Tech Kindred

Dark thunder clouds from the #thoughtworks Belo Horizonte...

Thu, 19 Nov 2015 14:56:46 -0500

Dark thunder clouds from the #thoughtworks Belo Horizonte office. (at Belo Horizonte, Brazil)

View from #thoughtworks Belo Horizonte office. (at Belo...

Thu, 19 Nov 2015 12:27:22 -0500

View from #thoughtworks Belo Horizonte office. (at Belo Horizonte, Brazil)

@thoughtworks San Francisco Home Office Day. #thoughtworks...

Fri, 28 Aug 2015 16:49:13 -0400

@thoughtworks San Francisco Home Office Day. #thoughtworks #thoughtworkssf #cloud #continuousdelivery #tgif #softwareengineering

lensblr-network: Breaking the Golden Rule. by lasttogetpicced ...

Sat, 11 Jul 2015 22:16:15 -0400

lensblr-network:

Breaking the Golden Rule.

by lasttogetpicced (lasttogetpicced.com)

Brave

Dusk @ Crissy Field #vscocam #ocean #lumix #lumixlounge

Sun, 08 Feb 2015 10:49:21 -0500

Dusk @ Crissy Field #vscocam #ocean #lumix #lumixlounge

Walter's Boda Boda Tours - A Review

Wed, 04 Feb 2015 15:06:00 -0500

It’s taken me a while to finally write a review of Walter’s Boda Boda Tours (WBBT), one of the well known tour operators in Kampala, Uganda. Last April, I had the exceptional opportunity to visit the ThoughtWorks Kampala office, and since my trip included a weekend stay, I used the time to tour the city. (This review is only for WBBT’s Kampala Tour - I wish I had more time to see other parts of Uganda).

First off, I was a bit nervous about touring the city on a boda boda. For the uninitiated, boda bodas are essentially motorcycle taxis with enough room for you and the driver. Just like taxis everywhere, you can hail a boda boda from the street. Before going on the tour with Walter’s crew, let’s just say my first couple rides were harrowing experiences. Taking potholes, at high speed, while you’re barely holding on to the back of an unfamiliar motorcycle, without a helmet, is nerve racking at best; especially for a privileged American used to cushy Ubers and such. Walter’s Boda Boda Kampla Tour, however, is an oasis in the boda boda desert - it’s excellent.

The biggest difference, as you can see above, is WBBT takes safety seriously. I had an actual helmet that was in good condition. The drivers aren’t slow, but they aren’t speed demons either, striking a good balance. They don’t hit every pothole with gusto. Most importantly, your drivers are with you for the whole experience, showing you the town while making sure no one else takes you for a ride. They are knowledgeable, flexible, and simultaneously not overbearing.

The whole experience from start to finish is set up well. Walter promptly responded to my email and scheduled my day tour. The options and prices were clear. At no point was I worried about hidden costs or upsells. Essentially, Walter’s a good business man. You feel like he’s on it, like he’s hustling, like he’s there to give you a good time, while taking care of his crew. At the end of my core tour, I had the option of grabbing some good local eats with my driver. We had a great time - it’s the only time I’ve had real engaging conversation with a tour guide.

I also was able to take some solid photos. If you’re a photog, the Kampala tour will bring you to many of the well-known sites. I had with me my old Panasonic GF2 with a 14mm F 2.5 lens (28mm in full-frame terms) - great for wide angle city-views, and discrete enough for street-shooting from the back of a moving bike. The majority of my shooting was from the hip. Below are some highlights, including the Bahá’i temple, Gaddafi Mosque, and Idi Amin’s torture chambers (which are a deep experience) :

Overall, I highly recommend WBBT. The only minor thing that I wish, in retrospect, is that the Kampala tour would include the city’s large churches (Anglican and Catholic). From a distance, the cathedrals look like they are worth seeing and a majority of Ugandans are Christian, but the tour shows you everything but. If you are a foreigner in Kampala, Walter’s Boda Boda Tours are a must try.

Update: Here’s the photo album on Flickr.

This Is Why RadioShack Is in Trouble - Bloomberg Business

Tue, 03 Feb 2015 18:47:25 -0500

This Is Why RadioShack Is in Trouble - Bloomberg Business:

Bloomberg interviewed me outside a RadioShack for this. There’s a shack right by the office. Too bad they didn’t double down on makers.

lensblr-network: by Cam Fortin (steepravine.com) I really dig...

Fri, 30 Jan 2015 03:10:56 -0500

lensblr-network:

by Cam Fortin (steepravine.com)

I really dig this…

at Crissy Field

Fri, 02 Jan 2015 19:39:58 -0500

at Crissy Field

Yaye Christ! Merry Christmas y'all. My Christmas ducks...

Thu, 25 Dec 2014 18:14:56 -0500

Yaye Christ! Merry Christmas y'all. My Christmas ducks aren’t to the usual level of crispy :-(, but smell great.

mikedawwwson: The Underdog Myth https://twitter.com/mike_daws

Tue, 02 Dec 2014 10:30:43 -0500

mikedawwwson:

The Underdog Myth
https://twitter.com/mike_daws

Transcend USA on Twitter: "@twchad R&D is currently working on a Toolbox update to allow TRIM to be enabled on Yosemite."

Thu, 23 Oct 2014 14:26:28 -0400

Transcend USA on Twitter: "@twchad R&D is currently working on a Toolbox update to allow TRIM to be enabled on Yosemite.":

Transcend is going to enable TRIM support in Yosemite for its JetDrives. Couldn’t find this in any forums so I asked directly. Transcend USA gave me a timely response.

#hyperlapse

Thu, 18 Sep 2014 13:30:21 -0400

View this post on Instagram

#hyperlapse

#hyperlapse first one…

Tue, 26 Aug 2014 12:50:42 -0400

View this post on Instagram

#hyperlapse first one…

Day dreaming

Sat, 31 May 2014 01:10:17 -0400

Day dreaming

On the boat… (at The Pier @ Grand Haven)

Thu, 27 Jun 2013 19:20:19 -0400

On the boat… (at The Pier @ Grand Haven)

suntimesdarktimes: Front pages, June 26, 2013. Yikes. Which...

Thu, 27 Jun 2013 15:40:28 -0400

suntimesdarktimes:

Front pages, June 26, 2013.

Yikes. Which paper would you buy?

Long ride home. Traffic is ugly.

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 19:33:03 -0400

Long ride home. Traffic is ugly.

Neven Mrgan's tumbl: "Wrong"

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:56:48 -0400

Neven Mrgan's tumbl: "Wrong":

mrgan:

Just about the most asinine, presumptuous, hubris-filled thing a designer can say is that someone else’s design is “wrong”. That word is reserved for judgments of absolute truth or ethical guidance; for flawed mathematical proofs and crimes. And yet, allow me to declare the following: Jony Ive’s…

This is something I noticed immediately too - a grid isn’t bad, but the proportionality is all off. Isn’t it still off with the grid as boundaries though?

Tethering your iPad to your iPhone with QuasiDisk

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:24:00 -0400

QuasiDisk, if you happened to grab it when it was still in the App Store, allows you to tether without jail breaking your iDevice. However, it was previously only useful for laptop to iDevice tethering because it can’t create an adhoc network.

In a pinch, you can now use it for tethered browsing via Bluetooth.

Software:
QuasiDisk
Bluetooth Share (on both devices)
iCab mobile Browser

Steps:
On both devices turn Bluetooth on
In iCab settings on your iPad, put your QuasiDisk proxy settings for http in the Proxy section
Open BT Share on both devices
Pair the devices via the Bluetooth option in the bottom right
On the iPhone switch to QuasiDisk, turn it on
On the iPad, switch to iCab and browse away, now tethered

The downsides are that it’s browser only, QuasiDisk times out occasionally needing to be restarted, and the Bluetooth connection drops if it’s not active.