Jack Reichert

Fullstack Philosopher

Category: Musings

  • Long Live the QR Code

    QR codes aren’t dead, they were just never implemented well. In the past two weeks WhatsApp and Snapchat both announced different implementations of QR codes. What’s different now? Why would these work, and nothing else before them? WhatsApp uses the code to connect a specific browser with the app so that WhatsApp Web can be…

  • Support NASA – The Plan

    Anyone who knows me and has ever been around when the topic of space has come up knows that I’m a little obsessed with space and NASA. I know I’m not the only one. So once this idea stuck in my head, it’s stuck. The Problem The NASA Administrator is authorized by 42 U.S.C. 2473(b)…

  • Tech and Academia

    I’m frustrated by the tech scene ragging on academia. Yes. The system is ripe for disruption. Specifically here in the US, where the expense of higher education is rising and has put my generation and younger into ridiculous debts. However, that doesn’t mean that academia itself is bad. No, it’s not for everyone. But it…

  • We Choose

    Today 45 years ago one of our species landing on another world. For a moment all mankind were bound together by accomplishment and ingenuity. We looked up at the heavens and for the first time, we knew one of us was looking back. Oh the force of the human spirit.   There is no strife,…

  • Labor Surplus is a Resource to be Tapped, Not a Liability to Mitigate

    “While those ancestral Maori who first colonized the Chathams may have been farmers, Maori tropical crops could not grow in the Chathams’ cold climate, and the colonists had no alternative except to revert to being hunter-gatherers. Since as hunter-gatherers they did not produce crop surpluses available for redistribution or storage, they could not support and…

  • I May Be Ridiculously Good Looking, But It’s My Choice If I Want To Be Seen Naked

    Walking down the street, no matter how ridiculously hot you are, you can expect that you can keep on the clothing you choose to wear. Even if every passer by wants to see you naked. You may choose to wear long sleeves or a tank top. That is your choice. If you go to a…

  • Why Technology Killing Jobs is a Good Thing

    technological progress is eliminating the need for many types of jobs and leaving the typical worker worse off than before – Brynjolfsson and McAfee This is scary for a lot of people. Forget having to compete with cheap labor, how do you compete with a machine? The problem is that fighting technological advances goes against…

  • A Domain-Agnostic Social Network

    Ever since the guys at Diaspora raised 200k on Kickstarter I’ve had an itch I am trying to scratch. I wrote a little bit about this already but thought it would be good to flesh out the idea a bit more and put it out there for the sake of “the conversation.” As users of…

  • Why Automattic Doesn’t Need to Buy App.net

    … It looks like they have their own social API out there already. Several months ago I suggested that Automattic purchase Path. Sadly it turns out that it would probably be too expensive (see comments). But the idea behind the post is still oh so true. I still want to own my own content. I…

  • Of Tapas and Apps

    Of Tapas and Apps

    You might have noticed that I was in Spain last week. I love Spain! What’s not to love? Flamenco is like a window into a lost ritual enchantment of another time and place. Spain was home to artists such as Picasso, El Greco and Dali. There can be very little fault found in Spain and…