Lofty ambitions

This is a loft in the Strip District of Pittsburgh:

Window side of loft

I’ve long wanted to live in a place like that. And as of today, I do.

In addition to my lovely house in Butler, I now have a loft apartment dahntahn. It will make it much easier to meet clients in Pittsburgh and south while staying connected with my clients in Butler and north. 

I signed the lease a few weeks ago, but today I got the keys. I’ve been humming the “Mary Tyler Moore Show” theme all day. No word on whether I can turn the world on with my smile, but I do know that love is all around.

Draw Something, Picasso-style

Still from Visit to Picasso documentaryWhat I like about the mobile app/game Draw Something isn’t the game. As a game it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Should I try to make it hard for my opponent to guess what I’m drawing? If I make it too hard, he won’t guess, and then neither of us gets a point. But if I make it really easy, then where’s the challenge for my opponent/collaborator? What exactly are we doing here? Continue reading “Draw Something, Picasso-style”

Everything Is a Remix, part 4: System Failure

The fourth and final installment in the Everything Is a Remix series looks at how patent and copyright law, in the U.S. and elsewhere, has grown beyond its original useful intent, and now stifled the very creativity and progress it was intended to foster.

For more on patent trolls, check out an episode of This American Life: “When Patents Attack!“

Help stop terrible legislation that would break the Internet

What the web could look like if SOPA or PIPA passes

As I explained over on the Big Big Design site, on Wednesday 1/18/2012 I’ll be protesting the proposed PROTECT_IP act (AKA PIPA or “Protect Intellectual Property Act”) by blacking out my websites.

You can protest too, by running the blackout on your site (there’s a WordPress plugin to make it easy) and by participating in the Facebook protest. Continue reading “Help stop terrible legislation that would break the Internet”