Brian Moseley tag:bcm.maz.org,2007-12-01://1 2008-06-12T06:17:38Z Chief Suspect Movable Type Open Source 4.12 New gig, exciting! tag:bcm.maz.org,2008://1.65 2008-06-12T05:41:29Z 2008-06-12T06:17:38Z Tomorrow is my first day as a full-time engineer at WeatherBill. I've been working there for a couple weeks as a contractor, but we all decided we wanted to snuggle a little closer together, so I'm going FT. I'm working... Brian Moseley http://bcm.maz.org/ WeatherBill. I've been working there for a couple weeks as a contractor, but we all decided we wanted to snuggle a little closer together, so I'm going FT. I'm working with a couple old friends, which is pretty great, and for a still-early-stage startup, there's a pretty high percentage of people in the company that I enjoy getting drinks with after work. That hasn't really been the case since I worked at Critical Path in the late 90s, so I'm pretty stoked to be there.

This may be a surprising development to some, as the last time I discussed anything professional here, I was talking about joining Metaweb. Well, that job didn't last very long - a week, to be exact. It turned out that I didn't get a very accurate picture during the interview process of what my job would be like. Once I actually started, it became obvious very quickly that I hadn't understood exactly what kind of work I'd be doing, and I knew I wasn't going to be happy. This is not a comment on Metaweb; I have a lot of respect for them and hope they are successful. It just wasn't a good fit for me.

And so, after one smallish contract gig building a site in Rails, I'm back to Java land. For the last few weeks I've been doing some work with the most modern versions of Spring and Hibernate, learning FreeMarker, and even hacking on the browser side a bit with jQuery for remoting and DOM manipulation. Though Spring especially has come a long way in terms of embracing convention over configuration, Rails is still way ahead of it, especially in the amount of support Rails has for Ajax communication, at both the template and controller level. I've found myself more than once this week looking at the Rails API docs to figure out how to  build custom FreeMarker macros that are reminiscent of ActionView's form_remote_tag and friends. I've always been about stealing ideas from the language I wish I was working in to make the language I'm actually working in suck a little less, so this whole thing feels pretty natural to me, and I hope that I can eventually make some of this code available for other folks who might be stuck in Java land and not have time to explore Rails enough to be able to steal some of its treasures for yourself.
]]> Today's run: Presidio, Beach, GG Park (17 mi) tag:bcm.maz.org,2008://1.64 2008-06-08T18:40:30Z 2008-06-08T23:44:33Z My last long run, 16 miles, totally obliterated me, so I am nervous about this one. By the time you read this, I might already be roadkill.Update: rocked it. slow, but finished strong. gorgeous day out there, wanted to be... Brian Moseley http://bcm.maz.org/
Update: rocked it. slow, but finished strong. gorgeous day out there, wanted to be out sailing.
 ]]> Today's run: SF marathon course, 2nd half tag:bcm.maz.org,2008://1.63 2008-05-25T16:55:14Z 2008-05-25T17:05:12Z Today's long run is 16 miles. I'm doing most of the second half of the SF Marathon course, plus the mileage getting to my starting point and home from the race end point. I've run segments of this course many... Brian Moseley http://bcm.maz.org/
By the way, I don't just post these maps to brag (although the e-peen opportunities are appreciated). I'll actually have this page loaded in Safari on my iPhone while I run so that I can doublecheck the course when I forget where I'm going or get lost.

Today's run soundtrack: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré.
  ]]> The riddle of steel! tag:bcm.maz.org,2008://1.62 2008-05-17T15:54:11Z 2008-05-17T16:01:16Z Today is the first day of the early access program for Age of Conan. I've spent the last couple hours installing and patching the game, and I should be in soon. For anybody else who might be playing, I'm planning... Brian Moseley http://bcm.maz.org/ Age of Conan. I've spent the last couple hours installing and patching the game, and I should be in soon. For anybody else who might be playing, I'm planning to roll a guardian named Locnar on the Set PvE server. Although I was initially drawn to the dark templar based on its description in the manual, I theorized that tanks would be as scarce in this game as they are in all others, and since I love tanking in WoW, I'll step up and play that role in this game too. Signs point to guardians being able to do reasonable amounts of damage too, so hopefully leveling with a defensive spec won't be as awful as it is in WoW.

Anybody else planning to play AoC? Share your details!
]]> Charles Nutter on Appropriate Uses of Twitter tag:bcm.maz.org,2008://1.61 2008-05-01T20:50:49Z 2008-05-01T20:57:35Z I've been on Twitter for a while, but only recently started using it in earnest. I've got 'rific, have my Growl notifications up, and run a few Tweetscans through my feed reader to rush to the rescue of JRubyists in... Brian Moseley http://bcm.maz.org/ I've been on Twitter for a while, but only recently started using it in earnest. I've got 'rific, have my Growl notifications up, and run a few Tweetscans through my feed reader to rush to the rescue of JRubyists in trouble. But I try to do something it seems most tweeters don't: I try not to crapflood my followers with useless bullshit.

[...]

That's meant unfollowing people that tweet nothing but their travel schedules, where in the house they happen to be sitting, what great new product their company just released, and a load of other nonsense. That's meant not following everyone that follows me, especially if their primary topics include walking the dog and taking out the trash.

http://headius.blogspot.com/2008/05/culling-herd.html

Huzzah! We should form a club. We could call it the I-Dont-Care-How-Awesome-The-Band-You-Are-Watching-Perform-Right-Now-Is-
I-Dont-Want-Twelve-Tweets-An-Hour-About-It Club.
]]> Polar bears are people too! tag:bcm.maz.org,2008://1.60 2008-05-01T20:44:34Z 2008-05-01T20:47:44Z The Bush Administration has until May 15 to decide whether to place the polar bear on the Endangered Species list. Tell Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne that the polar bear, and its fragile Arctic habitat, requires protection from the... Brian Moseley http://bcm.maz.org/ The Bush Administration has until May 15 to decide whether to place the polar bear on the Endangered Species list. Tell Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne that the polar bear, and its fragile Arctic habitat, requires protection from the effects of global warming. Sign the petition today.

http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/s/polarbears

Do it for Iorek Byrnison!
]]> One of those days tag:bcm.maz.org,2008://1.59 2008-04-20T07:32:54Z 2008-04-20T07:35:55Z Things that happened today: Bought 7 albums in MP3 format on Amazon Had a solid run in Golden Gate Park Walked downtown to meet Sonic at her Tenderloin squat Watched "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", which exceeded expectations Chowed down on a... Brian Moseley http://bcm.maz.org/ Things that happened today:

  • Bought 7 albums in MP3 format on Amazon
  • Had a solid run in Golden Gate Park
  • Walked downtown to meet Sonic at her Tenderloin squat
  • Watched "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", which exceeded expectations
  • Chowed down on a fantastic Indian dinner
  • Saw Slough Feg play a solid show at Slims
  • Picked up a The Sword hoodie
  • Came home to relax with WoW and the She & Him album

A few weeks ago I made a vow to not let another Saturday pass me by while I sat on my ass in my house. The streak is unbroken at 3 weeks. Next week, maybe rock climbing.

]]> A shameless appeal to patriotism tag:bcm.maz.org,2008://1.58 2008-04-18T17:43:50Z 2008-04-18T18:02:05Z Even Mom can get on board with this one!... Brian Moseley http://bcm.maz.org/ Even Mom can get on board with this one!

]]> Today's run: Franklin / Embarcadero / Mission Loop tag:bcm.maz.org,2008://1.57 2008-04-13T20:06:48Z 2008-04-13T20:08:30Z Franklin/Embarcadero/Mission Loop... Brian Moseley http://bcm.maz.org/ Franklin/Embarcadero/Mission Loop]]> Important Life Lesson (xkcd) tag:bcm.maz.org,2008://1.56 2008-03-24T07:16:03Z 2008-03-24T07:22:01Z The song in question for me was Pink Floyd's Saint Tropez.... Brian Moseley http://bcm.maz.org/

The song in question for me was Pink Floyd's Saint Tropez.]]> ist gut ja ? tag:bcm.maz.org,2008://1.55 2008-03-17T07:59:26Z 2008-03-17T08:05:13Z Brian Moseley http://bcm.maz.org/ 00:58 <Mjollnir`> DEAR FRIEND
00:58 <Mjollnir`> WHAT THE SHIT?
00:58 <Mjollnir`> LOVE , BCM]]> RIP Gary Gygax tag:bcm.maz.org,2008://1.54 2008-03-04T20:53:24Z 2008-03-04T20:57:50Z Brian Moseley http://bcm.maz.org/ Gary Gygax passed away this morning. As much shit as I give to RPGers, D&D was my first hobby, and I am still very fond of it. I have been doing my bit to help people around the world get games together since 2002. It's a sad day. Cheers to Gary.
]]> I never said I was a role model tag:bcm.maz.org,2008://1.53 2008-02-23T08:48:26Z 2008-02-23T08:50:12Z Brian Moseley http://bcm.maz.org/
 ]]> Borrow "War and Peace" for your next BART ride tag:bcm.maz.org,2008://1.52 2008-02-21T19:40:23Z 2008-02-21T19:46:16Z Contra Costa County BART stations to get library book vending machines.Every now and then somebody comes up with an idea like this that seems obvious in retrospect. Hopefully they will carry a wider selection than Danielle Steele and The Da... Brian Moseley http://bcm.maz.org/ Contra Costa County BART stations to get library book vending machines.

Every now and then somebody comes up with an idea like this that seems obvious in retrospect. Hopefully they will carry a wider selection than Danielle Steele and The Da Vinci Code. To whom do we talk to get comics in there?
]]> Leveling the Classroom tag:bcm.maz.org,2008://1.51 2008-02-18T23:38:55Z 2008-02-18T23:47:21Z I helped fund this project at an elementary school near Charleston, SC through DonorsChoose.org. A 4th grade literacy teacher needed to put together a class library containing popular modern children's titles. A few days ago I got a package in... Brian Moseley http://bcm.maz.org/ this project at an elementary school near Charleston, SC through DonorsChoose.org. A 4th grade literacy teacher needed to put together a class library containing popular modern children's titles. A few days ago I got a package in the mail with a note from the teacher and some cards from the kids.

Thank you cards from the students

Totally unexpected, and extremely awesome. Apparently some of the kids were nearly fighting over the Harry Potter books :D

Full set here.

ps: I'm so awful at dealing with photos that I can't even make iPhoto work right!]]>