joshuago’s Bookmarks

Firms exist because going to the market all the time can impose heavy transaction costs. A firm is essentially a device for creating long-term contracts when short-term contracts are too bothersome.

Cheating in higher education is horrifyingly widespread. A lot of the people running around with master's degrees had their theses written by someone else.

A great summary of the new things in the Ruby and Rails communities over the course of 2010. Good for reference when trying to keep up with all the new technology out there, even for seasoned Ruby programmers.

A really touching story reminding us to stop and help each other out. Will make you love Mexican people.

An open source JavaScript display engine for mathematics that works in all modern browsers.

Much of the world's food supply is transported via an inefficient, polluting, and dangerous system of highways and trucks. The alternative? Move the whole system underground and set up a packet-switched "transport-industry Internet." Probably won't happen anytime soon since entrenched interests are powerful.

A well-rationalized framework for git branching policy. Good for personal and commercial projects.

You may be able to use your position of advantage to get a deal that is one-sided, but why? Why not think win-win? Why not change somebody’s life?

A fun read detailing how Bram Cohen, Shawn Fanning, Justin Frankel, and Jon Johansen changed the world in their own unique ways. Inspiring to ambitious programmers everywhere.

Going out and actually seeking rejection hammers home the lesson that it's not about you, and that you shouldn't be afraid to ask. You'd be surprised what people will eventually say yes to.