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Diver's Pursuits
Below are the 25 most recent journal entries.
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2012.07.08 13.35
On meeting people, hope, and clean apartments
Summary: Had a delicious and generally-positive-but-slightly-awkward breakfast with a woman I met yesterday, then had a very nice coffeeklatch with an older guy who lives in the other building (someone I just met, not Don). Also, my apartment is clean for a reason that I find funny.
( Details...Collapse )
Mood:  happy
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2012.07.06 01.10
Playing Qix with a rabbit
I just finished playing Qix with a rabbit (no, not that rabbit).
( Read more...Collapse )
Belated thought: I hope everyone reading this had an awesome 4th of July! (Yes, even those of you who live beyond our borders, among the non-American godless heathens who don't celebrate the 4th.)
Hugs to all.
Mood: amused
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2012.02.15 13.47
Happy Post-Valentine's
I hope all of my in-relationship friends had fun yesterday on the day when, for some odd reason, the merchants tell us we should tell our sweeties we love them by buying chocolates in commemoration of the clubbing and beheading of a man famous in Christian mythology for healing the blind.
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2011.10.12 19.10
Dennis Ritchie died today
Unless you're a software developer "of a certain age", you've probably never heard of Dennis Ritchie. He invented the C programming language and was one of the key developers (along with Ken Thompson) of the Unix operating system. Here are two reasons why this matters:
- For all intents and purposes, every computer in the world runs either Unix or Windows. The vast majority of them run some variant on Unix.
- Mac OSX is BSD Unix with a pretty interface.
- Linux is a Unix variant with a specific political agenda.
- Your Internet-enabled TV runs a variant of Unix.
- So does the router that gives you Internet access.
- So does the mail server that lets you read your GMail.
- So does the web server that is letting you read this blog post.
- So does the majority of the medical equipment that you will see if you go to a hospital.
- Got an iPhone or iPad? All of the software on it -- games, scheduling tools, Maps, etc -- is written in the Objective-C programming language. That language is a direct descendant of the C language, and none of that software would exist without the contributions of Dennis.
Dennis Ritchie's contributions have probably influenced our online lives more than anyone in the world except his direct collaborators (e.g. Robert Pike and Ken Thompson) or, arguably,Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the Web. He will be missed.
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2011.07.15 11.23
Would you use this? Does it exist?
Imagine a phone bank manned by real human beings. These people's job is to listen to whatever you have to say in a non-judgmental fashion -- and then forget it. No records are kept, no repercussions. No therapy -- just a safe place to vent your frustration, or to externalize whatever dark worms of doubt and insecurity are currently wriggling around in your soul that you aren't comfortable discussing with friends or loved ones because the people you might discuss it with are involved, or are the cause.
It's not a suicide hotline; you don't call these people when you're standing on a ledge, you call them six months earlier so that you don't end up on the ledge in the first place.
Now imagine that this is a for-profit service, and having access to it costs. You can either buy unlimited access for $20 / month or pay as you go, $1/ minute, maybe. Would you use this? Does something like it exist?
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2011.04.13 14.13
Various: Harry Potter, revenue trolls, and nothing
First off: Yay! The revenue trolls are sated for another year.
First secundus: Boo! Hardly any income (since I was working unapaid on ChannelMeter most of the year), but I still owe taxes. Bleh.
Second imprimus: If you haven't read Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, you really should (free online, plus various free downloadable versions in the Author's Notes [click 'Less Wrong' at the top]). Basic idea: Harry Potter is an 11-year-old genius, he's highly scientifically trained, he's a rationalist, and his owl arrives. Oh yeah -- Voldemort is also a LOT smarter, also a rationalist, and *highly* Genre Savvy. Even if you aren't interested in the rationalist metaphysics, the story is frequently hilarious, often touching, and has regular stand-up-and-cheer moments. If I've posted this before, sorry -- I'm too blergle from finalizing taxes to go back and check.
Third: There is no third.
Fourth: Regarding the tax thing...I don't mind paying (much) but I do object to having to do unpaid accounting. Offhand, I can only think of three ways the government can compel your labor as a civilian: by drafting you; by sending you to prison; or by taxing you. Makes one think.
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2011.04.01 10.27
Cool science paper
A friend on IRC made a joke about "1.71 jiggavolts". Being the geek (i.e. pedant) that I am, I went googling for the actual number that Doc Brown quoted in Back to the Future. One of the top links was, if I'm understanding it correctly, a science paper about building really really friggin' huge LIGHTNING-MAKING MACHINES and using them to power a fusion reactor.
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2011.03.28 13.36
PostgreSQL: winner and still champ-een
Google for "PostgreSQL sucks": About 260,000 results
Google for "MySQL sucks": About 3,700,000 results
Of course, that's for all time. If we wanted a more reasonable comparison, we would check just the last year, in order to compare the state-of-the-art for both DBs. Ok, let's try that:
(In the last year): Google for "PostgreSQL sucks": About 34,900 results
(In the last year): Google for "MySQL sucks": About 859,000 results
Short form: for every person who dislikes PostgreSQL on the web, there are 15-20 people (or more!) who dislike MySQL.
Given that, could someone please explain to me how a complete piece of CRAP like MySQL became the default standard FOSS DB on the web? (Yes, I know the answer. It's a rhetorical question.)
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2010.12.05 19.29
Verily, I fail NaNoWriMo forever...or at least this year
Obviously, I blew it on NaNoWriMo. I kept going for less than a week before I let work and NRE crowd me out of the race. I did do a small bit more writing after I stopped updating my counts, but nothing really worth mentioning and I haven't touched it now in three weeks.
Although I regret not sticking with it, I don't regret trying it. It gives me more of an understanding of what it takes to be a full-time writer, which is cool on its own. More importantly, it got me started. I can now go back to that story fragment any time I want.
I have a house guest for the next two weeks, so I will give myself permission not to work on the story for that time. Once it's just me again, though, I'd like to go back to it.
This entry was originally posted at http://perldiver.dreamwidth.org/96204.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
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2010.11.04 19.51
Current NaNoWriMo count: 1209
Effectively zero progress yesterday, because I went to K's for the massage and then out with her to Bad Movie Night with a bunch of her friends. (I knew that was happening, I knew it was happening on Wednesday, it's just that yesterday I was thinking "today is Tuesday". I have no idea what is happening with me and time lately.)
Bad Movie Night was *amazing*. About a dozen people, mostly geeks of one stripe or another, plus a couple of young kids (L and her friend A, each about 7). Potluck dinner, but this is no typical potluck. Our hosts were both Kitchen Enabled -- she was a cheesemaker, he brewed beer, they both appear to have been bakers. Everyone else brought cookies, or enchiladas, or macaroons (!!!), or roasted chicken etc -- all of it homemade. One of the guests brought three espresso pot de creme...much gluttony was committed by all, and I was in heaven.
Then it was time for the actual Bad Movie. For our viewing "enjoyment" we had Krull. Everyone gathered around the giant TV and the MST3King commenced. At K's suggestion, I dragged this giant poof-chair (essentially a beanbag chair 4' across) downstairs and the two of us snuggled on that while feeding each other pot de creme and drinking sangria. At this point, I moved up to a better class of heaven.
I felt the tiniest wisp of guilt for not making any progress, but I'd choose the same way again in a heartbeat.
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2010.11.03 00.41
Current NaNoWriMo count: 1098
Yesterday I was down by ~1500 from where I needed to be. Today, I'm down by ~2000; this is not progress in the correct direction, but at least it represents significantly more writing than I did yesterday. Plus, I'm having fun with it so hey -- win.
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2010.11.02 09.00
Current NaNoWriMo count: 188
Started writing at 11pm last night, got interrupted, only got 188 words done. 50k words / 30 days is 1,667 words / day, so I'm going to have to really step it up tonight.
From a numerical perspective, this was not a great start, but I'm still delighted -- because I actually *started*. I'm no longer staring at a blank page, and I no longer have the excuse of "well, it's not like I'd be abandoning anything half-done...maybe I'll wait until next year when I'm not so busy."
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2010.11.01 16.52
I'm doing NaNoWriMo
I decided a few weeks ago to do NaNoWriMo this year. It will be my first time and, honestly, I have no idea how I'm going to pull it off. Between doing ChannelMeter and everything else that's going on I'm not too sanguine about my chances. But, it's not like my life is ever going to get simpler, right? So, nothing to do but go for it. I think the line about a man's reach, his grasp, and the purpose of the Christian positive-reinforcement afterlife is all relevant here.
I tried to formally sign up today, but http://www.nanowrimo.org/ appears to be down.
I've got a bunch of backstory worked out, a rough character sketch of the two primary characters, the vaguest summary of a treatment of a synopsis of a plot outline, and 30 days -- two weeks of which will be spent at my family's place in CT with lots of distractions. What could possibly go wrong?
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2010.07.29 18.26
Looking for MySQL advice
Hey everyone out there with MySQL chops, can you help me out?
( Read more...Collapse )
Does anyone have suggestions for a workaround? I'm almost ready to do all of this in code and call it a day, but would really prefer not to -- that way lies madness and corrupted datastores.
This entry was originally posted at http://perldiver.dreamwidth.org/94442.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
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2010.07.04 10.34
Note to self
Note to self self: if you can't figure out why you are only getting 7 rows of test data back instead of the 10 you expected...please verify that you actually inserted 10 (i.e. not 7) before wasting two hours worrying about it.
*headdesk*
This entry was originally posted at http://perldiver.dreamwidth.org/93954.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
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2010.06.23 12.39
Wife-Rail
I am posting this from a subway train currently under 50 feet of rock.
Ok, there are certain parts of the San Francisco transport system that are damned impressive.
This entry was originally posted at http://perldiver.dreamwidth.org/93725.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
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2010.05.30 18.18
Idle amusement: my current iTunes DJ list
You can tell that I'm not terribly musical (or, at least, musically discriminating) by looking at the current choices coming up on my iTunes DJ:
- "The Lark Ascending (Opening)" by the New Philharmonia Orchestra
- "Lucky Star" by Madonna
- a French pop song (the name and artist were not on the mix CD I got it from)
- "And They Say I've Got Talent" by Tom Smith [filk]
- "Cello Concerto in E Minor" by the London Symphony Orchestra
- "These Cold Fingers" by Bill Morrissey
- "Saggy Diaper Blues" by Da Vinci's Notebook
- "Dinny's Farewell" by Draoicht [Celtic...folk / soft rock / ??]
This entry was originally posted at http://perldiver.dreamwidth.org/93213.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
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2010.05.17 15.46
What to do if a crime occurs near you
A week ago, there was a domestic violence incident two doors down from me. The woman was (non-sexually) assaulted by her boyfriend; he pushed her down, twisted her arm, wrenched her neck, broke her necklace, then pushed her out the door of the apartment and locked her out. I invited her into my apartment and gave her my phone so she could call 911. They came, arrested the boyfriend, and took him for a psych eval.
The next day, an SFPD Inspector (which is what San Francisco calls Police Detectives) called me and took my statement over the phone. An hour ago, the public defender's rep came by and took it again.
Here are some realizations I've had, which come out as bits of advice if anything similar ever happens near you:
- Get involved.
- Stay involved.
- Keep a timelog of events as they happen.
- Use video if you have it. If not, use Voice Memos. Lacking that, write it down.
- Your smartphone probably has video and/or Voice Memos.
- Volunteer your name and contact information to one of the responding officers and state that you will testify.
- Consider carefully what you say to officials: be factual, and do not answer leading questions.
( That advice expanded...Collapse )
Obviously, this advice doesn't apply just to domestic violence calls -- you could do the same for a fender bender or any other situation where there are going to be legal issues involved later.
One final thing I note -- the police took my statement the next day, while my recollections were fresh; they did it over the phone and recorded it. The Public Defender's office did not get to me for a week when some details had gone fuzzy; they sent someone to my home to take my statement in person and the rep took everything down in the form of written notes. Most likely, these differences are due to different staffing levels, different workloads, the time it takes for the case to get through processing and passed from the SFPD to the PubDef office, etc. The effect, however, is that it makes it easier for the Public Defender to cast doubt in witness's minds about exactly what happened, when, and how. Keep this in mind while giving your statement.
This entry was originally posted at http://perldiver.dreamwidth.org/92831.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
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