CSS Shorthand Syntax Considered an Anti-Pattern →
I tend to go for the background shorthand, and certainly the font one, but in general, implicitly setting values is something one should avoid, in CSS as in most other programming languages.
Archive for December 2016
Big Tablets Are Coming →
Evan Miller on an in his opinion obviously imminent future with big tablets as the form factor of choice for professionals, primarily focussing on the shortcomings of mouse pointers:
The mouse pointer was designed for a 9″ screen, not a 29″ one.
It’s an intriguing argument, especially the serious considerations of styli (cue “They blow it” quote from Steve Jobs). I think there could be something here. (Even if I have historically been swayed by Apple’s arguments about the tiring of arms, the angle at which you can use a Surface Studio should help with that.)
Change
Change, shit
I guess change is good for any of us
– Tupac Shakur
Yesterday, I returned from NIPS 2016. It’s the world’s preeminent machine learning conference.
What was I doing there? To be fair, it was probably not the conference I would have picked, but it was a very interesting conference to attend (the first of its kind I’ve ever been to, to boot). The reason I was there was because on 1 November I started a new job, working for Danish startup Sportcaster. This also means that after almost four years, I have left PDC, where I started working when Ovivo was acquired. (I realise I’ve been horrible at updating the blog with this information, but better late than never, I suppose.)
Working for PDC has been a great experience. I’ve felt welcome in all my years there, even though I got into the company by untraditional means, and even though – as I have joked many times over the years – I would never have been able to land a job there by sending a regular application. (The company values educational credentials very highly, so my B.A. in English and Communication & Rhetoric is basically useless as an engineer.) I would encourage anyone wanting to work with Microsoft technologies or, especially, Prolog in Copenhagen to take a look PDC’s way, it’s a great place to work.
For me, however, Sportcaster presented the complete package: The company’s goal is making a product aimed at filming grassroots association football, and I will be doing their web platform. This allows me to combine my interest (OK, let’s just call it ‘obsession’) with football as well as doing web development in Python. If someone had asked me what I wanted to do that would basically have been it.
My first month there has been excellent, and I look forward to spending a long time there, and I’ll try to make an effort updating this space with news of development.