first-must-burn's recent activity
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Comment on What's the benefit of avoiding the debugger? in ~comp
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Comment on What's the benefit of avoiding the debugger? in ~comp
first-must-burn Link ParentIt's worth noting that Python didn't really start coming into its own until the mid 2000s, and javascript, and web developments in general, was a far cry from where it is today. Most of it was...It's worth noting that Python didn't really start coming into its own until the mid 2000s, and javascript, and web developments in general, was a far cry from where it is today. Most of it was server-side processing with form submission a la CGI / Asp / php.
I agree with your points in the main. Java was very much a sought-after skill set and "the new hotness" at the time.
In 2003 (when I graduated from undergrad), I would have agreed that the bottom up approach was better. My undergraduate degree is actually in electrical engineering, which is taking that to an extreme :).
I'm not sure I would agree now. From an "old man yelling at clouds" point of view, yes, having touched asm and done memory management is really useful. But lots of things are useful, and the landscape has really changed since then.
- With virtualization, cloud, and browser-based development becoming prominent, the number of levels of abstraction between a programmer and bare metal have greatly increased.
- The "mainstream" programming careers now live at fairly high levels of abstraction, so that you could around your whole career writing front end code for browsers and never touch an ASM instruction.
- Being able to be an expert at the whole stack is out of reach for most people, and specialization is the norm.
I'm pretty out of touch with CS/ECE curricula these days, so I'd be curious to hear from newer grads what your learning experience was like and how it translated into the working world.
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Comment on Help with 1bed, WFH apartment layout! in ~life.home_improvement
first-must-burn Link ParentThat you know it already makes my heart warm! I would encourage you to ask. You're probably already aware that taking requests from ordinary people is part of his marketing strategy. It's always a...That you know it already makes my heart warm!
I would encourage you to ask. You're probably already aware that taking requests from ordinary people is part of his marketing strategy. It's always a no if you don't ask!
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Comment on Help with 1bed, WFH apartment layout! in ~life.home_improvement
first-must-burn LinkIf you have social media, you might be interested to see some of this guys work. It's pretty interesting to see some of his ideas about setting up small or unusual spaces. If you @ him on youtube...If you have social media, you might be interested to see some of this guys work. It's pretty interesting to see some of his ideas about setting up small or unusual spaces. If you @ him on youtube or instagram, he might even give you advice.
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Comment on What's the benefit of avoiding the debugger? in ~comp
first-must-burn LinkSometimes you can't debug because your app needs to run in a deployed environment. I have had success remote debugging using telepresence to inject a container from my instance into a kubernetes...Sometimes you can't debug because your app needs to run in a deployed environment. I have had success remote debugging using telepresence to inject a container from my instance into a kubernetes deployment. But it was A LOT of work to set up and maintain. And it's something that cuts across several services (or is a timing bug) that still right not be enough. In this case, good logging can be a soluyion IF your problem is reproducible, so that you can steadily add more logging in the relevant areas until you figure it out.
What I love a debugger for is for troubleshooting failing unit tests. The execution path is usually pretty short, and it's not valuable to add a bunch of print statements to a test.
To go back to the first scenario, if you can use the log data to reproduce the bug in a unit test, then it's great to debug it.
It also depends on the language and tooling available to you:
- For a long time, gbd was the only free choice for C/C++ debugging, and just getting the binary compiled with debug markings is sometimes a hair-pulling exercise, especially if it's a big codebase or you have lots of library dependencies.
- Java has always had good debugger support, and this to me, was on of its strengths. I also think this was why it was taught in a lot of university intro to programming courses in the early 2000s.
- Modern languages like Go and Typescript have great debugger support and great tool integration with platforms like vs code.
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Comment on Scott Adams dead: Dilbert creator was 68 in ~comics
first-must-burn LinkShame he went the way he did, but my favorite bits, from the good old days were: The phb has become so dense that he has collapsed in on himself, forming a black hole. Unfortunately, his ideas,...Shame he went the way he did, but my favorite bits, from the good old days were:
The phb has become so dense that he has collapsed in on himself, forming a black hole. Unfortunately, his ideas, lacking substance, can still escape. Can you program it in b?
The one where Dogbert's product is so user-unfriendly that the box is made of poison ivy.
The one where the boss asks for something, and Dilbert says it's impossible. Then the boss says, "Can you do it in three months?" And Dilbert says, "I can fail at any speed you want."
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Comment on Recommendations needed: Favorite “comfort” movies in ~movies
first-must-burn LinkGiven your list, what about The Matrix? I just rewatched 10 Things I Hate About You. So goofy, but Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, David Krumholtz, and Alison Janney, how can you go wrong??? Point...Given your list, what about The Matrix?
I just rewatched 10 Things I Hate About You. So goofy, but Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, David Krumholtz, and Alison Janney, how can you go wrong???
Point Break - Keanu, Patrick Swayze, surfing, crime, 'nuff said
Any Wallace and Grommet movie
LadyHawke - star crossed lovers, magic, revenge, Michelle Pfeiffer, and a very young Mathew Broderick.
Harvey - black and white classic with Jimmy Stewart, whose character is followed around by an imaginary (or is it?) 6 foot tall white rabbit. The funny thing about this movie is that he is supposes to be the crazy one, but everyone else is pretty crazy too.
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Comment on What's a culture shock that you experienced? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentThere is an middle eastern market / restaurant here. It's very good, but in the bathroom stalls there are these things that look like small watering cans. Is that what you are talking about?. How...It's customary to use like a water pot thing instead of toilet paper.
There is an middle eastern market / restaurant here. It's very good, but in the bathroom stalls there are these things that look like small watering cans. Is that what you are talking about?. How does one fill it? How is it used? I have so many questions.
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Comment on What's a culture shock that you experienced? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link Parentlol that's hilariousdiet South
lol that's hilarious
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Comment on Hooters | Bankrupt in ~food
first-must-burn Link ParentI honestly think he just had no filter. This job was basically construction, and it was in East Texas back in 2000, so the culture on the job was very much macho/bro/toxic masculinity. I don't...I honestly think he just had no filter. This job was basically construction, and it was in East Texas back in 2000, so the culture on the job was very much macho/bro/toxic masculinity. I don't think he'd have had any reason to think I might be uncomfortable nor the emotional intelligence to pick up on it.
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Comment on Hooters | Bankrupt in ~food
first-must-burn LinkI had a summer job after my freshman year of college working for an electrical testing company. Lots of travel, working in substations and other remote locations. I was paired up with one guy for...I had a summer job after my freshman year of college working for an electrical testing company. Lots of travel, working in substations and other remote locations.
I was paired up with one guy for a trip to Dallas (2 hr drive). At 10:30 AM, he suddenly exits and says, "we're stopping here for lunch." Here turned out to be Hooters, and he spent the meal telling me proudly that he had been to every Hooters in Texas, loudly commenting who the "best" (biggest breasted) waitresses were at this particular location, and telling me how dissatisfied he was with his wife's breasts. I was 19 and from a fairly sheltered conservative religious background, so it was a lot. I spent the meal maintaining eye contact with the servers and trying not to bolt. I couldn't have told you a single thing about the food, except that there was some.
Fortunately, I was paired up with a much nicer fellow after that and worked with him most of the summer. We did not ever eat at a Hooters, and I don't think I've been in one since.
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Comment on Nose dilators in ~health
first-must-burn Link ParentIs that a cultural reference? This big kid did not get it.Is that a cultural reference? This big kid did not get it.
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Comment on Nose dilators in ~health
first-must-burn LinkJust putting this out there, if anyone snores a lot and has access to the coverage, it would be worth checking with your doctor to see about a sleep study to check for apnea. A CPAP is a...Just putting this out there, if anyone snores a lot and has access to the coverage, it would be worth checking with your doctor to see about a sleep study to check for apnea. A CPAP is a significantly greater intervention, but I sleep so much better when I use it. I'd say 3 hours on the CPAP >> 6 hours not on the CPAP.
It was brought home to me earlier in the year, when I was in the ER for something else. I was wired into all the machines, and every time I'd doze off, the apnea would start, and the pulse ox alarms would go crazy until I woke up. This is even with the bed mostly propped up (so I was more sitting than lying flat).
I use a nasal mask similar to this one. We call it my "elephant nose". I added a ring to the top of my bedframe to guide the hose over the top, and I don't have any trouble sleeping with it on. The biggest trouble I have is not putting it back on if I get up in the middle of the night or falling asleep before I put it on.
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Comment on Designing a slide-out phone case with a keyboard in ~tech
first-must-burn Link ParentThat looks pretty legit, and more practical and flexible than the clicks cases! Thanks for the tip!That looks pretty legit, and more practical and flexible than the clicks cases! Thanks for the tip!
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Mac advice for a long time Windows user
Started a new job today and got a mac as a dev machine. I won't do technical onboarding until later in the week, so I haven't seen what the dev tools are like, but today I was driving myself crazy...
Started a new job today and got a mac as a dev machine. I won't do technical onboarding until later in the week, so I haven't seen what the dev tools are like, but today I was driving myself crazy just trying to do basic things like copy, paste, screenshot, change windows.
At the last job, we had ubuntu machines, so I was able to use gnome extensions to mostly replicate the same general layout, menus, and shortcut keys as Windows. Primarily, this allowed me to keep the same "muscle memory". Since the ubuntu gnome desktop is nothing special from a UX point of view, there didn't seem to be a downside. But I understand that the Mac experience is very curated, so I'm thinking I should lean into learning it.
So my questions are: what are your mac pro tips and things that speed up your work? And for others who have made this transition, what did you learn to do the "mac way" and what did you tweak?
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Comment on What's something you're "in too deep" on? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentThank you for sharing your experience. I have a lot of anxiety in general, so it's reassuring to know there's hope on the other side :)Thank you for sharing your experience. I have a lot of anxiety in general, so it's reassuring to know there's hope on the other side :)
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Comment on What's the coolest thrift store find you've ever scored? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentThere are these book edge scanners that are made to scan into a book. Sometimes libraries have them.There are these book edge scanners that are made to scan into a book. Sometimes libraries have them.
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Comment on I no longer trust the stats that companies publish on the gender equality in their tech roles in ~tech
first-must-burn Link ParentThis is true if we're talking about the whole industry, but for an individual company, they can do things to establish a pipeline that improves their diversity, such as sponsoring events with the...You don't get a graduating class of, say, 25% women in CS (I don't know the modern statistics) and expect 50% makeup in tech.
This is true if we're talking about the whole industry, but for an individual company, they can do things to establish a pipeline that improves their diversity, such as sponsoring events with the Society of Women engineers and similar groups.
But I also agree with your point that STEM education needs to be improved for younger ages too.
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Comment on What's the coolest thrift store find you've ever scored? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentI love how low-key you slipped this detail in. How neat!have a background in circus
I love how low-key you slipped this detail in. How neat!
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Comment on What's the coolest thrift store find you've ever scored? in ~talk
first-must-burn Link ParentDo you think you could do some high quality reproductions (scan and print) of the illustrations and frame them/display them with the book?Do you think you could do some high quality reproductions (scan and print) of the illustrations and frame them/display them with the book?
Interesting! Can you tell me what curriculum you use? By coincidence, today I am setting up a python environment for my daughter (10yo).
My current plan is to do a hill climb on writing a terminal-based madlib program. For example, naively write every prompt and the whole output. Then introduce functions to let the user choose a madlib. Then get into saving the output each time. Then get into data structures and loops to make defining the madlib easier.