John Cox

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Interesting

the Guardian

tracking my girlfriend via her cell phone

This article demonstrates how easily anyone with brief physical access to a mobile phone can install location-tracking software that works invisibly—the phone shows no alerts or traces of the tracking, yet the tracker can pinpoint the device's location within 150 yards and monitor movements continuously. The author, a journalist, installed such tracking on his girlfriend's phone (with her permission "in principle") by simply registering her phone on a commercial GSM tracking website, paying £5, and deleting the warning text messages that appeared on her phone. The piece serves as a warning that mobile phone companies could monetize location data through these services, and anyone—not just authorities—might already be secretly tracking you if they've had five minutes alone with your phone.

Permalink technologyprivacysecurityinternet

www.autohausaz.com

blog.guykawasaki.com

The Art of Execution

Guy Kawasaki's "The Art of Execution" offers practical guidance on moving from fundraising success to actual business execution, arguing that entrepreneurs must set specific, measurable, relevant, and "rathole-resistant" goals with clear accountability rather than vague aspirations. The piece serves as both a startup manual and a corrective for organizations that have lost focus, emphasizing that getting the money is only the beginning—the harder work of disciplined execution and goal-setting follows.

Permalink productivityleadershipadvicebusiness

www.ultrize.com

incompetech.com

eugeneciurana.com

Sushi Eating HOWTO

This guide teaches Western sushi novices proper etiquette and ordering conventions for enjoying authentic sushi at a Japanese sushi bar (sushiya). It emphasizes that sushi is fundamentally fast food meant to be eaten at the bar in conversation with the chef and other patrons, ordering one or two pieces at a time and eating methodically to appreciate subtle flavors and textures. The author also covers how to identify quality establishments (small bars with fresh fish displays and Japanese clientele), what types of sushi to order and in what sequence, proper techniques for eating and using condiments, and the medicinal properties of wasabi and similar ingredients.

Permalink foodcultureinternetdining

OpenID Foundation - Helping people assert their identity wherever they choose

paulgraham.com

How to Do What You Love

Graham argues that finding work you love is essential for both happiness and excellence, yet most people are systematically misled about this possibility through childhood education that frames work as tedium, social pressures to pursue prestigious careers, and financial anxieties that push them toward money over passion. He distinguishes between two viable paths—the "organic route" of pursuing what you love directly, and the riskier "two-job route" of working for money while building toward your passion on the side—and emphasizes that the ability to produce concrete work and resist prestige are key tests for discovering what you truly want to do. The essay concludes that while finding such work is genuinely difficult and often takes decades, recognizing it as possible and maintaining awareness of what genuinely appeals to you, rather than what you think you should want, significantly improves your odds.

Permalink philosophyadviceeducationbusiness

GarrettDimon.com

Garrett Dimon / The Time is Now for Front-End Architects

Front-end development has become sufficiently complex—spanning HTML, CSS, JavaScript, accessibility, usability, and integration with backend systems—that most teams need a dedicated front-end architect rather than leaving these concerns to either backend engineers or markup-only developers. The author argues that current enterprise frameworks like ASP.Net and Websphere demonstrate the consequences of treating frontend technologies as an afterthought, producing substandard markup and failing to separate concerns properly. True front-end architects must understand both client-side and backend technologies well enough to make informed decisions about implementation approaches and communicate effectively with engineers across the stack.

Permalink designarchitectureadvice

www.to-done.com

Tips for getting to sleep faster & sleeping better

Josh describes his lifelong struggle with racing thoughts that keep him awake for hours despite not having clinical insomnia, then offers six practical remedies he's collected and tested. The advice ranges from avoiding screens thirty minutes before bed (because their light mimics daylight) to drinking milk for its tryptophan content, going to bed only when genuinely tired, reserving the bed primarily for sleep, practicing meditation or progressive muscle relaxation, and exercising during daytime rather than evening.

Permalink healthwellnesssleepadvice

LA Cafe

Home-made FLOAM

This piece provides guidance on selecting a qualified remodeling contractor for home renovation projects, emphasizing the importance of vetting professionals carefully to ensure successful outcomes whether undertaking kitchen, bathroom, or whole-home updates. The second excerpt describes the West Midlands as a tourist destination highlighting its museums, galleries, and historical sites that blend cultural heritage with modern attractions.

Permalink diytutorial

news.com.com

juicystudio.com

Juicy Studio: Example Luminosity Contrast Ratios

This reference page presents luminosity contrast ratios for all web-safe colors displayed against a black (#000) background, helping designers verify whether color combinations meet WCAG accessibility standards for readability. The table includes not only the contrast ratio for each foreground color but also brightness and hue differences, with icons indicating whether each combination passes AA or AAA accessibility levels for regular or large text. The highest contrast ratios occur with bright colors like white, cyan, and yellow (reaching 21.00 for white text on black), while dark colors like #003 produce minimal contrast and fail accessibility requirements.

Permalink designaccessibilitycolor

Etsy

Wink

Wink

This is marketing material for Wink, a smart home hub platform that consolidates control of devices from multiple brands (Nest, GE, Philips, Honeywell) into a single app. The service offers automation features called "Robots" that let different devices trigger each other (like unlocking a door triggering lights to turn on) and "Shortcuts" for controlling multiple devices simultaneously. Wink's main pitch is simplifying the fragmented smart home landscape by allowing different manufacturers' products to communicate and work together through one interface.

Permalink technologydesignsmart homehome

CodeWalkers: Practical AI Coding and Programming Guides

codewalkers.com - php tutorials - Overlapping Images with GD - PHP Help

CodeWalkers organizes its archive of PHP and web development tutorials into intentional learning paths rather than isolated reference pages, emphasizing that each step builds on previous ones so developers understand how features integrate rather than copying standalone snippets. The PHP track progresses from basic dynamic sites through MySQL, search, and finally APIs—an order that matters because earlier lessons establish the request shape and database boundaries that later features must respect. The guide recommends starting with foundational references (PDO, SQL, security, authentication) before diving into project tutorials, and it clarifies which layer you're actually learning at each moment—whether the challenge is really PHP, SQL, HTML/CSS, APIs, or DevOps—so you can follow the right path instead of trying to absorb everything at once.

Permalink developmenttutorial

Markmonitor