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August 31, 2005
life in plaintext
I still need to update my blogging software to stop this stupid comment spam. Grr.
I finally signed up for an REI membership last night. Kara and I are going to do some camping this weekend, and I needed to pick up a couple of foam sleeping pads and some bug spray. I also finally got around to buying my fishing license. The rod and reel are in the car, and I'm going to do a little fishing after I get done with the gym, if it doesn't rain.
The motorcycle should be fixed this weekend. I was just talking with a coworker this morning about riding, and lo and behold, he just emailed a guy about an $800 Honda Nighthawk out of the blue. It would be awesome to bring somebody else into the sport. Riding is teh fun.
I am trying this interesting new concept in keeping track of things. Over the years, I have tried a number of different to-do lists, software mechanisms for tracking this and that, and I always make sure that whatever cell phone I am using has a nice to-do list feature.
The one problem with this is that as soon as you convert all your addresses, notes, etc. to whatever system you are using, you are locked into that system. It is often difficult to port items from system to system because of formatting standards, and keeping lists and notes in synch is a nightmare.
So I was reading an article about the concept of just using one big plaintext file to keep track of things. It is very cross-compatible--text ports anywhere--and you can format it according to your needs, not according to how somebody built a piece of software. So I'm playing around with it. I have a big textfile that I synch up with my web server, and as I need to keep track of something, I just type it into the file and save it.
Presently, I have on there a list of stuff I need for camping, some notes about my latest work project, some games that I need to play and/or finish, and some upgrade plans for my computer, with components and prices. Not that I'm going to do that anytime before Christmas, at the absolute earliest...I need to start socking away money for a house.
Here are the articles I read about plaintext organization:
43folders.com
oreilleynet.com
As some people at work pointed out, it is somewhat analogous to the old-school .plan files that people used to keep in their Unix directories.
Posted by Mark at 01:10 PM | Comments (0)
August 29, 2005
what not to wear
First off, a heads-up that I may need to start enforcing some sort of account system for leaving comments on the blog. Not that people are leaving rude comments, but I'm getting comment-spammed by somebody. Basically, this involves someone using an automated process to enter comments in an unauthenticated commenting system, thereby increasing one's pagerank and possibly doing some advertising. Highly unethical, but it's a valid business practice, I guess. Anyway, I used to get maybe one or two a week, but I came back from my weekend to find about 70 of them posted. That's going to be a problem if it keeps happening. As much as I enjoy Texas Hold-em, I'm not about to do free advertising for a site offering it. I'll keep you posted.
I was in NH for a wedding this weekend, which went well. Bacon-wrapped scallops are perhaps the world's perfect appetizer.
The hotel we stayed in was the New England Center, just outside of UNH. It was built right in the middle of the trees; the view from our window was of nothing but forest. It reminded me very much of the Imperial base on Endor in Return of the Jedi. I kept expecting to see Ewoks hang-gliding by.
With each wedding we go to, we sort of make mental notes on things we liked, things we didn't. This one was great in that they had it at a Bed and Breakfast, with the ceremony in a beautiful granite flower garden outside, and the reception inside. No stupid folding chairs and generic fire-hall/reception-hall decor; this was all nice wood finish and New England atmosphere. The majority of the guests stayed up the road at the New England Center, and there was shuttle service back and forth, with the option to stay at the B&B.
It was buffet-style food, which was unusual, but the food was also unusually good. Salmon, some generic chicken, roast beef, those little red potatoes, that sort of thing.
I met another member of Kara's family, her Aunt Cil, who came up from Florida. I think the entire Gale clan was present. They are crazy.
On the way home, we stopped in Maine (my first time in the state!) to do a little outlet shopping. I am now the proud owner of a down comforter and a nice 300-thread count duvet cover, with matching pillow shams. I accidentally got out of buying a matching bedskirt, but I am told I have to do that at some point.
I also did some clothes shopping and picked up about a week's worth of outfits from Old Navy for $100. I like to hit the Kay-Bee Toy outlet if they have one, because you can find some good bargain bin computers games there at times. I picked up a copy of Unreal 2 and the sequel to Deus Ex for about $14 combined. I know they got middling reviews, but they'll keep me occupied once I get tired of Morrowind...the sequel to Morrowind is coming out in the fall, but I'm going to need a mobo/graphics card upgrade to play it, and I'm not financially prepared to drop $500 on computer stuff just yet.
Once we got home, Kara and I ended up playing What Not To Wear: Home Edition. It began with me needing hangars for a couple of new shirts, and ended in us going through every piece of my clothing and decided to get rid of about two-thirds of it. Items that didn't fit and would not be likely to fit in the near future are slated for donation. I was pretty good about keeping some sentimental items--my old ChangeWave denim shirt, the pants I wore in Europe, some cross-country shirts from 1995--but getting rid of others, like a generic ISS polo, a stretched-out Guinness shirt from Dublin, and an old Hard Rock Cafe shirt from NYC that was more hole than fabric.
I have a pretty solid wardrobe now, and it was actually fun going through everything. I have enough good clothes to wear now that I don't have to keep old stuff that I don't like or can't wear based solely on needing to have something to avoid being naked. I figure that there are plenty of people out there who can use my old khakis and T-shirts more than I can.
It was also amusing watching Kara's reaction to certain items. There were some items that I didn't even need to look at her reaction to toss them on the "donate" pile.
Anyway, it was really a great feeling to go through a lot of old junk and get rid of stuff. My closet is a lot emptier, but what I have left is things that I can actually wear.
Finally, and completely unrelated, congrats to Mike on passing his Eagle board of review! That makes three Dalius Eagle Scouts.
Posted by Mark at 10:07 AM | Comments (1)
August 26, 2005
everett true
The Outbursts of Everett True.
A two-panel comic from 1906, proving that rage never goes out of style. I wish the Sunday funnies were this good.
Posted by Mark at 02:44 PM | Comments (0)
new controller
Geeks love to speculate on things, and the secret design for the new Nintendo Revolution controller is the hot topic for now.
I want to go on-record by stating that I think it will incorporate:
1) a gyroscopic mechanism (tilt the controller to move)
2) built-in wireless
3) a touchscreen
4) onboard memory or a memory card reader
Other than that, I think it will have relatively few buttons, and will probably be fairly revolutionary in design and function (which is pretty much par for the course as far as Nintendo is concerned). That is all.
P.S. I say "par for the course" because Nintendo has been nothing if not innovative with designs. They were the first with the D-pad, a console-based mouse, a touchscreen, shoulder buttons, analog sticks on a gamepad, a VR interface, a shoulder-mounted light bazooka, and probably some other things I'm forgetting about. The DS has a touchscreen. I believe the SP has a gyroscope. Wireless is practically standard these days. I think the controller will combine all these things.
I think a card-reader or integrated memory is possible. Actually, I'm going to revise my predictions to include a card reader. I mean, if it's going to have a touchscreen, why not give players the means to save custom controller layouts right on the controller? In a way, the controller becomes a customized extension of the player...you take your controller to a buddy's house, the Revolution detects the presence of your controller and automagically allows you to start playing a multiplayer game with him. It imports your name and stats right into the console. How cool would that be?
Posted by Mark at 02:04 PM | Comments (2)
August 25, 2005
good day
Had a GREAT meeting with the boss today. I'm doing fine at my job, any misgivings I have had are purely my own, and I am on track and becoming a contributing member of the team, and pulling my weight. I am very pleased.
Interestingly, we have one major thing in common: he is learning to be a manager (this is his first foray into management), and I am interested in eventually doing the same. I actually loaned him my copies of The Mythical Man-Month and Tom DeMarco's (no relation to Kara) Slack. I also actually re-ordered Peopleware since an old boss never returned the copy I loaned her (I doubt she ever read it, since ICES Ltd. is, I believe, out of business). I also grabbed a copy of The Richest Man in Babylon for my bookshelf, and Joel on Software on a whim.
I picked up the U.S. News 2006 grad school guide at B&N and I'm looking with some amusement that Harvard MBA grads have an average of $78K in debt when they graduate. Sure, they probably move right into six-figure jobs, but hey, c'mon now...that's a lot of debt, and I don't care how many zeroes are on your paycheck. It's like turning your nose up at doctors and lawyers for their high salaries, while conveniently forgetting that they spent 7 or 8 years in school, and have the bills to prove it. You gotta make more if you're gonna spend that much on your education. I'm perfectly happy to admit that the prospect of making 12K a year doing broadcasting work in Idaho was one reason I looked very seriously about getting into Internet stuff instead of actually following my major.
I'm enjoying writing these short parables. It gives me a chance to stretch my brain a bit. I like Matt's idea that I should write 50 of 'em and try to get them published as a book called Gems of Wisdom or something similarly inane. But how awesome would that look on the bargain shelf at Waldenbooks? You know you'd totally buy a copy for that person in your life who's addicted to snarkily-named miniature self-help books, like Tofu Soup for the Vegetarian Agnostic's Non-denominational Spiritual Being.
Anyway. It was a good day. Good days, bad days, but things are pretty much fine.
Posted by Mark at 08:26 PM | Comments (0)
the student and the chisel
A new student came to the master.
"I wish to learn to cut gems as you do," said he.
"Very well," said the master. "I will teach you."
The master gave the student a rough stone and a chisel. The student immediately positioned the chisel on the surface of the stone and prepared to strike.
"What are you doing?" cried the master.
"I am preparing to make a cut," said the student.
The master shook his head. "Before you begin to cut, you must consider the stone, its weak points, its flaws, the shape you wish to create. You must be slow and deliberate."
The student nodded. "I will consider the stone," said he.
The master returned in a week. "Now that you have prepared, you may begin to cut."
The student positioned the chisel and raised the hammer, then very slowly began to lower it toward the handle.
"What are you doing?" cried the master.
"I am cutting the stone, slowly and deliberately, as you told me," said the student.
The master shook his head. "If you strike so slowly, you will not cut the stone at all. You must strike quickly and decisively."
The student was confused. "But master, I do not understand. How can I be slow and deliberate, yet also quick and decisive?"
The master sighed. "There is a time for each. The doe stands warily in the field for many breaths, yet with the next, she has already disappeared into the brush."
Posted by Mark at 03:00 PM | Comments (1)
August 24, 2005
stories
I hope you are enjoying my little stories. It's good for me to write.
I think I consistently get sleepy around 3 in the afternoon. I suspect having my day end consistently around that time during my youth had an impact. I wonder what life would be like if kids went to school until 5 p.m.?
Posted by Mark at 03:40 PM | Comments (2)
the man who changed his mind
A man came to the master with a gem.
"I would like this gem fashioned into a beautiful ring," said he.
"I will do this for you," said the master, and he set to work. Some days later, the man returned.
"I have changed my mind. I would like instead a pair of earrings," said he.
The master had already cut the gem and placed it in a setting, but he replied, "I will do this for you," and set to work. Some days later, the man returned again.
"I have changed my mind again. I would like instead for you to make me a ring," said he.
The master shook his head. "I cannot do this for you," said he.
The man replied, "But when I changed my mind before, you were able to accomodate me. Why not this time?"
The master said, "I have already cut the gem in two, and no skill of mine or any other gem cutter will put the halves together again."
The man was angry, and stormed out. The master turned to his student.
"On the journey, some steps can be retraced, and some cannot. If you walk up a mountain and wish to walk down again, so be it, but if you cut down a forest to pass through it, who can regrow it?"
Posted by Mark at 01:16 PM | Comments (0)
the miner and the drill bits
Once, a miner came to the diamond-cutter with a pair of stones.
"I must have sharper bits for my drill," said he, "and I would like you to fashion these raw diamonds into new bits."
"I will have one of my students set to it at once," said the master, and he gave the stones to his student. The student thanked the master, and set to work. But he soon got other ideas.
"These are such fine stones!" said he. "It would be a shame and a waste to make them into mere drill bits. I shall instead make them into a pair of beautiful earrings, and the miner may sell them at great profit."
So he worked the diamonds into earrings, rather than drill bits. A short time later, the master came with the miner to pick up the finished work.
"See!" said the student. "You asked for sharper bits for your drill, but these were such fine stones that I couldn't bear to put them to such mundane use. So I have crafted these beautiful earrings, which you may sell at a great profit!"
But the miner was aghast. "Do you not understand? Yes, I may sell these diamonds earrings once, and make thousands. But with sharper drill bits, I could have mined a great deal more ore, and made millions! You have robbed me of a great profit!"
The master shook his head. "How useless is fine china when there is no food upon it."
Posted by Mark at 12:51 AM | Comments (0)
the diamond-cutter
Once, a great diamond was discovered. The raw gem was the size of a full-grown man's fist. The master gemcutter gave it to one of his students.
"You are my greatest student," said he, "and so I will give you this great raw gem to fashion into a beautiful diamond."
The student was anxious, but not wanting to disappoint the master, he set to work. In a week, the master saw that he had cut a large gem the size of a thumb.
"This is a beautiful gem," said the master.
But his student cried out, "Please, master, this work is hardly finished! Look at the flaws I have exposed, and the mistakes I have made in the cuts. Give me another week, and I shall achieve perfection."
The master saw that it was so, and he gave his student his wish. A week later, he saw that the gem was now the size of a man's fingernail.
"This is a beautiful gem," said the master, "and more perfect than before."
But again, his student cried out, "Please, master, if only it were so! I have avoided many flaws, and made better cuts than before, yet this diamond is still not perfect. Give me one more week, and I shall achieve perfection."
The master saw that it was so, and gave the student his wish. A week later, the gem was scarcely larger than a grain of sand. Yet, each facet looked flawless, and the angle of each cut reflected great light.
"This is a beautiful gem," said the master, "and is surely the pinnacle of gem cutting. I am proud of you, my student."
But once again the student cried out, "Please master, I have come so far, and am so close, but not every facet is completely flawless, not every cut is perfect. Give me one more week, and I shall achive perfection!"
At this the master had enough, and shook his head sadly. "Foolish student! Do you not realize that perfection is but the sun on the horizon? It may guide our footsteps, but never will we reach it. And with every footstep, things diminish, never to return, as with this diamond."
And with that, he blew into his student's hand, and the tiny diamond was blown away like dust.
Posted by Mark at 12:37 AM | Comments (0)
August 23, 2005
nothing much
How quickly I've gotten used to seeing Kara on a nearly regular basis. I didn't see her all weekend. We had a nice dinner at Cactus Cantina last night. I enjoy being able to pay the bill using my cell phone.
Today has been productive. Some interesting links:
A good article about PHP security
A hilarious look at what a contemporary gadget site would've looked like in 1985
I did take the T into work today, and I am starting to get back into reading, which makes the commute much more fun. Also, my new contacts finally came in. It is very nice being able to see without the hassle of glasses again.
Posted by Mark at 02:23 PM | Comments (0)
August 21, 2005
wine that is "off" and a decent steak marinade
I experienced an interesting juxtaposition of flavors just now. They were a bottle of wine that could only be described as "off," and a chuck steak that was surprisingly tender and well-flavored.
I have always wondered just what a bottle of wine ought not to taste like. On countless occasions, I have been the one to sip the sample at dinner before pronouncing it acceptable, and thus allowing the pouring to begin. But there have been times when I hestitated. Maybe a wine was a bit tannic, a bit sharp at the start, and I was caught unprepared by it. "Is this bottle off?" I would ask myself. But, without being certain, I would nod my head and say that it was fine.
I now know that I was perfectly within reason in declaring those wines to be just fine. I had a glass of some South African vintage, a pinotage, which I had purchased on a whim, based on not having had a pinotage before. I had a sip, and promptly spat it out. "This is odd," I thought. "This wine doesn't seem right. Maybe the flavor is just very different from what I am used to...I should try again." And again, the taste was unmistakably wrong. Think dishwater, think rancidity, think undrinkable. Maybe I've had wines before that weren't at their best, but this stuff made me phyiscally gag. So that, friends, defines a wine that is off: if you cannot physically manage to swallow it without feeling ill, the wine is off, and you should send it back.
The steak, on the other hand, was not bad. I had one more chuck steak in the freezer which I decided to cook up. I now also know that chuck isn't much of a steak for grilling, having more in common with shoe leather than filet mignon, but I already had bought it, and I don't like to waste food, particularly meat. I figure, if an animal died for my dinner, I'm going to savor every bite. Which is why I will always finish my cheeseburger before the fries: potatoes feel no pain.
At any rate, the marinade was as follows:
Mix in bag, stick in fridge overnight, turn once in awhile, etc.
I grilled it on the george for just long enough (maybe a minute too long, as the inside could probably have been pinker), and dug in. It wasn't bad. Decent flavor, with a little kick, a little spice to it. I might have omitted the onion powder, as I don't think it really added anything much to it. But it was fairly tender, and a few bites were worth writing home about. I think it mainly tasted like your standard steak sauce, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
After the steak, I gave the wine one last shot. After gagging in the sink, the rest of the wine joined the marinade residue in the garbage disposal.
So, a black-pepper, olive oil and Worchestershire sauce marinade is pretty good, even on chuck steak, and probably doesn't need onion powder. A bottle of wine that is off will leave you no doubt that it is undrinkable. Food for thought!
Posted by Mark at 05:20 PM | Comments (0)
August 20, 2005
on sickness, dreams, and evolution
I woke up around 1:30 this afternoon, poked myself in the arm, and determined that I felt a whole lot better. I guess it was one of those 24-hour things.
As per usual, I had weird dreams. Many revolved around meeting and hanging out with a celebrity who was a nicer version of Val Kilmer, but not named Val Kilmer. In that same dream, brother Matt had totally ripped abs, yet weighed 245 pounds. Also, I had the bonus obsidian access card to the super-secret rooms in the various buildings on different planets, and went out for some whisky and brews with the space crime syndicate boss. I recall having a special gun that shot small needle-like projectiles, available in various configurations: 4 different ratios of armor-piercing tip to mushrooming tail, depending on the softness of the target.
Kara informs me that my dreams are weird, and that I may or may not be a freak. I accept this with the same solemnity that one would grant an explanation that when the sun rises, it gets light out. It's just not open for debate, any more than one might question the existence of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Look. I went to Catholic school. I had Religion as a class. I got a grade in it. I studied it. I know a reasonable amount about the Bible, I'm very comfortable discussing the dogma of Catholicism in particular and Christianity in general (and it always makes me laugh when fundamentalists pretend that their particular sect is Christian whereas the Catholic Church is not...but that's another discussion for another day).
The point is, religion is faith. The whole principle of the thing is that you can't really prove it. I mean, there are bits of the Bible that specifically say, "don't test the Lord your God."
That's not what science is about. Science is about finding rational, provable, reproducable explanations for things. It's not about saying, "wow, this is too complicated, I guess we'll never know." The universe is not a Tootsie Roll pop.
Who do you think you are, positing that God is too stupid to make everything add up? Do you think you're more intelligent than the creator? "Oh, I'm not smart enough to understand the myriad logical explanations for various scientific phenomenae, therefore God must not be smart enough either, and clearly said, 'screw this, I'm just gonna create stuff without any rhyme or reason.'"
If I were God, I'd be annoyed: "Whoa, whoa, whoa. I go through all this trouble to invent these complex rules by which the universe can exist, to make sure everything adds up...you think bonding dienes in freshman biochem was hard? How about inventing pi? Yeah, I thought so. You forget to carry the 2, you get a D-. I forget to do it, molecules are incapable of fusing to form larger structures."
The point is, we live in a world of rules. We have discovered that there are actual correlations between things, cause and effect. Things that exist today can be traced to ancient ancestors. Evolution happened. It doesn't diminish God. In fact, it glorifies the principle of a creator by showing that He did His homework. Things add up.
On the other hand, saying, "God made it, so shut up and stop asking questions" gets us nowhere. The Catholic Church still makes mistakes. But at least it was smart enough to exonerate Galileo.
So go ahead, challenge science. But I guarantee, science is going to be around a lot longer than you.
Or your religion.
Posted by Mark at 09:25 PM | Comments (0)
August 19, 2005
sick
I am definitely getting sick.
At this point, I'm feeling the initial onset of odd sensations...it's like the sensory receptors on my skin aren't working quite right. If you've been sick you know the feeling...a sort of sluggishness in your responses, like having to hit the keys a little too hard before you realize that you are typing. It's not that it hurts, per se, just that your skin feels slightly uncomfortable, and your muscles feel twitchy. There's the occasional bit of vertigo. My teeth are clenched and I'm shivering slightly, and every so often I shudder like I'm feeling a chill. It's extremely odd, but lucid at the same time...my body just wants to go to sleep, but my brain is working overtime. Pretty weird.
Posted by Mark at 07:46 PM | Comments (0)
machinima
This is an exceedingly amusing bit of machinima.
Machinima, for the uninitiated, is a relatively new visual performance artform that uses 3D game engines to create animated sequences. Instead of actors, you have people controlling characters in a 3D game. You can use the technology designed to enable a multi-player online universe to create short films. Or, in this case, a talk show. It's really quite interesting.
It will be very interesting to see in the next few years how readily-available software tools will continue to change the publishing industry. Much like the Gutenberg press moved books from the realm of the very rich to the homes of the more modestly rich, the means of production is increasingly moving into the hands of the workers. You can actually support yourself independently as a blogger or a web-based musician now. Hmm.
I will go get a fishing license this weekend, or possibly after work. I was going to order one online but I think they send it to you in the mail, and I want it sooner than that.
Posted by Mark at 01:15 PM | Comments (0)
August 18, 2005
quick hits
As per usual, sometimes I write a lot, sometimes I don't. I guess, here are some quick hits:
Brian Eden has a blog.
I really like hanging out with Kara, even if she's studying and I'm just reading a book.
For some reason, Lost keeps skipping episodes and it is confusing. I don't understand why they would do this...can't they just double-up in order to fit in all the episodes before season 2 starts? I mean, show them at 2 a.m., I don't care. But don't skip them. It's like, twice now, the show has started, and I'm like, um, did I miss something? What is happening here? Fix it ABC.
I mistakenly ordered contacts that were 3.50/4.50 instead of -3.50/-4.50. Of course my optometrist didn't catch the error. I am never going back to that same guy again. 1800Contacts is shipping me the corrected prescription and will refund me once I send the unused contacts back.
The cell phone rebate is a funny thing. I can only send the rebate in between 180 days and 210 days after I bought it. That's quite the stealthy way to try to get people to not redeem the rebate. I mean, it would be easy to forget about it half a year after you got it in the first place.
I am wavering between getting a fishing license and not, so I can fish behind my building. It is already late August, but it would be relaxing.
I am being pretty good about going to the gym three days a week.
I'm scheduled to look at Northeastern in September, and I'm going to talk with our president about educational benefits and such. I need an MBA.
The weather has turned cool and fall-like, which is fine, given how hot it has been lately.
My motorcycle is still in the shop. It's going to be Christmas before I get the thing back at this rate. I don't think I will be in a position to upgrade, however, for some time, since I need to get serious about buying a house.
I now have a "food" category in my blog but I haven't started filling it yet.
That's pretty much it.
Posted by Mark at 05:23 PM | Comments (1)
August 11, 2005
clarity
I had a good moment of clarity down by the Mystic River, behind the office, yesterday. I thought about challenges and what I want to do.
One of the big things is that I haven't really been forcibly challenged in a long time. That isn't to say that there haven't been challenges, but I've slacked off some and chosen not to take many of them. That's not necessarily a bad thing--I was a terrible overachiever in my youth--but choosing to take it easy has also lowered my tolerance for things that are hard. Consequently, frustration with this recent coding task.
I'm trying to look at it as a positive challenge, as something I can work towards. Yes, I do want to get into management. It's something I need to do for my career, and it's something that frankly interests me. But even if I started an MBA program this fall (which it's far too late to do), it would still be nearly 2 years before I finished, and that's a long ways off. In the interim, I'm a coder, and I need to be good at what I do. Part of that involves confronting my rusty skills, and, in some cases, simple lack of knowledge. I don't have a CS degree. I don't have a lot of formal training. Therefore, there are going to be a lot of holes in my skillset. Furthermore, the level of programming expertise here is far beyond any that I have previously seen. That's a challenge, yes, but it's also a good thing that I can learn from, if I can learn to swallow my pride and not just take my ball and go home because I'm not the lead-off hitter. There's a big growth opportunity here that is going to serve me very well even in a manegerial role...learning not to just code solutions that get the job done, but to code solutions that get the job done well.
So I think I've managed to find some clarity and resolution to that problem. It's not easy, but...well, I like to say that I enjoy challenge, but part of me really doesn't. Part of me is pretty lazy; that's the part that wants to sit on the couch eating pizza rather than going to the gym. But, it feels a lot better when your pants fit and your biceps are huge, even if it is a pain to get to that point. Same thing with coding.
I am doing some additional MBA research. I am 90% set on Northeastern and I'm scheduled to go to an information session. I should probably look at a few other programs while I'm looking, but the tech-centric focus of their program is something that resonates with me. I'm not getting an MBA to become an accountant...I already have one of those in my life.
So I have to take the GMAT, I have discovered, and I also need to figure out a way to come up with about $62K for the cost of the program. I might be able to get work to pay for some of it, but probably not that much. I suppose the alternative is to look for a more long-term program, rather than a very intensive 21-month program. That's something else I will have to explore.
Also, Lost is awesome. So what's up with that metal thing, anyway? Is that this "hatch" I keep hearing about? Why did Locke and the other kid go off and find it last week, and now they're acting kinda weird but nobody said anything about it this week? They're hiding something. Locke has definitely been hiding something since he first came across the "whatever it is" in an earlier episode. Now I think the young guy is in on it too. Also, this is, I think, the first time that somebody has been implicated in something supernatural off the island...Walt's incident with the dead bird, and then with the polar bear, and his adoptive father apparently wanting to get rid of him because of the strange things that happen around him. Tony at Corrib was right: I should've just gone out and got the whole thing on DVD and sequestered myself in front of the TV in a mad orgy of Lost-watching.
Posted by Mark at 02:03 PM | Comments (0)
August 10, 2005
better code
There are days when I just don't care. This is one of them.
It's something of a continuation of my thoughts about grad school from yesterday. Grad school is the constructive way to say that I'm losing my interest in programming minutae...if I ever had any interest in that sort of thing to begin with. I just don't care if writing one type of array is slightly faster than another one. I care about innovation and making products and services that work, that fill a niche, that utilize cutting-edge technology and processes to revolutionize a space. I don't care if you use Java or Ruby or PHP to get there, and I certainly don't care about how you indent your brackets. I guess that's a bad thing in a programmer.
But I initially got into the biz because I saw programming as a means to an end, not as the end...I learned how to hammer nails because that was the only way to build cathedrals, not because the act of construction is so enjoyable in and of itself. Not that it can't be. I'm confusing myself.
I guess I'm second-guessing myself right now because I'm dragging my feet on a project that is boring, that worked good enough a few days ago, and I'm being asked to redo it in a way that is more efficient and, I guess, better. I don't dispute that better is better, I am just having a hard time being enthusiastic about the process. Hence, foot-dragging. It's a cronned maintenance script. Who cares?
I guess I should just get it written and tested and get it over with. I can't figure out if my reluctance is due to stubbornness on my part--"my code is good enough and I don't see why I should change"--or just disinterest in that aspect of what I'm doing. If it's the former, well, of course that needs to change. They do write much, much better code here than I'm used to being around. I'm lazy, I admit it. On the other hand...well, that's why I'm looking at an MBA program.
I guess in the interim I can always write better code. Might as well learn what I can, when I can.
Posted by Mark at 11:40 AM | Comments (0)
August 09, 2005
grad school
I had a really good day at the gym yesterday. I've determined that, based on the calorie estimates of the machines, an elliptical trainer is more effective of a workout than a treadmill. Based on the fact that a) I hate treadmill running and b) carrying these extra pounds adds additional stress on my legs and knees when running, I'm going to stick with the elliptical. Also, it lets me read a magazine while working out, which is almost impossible while bouncing around on a treadmill. I'm also doing some upper-body stuff, and it feels pretty good. I have had a terrible tendency to eat french fries with a wrap for lunch, and I'm going to try to be more militant about getting a salad and a bag of baked potato chips or something like that. It's a shame they don't have celery as a side snack downstairs.
I've got a project at work that is useful but a bit annoying. I am really thinking that I need to seriously look into getting into the part-time MBA program at Northeastern next fall. I found out that it is a 21-month program, very intensive, with some residencies and classes every other week on Tuesdays and Saturdays. It would be a lot, but I think it would be excellent for my career. I think it is time for me to start seriously moving my career towards being more involved with business and less with specific coding decisions. Not that I don't enjoy the technical aspects, but I am finding myself more and more interested in the business side of things the older I get.
Posted by Mark at 01:49 PM | Comments (1)
August 04, 2005
grr
Sometimes I hate programming because it is hard and it gives me a headache and I can't solve problems. That is all.
Posted by Mark at 04:03 PM | Comments (0)
August 02, 2005
new phone number
Quick note: I have a new cell phone number. Contact me via email if you need the new one. I'll try to send out a mass phone number email soon to update people I think might want the new one.
More info on the parental visit later.
Posted by Mark at 02:06 PM | Comments (1)