WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:18.776 The Weekly Thing, issue 11. Weekly Thing for July 22, twenty seventeen. Published July 22, twenty seventeen. By Jamie Thingelstad. In this issue: Cosette database, serverless hosting comparison, GitHub diversity report, GhostCtrl Android backdoor, Quilt data package manager, Trump Twitter lawsuit. 00:00:19.376 --> 00:00:29.500 I had a crazy busy week, all good stuff. It felt like an accomplishment to get to Saturday morning! I’m due for multiple weekly reviews in a row to get back on track. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:44.468 Our daughter was at camp all week and the whole family missed her. I’m sure she had a great time, and I can’t wait to hear the stories from camp, but what they say about parenting "the days are long and the years are fast" is very true. 00:00:45.868 --> 00:00:47.179 Now, the Photog section. 00:00:47.779 --> 00:01:02.849 This week our book club went to one of our members cabin for our meeting and had a pleasant evening boat ride to talk about epigenetics! The sunset was gorgeous! This is the kind of thing that makes Minnesota (and even a little of Wisconsin) great. 00:01:03.349 --> 00:01:07.494 July 20, twenty seventeen, 8:15 PM Wapogasset Lake, WI. 00:01:08.894 --> 00:01:10.225 That's the end of Photog. 00:01:11.625 --> 00:01:12.864 Now, the Links section. 00:01:13.464 --> 00:01:18.134 Link one. Introducing Cosette, University of Washington Database Group, Medium. 00:01:18.634 --> 00:01:28.585 This looks like a very powerful tool to analyze SQL queries, particularly when you are optimizing for performance. This seems like it would be extremely difficult to write. 00:01:29.485 --> 00:01:34.182 Link two. How to Make a Strategic, Value-Driven Business Case for Your DevOps… 00:01:34.682 --> 00:01:58.357 Good article focusing on connecting DevOps principles to business drivers. Good reading for technical folks trying to sell the business value of infrastructure work in general. The section on the board of directors is a bit odd to me though. How the work is executed is rarely a board discussion (and is almost always bad if it is), but the values may bubble up to that level of priority. 00:01:59.257 --> 00:02:02.536 Link three. Serverless Hosting Comparison, headmelted. 00:02:03.036 --> 00:02:07.884 Nice overview of serverless (cloud function) offerings from various providers. 00:02:08.784 --> 00:02:11.535 Link four. The GitHub Diversity Report, GitHub. 00:02:12.035 --> 00:02:29.857 second Diversity Report from GitHub. I like to keep an eye on what tech companies are doing in this area. Diversity and inclusion is a big problem in tech and it starts with getting a handle on the data. Sharing selective data publicly is also a good way to move the tech ecosystem. 00:02:30.757 --> 00:02:33.494 Link five. Micro.blog + Facebook, Manton Reece. 00:02:33.994 --> 00:03:01.882 I’m a Kickstarter backer of Micro.blog and all of my status updates are sent using the Micro.blog service. Micro.blog started with syndicating content to Twitter and it has now added Facebook. This does allow for an IndieWeb principle of owning and hosting your content and then send it into the locked garden of Facebook. It’s certainly a better way to engage with Facebook, but it’s not changing my mind about being part of that community. 00:03:02.782 --> 00:03:04.134 Link six. Webmention.io. 00:03:04.634 --> 00:03:12.574 Quote. Webmention.io is a hosted service created to easily handle webmentions (and legacy pingbacks) on any web page. End quote. 00:03:13.074 --> 00:03:27.568 This is a handy service for static websites that want to catch references from other sites. WordPress natively handles these but static websites cannot, without something like this. I added this to my site so I can capture web mentions. 00:03:28.468 --> 00:03:29.464 Link seven. Tufte CSS. 00:03:29.964 --> 00:03:47.973 I had seen a Tufte Jekyll theme that I really liked but it supported Google AMP and I refuse to be part of that. It’s great to see Tufte CSS now as a standalone CSS bundle that can be used independent of the things around it. Created by Dave Liepmann and now contributed directly to Edward Tufte. 00:03:48.873 --> 00:03:54.748 Link eight. Daring Fireball: Public Service Announcement: You Should Not Force Quit Apps on iOS. 00:03:55.248 --> 00:04:08.592 I have been known to interrupt people while using their phones and explain to them that they do not need to force quit applications. This will be my new URL to send people to explain why that is a bad practice. 00:04:09.492 --> 00:04:19.173 Link nine. TrendLabs Security Intelligence BlogAndroid Backdoor GhostCtrl can Silently Record Your Audio, Video, and More, TrendLabs Security Intelligence Blog. 00:04:19.673 --> 00:04:33.304 The general state of security in the Android ecosystem is really worrisome. While people can argue the other areas of mobile OS's with some debate, I don't know of anyone that suggests Android has a good position on security. 00:04:34.204 --> 00:04:39.882 Link ten. Long-awaited St. Croix bridge is feat of engineering, political will, StarTribune.com. 00:04:40.382 --> 00:04:54.950 I've seen this bridge recently and it’s very nice looking. It strikes me as something that will immediately become part of the normal, even though it was fought and argued for decades. I had no idea it was only the second bridge of this type! 00:04:55.850 --> 00:04:58.491 Link eleven. Quilt is a data package manager. 00:04:58.991 --> 00:05:04.317 Very cool Python package to bring data sets to do analysis with. This is a great idea! 00:05:05.217 --> 00:05:08.886 Link twelve. Twitter users sue Donald Trump for excluding them. 00:05:09.386 --> 00:05:29.201 What a crazy set of intersecting legal questions! Can the President of the United States block a citizen from reading what he says publicly? Even more interesting is the Terms of Service coming into play. “Trump’s account is a stream of communication that’s wholly owned by Twitter”, Mr Feldman writes. How crazy is that? 00:05:30.601 --> 00:05:31.848 That's the end of Links. 00:05:33.248 --> 00:05:35.493 Now, the Highlighted iOS App section. 00:05:36.093 --> 00:05:38.887 Drafts - Quickly Capture Notes, Share Anywhere! 00:05:39.387 --> 00:05:40.491 by Agile Tortoise. 00:05:40.991 --> 00:05:45.671 Drafts, where text starts. Quickly capture text and send it almost anywhere! 00:05:46.171 --> 00:06:30.300 I have had Drafts for a long time but I've never really "got it". I kept looking at it because a number of people that are very focused on iOS productivity work use it extensively. It was even highlighted as an amazing Apple Watch app which seemed odd since it is completely around text entry, something the Apple Watch barely even does! I have dove in in recent weeks and have had several "a ha!" moments with Drafts and can confirm that with dictation it is indeed a very useful Apple Watch app, even earning a spot as a complication on my workday watch face! It is worth taking the time to understand this app and see how it can tie into your workflows. The tagline is exactly right, this is "where text starts"! 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:33.867 4 dollars and 99 cents 4.5/5 stars. 00:06:35.267 --> 00:06:37.486 That's the end of Highlighted iOS App. 00:06:38.886 --> 00:06:40.892 Now, the Microblog updates section. 00:06:41.492 --> 00:06:50.767 First, I’m trying out the eero plus security service and got my first weekly report. Says it blocked 48 malware and 5 spyware connections. Hmm… 00:06:51.267 --> 00:06:57.147 Second, got jekyll-redirect-from setup and can now support some widely used old URL’s on my site. 00:06:57.647 --> 00:07:01.305 Third, the New Standards at Dakota Jazz Club tonight. So good! 00:07:01.805 --> 00:07:08.472 Fourth, placed my US Internet order for 1G fiber! Plan to be in my neighborhood this fall! Help is on they way! 00:07:08.972 --> 00:07:10.720 Fifth, M.… N.… UFC! M.… N.… UFC! M.… N.… UFC! 00:07:11.220 --> 00:07:14.113 Sixth, gorgeous night for some MN United soccer! 00:07:14.613 --> 00:07:17.628 Seventh, amos Lee show at the Minnesota Zoo tonight. 00:07:18.128 --> 00:07:24.507 Eighth, oh no, my wife has started to obsessively look at new houses. There is no way to stop this train! 00:07:25.007 --> 00:07:29.901 Ninth, woman shot by Minneapolis police last night less than a mile from our house. 00:07:30.401 --> 00:07:33.311 Tenth, I’m sure there is a prop somewhere in those weeds! 00:07:33.811 --> 00:07:35.664 Number 11, go fly a kite. (All line out!). 00:07:36.164 --> 00:07:38.488 Number 12, so close! Shut the box. 00:07:38.988 --> 00:07:42.607 Number 13, boat ride is a nice escape on a hot, hot day. 00:07:44.007 --> 00:07:46.213 That's the end of Microblog updates. 00:07:46.713 --> 00:07:53.786 Thank you for subscribing to the Weekly Thing! If you know of people that would like the Weekly Thing please forward it along! 00:07:55.186 --> 00:08:01.524 That brings us to the end of the Weekly Thing, issue 11. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time.