A Good Imagination and a Pile of Junk

Advocacy Group Decries PETA’s Inhumane Treatment Of Women

I know I know, the friggin TV’s on fire with this asshole.

But really, they hired Vick again? That’s fucking disgraceful. The man should be tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail.

Unfortunately I have no “nfl can’t have my money any more” leverage since I don’t really take part in football (as much as I do like it.)

So I spent this afternoon taking a couple timed programming tests.

I took one for C++ and one for Perl 5.

The funny part is I got 26/30 on the Perl test and I haven’t used perl in a dog’s age.

But I’ve been writing C++ code most days for the last couple DECADES. I’m pretty happy with my knowledge of the topic. I only got 26/36 on it.

Some of those were the standard esoteric questions that yeah, maybe I should know, but haven’t come up in practical terms… ever.

However, A couple of the questions were horrible. They were beyond ambiguous. Multiple choice questions with no opportunity to add a note saying “no no, this is wrong.”

I spoke with the recruiter (nice guy) and he ran the “I understand, some of these are hard” line which makes my blood boil. My chest tightened through the thing and only now, eight hours later, am I finally relaxing about it.

I’ve print-screened some of the questions but frankly I’m really tired and just not motivated enough to retype them out of the bmps.

I don’t mind being wrong if I’m wrong. Doesn’t matter to me. But being marked as wrong without being wrong? That I can’t abide. It drives me batshit.

Yeah, on a kick lately.  But come on, what’s more badass than Earth, Wind & Fire?

Caught myself doing the caucasian overbite to this.

From the “I’d have to quote the whole thing, so I’ll just link it” department…

Damn nice piece: Signs That You’re A Bad Programmer.

I remember going through many of those stages.

hat tip to Gil Vander Voort over at Core Search Inc

1) Not enough doctors and nurses now.

2) Not enough influx of new doctors and nurses to handle load at current rate, much less current rate of increase.

3) Add massive influx of new “covered for free” insurees.

Now.  Let’s stop there for a second.

How does that math work? Really.  No ad hominems.  no bullshit.  How.  Tell me how the math makes sense.

Ok.  Now let’s continue:

4) That One says there will be no waiting in lines

5) That One says there will be no rationing

6) That One says the government will NOT be deciding who gets what care.

Is he lying? Or is he just wrong?

Extra credit:

You pay X for health insurance.  You’re told that X isn’t going up, period.  How does that change your behavior with regards to medical care?  Do you go to the doctor less often?  More often?  How does that aggregate over the total body of insurees?

Ok.  Take that soft “average care sought per person” figure, multiply it by the number of people then divide it into “care available.”

It just doesn’t work.  Nothing about it works.

EVEN if you could get the money, you’d have to get the doctors, the nurses and the infrastructure.

This all ignores entirely the truly insidious parts of the health care bill.

If you know what you’re getting in to, go see it.

If you’re one of those weird consistency wonks who needs things to make sense and obey the laws of physics.  For instance, if it’s important to you that a movie pays attention to details like… oh… ice FLOATS… do NOT go see it.

It was two hours of boomy stupidness with a profoundly delicious (fake) redhead.

On my way home I was trying to navigate the movie vans, cabling equipment, film school losers and caterers on Atlantic ave here in Brooklyn (must be something big, they’re set up for the long haul) when some shittard was gesticulating wildly with his (closed) umbrella facing away from me.

One useful aspect of knowing that I’m a punch line for most of the world’s jokes in this sector is that I’ve learned to spot the ridiculous about 3 seconds early.  It’s how God enables me to do the cartoon “oh shit” part of my role.

So, when the umbrella came swinging for my crotch I had time to roll my eyes before blocking and grabbing it.

“uh…uh… I’m sor..”

“GO THE FUCK BACK TO LA!”

I had the full “We don’t like you people here.  This is our home, not your fucking sound stage playground.  Die in a fire” rant ready to go but it would’ve summoned more of them.

Nothing I hate more in this city than film crews.

Nothing.

“Excuse me.  Uhm, hi.  sir?  we’re gonna need you to…”

“I work that way.  Move.”

“Ok great.  but if you could walk around…”

“Get the fuck out of my way.”

“We have a permit…”

“You’re gonna need a fucking cast if you don’t move.”

So far nobody’s had the cojones to keep it up past that.

There are all kinds of great software tools out there that I don’t use, and it annoys the crap out of me.

Emacs does all kinds of everything and I don’t use 1% of it’s functionality.

There are tools like Ubiquity, Launchy, and Compendium.  Even on the geekery side there are new (and just new to me) languages that look juicy and wonderful.  I can’t go to lifehacker without drooling over all the cool tools.

But somewhere along the line I stopped rolling up my sleeves and diving in to these things.  I think the last technology I sank my teeth into really was python, and that’s because it was job required.  I’ve since been using it for my generic scripting needs all over.

And last night the plainly obvious thing hit me:  None of these things serve a perceived need.

Design patterns were required as I was coming into my own as a C++ programmer.

Perl was ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to learn, because I’m a C++ programmer.

I gleefully spent hours in my .emacs file farting around with lisp code to get (x|nt)?emacs to work exactly how I wanted it on all platforms without modification (then mac went and fucked that all up, for which I will never forgive them.)  Why?  Because it did things I needed done and did them with spectacular aplomb.

Greasemonkey’s wonderful and can do all KINDS of awesome stuff.  Yeah I’ve got a couple stupid url xform scripts in there.  Meh.

But ubiquity?  Sure, the demo seems cool and I’ll bet I’d really like it if I got used to it.  But there’s absolutely nothing pushing me towards it.

Compendium?  Yep.  It’s really cool.  There’s a nearly obscene amount of functionality at your finger tips in a smooth and intuitive enough way that it might have induced me to abandon my various outliner projects.  But… eh, I don’t really need it.  outline-mode in xemacs works beautifully.  Sure it’s not as polished as it could be, but I don’t much care.  Polish rarely comes without a fairly extreme cost.

Launchy?  How about “windows key” then start typing?  Ok, so you can add your own commands.  Cool.  I’ve got it loaded and running but I’m never more than 1 key away from a launch bar or 1 key + “cmd<enter>” away from a shell.  explain to me what I need launchy for again?

Look, I have NOTHING bad to say about any of these apps.  Nothing.  In fact, they’re all pretty cool things that I want to have at my finger tips.  I think in the long run they’d integrate in a time/effort saving way… probably.

But I’m at a point where things really are good enough almost across the board.  It’s pretty annoying frankly.  I used to think I was just mentally calcifying. But I realized that I’ve solved just about all of the usability problems I had.

As you likely know, to say I’m a “circa enthusiast” is a bit of a dramatic understatement. (Circa, for those of you who don’t know, is a ring based paper binding system that allows you to remove and replace pages in a notebook at will. The rings themselves are free-floating, allowing for creative notebook sizes and permutations.)

Anyway, Levenger offers a “Circa PDA” which is admittedly (and confessedly) a spinoff of the “hipster PDA” idea of using a deck of 3×5 cards as a pocket planner of sorts.

Last week I bought a few things from the circa section of the Levenger website because I was really in need of a treat.

I picked up:

• The Pocket PDA itself
• A sampler deck of cards for it.
• 22 0.25″ rings (I have their heavy duty desk punch so I can bind anything that strikes my crazy little mind.)
• a package of tabbed dividers for the pocket pda.

Total cost was nominal for all this great stuff.

Now, it’s important to note here that the quality of everything I’ve ever gotten from Levenger has been beyond reproach. Yes, they cost a little more. But in the grand scheme of things, everything I’ve ever bought from them I still own, use, and is going strong.

On the subway back from the fedex place (long story) I tore into the box. It was like a Christmas present from one of my other personalities.

I sighed a little bit at the pocket pda. It just wasn’t going to work. But I’d forseen that in my planning and ended up carrying out my evil plan.

First, the problems with the pocket pda:

- For a normal notebook it makes perfect sense for the cover to have an additional 1/4″ beyond the edge of the paper. It helps keep the paper from scuffing badly around the edges. It’s aesthetically pleasing, and it allows you to put tabbed dividers inside the notebook without the tabs catching on everything.

But for a pocket pda I need to squeeze it in to as small a space as possible. This thing is going to go in to my front pocket, so that much overhang was unacceptable. The covers just weren’t going to work. So they had to go.

I took the plastic tabbed dividers and put one on each side and one in the middle of the deck, to keep sections easily accessible. My plan was to slice the actual tabs off so the cover was perfectly flush with the deck on all sides. But after a few days of use I’m finding it’s unnecessary. They simply aren’t as obtrusive as I’d feared and expected.

The other thing I like about these tabbed dividers is that they’re lightly tinted and thoroughly transparent. So I can take the thing out of my pocket and read my todo list without even having to open it. Then I can flip it over and look at my schedule for the day. That’s going to matter.

They are a little satiny in their finish, so I’m not sure i could actually use a dry-erase marker on the cover. But that only just occurred to me. I’m not sure it would be a good idea as it’d get wiped off the next time it went in to my pocket anyway.

- The other issue with front-pocket notebooks is the thickness of the binding. The pocket pda ships with 1/2″ binding rings. Again, that’s fine if you’re going to keep it in your bag. But they were just too big. I (to the bizarre entertainment of my fellow R Train passengers) put the notebook in my pocket and took it out a few times. It was minimally obtrusive but I still knew it was there.

Yeah, 1/2″ rings hold an awful lot of pages. But frankly I’m not sure how important that is with this. So I swapped out most of the paper (some from each section) and replaced the rings with my 1/4″ ones. Then I filled it back up so that the thickness of the pad was just a little shy of being flush with the width of the rings.

Fortunately I was able to do this without cramping the binding.

So now I’ve got this 3×5 size notebook with a few good sections in it (writing, task list, minimal weekly schedule.) It’s small enough that I really forget it’s there.

In A Perfect World:

I’d have this notebook (yes, I think it’s good enough to carry me through) PLUS, a “pocket briefcase” with an opening on the top, a little off the edge. That way I’d be able to:

- Insert one of the covers of my notebook into the slot and secure the two things together.

- Get to contents of the pocket briefcase without taking it out of my pocket. This to me is a big flaw of the units that don’t have openings on the top, but only on the side. Sure, when you’re holding it in your hand it makes sense. But if you keep your metro card or train ticket in there, I don’t want to pull the thing out of my pocket then fish around in it. I want to reach in to the thing while it’s in my front pocket and pull out what I need.

But we’ll see. These things are both small enough that I’m likely to use them in parallel for a while. But I fully expect my new mini-pda to replace most of the functions of my pocket briefcase.

The best part is that all the pieces I didn’t use (the few 1/2″ rings and the covers) I just put in my “circa parts” shoebox so I can use them on something else.

Remember,

NONE of these townhall meetings were violent until the oBots were called in.

UPDATE: Whups.

Awesome: Crazy Dream

Lifted from LeeAnn

V. Kate

Yell all you want about “but it works on my machine.” The fact remains that THIS is the attitude.

I couldn’t get enough,
so I had to self destruct.

It doesn’t get ANY better than this.

47 ODD things about you.
If you opened this.. copy and paste,
Delete my answers and put in yours.
Forward to your friends.
Learn 47 things about your friends and let them learn 50 things about you! Whatever.

1. Do you like blue cheese?

The more mild ones as an ingredient.

2. Have you ever smoked heroin?
No. Nor have I done anything else with heroin except turned it down.

3. Do you own a gun?

Yes. Not in Brooklyn, but yes.

4. What flavor do you add to your drink at sonic?

Never SEEN a sonic.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments?

I don’t remember, probably. It’s been almost 20 years since I’ve had one.

6. What do you think of hot dogs?

Good ones (Hebrew Nationals) are awesome. Not good ones are assdogs. There’s no middle ground.

7. Favorite Christmas movie?

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer. (movie? I s’pose that’s more of a “christmas special” so I’ll add “It’s a Wonderful Life” as a backup.)

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?

Diet Dew

9. Can you do push ups?

Yep

10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry?

My Angel and Devil cufflinks. I actually have two pair in case I feel like wearing two Devils. The opposing scenario doesn’t really come up that often.

I can’t wear most jewelry (against my skin.) It’s too irritating.

11. Favorite hobby?

Writing

12. Do you have A.D.D.?

My sister doesn’t think so but I’ve always been a fan of rital…ooh,puppy!

13. What’s one trait you hate about yourself?

None of your fucking business.

14. Middle name?

Patrick

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment:

1. I’ve REALLY got to clean this monitor, it’s positively revolting.
2. I could just change the WordPress posting form to white on black and not have to look at it.
3. That’s really stupid, but I’m actually considering it.

16. Name 3 things you bought yesterday.

I didn’t.

17. Name 4 drinks you regularly drink?

• Diet Dew
• Coke Zero
• Seltzer with a bit of homemade ginger syrup
• Laphroiag

18. Current worry?

Job

19. Current hate right now?

Not worth dwelling on

20. Favorite place to be?

Home

21. How did you bring in the New Year?

Might’ve been at my favorite place.

22. Where would you like to go?

Scotland

23. Name two people who will complete this?

*shrug* NO idea. I’m not going to forward it to anyone. That’s just douchy

24. Do you own slippers?

I know I OWN slippers, I haven’t seen them in quite some years.

25. What shirt are you wearing?

Yellow Old Navy Flag t-shirt, 2005.

26. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?

No. They’re for porn movies.

27. Can you whistle?

Ayup. Can’t do any of those cool ultra-loud whistles, which is probably for the best.

28. Favorite color?

Purple. Don’t ask.

29. Would you be a pirate?

Real pirate? No, they’re scum and should probably be shot on site.
Funny “Arrr” dude? Absolutely.

30. What songs do you sing in the shower?

Don’t remember. Something entirely inappropriate for my vocal range usually.

31. Favorite girl’s name?

As I’m not a parent (I don’t think) I don’t really think in those terms.

32. Favorite boy’s name?

See above.

33. What’s in your pocket right now?

Kryptonite

34. Last thing that made you laugh?

My answer to #33. What? It’s not like YOU’RE going to entertain me.

35. Best bed sheets as a child?

Didn’t really have those kind of sheets that I remember.

36. Worst injury you’ve ever had?

Bike accident, June 10, 1980. 4 days after my 10th birthday. Hell of a dive. Still got the scars.

37. Do you love where you live?

Yeah, but it’s wearing on me quickly.

38. How many TV’s do you have in your house?

zero.

39. Who is your loudest friend?

In the interest of protecting the guilty…

40. How many dogs do you have?

None :-(

41. Does someone have a crush on you?

That’s a very good question. I suspect not in the last year or so.

42. What is your favorite book(s)? Book series?

Manalive by G.K. Chesterton.

43. What is your favorite candy?

Lately, homemade candied ginger.

44. Favorite Sports Team?

Don’t give a fuck.

45. What song do you want played at your funeral?

This

46. What were you doing 12 AM last night?

Writing.

47. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?

Badgers? Really? And what about that damn firetruck? What was that about?

Mark Levin FTW!

My patience for liberals is dropping by the second.

Delusional shitweasels.

(From SondraKs)

That’s something I blurted about 22 hours ago in the middle of Teri’s book, The Last Bridge.

It’s impossible to talk too much about it without sounding like a cheeseball reviewer, so Ill try and pick the few things I think my readers here will understand, given the source.

- It would never have occurred to me to pick up The Last Bridge but that Teri’s a friend. The cover description just doesn’t sound like the kind of thing I would be interested in.
- Once I picked it up it never occurred to me to put it down. It holds a place with some strange company in the “not move even to go to the bathroom until it’s done” list (including most Christopher Moore and, oddly, Siddhartha.) And it wasn’t a one-sitting read because it was short or easy.
- It’s a very hard read and I don’t mean in the Umberto Eco sense. In fact I physically flinched from the page more than once.

I’m going to have to go back and read it again a time or two soon. It gave me more to think about than I expected and now, exactly 24 hours after I started reading it, enough of the details have faded from my memory that I fear I remember less than I think I do.

Anyway enough of this tripe.

Pick it up and read it.

I know if I look back over about 4000 posts I’ll come across this again. But seeing as how I haven’t written a conceptual level search engine for this db yet, it might as well be gone for good.

This bizarre panic feeling that if I commit to doing ANYthing that I’m missing not only “something” else, but EVERYTHING else.

The logical fallacy built in to “for any thing I’m doing there are a thousand things being left behind” thwarts me at every turn.

It’s bloody awful.