Rob Fahrni » Life

Dear FBI, follow @Fahrni

Rob Fahrni — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:52:23 +0000

Discovery News: “The US Federal Bureau of Investigation recently released details of a plan to continuously monitor the global activity of Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. A document released on January 19 explains that the FBI is seeking companies interested in building an online monitoring system for the bureau.”

Since I have a public account on Twitter it’s really not a big deal, heck, they can follow my every post on this weblog via my RSS feed.

I’d imagine the really bad people would use private networks to do their jobs, right? But, having said that, there are idiots out there that can’t resist bragging about their badness.

Discarded Bicycles

Rob Fahrni — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:31:46 +0000

Life Hacker: “If you want to try bicycling on the cheap and support keeping waste out of landfills, consider restoring a discarded bicycle as your next project. While the time and money investment will vary depending on the condition of the bike, you still should save a decent chunk of money and will have learned essential repair skills.”

When my brothers and I were growing up we spent most of our waking hours on bicycles. We raced BMX on the weekends, and loved tearing our bikes down to grease the bearings and give them a good cleaning. Good times.

A few months back I noticed a discarded 10-speed frame; complete with cranks, gooseneck, and forks! I instantly thought to myself “Hey, I’m gonna take that home and fix it up!” I expressed that thought to my wife, she thought I was crazy and asked when I’d have time to work on it? True, very true. I wouldn’t have the time to spend on it, and since we’ve moved to San Luis Obispo we’re limited on space. It was a great thought, and I’d really love to do it, but it the timing just wasn’t right.

Bikes are something I feel really confident working on. One day I may take a chance on an old discarded bicycle and fix it up.

It could happen.

On Failure

Rob Fahrni — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:44:53 +0000

Jerry Fahrni: “One thing is for certain, if you’re waiting for the right moment, the moment will never come. Decisions don’t need to be right or wrong, they simply need to be made. Heaven forbid you make a bad call on something. I seriously doubt anyone has gone through life mistake free. If you never make a mistake you’re not trying hard enough in my opinion. Heck, I’d go as far as to say that some of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned have been from my failures. Sure, the failures sting a little, but that’s what helps one learn from the process.”

I’ve always been a fairly cautious person, but I’m trying to change that. I need to take some business risks because I’m not getting any younger and I feel the need to do my own thing. I think Jay, Jerry as you know him, is absolutely correct. We need to fail on occasion to make progress and grow. In my case, I’ll regret never trying.

I don’t know who to attribute this quote to, but I keep it around for inspiration.

I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying. – Michael Jordan

If anyone knows who said it, please let me know so I can give proper attribution.

UPDATE 01.22.2012: The quote was by basketball legend Michael Jordan.

P.S. – Does Michael Jordan have an “official” official website? A Google search turns up a bunch of official websites.

Martin Fowler on SOPA

Rob Fahrni — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:15:40 +0000

Martin Fowler: “Our third problem is the very poor information given in the congressional proceedings we saw late in 2011. There were no witnesses who could talk sensibly on the engineering issues that we mentioned above, which is particularly important given the lack of engineering knowledge in congress. We don’t expect members of congress to understand software engineering issues, but we do expect them to listen to those that do. In general the proceedings seemed very tilted towards the supporters of these bills, which didn’t provide much opportunity for opponents to state their concerns.”

Scary.

A Pathetic America

Rob Fahrni — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:18:18 +0000

New York Times: “ON Wednesday, America’s detention camp at Guantánamo Bay will have been open for 10 years. For seven of them, I was held there without explanation or charge. During that time my daughters grew up without me. They were toddlers when I was imprisoned, and were never allowed to visit or speak to me by phone. Most of their letters were returned as “undeliverable,” and the few that I received were so thoroughly and thoughtlessly censored that their messages of love and support were lost.”

America has definitely lost her way.

No, not in America?

Rob Fahrni — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:48:53 +0000

The New Civil Rights Movement:“People die in America because people die in America. And people make poor decisions with respect to their health and their healthcare. And they don’t go to the emergency room or they don’t go to the doctor when they need to,” he said. “And it’s not the fault of the government for not providing some sort of universal benefit.”

Wow, Rick Santorum, you sir, are out of touch. Come down off the mountain and be with the people for a while. Oh, and while you’re at it bring the President and the rest of Congress.

Learn the Basics

Rob Fahrni — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:59:18 +0000

Guy English: “But, let’s not kid ourselves, literacy is the new literacy. The ability to read, comprehend, digest and come to rational conclusions — that’s what we need more of. We don’t, as a society, need more people who have the mechanical knowledge to turn RSS feeds into Twitter spam. We don’t need anything more posted to Facebook, we don’t need anything we photograph to appear on Instagram and Flickr. If “scripting” is the new literacy then we’ve failed. We’ve become Mario drowning on a Water Level.”

Guy nails it. As software guys we tend to think it’s all about code and the computer.

We need folks to learn the basics so they can navigate life. We need teachers that can actually teach. We need to stop the madness that is standardized testing. Let schools teach kids, not just prepare them for a test.

Let’s return to apprenticeships. Not every kid wants to be a scientist. Not every kid is going to make it through college. We need people to do what they love and be great at it.

Merry Christmas!

Rob Fahrni — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 15:23:15 +0000

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” – Luke 2:9-12

Fulton Mall Fiasco

Rob Fahrni — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 05:39:19 +0000

Huffington Post: “The site is being re-examined and this past October three options for remaking the mall (narrowed down from 10) were unveiled — two could significantly destroy the character of the mall by opening it up to cars with a traditional street or inserting two lanes of road and curbs weaving them through some of the outdoor “vignettes” while demolishing others. The third, complete restoration, is most likely not economically viable. The one really sensible solution — keeping four of the six streets closed to cars while opening many of the cross streets, a realistic compromise balancing design, historic preservation and economics — inexplicably seems to have been abandoned.”

I wonder if someone believes that tearing Fulton Mall apart will actually help downtown?

The city needs to work a whole lot harder to attract a large employer downtown. A modern, younger, company that will encourage other companies to relocate. Naive? Yep.

Congress doesn’t understand the Internet (#SOPA)

Rob Fahrni — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:59:46 +0000

Motherboard: “You relish the opportunity to put on a half-cocked smile and ask to skip over the techno-jargon, conveniently masking your ignorance by making yourselves seem better aligned with the average American joe or jane — the “non-nerds” among us. But to anyone of moderate intelligence that tuned in to yesterday’s Congressional mark-up of SOPA, the legislation that seeks to fundamentally change how the internet works, you kind of just looked like a bunch of jack-asses.”

The Internet as we know it rests with a group of people that don’t understand it.