02.27.07

Wikipedia Signpost RSS Feed

Posted in wikipedia at 11:26 pm by danvk

Unbeknownst to most of its readers, Wikipedia has its own weekly newspaper, the Wikipedia Signpost. It covers stories in the press about Wikipedia, internal controversies, and technical changes to Wikipedia.

The Signpost was sorely lacking an RSS feed, so I’ve put one together at http://feeds.feedburner.com/WikipediaSignpost. The feed should get updated weekly with the Signpost, with only an hour or two delay from publication.

I set this up as a simple Ruby script, but in retrospect, had I been more ambitious, I would have used Plagger or Dapper.

02.23.07

Stuff I’ve Enjoyed Lately

Posted in books, music, personal at 12:11 am by danvk


The Freshest Kids: A History of the B-Boy

Fun history of hip-hop and breakdancing in particular.



Modern C++ Design, by Andrei Alexandrescu

If ever you thought you understood C++…



Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, by Haruki Murakami

A much easier, faster read than The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, but I prefer my darkness alone in the bottom of a well rather than in a subterranean cavern with a plump 18 year-old who may or may not be a sex interest.



King: Man of Peace in a Time of War

A look at Martin Luther King’s principle of nonviolence in the context of the Vietnam War. The extended clip of King on the Michael Douglas show was fascinating. In the future, we’ll be seeing more and more legendary figures in down-to-earth contexts like this.


Malcolm X, Directed by Spike Lee

Malcolm X’s life forms a fascinating counterpoint to Dr. King’s, and this is one hell of a movie.


02.20.07

Frontline News War

Posted in politics at 1:13 am by danvk

Part two of Frontline’s News War is on at nine tonight. I’ve never fully understood the Valerie Plame business or the Scooter Libby trial that’s going on right now, but I have a feeling this is going to be the show that makes me get it. You can watch part one online here.

02.16.07

Initial Impressions of D

Posted in boggle, programming at 12:07 am by danvk

I got curious about the programming language D after noticing it outperform C++ in the somewhat-silly Computer Language Shootout and reading Steve Yegge’s thoughts on it. I’ve played around it for the past few days. Here’s some thoughts.

First of all, D is what you might call a “low PageRank language.” If you search for ‘D’, there’s nothing related to the language until result #15. The next result isn’t until #160, and it’s pretty random. Contrast that with C. This makes searching for help on D almost impossible. Try “D slow file I/O” for a taste. This isn’t necessarily Google’s fault, either. There’s just not that many good D resources online yet.
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02.15.07

Intelligence Squared

Posted in personal, politics at 10:17 pm by danvk

I enjoyed listening to some of NPR’s Intelligence Squared program on the way home from work, “Is America Too Damn Religious?” A gem from the first speaker, Rev. Barry W. Lynn:

After every major school shooting in the United States, members of Congress insist that, if we posted the ten commandments on every schoolroom wall, we would stop the next violent student uprising from occurring. They’re never willing to talk about gun control, they’re never willing to even talk about spending money to work with avariced young people but decalogue display is the panacea. But you know, if proximity to holy words really made us better people then the presence of Giddeon Bibles in night-stands in motels would have ended adultery long ago but it has not, it is not that simple.

Full program here.

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