snowdeal.org > ex machina

ex machina

"Titles form a human-useable namespace. Large-scale information systems that can be used effectively by humans require exactly such a namespace. It's hard to write titles at all, never mind write them well. That's why even when required (as in email's Subject: header) titles are rarely as helpful as they ought to be. Will this change in blogspace? Maybe no. But then again, maybe yes. In an environment where pageviews and channel fetches are visible and ranked, Darwinian forces may tend to favor the fittest information sources. Clean structure isn't the only measure of fitness, but it's an important one."

i'm not sure i'd go as far as jon does with the "fittest information sources" metaphor, but i do know that now that since i put together a syndication feed which basically clips the first sentence or two from a post [ compensating for blogger's lack of "title" capabilities when in started syndication ] , i spend a bit more time formulating the first sentence for a "hook". probably sounds a bit cheesy and certainly doesn't always work, but it's almost an unconscious tendency.

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3/05/2002 11:40:00 PM 0 comments

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[ rhetoric ]

“"it is hard to be brave," said piglet, sniffing slightly, "when you're only a Very Small Animal." rabbit, who had begun to write very busily, looked up and said: "it is because you are a very small animal that you will be Useful in the adventure before us."”

the complete tales & poems of winnie the pooh

[ about ]

this site chronicles the continuing adventures of my son, odin, who was unexpectedly born on the fourth of july at 25 weeks gestation, weighing 1 pound 7 ounces.

he's quite a fighter and you can always send him a postcard to the most current address listed here if you're inspired by his adventures. see the postcard project/google maps mashup to see a map of the postcards.

if you're new, you can browse the archives to catch up. and don't forget to watch a few movies that i made while we were in the neonatal intensive care unit. or if you want the abridged version and you can find a copy, you can read about his adventures in the november 2005 issue of parents magazine.

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