Brett Coburn

Yep, done.

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:48:17 -0500

I should have expected this… I pretty much have zero interest in updating this blog, so I’ll probably delete it. Hopefully this will be my last aborted attempt at a personal blog. I’m still interested in blogging, but I think I just prefer different formats.

Next time around I’d like to write some longer posts and tie together the random bits of information that I tend to collect. Maybe some how-tos, or just analysis… as long as it is low volume. I stay too busy to keep up even a semi-constant stream of blogging.

Anyway, it’s been fun y’all.

Help Save Greencup Books

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:46:51 -0500

Help Save Greencup Books:

I hate to say it, but we, like everyone else, are having financial difficulties. This economic downturn and the rise of the big box booksellers are killing us. We never intended to make a profit, that’s why we have always been a 501c3, now nationally recognized. Unfortunately due to fiscal irresponsibility in our local government there is no money in Jefferson County for grants, and since we have been around for less than three years, most state grants wont cover us. We are doing everything we can to raise money but we need your help. No one here gets paid or draws a salary, the store provides food for volunteers and occasionally gas money but that’s about it…

Not dead, just busy

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:14:00 -0500

Sorry for the lack of updates — mundane life has made an unwelcome intrusion into my free time. I’ll start posting again once I’m done moving and (even more pressing) after I finish the paper I have to write for my degree.

A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:48:53 -0500

A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods:

This site contains an overview of nearly every visual mapping tool out there, categorized by purpose and with examples included. It is a great reference for anyone who needs to represent an idea without falling back on the same tired charts and graphics.

Use GMinder to access Google Calendar in Offline Mode

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:07:37 -0500

Use GMinder to access Google Calendar in Offline Mode

Birmingham police shoot dogs in Southside, owner jailed for disorderly conduct

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:45:33 -0500

Birmingham police shoot dogs in Southside, owner jailed for disorderly conduct:

Wow. This is incredibly sad; I’ve met Leisa and she’s a great person. I can’t believe they arrested her for “cursing police” after they shot at her dogs.

Forget what I said before… it looks like Birmingham is having some of the same law enforcement problems that everyone else is. I hope that this doesn’t become a trend down here.

In the meantime, my best to Leisa, and I hope the dogs get well soon. Everyone eat at Cosmo’s if you haven’t been there!

tweenbots | kacie kinzer

Tue, 26 May 2009 17:29:13 -0500

tweenbots | kacie kinzer:

Little cardboard robots helped along to their destination by people. Description from the site:

Tweenbots are human-dependent robots that navigate the city with the help of pedestrians they encounter. Rolling at a constant speed, in a straight line, Tweenbots have a destination displayed on a flag, and rely on people they meet to read this flag and to aim them in the right direction to reach their goal.

Cute! Also an interesting study in human nature.

A Model of The Creative Process

Sun, 24 May 2009 01:13:29 -0500

A Model of The Creative Process:

A visual map (downloadable PDF) of the creative process. Would probably make a nice poster.

Birmingham police beating video: Five officers fired

Thu, 21 May 2009 18:53:00 -0500

Birmingham police beating video: Five officers fired:

This is shameful, but it is encouraging to see the police administration handle it properly. Even Langford came down on the right side on this one.

My feeling is that Birmingham may have a lot of problems, but the scars from the civil rights era have prevented the blatant abuses we are seeing in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and other US cities. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I just haven’t heard of many issues like this one in the Birmingham area. Either the media isn’t reporting on it or the police are actually acting as professional LEOs — with a handful of exceptions, of course.

Anyway, kudos to the city for dealing with this case.

IMAPSize

Sat, 16 May 2009 04:10:24 -0500

IMAPSize:

A nice Windows utility for automating local backups of IMAP mailboxes. I use it to keep local copies of my GMail mailboxes just in case the service goes down. I could just use a full-featured mail client, of course, but I like the GMail web interface too much to switch.

Lifehacker - Make a Quake-Style Command Prompt with AutoHotkey

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:53:00 -0500

Lifehacker - Make a Quake-Style Command Prompt with AutoHotkey:

Look in the comments for a version that includes tabs for PowerShell and Cygwin. I can’t believe I haven’t had anything like this before — definitely a time saver. For those of us who miss the scriptability of Linux, AutoHotKey is a godsend as well.

Federal agency warns of radicals on right - Washington Times

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 19:30:00 -0500

Federal agency warns of radicals on right - Washington Times:

This article is particularly interesting for a few reasons. First, it looks like the DHS is trying to curry favor with the new administration — instead of “anarchists,” now we’re supposed to be scared of right-wing militias. Next, the Obama administration has distanced themselves from the report (and good for them). I’m not sure what this means, but hopefully DHS will be undergoing some changes in the days to come. Finally, I never knew that “groups that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority” were considered terrorists, but then again I never knew that vegetarians were terrorists either.

What's playing at your favorite theater?

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 21:03:29 -0500

What's playing at your favorite theater?:

This is awesome. Generate RSS feeds for any theater indexed by Google.

Coworking Space Coming to Downtown B’ham

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:55:00 -0500

Coworking Space Coming to Downtown B’ham:

A new space for independent workers to come together and collaborate and create is opening in May on 2nd…

Coworking in Birmingham? I didn’t expect this anytime soon!

App to Synchronize Google and Facebook Contacts

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 20:07:00 -0500

App to Synchronize Google and Facebook Contacts:

I have been wanting something like this for a long time. Tried it and it works really well (although some photos get scaled improperly).

Spam Haiku

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:43:00 -0500

Got this in my email today:

your time is too important
such as blocks and dolls,
of the events in your

—Laverne Peoples

There was no link or anything else.

Bham Job Sprawl Causing Array of Environmental Problems

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:05:30 -0500

Bham Job Sprawl Causing Array of Environmental Problems:

Oh, weird! You spend time and money making the roads bigger and better to the suburbs, all the people are going to move out there and then all the jobs are going to follow them. Then everyone…

Bill Would Grant President Unprecedented Cyber-security Powers

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 16:12:00 -0500

Bill Would Grant President Unprecedented Cyber-security Powers:

The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 introduced in the Senate would allow the president to shut down private Internet networks. The legislation also calls for the government to have the authority to demand security data from private networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule or policy restricting such access.

This is not right. I’m supportive of some aspects of this bill, but overall this is the first step towards a non-free, regulated ‘net.

Omegle

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 01:19:00 -0500

Omegle:

This site lets you talk to an anonymous person at random. You know, I used to talk to people I didn’t know on the net, but now it just feels extremely strange.

Riley signs film incentives into law

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:47:55 -0500

Riley signs film incentives into law:

The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Governor Riley had finally signed HB69 into law, creating tax incentives for the entertainment industry in Alabama. It was drafted and…