Mind Vomit

Moving On

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 20:29:34 -0400

You can find my latest ramblings here.

Rock on Phoenix (the lander not the city)

Sun, 25 May 2008 23:33:41 -0400

Rock on Phoenix (the lander not the city):

Congrats to all the peeps involved!

C-v in insert mode in Vim inserts the next character you type bypassing mappings. I always forget...

Sun, 25 May 2008 20:11:43 -0400

C-v in insert mode in Vim inserts the next character you type bypassing mappings. I always forget that, so I’m posting it here in hopes that I remember next time.

XPROP(1) manual page

Sun, 25 May 2008 17:39:51 -0400

XPROP(1) manual page:

It’s surprisingly hard to figure out how to determine the class of a window in X. I finally figured it out. You use xprop.

socat rocks my world

Sat, 24 May 2008 22:42:43 -0400

socat rocks my world:

Yeah, it’s a repeat, but I am continually amazed by how powerful this thing is.

And now for something completely different...

Sat, 24 May 2008 19:20:06 -0400

And now for something completely different...

NubyGems: Don't Use Class Variables! - O'Reilly Ruby

Sat, 24 May 2008 19:14:37 -0400

NubyGems: Don't Use Class Variables! - O'Reilly Ruby:

Could stuff to know if you’re writing Ruby.

Screw the critics. Speed Racer was AWESOME!

Thu, 22 May 2008 21:47:15 -0400

Screw the critics. Speed Racer was AWESOME!:

Seeing it in the IMAX didn’t hurt the experience I’m sure ;)

Debian OpenSSL Predictable PRNG Bruteforce SSH Exploit

Thu, 15 May 2008 17:14:00 -0400

Debian OpenSSL Predictable PRNG Bruteforce SSH Exploit:

The Debian SSH problem is really really bad. Patch your systems and regenerate your keys NOW, and don’t forget about your host keys.

TED | Talks | Joshua Klein: The amazing intelligence of crows (video)

Wed, 14 May 2008 11:30:26 -0400

TED | Talks | Joshua Klein: The amazing intelligence of crows (video):

It’s a short video. Watch it.

Floating Head (via )

Sun, 11 May 2008 23:04:24 -0400

Floating Head (via )

"The practice is pervaded by the reassuring illusion that programs are just devices like any others,..."

Wed, 07 May 2008 13:31:11 -0400

“The practice is pervaded by the reassuring illusion that programs are just devices like any others, the only difference admitted being that their manufacture might require a new type of craftsmen, viz. programmers. From there it is only a small step to measuring “programmer productivity” in terms of “number of lines of code produced per month”. This is a very costly measuring unit because it encourages the writing of insipid code, but today I am less interested in how foolish a unit it is from even a pure business point of view. My point today is that, if we wish to count lines of code, we should not regard them as “lines produced” but as “lines spent”: the current conventional wisdom is so foolish as to book that count on the wrong side of the ledger.”

- E.W. Dijkstra from On the cruelty of really teaching computing science

Archaeopteryx: A Ruby MIDI Generator

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:17:00 -0400

Archaeopteryx: A Ruby MIDI Generator:

A little overstated and rambling, but a lot of fun.

Hurting Code for Fun and Profit

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:14:20 -0400

Hurting Code for Fun and Profit :

A must watch for anyone who writes software.

Twitter / john_lam: rubinius spec runner is WAY...

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:33:02 -0400

Twitter / john_lam: rubinius spec runner is WAY...:

Can anyone guess how much code Mr. Lam has contributed to the Ruby specs/spec runner?

TED | Talks | Clifford Stoll: 18 minutes with an agile mind (video)

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 13:01:27 -0400

TED | Talks | Clifford Stoll: 18 minutes with an agile mind (video):

I see this getting passed around the net a lot. I think it’s crap. Other people disagree. Either way it’s quite a contrast to Mr Lessig.

TED | Talks | Larry Lessig: How creativity is being strangled by the law (video)

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:50:45 -0400

TED | Talks | Larry Lessig: How creativity is being strangled by the law (video):

If Lessig told me up was down I’d believe him. (Note, that’s not a comment on the content of his presentation, but rather his skill as a presenter.)

VotePA 2008 Pennsylvania Primary Action Center - Get Voter Help Here!

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:53:56 -0400

VotePA 2008 Pennsylvania Primary Action Center - Get Voter Help Here!:

If you live in PA don’t forget to vote today.

Expelled Exposed

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:04:00 -0400

Expelled Exposed:

Believe what you will about creationism/id vs. evolution, but from what I have seen so far “Expelled” seems to be a rather dishonest film.

ack -- better than grep, a power search tool for programmers

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:01:58 -0400

ack -- better than grep, a power search tool for programmers:

Just added this to my programming toolbox.