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Today I started learning Javascript. This isn't the first time I've tried but I think I'll do it for real this time. Previously I only learned as much as I needed to plug in someone else's script. I also tried to read O'Reilly's "Learning Javascript" but got bored with it. It's an informative book but the writing isn't compelling.

I met a fellow consultant today who said he'd give my contact info to a friend of his who is getting more work than he can handle. He also said that with my existing experience, I should get into DevOps. I'd had the impression that that was more for junior developers but he asserted it was for senior people like me.

My existing website Portland Software Development and Consulting is quite spartan. I had the idea that the simple "design" would associate me with the experts, but an older, wiser colleague says that I should make it more attractive. I plan to use my Javascript to implement responsive design, that is, to make the same pages work well on mobile devices, desktops and laptops.

Just now I added "DevOps" to my list of services, and "JavaScript" to my list of languages. I also moved Python closer to the head of the list. I don't really know JS or DevOps yet but expect I will by the time they show up in the search engines.

I learn best by doing; today someone recommended I learn just a little bit of JS from the tutorials, then Google for everything else I need to do. To that end I am writing Conway's Game of Life in Javascript. It's not online yet, not until I get it actually doing something, but what little I've done so far has taught me a few things.

The consultant I spoke to today took me very seriously. That felt good, real good - though I didn't tell him I was homeless. I don't really look homeless, I try to keep my appearance professional. I don't always succeed but that's what I aim for.

There is an abundance of media and content available online, and in meatspace. This website contributes, and everyone on this site is a part of that. There are 15 stories this site will publish today, none I have touched. We will likely see several hundred comments and dozens of discussions. Many comments will be insightful or interesting, others will be funny, some will be less well received. There will be a small handful of journals like this one.

I try to contribute positively to this site. Perhaps not as much as I could or should, but I would rather do it well and have a constructive experience. When editing stories, I genuinely try to keep a wide scope of interests considered and choose quality submissions. These may not be the most commented on, but my intention is to publish content that is informative or interesting regardless of my own perspective on the subject.

However, most of the content I see and consume is certainly more of the entertainment variety. This is very different from the attitude I have on this site.

I would love to create content that is entertaining, having been in various bands and musical projects for many years in my teens and early 20's. I don't have any concern really over the number of people that would or have seen and enjoyed the music or other content. Some of my favorite musicians have extremely small audiences and short 'careers', it's about the art and expression, creating something from the imagination. It's still sad to see quality music being ignored regardless.

This is the problem. I'd much rather make serious content, to borrow a phrase 'stuff that matters'. People can and do make art and entertaining content far better than I could.

The state of journalism in the entire world is a shambles. There are so many events that need reviewing, context is always missing, contradictory reports are ignored. Every outlet with any reach with full-time 'journalists' are under the control of commercial interests and/or an incoherent bureaucratic mess of government oversight, perhaps wrapped in the guise of independence from government. There are people, by themselves and working with others to improve the situation. The work of people like Tom Secker[1] and Pearse Redmond[2] are quite outstanding examples of independent research and journalism on very important events. The community here seems to be trying. We don't have a big community though, much like Tom and Pearse, the shared perspectives rarely travel beyond a small community.

Options are available to even make a living from writing, I could do it tomorrow. But, I would be writing press releases and other commercial content generation for 'mainstream' consumption. It's not impossible to get work reporting on and for the public sector or political institutions. I can interpret the data, word things however you want to misrepresent it, or direct emphasis to the irrelevant, but that doesn't mean it's a worthwhile or constructive way to spend time and other resources.

Thankfully i've found myself in the situation where my employment is quite flexible, it's very hard work often, but I am not beholden to an employer. I have my morals and ethics and do business a certain way, which is honesty, there is no game. Working for multinationals and smaller companies who are staffed by people with no moral compass, intentionally or by process, i've been there. It's something I can't tolerate or be involved in anymore. A cog in the machine is not the place for me.

There are so many people now, more than ever creating art and writing for a living or as a major part of their lives. Perhaps now just the human experience. I don't feel like I really need to be a part of it, i'd like to spend my energy on the more tangible. It could be amazing, doing something i'm passionate about on a more spiritual sense, being able to focus on the creativity or reporting on current events.

In an ideal world, i'd love to do it all. Entertain, inform and build, be productive. Now though, I don't feel like i'm doing any of that.

The opportunities are numerous, but the downsides are immense. None of the opportunities, which would keep food on my plate, are actually positively contributing to society. Forgetting the aforementioned issues with 'writing' for a living. I can build more houses through subcontracting based on debt [public/private/foreign], for people to buy with more debt, to make sure house prices keep going up so the average home in London costs £1,000,000 by 2020 but the average wage stays around the £25,000 mark. Or it's build a broker/service company, with long winded service contracts and subcontractor agreements to extract as much money as possible from clients and contractors with as minimal obligation, none of it direct, all wrapped up in a nice advertising campaign of bullshit.

It's not about government regulation, it's about systemic corruption of government and the quarterly report obsessed private sector distorting any sense of fair trade and any semblance of actual investigative journalism or reporting. The regulations on smaller businesses don't actually matter as much. The access to discretionary enforcement of the regulations, minimal/zero risk access to multi-million funding, government grants and tailored projects for the 'big' everything. That's before we get onto the just straight up misinformation people in marketing and sales tell as part of their jobs. That's getting closer to the core of the problem.

Back a little more on topic before this hits a thousand words… Bearing all this in mind, I'm lost as to what to do. I'd love to contribute more to this site, it would be a dream to write every day. But really, shouldn't I be building homes for people, not houses for a bank? Shouldn't I be growing food for myself and my neighbors rather than installing some ambient lighting systems in a Michelin star restaurant?

The opportunity is there to make a positive contribution to society, but how can I find a direction?

[1] Tom Secker's work can be found at:
Spy Culture
Investigating the Terror
Boiling Frogs Post
[2] Pearse Redmond's work can be found at:
Porkins Policy Review

I'll have "some word" in a day or two about my housing. My mental health clinic has six slots, I'm #1 on the clinic's list, but some entirely different agency is determining whether I qualify.

However I don't even remember how many times I've been in the psych hospital in the last five years. In October 2010 I totalled my beloved Chevy Prizm in a 100 MPH suicide attempt. I'm also not real sure how many times I've been in jail.

Washington is starting to follow Utah's "Housing First" strategy which is predicated on that it is far cheaper to house the homeless than to put us in jail.

If I get housing, my understanding is that it will be in Vancouver's Lincoln Place, which is a brand-new, five million dollar apartment building. Housing just me all by my lonesome has already set the government back $120,000.

Really I would be completely cool to continue living in a tent, were it not that someone slashed up my tent with a knife, then tried to steal my new guitar.

WHILE I WAS SLEEPING IN THE TENT.

I grabbed what I could carry with me then split the scene completely.

I stashed that stuff at a friend's house, and will go back tomorrow in hopes that the other stuff is still there; mostly clothes, also a pair of running shoes. My leather Clark's have a two-inch tear where the upper of my right shoe meets the sole; Dorian's Shoe Repair says they can fix it for fifteen bucks, mom will cover the cost but I'll need some other shoes to wear until I get the Clark's back.

If my other shoes have been ripped off, I have a really nice pair of work boots in my storage locker.

Someone from Social Security called my mother regarding my SSI claim, but wanted to know my phone number. Mom wouldn't give it to them but she emailed me the clerk's number. I'm puzzled they didn't already have it, but maybe they tried to call me a month ago when my phone was out of minutes.

SSI takes "60 to 90 days" to approve; 90 days would be Real Soon Now. If I get it, that would be a little over $700 per month; $210 of it - 30% - would be paid for my housing, but I only have to pay if I actually have income.

As far as I know my consulting contract will still happen, but it's been delayed while their other coders figure out some manner of problem. The client and I have been exchanging occasional emails, as they ask technical questions and I answer them.

They all strike me as good people, but I'm concerned that the problem their other coders face could be insurmountable. In that case not just I but my client would be SOL.

I'm sorry I can't give any details as I am under NDA. I expect I can tell you that I'd be writing a driver that has to do with storage.

Wait, what?

Alex Jones: Banning order for fan who tweeted he loved presenter

A fan who bombarded the BBC's Alex Jones with tweets declaring he was in love with her has been banned from any contact with the Welsh TV presenter.

Shane Goldsmith sent the 38-year-old One Show star a string of messages for 17 months and waited outside the BBC's headquarters to tell her he loved her.

A judge imposed a restraining order which also bars him from the BBC's New Broadcasting House in central London.

Mr Goldsmith, 44, was formally cleared of a single charge of harassment.

In late January, someone got into my tent while I was away for the day
and stole the Bluetooth Headphones that Mom gave me for Christmas,
also my guitar. That really hurt.

I posted about the burglary on Facebook. Adam Kravitz and Ren Autrey,
two formerly homeless people who work to help the homeless, arranged
for some complete stranger to give me a guitar absolutely free. It's
a real nice guitar.

Day before yesterday someone slashed my tent with a knife - the way it
was cut it was clear it was done with a knife. But they didn't get
inside the tent itself.

Yesterday morning when I was asleep, they came back and slashed open
another side of the tent, reached through and grabbed that new guitar.
I woke up and shouted some bad words. They dropped the guitar then
ran away.

I had a bunch of food stolen at my first camp overlooking the
Columbia. I don't feel safe anywhere.

I decided to abandon my tent. I packed what I could in my backpack
then went downtown and emailed my friend Rod Schmidt, to ask if I
could stash some of my stuff at his house. I haven't heard back from
him yet but I expect he'll be OK with it. If he is, I'm going to go
back to what's left of my tent for a second load.

Last night I won the lottery to get a bed at the Portland Rescue
Mission. That was nice, I also got a hot shower and was able to
shave, but I have to enter the lottery every evening - I won't always
get a bed.

If I have to stay up all night on the streets, I can sleep during the
day at Right 2 Dream Too, more commonly known as "The Tent Camp".
It's a homeless shelter operated by the homeless themselves. The city
tried to run them out for illegal camping, R2D2 sued the city - I
don't know just what for - and the city settled on the condition that
R2D2 move to the other side of the Willamette from Oldtown. However,
R2D2 hasn't yet moved.

I'm expecting to get housing at Lincoln Place in Vancouver soon, it
will be a small studio apartment with a private bathroom and a
kitchenette. It's a new building, it is expected to open in a couple
weeks. My mental health clinic told me they have six slots, and that
I am the first in line.

I actually enjoyed living in a tent but I don't feel that there's
anywhere that I could camp that I would be safe.

I'm expecting to get a software consulting contract soon. There has
been a two week delay on its start, which has me very anxious but as
far as I can tell the clients still want me to do the job. Their
other engineers are working to solve some technical problem, I would
use their same solution to this problem so I need to wait until they
fix it.

The contract would pay really well. Not enough that I could live
independently but it would give me the cash I would require to
advertise my consultancy. I'm planning to send direct mail - junk
mail - to software companies around Portland, Vancouver and Seattle.
Each "piece" will include a trifold brochure, a cover letter and a
business card. I already have the list of companies, having compiled
it while I was searching for a job.

It is upsetting to me that the burglar ran me out of my home, but even
so, I am uninjured, and today is a beautiful day here in Portland. I
won't let it get me down.

'Armani Communist' divides China

When Liu Bo attended a regional communist party event as the official ambassador of local students it wasn't his youthful demeanour which made the biggest impression.

Nor was it the remarks which the 14-year-old made to the Shenzhen People's Political Consultative Conference, calling for the greater use of non-exam based assessments in the Chinese education system.
What made people stare, and what rapidly become a major topic of conversation as photos of Liu spread across Chinese social media this week, was what he was wearing.

Around his neck was a red scarf of the type worn by Chairman Mao's Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution and now standard issue wear for the Communist Party Youth League. But Liu had paired that with what was taken to be an Armani suit, because of the lapel badge he was wearing with the distinctive logo of the Italian luxury brand.

In the eyes of many Chinese observers this was not so much a wardrobe malfunction as a clash of ideologies in a single outfit. Some on China's micro blogging platform Weibo dubbed Liu the "Armani Youngster" and attacked his choice of clothing.

PM left red nosed by censorship protest

When Malaysian police warned activist and graphic designer Fahmi Reza that his Twitter account was under surveillance after he posted an image of the prime minister, Najib Razak, as a clown, they probably hoped such behaviour would stop.

But then members of an art collective, Grupa posted even more clownish images of the premier to express their solidarity with him and to champion the ideal of free speech.

The pictures have spread across social media with the hashtag #KitaSemuaPenghasut which translates as "we are all seditious".

Fahmi's mockery of the prime minister was part of a wider reaction to news last week, when the country's attorney-general cleared Mr Najib of any corruption relating to a long-running financial scandal.

too-lazy-to-sub dept.

James Reinders: Parallelism Has Crossed a Threshold

Is the parallel everything era here? What happens when you can assume parallel cores? In the second half of our in-depth interview, Intel’s James Reinders discusses the fading out of single-core machines and the ramifications of the democratization of parallel computing, remarking “we don’t need to worry about single-core processors anymore and that’s pretty significant in the world of programming for this next decade.” Other topics covered include the intentions behind OpenHPC and trends to watch in 2016.

First half: A Conversation with James Reinders

I took a shower this morning. I really needed one - I was getting pretty ripe.

Rather more significant is that I was waiting for the light rail, which was to come in eight minutes. I used that time to practice my guitar, also for a few minutes while waiting to transfer to a bus.

When I got to the homeless day center in Vancouver, a friend said that I was looking really good. I don't think it was just the shower but my entire demeanor. I go there to practice on their upright piano, but the last few times I went there, practicing just seemed like too much trouble. Not today - I practiced and I enjoyed it.

My next step is to wash my clothes and O do my clothes need washing. I'm not so bad now that I've showered but with the right wind conditions I can smell my own clothes. I have the choice to wash in the mornings in return for thirty minutes of "barter points" - typically sweeping the Portland day center floor - or in the afternoon for $1.50. It's my plan to sing on the street tomorrow, to raise the $1.50 for the laundry, also a couple bucks for coffee.

Today I feel - at long last - that my antidepressant is working to full effect.

I received a strange note, made of cut up magazines pasted to paper and slipped under my door. It read “Your muse has been kidnapped. If you want her back, meet under the Facebook Street Bridge after dark. Bring your wallet, passport, and an umbrella.”
        Crap, my muse was gone? I looked, and sure enough it was missing. It's really important to me, so I got my passport, made sure my wallet was in my pocket, and took an umbrella, even though the weatherman said there was no chance of rain. I went to the bridge around sunset and waited.
        The weatherman was wrong. As I waited under the bridge it started pouring. A little after dark a black limousine pulled up, and the rear door opened. “Get in,” a woman's voice said. I did.
        A mean looking short haired blonde in the front passenger seat was pointing a very large black handgun at me. “You're not Neo,” the skinny dark haired girl in the back said accusingly.
        “Me?” I replied, scared to death. Or scared of death, maybe. “No, I'm mcgrew, I don't know any Neo. I'm missing some property and someone said to wait under this bridge and I could get it back.”
        “Oh,” said the blonde, putting the gun away. “Morpheus said to give you this,” and handed my muse to me!
        I put my muse in my jacket and started to open the door. The blonde had her gun out again. “Fifty bucks, asshole!”
        I gave her two twenties and a ten. “Why was I told to bring a passport?” I asked. The dark haired skinny girl laughed. “Morpheous was just fucking with you. Now get out!”
        I still can't figure out what that was all about...

So, looks like the 16.02 site upgrade is mostly going to be a features upgrade rather than a bugfix upgrade, though there's some of that as well. There's one thing going in that there's an outside chance may annoy some people though: the new mobile layout. To be very clear on this, the mobile layout will be served to anyone with a horizontal screen (not browser window) resolution of 800 pixels or less. The only way you'll see it on your desktop is if you're still running 800x600 or lower resolution, in which case you really should get with the whole 21st century technology thing.

We're going to be doing the site upgrade the first weekend of February but if you want to give it a look early head over to https://dev.soylentnews.org/ and have a look around. Bear in mind we ain't foisting beta code on you lot with this, we're foisting pre-alpha code that took all of maybe half an hour to do up on you. This is not what the finished product will look like, it's just something to make life easier on mobile users while we write up something that doesn't suck. If it sucks too hard and you all bitch that you want the old layout back though, it's a matter of minutes to fix and revert until we have something worth calling a proper mobile interface.

Let me know what you think here.