Author: Chris

Children Should Not Be Shackled

“D.C. Public Defender Andrew Crespo remembers a 2011 case where his client, who was 8 at the time, was led into the courtroom in 2-pound restraints. The boy, who weighed about 60 pounds, sat in a chair with his feet dangling. Prosecutors said the boy allegedly touched a little girl inappropriately at his birthday party hours earlier and he was arrested for sexual assault. Before the hearing, Crespo said, his client kept whispering: “My mommy said I can still have my birthday cake. I can still have my cake, right?” Crespo recalled. The charges were later dropped.”

Jesus. This hit really close to home. My daughter is 8 and I could see her acting very similar. Haunting to imagine your own child in that situation. Maybe I should become a public defender.

The groups working to correct this overreaching and repugnant behavior are the National Juvenile Defender Center, D.C. Lawyers for Youth and the D.C. Public Defender Service.

Smart Albums for iPad Air Screenshots

A few years ago I wrote this tip on creating Smart Albums for your iPhone or iPad screenshots. I’m a big screenshot taker. I use them for keeping track of UI problems with projects I’m working on and even as a quick “note” to look into something later.

The problem is sorting the screenshots out from the rest of my 80 billion photos in my library. I use Aperture (yes, me and two other people) and created this Smart Album to sort out my screenshots from my iPad Air. You can probably adopt the logic for other devices as well.

Screen Shot 2014-08-22 at 4.04.59 PM

Basically it looks for files that match all of the following:

  • Text starts with “IMG_” – standard filename prefix for iOS device screenshots.
  • Pixel height and width is between 1,536 and 2,048 – this allows for both portrait and landscape screenshots to be returned
  • Camera Model is empty – pretty much all of my other images are photos from cameras that record their model. iOS devices do not store a value for “Camera Model” in their EXIF data.
  • File Type is other – no RAW or jpegs showing up here!

If you have suggestions or modifications, please let me know in the comments below.

“I asked several reporters, editors, and scholars what journalists should do to get ready for the next wave of firings. There were three strong consensus answers: first, get good at understanding and presenting data. Second, understand how social media can work as a newsroom tool. Third, get whatever newsroom experience you can working in teams, and in launching new things.”

 

The intennable Clay Shirky on the “uncertain” future of print journalism. Spoiler alert: it’s not uncertain, it’s very certain.

Mental Illness

When a man who spent decades making us laugh and cry takes his own life we have to wonder what we’re doing wrong. He gave us so much joy, but never found the help he needed. If you do not feel good – get help. I won’t judge or make fun. I can’t. I too have needed help with how I feel. It’s hard, but it does get better.