Harry's Ruminations

link You can go far just by being nice. Not at this company, bub. But then again, reading through the top section, looks like we're on our way out, anyway. Great article by a great engineer. If his code's half as good as his insightful blogs, he's awesome.

Ars Technica Article Still, as occasional hobby photographer myself, I find myself wistful in saying goodbye to the film era. I won't miss the lousy enlargements I get when I break down and go to the drug store for processing, but film has a feel, or maybe a look, that I still can't quite capture with a digital camera. There's also something to be said for the beginner who learns to carefully compose a quality shot, knowing he can't just take a dozen photos, throw ten away, and fix the remaining two in Photoshop. This one's tough, because I cut my teeth on non-AF, black & white photography with a Cannon AE Super. As a Junior in HS, mom & dad bought me an awesome Pentax PZ-1 with full AF features and tons of lenses (40-80mm zoom, 70-210, 28mm f/2.8, 50 f/1.7). I LOVED photography. Yes, it was a bit of a phase, but I still treasure the shots I took with that camera, especially my pics of the Hale-Bopp comet ( ISO 800 50mm @ f1.7 for 15s, tripod mount) I gu...

article My fav quote in the trackback: I read an article before about a guy who worked when he felt like it, e.g. if its raining outside then he'd stay at work longer and get some more stuff done, but if the next afternoon as sunny, he'd take off knowing that it would be a waste trying to write code when his head wasn't in it. Hmm...Microsoft is in Washington...it rains ALOT in Washington. M$ churns-out lots of code...connection? :-)

Q: What's the shortest distance between two jokes? A: A straight line. * * * Signs that you've been programming too long... Jamie walks in and remarks that one of our compadres just got promoted, saying "What'd Tom do, port the 'C'" Me: "Yeah, I think he's done alot of stuff with 64-bit drivers and stuff like that. He's an awesome coder." Jamie: "No, man, I said, 'Did he part the sea?' You know, like Moses."

Now that I'm a whole month removed from having one of the coolest cars of the last decade, I have some downsides for all those of you considering a MINI purchase. The 02-04's are garbage . BMW came to Oxford, England and converted a plant with...ahem..."sufficient" build quality to build a 21st century automobile. They simplified the mechanicals and did constant improvements, even amid model years. Get an 05 or 06, especially if you're getting an 'S'. Yeah, the trunk *is* that useless. It's a hatchback, but you'll need to tumble the rear seats forward to haul anything. Frameless windows. Ugh...what a dumb idea. They're fragile, they flutter, and they don't seal very well. Backseat. Yeah, it's too small The hatch leaked. For 10 months and 3 trips to the dealer. Engine. Okay, iron block, undersquare, 115hp out of 1.6L. It's a turd, in true English tradition. "I've got a tractor engine, but good handling."

Herald-Leader Harvey Jason Richardson stunned Breathitt County political observers by beating veteran incumbent Judge-Executive Lewis Warrix by 666 votes in the Democratic primary. Richardson has no fall opponent, so at age 27 will become what is thought to be the youngest judge-executive in Kentucky, though not the youngest ever elected. So, the punk defeated the decent, honest fellow by 666 votes? Coincidence? And it gets BETTER! But in Breathitt County, former Sheriff Ray Clemons, removed from office in 1997 after being convicted of failing to report drug activity within his family, defeated incumbent Sheriff John L. Turner in the Democratic primary. Okay, Ray lied for his daughter, I get that. But GEEZE, was John L that BAD of a sherrif?

Article Interesting statistic: Georgetown has grown 20% since 2000. Other interesting thought: No new homes for awhile == "WOOHOO! Property values skyrocket"