen don’t have to be men.
Checklist of things to teach her: routine car maintenance, how to stop a toilet from overflowing, how to set a mousetrap, how to use the fuse box, how to turn off the water main. (Marcus’s note to self — learn to maintain car, fix a toilet, use the fuse box, and find the water main.) There’s nothing wrong with needing help to get things done, but self-reliance and confidence are handy if you need to change a tire, fix a toilet, or even squish a bug without needing a rescuer to do it for you.

3. Let her play in the mud.
No need to fill their sandbox with only sugar and spice. Mix in some snips and snails and puppy dog tails, too. Be cautious, however, about giving her any nicknames like “Sugar” or “Spice” while she plays in the mud, as it could lead to some uncomfortable career choices down the road.

4. Remember that the way you talk about and treat women will have a lasting impact.
Your daughter will pick up on generalizations you make about women, whether positive or negative. Intentionally or not, you shape her identity about what it is to be a woman, and how to expect to be treated for being one. Say positive things about women without pedastalizing. If you can’t be nice, at least be respectful and steer clear of the B-word, C-word, and other words for putting down her entire gender. All this goes double for talking about her mother.

5. Teach her the correct names for her genitals, and use them matter-of-factly.
If she wants to say wee-wee, that’s fine, but make sure that as she grows up, she knows her vulva from her vagina. And whatever you do … don’t call it a front-butt.

6. Indulge her imagination.
You be the kitty, she’ll be the mommy, then she’ll be the kitty and you’ll be the baby kitty. It’s going to get boring for you, but it’s good for her. Keep doing it. Meow some more. Don’t forget to hiss.

7. Cry when the family pet dies.
You don’t have to weep if you hated the critter, but the point is to show that it’s okay for men to feel and express emotions when they come up, even hard ones like sadness and grief. Sometimes the most comforting thing you can do with a difficult emotion is to share it.

Pro tip: If she wants to schedule a memorial service for the pet you hated, try to schedule it right after you’ve watched “Brian’s Song”.

8. Teach her honesty and integrity in relationships by demonstrating them in yours.
“Honesty and integrity in relationships” doesn’t mean blind devotion. It means living a life consistent with the values you hold dear, and helping the people you love to live consistent with theirs.

Live the integrity you hope she’ll choose for herself.

9. Read her books with great heroes — both boy and girl heroes.
Books with girl heroes are harder to find, but they’re out there. You can find a lot of recommendations at A Mighty Girl. Also, make up stories on the spot —they don’t have to be perfect —starring her as the conquering hero battling the dragon or saving all the kittens in a big thunderstorm.

10. Teach her that she has power over her own body and sexuality.
From when she’s small, tell her that her body belongs to her, and she is the boss of it. As she gets older, teach her that her body isn’t to be used in the effort to win love or approval, or to manipulate others. Teach her that sex is beautiful, and that choices to have and not have sex both carry power and integrity, as long as she is true to herself.

Allow her to talk to you about sex without getting squicked, but also leave room for her to have private conversations about sex and sexuality with other people.

11. Teach her about male sexuality without fear-mongering.
It’s tempting to tell her that boys are bad, that sex is evil and that guys only want one thing …

But we know from the last 50 years of Sex Education that this tactic simply doesn’t work, and it damages both boys and girls in the process. Girls learn to fear boys and see them as one-dimensional, or they learn that their parents have been lying all along.

Teach her that respect is key, and both boys and girls deserve it and are able to give it.

12. Share music with each other.
Play your favorite music and tell her why it’s great. Let her do the same for you. Teach her why the bridge in the middle of Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic” is so crucial and really try to understand what’s so great about One Direction (and then enlighten us when you figure it out).

Teach her the courtesy of headphones and the wisdom of volume control.

13. Dress like a princess if she asks you to … And let her dress like a Power Ranger if she wants.
Yeah, it sucks a little playing dress-up for those of us not theatrically-inclined, but it makes a child feel important when you play the way she wants to play.

Also, playing ‘like a girl’ won’t make you one and playing ‘like a boy’ won’t make her one. So have fun with both.

14. Go with her to the nail salon and each of you get a pedicure.
No, you don’t have to get polish! Just enjoy the time with your daughter and the accompanying foot massage. (Unless you have an aversion to emery boards like Marcus does.)

15. Include her in your favorite hobbies.
Share with her the things you love, like watching Motocross, cooking dinner or playing the guitar.

Take her with you sometimes when you go to the bowling alley, or for a hike on your favorite trail. Go watch surfers in the ocean. Explain exactly what’s happening. Let her get bored after ten or fifteen minutes and then go do what she wants to do for a while.

16. Let her put on shows for you. Then put on a silly show for her.
It doesn’t take much—a goofy tap dance, armpit farts, standing on one foot—to make a little girl laugh.

17. Let her choose any color she wants for one wall in her room.
Yes, any. Then let her help you paint it. We recommend a very sturdy drop-cloth.

18. Roughhouse with her.
You won’t break her, and rough play is good for teaching confidence and resilience.

19. Inspire her with women role models who excel in traditionally male-dominated fields or activities.
She’s not going to grow up to be an NFL linebacker, but don’t crush aspirations before they begin by telling her what she can’t be because she’s a girl. The few things she can’t do will become obvious on their own, and the rest become possible if she’s allowed to dream and has role models who achieved great things without a penis.

20. Don’t shame her for what she wants to wear — but exercise the power to modify.
This one gets trickier with age, but most wardrobe choices by a toddler or little girl can be made to work. If a skirt is too short, leggings are great. If she picks a Spiderman tee for a wedding, try letting her wear it under a dressy top. If you have to overrule her choice, be pragmatic, not judgmental. (We couldn’t agree on the right approach to this once your daughter hits puberty, so you’re on your own.)

21. Look her in the eyes and have a real conversation at least once every single day that you’re together.
Even if it’s just about My Little Pony or Justin Bieber.

22. As she gets older, tell her the truth about drugs. Don’t use scare tactics, be honest.
Drugs are scary enough without exaggerating. But saying, “If you try drugs, you’ll die (or end up homeless, or become a prostitute, etc)” and having that as your “Drug Talk” will fail. Why? Because she will quickly learn that smoking pot doesn’t kill you—either from watching her friends or doing it herself.

Instead, try something along the lines of, “Using most drugs is like Russian Roulette… Five out of six times a person may be fine. But you never know if you’re going to end up as that one person who won’t be okay.”

23. Teach her that “No” means “No”, for both herself and others.
Teach her physical boundaries. Teach her how to say no directly, and that her no is to be respected, and that she shouldn’t be afraid or embarrassed to protect her body.

Make it clear that when someone — a little brother, a friend, or a parent — says no, that she is to respect that … including with boys.

24. Allow her to be girly if that’s her thing, but don’t force her to be if she’s not.
Let her wear dresses whenever she wants, but don’t force her to. Don’t buy everything in pink—unless she’s crazy for the color pink. If she loves Spiderman, go with that until she’s tired of it.

25. If she’s still little enough, hold her until she falls asleep sometimes.
You’ll miss it when you can’t.

medieval: Ebstorfer World Map, T-O-Design, was attributed to...

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 23:35:02 +0200

medieval:

Ebstorfer World Map, T-O-Design, was attributed to Gervase of Tilbury at around 1234 for some time, newer comparisions do date the original image into the year 1300 and no longer to that person. the original is lost due WW II. bombings but reproductions from facsimile copys and a digital reconstruction does exist.

This one is no good unless you view it fully zoomed. A ton of detail here.

Trio Bulgarka at BEST NIGHT MUSIC (by SynclavierMPDR) Those...

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 22:40:39 +0200

Trio Bulgarka at BEST NIGHT MUSIC (by SynclavierMPDR)

Those three can slice your soul into tiny little pieces and put it back together. Just like that.

"This is obviously a delaying tactic. This demonstrated the worst aspect of the EU politics: how the..."

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 17:49:56 +0200

“This is obviously a delaying tactic. This demonstrated the worst aspect of the EU politics: how the Council of Ministers and the Commission do everything they can behind the scene to get their will. Many unelected civil servants at the Council and at the Commission really want to grab as much power as possible for themselves, and take it away from elected representatives of the people.”

- ACTA: heavy pressure on the European Parliament to delay vote | Greenyourope

- (by Andreas Kaiser) I was just now considering why I like the...

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 13:16:07 +0200

- (by Andreas Kaiser)

I was just now considering why I like the photos of Andreas Kaiser and had to think that one of the reasons is because it’s not easy to define a reason.

It must be the moments he captures and the state of mind I get into while looking at his work. As if while being general he observes something minute—a dot in the picture of life.

- (by Andreas Kaiser)

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 13:10:56 +0200

- (by Andreas Kaiser)

(via Scenes from Bulgaria - The Big Picture - Boston.com and...

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 13:52:32 +0200

(via Scenes from Bulgaria - The Big Picture - Boston.com and bendyourcircuit)

The expansion of the Jay Family has reached my window and their...

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 13:17:33 +0200

The expansion of the Jay Family has reached my window and their voices are far from sweet.

(via Rare new head of Nefertiti) “Until now, no...

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 10:39:10 +0200

(via Rare new head of Nefertiti)

“Until now, no Egyptologist had noticed that at the time of Pharaoh Akhenaten, only women’s portraits were done in quartzite. Nefertiti is the only possible option for this remarkably fine miniature portrait,” says Loeben.

Pearl Jam

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 10:15:27 +0200

Pearl Jam

Recompute - Sustainable Cardboard Computer

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 23:23:00 +0200

Recompute - Sustainable Cardboard Computer:

Link from @txpels and an interesting attempt to make sustainable electronics. This reminded me that perhaps a better, more universal approach would be to start designing electronic devices in a more fragmented, elemental level. Black box and interface is something used in software design; why not replicate it in hardware? After all, we mostly buy new machines because one or two parts are not relevant any more and have to throw the whole thing away. It would have been much better if we could change those parts and interface to the rest of the machine and keep what’s good.

I don’t normally do this but all chairs and tables are...

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 12:06:15 +0200

I don’t normally do this but all chairs and tables are still not dry after yesterday’s oiling. It’s not a bad thing.. sitting outside, having breakfast.. as it turns.

(via www.davidagenjo.com)

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 16:50:25 +0200

(via www.davidagenjo.com)

Vision of the Blind (by David Mor)

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 16:32:00 +0200

Vision of the Blind (by David Mor)

Continuing wood veneration.

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 12:19:26 +0200

Continuing wood veneration.

This is what I had at 100 грама сладки where benbeni took me....

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 11:10:00 +0200

This is what I had at 100 грама сладки where benbeni took me. Seldom does one eat a cake that tastes of fresh fruit and I’m glad that my mind saves such tastes for a long, long time.

Let them eat sky

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 21:46:03 +0200

Let them eat sky