Month: April 2010

Pear Pimples for Hairy Fishnuts

/ hsoi

Bloom County was my favorite comic strip. I still love going back and reading the collections I have, and would love to get the new “Complete Collection” series that’s coming out.

One thing that pains me about the strip? My kids can’t enjoy it, at least not like I did. Bloom County was such a reflection of the time in which it was created (which was part of what made it so great), that unless you lived through it or are a student of 1980’s history, you just won’t understand many of the jokes. I will say my kids enjoy Berkeley Breathed‘s books and his sense of humor.

So lacking Bloom County, my kids can enjoy Pearls Before Swine, which is awesome.

Just Smurfy

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Going to the bank today to open an account (more on this eventually).

Wife and I had a little verbal exchange as I was going out the door.

The end result?

I’m now “Glock Smurf”.

That’s the Smurf I want to be.

Glock Smurf.

😉

Code Bubbles

/ hsoi

For you developers out there, check this out: Code Bubbles.

And you really need to watch it full-screen, high def, as it’s hard to understand what they’re talking about without being able to see the text they’re editing.

Present development IDE’s are all about text files… you are organized based upon the way the data is stored. I recall long ago thinking about how that, well, sucked. 🙂  It’s one way to organize things for sure, but why should we be limited by the storage constraints of the system if that’s not the best way to actually organize and access the data? We should be able to abstract that notion away. Isn’t that part of what computers are all about?

I really like how this “code bubble” approach works to allow you to focus on work. The data is just the data. You work with the data. You can see how the data relates to other data. If you need to add your own data, like a flag or a note, you can do that. How you can preserve data that is generated, such as a debug session, and then come back and revisit that at another time be it just starting a second debug session or something you did weeks ago. How documentation, how bug reporting, how annotations are just integrated into the system and so you can hook all of these things together to allow you to work on a problem with all the necessary parts just right there and connected together. Then how you can take all of this and serialize it to share with a colleague?  That’s pretty cool.

I will say, some of the bubbles are a little annoying, mostly because I think the left-to-right hierarchical structure is a bit cumbersome on screen. But that’s a minor nit, and they’ve actually done a fair job at trying to address a lot of that mundane usability minutia. The concepts here are really good, and I figure all it takes is time in use to actually develop and truly refine the workflow. Bubbles may not be the final solution to improving the developer workflow, but it’s great to see someone working to develop a model that rethinks the whole process and strives to improve upon our existing paradigms.

Neat idea.

Is it too much to ask?

/ hsoi / 13 Comments

Is it too much to ask for people to:

  1. Use a turn signal
  2. Check your mirrors
  3. Look over your shoulder (blind spot check)
  4. Ensure your rear bumper is at least oh…. a couple inches ahead of my front bumper, instead of 2 feet behind it)

all before you decide to change lanes in front of me?

Taking my mother to the airport this afternoon I had 5 people nearly put their rear bumper into my front bumper. All because they were changing lanes, into my lane, ahead of me. If I didn’t slam on my brakes each time we would have certainly kissed bumpers.

And every time there was no turn signal. No checking of mirrors. No looking over of the shoulder. And all started changing lanes before they were ahead of me.

Everyone says the drivers in their town are terrible. I’ve visited and driven in many towns throughout this country. And hands down Austin drivers are the fucking worst.

Chicago lawmakers want to put more guns on the street… sorta.

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Chicago Democrats want the Illinois National Guard to be deployed to help with the violent crime on their city streets.

Chicago Democrats John Fritchey and LaShawn Ford said they want Quinn, Mayor Richard Daley and Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis to allow guardsmen to patrol streets and help quell violence. Weis said he did not support the idea because the military and police operate under different rules.

“Is this a drastic call to action? Of course it is,” Fritchey said. “Is it warranted when we are losing residents to gun violence at such an alarming rate? Without question. We are not talking about rolling tanks down the street or having armed guards on each corner.”

What he envisions, Fritchey said, is a “heightened presence on the streets,” particularly on the roughly 9 percent of city blocks where most of the city’s violent crimes occur.

So what they’re wanting is well… more guns on the streets. If you put more police, or national guardsmen in the street, that’s what you’re wanting: to put more people with guns on the streets!! Only these people are assumed to be good, law-abiding people.

“I’m open to anything that reduces violence. But I have concerns when you mix law enforcement and the military,” Weis said.

Really? So how about improving your gun laws for law-abiding citizens?

Yet the lawmakers said they are coming together because gun violence should be a priority to all Chicagoans.

“No help is too much help” Ford said. “This is not just about the murders. It’s about the crime. It’s about people being stabbed, robbed and in the hospital on life support.”

This isn’t about gun violence. This is about degenerates committing anti-social acts, acts of violence, all because they are able to wield power over the citizenry because the almighty powers that be feel the citizens cannot be trusted to defend themselves but we your almighty caretaker promise to keep you safe — a promise impossible to fulfill. It’s not about guns. If guns were the problem, then why are you proposing putting more guns on the street?!?! Guns are not the problem, it’s the people using the guns that are the problem… or in this case, are part of a proposed solution.

So let’s stop talking about it in a way that falsely demonizes inanimate objects. Let’s look at the real problem, and let’s look at real solutions. Allow your citizens to not be victims. It won’t make the evil go away, but it’s a proven good step in the right direction.

Sunday Metal – Body Count

/ hsoi

Man.. was it really that long ago that Ice-T and Body Count stirred up all that controversy?

I feel old now. 🙂

I will say… listening to this edited version of “There Goes The Neighborhood” just doesn’t sound right.

SB 1070

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

Many people are up in arms about Arizona’s passage of SB 1070.

What side of the fence do you come down on? Easy to tell. Do you refer to those folks as “illegal” or “undocumented”. It’s like calling it a “pre-owned” car instead of a “used” car. Call it whatever you want, the bottom line fact remains the same: they are illegal, they are in the country illegally. They are breaking the law.

The law sends “a clear message that Arizona is unfriendly to undocumented aliens,” said Peter Spiro, a Temple University law professor and author of the book “Beyond Citizenship: American Identity After Globalization.”

[…]

Espinosa said Mexico regrets that Arizona did not take into account the “valuable contributions that migrants make to the economy, society and culture of Arizona and the United States of America.”

Hrm. Since when were we supposed to be friendly to law breakers and other assorted criminals? Extending that logic, we should invite the burglar into our home and give him some tea and help him carrying our belongings out to his getaway car. And we’re supposed to take into account the value contributions made by criminals? I’m sorry, I just don’t buy that logic.

That all said, SB 1070 bothers me. Pretty much anyone can be stopped at any time to have their citizenship questioned and verified.

“Papers, please.”

*shiver*

Will this lead to racial profiling? To be honest, the only way it won’t be able to do that is if everyone is questioned and everyone is checked; that’s not going to happen. Now I see nothing wrong with using race as an identifier because well, the color of someone’s skin or other ethnic characteristic can be a valid identifier (saying I’m the Asian guy is a valid way to pick me out of a crowd here in the US; in Korea, saying I’m the tall guy will probably work better). But really, are they going to be asking the Asian guy for his ID or the Mexican guy?

And ultimately, will anything be achieved? Or will this just bolster the counterfeit ID market?

SB 1070 is yet another thing that has good intentions, but is ultimately more pavement for the road to hell.

Updated: Some people have read this and spoken with me about what I wrote. So I want to (attempt to) clarify my feelings on this.

I have a problem with breaking the law. Call me crazy. I do like seeing the law enforced. I do think we have some stupid laws on the books, but in general I don’t feel immigration laws are (conceptually) stupid.

That said, I do think it’s good to allow people to move about. My mother is an immigrant. She went through proper channels tho.

Now if someone wants to come here, make a better life, work, work hard, pay taxes, contribute, and be a part of the society? I don’t have a problem with that. I do have a problem with people coming, taking, then leaving and contributing nothing back… especially when that taking ends up taking from me (e.g my medical costs are high because people who cannot pay go to the ER, get service, then bail… and I wind up paying for it).

But note, my problem isn’t exclusively an immigrant problem! A lot of the parasites in this country are citizens of this country. I have a problem with parasitic behavior (and criminal behavior).

As for how SB 1070 is implemented, I don’t like that. “Papers please” does not make for a free country.

I can understand wanting to deal with illegal immigration, but this isn’t the right way to do it.

New Critical Defense loads

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

I just saw in my latest issue of American Rifleman magazine that Hornady has expanded their line of Critical Defense ammo. The new offerings are .357 Magnum, .40 S&W, .45 ACP and…. 12 gauge 00 buckshot.

I’ve written about Critical Defense before. I think the concept is interesting and shows promise, but there’s just not enough data out there. What data there is is Hornady’s marketing. Granted, they wouldn’t irresponsibly bring something to market (I hope not!) nor would they bring something to market without a lot of research and study. Plus Hornady has a reputation for good products and performance ammunition. But I’m just not sure I’m ready to bet my life on Critical Defense… not until there’s more third-party data and study of the round. Hopefully with the ammo now being offered in the remaining popular self-defense calibers, we may see more testing.

So don’t get me wrong, I’m not down on Critical Defense, I just want to see more data.

I’d be happy to produce that data myself, but I don’t have the money nor means.

The buckshot is interesting. The big deal about Critical Defense is the use of the FTX bullet, and of course buckshot isn’t going to have that. But they did use a special wad that helps keep tight patterns. That’s good, and really that’s what you want. I know a lot of people think it’s better to blow a big cloud of shot in a self-defense shotgun, but it’s not. You do want a little spread, sure, but you really want a tight pattern because you want to ensure all of that shot hits the target and nothing else.

I would be curious to know if the buckshot loads are normal or reduced recoil. IMHO, reduced recoil would be the way to go. The intended purpose for this load is self-defense, home-defense. Given that, most folks aren’t going to need more than maybe 25 yards or so of range. With reduced recoil you can still get that range, get that necessary energy, but not beat up the person using the shotgun and allow faster follow-up shots since recoil will not be so pronounced.

George Carlin on Earth Day

/ hsoi

Peter reminded me about this clip of George Carlin talking about Earth Day.

I’ve felt the same way. We’re not saving the Earth, the Earth is fine. It’s been here for billions of years and it will keep on kicking for billions more. But we little arrogant pimples on the face of the Earth? We’re the problem, and we’re what’s at risk of going away. We’re not saving the Earth, we’re saving our own irresponsible butts.

Here’s a useful bit of information folks: eventually, we all go away. May not be what you want, but life isn’t fair, it won’t ever be fair no matter how much you whine and try, and you won’t always get what you want. Eventually you come to terms with the cold hard fact that Mother Nature prefers balance; she will always self-correct things (even if it takes a million years, because she’s got the time and patience); and while you might win some insignificant battle here and there, she will always win the war.

Does this mean to give up and not try? I think it means one should consider their actions. When I first became a homeowner I channeled my inner Hank Hill and wanted the best looking lawn on the block. Then Mother Nature had the final say, because the Central Texas summer sun just doesn’t like grass, not at least without a lot of water, which 1. gets costly, 2. takes water away from more important things, like me drinking it. Over time I found balance between keeping a fair lawn and knowing how Mother Nature liked to be.

You can spend your whole life paddling upstream, fighting the current. What do you get for it? How much progress do you make? Instead, go with the flow. It makes for a more enjoyable journey. Sure, sometimes you’ll have to paddle to avoid some rocks or maybe get over to where the stream branches because that way looks more interesting. But in the end you can fight it or roll with it, and most times learning to go with the flow really yields more satisfying results.

A little more about buffalo meat

/ hsoi / 10 Comments

Yesterday I did a quick little sampling of the water buffalo meat.

It paid off.

For dinner, Wife sliced the loin meat into maybe 1/4″ or at most 1/3″ slices against the grain. That is key — going against the grain. She then also pounded the meat with one of those tenderizing hammers, and sprinkled some meat tenderizer (the salty stuff) on it. Let it sit for a couple hours.

That made a difference for sure. Eating that meat for dinner and the meat was far “softer”. It’s still got a little bit of chew to it, that’s just gotta be the characteristic of the meat. But it made for a positive difference.

So that seems key in preparation: do things to help tenderness.

Again don’t get me wrong, it’s not a tough meat, but there is more “chew” than beef. Once I get the rest of the meat back from the butcher, we’ll see how that goes. That meat is aging at least a week. And then we’ll see how other preparation techniques work out on other cuts.