Posted February 5th, 2009
by olstar
It only seems like a week ago (oh wait, it was) when everyone was darting about sorting things out in time for christmas – and now it is all over. I did have a brill christmas day, from start to finish – but i still think the whle occasion is way over hyped.
This year has been a bit of a strange one due to the liquidity crisis. Everyone was selling things cheap, sale signs in every single shop window. It meant people who ended up buying last minute got all the bargains, and everyone who bought early ended up paying through the odds.
I dont buy things for friends, and i only buy things for my close family – and only items that they ask for. I dont see the point in exchanging cheap tat between friends – meeting up for a drink or something is much more of a gift than something picked up on impulse when in tesco.
Its not that i dont appreciate gifts, i do, but i appreciate spending time with loved ones a whole lot more.
Anyway, christmas done – birthday next! Then new year!
Happy Holidays people!
Posted in Rants
Posted February 5th, 2009
by hsb10
This is the second installment of a little series of discussions. They’re not much more than that, just discussions. And I hope I’m inviting discussion rather than quenching it. But I’ll be honest — the goal of this series is to pound a stake through the heart of a certain way of thinking about the world that has become quite popular. If my series fails in that regard, I hope it may still
Posted in Other Ranters, Rants
Posted February 5th, 2009
by hsb10
I finished Fallout 3 maybe six or eight weeks ago, and it was hands-down one of the best games I’ve ever played. A game like that gets you in the mood for more gaming, so I thought to myself: "Hey, I should plop down $160 for Fable II!"
Actually that’s not exactly what I thought, but it’s what happened. I bought the game for $60, fired it up, got up to the part in the intro where a bird craps
Posted in Other Ranters, Rants
Posted February 5th, 2009
by hsb10
So! I have all these cool things I want to write about, but I broke my thumbnail. Can you tell that’s a long story?
See, this summer I got excited about playing guitar again. I usually switch between all-guitar and all-piano every other year or so. This summer I dusted off the guitars and learned a bunch of pieces, and even composed one. I was prepping for — among other things — a
Posted in Other Ranters, Rants
Posted February 5th, 2009
by hsb10
I write a column for computer programmers called "Stevey’s Blog Rants." It’s basically a magazine column — I publish to it about once a month. The average length of my articles is about 12 pages, although they can range anywhere from 4 to 40 pages, depending on how I’m feeling. But for precedent, don’t think blogs: think of Reader’s Digest. The blog format sets the wrong expectations.
Hence
Posted in Other Ranters, Rants
Posted February 5th, 2009
by hsb10
This idea that there is generality in the specific is of far-reaching importance. — Douglas Hofstadter, Gödel, Escher, Bach
Note: Today’s entry is a technical article: it isn’t funny. At least not intentionally.
Update, Oct 20th 2008: I’ve added an Updates section, where I’ll try to track significant responses, at least for a week or so. There are three entries so far.
Contents
Posted in Other Ranters, Rants
Posted February 5th, 2009
by hsb10
I haven’t been blogging much this summer. Mostly it’s because all my free time has been spent engaged in an important research project called "What Would Niko Bellic Do?" I’ve been enrolled in a high-quality Management Scenario Simulator with the unconventional name "Grand Theft Auto IV", probably some sort of inside joke, and I’ve been going through all its Developer Management training
Posted in Other Ranters, Rants
Posted February 5th, 2009
by hsb10
"And as for this non-college bullshit I got two words for that: learn to fuckin’ type"— Mr. Pink
This is another one I’ve wanted to write forever. Man, I’ve tried a bunch of times. No ruck. Not Rucky. Once again I’m stuck feeling so strongly about something that I’m tripping over myself trying to get my point across.
So! Only one thing left to try: bust open a bottle of wine and see if
Posted in Other Ranters, Rants
Posted February 5th, 2009
by hsb10
Some CEO emailed me the other day. I don’t remember who it was; people mail me all the time about their blah blah yawn product service thingy, and on the rare occasions I bother to read mail from strangers, I don’t usually remember anything about the email, even if I respond to it. I can remember broad categories of questions I get, but everything else is just a blur. That’s senility for ya.
Posted in Other Ranters, Rants
Posted February 5th, 2009
by hsb10
Disclaimer: I do not speak for Google! These are my own views and opinions, and are not endorsed in any way by my employer, nor anyone else, for that matter.
Everyone knows and quotes Joel’s old chestnut, "Smart, and Gets Things Done." It was a blog, then a book, and now it’s an aphorism.
People quote Joel’s Proverb all the time because it gives us all such a nice snuggly feeling. Why?
Posted in Other Ranters, Rants