I CAN HAS BOOKZ?

Posted on 16 September 2008 by Terry Chay

I got a mysterious package and opened it. No, it wasn’t a unabomb, but some megalulz instead:

I Can Haz Cheezburger?:A LOLcat Colleckshun will be released October 7, but I got a copy in the mail today.

The book is from lulzftw, and is a best-of collection of lolcats—slightly disappointed that there are no lolgeeks.

Mai awesum benny faktor tells me they’re having a book release party and photowalk later this month in San Francisco.

I think I’ll make one and give my book to the first person who asks (and I have it on me).

Make the events and you can has (mai or ur) bookz, too!

(Follow them on twitter.)

kthnxbai

Quiet desperation

Posted on 28 June 2008 by Terry Chay

You: Did you read it?

Me: No, I don’t like to read. Reading for elitist liberal types. Me: “Lives of quiet desperation.” Have you ever heard of that?

You: No.

[quiet desperation after the jump.] Continue reading →

Cody’s closes

Posted on 25 June 2008 by Terry Chay

The last Cody’s Books is closing. Years ago, I would go to one on Telegraph when visiting my brother, who reads even more than me.

I can’t believe it.

Cody’s. Berkeley. Free Speech. Closed.

Books Everywhere City Lights Bookstore, North Beach, San Francisco, California Leica M8, Zeiss Biogon 2,8/25 ZM 1/60sec, iso320, 25mm (33mm)

[My local bookstores after the jump.] Continue reading →

Landing

Posted on 20 June 2008 by Terry Chay

(Coach class poetry)

Everything is a Tiny Toy until Wheels touch Earth then Real Size snap back.

…

Yes, I still think it’s odd when people clap after the plane lands.

Books as bearable movies have to concentrate on character because there is no time for story. One less movie, one more book..

Reading George Orwell

Posted on 14 March 2008 by Terry Chay

In my seventh grade English class, I got an opportunity to read Animal Farm by George Orwell.

My mom had read it once as a little girl during the brief occupation of Seoul in the Korean War.

“One day Ohma brought home fish for dinner, wrapped in paper. But it was too much paper—everything was scarce. I noticed that the paper was numbered and I put them together and that was the first time I read Animal Farm.”

“Did you know what it was about?”

“Of course! I really liked the part where they said, ‘All animals are equal.” and then it got changed to ‘All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.’ I loved it so much that when the war ended I read Nineteen Eighty-Four, but it didn’t make any sense. I didn’t know what a ‘television’ was.”

[Politics after the jump.] Continue reading →

Pragmatic bullshit

Posted on 19 February 2008 by Terry Chay

Someone took exception to me saying:

“I have yet to read a good “Pragmatic Programmer Series” book.”

…with the lines:

“I think that’s a bit of a hard knock of the Pragmatic Bookshelf. I’ve had a number of books which I’ve really enjoyed from them; The Pragmatic Programmer and Practices of an Agile Developer spring to mind.”

Hehe, he caught me! Oh, I didn’t lie—I just never actually finished a single one of their books. I started reading the Pickaxe book and The Pragmatic Programmer mentioned, but I put them down in disgust.

This book is the book that launched a thousand crappy books.

[But that won’t stop me from peeing on your programming religion after the jump.] Continue reading →

I found a use for Ruby

Posted on 18 February 2008 by Terry Chay

…a place to send all the people who washed out coding PHP.

I haven’t read this book so I can’t comment, however, I have yet to read a good “Pragmatic Programmer Series” book. The one all the Rails developers jizz over, is so poorly written and full of errors, I am beside myself.

Please buy this book.

Not to emphasize the obvious, but if you can’t build a website in PHP, you must really, really suck. Be sure to shave your head and buy a MacBook on your way down the your path of enlightenment.

Hmm, Ruby was making a comeback, too.

Don’t miss my book: Delphi for Rails Developers, you’ll be needing it next year.

Triumphs of the Human Spirit

Posted on 14 February 2008 by Terry Chay

Blurb is hosting Lunch 2.0 today on Valentine’s Day!

Reading people’s twitter’s I think

Am I the only single person who loves Valentine’s day?

Oh the gifts, flowers, chocolates, singing telegram, and the the restaurant dinner reservation! I love watching the public trauma this day brings to two people in love. Sometimes it is like a romance sped up. Other times it is a romantic comedy in miniature, but mostly it is a complete disaster—still memorable in a “visit the inlaws” sort of way.

To that last one, I remember how my friend Jay broke up with his girlfriend by taking her to McDonald’s for Valentine’s—given how I love fast food, this would probably be my ideal date.

I thank that I never have had to privately experience that public trauma. Historo-mathematically, it should have happened—I know that I’ve been in a relationship during some February 14th of the past, but somehow I’ve been spared any compulsion to participate.

Instead, I normally celebrate it by spamming friends and family with an e-card.

Not this year.

[Triumphs of the Human Spirit] Continue reading →

I love books, but obviously not enough.

Posted on 11 February 2008 by Terry Chay

I love the printed word. I have an Amazon Prime membership. I think there is a great future in e-paper.

I should love Kindle, but every time I visit Amazon, there is only one thought going through my head:

This looks like ass.

Please make this product suck less.

Flights of fancy

Posted on 21 September 2007 by Terry Chay

Flights of fancy somewhere over the Eastern United States Leica M8, Cosina-Voigtländer NOKTON 35mm F1.2 Aspherical 1/90sec, iso 320, 35mm (47mm)

My tweets make no sense.

This is why nobody follows me and even my friends have turned off updates.

I just can’t seem to explain my experiences in 140 characters. Maybe I should have titled this blog “The Circumlocution.” Oh well, at least two people asked me about this confusing tweet after my plane landed.

But it’s really quite a simple story, even if I can’t tell it right.

Here is a helpful diagram…