Author: Baldy

Coining my own law

I've decided to coin my own law.  Now now, this is not a law, as in what the police are supposed to uphold.  This is a law describing the working of the universe.  Like Moore's law or Bell's Law.

So, without further ado, here's Baldy's Law:

You will never get rich by programming computers for a living.  You could, however, get rich by applying computer programming to a very specific problem.

If only we could all strive towards code perfection

I’ve found two views out there about writing good excellent code, that I absolutely have to agree with.

One is on CodingHorror, by Jeff Atwood, saying that writing code is just like writing, ultimately your co-software developers have to understand what your meaning was, and if they cannot figure it out, you’re doing it wrong.

In Jeff’s post there is reference to this post by Ned Batchelder, which basically gives you THE rule about removing dead code, which I have to admit, I’ve been breaking a big percentage of the time.  From now on, in my quest for personal improvement, I will definitely be following both these guidelines.

What are your thoughts on writing good code?

Jonas gaan vir sy lisensie

Jonas gaan vir die hernuwing van sy Swaarvoertuig Bestuurderslisensie.

TOETSBEAMPTE: Goed Jonas, kom ons toets jou algemene kennis – Jy ry teen ‘n afdraend af en voor jou is ‘n ander vragmotor, Jy wil verby gaan – Wat doen jy ?

JONAS: Is reg, Mener. Ek kyk hom die left mirror, die pad is skoon, dan kyk hom die right mirror, die pad is skoon – Dan ek slaan die indicator, trap die petrol, kom buitekant, ek gaan verby.

TOETSBEAMPTE: Toe jy nou so besig is om verby te gaan, kom daar ‘n ander vragmotor van voor af, Wat doen jy dan?

JONAS: Is nie mulakeit nie, Mener, weer ek check die left mirror, es skoon, kyk die right mirror, es skoon, dan sit hom die indicator to the left, vang biekie briek, dan steek ek die neus agter die ander lorry in.

TOETSBEAMPTE:  Raait, maar toe jy nou in die spieel kyk, het ‘n ander trok van agter die gaping toegemaak, Wat maak jy nou ?

JONAS: Aitsa bra, Dan maak ek mar my assistant Petros wakker.

TOETSBEAMPTE: Nou hoekom wil jy vir Petros wakker maak?

JONAS: Ek,  ek dink nie Petros hy het al so moerse ongeluk gasien nie.

A Brokeback story

A successful rancher died and left everything to his devoted wife.  She was a very good-looking woman and determined to keep the ranch, but knew very little about ranching, so she decided to place an ad in the newspaper for a ranch hand. Two cowboys applied for the job.

One was gay and the other a drunk.

She thought long and hard about it, and when no one else applied she decided to hire the gay guy, figuring it would be safer to have him around the house than the drunk.

He proved to be a hard worker who put in long hours every day and knew a lot about ranching. For weeks, the two of them worked, and the ranch was doing very well.

Then one day, the rancher's widow said to the hired hand, 'You have done a really good job, and the ranch looks great.  You should go into town and kick up your heels.'

The hired hand readily agreed and went into town one Saturday night. One o'clock came, however, and he didn't return. Two o'clock and no hired hand. Finally he returned around two-thirty, and upon entering the room, he found the rancher's widow sitting by the fireplace with a glass of wine, waiting for him.
 
She quietly called him over to her.
'Unbutton my blouse and take it off,' she said.
Trembling, he did as she directed.
'Now take off my boots.'
He did as she asked, ever so slowly.
'Now take off my socks.'
He removed each gently and placed them neatly by her boots.
'Now take off my skirt'
He slowly unbuttoned it, constantly watching her eyes in the fire light.
'Now take off my bra.'

Again, with trembling hands, he did as he was told and dropped it to the floor. Then she looked at him and said, 'If you ever wear my clothes into town again, you're fired.'

(Yeah, I didn't see it coming, either!)

Is it worth it trying to maintain multiple blogs?

Over the last few weeks I’ve written a few articles on MyDigitalLife, where, should you be deemed a good enough writer, you start getting paid per hit.  While checking on my hit count etc, I’ve fallen into the bad habit of reading the latest blog posts every time I visit.  I have to honestly say that I’m a worse person for reading some of the mind numbing posts out there.

There are a FEW of the bloggers there that write quality stuff, but mostly…Well let’s not comment any further, go have a look at this beauty.  And there are a few more of these.

I strive for constant improvement in my life, in everything I attempt, whether it be writing – in comprehensible language – or watching the grass grow – trying to see more detail every time :-).  And in this constant quest for improvement, I do not want to be associated with the likes of snake.

I have also been neglecting this blog because of my writing on that side, and I do not want to neglect my primary site, so I’ve decided to commit site suicide (removing my profile, not killing myself), but I have to say it seems that it may be more difficult than trying to commit FaceBook suicide, which can be nearly impossible, according to the few who’ve tried.

So, I’ll now move my articles from that side to this one, and see if the kick me off for breaking one of the rules of the site – linking back to your own blog.

So, back to my question, is it worth maintaining multiple blogs?  Only if you want to hide your political/personal views…