- Teachers and tech support have two very different perspectives on questions. Teachers say, “there is no stupid question.” Tech support asks, “why does everyone ask stupid questions?”
- The only things to fear are fear itself and bad code.
- Java was designed by software engineers who think programmers are better when their jobs are so structured there is no room for error. Unfortunately, the lack of room for success forces errors.
- Programming in Java is like trying to draw a picture using only straight lines.
- Agile development is the hippy approach to programming
- Upon experiencing deja vu while looking at code, it is time to refactor.
- Do not sit at the head of your bed late at night when you have gas if you intend to sleep on said bed.
- Some people just don’t get “while [1]; wget –delete-file $file; done”
- “Hierarchy is natural.” -Dr. James Robinson
- TVGuide.com does not consider the World Series of Poker to be a sport despite it being broadcast on ESPN.
While there are a lot of topics I would like to write on, I am trying to keep my head above water at the moment. Here is a list of things I have done in the past week:
- Discussed a job offer from the financial services company I have interned at the past three summers
- Worked on a website for a nearby community trying to rebuild after a tornado followed in the next year by flooding
- Spent time looking into helping another similar community overhaul its website, but as of today it looks like they only want minor HTML skills; so, I will likely skip on the task for something requiring a little more technical know-how
- Began talks about doing some consultant work for another web company
- Created a Windows XP on a virtual machine for some testing purposes
- Created an Ubuntu virtual machine for experimental development purposes
- Played tennis at least every other day
- Gone on two bike rides
- Attended my job for Information Technology Services – Network Services (ITS-NS) as a student programmer
- Gone to my two classes
- Sat in on a class in which I am not officially enrolled
- Met with my computer science undergraduate research advisor
- Done some preliminary research for my research project
- Bought tickets to the UNI vs Iowa football game coming up this Saturday
- Got my car’s ventilation fan motor replaced by my girlfriend’s father
- Other miscellaneous social activities including things such as watching movies, going out to eat, and bonfires
- Laundry…
Remember how I talked about having an easy semester due to a light class load? That was a funny idea! For starters, everyone else has yet to get heavy loads of homework. This seems to be true for everyone except for my girlfriend which is mildly disappointing. Thus, friends are always asking about going and doing things since they know I am the one with very little classwork to tie me down. However, when all of their activities are staggered, it can quickly fill up a day. I am almost getting worn out. I have always found classes to be rather relaxing. All I have to do is sit there, listen, and take notes. That requires very little energy on my part. Especially when it is compared to things like tennis and bike rides. Another habit is to monitor my water consumption by ensuring I drink so much water during each class. The result is I am getting tired and pushing myself to stay properly hydrated.
I would go into more details on all of the various activities, but that would take too long if I touched on each one of them. It is also getting to be 12:30 AM, and I have a busy day ahead of me. Already on the schedule is going into work a bit late so I can scan a Non-Disclosure Agreement as well as make a business call about my job offer. Then it is work and class. I have the afternoon open to work on the community website before meeting with a couple of their representatives to discuss some things. I will return here later at night to do some laundry and get to work on one of the projects on the list. I should probably also slide in another business phone call in the afternoon. My video editing projects have been put on temporary hold as I stay caught up on web development projects. I am beginning to feel like I am already working full-time. In some ways, it is kind of nice even if it means things are a bit busy.