Given the choice between using Twitter’s embed snippet or just using a block quote for the tweet, I would use the block quote every time.
First time I’ve had to contact Apple support for a purchase in the iTunes store. Prompt reply within 48 hours and full refund issued.
Jennifer read this over the weekend and suggested I read it too. With two young kids, a Pixar movie is usually on the television at some point during the week.
The theory is that all of Pixar's movies exist within the same universe.
We also learn that this witch inexplicably disappears every time she passes through doors, leading us to believe that she may not even exist. Don’t get ahead of me, but we’ll come back to Brave. Let’s just say, for now, the witch is someone we know from a different movie in the timeline.
— The Pixar Theory by Jon Negroni
Read on for the full explanation. Great fun for the adults being able to piece the movies together.
Repeating the Basics
A tweet by Brian P. Hogan sums up brilliantly what I've been doing in the last two weeks to stay sharp.
Whether you’re playing scales, shooting free-throws, or writing a web page, repeating the basics keeps you ready to perform.
— Twitter by Brian P. Hogan
I've started using this practice in the last two weeks to help me stay sharp both mentally and physcially.
Mental Practice
In the last couple of weeks I've started learning Python. To do this effectively I needed a list of problems and solutions in Ruby that I could compare with Python. I didn't have anything so I started building Ruby implementations of basic data structures like lists, queues and stacks.
The solutions themselves are not complicated but that practice of writing simple classes and tests is something I've been doing almost every day for the last two weeks. What I'm hoping to do is to have a repository of code examples that are easy enough to do in thirty minutes, but can be used a starting point for other programming languages.
So far, I've been implementing similar data structures in Python and so far I've found the learning process to be much easier than if I had simply just started reading a book in Python.
Physical Practice
They say you never forget how to ride a bike, what they do forget to tell you though is that your body usually forgets rather quickly how much effort is needed to ride a bike.
Over the last twenty years I've had gaps in my riding that has sometimes amounted to months. Technically, I'm good on the bike. Shifting weight between the wheels, getting the right gear in place for tricky climbs and maintaining balance on the bike for when things almost grind to a complete halt. These little tips and tricks have been amassed over years of riding bikes. They never leave you. What does leave you though is the rest time that your body needs in between intervals of high intensity cycling.
To combat this physical forgetfulness, I've started doing intervals at my local trails to help get my recovery time down. The basics of bike riding are often seen as having the technical chops to guide the bike fast through obstacles on the trail, but you need more than this to keep the momentum of the ride going. The intervals help by reducing the rest time your body needs through periods of high and low intensity riding. After a couple of interval sessions I'm already starting to see improvements.
Repeating the basics can be applied to any profession or activity. Taking the basics of the activity and practicing them regularly help ensure you never go rusty or get out of shape. It's a small investment in time and effort to stay sharp but it's an investment I'm willing to make for the benefits in the long term.
Notebook Lost and Found
Ana Reinert has a couple of suggestions to ensure your most prized notebooks get back to you.
The Last of Us is a fantastic game as is the soundtrack by Gustavo Santaolalla.
Highly recommended even if you have never played the game.
Don't wait for the new year for a bold new start. Start today with Nicholas Bate and reap the benefits.
Hint for NB: Would love to see these as a deck of index cards.
Fixie Friday - Affinity Kissena
When it comes to building communities, there's one essential ingredient that can make or break the community. It's trust. Sure there are other things needed to build a community like people and participation, but trust is essential if that community wants to meet its own aim and grow to include to new members.
Without entrusting others to act on the best interests of the community, it becomes nothing more than an organisation that uses bureaucracy to funnel contributions through to 'those in charge'. A community that needs approval on everything from a couple of people who act as the 'heads of the community' is going to find itself difficult to grow and may eventually end up turning people away. No one wants to join a community where all contributions to the community need approval from one or two individuals.
Trusting people to act within the best interests of the community is essential for the community to grow. It's through this trust we can allow people to act in the best interests of the community and make it a better community for all involved.
T-Shirts
... the ultimate guide.