Well, I guess there not.

I was walking past 16th & Mission St when I saw this car. First time I’ve had to take out my new phone and take a photo in a hurry, but managed to get a good snap shot. I guess this guy thought he was being clever:

Living in hippie San Francisco, I keep forgetting that […]

"Invent with Python" Available in Print on Amazon

Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python, 2nd Edition, is now available in print on Amazon.com:

Buy “Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python” on Amazon.com
Of course, the book will still be available online, in full, for free under a Creative Commons license. If you like the book, but don’t/can’t buy the print version, go to […]

Just Let BASIC Die.

If you’d like to hear a boring but heart-warming story, ask a geek about how they learned programming. It’s like the opposite of trolling: you can instantly provoke tearfully-joyous nostalgia out of programmer strangers on the Internet by making this inquiry. Most of these stories will include some form of a programming language called BASIC, […]

"Inserted Left Margin" Browser Bug in IE 6 and 7

I found a weird IE 6 and IE 7 CSS bug a few weeks ago at work. I forget the exact way I found the solution (in other words, it was probably dumb luck), but I haven’t found it described anywhere else on the web. I call it the “inserted left margin” bug for lack […]

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Book Review: "Out of Our Heads: Why You Are Not Your Brain, and Other Lessons from the Biology of Consciousness" by Alva Noe

Interesting, but ultimately disappointing and unconvincing. (2 out of 5 stars)

Noe avoids mystical explanations and the supernatural. He doesn’t put forth souls or the vague appeals to quantum mechanics that are the hallmarks of new age quackery. And while he skates close, he doesn’t present consciousness as just merely a postmodern social construction. “Out of […]

Lessons Learned from Writing a Technical Book to Teach Programming

From 2008 to 2009, I wrote a book called “Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python” ( http://inventwithpython.com ) which guides young adults and complete beginners through learning how to program in the Python language. I’ve just completed the second edition of the book, which has been an exhausting amount of work. Looking back over […]

Second Edition of "Invent with Python" is available!

It’s been a lot of work, but the second edition of “Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python” is now ready. The book’s new website is http://inventwithpython.com
“Invent with Python” is a free book that teaches kids (and adults) how to make computer games in the Python language. It’s aimed at people who have had no […]

5 Ways to Say "Go to Hell"

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Hi, I’m Al. I’m an atheist. I believe that God and gods are superstition and do not exist.
Fear is incredibly useful tool for persuading others to your views. It’s really convincing to tell a population of people that there is an imminent danger that is going to personally affect them, and that you alone […]

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