Memo To GitHub: It's Time To Stop Geeking Out

If you’re not a developer and you've heard of GitHub at all, you probably only know it as an online space where developers work together on coding projects—one that's only useful to the geekiest sector of the population. But GitHub is actually an incredibly useful tool that could be used to organize any group project online. And the day that “regular” people begin adopting it is closer than you think. On Wednesday, GitHub CEO Tom Preston-Werner said normals are welcome to join the party. “We want to make [non-development] use cases possible,” he said at the TechCrunch Disrupt 2013 conference. “Now, we still optimize GitHub for software developers. This is something that’s very important to us. Software is the future of the world.” With a lackluster welcome like that, you could be forgiven for not rushing to sign up for an account right this instant. From a technical standpoint, though, GitHub isn’t at all specific to code projects. It’s open to anyone. If only GitHub made more of an effort to make those others feel more welcome. The World Outside Of Code When you sign up for GitHub, the first thing you do is built an online repository, or "repo"—a storage locker for your current project. You can tuck away any kind of files, from code scripts to blueprints to text documents. You and other collaborators work on these files locally, then upload—or “push”—them to the online repository, logging changes as you do so. That way, everyone in the group can see the latest changes to these files, plus each file’s entire change history. This is called version control. Usually on GitHub, this sort of project focuses on coding a program or building a website. But it doesn’t have to. Imagine a team of lawyers researching a case and using GitHub to upload and annotate legal documents. Or co-authors writing and editing chapters of a book. Or even an online brainstorming session on GitHub, which would be stored and documented far more efficiently than a mess of flustered emails ever could be. Even better, GitHub is especially good at making sure you and your collaborators retain sole ownership of your projects. (See Section F of the Terms of Service.) Plus, while GitHub is lauded for being open source, you don’t have to make your own repositories public. GitHub For Knowledge Workers On GitHub’s official YouTube channel, trainer Matthew McCullough explains that the tool can be useful for anyone who is considered a “knowledge worker.” A knowledge worker could be a researcher, designer, editor, inventor, creator, or anyone who is involved with creating, editing, or handling information. (Including developers, of course.) Lawyers, writers, journalists, researchers, and academics all fit that mold. So why aren’t non-developer knowledge workers on GitHub in larger numbers? According to Preston-Werner, the problem is the site's forbiddingly technical approach. “We’ve got a lot of educating to do,” he said. GitHub is built on top of Git, an eight-year-old source-code management tool that most users still manage via a command- line interface, like movie hackers from the 1990s. While technology is certainly a hurdle, it’s not that bad. There are plenty of free tools for learning Git online. Don’t want to bother? No problem. GitHub comes with graphical interface tools that you can download and use without knowing a line of Git. Invite The Non-Geeks The biggest hurdle to broader GitHub adoption might just be its belief that geeks come first. Preston-Werner is fine with non-geeks using the service, but he’s not going to roll out the red carpet for them. He just wants it to be “possible.” During the discussion, Preston-Werner acknowledged that GitHub is not currently a profitable company. While he didn’t say if profitability is his end goal, I have just the idea to introduce an influx of new adopters to this useful but misunderstood tool—market it as something for everyone. See the entire discussion on TechCrunch. Image of GitHub co-founder and CEO Tom Preston-Werner by Madeleine Weiss for ReadWrite

Jamie at Home

Jamie at Home is a British cooking television programme presented by Jamie Oliver. In each episode, Jamie uses a different ingredient which has been grown organically at his home in rural Essex, UK.

Jamie at Home 1x01 Tomatoes (2007)

Jamie's garden is bursting with tomatoes of every size, shape and colour. The freshness and vibrancy of the dishes Jamie makes, leaves no doubt that growing tomatoes is a must.

Jamie at Home 1x02 Courgettes

There's a bumper crop of courgettes in Jamie's garden and he shows how to make the most of them including deep-fried courgette flowers stuffed with ricotta and mint.

Jamie at Home 1x03 Barbeque

Jamie hosts the perfect barbecue as he cooks up everything from shellfish to lamb, chicken, ribs and even greens on the grill.

Jamie at Home 1x04 Beans

Jamie shows just how easy it is to cultivate amazing fruit and veg at home and cooks three very different recipes to show the versatility of beans.

Jamie at Home 1x05 Onions

Jamie talks about how to grow onions, and uses them to make a fresh cheese and onion salad.

Jamie at Home 1x06 Carrots & Beets

Jamie makes the juiciest pork chop with roasted carrots and beets and makes an exciting dish with foil-roasted smoked beetroots, beef and a cottage cheese dressing.



Jamie at Home 1x07 Potatoes

Everyone loves potatoes and Jamie is no exception. He enthuses about these underground jewels and makes the perfect potato salad using freshly dug wonderful new potatoes at their best.




Jamie at Home 1x08 Peppers & Chillies

With peppers and chillies on the menu, Jamie makes a delicious spicy pork goulash using a variety of ingredients from the capsicum family.



Jamie at Home 1x09 Mushrooms

Jamie is off in search of mushrooms to cook the perfect mushroom risotto. There are no mushrooms in Jamie's garden, so he sets off hunting in his local forest.





Jamie at Home 1x10 Feathered Game

Jamie has been invited on a local shoot and uses the opportunity to explore the world of delicious game birds. He then applies Asian, European - as well as traditional British - cooking principles to get the best out of each bird.



Jamie at Home 1x11 Pumpkin & Squash

Jamie Oliver uses a variety of pumpkin and squash to make a mouth-watering warm winter salad of roast duck and pumpkin, a hearty winter pumpkin soup, and pumpkin fairy cakes.



Jamie at Home 1x12 Winter Salad

A windswept Jamie explores the seemingly unlikely but surprisingly bountiful world of winter salads, proving that there is still much to be had from the garden even in the darkest months of the year.

How would you decoupage a standard interior door?

I want to decoupage the door to my husband’s “dude room” with newspaper. Do i use the standard glue and varnish? or do i need to seal it with polyurethane after it dries?