equilibrium
— issue #3 {July 2014} —

.editorial

Welcome to the third issue of Equilibrium. I would like to thank all of you for the remarkable engagement, which I perceive not only from the open rate (which is around 90% for both of the previous issues), but most importantly from the replies and feedback.

Although it's still relatively early, the publication starts to shape in the form of ten monthly picks (combined from all the categories), so I'll probably stick with that for a few months. The change I made this month is that I introduced an extra (eleventh) pick, irrelevant of the others, which will feature a non-profit organisation fighting for a good cause. If you are involved in or know such an organisation and you would like to see it featured in one of the future issues of Equilibrium, please let me know (you can reply to this email).

Enjoy the issue!
– Stathis

.blogs (interesting reads from around the web)

It takes three years to build a business — jacquesmattheij.com, 2011

"Typically it goes like this: in the first year you lose money, earlier on more than later in the year; somewhere during the second year you break even; in the third year you finally make back all the money that you had to add in the first."

Why the Epidaurus theatre has such amazing acoustics — gizmodo.com.au, 2013

Having experienced performances in ancient Greek theatres, I was always fascinated by the fact that no amplification is needed to hear the actors clearly. This article explains the predominant theory on how this happens.

What is WAI-ARIA, what does it do for me, and what not? — marcozehe.de, 2014

A comprehensive essay about the WAI-ARIA web standard; what is it and what is it not, when to use it and when not.

The boy who stole Half-Life 2 — eurogamer.net, 2011

"At 6am on 7th May 2004, Axel Gembe awoke in the small German town of Schönau im Schwarzwald to find his bed surrounded by police officers. Automatic weapons were pointing at his head and the words, ‘Get out of bed. Do not touch the keyboard’, were ringing in his ears."

.images (worth a thousand words)

Too late to start? — fundersandfounders.com, 2014

.newsletters (worth subscribing to)

The Smashing Newsletter

I assume that everyone who is reading these lines have read at least one article published in the Smashing Magazine, but did you know that they publish a newsletter as well? It is sent every second Tuesday and includes useful resources for designers and developers collected by the magazine's editorial team.

.podcasts (sometimes is better to listen)

The Freelancers' Show

Initially called "The Ruby Freelancers Show", it later rebranded to a more generalised resource for freelancers. The podcast features discussions between freelancers on the topics of running a business, finding clients, marketing, etc. Also, at the end of each show, the panellists pick items that they enjoy or that make freelancing easier.

.books (physical or electronic)

Neuromancer — wikipedia

Written by William Gibson in 1984, Neuromancer is a cyberpunk (which is a subgenre of science fiction) novel, which describes a dark and dystopian future world, where countries no longer exist and corporations rule everything. Technology has made huge advances; people are filling themselves with electronic implants and use their brains to connect to the cyberspace.

In this world, Gibson tells the story of Case, a world-class hacker who was caught stealing from his employer and as a punishment for his theft was given a mycotoxin which damaged his central nervous system, leaving him unable to access the cyberspace. Unemployable, addicted to drugs, and suicidal, he is recruited by shady character named Armitage who offers to cure him in exchange for his services as a hacker.

.comics

The Oatmeal

As with xkcd which was featured in the previous issue of Equilibrium, you are probably not unfamiliar with The Oatmeal. Here are some of my favourite comic strips of it: the one with cats versus the internet, the one (actually they're five) with the minor differences, the one with the hair violence in Breaking Bad, and the one with his dog: the paradox. I have to confess that I imposed a limit of 4 links to myself, but I really have to include the one with the design that POPS!

.games (everybody needs some play time)

Braid

Released by Number None in 2009, Braid is puzzle-platformer featuring a very nice artwork and soundtrack, where you control Tim, a man searching for a princess who was kidnapped. Apart of running and jumping around, you can reverse time for any long you want; even up to the start of a level.

This is the control which you'll utilise to solve many of the game's puzzles, sometimes in truly unique ways; for example (spoiler alert), in some levels, as soon as you reverse time you will encounter multiple realities and you'll have to use the alter-Tim to solve the puzzle. Finally, have a look at its trailer.

.non-profits (for a good cause)

Hope For Paws

Hope for Paws is a US-based non-profit animal rescue organisation. During the last couple of months, I watched several of their rescue videos after people I know posted them online, which caught my attention since they seem to do a very good job. As they mention in their website, their goal is to educate people on the importance of companion animals in our society. Sharing that belief myself, I chose them as the first organisation to be featured in this space.

.bye

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Photo credits: Epidaurus by Gray Line and Braid by Number None.

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