semper creo http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/ (ivan has the keyboard) en Copyright 2006 Thu, 21 Dec 2006 00:40:21 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.2 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Less Keyboard The end of the year has forced me to collect my thoughts and score how well I've done during the second half of this year.

]]> http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/12/less_keyboard.html http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/12/less_keyboard.html Thu, 21 Dec 2006 00:40:21 -0600 One last thing.. More software-related posts coming eventually. Also, wtf with the inability to specify a category? :p

]]> http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/08/one_last_thing.html http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/08/one_last_thing.html Tue, 08 Aug 2006 00:43:15 -0600 TextMate & Markdown TextMate & Markdown

I've been messing around with TextMate lately, trying it out for several unrelated tasks that seem to always require a little bit more than your basic text editor. I had not tried the blogging bundle before, but figured it was worth a try.

Markdown support has always been pretty crucial for me, as well as the ability to construct new posts with a minimal amount of effort (I hate mouseclicks!). So far so good. The only remaining issue is dealing with the strange default template that TextMate seems to use when constructing the headers with markdown, but that seems to be fixed by using nothing but the following at the top of the entry:

Title: __insert title here_
Format: markdown

Not too bad. Now if I could only figure out how to add keywords, and set comments to be turned off by default, that would be fine. Cheers. --ivan

]]> http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/08/test_ignore2.html http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/08/test_ignore2.html software Tue, 08 Aug 2006 00:39:56 -0600 That's Taxes To You I have about four rolls of undeveloped film sitting on a desk (two from this weekend), and two more in the works. I just finished my taxes and am sitting on the floor of the living room experiencing something between sticker shock and apathy. All in all, I am getting a bit of money back, but the process by which all if this came together took all the fun out of it days ago. Federal return measured 16 pages, which might be more than last year, and that one seemed hefty.

In other news, I've been lugging around this book the past few weeks, hoping to have a solid hour to devote to re-reading it here and there. But every time I sit down to go over something in it, I'm interrupted. At home, alone at a cafe, or times like this. I'm hoping to come up with a few good presentation ideas on modeling in general that I can start introducing into our informal developer "brown bag" meetings which we have at work once a week. I've been meaning to do this for a while now, but lost sight of these things in the midst of constant change.

]]> http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/04/thats_taxes_to_you.html http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/04/thats_taxes_to_you.html photography Mon, 17 Apr 2006 02:58:40 -0600 That's Mr. Eastwood to you Interesting note on Language Log on why comics avoid the name 'Clint'. I vaguely recall hearing about this a long time ago, but it didn't really register in my head until now.

]]> http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/04/thats_mr_eastwood_to_you.html http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/04/thats_mr_eastwood_to_you.html Mon, 03 Apr 2006 00:24:01 -0600 The Product of One's Labor Three years ago, I left the world of consulting to join a small start-up. Our 10-12 person company was purchased by 360Commerce a year later, during which I stayed on as a contractor for twelve more months developing the same software (a small piece of a now larger pie) before leaving for another job. Our development team was never greater than 5-6 people, and we worked in a pretty close-knit environment. A few months ago, it was announced that 360Commerce was itself being purchased by Oracle. As goes 360, so does my old team.

Lost in the news of this latest acquisition is the small detail that the software I worked on is no longer considered a strategic piece of the new company's larger pie. Apparently it's being shelved. Even though I am no longer at that company, I still wonder what to make of it all..

]]> http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/03/the_product_of_ones_labor.html http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/03/the_product_of_ones_labor.html software Sun, 26 Mar 2006 12:06:36 -0600 Where is Ivan? I took a slight turn in the past few weeks, and thanks to some welcome prodding, got myself a new flickr account. All photos will be there, possibly referenced here-- I'm not sure yet what to make of all this.

It might actually work out for the better. The desire to post a few photos on the web (since photography is what I aspire to do in my off hours) overshadowed the original purpose of this site to be about other things. But photos fit in with the short attention span most of us keep on the web, so to keep them off this site would probably be a mistake.

That said, not having photos here for a few weeks has taught me an important lesson about myself-- I'm getting lazy doing non-photo related things outside of work.

]]> http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/03/where_is_ivan.html http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/03/where_is_ivan.html photography Sun, 26 Mar 2006 11:04:29 -0600 blue sky, new mexico EarthandskyPulled from the archives along with a lot of similar photos. No address, but if I had to guess, this was somewhere on the way to the D.H. Lawrence memorial. (F100, 24mm f2.8D, Ektachrome 100)

]]> http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/03/blue_sky_new_mexico.html http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/03/blue_sky_new_mexico.html photography Thu, 09 Mar 2006 22:16:47 -0600 Walnut Room Walnut Room We walked past the Walnut Room last Saturday right before closing. They were setting up some food around the fountain, presumably for Sunday morning brunch.

Not that you asked, but I'm a fan of the french dip at the Frango Cafe. On a weekend downtown, when all the frou-frou restaurants are full on Michigan avenue, it was always empty. Sure hope it's still around when Marshall Fields becomes Macy's.

]]> http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/03/walnut_room.html http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/03/walnut_room.html Wed, 08 Mar 2006 23:22:07 -0600 Jane's Janes-1Flower and candle, taken one evening at Jane's. We arrived just before closing, and they were nice enough to seat us. We've been there a few times now and always have a good meal. Recommended.

As a side-note, this was my first time re-acquainting myself with the Nikon FE. Funny story about it-- I had problems loading the film! I took a picture of the candle at our table while winding the film, and noticed that it wasn't advancing. Eventually I remembered that the film spools counter-clockwise, and took this shot again as a test.

]]> http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/03/janes.html http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/03/janes.html photography Sun, 05 Mar 2006 23:10:52 -0600 mystery Mystery 1996I need some help identifying this one. It comes off a damaged and seriously underexposed negative.

As much as I can tell, I took it around 1996, and it appears on a same roll of film as a few random pictures from my college days. This doesn't look like any place in Champaign I can remember, nor does it look like Chicago. Is that a train in the foreground? Where is this place? Help!

]]> http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/03/mystery.html http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/03/mystery.html photography Sun, 05 Mar 2006 22:04:22 -0600 bummer.. Poolside Bolivia-1Work has been all-encompasing this week. I saved this scan a week or so ago for reasons that I can't remember. Photograph most likely taken in 1997 (yet another reason why I like having a film scanner-- being able to make all these old memories available and fresh). From back in Bolivia, behind my family's house. If I recall correctly, I moved an ugly chair out of the way in order to take this picture. The pool (which was new then) was just filled. I wonder if it still looks the same...

More work tomorrow, then a weekend of phone calls and then some. I have three rolls of film sitting in my in-box, two from my weekend with the FE, and one from Vegas.. Although I've been considering holding off on posting pictures for a while and concentrating on other things.

]]> http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/03/bummer.html http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/03/bummer.html photography Fri, 03 Mar 2006 01:27:42 -0600 Around The Slots Vegas021806Eventually everything looks and sounds the same. This might be the first casino, or perhaps the last. Since slot machines are just an obstacle for getting in and out of the other areas, I usually people watch on my way through. The eery glow of the machine on a player's face is curious. This was a great opportunity for some stealth photography (too bad very few of them actually turned out). The real trick is approximating the average distance from your hip to the subject, set the shutter speed fast enough, keep the lens wide open and hope for the best. Yet another reason why a fast lens is crucial for such risky shots. High risk photography in Las Vegas. Heh...

]]> http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/02/around_the_slots.html http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/02/around_the_slots.html photography Sun, 26 Feb 2006 16:00:47 -0600 San Dimas High School foothill Rules! San Dimas On the drive from Los Angeles to Vegas, somewhere between LAX, the In-N-Out, and a giant, pulsating hangover...

]]> http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/02/san_dimas_high_school_foothill.html http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/02/san_dimas_high_school_foothill.html photography Sun, 26 Feb 2006 03:35:12 -0600 Traveling... I hate lugging lots of things around. Reading a thread on photo.net entitled "what is your travel kit & why?", I read this comment and thought it was interesting.

I usually carry copies of previous work that I think will make me friends. If you can't speak the language it's a real help, and even if you can, it help with those "what's this guy taking our pictures for?" moments. Usually just photocopies, nothing fancy.

On another note, before last year, I used to take my F100 everywhere, but after spending the past week with the FE, I had tons of fun with it. Should have a few images off of it next week.

]]> http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/02/traveling.html http://www.blight.com/~ivan/blog/2006/02/traveling.html photography Thu, 16 Feb 2006 00:50:44 -0600