T < x < B

"It looks like Python (with extensions like numpy) is becoming a standard tool for many sciences that..."

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:37:28 -0500

“It looks like Python (with extensions like numpy) is becoming a standard tool for many sciences that need to process large amounts of data, from neuroimaging to astronomy.”

- Neopythonic: Python in the Scientific World

#10658 (Prevent wxStaticBox from being used as a parent) – wxWidgets

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:24:02 -0500

#10658 (Prevent wxStaticBox from being used as a parent) – wxWidgets:

Don’t use wx.StaticBox as a parent — your program will segfault on wxGTK.

"If you really understood how complex it is to write a correct threaded program, you would be..."

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:43:20 -0500

“If you really understood how complex it is to write a correct threaded program, you would be concerned, not about yourself (because you are clearly one of the brilliant few to whom threading is transparently obvious), but about all the other programmers who aren’t as smart as you are. Such brilliant people exist; they look at something and the answer seems obvious and they don’t understand why it isn’t obvious to everyone else. But (1) those aren’t most programmers and (2) I generally find that this kind of overconfidence eventually produces catastrophic results.”

- Bruce Eckel, Weblogs Forum - It isn’t Easy to Remove the GIL

"As in high school, the winners are the ones who don’t take it too seriously and understand..."

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:37:26 -0500

“As in high school, the winners are the ones who don’t take it too seriously and understand what they’re trying to accomplish. Get stuck in the never ending drama (worrying about what irrelevant people think) and you’ll never get anything done. The only thing worse than coming in second place in the race for student council president is… winning.”

- Seth’s Blog: The Rule of High School

From Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal.

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:26:00 -0400

From Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal.

Hacker's Delight Theorem D4

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:05:00 -0400

The (informal) proof of Hacker’s Delight Theorem D4:

The largest possible fractional part resulting from the division is . In order for the output value of the floor function to change, you need to roll over to the next highest integer (even in the negative numbers — remember that we’re strictly adding a positive x); therefore, you need at least a positive delta of to achieve this, which is impossible, because it contradicts the upper bounds on x we set forth initially.

setjmp in Cython

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:49:00 -0400

Found this nice little demo of how to use setjmp in Cython through Google Code:

cdef extern from "setjmp.h":
   struct __jump_buf_tag:
       pass
   ctypedef __jump_buf_tag jmp_buf
   int setjmp(jmp_buf __env)

From http://sage.math.washington.edu/home/dfdeshom/sage/devel/sage-darcs.tar.gz

My favorite slide from the “How to write more...

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 17:57:37 -0400

My favorite slide from the “How to write more clearly…” presentation by Michael A. Covington.

Steal my idea: receipt processing device/software

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:20:54 -0400

I hate receipts. I’m always suckered into taking them so I have proof in case I ripped off; however, the point is mostly moot because I have no automated way of checking whether I’m being ripped off, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to manually manage my micro-finances.

Create a pen-holder sized device that just scans receipts, OCRs the values, runs some simple classification AI on it, and aggregates data into something I can spit out as a CSV every month and check against my credit card statements. If it flattened and stored the receipts somewhere I can shred them every month, that would be even better.

The circle of life! (via Josh Susser at...

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:36:00 -0400

The circle of life! (via Josh Susser at http://blog.hasmanythrough.com/2009/9/3/circle-of-death )

Usability and style guides

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 04:38:07 -0400

The more I read about usability the more I’m convinced that projects should have mandatory style guides, enforced by auto-linters. The less choices that the programmer has to think about in their style, the more they can focus on the task of programming.

I’m also of the opinion that auto-completion in IDEs, when not explicitly requested, is more distracting then helpful; however, I can see how it might increase the rate of code production for slower typists to a point of marginal utility.

Attempted escapees

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:28:38 -0400

I look at the dead bees on the windowsill and think it’s funny, then realize that’s how unjust imprisoners must feel. Then I realize how lame that train of thought was.

Ass kicking

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:31:25 -0400

(12:27:10 AM) Rob: so no luck on pog google searches?
(12:27:24 AM) Rob: wikipedia was as useful as a one legged man in an ass kicking competition
(12:27:57 AM) cdleary: dude, those are the best competitors
(12:28:15 AM) cdleary: he has to make sure the foot gets stuck in there
(12:29:36 AM) Rob: ouch

"Entrepreneurship boils down to the simple fact that a team of really smart people who can get things..."

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:48:35 -0500

“Entrepreneurship boils down to the simple fact that a team of really smart people who can get things done are going to get smart, useful things done.”

- How Hard Could It Be?: The Unproven Path - technology ventures - Joel Spolsky

Don't Let Architecture Astronauts Scare You - Joel on Software

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:25:19 -0500

Don't Let Architecture Astronauts Scare You - Joel on Software

Your password will expire in 42 days

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:27:05 -0500

I really dislike the inevitable “Your password will expire in N days” dialog on Windows XP machines, which I assume is enforced by group policy. I really don’t need to be constantly informed of this — I use the damn computer every day. Just tell me when the password has expired, and I’ll change it.

Plus, it makes a really loud beeping sound when I unlock the computer. I should probably disable the system speaker. :/

I presume it’s designed for people who take forever to think up a new password that don’t like to be caught off guard. Coming in on a Monday and finding that your computer forces a password change as you struggle to get ready for your important meeting would make people angry. I, on the other hand, think of new passwords quickly and don’t have important meetings. Boo group policy settings!

"Linux has always been a great operating system for programmers. Since the late 90s, however,..."

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:09:12 -0500

“Linux has always been a great operating system for programmers. Since the late 90s, however, there’s been a big push to make Linux more attractive to people that don’t have Mountain Dew addictions.”

- Editing audio in Linux

Gibbon, Heron, Ibex

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:12:19 -0400

I wonder if anybody else finds it weird that we end up calling the Ubuntu distributions by the adjective instead of the noun. Seems linguistically odd.

"XML 1.1 is/was, effectively ignored in many circles. Now we have XML 1.0 fifth edition which..."

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:39:14 -0400

“XML 1.1 is/was, effectively ignored in many circles. Now we have XML 1.0 fifth edition which includes a revisitation of the same swampy grasslands as XML 1.1.”

- Pet Peeves - XML | ITworld

"Beer is actually a good source of folate, niacin, magnesium, potassium and niacin."

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:17:49 -0400

“Beer is actually a good source of folate, niacin, magnesium, potassium and niacin.”

- Beer Nutrition - Beer Can Be Healthy - Healthy Beer Nutrition