Reactivate? AGAIN!?
This is just a quick post to say how much Microsoft and their draconian OS licensing mechanism are pissing me off right now.
Last week my computer stopped booting. I didn't get around to looking at it until a few days ago because I had visitors over from the UK. Not just that, it is Christmas, and the last thing you want to be doing on your Christmas break is to be fixing computers.
The Swear Jar
I know this is doing the rounds at the moment, but I had to post in case you've not seen it. It's classic!
Click here to go to the YouTube site.
Beatbox Fame Game
I generally don't like to post links that I've been sent without discussing them a bit, but in this case I just can't resist. It warrants no discussion - it just has to be watched. Check this out, it's awesome!
Genius!
CI Punishment
For a development to succeed in its use of a continuous integration process there must be a sufficiently hefty deterrent to prevent people from breaking the build. If you break the build, you should feel some form of retribution to aid in stopping you from doing it again.
Plip's recently posted a suggestion for this very issue. I think it's a fantastic idea! Make sure you print it and stick it up in your office!
Were the Wiggles Software Developers?
Some of you might not know about The Wiggles, but those of you who are either Australian or have any connection with an extremely young family member will probably have a fair idea. In short, they're a collection of dudes who do performances for kiddies, and have managed to make themselves a fortune putting smiles on the dials of kids all over the world. Hats off to them!
The question I'm asking isn't serious 
But I have to ask it because I think that one of their famous songs has been written with my current software development project in mind! The song I'm referring to is called Hot Potato. For a fab rendition, check out this YooooooouTube vid. Feel free to play it a few times and get used to the dance moves 
So, why do I think that these guys might have based the song on software dev? Well I think it's very simple:
- Hot potato: This refers to the job or task that noone wants to get done. It's the feature that the client really wants that noone's prepared to put the time into implementing. It could also mean a subsection of the system that was originally written to adhere to the "cold spaghetti" architecture, which has resulted in code that's so hard to maintain the nobody wants to touch it.
- Cold Spaghetti: AKA "code spaghetti". This is the overall architecture of the software system. It indicates the level of thought that was put into it, and gives a great visualisation of what the resulting code looks like. The beauty of the word "cold" in this scenario is that it adds a new dimension to the well known "spaghetti code" theory. As we all know, cold spaghetti sticks together in one nasty congealed clump of starchy mess, and dissecting it is a nightmare! Soooooo true in the case of spaghetti code.
- Mash Banana: Currently very regular in the project I'm working on! This is all those fabulous ideas that could possibly improve the quality of the system - but team members don't like the tall poppies so those ideas are mashed to a pulp so that they never see the light of day and hence don't make the rest of the team feel insecure due to them not thinking of the idea themselves.
See, it all makes sense!
... or am I barking mad?
Get Away from that Computer!
I know I shouldn't laugh about this, but I couldn't help it
Any geek that's in a relationship has probably heard the words "GET AWAY FROM THAT !$@*ING COMPUTER!" (or something along those lines) more than once. Even if you haven't, you might have heard it from your mum when you were a budding geek (as I was).
After reading this article on The Inquirer I couldn't help but think that this bloke had hard that phrase possibly one too many times?!
All joking aside, it's quite shocking to think that someone like this could possibly have done something pretty nasty like this.
Get FartFox
I came across some info on The Inquirer earlier today regarding Firefox's logo (shown on the right) that's being used for the Japanese version. As the link above states:
The new logo for its Japanese Fire Fox, Foxkeh, was apparently chosen out of a field of 600.
How could they not see the issue with the image before releasing it to the world?
Not that it matters I like the logo - it implies that Firefox is shit hot, which I think it is
It has begun
Those of you who know me will know that I generally feel like I have a lot to say I used to write a diary back in the day, but that was quite some time ago and the site, along with its content, is long since dead. For the last couple of years I've been continually reading people's blogs and found they can be quite insightful. As a geek, I tend to read more geek blogs which cover upcoming technologies, opinions on methodologies and other bits of flotsam and jetsam. The only other blogs I read are by friends of mine who unfortunatley live a long way from me.
So, after a good few years, I've decided to kick my own off again. Yes, it's just another blog. Yes, it's just another collection of ramblings, rants, and uesless trivia. You may find it interesting, funny, bland, boring or all of the above. Feel free to comment on anything I say, as I'm always keen to hear other people's opinions... well, as long as they're the same as mine
Rather than just have a first blog post that is nothing but the standard "Welcome to my blog", I thought I'd at least try and contribute something that you might find interesting... so here it is: The Evolution of Dance.
