With the ShyPosts addin you could append a suffix that corresponds to a shyness rule to the end of post file names while you're writing them, something like:

'__unfinished'

For example:

'new-post__unfinished.txt'

That post will not appear on your site unless requested by name:

http://example.net/cgi-bin/ode.cgi/new-post__unfinished'

(Assuming the post is at the root of the site.)

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The ShyPosts addin allows you to specify posts that won't appear unless specifically requested. Shy posts won't volunteer themselves, but they will participate if called on by name. They're not hidden, they're shy.

To use the addin, you create a shyness rules file (plain text) containing a list of patterns. These rules are matched against the full path to your posts. If ANY PORTION of the rule matches the path to the post (including the post filename) then that post will be considered shy. All posts and subdirectories of a shy directory are shy.

Rules are interpreted as regular expressions (by default). So there is a lot of flexibility in specifying exactly which posts are shy.

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I don't believe there are shortcuts for accomplishing meaningful goals and by extension living a fulfilling life. That always involves a lot of hard work, and is never easy. Nor should we want our lives automated away or reduced to clicking a couple of buttons others have provided for us.

Let's look at some easy things and some not so easy things:

• Meaningful relationships - not easy

• Learning - not easy

• Physical fitness - not easy

• Independence and self-sufficiency - not easy

• Adventure, exploration, and discovery - not easy

• Fast food - easy

• Accepting what we're told without questioning - easy

• Watching television (watching without doing in general) - easy

• Inactivity - easy

In general you could say that learning (and practicing), doing, and building (i.e. creating or engineering) are not easy. On the other hand not learning, not doing, and using rather than building are all easy.

Accomplishing a goal typically involves work, and as a result is not easy.

So why is it that we assume we want what's easy?

I interpret it to mean that in Thoreau's opinion people were becoming so utterly dependent on tools and technology that they would be incapable of working and living without them.

I'm not sure that I would have agreed with him in the 19th century. Or at least I'm not sure that I would have agreed that it was a problem. But I think today we've taken it a step further. Updating Thoreau's quote to better reflect today's reality I'd say:

People have become the tools of those who make their tools.

I believe this seemingly subtle difference represents a very significant shift that fundamentally changes the relationship between people, the ways that we use technology, and the lives we live as a result.

With that in mind, I want to ask you to reimagine that your online presence is a physical space, for example the place you live or work - e.g. an apt, condo, detached house.

How do you imagine Facebook would translate?

If I think about it in terms of a place people live, I picture a very large structure with very small, identical individual living spaces in very close proximity. For example I'm thinking of something like an apartment complex, dorm, prison, or maybe a Japanese capsule hotel, like Hotel Shinjuku 510 which is described in a New York Times article titled "For Some in Japan, Home Is a Tiny Plastic Bunk".

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There are many web publishing platforms out there. It's hard for me to justify Ode as just another one (of dozens). However, it's easy to justify a project (any project) that presents an opportunity to learn about something as important and pervasive as the the web, programming, and networked communication.

The web belongs to all of us. It is not the exclusive domain of a privileged few. It's ours.

To be perfectly honest, it's true that the web is beyond the reach of many of us, requiring at least access to the necessary infrastructure and a connected device. According to the latest statistics available at 'Internet World Stats' (which claims to get it's info from the US Census Bureau, Nielsen Online, the International Telecommunications Union, among other sources), the number of people with internet access is 32% of the world population as of Dec 2011. I'd guess the number of people with reliable, anytime, largely unrestricted access is far, far lower.

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I know the director, Gail Breslow, from when I was the technology director at The Computer Museum in Boston (now part of Boston's Museum of Science) quite a few years ago.

A couple of months ago I contacted Gail about the possibly of introducing the young people involved with The Computer Clubhouse to web programming through Ode.

From my perspective the get-together went well. We'll see where it goes from here.

The reach of these The Computer Clubhouse Network is pretty impressive as is the mission of the organization.

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You can download the new version of the theme here.

Here's a little preview

If you'd like to a better (and more interactive) look at the new version of the theme, you can head over to the demo site. I've installed the newest version of the theme there.

So what's new?

As you might expect from the version numbers, it's essentially the same as the previous version (2.0.1). There were several minor issues I wanted to address and somehow I got sucked in - though there are other priorities.

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Right now, Google is running a new campaign for its search service called "Search Stories". Today I saw one of the spots for the first time (on Hulu Plus) and I was incredibly impressed. Not only do the ads (and I hesitate to call them that because to me they are much more than advertisements) highlight the best of Google, but they do so by showcasing the potential of the web at its very best.

I've written about embracing the personal web. I've pleaded with you to learn to love the web. And I've tried to explain what this project is all about and why it exists.

These stories paint a picture of just how meaningful and powerful the personal web can be, and in so doing may make a better case for projects like Ode than I can.

I'm going to embed two of my favorites.

I like the first because it emphasizes the potential of the web to transform the lives of people who we too often ignore as we chat with people we already know via social sites about the next big thing, or obsess about whatever celebs like Lady Gaga just tweeted.

In case you're curious, here is the last thing LadyGaga tweeted:

@ladygaga: Looking forward to this weekend. Shooting my parfum campaign and commercial with Steven Klein. Will be edited to a special song...shit.

Compare that to the powerful message of this story.

Zack Matere: Growing Knowledge

I'm searching for a better life for me and my neighbors. So many people have access to information, but there's no follow up to that. I think the follow up to that is our knowledge. When people have the knowledge they can find solutions without having to be helped out. Information is powerful but it is how we use it that will define us.

That sentiment and the idea that the simplest solutions can also be the most effective mirror Ode's motto, simple means you know how it works.

The next video also speaks directly to the purpose of this project - learning for the purposes of exploration, discovery and personal expression.

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