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Raalnan Five

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Problems and solutions [May. 17th, 2008|12:02 am]
[Tags|]
[Current Location |StrayLight]
[mood | cheerful]
[music |Garden State, the Movie]

Problems present themselves to you like large sheets of paper, convincingly painted like brick walls. You might break your head on them, or rip them with a finger
. Tonight, I spent a bit of time debugging the Cortana application. I had come down without my USB A-B cable, and I had the most recent version is stored on my CrackBerry. After working on it for a while, I had remembered that little fact. I like debugging, but sometimes, I think I make it an exercise in obsession, not problem solving.
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SuperMemo 2006: [Apr. 22nd, 2008|11:08 pm]
[Tags|, , , , ]
[Current Location |Elizabeth]
[mood | accomplished]
[music |Styrofoam : Couches in Alleys]

SuperMemo 2006:

Right now, I am smug as a bug in a rug. It's getting towards the end of this class, and I am glad to see that everything (except for the bill) is shaping up nicely. Right now I am installing Visual Studio on my personal machine. Lately, I have been unsure about how I can or should work on projects for KHC. Up until now, i have been doing it all on my work computer, which seems like a great alternative to carrying a second machine. We have had another round of layoffs, and I don't want to be in a position to be reprimanded. As much as I like the idea of Java, I find it hard to believe that anyone could bang out applications in Java as fast and easy as I do in .Net. When I look on Planet Source Code, the Java applications seem to be rudimentary at best. Today, I got frustrated with how much arbitrary information I am required to know. Actually, I am less frustrated with the requirement, and more frustrated with my ability to know it easily. At any rate, I banged out a little memorization and testing application modeled after SuperMemo. I called mine ButterMemo, and I will be posting it up on Planet Source Code when I get a chance. At some point, I would like to add a grading function to keep track of what the user has been quizzed on and what answers were incorrect. The basic idea is that the popups would show reminders at intervals. An item that has been shown would go into a queue for that user. Every now and then, the user would get a question (chosen from the recent reminders) that they have to answer. If they answer correctly, that card is pulled from the users queue. If they answer incorrectly, the card stays in the queue. So far, I have the cards and the questions, but not the grading.


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Hape://Bertha.de [Jan. 9th, 2008|12:23 am]
[Tags|, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ]
[Current Location |Elizabeth]
[mood | bouncy]
[music |PodFunk]

·      Hape://Bertha.de

o    BirthDay Funk

§      http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PodOfFunk/~5/209000705/funkpod_30.mp3

§      I have some BirthDay funk, but it’s not like a down feeling. Actually, it’s like a great excitement. Tomorrow, I will be 34 years old. Because my birthday is so close to the New Year, I generally spend the nine days in between thinking of “resolution candidates”. When the deadline rolls around, I usually settle for what I think of as “recent improvements” in my behavior, as I have never been the type to improve my own behavior intentionally.

§      So what’s news?

·      Lots of news, a lot of it is great, and much of it is not for consumption by the general public. Nothing extra special, just not very interesting. For example:

o    Every year, I come up with a new budget and a plan to be debt free by the end of the year. It is usually not very realistic. This year, I actually make enough income to make it a remote possibility.

o    I am fully geeked out. I have two different bar code scanners. One is a light pen, and the other is the light gun type.

o    I just got a degree, and I am going back to school. It is an online college. The future looks bright, but the web sessions that pass for classes are not so exciting. The courses are easy, but the assignments are like an Easter egg hunt. The professors don’t put the assignments with due dates in the syllabus. You have to go looking around for them.

§      What would you want to be asked if you were being interviewed?

·      That is not a rhetorical question. I am actually writing this for my blog and to send to myself on http://FutureMe.org. I like to talk to people, but I can’t stand superficial conversation. When I say this, I mean, I can’t stand conversations about celebrities, or complaints about “the system” or “society”. Needless to say, I often find myself wishing I had better questions to get people to expand on what they think about life the universe, and everything. Thinking more on it, I should probably develop some questions. What would the future me want to be asked about? While I can’t think of anything good, I can put down what comes to mind. Actually, these come from the book “All about me” by Phillip Keel.

o    If you had no commitments to others, what would you do?

§      I would maximize my education and work experience. I would make my dwelling where ever I found the highest paying job. I think the online education thing is good for the lifestyle I live. It is also good for the lifestyle I would live in such circumstances. I would always keep putting in resumes with different firms. When I get a new job, I would stay for a year. This would be long enough to satisfy the apartment lease. When the lease is up, I would start the job hunt again. I would continue to take classes in the field as opposed to classed for a new degree. I would do this because the industry is always changing, and the moves would be costly to perform, no matter how paltry the new dwelling. I would live meagerly. I would not take huge apartments even if I could afford them. I would also not take anything without a washer and dryer. I would invest all I could in traditional investments, and in my own business, which would have a forwarding post office box, if necessary. For my “own business”, I would do application programming, which I have a lot of great ideas for, as opposed to service programming, with which I have a lot of experience.

o    What is a dream you have had more than once?

§      This is a bad question for me to ask, because I don’t have a real answer.

·      I dream often of climbing on something big and moving, like in “Shadow of the Colossus”.

·      I dream a lot about chasing something very small that moves very quickly. The recurrence is the fact that I always move very slowly, if at all.

·      I dream of being lost in a big place, with a series of closed off areas. There always seems to be a choice of which area to go to next, and each area seems more inappropriate than the last. It is not always the same setting. Sometimes, it is like a Wal*Mart, other times, it is like a hospital, other times, it is like a cave. In every instance, there is never any going back, and there are always multiple choices, and there is always someone calling me by name from an unknown direction.

o    List 5 things you would like to accomplish within the next year. This is my own question.

§      Debt Freedom

·      Credit cards are a real pain in the ass, especially when it is so easy to keep using them and paying them off than it is to simply cut them and pay them off. My mother recently told me about prepaid cards, which are not the same as the secured cards. A prepaid card can actually accept money from direct deposit. They look and work just like other credit cards, except for the fact that they appear to have no connection to your credit, and they extend you no credit. They are simply a spending mechanism, nothing more. I thought of this idea years ago. It is good to see that the rest of the world has caught up.

§      A good schedule

·      Many people try to avoid the 9 to 5 lifestyle. I aspire to it. I would like nothing more than to set a schedule, and follow it for two weeks in a row. I would be ecstatic if I could do the same for two months. Time and money are separate commodities, but time, like money is a highly valuable commodity. If you don’t know where it is going, it is easy to waste a lot of it. If you can not account for it, you can count on the fact that you are wasting it.

§      One (1) or zero (0) packs of cigarettes every month.

·      Currently, I smoke One (1) pack of cigarettes every week. It doesn’t sound like much, but it is so hard to not smoke any that I have been considering hypnosis as a method of elimination. If any readers have tried it, please feel free to offer your opinion on the matter.

§      Successful completion of all classes I am taking.

·      This is less of a hope and more of an expectation, as long as I don’t get the rigorous travel schedule I had last year at this time.

§      An initial release of one of my applications.

·      I have a lot of good ideas; some of them might even be considered good ideas. All of my applications are 75% complete, as far as a release is concerned. I write these applications for myself, and that 75% represents what I need them to be to be functional to myself. That last 25% would represent my confidence in the fact that others would find them useful, if I were to move them to completion.

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05.08.07 [May. 8th, 2007|11:20 pm]
[Tags|, , , , , , , , , ]
[Current Location |Elizabeth]
[mood | accomplished]
[music |Neighbors getting high]

  • 05.08.07
    • Well Happy Anniversary! A year ago today, I started at SI International. I remember when I got there, I felt seriously outclassed by the other talent. Now, a year has passed, and I feel seriously outclassed by the other talent. It seems like I have a great knack for the impressive new technology that's always on the bleeding edge. I like working for SI, even if I am now part of a project that helps Immigrants get into the country. At least it is helping them get in legally. In fact, some of my "ShotGun Innovations" May be credited with streamlining the process, making it easier to distinguish who should stay, and who should go. I got a little bit frustrated tonight. earlier, I went to the Artful Dodger after work to work on some work. When I got there, I didn't have my charger, but I did have a full battery. My machine took forever to boot up, and I didn't have the reading material I had printed up to read with me. When I did finally get up and running, the project was locked, some problem with Visual SourceSafe, I think. Also, the network at the coffee shop was down, so I couldn't get online. I came back to the apartment, installed Visual Studio on the DeskTop, and started sorting through my CD collection. I am trying to get File backups, Applications, and application backups organized into the various CD binders. The kids upstairs are getting high, making a lot of noise. I need to go to bed, even though I am not tired or sleepy.
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Thursday Blog [May. 3rd, 2007|11:08 pm]
[Tags|, , , , , , , , , , ]
[Current Location |Elizabeth]
[mood | awake]
[music |Sly & Robbie]

  1. 05.03.07
    1. Right now, I am sort of frustrated, because I am so energetic. I am tired, but wired, all at the same time. I recently came up with a couple of cool RAD (Random Application Development) ideas that I have actually started to work on. As I recall, both of them were described earlier in another BLOG, so I won't bother to re-hash the whole thing. At any rate, both applications are working in beta form, and are providing me with basic usefulness. I could see both projects being useful on a larger scale, but I don't know how to convince others of this. Right now, I am debating as to whether or not I should just use the apps, or try to distribute them in some way. I guess I should examine why I want to publicize the apps in the first place. On one hand, I simply want to support the whole open source concept, but on the other, what good does it do to put it out if no one uses it? If I have to hold every potential users hand throughout the entire process to keep them interested in the concept, but it's still open source, so there is no money involved, the apps are not open source, but open ended liability. Looking at the Flash Card Reader on Planet Source Code (http://www.planet-source-code.com/vb/scripts/ShowCode.asp?txtCodeId=5671&lngWId=10), I currently have no comments. Does that mean that
      1. no one bothered to look at it (not likely)
      2. everyone who looked thought it was shit
      3. some liked it, but didn't bother to comment
      4. No one could figure it out.
    2. I guess I'll never know. That's the bad thing about open source, the lack of monetary involvement deprives the developer of an essential metric. It also deprives the user of any sway they might have over the developer.  I can imagine The conversation (if there was one) between Open Source Developers and Open Source Users to be something like the following.
      1. "Why should I add your most desired feature in the next release, What's in it for me? You are not paying me for it? I gave you the source code, add it yourself. Don't forget to keep me posted so I know what you have come up with."
    3. While I don't want to be like that, I have a job, and I am not looking to create another one. I think this would be useful, and I want others to. Maybe that's the major issue. I want others to find it useful. People don't generally find software useful, but rather, they find the software that best delivers the usefulness that they want. The product is not to be the focus, but rather, the features and ease of use associated with the product. That is certainly what is missing with both of these applications. Both are written for me, by me, and the ease of use has taken a back seat to the function. That's fine for me, but for another, it would be an impassable roadblock.
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04.26.07.Rigid and Dynamic [Apr. 26th, 2007|10:26 pm]
[Tags|, , , , , , ]
[Current Location |Elizabeth]
[mood | contemplative]
[music |The couple upstairs smoking pot and coughing]

  1. In life, conditions are always changing. We can live our lives in small towns, and surround ourselves with close family and friends, but any time there is interaction between humans, variability is introduced. In our own minds, we go from needing variability in our youth, to needing more stability as we age. The part about the youth is evidenced by the fact that teens so often have an insatiable desire to go to the same place. Where exactly is 'out' located, anyway? Once I had ventured so far as to ask my stepdaughter where the mythical land of out was located. She looked me as if I had just sprung a new appendage from my forehead, and said, 'out there, and not in here'. Needless to say, I slept much better with the mystery solved. In a way, I like having teens around. Teens remind us that we need to get out and see the world around us every now and then. As a software developer, I am constantly trying to balance the structured and changing concepts. In real life, we can't stop to debug our errors. In a way, I think that part of the appeal with video games has to do with the ability to 'do-over' when a fatal mistake has been made. In real life, I think that the majority of the fatal mistakes we make don't happen in an instant, they take time to manifest. I am not discounting the power of the catastrophic disaster, there are plenty of these to be aware of. My point is that, because the catastrophic disasters are catastrophic, they are the ones we are more likely to pass along to each other. When I was in the service, we were once out on Bivouac. We found ourselves so bored that we resorted to playing an odd game. We got out a map, and took turns finding the location specified by a spotter. The spotter would give some set of letters from the location (usually the three closest to the middle), and the rest of us would try to find the spot. After some time, we noticed that the smallest names were not the hardest to find, it was the L A R G E names that would be sprawled across the map. In similar fashion, I think that the hardest dangers to spot are not going to be the most catastrophic, the catastrophes are advertised, as evidenced by the VA Tech shooter. The hardest dangers to avoid are the ones that mope along, because you can never outrun them.
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From Missouri to Kentucky to Virginia [Mar. 10th, 2007|01:08 am]
[Tags|, , , , ]
[Current Location |StrayLight]
[mood | accomplished]
[music |Engadget PodCast]

I just got back from MO tonight. A friend out there mentioned a sore subject to me. What was the dreaded topic? Pod Casting. I had given a shot to Pod Casting early in the game, only to be blocked by a myriad of factors. The most pointed issue is the fact that the synchronization on my Dell DJ splits the binary files into packets during the process. Doing this makes audio that sounds like static radio. He pointed me to some college PodCasts, in particular, the 'LSAT for Everyday life' PodCast, which is geared towards a more conversational type of debate. I am not into law, but I do often find myself trying to take the small talk to the next level, and for me, avoiding small talk means getting away from 'American Idle' and the rest of the crap on TV. Needless to say, as a Conservative, I often find myself wanting to question my Liberal acquaintances when they start the 'Guerrilla Pontification'. I do a lot of driving, going back and forth to Roanoke every week, so I generally want something more than music to listen to... Right now, I'm being an insomniac, listening to some PodCasts, and trying to remember what logic I used when I didn't install SQL Server on my work Laptop. I think I was thinking 'I do not need it on the laptop, and it costs a lot to license'. Generally, if I am not doing work work, I will do it on my personal laptop, which has everything I need to work. My personal laptop is in Harrisonburg, because I was traveling this week, and last week. I have a few ideas about possible projects, but I have been up for close to 24 hours, so I won't promise to write about them, now, or ever. Here's what's new in the world.
  • Texter

    • IntelliType as a service

  • Samurize

    • Vista for XP

  • Juice

    • PodCast Receiver

  • Jmemorize

    • learn with flashcards

  • WordUp

    • Read a book 1 word at a time.

I'm listening to the Geekster PodCast right now, and wondering why so many modern males sound either gay, or neutered. I wish I could meet some BadAss geeks, like Chuck Norris, or some Thugs. They would be like “Yo Homie, let's go Buss a Cap In some Code!” I really need to put these ideas down, before I go to sleep, or they could be lost forever.

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Buttery pasta [Apr. 8th, 2006|11:58 pm]
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[mood | complacent]
[music |Gorillaz : Don't get lost in Heaven]

I have reached a benchmark on Derridas.Net, the biggest problem I ran into had to do with my lack of understanding when it comes to the English language, not .Net. That's scary. Now I am trying the SelfSame application in java. I did run into the blockade tonight. I don't have my database permissions set correcly. I am drinking beer, so my understanding of the entire thing is prone to be off by as much as 45 degrees, but It's early, and I did eat, so I don't think I am too far gone. We went to Dulche tonight. It's a posh [resturaunt] that I think must be a front for some sort of illegal operation. I say that because there were no customers, they were out of everything food-wise, and the decor is much too upscale for the location or the clientele. Me & Deb got the same thing. I don't know what it is called, but it reminds me of my own mammy's best dish, buttery pasta. I don't know the recipe, but I think it is something like this. 2 sticks of butter, one thang of pasta. boil the water, put one stick of butter in. When the pasta is done, strain it, put it in a bowl, and add the other stick of butter. Garnish as necessary. I was literally dawgin out on that shit when Weez let me know that this was not a good meal for the price. I was like, 'but it has garnishments'. She was like, 'it is buttery pasta'. I remembered that I was paying this time. I didn't enjoy the rest of the meal. She was right. Home cooking is good, but not when you pay posh prices. At least the Guiness was good.
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03.31.06 [Mar. 31st, 2006|09:54 pm]
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[Current Location |BigLick]
[mood | amused]
[music |Halo SoundTrack]

03.31.06
I am feeling good, better than I deserve. Had a bad day at work, nothing specific, just Thursday blahs (I work tomorrow). PayDay, hooray. All obligations look manageable. That is scary, to say the least. What demons await, what problems lurk around the corner, just out of sight? Only time will tell. I have decided to try to start managing my life with the persistance that I utilize when living it. When I say that, I mean, I don't quit when I fail, I stop, drop, and roll, get up, and pick up. I keep moving. When it comes to the little things, I have persistance issues. I make a budget, crash my computer, and lose it all. I plan a timeline, forget where I put it, and out of frustration, I will not make another one. From here on out, I think I will substitute organization with persistance and a good backup strategy. It is not a matter of whether or not your machinewill crash, it is simply a matter of when your machine will crash. I truly beleive this now. I think, I will avoid purchasing machines with huge hard drives, and settle for machines with small system drives, and larger slave drives. This will allow for the storage of extra data on the slave drives, but eliminate the vortex situation that comes about when the slave drive is too massive to backup in a reasonable manner. As far as I am concerned, Most of the time, the 'essential' data is quite small, probably less than 4 gigs per year, but the verbose data, the stuff that you don't need, but can't filter, is what takes up most of the space. I hate tape drives. the notion of a tape drive is absolutely absurd to me. Technology dictates that a tape drive is obsolete when you purchase it. When you need it, you had better have a machine that runs that tape, or be prepared to move the existing tape drive. Tape is a floppy medium, sensitive to magnetic forces, and it can be rendered useless without providing you with any useful clues. With DVD, at least you can visibly see a scratch. Also, the DVD medium is more common, so I could feasibly reproduce the backed up data on any machine I have availiable. I think Reproductability has to be at least as important as massive storage space. Right now, I have a HUGE hard drive on the KHCServer. If it crashes, all is not lost, but a lot is. Fortunately, in this business, we work more on speed of processing than we do on memory and archive size. Of course, certain things have to be archival, like tax records, etc. Not to jinx mice elf, but, I think it's safe to say, because our client is the F. G., if they lose their data, its safe to say we lose our ability to retrieve ours. Of course, that is no excuse for not backing up regularly. Lets hope it dosen't happen. With Dubya running the show, nobody knows.
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