Labor Day was so boring

Yesterday was Labor Day, and it was boring as heck. Boring, lonely and depressing. I basically spent the entire day alone.

Went to the gym, got some household chores done, and got some work-related stuff accomplished. Also watched Carrie on DVD. On the whole though, it was a pretty boring day, and at times, painfully lonely.

Nuts. Drat. Drat. Nuts. Nuts.

Nothing sticks to it!

I have, on occasion, talked about my ex-roommate Mark, and what a difficult individual he was. One of his many problems was that he was incapable of recognizing the limitations of his own knowledge. That is, he frequently assumed himself to be right, even on matters in which he had little expertise.

Case in point: He once asserted that there are no such things as physical "chaotic systems"--that is, physical systems in which the final outcome varies tremendously based on infinitesimal variations in the starting parameters. "Everything runs down!" he said. The guy clearly did not know what chaos theory meant, and yet he deigned to assumed that thousands of chaos theorists across the globe were studying a non-existent phenomenon.

Here's another example. He once claimed that Teflon cannot be used as a structural material. "It's only good for coatings!" he exclaimed. I said, "Mark, it is typically used as a coating. That doesn't mean that it can't be used as a solid block of material."

"But I've never heard of it being used that way!" he objected. "Mark," I said, "Don't assume that it's impossible just because you haven't heard of it being used that way. Teflon is expensive stuff, which is why people prefer to use it as a coating. For structural applications, one can typically get away with using acetal or other low-friction plastics. That doesn't mean that they can't use Teflon; it simply means that the less expensive option is often sufficient."

Besides, Teflon is sometimes used in bearings, due to its low frictional coefficient. Mark didn't know about this, but that should be no surprise. He's an electrical engineer, after all, not a mechanical engineer or materials scientist. Of course, that didn't stop this jerk from making hard and fast pronouncements on matters that he knew little about.

Juanin Clay

Time to sigh over Juanin Clay, a luminously lovely and terribly underrated actress. More of Juanin can be seen here and here.

TV stuff

I've been watching a DVD from the old short-lived Buck Rogers in the 25th Century show. Boy, it was cheesy. It did have some pretty good actors among its guest stars, though. And of course, a great many young lads loved to watch Erin Grey.

On a related matter, this site lists two understatedly lovely TV actresses—Melinda Culea and Nicole DeBoer. It also mentioned Courtney Thorne-Smith, but she gets a lot more mileage out of her looks. I would also mention Allison Bartlett (from Sesame Street), a certain small-time weathergal, and a certain children's TV show producer/actress. Oh, and Jennifer Dempster of BodyShaping, and Robin from The Apprentice. Then there's the obscure (and sadly deceased) actress, Juanin Clay.

Speaking of which, I started reading Bill Rancic's book yesterday. It seems like fairly interesting reading, although I think I like Amy Henry's book more. I wish that Nick Warnock had written something as well, since I would have liked to take a look inside his mind. Sadly, I don't think there's anyone from season two whose writings would be in demand, except maybe for Kelly Perdew. I certainly wouldn't want to ready anything by Jenn Massey, unless I was really, really bored. I'd give very little credence to any book that she'd write.

There are a whole lot of books here that I'm trying to get through, with little success. I've managed to make some headway, but thanks to my exercise program, it's been tough going—and I do think that my exercise program will have to take precedence. Rats.

Hiringspeak -- Getting the software job done

I've interviewed for a variety of computer programming jobs, or engineering jobs that required extensive programming expertise. It occurs to me that very few of those companies asked for code samples, or inquired about my programming style. Many of them did ask about technical details, or how I would implement a particular algorith, but that's another matter altogether.

These companies were being short-sighted indeed. They focused on certain technical details, and ignored the question of programming style. That is, they didn't bother to find out if a programmer can write software that can be readily understood, and would not require massive reverse-engineering years down the road. (This article addresses that particular issue in suitable detail.)

I remember this robotics company in one of the mountain states. Their core software was a horrible mess, due to their lack of skilled programmers who understood the artistry of programming style. They had plenty of people who could "get the job done," but the people who laid the foundation for their product were sloppy coders. Many nightmares ensued as a result of this chaos.

I could name many other examples, but you get the point.

Lost and 24

Last night's episode of "Lost" was pretty darned good. We got to saw some of the backstory surrounding Boone and his odd relationship with his sibling Shannon. Wow.

"24", on the other hand, has gotten off to an uneven start. Suffice to say that Jack Bauer is acting rather extremely, and going overboard. The plot stretches credibility sometimes, especially with regard to the computer technobabble, but it's still an enjoyable show.

"Veronica Mars" was pretty darned good, too.

I'm watching a "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" DVD as well. This is decidedly cheesier, and the quality of writing is hardly outstanding. It's still a fun watch, though. I'm tempted to get the entire DVD set, but that would be a waste.

Life sucks

Okay, life doesn't really suck. Still, it is problematic on occasion. Right now, for example, I'm trying to locate some apparatus that I use for a magic trick, and I can't find it anywhere. Too bad; I really wanted to show off at a brunch tomorrow.

I watched some improv comedy a few hours ago. It was too vulgar for my taste, though. I can understand the occasional dirty joke, even if I don't approve; however, I do wish that people would stay away from outright vulgarisms. Foul language just isn't necessary.

Some people say that foul language is needed for literary effect. I'll agree that on occasion, it can be helpful in that regard, especially when writing certain characters. However, good writers don't need to use such language liberally. If they have properly mastered the English language, then they don't need to stoop to that level.

I really miss this clean improv act that I saw several times in Utah. Those guys were great. Much more talented that the crowd that I had to watch tonight.

Yet more rants

I just saw a great comedy show last night. It featured three very talented non-name performers who combined magic, music and shadow puppetry, and it was absolutely hilarious. The best part is that the comedy was quite clean.

I watched with a dear female friend of mine. We're not dating or anything, but I do value her company and insight very much.

Tonight I'll be watching some improv comedy with another female friend. Hopefully, it'll be reasonably clean. We shall see.

I'm having an attack of insomnia right now. I hope to get to the gym today, so I do need to get some more sleep soon. Ugh. If it were up to me, I'd spend two hours in the gym everyday and get eight hours of sleep, but that's not always easy—or possible.

Someone also showed me this newly revamped Elispot supplier site. Very impressive and attractive. Very nice.

Even more rants

I keep thinking about Farley, a guy that I knew in high school and college. He's the kind of guy who absolutely refused to do things honestly. He absolutely had to cheat, even when it wasn't necessary. He cheated on even the easiest of tests, and he routinely stole stuff from people. Heck, when dividing up into soccer teams, he would insist on sneaking off to join whichever team he wanted, even for a mere friendly game.

I can't help but wonder if he's going to wind up in jail sometime. I sure wouldn't hire him to do anything. I would never trust him.

For a while, I was hung up on a high school classmate named Lani Rose. She was a liar, too. And I once dated a woman named Audrey M., who repeatedly lied to me. And why? Just because she didn't feel that things would work out, but was too cowardly to admit this to me. So she kept dodging phone calls instead. When I contacted her at work, she claimed to be in the middle of teaching a class, but that rang hollow. (Why would she answer the phone in the middle of a class?) She even asked me to call back during lunch time, but when I tried that, she never answered.

Because she did ask me to call, I tried calling her at home as well. I was persistent because she had previously agreed to attend a wedding with me. Besides, I figured that if she didn't want me to call, she wouldn't have asked me to contact her over lunch time. As it turned out, that was just an easy cop-out for her.

I never expected a grown 30-year-old woman to act that way. That was the type of behavior that I would have expected from a high school student, not an adult professional. Obviously, Audrey did not have that type of maturity.

At times like this, I like to think about some of the more pleasant people in my life... people like Dawn, who's very much like a sister to me. I couldn't ask for a better sister.

Oh, and as long as I'm ranting, here's a link to a new directory that I found. It could stand to be fleshed out a bit more. Also, here's a list of technical books that are worth reading. I should probably include some pure science books as well, and a few more engineering resources.

Miscellaneous rantings

It's late at night, and so I just want to rant about some diverse topics right now.

First, I hate how long it takes for Windows XP to boot up, even on a fast computer. Even after it boots up, it can take forever before the OS starts to respond to mouse clicks. This is doubtlessly because Microsoft chose to integrate all sorts of unnecessary pre-processing. It's the only reasonable explanation, once one has ruled out spyware, adware and viruses. Talk about bloatware.

I just finished watching a commercial on Restasis, a product which is supposed to increase tear production in people with dry-eye syndrome. This reminds me of how my old opthalmologist insisted that I should persist with using contact lenses, despite my dry eyes. For over a year, I labored mightily despite tremendous discomfort, all because he assured me that I should be able to adapt. Thankfully, another opthalmologist later advised me not to continue with contacts, since my substandard tear production would make them pretty much unbearable. Continually flooding my eyes with eyedrops simply was not an option, despite my opthalmologist's protestations.

I also wanted tp post a link to this inspirational article on a mystery shopping site. I've never been a mystery shopper, but I wouldn't mind trying this out sometime. I don't know that I'll ever get a chance, but it might be nice to try.

I've been learning about Chinese technology and engineering practices as well. I like cross-cultural exchanges.

Oh, and I hate the way my floorboards creak. This makes it very difficult to get any aerobic exercise done at home without disturbing my neighbors below. Ugh.

Gonna watch a theatre comedy show on Friday. This should be fun. I'm also looking forward to the season premiere of "24" on Sunday. Yay.

Diverse thoughts

I have no single topic to write about today, so I thought I'd muse on a variety of topics.

First, there's this article on writing tech manuals. It's not a thorough treatment by any means, but it was clearly intended as a means for jumpstarting one's writing skills. It's a brief read, and worth one's time.

I also mentioned The Dead Zone earlier, another quality show. It has the delightful Nikki deBoer in it, and she does a fine job. In fact, she does an even better job than she did in Deep Space 9, and she looks just as cute.

Heck, she's one of the prettiest Star Trek women of all time. At least, I think so. She has a lot of girl-next-door appeal, too.

I want to write about Jodi Benson sometime, and maybe post some links to it as well.

Oh, and here's a link to the MavicaNET directory. This is a pretty impressive multilingual project, rather like Wikipedia is--although this is decidedly more commercial in nature.

I'm going to try out some new bench pressing techniques today. Maybe I can jumpstart my stalled bench press progress. I understand why some people are tempted to take steroids, as this is a lot of hard work. Still, you'll never catch me giving in to that foolishness.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, everyone! I'm celebrating by watching season three of "24" on DVD, and by going to the gym. I'll also be spending time with my laptop in a coffeeshop as I get some studying done. What fun.

I woke up late after a night of mild New Year's Eve partying. I got to spend time with some dear friends, but it would have been nice to have a beautiful woman on my arm. Oh, sigh. Nuts.

On the plus side, I did get a female friend of mine to agree to accompany me to a night of clean theatre comedy on Friday. That'll be a real treat. She broke things off with her boyfriend recently, so now I feel comfortable asking her to come along, even though it's not a date.

Oh, and here's a link to an article on how to write well. Some of these tips may seem obvious, but as is often the case, people must often be reminded of what's obvious.