Curious Creature

I know it’s an opinion piece but this article, reposted on Macworld, is really ridiculous.

Buying a new kind of product sight unseen is foolish. Especially given how mysterious Apple has been on what the iPad can do and what restrictions on capabilities and media access it will place on users and content providers.

Really?  Has Apple been mysterious?  I was pretty clear on what the iPad can do and what it can’t do based on the presentation from Steve Jobs when he introduced the device.   It’s based on iPhone OS  and has, currently, the same limitations as iPhone OS.   There are changes to account for the new screen and there are new applications but it’s a Wifi and/or 3G larger iPod Touch.   What is so mysterious about it?   And what restrictions and media access is Galen Gruman referring to that we don’t already know about?

I really wish people would just get over the fact that Apple makes good products.   If you don’t like them don’t buy them but stop faulting others for buying them.

Joining walking directions on Maps it now shows bike paths and gives bike as an option for getting directions somewhere.

Very nice!

Soak overnight. Should have many labels floating in the water.

This stuff works great!

I was searching on the right concentration to use PBW to remove labels on beer bottles I had collected for homebrewing.  I came across this post where the author claims to have a really easy way to remove labels:

I have read the messages from users who recommend soaking the bottles in PBW™ solution and others using WD-40 to dissolve the glue, but I found a really easy way. The labels will soften up and come off by filling up a large basin (about 7 to 9 gallons) of hot water with about 2/3rds to 3/4ths of a cup of Tide laundry detergent (or other brand of strong powdered laundry detergent)

The author then goes on to note:

After you do this step, the bottles must be cleaned as usual with PBW and a bottle brush to remove any trace of the laundry detergent solution.

So let me get this straight?  You could have used PBW to remove the labels in the first place but its easier to remove the labels first with laundry detergent then use PBW?  Am I missing something?

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Today I had a new coworker tell me that I really couldn’t comment on his method of organizing source code because I hadn’t used it.   It was guaranteed to produce the fantastic results he was talking about if only we’d just adopt it for all projects going forward.  (He didn’t find it odd that even though this system was apparently very intuitive everyone kept asking the same questions over and over). But he’s missing the point completely.  The problems on the particular project I’m working on are about the requirements.

I’ve been a software professional for 15 years now.  In that time I’ve seen a lot of things and have tried a lot of things.  I’ve been part of the newest fads in software development usually to see all of them fail.  Why?  Because the most important part of the equation is the customer knowing what they want and being able to communicate that in the form of requirements and in all but one case they haven’t been able to do that.

The most successful projects I’ve ever been involved with were *gasp* based on the waterfall method of software development.  Well wait…how can that be?  Doesn’t a project have to be “agile” to be successful?   Of course that’s tongue-in-cheek but based on what I’ve read projects can’t be successful using that methodology.  But they were and why were they?  It had nothing to do with the methodology at all, it was all about having good requirements.   We came up with good requirements by spending a hell of a lot of time with the clients.  First finding out what they needed.  Then spending even more time working with screen mock-ups in the meetings.  Then finally showing a real prototype to make sure we were all on the same page.  We then threw that prototype out and started coding.  (We also had a designated note-taker so we could keep a record of what was agreed to).

I have not had the pleasure of using that system since (this was 1996-98).   Since then any project I’ve been involved with has had problems because of lack of good requirements and requirements gathering.   That stuff takes a lot of time.  It takes interaction between the software people and the clients.   There has to be a record of what was agreed to and people can’t just keep changing their mind as the winds change direction.  It has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the development methodolgy.

Getting back to my new coworker…   While his code organizing ideas have some merit the organization of our codebase isn’t the problem.  Someone can learn what goes where very quickly.  On a larger scale code organization still isn’t the problem.  The problem, once again, is requirements.  We just aren’t getting good requirements and nobody is writing anything down to the point we can come to agreement on things.   Changing the organization of the code isn’t going to fix that problem.  He even insists that it can help but I don’t see quite how organizing code around business concerns is going to make people come to a consensus on exactly what is supposed to be built.  Until that happens everything else is almost a moot point.

Veggie seeds have been ordered. Bring on Spring!

Wow.  Talk about a scary moment.  Just to note: I’ve been pretty anal about backing up my data elsewhere besides a disk sitting at my house.  CrashPlan is perfect because I can not only back up to other systems in my house but also their central servers for a fee which by the way is a damned good deal.

Anyhow, I had to reinstall Windows last night.   Doing so changed the generated ID that CrashPlan uses to identify each computer system.  Seems reasonable but I just wasn’t thinking.   Tonight when I reinstalled CrashPlan and did a test backup I had the surprise of seeing the client start from the beginning.   I already have about 70GB of data backed up to their servers which took a hell of a long time to accomplish and it appeared I was in for another long haul.   Until I came across this document (Reconnecting an Existing Backup).

Those guys saved my ass again!  Thinking of everything…what a great company.    I did end up having to back up some files again (in my user folder) because I ended up changing my username on the new Windows installation.  That’s OK though because that portion of data should only take a day or so   The other 65+GB is safe and sound…

Thanks CrashPlan!

Did you know? Today *is* the 12th Day of Christmas even without the silly song. It’s linked in the Christian world to Epiphany yet the tradition of Twelfth Night/Twelfth Day itself is older than that in many parts of the world.

I celebrated Twelfth Night/Day this year even though I’m not a Christian.   I’ve been searching for ways to mark the various times of the year and while the religious observations don’t mean anything to me the fact that they’re linked with older, mostly pagan, traditions resonates deeply with me.  The older I become the more I’ve been seeking out ways to connect myself with older (or create new) traditions.   It gives us a great chance to reflect on not only our lives, but the lives of those that have come before us, throughout the year.   I’ve felt like my life has lost  meaning as I’ve gotten older and have become far too preoccupied with the minutiae of daily life and these things have helped center me and reconnect me to all that is around me.

This year, since it was really the first, I celebrated Twelfth Night by simply having some cake (a king cake) as well as some Glögg which had to fill in for the Wassail traditionally served on Twelfth Night.  I wanted something subdued and really just wanted to note the day with some traditional foods.

Today for Twelfth Day/Epiphany I had the same foods and went out for a walk.  The walk seemed an appropriate way to bring an end to the festivities of the Christmas season.  The air smelled wonderfully clean and at times scented with the smell of burning wood.  It put me in a thoughtful mood, which I think, was the point of marking the holiday.   It’s now time to put the old year behind me and start the new one with a fresh perspective.  I’ve made some major changes in my life to start the  year (new job) and will continue to make others throughout the year.

To any and all reading this I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and wish you peace and prosperity in the coming year!

Tonight as I was driving home from work I was lucky enough to catch the sun setting and the beautiful colorscape it created. Looking southwest I saw a pillar of orange light shooting up in the sky from the point where the sun had just gone down below the horizon. Riding up the pillar were layer upon layer of colors: reds, oranges, purples, pinks. It lasted only a few moments but in the time it was there it truly was something special.

Nature and all of it’s randomness is truly amazing. The infinite shapes of snowflakes. Infinite possibilities of sunsets. Infinite but ordered shapes of leaves. The list goes on and on and that boundless opportunity for discovery truly is a gift.

The Apple “press” (I use quotes because they really aren’t but sure seem like they’d like to be) never ceases to amaze me.  What passes for two stories on The Unofficial Apple Weblog today:

1. A story titled ‘Apple’s “renaissance” is under way’ it is reported that the author thinks that because he is seeing Macs everywhere now that more people are buying them.  This shocking item is backed up with the claim “There’s now data to back up these observations”.  Well gee, there has been data to back up those observations for quite awhile now.  Apple has been consistently improving Mac sales quarter over quarter.   This Mac website is just seeing this now??

      Oh and of course the peanut gallery kicks in with the typical ‘People just buy <insert popular Apple product> because they want to be seen with it’.  Hate to break it to those folks but I bought an iPod, a Mac, and an iPhone because they’re the best products…not because I want to look cool (and in the case of an iPhone millions of people don’t all want to look cool.  Please.).

2. In another story titled “HTC and other OEMs prepared to challenge the iSlate” we get the brilliant little nugget: “The announcements are sure to place some price pressure on Apple: Freescale’s design is intended for retail prices in the $200 range, much less than the $600 – $1,000 expected for Apple’s device. “I’m going to bet that the Freescale tablet will be every bit as good as it’s $200-range design.  Meanwhile people will part with their hard earned dollars in droves to get the Apple tablet because Apple knows what they’re doing and they seem to be the only company that gives a damn about design and how people interact with their products.

      To be sure the author throws in: “Of course, Apple is all about the design, functionality, and user experience of their devices and software, and the capabilities of the tablet will need to show perceived value to potential customers.” just to make sure they cover their bases.  Again I find it astounding that this is coming from a website who’s main purpose is covering Apple.   Have they not noticed that during this awful recession Apple is making money hand over fist on premium laptops and desktop systems?

This is the best these guys can do?