07.17.06

On AJAX and Hype

10:37 pm - Jason G. - Commentary

Found this amusing but poigniant comment:

Steven, a young web wiz, has just celebrated his bar mitzvah. He received a dozen gifts and must write a dozen thank-you notes. Being webbish, he creates an on-line ?Thank-You Note Generator.? Steven shows the site to his friends, who show it to their friends, and soon the site is getting traffic from recipients of all sorts of gifts, not just bar mitzvah stuff.

If Steven created the site with CGI and Perl and used tables for layout, this is the story of a boy who made a website for his own amusement, perhaps gaining social points in the process. He might even contribute to a SXSW Interactive panel.

But if Steven used AJAX and Ruby on Rails, Yahoo will pay millions and Tim O?Reilly will beg him to keynote.

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07.13.06

Pondering Risk

5:46 pm - Jason G. - Quotes

The late, great Peter Drucker once said this:

Every decision is risky: It’s a commitment of present resources to an uncertain and unknown future. Risks can be minimized if you know when a decision is necessary, how to clearly define a problem and tackle it directly, and that you’ll have to make compromises in the end. You haven’t made a decision until you’ve found a way to implement it.

I’ve been thinking a bit lately about the nature of risk and what we really mean. I think this one quote helps solidify my thinking more than anything else I’ve come across while pondering the topic.

Note to self – go back and finish reading Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk by Peter Bernstein.

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Be Prepared!

5:44 pm - Jason G. - Commentary

I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes today:

To every man there comes a time in his lifetime that special moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered a chance to do a very special thing, unique to him and fitted to his talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared or unqualified for the work which would be his finest hour.

-Winston Churchill

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Ask a Ninja

4:23 pm - Jason G. - Commentary

Go see Ask a Ninja if you haven’t seen it yet… hilarious!

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The Matrix Revolutions

10:53 am - Jason G. - Commentary

I recently read this commentary about what the heck is going on in the Matrix trilogy. My favorite quote from the articles:

Don’t read metaphors as facts. It’s bad for you.

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07.12.06

Running – Second Empire Grand Prix

8:36 pm - Jason G. - Commentary

Be sure to check out the Second Empire 5k Fun Run as well as the entire Second Empire Grand Prix race series. They give out cash to the top finishers, and it can be very competetive if you want a good race. They also make it fun for those of us who aren’t running at a competetive pace…

I volunteered last year as one of the race administrators, and it’s a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon in downtown Raleigh.

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