danfowler.net2024-01-10T20:33:58+07:00http://www.danfowler.net/Daniel Fowlerme@danfowler.netManaging a Multicultural Engineering Team2024-01-10T00:00:00+07:00http://www.danfowler.net/blog/personal/2024/01/10/managing-a-multicultural-engineering-team<p>I wrote a blog post documenting my experiences managing a
multicultural engineering team while at <a href="http://www.opn.ooo">Opn</a>.</p>
<p>It was nice to have the opportunity to reflect on an aspect of my
experience that, until it was proposed to me, I didn’t actively think
about. It sparked some very interesting conversations within the
team. It was also great to be given an opportunity to write something
longer and more interesting than a pull request description.</p>
Last Year's Books2020-01-27T00:00:00+07:00http://www.danfowler.net/blog/personal/2020/01/27/last-years-books<p>In <a href="https://www.subtraction.com/2018/09/11/your-public-library-is-where-its-at/">Your Public Library Is Where It’s At</a>, designer Khoi Vinh made a convincing case for the <a href="https://www.overdrive.com/apps/libby/">Libby</a> app by Overdrive.
Libby provides an interface for renting ebooks from your local library.
While I’ve had a Kindle for years and known that renting e-books was possible, I didn’t know (or really care to know) much about the mechanics.
Like Khoi, I was happy to just keeping buying books from Amazon.</p>
<p>But buying books represents its own kind of friction.
At the time, there were books that I had <em>wanted to read</em> but hadn’t gotten around to <em>buying</em>.
There were also books I had <em>bought</em> but hadn’t gotten around <em>reading</em>.
I figured it might be time to revisit borrowing books to bring my desires and actions into greater alignment.</p>
<p>I signed up for Libby using my <a href="https://www.nypl.org/">New York Public Library</a> library card and borrowed a few books I had been interested in reading.
I borrowed liberally; I read books I liked, and stopped reading books I didn’t; I took audiobooks seriously.
I was attuned to recommendations, and borrowed anything that sounded good.</p>
<p>What follows are my quick impressions of the books I read last year.
I would read most of these books again and recommend that you read them at least once.</p>
<figure>
<img src="/images/posts/20101223_at_17h27m16s_fd1d0030.jpg" />
<span>I didn't read this book.</span>
</figure>
<p>Some of the books I read were set <strong>on the sea</strong>.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40536236-sea-people">Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia</a> by Christina Thompson</li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34068470-the-odyssey">The Odyssey</a> by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson</li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/438452.The_Long_Ships">Røde Orm (The Long Ships)</a> by Frans G. Bengtsson, translated by Michael Meyer</li>
</ul>
<p><em>The Odyssey</em> never left much of an impression on me, but I really enjoyed Emily Wilson’s translation.
Biggest takeaway: Odysseus is truly awful.
<em>Røde Orm</em>, on the other hand, also the hero of his own story, looks great in comparison.
The book is funny, transporting, and thrilling.
<em>Sea People</em>, the non-fiction book in this group, opened my eyes to a history I hadn’t known and, as it happens, made me appreciate <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3521164/">Moana</a> that much more!</p>
<p>Keeping with the sea theme, I read books about <strong>the Caribbean</strong> in preparation for a return trip to Barbados.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13642504-sugar-in-the-blood">Sugar in the Blood: A Family’s Story of Slavery and Empire</a> by Andrea Stuart</li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29236276-island-people">Island People: The Caribbean and the World</a> by Joshua Jelly-Schapiro</li>
</ul>
<p><em>Sugar in the Blood</em> is an imagined narrative of the lives of the author’s white and black ancestors in Barbados.
Slow in parts, but satisfying.
<em>Island People</em> is a survey of the political history of the individual Caribbean islands; good preparation for further reading on the region.</p>
<p>Moving north, I read books about <strong>America</strong>.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25489625-between-the-world-and-me">Between the World and Me</a> by Ta-Nehisi Coates</li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43862308-this-america">This America: The Case for the Nation</a> by Jill Lepore</li>
</ul>
<p>Initially, I didn’t like the style of <em>Between the World and Me</em>, but it grew on me as an enjoyable, if depressing, statement on “blackness” and “whiteness” in America.
As if in response, Jill Lepore’s <em>This America</em> does indeed make a good case–in spite of our constant, crushing failures–for the country.</p>
<p>I am an <em>intellectual</em>, so naturally I read a few <strong>popular science</strong> books.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27213168-i-contain-multitudes">I Contain Multitudes</a> by Ed Yong</li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29874881-the-case-against-sugar">The Case Against Sugar</a> by Gary Taubes</li>
</ul>
<p>I think about <em>I Contain Multitudes</em> when I think of the bacteria that live within me.
<em>The Case Against Sugar</em> helped me avoid sugar for a good part of the year (until the holidays, of course).</p>
<p>I am also <em>definitely</em> an adult, so I read a few books about <strong>finance</strong>.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128429.Against_the_Gods">Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk</a> by Peter L. Bernstein</li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30971680-the-wisdom-of-finance">The Wisdom of Finance</a> by Mihir Desai</li>
</ul>
<p><em>The Wisdom of Finance</em> and <em>Against the Gods</em> were good books on financial topics with unique perspectives.
The former was philosophical while the latter was a mathematical history of probability and risk.</p>
<p><strong>John Hodgman</strong> gets his own category.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39391175-vacationland">Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches</a> by John Hodgman</li>
</ul>
<p>I loved Vacationland because I love John Hodgman.
He’s a great storyteller who made me believe Maine is a super weird place to live.</p>
My Year of ICTs for Development2014-12-04T00:00:00+07:00http://www.danfowler.net/blog/ict4d/2014/12/04/my-year-of-icts-for-development<p>
A little over a year ago, I started
my <a href="http://www.rhul.ac.uk/geography/coursefinder/mscpgdippsdict4d.aspx">MSc
in ICT4D</a> (Information and Communication Technologies for
Development) at Royal Holloway, University of London. For some
time, further schooling had been
<a href="/blog/computing/2013/02/12/back-to-school.html">on my
mind</a>, but had definitely not been a priority. Changing
circumstances, however, suggested that the time was right to take
the chance. So, I applied and was accepted. Now I'm pleased to say
that I've completed my program <em>with distinction</em>.
Graduation is on 17 December.
</p>
<p>
I had only heard of the term "ICT4D" <em>after</em> I had been doing
related work at a school in <a href="/dkps/">Johannesburg</a>. Over
the course of this past year, my knowledge of the history of the
field—and development in general—has been greatly
expanded. But in addition to my studies, I also took the
opportunity to participate in some really neat events in London.
</p>
<figure>
<img src="/images/posts/20131026_at_15h44m58s_39b1d1a2.jpg">
<span>"Technology will save us" at MozFest</span>
</figure>
<p>
Early on in the school
year, <a href="http://2013.mozillafestival.org/">MozFest</a>
happened, and I decided to volunteer for one of the conference days.
It was a fantastic experience, and I met a lot of really
interesting, motivated people. I also joined the
<a href="http://www.meetup.com/London-ICT4D/">London ICT4D meetup
group</a>. Throughout the year, I attended a variety of the group's
meetups—on topics ranging
from <a href="http://www.meetup.com/London-ICT4D/events/155787902/">ICT
and Gender</a>
to <a href="http://www.meetup.com/London-ICT4D/events/142315992/">Open
Data for Development</a>. It was another source of opportunities to
meet interesting people in the field. Through this group, I found
about a "mapathon" conducted by
the <a href="http://hot.openstreetmap.org/about">Humanitarian
OpenStreetMap Team</a>. This was yet another excellent experience;
you can read the
write-up <a href="http://hot.openstreetmap.org/updates/2014-05-08_london_hot_congo_mapathon">here</a>.
</p>
<figure>
<img src="/images/posts/20140503_at_14h27m14s_ec996756.jpg">
<span>Rafa and Hannah, co-mappers and fellow ICT4D MSc students</span>
</figure>
<p>
Of course, the real objective of my degree was to actually
do <em>research</em> on the topic of ICTs for development. The
combination of my familiarity with South Africa, my supervisor's
connections to a project based there, as well as my interest in
community WiFi led me to return to the country to finish this final
stage of my program. Despite having
an <a href="/blog/travel/2014/06/02/update-from-the-field.html">amazing</a>
<a href="/blog/travel/2014/06/28/cetaceans.html">setting</a>,
getting the research right and doing justice to my participants made
for a stressful couple of months collecting data, analyzing it, and
writing it up. Thankfully, my dissertation was well received, and
I'm on my way to receiving my degree.
</p>
<figure>
<img src="/images/posts/20140527_at_10h00m21s_f392fbb1.jpg">
<span>Rondavels in Mankosi</span>
</figure>
<p>
In all, it went a bit quickly, but it was a fantastic experience.
If you've been thinking about doing something similar, <em>do
it</em>.
</p>
Cetaceans2014-06-28T00:00:00+07:00http://www.danfowler.net/blog/travel/2014/06/28/cetaceans<p>
I finally had my camera handy to catch a few pictures of the whales
and dolphins that are staying by the coast. By the time I got close
enough to the beach, the dolphins had been scared away by surfers in
the area, so I couldn't get much better shots than these. The whales
were great: they stayed in one spot and broke the surface of the water
rather frequently and consistently. Really neat.
</p>
<div class='gallery'><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_04h58m39s_c436a5b6.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_04h58m39s_c436a5b6.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_05h10m07s_9531afd0.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_05h10m07s_9531afd0.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_05h11m13s_cb5a9726.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_05h11m13s_cb5a9726.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_05h12m10s_d6ed6558.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_05h12m10s_d6ed6558.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_05h13m34s_57ef67d9.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_05h13m34s_57ef67d9.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_04h58m39s_382b47a4.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_04h58m39s_382b47a4.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_05h13m35s_c75606c0.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_05h13m35s_c75606c0.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_05h19m57s_686336ce.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_05h19m57s_686336ce.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_05h19m56s_868a16e3.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_05h19m56s_868a16e3.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_05h06m49s_e80ecb47.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/cetaceans/20140628_at_05h06m49s_e80ecb47.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a></div>
Update from the Field2014-06-02T00:00:00+07:00http://www.danfowler.net/blog/travel/2014/06/02/update-from-the-field<p>
I'm nearing the end of my MSc degree
in <a href="https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/geography/coursefinder/mscpgdippsdict4d.aspx">Information
and Communication Technology for Development</a> at Royal Holloway,
University of London. To write my dissertation, I'm conducting
research in the Eastern Cape on
a <a href="http://villagetelco.org/deployments/nyandeni-south-africa/">
community-managed wireless network</a> here.
</p>
<figure>
<a class="gallery" title="This picture hardly does the view justice" href="/images/posts/full_panorama_mankosi.jpg"><img alt="A panorama of the beach looking at the Indian Ocean" src="/images/posts/panorama_mankosi.jpg"></a>
<span>This picture hardly does the view justice</span>
</figure>
<p>
It's been a great experience so far! For purely touristic reasons,
the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Coast_Region,_Eastern_Cape">Wild
Coast Region</a> had been on our list to visit during our stay in
South Africa. The area where I'm staying is a scenic, hilly area on
the Indian Ocean. It's so nice, I'm almost feeling guilty being
here for <em>serious academic fieldwork</em>. Of course, for many
people in the area, it's no paradise; the region suffers from a lack
of clean water, electricity, and affordable Internet access.
</p>
<p>
I hope to update more as my research progresses. Until then!
</p>
Maputo2014-01-24T00:00:00+07:00http://www.danfowler.net/blog/travel/2014/01/24/maputo<p>
For my birthday in June last year, two of our best friends in Pretoria
joined my wife and I on a trip over the border to Maputo, Mozambique.
While Maputo is only a 6 hour drive from Pretoria, the differences
between the cities are stark. Still, we had a blast. I hope you
enjoy the pictures!
</p>
<div class='gallery'><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_05h43m32s_2eca75b9.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_05h43m32s_2eca75b9.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_08h52m30s_dc87c1b2.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_08h52m30s_dc87c1b2.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_09h08m59s_d5aa8532.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_09h08m59s_d5aa8532.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_10h52m29s_3a0a0f56.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_10h52m29s_3a0a0f56.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_06h33m57s_92259ae3.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_06h33m57s_92259ae3.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130602_at_06h03m34s_5d6feb72.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130602_at_06h03m34s_5d6feb72.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_08h51m58s_b89fc994.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_08h51m58s_b89fc994.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_04h07m20s_43aaf57f.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_04h07m20s_43aaf57f.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_05h43m20s_680f7046.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_05h43m20s_680f7046.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_04h52m00s_1dce39a1.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_04h52m00s_1dce39a1.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_04h51m39s_94a89d0b.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_04h51m39s_94a89d0b.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_09h41m51s_01db67fa.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_09h41m51s_01db67fa.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_09h08m22s_7cc5bf70.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_09h08m22s_7cc5bf70.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_06h32m44s_0b52a2cc.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_06h32m44s_0b52a2cc.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_02h18m36s_ea744d1c.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_02h18m36s_ea744d1c.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_05h39m58s_13ee04fc.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_05h39m58s_13ee04fc.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130602_at_06h37m58s_1c3ad446.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130602_at_06h37m58s_1c3ad446.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_02h20m03s_c42c043b.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_02h20m03s_c42c043b.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130602_at_06h11m40s_4b507d2a.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130602_at_06h11m40s_4b507d2a.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_06h27m05s_83af92b4.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_06h27m05s_83af92b4.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_04h04m08s_31e7bd68.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_04h04m08s_31e7bd68.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_05h04m55s_f121ce18.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_05h04m55s_f121ce18.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_04h51m53s_3efaa6d7.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_04h51m53s_3efaa6d7.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_05h48m15s_f12c56b1.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_05h48m15s_f12c56b1.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_05h08m08s_67064877.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_05h08m08s_67064877.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_05h13m47s_7e75e2c7.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_05h13m47s_7e75e2c7.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_10h48m42s_e5400a19.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130601_at_10h48m42s_e5400a19.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130602_at_06h03m05s_8a940e3d.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130602_at_06h03m05s_8a940e3d.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_04h52m54s_30bae399.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_04h52m54s_30bae399.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_02h13m32s_588d14d0.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/maputo/20130603_at_02h13m32s_588d14d0.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a></div>
March Trip to Addis2013-09-04T00:00:00+07:00http://www.danfowler.net/blog/travel/2013/09/04/march-trip-to-addis<p>
Our
<a href="/blog/travel/2013/05/06/ethiopia-getting-the-visa.html">first
trip</a> to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia was in March of this year. We went
to find out what kind of life we could expect here with respect to
housing, prices, and transport. As a result, many of my photos from
that initial trip were of the boring, information-gathering type.
Fortunately, we had the opportunity to take a trip out of the city
to
the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awash_National_Park">Awash
National Park</a> and Aledeghe Wildlife Reserve and I took a few
shots worth sharing.
</p>
<div class='gallery'><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_06h11m08s_e8d6975f.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_06h11m08s_e8d6975f.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_09h34m18s_2aeddc0d.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_09h34m18s_2aeddc0d.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_09h16m54s_7cc53a3e.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_09h16m54s_7cc53a3e.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_07h42m45s_4cd77a31.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_07h42m45s_4cd77a31.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_07h06m37s_330069cd.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_07h06m37s_330069cd.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_06h21m43s_599b821a.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_06h21m43s_599b821a.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_06h09m35s_9dfeae89.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_06h09m35s_9dfeae89.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_01h14m04s_217e881f.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_01h14m04s_217e881f.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_05h56m34s_8b767db0.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_05h56m34s_8b767db0.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_04h39m54s_1386893e.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_04h39m54s_1386893e.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_01h16m49s_c6e8622a.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_01h16m49s_c6e8622a.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_03h28m10s_45fdc74e.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_03h28m10s_45fdc74e.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_06h18m26s_7d1850de.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_06h18m26s_7d1850de.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_06h19m22s_cd1e0973.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_06h19m22s_cd1e0973.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_04h13m01s_6e786e5a.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_04h13m01s_6e786e5a.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_08h43m22s_c8d77c7a.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_08h43m22s_c8d77c7a.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_08h05m47s_3a9f1c9d.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_08h05m47s_3a9f1c9d.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_05h00m13s_17e53a23.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_05h00m13s_17e53a23.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_09h01m00s_e95a88bf.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_09h01m00s_e95a88bf.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_06h05m29s_87f5f0ba.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_06h05m29s_87f5f0ba.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_09h41m08s_535bf01a.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_09h41m08s_535bf01a.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_06h20m19s_7c290229.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130323_at_06h20m19s_7c290229.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_06h08m37s_8a6268b4.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_06h08m37s_8a6268b4.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_06h11m57s_4bb866e3.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/march_addis/20130322_at_06h11m57s_4bb866e3.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a></div>
Kruger2013-07-01T00:00:00+07:00http://www.danfowler.net/blog/travel/2013/07/01/kruger<p>
I've uploaded some photos from our recent trip to Kruger. There are
a fair number of stories to tell, but I wanted to get these shots
online sooner rather than later. Perhaps in the future, I'll update
this post with the details. Until then, enjoy!
</p>
<div class='gallery'><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_00h01m06s_2d02fdcd.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_00h01m06s_2d02fdcd.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_01h32m45s_7222c43d.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_01h32m45s_7222c43d.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130626_at_10h28m59s_54061c74.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130626_at_10h28m59s_54061c74.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_09h52m29s_b8eca302.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_09h52m29s_b8eca302.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_04h41m31s_236e34ae.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_04h41m31s_236e34ae.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_04h43m27s_3a4204d4.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_04h43m27s_3a4204d4.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130626_at_11h19m47s_185154f7.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130626_at_11h19m47s_185154f7.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_08h40m52s_079d7d21.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_08h40m52s_079d7d21.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_09h15m11s_e40635a9.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_09h15m11s_e40635a9.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_01h22m52s_aabf029d.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_01h22m52s_aabf029d.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130626_at_10h39m40s_9389c8d7.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130626_at_10h39m40s_9389c8d7.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_04h40m41s_6ec261b4.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_04h40m41s_6ec261b4.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_00h43m15s_eec97122.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_00h43m15s_eec97122.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_09h22m11s_39d3a6c5.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_09h22m11s_39d3a6c5.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_01h38m30s_f9ab2686.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_01h38m30s_f9ab2686.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130626_at_10h20m08s_45e10a93.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130626_at_10h20m08s_45e10a93.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_09h11m34s_fb18b38b.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_09h11m34s_fb18b38b.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_00h53m02s_246f9130.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_00h53m02s_246f9130.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_01h28m00s_7a1cc930.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_01h28m00s_7a1cc930.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_09h09m41s_cc39d087.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_09h09m41s_cc39d087.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_00h43m18s_f90122ad.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_00h43m18s_f90122ad.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_01h38m33s_a0a730e1.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_01h38m33s_a0a730e1.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130626_at_09h52m28s_d3e4893a.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130626_at_09h52m28s_d3e4893a.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_09h14m25s_5cc99f33.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_09h14m25s_5cc99f33.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_01h33m24s_072c920a.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_01h33m24s_072c920a.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_00h49m09s_c73708dc.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_00h49m09s_c73708dc.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_01h19m19s_57ab0331.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_01h19m19s_57ab0331.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_02h45m36s_ac3d32a4.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_02h45m36s_ac3d32a4.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_09h53m38s_e03d0ab3.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_09h53m38s_e03d0ab3.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_02h38m20s_e797c84f.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_02h38m20s_e797c84f.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_01h29m57s_690a5734.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_01h29m57s_690a5734.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_08h58m57s_13324e7f.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_08h58m57s_13324e7f.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_09h52m52s_22f696d1.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_09h52m52s_22f696d1.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_00h03m28s_cb2ddc9c.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_00h03m28s_cb2ddc9c.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_04h57m28s_6c9ae1d3.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_04h57m28s_6c9ae1d3.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_02h45m33s_51a7d223.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_02h45m33s_51a7d223.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_05h00m08s_6d9ea80a.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_05h00m08s_6d9ea80a.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_09h33m42s_89c6a93f.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_09h33m42s_89c6a93f.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_08h29m04s_272e3cb8.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_08h29m04s_272e3cb8.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_09h54m26s_dadd3fc4.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_09h54m26s_dadd3fc4.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_03h24m47s_2cf29617.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_03h24m47s_2cf29617.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_11h15m36s_52d82dab.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_11h15m36s_52d82dab.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_07h15m46s_7f5daaad.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130627_at_07h15m46s_7f5daaad.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130626_at_10h25m14s_532d08f5.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130626_at_10h25m14s_532d08f5.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_08h22m37s_8c8010b4.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_08h22m37s_8c8010b4.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_08h58m48s_85ae8fc3.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_08h58m48s_85ae8fc3.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_10h21m25s_b34eaf48.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130628_at_10h21m25s_b34eaf48.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/kruger/20130626_at_11h23m15s_f6712fd6.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/kruger/20130626_at_11h23m15s_f6712fd6.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a></div>
<p>
Also, this:
</p>
<center>
<img alt="haters gif" class="bordered" src="/images/posts/haters_kruger.gif">
</center>
<center>
<img alt="rhino gif" class="bordered" src="/images/posts/loopy_rhino.gif">
</center>
<br />
The Graduates2013-06-25T00:00:00+07:00http://www.danfowler.net/blog/volunteer/2013/06/25/the-graduates<p>
Here are some pictures from the graduation ceremony we hosted for
the most recent computer literacy class. The event took place last
Friday—the last day before school holidays—and I'd like
to thank the principal for taking time out of one of the busiest
days of the year to give a talk to the students. This time around,
around 86% of the students passed the final exam. Mark, the
teacher, makes his love for teaching obvious, and his enthusiasm is
infectious.
</p>
<div class='gallery'><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/graduation_21_june/20130621_at_05h03m13s_e61fb477.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/graduation_21_june/20130621_at_05h03m13s_e61fb477.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/graduation_21_june/20130621_at_05h07m32s_8e641884.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/graduation_21_june/20130621_at_05h07m32s_8e641884.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/graduation_21_june/20130621_at_05h21m56s_08b14962.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/graduation_21_june/20130621_at_05h21m56s_08b14962.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/graduation_21_june/20130621_at_05h07m59s_ac4bedbf.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/graduation_21_june/20130621_at_05h07m59s_ac4bedbf.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/graduation_21_june/20130621_at_05h22m06s_8398e18c.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/graduation_21_june/20130621_at_05h22m06s_8398e18c.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/graduation_21_june/20130621_at_05h02m57s_88e9099d.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/graduation_21_june/20130621_at_05h02m57s_88e9099d.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a><a class="gallery_element" href="/images/galleries/graduation_21_june/20130621_at_05h02m44s_8aa72b0e.jpg"><img src="/images/galleries/graduation_21_june/20130621_at_05h02m44s_8aa72b0e.jpg" alt="image!" class="bordered"/></a></div>
<p>
This will be my last time administering these exams, which is rather
sad. In a few short months, I'll be settling into a life in Addis
Ababa. Until then, there's still a fair bit of work to be done in
expanding the computer center.
</p>
Ceramic Rabbit2013-06-25T00:00:00+07:00http://www.danfowler.net/blog/drawing/2013/06/25/ceramic-rabbitMy wonderful wife gave me a drawing class for my birthday. First
observation: drawing is hard. Now that I'm on my fourth class, I
finally produced something I like. So, check out this rabbit I drew!
<figure>
<img alt="Ceramic Rabbit" src="/images/posts/20130625_at_15h49m31s_62aa1114.jpg">
<span>It's fun to say "ceramic rabbit"</span>
</figure>
DKPS Computer Lab: Overview2013-05-20T00:00:00+07:00http://www.danfowler.net/blog/computing/2013/05/20/dkps-computer-lab-overview<p>
In early 2012, I signed up to help teach a <a href="/dkps/">computer
literacy course</a> at a local school in Johannesburg, South Africa.
At the start, we had eight laptops connected to the internet using a
3G-capable wireless router. While these laptops were well tended to
by the previous volunteers, there was (understandably) no real
infrastructure in place to support a network of any significant
size.
</p>
<p>
About a month into the course, the school received a generous
donation of computers and office equipment
from <a href="http://www.ricoh.nl">Ricoh</a>
through <a href="http://www.tshwaranang.nl">Tshwaranang
Foundation</a>. In order to efficiently use the new
computers—many of which were desktops—the school now
required a greater sophistication of its network infrastructure, and
I took up the task of designing this new network.
</p>
<figure>
<img alt="DKPS students in the overflow section of the computer lab" src="/images/posts/20121204_at_05h18m12s_328695cf.jpg">
<span>DKPS students in the overflow section of the computer lab</span>
</figure>
<h3>Goals</h3>
<p>
In addition to
the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668">general
sysadmin goals</a> I strive for in any site—pervasive
automation, remote deployment, and effortless
expandibility—there were several additional factors I
considered when designing this network:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<strong>Continuity</strong>. I needed to continue providing an
appropriate environment for the computer training program. The
course covers basic computer hardware and software, including
Microsoft Windows and Office, as well as an introduction to the
internet.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Low bandwidth</strong>
<p>
In some townships, <a href="http://www.telkom.co.za/">Telkom</a>
does not run fixed-line ADSL connections, and connections over
3G are too expensive to use without throttling/proxying.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Easy to use</strong>
<p>
The end users are children and adults who may have never
properly used a computer before. In addition, the network needs
to operate without the continual presence of a system
administrator.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<strong>Free or Open Source Software</strong>
<p>
My personal inclination is to prefer Free or Open Source
Software in general. Where the use of Free or Open Source
Software (FOSS) did not conflict with the above goals, I opted
for it.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
My purpose in this series is to document how I stitched together
various tools to create a network that fulfilled these requirements.
Ultimately, of course, it is just another LAN, but I wanted to
document the process for my benefit, for the benefit of the
school, and for the benefit of anyone trying something similar under
these conditions.
</p>
<figure>
<img alt="I got 99 problems, but a switch ain't one." src="/images/posts/20120801_at_08h54m48s_e28d7428.jpg">
<span>I got 99 problems, but a switch ain't one.</span>
</figure>
<p>
At a high level, I put together a system using the following bits of
open source
software: <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/unattended/">Unattended</a>
for automated Windows XP
deployment, <a href="http://www.opscode.com/chef/">Chef</a> (in
local mode) for the deployment (and redeployment) of the central
server, <a href="http://www.squid-cache.org/">Squid</a> in
transparent proxy mode to manage bandwidth,
and <a href="https://www.samba.org/">Samba</a> to simulate a Windows
domain for centralized login and home directory storage. Various
other tools proved helpful in putting it all together. On the
actual computers, we are using
<a href="http://tux4kids.alioth.debian.org/tuxtyping.php">Tux
Typing</a>, <a href="http://tux4kids.alioth.debian.org/tuxmath.php">Tux
Math</a>, and <a href="http://www.tuxpaint.org/">Tux Paint</a> to
teach keyboard use and basic math to the students of Drake Koka.
</p>
<p>
Watch this space for the next post in the series which focuses on
deploying the server.
</p>
Back to School2013-02-12T00:00:00+07:00http://www.danfowler.net/blog/computing/2013/02/12/back-to-school<p>
I just started my next set of courses
on <a href="http://www.coursera.com">Coursera</a> this past week.
If you haven't heard of it, Coursera is an organization that hosts
free online university-level courses in topics ranging
from <a href="https://www.coursera.org/course/calcsing">calculus</a>
and <a href="https://www.coursera.org/course/introphil">philosophy</a>
to <a href="https://www.coursera.org/course/songwriting">song
writing</a>
and <a href="https://www.coursera.org/course/operations">operations
management</a>. While there are lots of educational resources on
the web, what makes Coursera especially appealing is its courses
are developed and taught by real professors in brick & mortar
universities around the world (including
my <a href="http://www.princeton.edu">alma mater</a>). Coursera
provides a framework for these professors (well, their grad
students) to publish their material for the web. Some courses
even provide a certificate of accomplishment at the end.
</p>
<figure>
<img alt="coursera logo" title="Coursera!" src="/images/posts/coursera_logo.png">
<span>I'm learnding.</span>
</figure>
<p>
I've taken only one class so far—Functional Programming
Principles in Scala—and I really enjoyed it. It was taught
by Martin Odersky at EPFL who is the designer of
the <a href="http://www.scala-lang.org/">Scala</a> programming
language itself. Scala is currently in use at some of my
<a href="http://www.twitter.com">favorite</a>
<a href="http://www.meetup.com">web</a>
<a href="http://www.foursquare.com">companies</a>, so it's not a
purely academic exercise. This course's structure is as follows:
there are 6–8 lectures per topic each around 10–15
minutes long over the course of 7 weeks. Each video has at least
one mid-lecture quizzes to test if you're following along. You
can stream these lectures over the web, but if you're on sub-standard
internet like me, you might prefer to download them all at once
and watch them offline (my iPod Touch was able to play them
without any reformatting). Each week, there was a homework
assignment on the week's topic which was definitely hard and
required a fair bit of deep thought to work through efficiently.
</p>
<p>
This course served as my first "official" (i.e. taught by a
professor) programming course. Until now, most of my programming
knowledge had been self-taught. In the past, I would pick up a
book like
<a href="http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/little-schemer">The Little
Schemer</a>,
or <a href="http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book.html">The
Structure and Interpration of Computer Programs</a>, and start
working through the exercises. This works well enough, and these
books in particular—with their heavy focus on recursion and
functional programming—gave me an advantage coming into the
course. But what Coursera provides is a nice framework for
interaction and feedback. There are massive active forums where
one can post questions about the course or receive feedback on
assignments. Without this kind of feedback, being an auto-didact
can be sort of difficult to maintain. I feel I've learned a lot
more about the craft just in these 7 weeks than in any previous 7
week period. Even better, I was fortunate enough to find, through
the forums, an <abbr title="In Real Life">IRL</abbr> study buddy in
Johannesburg, which only enhanced my appreciation of the course.
</p>
<p>
I signed up for Coursera as a way to test the waters of online
education. I've been considering a return to University and,
given our potentially long term stay in Africa, an online degree
seems to make sense. I fear I've been spoilt, though, by the
free, high quality education I've been able to get through
Coursera, but I suppose that's not really a bad thing.
</p>
My ThinkPad T432013-01-10T00:00:00+07:00http://www.danfowler.net/blog/computing/2013/01/10/my-thinkpad-t43<p>
My main machine is an early-2011 Macbook Pro. It's an unquestionably
great machine and I do 90% of my work on it. But I still keep a
Thinkpad T43 as my backup. Can we talk about this laptop and why I
love it so much?
</p>
<figure>
<img alt="thinkpad hero" title="With a design from 1999." src="/images/posts/thinkpad_hero.jpg">
<span>Partying like it's 2005.</span>
</figure>
<p>
I acquired it somewhat late in its life and for a long time I kept
it as a server. I mounted it underneath the only table in our
apartment (inspired
by <a href="http://www.decluttered.com">decluttered.com</a>) where
it made for a compact media server for a couple of years in New
York. But I first got to <em>know</em> the machine when I took it
to South East Asia last year and completed the first draft of this
site (and this blog entry) using it. Through that experience, I've
found that, after all these years, it is a thoroughly capable
machine, and I have grown quite fond of it.
</p>
<p>
Let's be clear: it is a <em>business</em> machine. It's right there
in the brand name: <strong>I.B.M.</strong>, International Business
Machines. As such, it looks quite businessy: deadly serious with
sharp edges, matte black all around, and a confident, oddly concave,
lid. Still, it's quite small—almost cute—especially for
a laptop from that era (circa 2005), and the lid has a reassuring
texture. On the ThinkPad, every bit of hardware has its affordance.
The hard drive and optical drive have small bumps that say <em>"hey,
I am where your storage media is"</em>. Contrast this to the
throughly smoothed over MacBook, where nothing is really
distinguished from anything else. I can see the desire to eliminate
bumpy hardware for normal humans, but for a person who spends his
days speaking to computers, a little body language in response is
welcome.
</p>
<p>
To keep it fit, I've added 2 gigabytes of memory and swapped out the
included DVD-ROM for an UltraBay which houses an SSD. The operating
system is Ubuntu 12.10, and the machine starts up and shuts down
wicked fast. Graphics performance is not as stellar, especially in
my preferred desktop environment Gnome 3, but it's quite usable if
you limit it to just a few programs running at a time (say,
Chromium, emacs, and terminal, but what else do you really need?).
</p>
<figure>
<img alt="thinkpad ubuntu sticker" title="It was very satisfying to rip the old stickers off." src="/images/posts/thinkpad_ubuntu.jpg">
<span>Powered by Ubuntu Linux. Of course.</span>
</figure>
<p>
Of course, this can't last forever. I'd love to move on to a new
ThinkPad. Sadly, while modern ThinkPads share many of the
superficial design elements of this beauty, some aspects of ThinkPad
design have regressed. My wife's newer ThinkPad has an awful
trackpad which has not held up at all after only about a year of
use. And despite its newness, it is bulky in ways mine is just not.
</p>
<p>
For now, though, this works for me. Here's to old hardware!
</p>
A Mini-Internet to Call Our Own2012-10-07T00:00:00+07:00http://www.danfowler.net/blog/computing/2012/10/07/a-mini-internet-to-call-our-own <p>
One of the nicest things about South Africa—besides
the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boerewors">boerewors</a>,
of course—is that every major urban area has its
own <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_user_group">Wireless
User Group</a>, or WUG. The WUG is a network of computers
operated by hobbyists and linked together over long-range wireless
devices. Think of it as a small, purely local version of the
internet. Access to the WUG here is generally free; all you need
is the right equipment, conveniently provided in a kit from the
major networking supply stores in the country. I wanted in, but I
wasn't sold on the kit. Here is how I connected to the WUG
without it.
</p>
<figure>
<img alt="antenna" src="/images/posts/grid_antenna.jpg">
<span>My window onto the darknet!</span>
</figure>
<p>
First, I cheated. During a discussion about the WUG at my
local <a href="http://www.meetup.com/Jozi-Linux-User-Group-JLUG/">Linux
User Group</a>, I was given a huge, old 2.4Ghz grid antenna. I already had the
second critical element, an
old <a href="http://www.asus.com/Networks/Wireless_Routers/WL520gU/">Asus
WL520GU</a> flashed with
<a href="http://wiki.openwrt.org/">OpenWRT</a>.
</p>
<p>
With these two elements, I had everything I needed to mount the
antenna on our roof and request an IP on the network.
Unfortunately, a consumer router like mine will almost certainly
not be designed to be mounted on a roof (a critical feature for a
permanent install). Specifically, my router
lacked <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_over_Ethernet">Power
over Ethernet</a>, a series of standards that allow electrical
power to be transmitted over ethernet cables. Without PoE, I
would have to run a power extension cable up to the roof, which is
dangerous and impractical.
</p>
<p>
After a little internet searching, I found
a <a href="http://nycwireless.net/projects/poe-power-over-ethernet/">
post</a> containing instructions for hacking together your own
power over ethernet "injector". The instructions were clear and
easy to follow and resulted in an install that worked flawlessly
over 25 foot cable I had with me.
</p>
<figure>
<img alt="fake POE open"src="/images/posts/fake_poe_open.jpg">
<span>My "injector", open.</span>
</figure>
<figure>
<img alt="fake POE closed" src="/images/posts/fake_poe_closed.jpg">
<span>My "injector", closed. Ready to inject power. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNS4t5UCBfI">Unlimited power</a>.</span>
</figure>
<p>
Overall, I'm happy with my install. It has been up for the last
few days without issue. For a hobbyist project like the WUG, it
felt right to hack together a solution using what I had on hand
rather than purchase a prepared kit.
</p>
Talkin' Bout Dat Emacs2012-09-17T00:00:00+07:00http://www.danfowler.net/blog/computing/2012/09/17/talkin-bout-dat-emacs<p>
I recently gave a talk to my
local <a href="http://www.meetup.com/Jozi-Linux-User-Group-JLUG/">Linux
User Group</a> about my favorite text
editor, <a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/">emacs</a>. I
demonstrated how to play tetris in a text editor, among other
things.
</p>
<figure>
<img alt="emacs screenshot" src="/images/posts/emacs_title.png">
<span>Emacs love</span>
</figure>
<p>
I started using emacs to write my Senior Thesis while still at
University and haven't looked back. Emacs is often described as
a "programmer's editor", but I had barely done any real
programming when I started using it. For writing a document as
large as my thesis, though, the power of pure text manipulation and
automation hooked me.
</p>
<p>
For the presentation, I
used <a href="http://lab.hakim.se/reveal-js/">reveal.js</a>, an
awesome HTML and CSS presentation framework.
Please <a href="/resources/emacs_talk/">enjoy</a>.
</p>