Links from 2013

<blockquote>“Smart quotes,” the correct quotation marks and apostrophes, are curly or sloped. "Dumb quotes," or straight quotes, are a vestigial constraint from typewriters when using one key for two different marks helped save space on a keyboard. Unfortunately, many improper marks make their way onto websites because of dumb defaults in applications and CMSs. Luckily, using correct quotation marks and apostrophes today is easier than you think.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Ideas on how to survive unpleasant projects as a consultant</blockquote>

Used by work.

It's all fun and games until...

<blockquote>Easy epoch/Unix timestamp converter for computer programmers. Includes epoch explanation and conversion syntax in various programming languages.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Install these choose-your-own-adventure style lessons and learn how to use node.js, npm and other related tools by writing code to solve realistic problems.</blockquote>

<blockquote>How to use Amazon IAM to create a new user for deployments that has restricted access to your account to help tighten up security.</blockquote>

Not just jekyll, mind. Generic, simple S3 instructions.

<blockquote>We use RequireJS for dependency management, Jasmine for testing, and jQuery. Our framework is light, and is founded on a simple instantiation pattern: modules are marked up using data attributes, anything with a data-require attribute is deemed to be a module. On page load, our app finds these modules in the DOM, ‘requires’ them and their dependencies, instantiates them and starts them.</blockquote>

Microdot Double Drop | Acid 12" single (lathe) by Racah

Music from EVE Online on SoundCloud.

6.46.43 of coding-friendly aural wallpaper.

<blockquote>The NSA has turned the fabric of the internet into a vast surveillance platform, but they are not magical. They're limited by the same economic realities as the rest of us, and our best defense is to make surveillance of us as expensive as possible. Trust the math. Encryption is your friend. Use it well, and do your best to ensure that nothing can compromise it.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Every javascript project you should be looking into, with examples, categories, install commands, CDN links, project and author stats, and more.</blockquote>

<blockquote> For the lack of a nail, throw new HorseshoeNailNotFoundException("no nails!"); </blockquote>

<blockquote>git subtree push --prefix appfolder heroku master</blockquote>

<blockquote>A cheap, no-fuss and fast UK postcode lookup API for web and mobile developers. We license Royal Mail's Postcode Address File and make it available to developers at a fair price. One flat price of 2p per postcode lookup.</blockquote>

<blockquote>The people who generate all the ideas and work are evolving and realising that they themselves could be reaping the rewards rather than the agency.

Agencies on the other hand are happy to keep trying to live in a world which is ceasing to exist. Clinging onto the same ideas, tools, and ways of working with CEOs who are either oblivious to the current mindset or too frightened to instigate change. It’s the perfect storm of increasing entrepreneurialism, decreasing loyalty and an industry reveling in mediocrity.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Most "RESTful APIs" make it as far as to the last point but the majority fail the hypermedia constraint. However this is so innate to the architecture that is has its own abbreviation — HATEOAS. It is also what makes RESTful design stand out and be as powerful as it is.</blockquote>

<blockquote>A simple, end-to-end launch page app [...], uses Mongo, Express, Angular and Node (MEAN).</blockquote>

<blockquote>A boilerplate that provides a nice starting point for MongoDB, Node.js, Express, and AngularJS based applications. It is designed to give you quick and organized way to start developing of MEAN based web apps with useful modules like mongoose and passport pre-bundled and configured. We mainly try to take care of the connection points between existing popular frameworks and solve common integration problems. </blockquote>

<blockquote>Moral of the Story: Start Small, You Can Make Massive Mistakes and Still Be Ok.</blockquote>

Much more in here than my poorly-chosen quote would suggest.

<blockquote>The trail is now almost complete (bar a few final safety checks) and will be opened officially next spring, running for 15 miles from Inversnaid to Aberfoyle. Beyond that, there is a grander plan for a 90-mile east-west path from the start of the Cowal Way in Portavadie to Callander. As yet nameless, it should be finished in 2015 and will make a new alternative to the well-worn West Highland Way, which runs north-south.</blockquote>