my mind's eye

So much to catch up on...

2008-08-29T13:44:38Z

I haven't even THOUGHT about this blog in a very long time. There's a lot to catch up on. Most significantly I'm at a new job MUCH closer to home. Even more most significantly our second baby girl is due sometime in September. Let's see...what else? I guess that's it for now. Maybe I'll start posting here again. That would be novel...

Automatic properties in C# 3.0

2008-04-24T19:33:23Z

Ran across an article on new features in C# 3.0 today, and one of the features listed is Automatic Properties. The general gist is that it's too much trouble for some people to implement a field properly, so the compiler supports a lazy way to do it. This:

  private string name;
  public string Name
  {
    get { return name; }
    set { name = value; }
  }

Can be written like this:
public string Name { get; set; }So that's good, right? I'm not so sure. How is this any different from just exposing the private string in the first place? Like this:
public string Name;Of course all of this is moot if you need to do anything more advanced in the property than just returning or setting the value. For example, logging or range-checking or limiting the visibility of the setter more than the getter. Something like this:

  private string name;
  public string Name
  {
    get
    {
      Log.Write("Name retrieved: " + name);
      return name;
    }
    internal set
    {
      if(value = "this string not allowed")
        throw new ValueNotAllowedException();
      name = value;
      Log.Write("Name set to: " + name);
    }
  }

So, is it a big deal? Probably not. But it may make draft code faster to write, therefore it makes bad code easier to write because you get into bad habits.

How walkable is your neighborhood?

2008-02-01T13:32:11Z

I ran across an interesting site, today. It's called Walk Score and it works like this:

Enter your street address.

Click the Go button.

Watch while it finds "stuff" nearby.

Get your Walk Score.
...

Profit!

I'm not sure exactly how the user profits from this exercise or how many intervening steps there are, but I do know that walking is a good way to exercise. Who knows, maybe you'll discover a nearby restaurant or movie theater that you didn't know about.

What's your Walk Score?
Mine is 55.

Long Live Lego!

2008-01-28T14:42:40Z

Today is the 50th anniversary of the Lego "Automatic Binding Brick" patent in 1958, according to an article on Time's website. The prolific Google users among you may have noticed that Google's home page logo is made of Lego bricks today. Hmm... Lego... logo... brilliant! Lego Logo was a special Lego kit that provided a simple computer and programming interface to control motors and lights and such built in to special Lego bricks. Robotics for kids - and kids at heart. I think it's called Lego Mind Storms now, and has evolved over the years, much like the basic 2x4 stud lego brick, which was pure genius!

Happy Anniversary, Lego!

I officially rule!

2008-01-22T16:28:29Z

So, the other night I decided to just play a quick game of Tanks! (part of Wii Play) on the Wii. Not expecting to do exceptionally well, but just to have fun. A little while later I had destroyed all 84 tanks in the first 20 levels and earned a Gold medal! I really AM the Tanks master!

I am now on a mission to go for the Gold in all nine of the Wii Play games.

Global Thermo-Nerf-ular War

2008-01-15T16:07:43Z

Ok, so I know I haven't posted in a while, but this was too good to pass up:

USB Webcam Rocket Launcher

Everyone should have one of these. Just think how much harder you'd work if you thought your boss might peg you in the head for slacking off! Or, you could use it to remotely monitor and defend your home from burglars! The possibilities are endless.

Lonely times last weekend

2007-10-18T17:36:39Z

Spent last weekend home alone. H and P went down to Florida to visit the grandparents, leaving me to play video games and ponder the secrets of the universe.

On the gaming front, I made some good progress on Twilight Princess. I put in 5 hours, though 2 hours were lost due to a glitch I found in the game.

In particular, I reached a point in the game where I crossed a bridge and blew up some boulders in my path, which caused three shadow monsters to fall from the sky. I didn't particularly feel like fighting them, since you have to kill the last two at the same time or the final one will revive all of the others. So instead of heading back toward the bridge, where the monsters were, I moved forward.

Two hours later, I reached a point where the only way I could go anywhere was to warp, using the portals left behind by the shadow monsters when you defeat them in each location. Well, since I hadn't defeated the shadow monsters by the bridge, I couldn't go back there. I ran around everywhere I could get to, but it was no use. Luckily, I hadn't saved my game. If I had, I would have had to start over from the begining.

Long story short, I had a lot of fun. But it was a pretty lonely weekend.

A New Development

2007-09-18T21:01:32Z

According to the dictionary, a sentence is defined as follows:

a number of words forming a complete statement
Ironically, not a sentence...

Anyhow, the other day, I heard Penelope form a complete sentence for the first time. She very clearly said,

I want my momma.
Notice, if you will, the presence of subject (I), verb (want), object (momma), and adjective (my).

Later the same day, I could have sworn I saw her filling out college applications out of the corner of my eye...

It's a feature!

2007-08-22T18:54:02Z

As a QA engineer, I'm often told by various developers that the unexpected behavior that I reported to them is not, in fact, a "bug". Generally, these cases fall into one of two categories: "undocumented features" and "user error".

By and large, these are just excuses for poor programming practices, but I digress.

Apparently the news that some "bugs" are "features" has not escaped the notice of the proud owner of the Volkswagen pictured here:

The astute observer will note that this particular feature is not currently running.

It's the Little Things...

2007-07-26T17:52:58Z

So, one of my favorite pastimes is spending time with Penelope. There really isn't much that she does that isn't interesting. Crying is one exception, because it gets old pretty quick when she wails every time I try to change her diaper - she hates lying on her back because it limits her mobility, and I can't change a diaper on a moving target - but in most things, she is a very interesting person to observe and interact with.

This morning Penelope woke up earlier than usual and was awake while I was getting ready for work. She looked at me with the strangest expression on her face. I don't know how to explain it, exactly. Anyhow, it seems like every day she does something new and different that surprises me. Just a few months ago, she was a floppy baby that stared around kind of blankly. Now, she's a real person that will truly engage you.

I often find myself wondering what she's thinking.

I can't wait for her to learn some real words so she can tell me what's on her mind.

1-UP'd

2007-07-20T17:55:25Z

In a true spirit of one-up-manship, H pointed me at this image of an even BETTER mario cake than the last one. Well done, hon!

The world's most SUPER wedding cake!

2007-07-11T15:06:08Z

One of my co-workers sent me a link to this image on flick r. It's the most awesome cake I've ever seen. Someone made this cake to be the groom's cake at someone's wedding. How cool is that?!

New/Old Trends in Technology?

2007-06-14T13:52:10Z

As if to prove the thesis "History is Cyclical", there is a new trend that I happened to run across this morning, to make high-tech stuff look like it hails from the days of the industrial revolution - when the steam engine was king. The trend is called Steam Punk, and it's flipping awesome!

Check out this page for several examples. My personal favorite is the functional laptop complete with morse code input device. Sweet.

Garden State Hijinx

2007-06-13T12:38:14Z

I took the girls on a trip to Delaware and Washington D.C. this weekend. It was a nice, relaxing time - that is, until the drive home. There was a huge crash on the Jersey Turnpike that added several hours to our trip. To help pass the time, stretch our legs, and let our screaming baby out of the car, we stopped at McDonald's.

Don't worry, it's just bread. Penelope is not yet at the stage of eating hamburgers.
Overall it was a nice trip, though. Our dear friend Audrey is now Mrs. Johnson (Way to go, Family!), and we spent some time with D.F. in D.C. Didn't get home until 1:00 AM, but that's just the way things go, sometimes.

< insert expression of shock here >

2007-06-01T14:38:34Z

Came in to work this morning and was greeted with donuts (mmmm... donuts...) and some shocking news.

My current boss, our beloved figurehead of QA, has submitted his resignation.

Sad though this may be, I am sure he will find a position with a company that will appreciate his talents and work ethic more than this company has of late, and maybe he'll get paid better to boot. I wish him all the best.

So gather round and raise a bavarian creme - or a butternut, or even a classic honey-dipped - to our intrepid leader. Good luck in your future endeavors.

Happy Patriots' Day!

2007-04-16T16:54:20Z

Today is Patriots' Day. If you happen to live in New England, you know about Patriots Day (or at least that it exists) and probably associate it with the Boston Marathon or the Revolutionary War. For those who do not live in New England, you can find out about Patriots' Day here.

Some people around here get the day off today. And since it's a government holiday, tax day has been moved to tomorrow.

As for myself, my taxes were done months ago and I don't get the day off. I don't mind too much having to work today since it is a very rainy, very blustery day.

Of course, if I did have the day off, I could be at home fighting with H over who gets to play Super Paper Mario. I would just lose the fight anyways. She fights dirty.

The digital music industry cul-de-sac

2007-04-12T12:39:59Z

According to this article Apple and EMI have struck a deal to offer DRM-free music on the iTunes Music Store. For this privilege you get to pay an extra 30¢ per song.

With this move, Apple and EMI feel as though they are moving "the digital music industry forward" by offering "higher audio quality and the security of interoperability".

I'm going to go ahead and assume that everyone who just read the preceding paragraph is thinking "Wait, but the digital music industry started with CD-quality sound and DRM-free MP3s - back before DRM even existed. How is this a move forward?"

That is a very astute observation, and I'm glad you asked. Apparently the digital music industry (including EMI and Apple) have realized that the road they have been moving down is a cul-de-sac. Probably because the reached the end and there's no way left to go but back where they started.

Luckily, for you and I both, this probably means the beginning of the end for DRM. After all, if people can get their music DRM-free, why would they buy music riddled with copy-restrictions?

On the other hand, the increased price may backfire on Apple, as the difference in price is getting smaller between buying the album on a physical CD, in a store, and ripping it DRM-free yourself or buying it on iTunes DRM-free.

A Tale of Two Restaurants

2007-02-27T22:27:01Z

This being the month in which I was born, I have had a few get-togethers with family, friends and co-workers in the past few weeks. There is an interesting contrast between two of these experiences.

Let me begin by taking you back with me to Saturday night. I got together with a group of friends at one of my favorite restaurants: Not Your Average Joe's. Although we were informed ahead of time that we would be seated at "a table and a booth" one would assume that the table and booth would be next to each other. We were also to be seated in "the back room". In actual point of fact, the table was at least 5 feet away from the booth. In fact, there was another table closer to the booth which we were not seated at. In addition, the "back room" was really the back corner of the restaurant - not its own room. The manager we dealt with was not helpful and didn't seem to really care about our dining experience.

Today on the other hand, our department went out for ice cream since four of us have birthdays in the shortest month. We went out to a restaurant called Cabot's. It was around lunch time, so the place was kind of crowded. We found a table and a booth that were kind of near each other and seated ourselves (the sign told us to, so we did). After about five minutes, a man who I assume to be the manager came over and offered to move us to two tables that could be pushed together. Another group had just left, their table was being cleared and there was an empty table beside it. We gladly took him up on the offer and had a very pleasant experience.

Needless to say, Cabot's is still a group favorite in my department here at work. I am a bit disappointed in Not Your Average Joe's, though. I don't think I'll be going back there for a while.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-31T16:26:52Z

As of yesterday, I've officially been working the same job for one full year! It's a refreshing change from the new-job-every-few-months cycle that I was stuck in from mid 2002 through 2005. I considered wearing a party hat at work all day and giving a prize to the first person who could guess why, but with tensions high and releases due it seemed like a bad idea. Maybe I'll do it for my birthday instead.

My Wiish List

2007-01-27T20:03:10Z

Leeder is kicking my ass to blog, so here is a list of Wii titles that I want very badly (in no particular order):

Super Paper Mario - This was going to be a GCN game, but it's been moved onto the Wii. Puzzles requiring 2D/3D perspective shifts sound like loads of fun!

Wii Play - As much fun as Wii Sports is, I'm sure I'm not the only one looking forward to billiards and target shooting on February 12th.

Super Smash Bros: Brawl - I expect the Wii installment of the Smash Bros. series will bring gameplay to a whole new, exciting, and perilous level.

Mario Party 8 - If you've played any of the games in the Mario Party series, you'll understand why I'm looking forward to this game's release on March 5th.

With all of these games releasing, this is going to be an awesome year.

Zephandolf for President!

2007-01-08T17:13:16Z

In the lingering spirit of the holiday season and riding the high of having a new game console to play with, I called up my brother the other day because he works at WalMart. The conversation went something like this:

Me: "Hey, does WalMart have any Wii stuff? I have cash burning holes in my pockets."
Zeph: "Well we have a few *blahblahblah*, one Wii-mote, *blahblahblah*..."
Me: "You have a Wii-mote?!?!?!"
Zeph: "Yeah, just one."
Me: "Buy it for me? I'll pay you back tomorrow."
Zeph: "OK."

So now Das Bruce, H and I take turns playing 2-player Wii Sports! It's a blast. Except I suck at Tennis...

So thanks, bro. You rock!

In other news, I also picked up The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii. Almost two hours into the game now, and it's very cool. More on that subject another day.

Let there be Wii

2007-01-01T23:36:49Z

I have the best wife and friends in the whole world, for they have given me the one thing I wanted but didn't expect to get for Christmas. Somehow, by the power of prayer or voodoo magic, Das Bruce and H managed to get their hands on a Wii. Granted, the pre-release name "Revolution" was way cooler, but it still friggin' rules!

It is time to dispel some of the myths which even I believed up until yesterday:
- 1 - The sensor bar is not a big, ugly eyesore.
- 2 - The Wii is the size but not the weight of a few DVD cases.
- 3 - Wii Sports, the included game, is not boring!

It's this last result that most surprised me. Let's face it, sports games are, by and large, boring. Either they are too easy to play and therefore not fun, or they are too challenging and therefore not fun.

Wii Sports, however, is FUN! Maybe it's the lifelike movements required to play? Perhaps it's the tried and true (yet exceedingly hard to achieve) "Easy to learn, hard to master" aspect of the game that makes it so very playable. Whatever the reason, it's fun to play - especially in groups.

I do have a list of Wii-related wants, now. It's a fairly short list, but it's there. Fortunately I have some Christmas money from grandparents that I can spend on a few necessities that I didn't need a week ago.

I will post updates when I find time. That may be never.

It's Friday...

2006-12-01T14:24:39Z

... and Robert Smith is in love.

On a completely unrelated note, it is also Donut Day here at work. According to the Donut Bot, the person responsible for providing Donuts today is "Andrew". This may be a problem since there are no fewer than 3 Andrews in the office; a tried-and-true recipe for confusion.

But back to Fridayness...

In about eight hours I'll walk out the door, climb in my car and drive home, thus starting my weekend. Some of the things I look forward to this weekend:

Spending some QT with my girls

Hanging out at JP's new place

Visiting my family

NOT testing software

I also plan to contemplate this new list-driven blogging paradigm I appear to have fallen into. I sincerely hope it is simply due to a lack of time needed to construct a compelling narrative.

Things to be Thankful for...

2006-11-27T18:07:21Z

...or "Things for which to be Thankful" for all you Grammar Nazis out there.

I managed to put off this post for the entire weekend. Here is a list of a few of the blessings in my life:

Penelope and Hannah
My family has a home, food and clothing
I have many wonderful friends
My job doesn't suck

There are two sides to every schwartz

2006-11-14T18:10:03Z

Like most everything else (including video games and super powers), there are two sides to working in my department.

The "UP" Side:
- When the department as a whole looks good, everyone looks good.
The "DOWN" Side:
- When the department as a whole looks bad, everone looks bad.

Which brings us to the matter at hand. QA missed a bug that should have been caught, and even though I was not personally involved in the testing that should have caught said bug, I still feel crappy. I guess it's just one of those days. I hope it's not one of those weeks: bad weather, bad feelings, bad attitude, etc.

Perhaps a dose of perspective is in order?

I am the type of person (rare in this day and age, it seems) who doesn't feel defined by his profession. At 5:00pm today when I get in my car and pull out of the parking garage, I get to be another person. I get to be a loving husband and a kick-ass dad. Take that, world!