Semantic Versioning

After having skimmed the semantic versioning proposal/spec, I really like it, and I'm going back for a deep read.

The most notable violator of this that has bit me in the past has been the jersey framework, and maybe earlier versions of commons-collections.

Word Mixed With Faith

The Savior said:

Ye shall know them by their fruits.

Paul wrote to the Hebrews:

For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

It feels a lot like the recipe for inspiration and blessings from God includes the following ingredients:

1. Word of God, shared or published
2. Faith in those who receive it

Mix the word with faith, season well with humility, patience & repentance.  Harvest the inspiration and blessings that God wants to give you.

Annotated pedigree on a timeline

Here is an idea for a new kind of pedigree display:

Annotated splay tree on a timeline

instead of the conventional:

Split tree with generational columns

I want to show you how this plays out for my family. There are enough steps, that I'd like to show each step, introducing one new display element at a time.

First, here is my family in traditional split tree, generational columns form:


Next, here is my family in splay tree form, still in generational columns:


Now, here is my family in traditional split tree form, but on a timeline:


Now, combine the two -- here is my family in splay tree form *and* on a timeline:


While it is interesting to see the generations grouped together, it would be interesting to see generational hints on the timelines themselves.

One annotation I found useful is something I want to call "generational progression". Ok, so the name is a rough cut, here is the legend:

• "<<<": time that this person lived before having the child that appears on this pedigree
• "===": time that this person lived *after* having the child that appears on this pedigree, but *before* having the grandchild (if any) that appears on this pedigree
• "---": time that this person lived *after* having any grandchild on this pedigree

Here is my family annotated in such a way in split tree form:


And annotated in splay tree form:


What would be nice is to have this graphically displayed, instead of my hokey text attempt. Also, it would be nice to have this be data-driven. But despite the hokey text format, this let me see things about my family that I had not been able to see before. Like how my Grandma was 6 when her mom died. And that I wanted to ask my dad about his memories of his grandpa who was still alive when my dad was 8 or something.

I met Janet Hovorka at the BYU Computerized Genealogy Conference. I saw her chart work, remembered this idea, showed this to her, and promised a writeup. This is my shot at keeping that promise, even if it's a little late. :)

The idea to put stuff on timelines and to annotate things graphically comes straight from listening to, and reading the works of Edward Tufte.

Vote with your money

There are prediction markets that people have set up. But those feel like a gimmick to me.

I want a place where I can say:

If you can provide a product that meets the following specifications, at the following price, I obligate myself to buy that product at that price.

I want to be able to state conditions like:

• all software in this product conforms to an OSDL-approved license
• the model of car you build has received at least 3/5 rating by Consumer Reports in such-and-such a category
  
• this cell phone comes with a data-only plan
• the out-of-print book that you publish must be hardback
• the eBook reader you create must be able to display scaled PDFs that can be zoomed and panned
  

I want to be able to have a publicly-viewable, prioritized wish list. I want to put things on my wish list that do not yet exist, but that would be very useful to me. I want to be able to say "Me too" to an item on my friend's list and place it on my list at the appropriate priority. And I want to be able to set an annual spending cap, beyond which I am not obligated to purchase anything further.

And I want vendors to be able to query this site for what kind of demand there is for certain kinds of products. And I want vendors to be able to say: "OK, you said you'd buy it, I'm producing it, and if I give it to you in 6 months, you're committed to buy it." The user who posted his/her desired product can specify how much lead time would be acceptable. For instance, I could say: "I don't want you to require any more than 3 months production time for this item."

And it is a binding contract at that point, as long as the item ends up meeting the stated criteria when it is delivered. After the production process starts, a purchaser would be prevented from re-prioritizing or otherwise adjusting his list in such a way that pushes that item below the "obligitory purchase" spending cap line. And if a user defaults on the contract, then the details are publicly visible; likewise for a vendor.

My intent is to have a system that can create REAL demand for useful, not-yet-existing products without having a bunch of focus groups giving stupid requirements to business execs who work up some product that pins its users into a corner in one way or another.

Software Architecture

This is what I hate about overreaching ideas and projects that accept them:


The whole "coming soon" idea is fine if it lasts for a couple days, but years and years?

Now I'm hanging my head in shame about www.sumsion.org. :)