by Dwayne Phillips There is a trend lately for young male programmers to act like fraternity pledges. This is just the last in a long line of dysfunction in computer science. The percentage of female computer science graduates and professional programmers is declining. It has been in decline for several decades. There is much speculation [...]
Brogrammers and other Dysfunction
April 23rd, 2012 · No Comments
Tags: Computing · Culture · Family · Management
Computer Vision and the Blind
April 16th, 2012 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips The cell phone camera plus computer vision plus computer speech equals apps for the blind. I worked in computer vision during the 1980s and early 1990s. My work was mostly with having a computer transform an aerial image into a map. I didn’t foresee the technologies that would make the digital image [...]
Tags: Computing · Family · Health · Image · Technology
Broadband on a Royal Caribbean Cruise
March 15th, 2012 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I recently went on a cruise with Royal Caribbean. The broadband service was relatively slow, but quite usable at 40 cents a minute. In late February 2012, I went on a cruise with my wife and 16 in laws. We took a seven-day western Caribbean cruise with Royal Caribbean cruise lines. I [...]
But Then They Won’t Pay Attention (to me)
March 12th, 2012 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips The iPad and its apps are the latest tech gadget that can help in the classroom (any kind of classroom in almost any setting). One issue is that once a student loves the iPad, they ignore the teacher – the person. Persons have feelings and sometimes persons have hurt feelings. Let’s employ [...]
Tags: Education · Family · iPad · Learning · People
The Nerd Dad – Zero to Hero
March 8th, 2012 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Long scorned by kids, especially teenagers, the nerd dad is now the hero. This story brought an idea back to mind. I had this idea first a couple of years ago, but didn’t blog about it. The time has come. The story linked above from The Telegraph bemoans that many parents don’t [...]
Tags: Family · Technology
It’s Just Business
February 27th, 2012 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips People often enter business relationships without first answering one question: If I fire you, will that affect our personal relationship? Business relationships are about business. They involve contracts and agreements: You will do this and I will do that. This is pretty simple when you consider these terms. This is pretty complicated [...]
Tags: Expectations · Family · Management
To Kodak, Thank You
January 12th, 2012 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Thank you Kodak for making the simple, affordable cameras that allowed America’s working class to capture the last half of the 20th century for their grandchildren. My Aunt Mabel died about a week before Christmas 2011. She was 85 and died from the affects of a major stroke. We attended her funeral [...]
Tags: Family · Technology
A Great Christmas Gift
January 2nd, 2012 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I receive a Fiskars tool for cutting open those annoying plastic packages. I often find that the best Christmas gifts of my life are (1) unexpected and (2) inexpensive. Such happened this year. The photo here shows such a gift from this year. It is a cutting tools from Fiskars. It cuts [...]
My Hated Yellow Shirt
December 26th, 2011 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Often, a seemingly illogical action has logic when something else is in play. One way to learn of what else is in play is to ask. I have a yellow shirt. Someone gave this to me a few years ago. I hate the yellow shirt because I think the color is awful. [...]
Thanksgiving Day
November 24th, 2011 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Today is Thanksgiving Day in America. I am thankful that my three sons, all in their 20s, still talk to me. I am thankful that my oldest son married a young woman who thinks enough of me to let me spend time with their children, my grandchildren.
Tags: Family