E-Scribe News : a programmer’s blog

About Me

PBX My name is Paul Bissex, and e-scribe.com is my consulting business. I build web applications using as much open source software as possible. From September to June I teach web design and other important non-photographic professional skills to photographers. In the '90s I wrote technology commentary and reviews for magazines, newspapers, and web publications, including Wired, Salon.com, FamilyPC, the late lamented Web Review, and the Chicago Tribune. Feel free to email me.

Book

Python Web Development with Django I'm co-author of "Python Web Development with Django", an excellent guide to my favorite web framework. Its strong points include an introduction to Python, and better coverage of Django 1.0 than nearly anybody else. Published by Addison-Wesley, it is available from Amazon and your favorite technical bookstore as well.

Colophon

This runs on Django, served by Apache and mod_python. The database is SQLite. The operating system is FreeBSD, on a VPS hosted at Johncompanies.com. Comment-spam protection by Akismet. Vintage topo imagery from the Maptech archive. The markup engine is Markdown.

Pile o'Tags

ajax apple blogs browsers business design django ebay fp fun google hardware haskell intellectual property iphone javascript linux media mobile open source os x oscon oscon2007 palm php programming python rails rants reading risks ruby site spam textmate the well tips tools unix vcs web development web frameworks webservers wmassdevs

Stuff I Use

Akismet, del.icio.us, Django, dpaste.com, Emacs, FreeBSD, Freenode, jQuery, LaunchBar, MacPorts, Markdown, Mercurial, OS X, Postfix, Python, SQLite, Subversion, TextMate, Trac, Ubuntu Linux, wmii

Spam Report

At least 58965 pieces of comment spam killed since January 2008, mostly via Akismet.

Podcasting Antipatterns

I periodically go searching for new tech-related podcasts to make my commute-time more edifying, interesting, or amusing. I'll admit right up front that I'm picky -- the only one I find myself returning to consistently is LugRadio, which I know is not everyone's cup of tea. But I'm not looking for "Bob's Gadget News". Anyway, content aside, there are some production and style problems that have turned me off to so many podcasts that I've come to view them as established antipatterns.

Here's my current list. Please feel free to expand on it in the comments.

Sunday, April 1st, 2007
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5 comments

Some related posts: Podcasts I actually like
• Comment from dmoore , later that day

Good post. I have never listened to a podcast. After reading your list of amusing apologies I'm not inclined to start.

• Comment from Paul , later that day

There are good ones, too! It's just like any other kind of low-barrier-to-entry media -- there are a lot of people figuring it out as they go. Nothing wrong with that. Mostly I just wish people would get down to what they actually have to say. Most of my list is about people getting distracted by uninteresting meta stuff.

• Comment from xian , 1 day later

Excellent. The "I Must Apologize for Not Making a Podcast in Several (Days|Weeks|Months)" carries over as a corollary from blogging, where likewise I don't give a shit if you haven't blogged in three months. If I care, I'll find your new stuff.

• Comment from dmoore , 1 day later

on your advice I tried out LUG radio. not bad, but they could afford to edit down the show to about 60 mins.

any others worth trying?

• Comment from Paul , 1 day later

Yes, it does get a bit long sometimes...

I have a few others worth mentioning, so I've gone ahead and made a new post on the subject.

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