I haven't mentioned David McCusker lately. I still read him all the time. His page is so interesting, although I can't pin point exactly why. The software he is working on is cool, if a bit beyond what I'm capable of understanding. But it's something about how open he is with his struggles. Both with his work and his life. It's rare that someone can talk about their personal struggles and have it sound like they are trying to help you in some way, rather than merely unburdening themselves. I respect him a lot.
He used to write quite a bit about his wife Lisa. They have two kids. Like any couple it seems they have some occasional problems. It was very interesting to be able to listen in (if only from one side) on another couple going through what all couples go through. But some of her friends were reading it, and I guess it was making things even more complicated, so she asked him to stop writing about her. I struggle with this too, although from a different angle. I definitely don't write as much about MB (or as a result myself) as I would like. It just doesn't seem entirely fair. At least in light of the fact that I know she doesn't want me to. This hinders how much I can reveal about myself. Yet this might be a good thing in the end. I don't know. But I was sure sympathizing with David when he was going through that (hmm, I can't find that material on his site now.)
Now lately his coding project (his big, for himself project, not his day job) is going through a process of refocusing. He threatened a few times lately to throw in the towel all together. Instead it looks like he has settled on a significantly scaled down goal. Now I can sort of almost see what he's doing. A hypercard clone. Or cousin. Or something. Hypocard maybe it will be called.
I never played with the original hypercard, but I understand it a little. Very cool stuff. Apple still sells it, but without any real push. Seems like it hangs around (it's very old) because the small group that does still use it is fanatically devoted. A lot of people got their first "that's so cool" exposure to computers through hypercard. ("You mean even I can build computer programs?") It's a very easy to use, visually oriented system for creating data storage and retrieval structures. Or something. Right up my alley I think. It's powerful and intuitive. Tough combination to find. I'll have to wait and see what David means by clone (or "cousin") but I'm very excited by the prospects. I'll definitely be trying to understand any tools he produces. Hopefully it won't be over my head. Lately it's sounding like maybe it won't be.
I'm usually aware of the people who make the tools I use (say, PHP, or MySQL.) But I use a particular tool because it works for me, not because of who created it. This case might be different though. I can tell by the way he talks while he's been designing it. I will try to use David's creations because I figure they'll work well, but also because I think they will teach me something. And maybe not just about computers. I really hope he keeps going.
His 5 line stanza structure & basic blank verse prose style works surprisingly well. The form is reminiscent of A.R. Ammons' Tape for the Turn of The Year which was typed on a roll of adding tape as it used to be called. On the Road of course is the grandaddy of typed-off-the-roll-road- literature & can be read as a direct antecedant to the scrolled page of the We-The-People-Blog.
"I don't enjoy my line of work now. Bad tech code makes my skin crawl." Is this not the lament of
all us great American Anarchists & Art Narcs alike?
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He used to write quite a bit about his wife Lisa. They have two kids. Like any couple it seems they have some occasional problems. It was very interesting to be able to listen in (if only from one side) on another couple going through what all couples go through. But some of her friends were reading it, and I guess it was making things even more complicated, so she asked him to stop writing about her. I struggle with this too, although from a different angle. I definitely don't write as much about MB (or as a result myself) as I would like. It just doesn't seem entirely fair. At least in light of the fact that I know she doesn't want me to. This hinders how much I can reveal about myself. Yet this might be a good thing in the end. I don't know. But I was sure sympathizing with David when he was going through that (hmm, I can't find that material on his site now.)
Now lately his coding project (his big, for himself project, not his day job) is going through a process of refocusing. He threatened a few times lately to throw in the towel all together. Instead it looks like he has settled on a significantly scaled down goal. Now I can sort of almost see what he's doing. A hypercard clone. Or cousin. Or something. Hypocard maybe it will be called.
I never played with the original hypercard, but I understand it a little. Very cool stuff. Apple still sells it, but without any real push. Seems like it hangs around (it's very old) because the small group that does still use it is fanatically devoted. A lot of people got their first "that's so cool" exposure to computers through hypercard. ("You mean even I can build computer programs?") It's a very easy to use, visually oriented system for creating data storage and retrieval structures. Or something. Right up my alley I think. It's powerful and intuitive. Tough combination to find. I'll have to wait and see what David means by clone (or "cousin") but I'm very excited by the prospects. I'll definitely be trying to understand any tools he produces. Hopefully it won't be over my head. Lately it's sounding like maybe it won't be.
I'm usually aware of the people who make the tools I use (say, PHP, or MySQL.) But I use a particular tool because it works for me, not because of who created it. This case might be different though. I can tell by the way he talks while he's been designing it. I will try to use David's creations because I figure they'll work well, but also because I think they will teach me something. And maybe not just about computers. I really hope he keeps going.
- jim 9-11-2002 5:37 pm
His 5 line stanza structure & basic blank verse prose style works surprisingly well. The form is reminiscent of A.R. Ammons' Tape for the Turn of The Year which was typed on a roll of adding tape as it used to be called. On the Road of course is the grandaddy of typed-off-the-roll-road- literature & can be read as a direct antecedant to the scrolled page of the We-The-People-Blog.
"I don't enjoy my line of work now. Bad tech code makes my skin crawl." Is this not the lament of
all us great American Anarchists & Art Narcs alike?
- frank 9-11-2002 8:42 pm