Finely Cultured

Thoughts on (an)Droid after 1 month

I've had my droid for a touch more than a month now, so I thought I'd give some general thoughts. I'm just going to shoot from the hip here: What's Good: Google Voice - I had to go back and edit this article because I almost forgot about this one - that's how well it's integrated into [...]

Mac OS X Tip: Use a solid color background of any color

I've been annoyed by the inability to easily set a solid color background since I started using OS X. Apple ships a couple "Solid background" png files, but they're without fail Not the colors I want. Turns out, there's a nice, easy way to get a solid color background of your choice that doesn't involve making [...]

Quick script: Easy passwordless SSH setup

This is a quick one - I work almost entirely on remote servers via SSH & SFTP at this point, so passwordless SSH is a huge timesaver. The setup is easy, but it's a few steps and I always forget how to do it. I threw together this bash script to make it easier - [...]

Using Apache2’s Digest authentication

I finally got Apache's Digest authentication, and since there's a serious dearth of information online about getting Digest working, I decided I'd write up a bit. It's not difficult, but I've had far more trouble than I should have, and most of that's due to nonexistant documentation. Why Digest? Standard HTTP auth sends the password in plaintext, [...]

End of the Oughts – Resolutions

Ought eight, ought nine, ten. Last year I can use the word and not sound old, wishy-washy, or presumptuous. I've heard the best way to keep up on your resolutions is to tell them to as many people as possible, and in that light, I'm making this public: Read on average at least one book a week. Write [...]

It’s the Enforcement, Stupid.

Three months into the financial collapse, much of the debate is centering around the role of regulation in the crisis. Democrats are claiming the deregulatory atmosphere in Washington over the last 8 years caused much of the fraud and other criminal behavior that's come to light. Republicans are arguing that the push for low-income home ownership and the expansion of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac caused the subprime housing bubble. In the balance lies the layout of whatever eventual fiscal stimulus should pass: Will it be a market-centric solution, focusing on tax breaks and consumer spending, or an infrastructure-centric solution, focused on government spending and programs?

Ultimately, though, regulation was never the cause of the crisis. The question of "too much" or "too little" is moot - More after the jump.