Sunday, December 31, 2006

new years resolutions 2007

I will not be pigeon-holed, undersold, brainwashed, whitewashed,
soft-spoken, or a token.
I will not be branded, blanded, left-handed, Ayn-Randed,
Garfunkled, uncled, Ralph Nadered or Darth Vadered.
I will not be scrutinized, routinized, lobotomized, sodomized,
Neo-Conned, Slobodan'd, sat upon, spat upon.
I will not be scattered, smothered, covered, chunked, topped, diced,
sliced, iced, riced, or niced.
(Or, for that matter, miced)
I will not go gentle into that good night.

Friday, December 15, 2006

pop quiz

GLBA stands for:
  1. Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999
  2. Great Lakes Beach Association
  3. Gay/Lesbian Business Association

When your 2-year-old wakes you up at 4:00 and you turn to TV to try to lull her back to sleep, there really isn't anything G-Rated on except for TVLand. So, I find myself exposing my kids to "Little House on the Prairie".

Where they will learn from Nellie Olsen how to be a b&^%$.

Laura: My Pa works hard.
Nellie: So does a mule!

EDIT: Popped in Bambi. Let 'em learn about Cartoon Deer Death.

PS: I'm in ur base, killin ur data.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

It is a far, far better thing that I do..

If you work with me, and you read this tomorrow, you'll probably be trying to kill me.

Monday, December 11, 2006

guess this stack trace

What was I trying to do when I got this, instead of what I expected?

javax.servlet.ServletException
org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.processException(RequestProcessor.java:526)
com.dynix.hip.struts.processor.HipRequestProcessor.processException(HipRequestProcessor.java:134)
org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.processActionPerform(RequestProcessor.java:467)
com.dynix.hip.struts.processor.HipRequestProcessor.processActionPerform(HipRequestProcessor.java:116)
org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.process(RequestProcessor.java:274)
com.dynix.hip.struts.processor.HipRequestProcessor.process(HipRequestProcessor.java:55)
org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.process(ActionServlet.java:1422)
org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.doPost(ActionServlet.java:523)
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:717)
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:810)
org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.doForward(RequestProcessor.java:1033)
com.dynix.hip.struts.processor.HipRequestProcessor.doForward(HipRequestProcessor.java:217)
org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.processForwardConfig(RequestProcessor.java:436)
com.dynix.hip.struts.processor.HipRequestProcessor.processForwardConfig(HipRequestProcessor.java:94)
org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.processActionForward(RequestProcessor.java:401)
com.dynix.hip.struts.processor.HipRequestProcessor.processActionForward(HipRequestProcessor.java:83)
org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.process(RequestProcessor.java:279)
com.dynix.hip.struts.processor.HipRequestProcessor.process(HipRequestProcessor.java:55)
org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.process(ActionServlet.java:1422)
org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.doPost(ActionServlet.java:523)
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:717)
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:810)
org.jboss.web.tomcat.filters.ReplyHeaderFilter.doFilter(ReplyHeaderFilter.java:75)
root cause
java.lang.NullPointerException
com.dynix.common.util.Log.printStackTrace(Log.java:87)
com.dynix.common.util.Log.printStackTrace(Log.java:64)
com.dynix.hip.struts.requests.HoldRequestAction.execute(HoldRequestAction.java:200)
org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.processActionPerform(RequestProcessor.java:465)
com.dynix.hip.struts.processor.HipRequestProcessor.processActionPerform(HipRequestProcessor.java:116)
org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.process(RequestProcessor.java:274)
com.dynix.hip.struts.processor.HipRequestProcessor.process(HipRequestProcessor.java:55)
org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.process(ActionServlet.java:1422)
org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.doPost(ActionServlet.java:523)
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:717)
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:810)
org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.doForward(RequestProcessor.java:1033)
com.dynix.hip.struts.processor.HipRequestProcessor.doForward(HipRequestProcessor.java:217)
org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.processForwardConfig(RequestProcessor.java:436)
com.dynix.hip.struts.processor.HipRequestProcessor.processForwardConfig(HipRequestProcessor.java:94)
org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.processActionForward(RequestProcessor.java:401)
com.dynix.hip.struts.processor.HipRequestProcessor.processActionForward(HipRequestProcessor.java:83)
org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.process(RequestProcessor.java:279)
com.dynix.hip.struts.processor.HipRequestProcessor.process(HipRequestProcessor.java:55)
org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.process(ActionServlet.java:1422)
org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.doPost(ActionServlet.java:523)
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:717)
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:810)
org.jboss.web.tomcat.filters.ReplyHeaderFilter.doFilter(ReplyHeaderFilter.java:75)

Friday, December 08, 2006

some rule of programming language design..

.. says that the more commonly something is done, the less typing should be required to do it. The most frequently-used constructs of a language should be able to be written so compactly that no one even notices them.

This is why in (modern) languages, string concatenation requires less typing than many other operations, because string concatenation is darn frequent.

The original design of Java deliberately violates this "rule" in many aspects of the language (although curiously not with string concatenation). Old school Java in fact favors explicitness and exacting clarity over compactness in nearly every other feature except for string concatenation. Newer features like the for-each loop, and proposals like closures, seem to be swinging it back toward the other side.

Of course as a language evolves, what is "frequently used" can change. At the time C was invented, one can guess that incrementing variables was used all the damn time, so often that nobody could be troubled to write i=i+1, no the language had to have i++. Meanwhile strings were out in edge-case-land, so relatively arcane and insecure means of dealing with them were considered good enough.

Perl probably takes the "common therefore compact" philosophy to the extreme. I don't think I need to show any examples. You either know enough about Perl to already understand that, or you won't get the examples anyway.

File under: random musings

Monday, December 04, 2006

to do today

Buy some real pseudoephedrine.

EDIT: they limited the amount they would sell me, but they didn't ask for my name so they could put it in their big book of suspected meth terrorists.

Although I assume that by using a credit card instead of cash, they've got me now anyway.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

first Gilmore Girls, now baking... am I a big old girly-man or what?

The ANZAC biscuit is the only cookie that I am competent and trusted to make without help from my wife.

In keeping with the idea that these things originated as a minimal cookie for the trenches of WWI, I make them without coconut.

everybody must get stoned

Now playing: "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" by Bob Dylan

I recently got an early Christmas present: an iPod! The first ever such thing I've ever owned. (Full disclosure: it's shared with my wife)

This little beast immediately screamed "feed me, Jeffrey!", and I have since been trapped in front of iTunes stuffing CD's into it. I feel like I have to catch up on the past five years or s0 of technological development.

Warning: the music you listen to, will never be the same once you have listened to it through ear buds will doing things like helping small children use the toilet.

It occurred to me that it's been a long time since Atlanta had an "oldies" station. How do kids these days find out about the Beatles and the Stones? Or for that matter, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders or Gary "U.S." Bonds?

Maybe the answer is "the Internet", but I bet the truth is they only know what they hear on TV and movie soundtracks. And commercials. But how can they appreciate, for instance, that recent episode of Gilmore Girls which involved a brief music appearance of Jay and the Americans? That scene was based entirely on audience familiary with the song.

It will be interesting to hear what effect this has on popular music in the years to come.

Friday, December 01, 2006

things to do today

  • stir up trouble at meetings
  • write scathing email

values of beta may lead to dom..

Frist post with the "beta" blogger.

This is one for you comics fans. Exactly how many comic book characters have had the name "Marvel" as part of the superhero name?

I can think of at least three Captain Marvels. The "Shazam!" one who wasn't actually a Marvel Comics character; and two different ones from Marvel itself: a white guy, and a black woman. Wait, wasn't there also a blond chick? Or was that Ms. Marvel? Then there's at least two Marvel Girls I can think of.