 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
The Magpie Developer
Jeff Atwood is one of the best programmer/writers around. I love reading his stuff, some I agree wholeheartedly with, other stuff we disagree, but this post is about a dead-on as they come. This idea has been floating in my head for a long time, but it is hard for me to conceptualize it in words, Atwood does a brilliant job at it. Must read for any developer. |
|
|
|
Andy Olmsted's Last Blog Entry.
(Warning: Pretty rough) No matter how you feel politically about the war, this reminds you that each number people throw around as statistics is a human life. This is extremely well written, and pretty rough on your soul towards the end, but something everyone should read. Its a shitty situation all around, but there is always a human face behind the statistics and I want to make sure I never forget that. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Drinking stories that put yours to shame
Via Keith
To preserve his body during the voyage home, the second-in-command stored Nelson's body in the ship's vat of rum and halted all liquor rations to the crew. Not a bad idea, but when the ship reached port, officials went to retrieve Nelson's body and found the vat dry.
Disregarding good taste (in every sense), the crew had been secretly drinking from it the entire way home. After that, naval rum was referred to as Nelson's Blood. |
|
|
|
making vodka pills in 24 hours
Recently, Chef Fabian was experimenting further with the Adria/Torreblanca technique of making 'vodka pills.' I use this word to describe the process of making liquid-filled candies by pouring flavored alcohol syrups into cornstarch and letting it set until a hard outer shell forms. |
|
|
|
Strategy Letter VI - joelonsoftware.com
As a programmer, thanks to plummeting memory prices, and CPU speeds doubling every year, you had a choice. You could spend six months rewriting your inner loops in Assembler, or take six months off to play drums in a rock and roll band, and in either case, your program would run faster. Assembler programmers don’t have groupies.
Entire Article is Dead On. A must read for anyone in the software biz. |
|
|
|
 |
| |
| |
| |
| |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
(Sunday, December 28)
Been Away
Sorry Folks been away from the wire over the holiday season. Will update more frequently starting today. Did go Stripper fishing today, ended up catching a largemouth. Kinda Odd.
I was reviewing my stats for the site earlier today. I get about 150 unique hits on avg per day. It has been rising in recent weeks, and also a lot of people from New England read this blog. So to all those people up there eat your heart out at above pic and my short sleeves.
|
|
 |
(Friday, December 19)
ThisisLondon
Psychologist Dr Richard Wiseman said the spectre, nicknamed Skeletor, might prove to be a significant discovery.
ThisisLondon:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Friday, December 5)
Donny saw this post on Dawgvent by a guy named DecaturDawg. Pretty funny.
A day in the Life of a Georgia Tech Football Player.
Jan. 3, 2004
5:00 a.m. -- I woke up at the team hotel -- The Boise Motel 6. I asked Reggie Ball, "Why are we waking up so early?" Reggie replied, "Bro, the Humanitarian Bowl kicks off at 9:30 a.m. local time. We gotta get a move on." Reggie can tell time AND read the schedule, that's why he's the QB!
5:15 a.m. -- We settle in for the Humanitarian Bowl Official Pre-Game Breakfast. Donuts and french fries. The donuts were from the day before that the Potato Convention guys didn't eat . The locals say it was the "Mashed Potato Convention" and not the "Baked Potato Convention." Apparently, the Mashed Potato guys are much wilder and crazier when they are in town than their rival Baked Potato counterparts. You learn a lot at this bowl!
5:45 a.m. -- We board the team bus. "Holy Crap! It's cold as hell here!" Reggie informed me that the temperature is 15 degrees, and the wind chill is 5 degrees. Reggie can read thermostats 10 times as good as Suggs. That's why he's the QB!
5:50 a.m. -- The stadium was on the opposite end of town from the hotel. On the 5 minute drive over, we saw 32 elk, 44 buffalo and 2 reindeer. Reggie says that the reindeer on the left was Donner. Kick ass. I love Santa!
6:00 a.m. -- We enter the locker room to get dressed. Reggie says that the turf is blue to match the ocean nearby. Reggie can read maps better than the rest of us. That's why he's the QB! (And he's only a Freshman. Can you beelieve it!)
6:57 a.m. -- My pads are almost on. I'm so proud of myself. This year, I didn't even need the help of the trainers to put on my helmet. Fifth year seniors RULE!
7:00 a.m. -- We head out for pre-game warm-ups. "Man, it's cold as hell here!"
7:01 a.m. -- It's started snowing. I recognize snow because I'm from New Jersey, but this is a lot of the white stuff. Jonathan Smith is totally freaking out because he's never seen snow down in Clinch County. The GT on my helmet is already hidden from the snow piling up. But that's OK because Reggie is our QB, and I'm feeling JACKET!!!
7:05 a.m. -- During jumping jacks, I lean over and ask Reggie, "Why are we playing Tulsa way out here in the cold?" He replied, "Because the refs robbed us in the BYU and Duke games." Good point. SEC Refs are always trying to screw us!!
8:00 a.m. -- We head inside for some hot cocoa. Coach Chan says that if we work really hard and play our rear ends off, we can have marshmallows in our hot cocoa at half time. Does that man know how to motivate or what! I'm giving it my all for the Jackets today.
8:57 a.m. -- Coach Chan has finished his pep talk about marshmallows and how great he was when he was coaching the Cowboys but Aikman was a puss and ruined his NFL career. I don't know how it all fit together b/c I got lost, but the marshmallow part sounded AWESOME!
9:10 a.m. -- We run out of the tunnel in front of 8,000 of the loudest Eskimos you've ever seen! Nobody rocks like they rock in Boise! It was louder than 1/2 of the ACC stadiums we've been to. I bet if they had taken off their gloves their clapping would have been 10 times as loud, but Reggie says that "Cold Bite could set in and eat their fingers off." Reggie is so smart for a freshman. All that weather man stuff is just way over my head. Beesides, Astrology wasn't my best subject so I'm a management major.
9:30 a.m. -- We kick off to Tulsa. These guys look pissed. But I don't care b/c I'm a TECH MAN and I BEELIEVE.
9:31 a.m. -- Tulsa just scored. But that's ok b/c we have Reggie Ball and he's a warrior!
9:32 a.m. -- Tulsa just returned a Reggie Ball INT for a TD. Ouch. Reggie threw it really good, but Smith slipped on a puddle of ice. Oh well, Reggie says we're still 4 TDs better than these guys, and NOBODY is standing in the way of my marshmallows.
9:34 a.m. -- 21-0. We are in big trouble. Hopefully this isn't televised. Reggie says not to worry, that Bravo is carrying the game in black and white to save money so our parents won't even know that we're losing. I don't know what he means, but he is such a leader!
11:00 a.m. -- Halftime it's 35-0. No marshmallows. Coach Chan is super duper mad. But he thinks we can turn it around in the 2nd half like we did against Clemson. Good point.
12:30 p.m. -- Final Score 54-0. Turns out these Tulsa guys were pretty good. Man, it's a good thing we didn't have to play Boise State. It would have been really bad. That's ok b/c Reggie predicted after the game that we wouldn't lose another one this year. AND I BEELIEVE HIM!
1:30 p.m. -- We board the Greyhound bus back to Atlanta. Too bad we can't fly back, but the loser of this game doesn't get as much money as the winner. This sucks but I beelieve in the future!
|
|
|
|
Andy sent me this. Very cool.
Subject: A Capt. in Iraq
We knew there was a dinner planned with Ambassador Bremer and LTG Sanchez.
There were 600 seats available and all the units in the division were tasked
with filling a few tables. Naturally, the 501st MI battalion got our table.
Soldiers were grumbling about having to sit through another dog-and-pony
show, so we had to pick soldiers to attend. I chose not to go. But, about
1500 the G2, LTC Devan, came up to me and
with a smile, asked me to come to dinner with him, to meet him in his office
at 1600 and bring a camera. I didn't really care about getting a picture
with Sanchez or Bremer, but when the division's
senior intelligence officer asks you to go, you go. We were seated in the
chow hall, fully decorated for Thanksgiving when aaaaallllll kinds of secret
service guys showed up. That was my first clue, because Bremer's been here!
before and his personal security detachment is not that big.
Then BG Dempsey got up to speak, and he welcomed ambassador Bremer and LTG
Sanchez. Bremer thanked us all and pulled out a piece of paper as if to give
a speech. He mentioned that the President had given him this thanksgiving
speech to give to the troops. He then paused and said that the senior man
present should be the one to give it. He then looked at Sanchez, who just
smiled. Bremer then said that we should probably get someone more senior to
read the speech.
Then, from behind the camouflage netting, the President of the United States
came around. The mess hall actually erupted with hollering. Troops bounded
to their feet with shocked smiles and
just began cheering with all their hearts. The building actually shook. It
was just unreal. I was absolutely stunned. Not only for the obvious, but
also because I was only two tables away from the
podium. There he stood, less than thirty feet away from ! me! The cheering
went on and on and on. Soldiers were hollering, cheer ing, and a lot of them
were crying. There was not a dry eye at my table. When he stepped up to the
cheering, I could clearly see tears running down his cheeks. It was the most
surreal moment I've had in years. Not since my wedding and Aaron being born.
Here was this man, our President, came all the way around the world,
spending 17 hours on an airplane and landing in the most dangerous airport
in the world, where a plane was shot out of the sky not six days before.
Just to spend two hours with his troops. Only to get on a plane and spend
another 17 hours flying back. It was a great moment, and I will never forget
it.
He delivered his speech, which we all loved, when he looked right at me and
held his eyes on me. Then he stepped down and was just mobbed by the
soldiers. He slowly worked his way all the way around the chow hall and
shook every last hand extended. Every soldier who wanted a photo with the
President got one. I made my way through the line, got dinner, th! en wolfed
it down as he was still working the room. You could tell he was really
enjoying himself. It wasn't just a photo opportunity. This man was actually
enjoying himself! He worked his way over the course of about 90 minutes
towards my side of the room.
Meanwhile, I took the opportunity to shake a few hands. I got a picture with
Ambassador Bremer, Talabani (acting Iraqi president) and Achmed Chalabi
(another member of the ruling council) and
Condaleeza Rice, who was there with him. I felt like I was drunk.
He was getting closer to my table so I went back over to my seat. As he
passed and posed for photos, he looked me in the eye and said, "How you
doin', captain." I smiled and said "God bless you, sir." To which he
responded "I'm proud of what you do, captain." Then moved on
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I saw this picture on MSNBC front page this morning. I am telling you this. Iraqi or American or German or North Korean I *AM NOT* gonna mess with that woman.
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
| |
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer's view in anyway.
© Copyright 2003-2007, Eric Thompson |
|
| |
 |
|
|
|
