Journal Journal: a return which is long overdue (plus achievements!) 17
I've lurked at
Comment Re:Wash your hands! (Score 1) 374
This is good advice, and gives me an opportunity to speak to the community at large: some of us who go to cons and are in a position to shake tons of hands politely decline. It's not because we're being dicks, it's because we know it's a good way to substantially decrease our chances of catching and spreading any germs.
Comment Oh, cruel irony (Score 2, Interesting) 374
I played the PAX Pandemic game, where the Enforcers handed out stickers to attendees that read [Carrier] [Infected] or [Immune] (There was also a [Patient Zero].
I got the [Immune] sticker, and by the time I got home on Monday, it was clear that I had the flu. I've had a fever between 100 and 104 all week that finally broke last night, but I'm going to the doctor today because I think whatever I had settled into my lungs. I'll tell him about the H1N1 outbreak and get tested if he wants to run the test, but at this point I think it's safe to assume that I was [Immune] to the Pig Plague, but definitely [Infected] with the damn PAX pox.
Even though it's been a week of misery, it was entirely worth it, and I don't regret going to PAX for a single second.
Comment Re:Now to be fair (Score 1) 10
From what I understand the reason people get offended is that M$ implies there is something evil about making $$$.
I just get offended by people saying 'M$' because it paints the Linux community as a bunch of pimply-faced teenage dorks that think that calling Microsoft 'M$' is like the greatest insult in the world. I use Linux at work. It's a great developer platform. I use it t home for my server. Great at that, too. Just have a windows box for games. So you can call me a Linux geek... but I hate two things about the linux community:
Those that insult proprietary companies like a kid would
Those that insult others trying to learn Linux (if someone was to say "RTFM" to a newbie in real life, I'd kick him in the nards)
I just get offended by people saying 'M$' because it paints the Linux community as a bunch of pimply-faced teenage dorks that think that calling Microsoft 'M$' is like the greatest insult in the world. I use Linux at work. It's a great developer platform. I use it t home for my server. Great at that, too. Just have a windows box for games. So you can call me a Linux geek... but I hate two things about the linux community:
Those that insult proprietary companies like a kid would
Those that insult others trying to learn Linux (if someone was to say "RTFM" to a newbie in real life, I'd kick him in the nards)
Comment Pull Out? (Score 1) 57
Really? 401k is a retirement, long-term investment. The market goes up and down, so unless you plan on cashing out your 401k TODAY or next year, I say now is the time to put MORE into the 401k. It's the stock market! When it's low, put in more money, when it's high sell off!
Never ever ever react to a sudden change in the stock market on a long term investment, unless it's something like enron...
Never ever ever react to a sudden change in the stock market on a long term investment, unless it's something like enron...
Comment Re:I'm in the crackberry camp (Score 1) 19
I'm in the iPhone camp and have both of these apps on my iPhone.
The only reason I'd flip to android is that I can write java apps to the android... if you want to write an app to your iPhone, its objective-C, which I know you probably prefer, Barbie, but I'm a java guy ;)
Another advantage of iPhone is maturity. The androids are still level 1.0. I like to wait for the next gen (which is why I have an iPhone 3G, and never had the original iPhone).
The only reason I'd flip to android is that I can write java apps to the android... if you want to write an app to your iPhone, its objective-C, which I know you probably prefer, Barbie, but I'm a java guy
Another advantage of iPhone is maturity. The androids are still level 1.0. I like to wait for the next gen (which is why I have an iPhone 3G, and never had the original iPhone).
Comment Re:Is your boss related to your landlord? (Score 1) 36
LOL! Love the subject, johndiii :D
As with everyone, I'm surprised you lasted this long. A threat to pay is a last resort, company will fall out from under you if you leave, kind of threat, or a threat to someone you want to quit so you don't have to go through any company policy severance...
If you are looking for a job in the states, let me know. My company always appreciates a good developer, and we do placement jobs if you don't want consulting.
As with everyone, I'm surprised you lasted this long. A threat to pay is a last resort, company will fall out from under you if you leave, kind of threat, or a threat to someone you want to quit so you don't have to go through any company policy severance...
If you are looking for a job in the states, let me know. My company always appreciates a good developer, and we do placement jobs if you don't want consulting.
Comment Re:Spiders (Score 1) 4
Yup... spiders kill the bugs that can carry disease and stuff. As long as they are like up in the ceiling or out of the way areas making webs, I let'm go...
Comment So much for checks and balances (Score 1) 5
I'm all for reform, but national vote count is a lot easier to corrupt than a bunch of district votes. Checks and balances are in place to prevent corruption. Why are we getting rid of them?
Comment Sorry I'm late... (Score 1) 45
... now that messages are on the front page (or I just found them), I'm late to the party, but allow me to also say "I'm here if you need anything."
I'm a big believer in marriage, and I hope you've tried counseling with both of you before you (will or already have) hung it up.
Best of luck. This is a time thing... it'll take time to get through it all, and you never may get through it entirely, but know there are others out there to help you through it.
I'm a big believer in marriage, and I hope you've tried counseling with both of you before you (will or already have) hung it up.
Best of luck. This is a time thing... it'll take time to get through it all, and you never may get through it entirely, but know there are others out there to help you through it.
Comment Apps... (Score 1) 10
Apps worth having:
- TwitterFon: I've tried a variety of twitter apps, fon is free and the best
- Wikipanion: Free wikipedia app that makes it much easier to read wikipedia from the phone
- PNC Mobile: Or any other bank app... if you like to keep track of your banking on the fly
- iFitness: The only app I've purchased. If you work out and want to keep track, its the best out there.
- WebMD: If you do webMD, this has the symptom app already built in
- Dictionary.com: Great app (huuuge 35MB!), but its all offline with pronunciations.
- Shazam & Midomi: Want to know who sings that song with a link to iTunes?
- Stanza: Free online books (download and read on the phone)
- TWC: Local weather + weather channel forecast movies
- Lightsaber: Fun toy
- Trace, CubeRunner, TapDefense are the games I've played and kept
- DirectTV: If you have direct tv, you can log in and set your machine to record shows and stuff
That's my list. I haven't found a decent free chess game (with AI... there are some free online ones, I believe), and there are too many pay ones for me to look at, but if you find a winner, let me know. Sudoku apps are a dime a dozen...
Norfolk Police Officers To Be Tagged To Improve Response Times 150
Police in Norfolk, England already have tracking units, The Automatic Vehicle Location System, installed in their cars that allow a control room to track their exact locations. Later this year a similar system will be attached to individual police radios to allow controllers to monitor the position of every frontline officer. Combined with equipment that can pinpoint the locations of 999 callers, the system will allow the force to home in on "shouts" to within yards. The system also lets operators filter a map showing the location of its vehicles and constables to reveal only those with the skills needed for a specific incident, like the closest officer with silver bullets during a werewolf attack.
Comment Re:Neither, but... (Score 1) 6
IntelliJ is definitely the cream of the crop when talking about it and eclipse and netbeans... the problem is the latter two are free, but IntelliJ is hundreds of dollars...
Comment Re:IBM backed out... but... (Score 1) 6
eclemma is probably what you are talking about witht he emma/junit.
I'm also a fan of 'findBugs' for statistical analysis and I use Q4E for Maven2 integration.
Also, 'extract method' is a great refactoring thing to know... and you can make it so saves automatically organize imports and format the code...
I'm also a fan of 'findBugs' for statistical analysis and I use Q4E for Maven2 integration.
Also, 'extract method' is a great refactoring thing to know... and you can make it so saves automatically organize imports and format the code...
Comment IBM backed out... but... (Score 1) 6
... I prefer eclipse. Netbeans has some nice wizards, but eclipse I feel is more polished and has far more plugins to help with the coding.
