fox@fury
Are you seeing SQL errors?
Sunday, Jul 03, 2005
If you're seeing SQL errors, please paste them in to a comment, along with info on what OS/browser you're using. (I know, a SQL error shouldn't have anything to do with your browser, but it seems like IE/Win and Safari/Mac are having the problem, while Firefox isn't. It may also be a cookie reporting issue with the login mechanism that's to blame.)
The grand test of Fury 5.0
Friday, Jul 01, 2005
So it's after 1 am, I need to go to sleep, but I think I've finished the last of the vital code required before putting Fury 5.0 live. There are still a lot of rough spots, many having to do with the commenting system and the RSS feed, and I know there are several problems, some possibly showstopping, but I'm putting it up anyhow.

A couple caveats: First, the commenting system is all new, which means that until I get around to writing a script to import old comments, they're gone. Clean slate.

Second, there's very lightweight membership now. If you leave a comment on the site, it effectively logs you in. If you leave a comment from another computer, the two computers will now both have you 'logged in'. This means virtually nothing at this point, beyond the fact that the 'new to you' state will now reflect page visits from any machine you're logged in from. This system will get a lot more robust before I'm done with it, including the ability to password-protect your 'account', first-time-only email verifications for my own anti-comment spam battles, and some other stuff.

Anyhow, comment away. I'm interested in hearing what you have to say, and in whether some small thing I forgot about will break the site so completely in the next 12 hours that I'll have to take it down and revert back to Fury 3.2.

Eating your own (wet) dog food
Wednesday, Jun 29, 2005
So for months I've had a post in my head about what I call 'benign competition', the kind of thing when you work at a company which is in competition with other companies over who can make users lives better faster. It's more sport than cut-throat competition; it's the kind of thing where after the game is done and everyone's taken showers you're cool going out for beers with the other team. As this post has been brewing in my head it's taken on a life of its own, evolving from a set of notes to an outline for what could be, if not a book, at least something far longer than a blog post.

Blogging plays a big part in this. How the troops on opposite sides treat each other tells a lot about how the greater machines think and act. Having worked at both Yahoo and Google, I have a good perspective on this, and I can list dozens of bloggers on both sides that bear witness to the same mentality, Jeremy Zawodny being a great example, especially when talking about the relationship between personal blogging and the 'mother Y'. I'm sure that it's largely because of my optimistic (myopic?) state that this post by Jeffrey McManus caught me pretty off guard. It's always good to remember that just because a guy will get drunk with you after the game doesn't mean he won't clock you across the jaw when the ref isn't looking. Name-calling is bad enough, but the guy's a director. Sheesh.

How to make Kevin blog
Tuesday, Jun 28, 2005
The most fruitful era of this blog, as I suppose many of you long-timers would agree, was around 2001, when I would take Amtrak from Berkeley to Santa Clara and back every day. Two hours of watching the world go by, armed with an ipod and a laptop -- but no network -- made for the most inspirational environment. 600 words each way every day was a breeze, a torrent. Stream of consciousness joining the slipstream of the train racing through urbania.

Now it's four years later and living close to work (and being pretty well-connected to the net at all times) has done more to staunch the creative flow than anything else. Yesterday I was at a friend's housewarming and I had the opportunity to see a lot of friends I haven't been in contact with in a long time. Blogging friends mostly, I was much closer to their circle when I'd attend SXSW; when I'd regularly make weird sites that would grace the pages of slashdot and BoingBoing; when I'd... you know... blog.

I talked about my block with Kevin Smokler, whose book sits on my nightstand even at this moment. He told me that David Mammet writes nearly two plays a week. Most of them are crap and David knows it, but rather than craft gold at every sitting Mammet chooses to write quickly, only panning the text for gold after the generation is complete.

In my heart I've always known this. While working on the redesign (and I have been, for the last several days) I took a peek in the database at all the entries that I've written and never posted, either because they weren't finished, or were waiting for some other bit of info and were eventually forgotten. Now I have experiences and have stories to share, but they always come about when I'm doing something else, and by the time I should blog it, I have other things to do. There's never that time to breathe, to acknowledge that I'm in the place and time reserved for creating personal content.

So how did I manage to write even this much, with all the distraction and pressures all around? My DSL connection is down, and there's nothing else I can do.

I suspect Ali or Ammy.

If you spend it you are fucked.
Sunday, Jun 19, 2005
The last time I saw my father was at my graduation ceremonies from Carnegie Mellon in May of 2003. Six weeks later he died of cardiac arrest at his home. In August I moved from Pittsburgh to my new job in the San Francisco Bay area.

Last July, a year after he died, I opened up my 'life savings' jar that I hadn't looked inside since living in Pittsburgh.


click to enlarge

Inside, written on a one dollar bill, was his final message to me: "If you keep this $ you'll have $ for a lifetime. -- If you spend it you are fucked."

I miss you dad. Happy Father's Day.

I think I'll name my firstborn 'Beta'
Friday, Jun 17, 2005
When they turn 18 they can change their name to 'Release Candidate' and maybe around 30 they can change it to 'Golden Master'. (thanks, Jason)

Golden Master Fox... Yes. That's it exactly.

Please stop stealing my identity
Tuesday, Jun 07, 2005
Great. Not that anything unseemly has happened to my credit reports yet (and yes, I keep a close watch), I'm not happy to read about the second time this year that my SSN was lost/stolen by someone I was compelled to trust with it. I mean yes, thanks Citibank for underwriting my student loans, but I hope you're not planning on trusting the credit reports of people whose social security numbers you've misplaced.

Okay, sure, UPS lost the tapes, not Citibank. But please, you're hiring a third-party shipper to move 3 million people's sensitive financial data representing billions of dollars in assets and you don't even encrypt it?

Blogging at Google - Part 1
Wednesday, Jun 01, 2005
Two quick notes:
Meme-time
Thursday, May 26, 2005
I'm usually resistant to my friends' Livejournal memes, but not this time (Blame Capricious!):


-I am currently single.-I am currently suffering from a broken heart.
-I am embarrassed to be seen with my mother or father.
-I am good at styling other people's hair.
-I am left handed.
-I am married.
-I am obsessed with my LJ.
-I am online 24/7, even as an away message.
-I am procrastinating by filling out this list.
-I am resentful that I have to grow up.
-I am very shy around the opposite/same sex.
-I am, or was, pigeon-toed.
-I bite my nails. Not any more!
-I can be paranoid at times.
-I carry a weapon with me everywhere I go.
-I collect picture frames.
-I consider myself to be a "nerd".
-I currently have a crush on someone.
-I currently regret something that I have done.
-I curse frequently.
-I do not believe people are inherently good or evil.
-I don't hate anyone.
-I enjoy country music.
-I enjoy jazz music.
-I enjoy smoothies.
-I enjoy talking on the phone.
-I have a car.
-I have a cell phone.
-I have a hard time paying attention at school.
-I have a hidden talent.
-I have a hobby.
-I have a lot to learn.
-I have a pet.
-I have a secret that I am ashamed to reveal.
-I have a tendency to fall for the "wrong" girl/guy.
-I have all my grandparents, none of them have died.
-I have at least one brother and/or sister.
-I have avoided work to play with my livejournal.
-I have been in a real relationship.
-I have been in a threesome.
-I have been rejected by someone.
-I have been the "psycho ex" in a past relationship.
-I have been to an anime convention.
-I have been to another country.
-I have been to Europe.
-I have been to Las Vegas.
-I have been told that I am very smart.
-I have been told that I have an unusual sense of humor.
-I have broken a bone. Fingers count, right?
-I have Caller I.D. on my phone.
-I have changed a diaper.
-I have changed a lot over the past year.
-I have cheated on a significant other.
-I have counted down the days until the summer.
-I have dated a close friend's ex.
-I have dated someone 10 years (or more) older or younger than me.
-I have done something illegal.
-I have friends who have never seen my natural hair color.
-I have gone scuba diving.
-I have had major surgery.
-I have had my hair cut within the last week.
-I have had sex with someone I was not in a relationship with.
-I have had the cops called on me.
-I have kissed someone I knew I shouldn't.
-I have kissed someone of the same sex.
-I have made a move on a friend's significant other in the past.
-I have mood swings. Wheeee!
-I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life.
-I have passed out drunk at least once in the past 6 months.
-I have rejected someone before.
-I have seen "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy All on the same day.
-I have seen the television show "The O.C."
-I have swam in the ocean.
-I have tried sushi.
-I have tried a drug that is illegal.
-I have watched "Sex and the City".
-I have watched porn movies.
-I have watched the television show "Spongebob Squarepants".
-I know how to shoot a gun.
-I like being the center of attention.
-I like eating Ramen noodles.
-I like my handwriting.
-I like Shakespeare. Oh yeah!
-I like the taste of blood.
-I like to cook.
-I like to sing.
-I like to vacuum.
-I love learning foreign languages.
-I love Michael Jackson.
-I love my friends.
-I love olives.
-I love rain.
-I love sleeping.
-I love to play computer games.
-I love to shop.
-I miss someone right now.
-I own 100 CDs or more.
-I own a home.
-I own and use a library card.
-I play a musical instrument.
-I practice a religion that is not considered "mainstream".
-I read books for pleasure.
-I shave my legs.
-I sleep a lot during the day.
-I strongly dislike math.
-I think Britney Spears is pretty.
-I think long strings of html code look cool.
-I think prostitution should be legalized.
-I think that Pizza Hut makes the best pizza.
-I think the world would be a better place if people just smiled more often.
-I was born in a country other than the USA.
-I watch more TV this year than last year.
-I watch MTV on a daily basis.
-I watch soap operas on a regular basis.
-I wear glasses or contact lenses.
-I will try anything once.
-I work at a job that I enjoy.
-I would classify myself as "ghetto".
-I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free.
-I like orange kool aid.
-I can name all 7 of the dwarfs from 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'. Sneezy, Dopey, Happy, Sleepy, Grumpy, and Doc. Oops, short one, but I know all the Fraggles...
-I like being at school.
-I always love wearing sweaters.
-I love water polo.
-I am currently wearing socks.
-I am being nostalgic right now.
-I hate summative season.
-I am tired.
-I love to paint.

I learned a little about myself on this one. For example, I like talking on the phone less than I used to, though I'm still trying to figure out why.

Redesign in progress
Monday, May 23, 2005
I'm redesigning Fury again.

I know that must sound strange, since Fury's design hasn't changed significantly in nearly 5 years, but would you believe I've redesigned it at least four times since then? I have, only I've never actually built it out and pushed it live, since I was never really happy with it.

Now I have a new litmus test: If it's better than the current version I should put it out there. By that standard I'm almost certain to have a redesign up in the next week or so.

Just as a reality check, it would be helpful if you briefly commented on what part(s) of the UI or overall site that you find most valuable personally. I'd love to hear it, along with any random ideas for improvements. I already have the design in my head and halfway done, but it's not too late to make an impact.

  
aboutme

Hi, I'm Kevin Fox.
I've been blogging at Fury.com since 1998.
I can be reached at .

I also have a resume.

electricimp

I'm co-founder in
a fantastic startup fulfilling the promise of the Internet of Things.

The Imp is a computer and wi-fi connection smaller and cheaper than a memory card.

Find out more.

We're also hiring.

followme

I post most frequently on Twitter as @kfury and on Google Plus.

pastwork

I've led design at Mozilla Labs, designed Gmail 1.0, Google Reader 2.0, FriendFeed, and a few special projects at Facebook.

©2012 Kevin Fox