Don’t hit publish on the blog when you just want to save a draft.
Big Builds are Bad. Software should be developed and distributed in small packages. Linux is successful due to things like apt, yum, and yast.
Interface Specifications need to be more specific. Just saying that something is a string is not really helpful if that something needs to conform to a pattern.
Programming and blogging requires sugar in the brain.
Interviews are tricky…on both sides of the table. Career fairs are worse.
C++ Has a lot of magic in it. Can we make type level programming more transparent?
Microsoft purchasing Yahoo would be good for Google, but bad for just about everyone else.
Being a Dad is really cool. Even when it sucks, it is great. Sometimes kids refuse to go to sleep. This leads to sleep deprivation, but also leads to really wonderful moments in rocking chair in the middle of the night.
Pool is a great Geek game. Lower left-hand English is neat.
Snowshoes are good off the trail. Not so good on the trail. If your going on the trail, take the cross country skis. Snowmobiles smell funny.
New Hampshire winter weather is still as brutal today as it was when I left the area in the early ’90s.
It is hard to sing a Jazzy version of Old MacDonald had a Farm. It is harder to do after the tenth repetition while trying to get a child to fall asleep.
If you listen to Children’s CDs long enough, you will develop favorite children’s songs. I like the hippo song.
Is there really a difference between the Ethernet and SCSI protocols? I don’t know, but it would be fun to find out.
The compiler is your friend. Let it check your work for you.
Why write code on a white board if you have a computer available? Especially if you have an overhead projector?
Where do the local peregrine falcons sleep? Where would they be sleeping if we hadn’t built up the whole area?
If I could have a redo on which language to take as a Sophomore, I would probably would have liked to take Chinese. Russian and Arabic would also do. German was not a good choice for me.
If Bush Senior had insisted on pushing to Baghdad, it would have been my generation in this mess as opposed to the current set of junior officers. Instead of Haiti, I would have gone to Basra or something.
There are too many interesting topics in the world to pursue them all, or even a small fraction of them.
Every philosopher I’ve read, especially the ones I disagree with, ave said something that is valuable and true.
No matter how old you are, when you get together with your parents, you revert to teenager status.
This list should never see the light of day.
The Skiing Here Today Is More Like It Is Today Than It Ever Was Before – Warren Miller
Mr. Young,
My name is Sam, and I’m 13 years old. My friend just introduced me to Owl City, and I immediately fell in love with your music. I did a little research, and come to find out, you’re a programmer! I’ve been programming in C++ (and occasionally BASIC – although I’m not fond of the whole “drag and drop” thing) for about two years, and have never heard of a musician /
programmer. I’d love to get more information on both the band and maybe some more C++.
Thanks,
Sam
Sam,
I think you have the wrong Adam Young. While I am a little bit of a musician, I am not involved with Owl City.
That being said, there are a lot of people that are into both music and programming: they use very similar portions of the brain. Composing and programming a very similar. So much so, in fact, that I often find music is not a good way to unwind after programming: it ls too similar.
I’ve done a good bit of C++ and Java over my time. If your are dealing with BASC, I assume you are on a Windows platform. I’d advise you to learn about Linux: It will give you an incredible amount of freedom as a programmer. g++ is a free and open source compiler for C++ based on gcc, the compiler used to build the Linux Kernal and most Free software. If you don’t have full control over your computer, or are still a little wary of installing a different operating system, look into the Cygwin utilites at http://www.cygwin.org.
I’ll check out Owl City. I’m always looking for new good music.
Ha. I think your right. Sorry about that. I have dual booted to Ubuntu once, and done a little bit on g++ actually. I eventually rid my computer of the O.S, as I needed a larger amount of space on my C: drive, and I was so used to my command prompt. (Terminal is not my favorite) I have recently began programming in Java as well, and it definitely helps to have a prior knowledge (Be it minor) of a language. I have used Netbeans but now I’m just using notepad and the cmd, but I was wondering if there were any prominent IDES you would prefer. Thanks again.
Sam,
No problem. My namesake makes good music. For Java, I’d advise using Eclipse, although Netbeans is a fairly decent IDE as well. Eclipse is pretty much industry standard.
Got it. Does it compile straight from the IDE to the command line? (Like Dev C++ or MVSC++) Do you have any other Java tips for me? – By the way, thanks for actually answering these questions.
In Java, to build direct from the command line, use Javac for trivial things, ant for medium things, and Maven for complicated things. Some people might switch Maven and Ant.
Eclipse will help you build the build.xml file you need for Ant. I’d advice starting with the Ant website: http://ant.apache.org/
Typically, for a singler person project, just using eclipse as your build environment is OK, but for shared projects, you will want to use Ant or Maven.
The best advice I can give you for Java is get your hands on “Effective Java” by Joshua Bloch, read it, know it, code it. Most of his advice will apply somewhat to C++ as well.
Thanks.
Adam,
I open my eyes every night to reveal a place i feel is home. Only then am i truly happy. I feel sometimes i wander this world alone but im given clues in my dreams. Clues to myself.
Music is an expression of ones self. Ones dreams.
I am curious about your dreams.
They call me a dreamer, but im not the only one…..but i feel it.
Why cant i find them?
Sincerely,
Michelle
One recurring theme of the conversations I had with friends as we got prepared for our 20 Year High school reunion was that we wished we knew then just how isolated everyone felt. We can talk about it now, with some adult life experience under out belts, with 20 year hind sight. So many missed opportunities. But that is part of what going through life gives you: perspective.