Jim's Journal

11/15/2008 12:27 #46697

Bug Fix
Category: programming

I love open source, we had a problem in a vendor library and we fixed it ourselves. If we had to wait for someone else to do it, who knows how long it would've been broken.

It was only a change to a couple lines of code, but it was very hard to track down. It took me and a co-worker a day of pair programming to narrow it down and figure out what to change, but damn it feels good to have done. And to have our specs and continuous integration running reliably again.

It was like 4 layers deep worth of metaprogramming. I feel like I know our spec library very, very well now. :)

zobar - 11/15/08 17:44
The worst is when you find a bug in a platform library only to realize that it isn't practical to distribute and rely on a nonstandard build. [I'm looking at you, Flex 3.]

- Z

paul - 11/15/08 12:31
Ya, I have no idea why people still buy closed source solutions.

11/13/2008 12:54 #46672

LOLCAT
Category: internets

fellyconnelly - 11/14/08 20:20
cuuute

joshua - 11/13/08 15:55
This is the look on my face when I am skeptical of liberalism! Jk, jk. As strange as it is, I wanna tickle that kitten's belly and feed it some food.

james - 11/13/08 15:25
How.... strange.

hodown - 11/13/08 12:58
I hate LOL cats, but that is actually kinda cute.

11/11/2008 12:44 #46646

More Work
Category: work

Servers have been ordered. Clustering and failover designed. Weeks and months of testing and automation. Probably a hundred hours of work total. Super excited, I've been prepping this stuff for 6 months now and it's going to see the light of day.

We're going for paired mirrors to start, then splitting out each VM container type into their own tiered clusters as we need to add capacity and can judge bottlenecks.

I know no one cares about this but me, but it's my journal so, what the hell :)

paul - 11/15/08 12:35
I love omnigraffle. It is so great. I used to make flow charts in illustrator and man I was missing out.

kookcity2000 - 11/11/08 20:16
(e:theli) you can use Dia :::link:::
Its a free diagram thinger that does UML among other things

zobar - 11/11/08 15:58
Back in the day we used Rational Rose [cha-chinggg!] :::link::: but I think most people go with Microsoft Visio now :::link:::

For Macs I think OmniGraffle :::link::: takes the cakes. I used Illustrator :::link::: because that's what I had handy - but I wouldn't recommend it.

- Z

jim - 11/11/08 15:05
I'm a mac guy, don't know much about Windows diagramming tools unfortunately...

theli - 11/11/08 13:53
I actually am pretty interested. I need to learn this stuff if I am ever going to advance...

Btw, does anybody know where one can get a good, and open source, UML diagram making program for xp? Maybe also one that's really good for playing around with database table structures?

While I respect macs, I don't think I'll be getting one anytime soon...

Feel free to message me to avoid cluttering up these comments.

zobar - 11/11/08 13:44
Heh, my boss once asked me for a UML diagram. When I delivered it I said that a Java programmer would have probably made a more accurate diagram, but only a Mac programmer would have made a diagram with drop shadows.

- Z

james - 11/11/08 13:08
Two words Mr.Lindley:

Fucking Sweet.

See, I feigned excitement for you. And I don't do that for just anyone ^_~

11/08/2008 09:14 #46601

An Evil Good Book
Category: culture

I'm reading a book, "The 48 Laws of Power".

It is by turns interesting and disturbing. Each law has it's own chapter, with historical anecdotes and analysis.

Some are fairly neutral:

Law 5: So Much Depends on Reputation -- Guard it with Your Life.

Others, not so much:

Law 17: Keep Others in Suspended Terror -- Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability. Or, Law 33: Discover Each Man's Thumbscrew.

Now, part of my enjoyment of this book is that it appeals to the inner dictator in me, a side that I never knew that I had. But, hmm... I do. Hate to admit it.

Generally, it's an interesting look at the 'pack of monkeys' part of our brains and culture. Everything I have read so far I can relate to experiences and situations that I've been in. I'm hoping to keep my eyes more open to this side of human interaction, without using it to scheme and plot.

If I ever start to seem unpredictable, though, cower in terror!

hodown - 11/11/08 12:52
Keep others suspended in terror. I love that!

metalpeter - 11/08/08 15:20
I'm guessing that there are some sublaws in there somewhere and so 48 isn't exact. On a side note it is a good thing "The Brain" and "Stewie" didn't find this book or they might figure out how to leave cartoon form and take over the world. I Know Bush claims not to read but I wonder if he ever read it, HA.

tinypliny - 11/08/08 12:36
Who wants to bet with me that there are #48 laws in that book.

jim - 11/08/08 12:30
Law #49: If you can't get household appliances to respect you, what person will?

tinypliny - 11/08/08 12:14
HAHAHA.. I regularly threaten my rice cooker.

james - 11/08/08 12:09
You should see the sadistic BDSM relationship Jim has with our appliances. "You will wash those dishes you filthy dish washing pig!"
"Ya, that is right you whore. Turn that bread into toast!"

paul - 11/08/08 11:57
I saw that in you and thats why I made you the commander. Someday, when we form the estrip Army - which is the whole secret plan (not so sectret anymore) of the site, you can whip them into a frenzy and have them take over buffalo.

tinypliny - 11/08/08 09:44
Gasp. Blank Comment.

MUST GUARD REPUTATION*

----
PS: So Much Depends on Reputation -- Guard it with Your Life.

PPS: And it somehow reminds me of that scene in Stardust where the captain is totally devastated when his crew sees him dressed up in a ballet tutu. Hahaha. It was a fun movie.

tinypliny - 11/08/08 09:42

tinypliny - 11/08/08 09:41
I think its safe to say that I quake in my boots everytime I see your hair. It's the K2 of unpredictability after the Everest of that actor who always confuses me.

11/06/2008 12:42 #46571

Purple Country
Category: politics

I'm trying to remember in my glee that 53% isn't the same as 100%. :)

Some maps from

By county:

By county, stretched to fit population:

dragonlady7 - 11/08/08 11:51
I am working really really hard to NOT be like the republicans were in 2004, where the hotly contested 1% margin of victory was seen as some kind of divine mandate from Jebus Hisself and America was United behind America's Prezdint and all y'alls haters is in the minority the Court says so so there I'm gonna go invade Iran too!!!

That went way beyond insult to injury. That was like, face-punching rage. I had rage issues. And I worked with a lot of Republicans at that point. (I had a coworker who seriously had a W lapel pin.)

But I'm starting to think maybe I'm being too nice. ;)

jim - 11/06/08 19:18
Oh man I'm usually very good about attribution. Post updated.

paul - 11/06/08 18:08
Did you make that?

tinypliny - 11/06/08 13:58
All the intolerant crazies ended up in the deep interior cut off from external influences and contact. Oh, and of course some of them can see Russia from their backyards and guard against the Putin helium balloon.

And on that note, what is the red-blue distribution of Alaska??