Gerry Rafferty is dead

My first car cost me 600$. A 1966 VW Beetle rust bucket that couldn't climb over steep hills but ran like the devil in a good tail wind. I was 19 and I loved that car. Mandatory back then was... the tape player. So I got one, hooked up mini speakers to player to fuse box; wires dangled everywhere. And then I drove, playing my tapes in rotation, loud, because louder is _always_ better when you're 19.

The back seat collection grew weekly, until the day I bought Gerry's latest, a mix that felt so perfect, and so matched my feelings as I drove the hills east of Montreal in the autumn, or as I headed north to join friends for a day of skiing in the winter, that I never bought another tape again. I had found _it_.

And though I lost that tape long ago, in my memories, Snakes and Ladders remains one of my favorite album of all times. So, thanks man, and much respect. And if you stumble upon an old tape player with your songs in it, know that it meant a lot to someone back in 1980.

Alex.

Fog Horn

Paul Krugman explains why 2010 should be the year of China, in a sense. His parting words may be addressed at the wrong reader -- who has nothing to gain from such advice --, but that's just another, more understated way, to tell all others that the time has come for a change. Though I wouldn't -- who would? -- expect things to change that much in 2010 (or at any other time), his words are well read and his arguments are convincing.

greener...green...gr...grrr...gray...grayer...grayest

More reflections on expatriation this morning. Later, coincidentally, while reading my daily dose of economist.com, I caught a new article on that very topic. It sums things up nicely and I would recommend it to anyone who is out there, far away from their home.

And (harsh) justice for all.

On Tuesday, Briton Akmal Shaikh was executed by the Chinese authorities, and that put a chill in my heart. I can hardly imagine a fear greater than that of being imprisoned in a foreign land, vilified, and ultimately made an example of by being deprived of life, so far away from home and labeled a "Bad Guy".

A friend of mine and I discussed this sad story over lunch today, and we agreed that the sheer lunacy of attempting to smuggle 4kg of heroin into China by stashing it in luggage registered to one's name -- such were the accusations against him -- bogs the mind. An accuser would have to be either simpleminded or delusional to not recognize such a fact, after some deliberation of course.

Which brings this proverb -- apparently of African origin -- to mind:

in times of trouble, leniency becomes crime

Apples and Nuts

15 days into the tracking, patching, testing, cussing loop from hell. Familiar whining this. It pretty much epitomizes the life of a hacker.

The iPod Touch remains in its original box, untouched, waiting for the next (Palm OS) release of ninerpad (will it? ever?).

But I like to peek. So I waded, again, through the iPhone SDK (hush hush Apple may be listening) docs. Things are becoming clearer.

But then, this very interesting post by Michael Ash. It helped put things back in perspective.

Yes, the iPhone oasis may beckon, but you may want to reconsider drinking from its pool. The process of getting an app on the iTunes store is not as simple as it is for Palm (mobireach, my cart provider, makes the process a google times simpler). But that's not the main issue for me. Learning has its curves, like many good things, so it can't be that bad.

No, my main beef is that Apple will not remit royalties to participating developers until their net reaches 250$. Granted, if your paid app is hugely popular, that may come fast and easy. But if it is not -- and that is the most likely (just do the math) scenario "for the rest of us" -- , it may take months before you see that first payment. Nice? Not.

But I'll try anyway. After all, nobody likes to miss a boat, any boat, no matter how small.

Still, just to keep things on an even keel, I think I'll stick around for a while with the Palm OS and with my friends at mobireach.

And now, back to our regular programming: cussing at Palm OS 5.

Palm developer vacation spot du jour: iPhone SDK

ninerpad 1.1R2 is out, at last. Time to take a short break and open that iPod Touch box...

Links of interest:

• iPhone GUI PSD will come in handy for UI mockups
  
• Hand Picked iPhone Application Development Resources

Ideas:

• ninersim...

Christmas in August

I bought an iPod Touch yesterday. I justified the purchase as a necessary investment in my career as a wannabe independent software developer.

At the same time, though, another voice spoke, much louder this time. It was the kid in me, and he said: "Cool. A new toy!"

The iPod Touch (iTouch) looks like an expensive toy. It's cute, and sleek, and eye candy jumps out at you as soon as you turn it on. How can one resist? And I thought to myself "Ah, Apple design..." And as I did, Venice came to mind; not the city as much as the feel of it; the way I would have said "Ah, Venice..." if I had been there (as I have).

One could say that there's a little bit of Venice in every Apple product.

Later, I skimmed through the developer documentation, trying to get my bearings and preparing the ground for my next -- and first iTouch -- project. By the time I was finished, my inner developer too was feeling the rush: "... so many cool APIs... so many possibilities... so much... nerd candy".

And no wonder today was a special day. Three significant fragments of my personality were in agreement, for once. Pleasure delayer that I am, I still haven't opened that box, though. It sits there in my bag, waiting for that moment when fragment #1 says "okay boys, let's open the presents and start coding".

I can't wait.