Looking Back at eThreads
January 15, 2012 by Eric Richardson
Eric Richardson
From 1998 to 2006, my history as a programmer can be traced by one application: eThreads. Originally a forum package intended to be a database-backed replacement for HyperNews, I quickly started to work on turning the code into a more generic CMS platform. — Continue Reading...
Getting over the hump with Node
January 12, 2012 by Eric Richardson
It can be funny learning a new language or framework sometimes—you know exactly what you want the code to do, but just completely lack the basics you need to be able to get started on your ideas.
I certainly remember feeling that way with my early experimentations in Ruby on Rails, almost exactly six years ago. It took several dives into projects before I came to terms with the fact that a) I hadn't bothered to actually learn Ruby first and b) that sometimes my ideas needed to give into doing things the framework's way instead of my own.
Over the last few months I've had that same experience with Node.js. — Continue Reading...
Introducing AssetGallery
January 03, 2012 by Eric Richardson
I signed up for a Flickr account in January of 2005. Over the next six years I uploaded 8,700 photos, starting with things like trip pictures and shots from around L.A. and gradually ending up using it mostly for photos intended for blogdowntown.
I stopped using the site a year ago, though, after implementing a system in the blogdowntown code that could handle uploads locally. I took that code with me to KPCC, creating the basis of the system that we've since released as AssetHost.
This weekend I took the time to start a project that would bring my photo needs full-circle: a gallery application based on AssetHost that could archive those old sets that I had uploaded to Flickr in the past. The result is AssetGallery, and while it's a long way from finished, the project makes for a good summation of what I'm interested in right now in terms of things like Ruby on Rails, mountable engines, CoffeeScript and Backbone. — Continue Reading...
Sights from Australia: Melbourne
December 31, 2011 by Eric Richardson
After three days in Sydney, Kathy and I took a short flight down the coast to Melbourne. We spent a week there, visiting Kathy's sister Laura and letting her introduce us to the city. — Continue Reading...
Sights from Australia: Sydney
December 30, 2011 by Eric Richardson
Kathy and I returned yesterday from ten days in Australia, where we spent three days in Sydney and a week in Melbourne.
It was my second trip down under, but my first with a digital camera. Whereas last time around I returned with just a handful of stills from a point-and-shoot APS-C and a fair amount of poorly-taken video on miniDV, this time Kathy and I combined to take 718 photos. Of those, 161 got tagged as ones that she wanted. Many of those are now on her Facebook, but I thought I'd grab a few of my favorites to post here. — Continue Reading...