Here it is: I like to find (a) simple solutions (b) to overlooked problems (c) that actually need to be solved, and (d) deliver them as informally as possible, (e) starting with a very crude version 1, then (f) iterating rapidly.

Sounds a lot like agile, but worded in a more humane way.

Viktor’s Amazing 4-bit Processor, built from standard TTL logic gates. If only more programmers built some of their own hardware … it’s a great learning experience.

One of the best developers I know pointed me to a Django tutorial. Django is a Python-based Rails equivalent, that’s even less imposing than Rails. It’s a good corollary framework to Rails,¹ as the approach is different enough to make you think a bit.

1. Especially useful if you’re still trying to find a good framework, or thinking about design approaches ↩

An extension to mobile Safari that makes tabbed browsing easier. It’s a clever use of bookmarklets and iconic hovering menus that is just plain old fun to use.

Make online scoops Flickr’s new upload screen (and other enhancements). Sweet.

A design walkthrough of Teamsnap, showing improvements over a few iterations.

Cygwin in Putty, locally. Makes it possible to replace cmd.exe with Putty.

Ruport is a Ruby reporting library that can hook into ActiveRecord, CSV, or SQL/DBI. It has a simple formatting language, can produce PDFs and graphs, and even does some code generation to make things easy.

[stars: 3] The Pursuit of Happyness. A reasonable record of the Christopher Gardner story, staring Will Smith (and son). The cast’s performances were solid, but the movie moved awkwardly to its conclusion. I didn’t like the premise that riches are required for happiness, though the truth of the real life story is that a father’s love is enough to make any child happy.

[bombs: 2] Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. So-so funny early on, with a general trend toward boredom by the mid point. The movie had a few laugh-out-loud moments, interspersed in a barren landscape of the inappropriate and mundane. I suspect this one is better after a few beers.