“Some people, when confronted with a problem, think ‘I know, I’ll use regular expressions.’ Now they have two problems.”
– Jamie Zawinski
Archive for February, 2010
I just read an excellent post of the Future of flash and HTML 5 on Full Stop Interactive. The article was thought out and presented very well. You should really make an effort and check out the full article here: http://www.fullstopinteractive.com/blog/2010/02/the-withering-away-of-flash/
I think it’s the intro that got me into the article (I’m generally not that interested in the whole Flash debate, since I lack even the meagre ability to draw a stick man, Flash never really did it for me):
Programmers are, by nature, practical. (Exhibit A, Jonathan Snook.) We will find the shortest, most efficient route to complete whatever task is set before us. Need this website complete by Friday? You got it. We’ll take a shortcut here, cut a corner there. We’ll import a library, ignore accessibility, and pretend like the idea of print stylesheets and Internet Explorer 6 never entered our minds. You’re happy; we’re happy.
Except when we aren’t.
Programmers, you see, are also intensely ideological. If more than one option is available, we pick a side and defend it against all comers. You use PHP not Ruby? YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG.
You think it doesn’t matter if you camel case or underscore? FAIL.
You’re on a PC? In 2010? EPIC FAIL.
This apparent contradiction is actually easily reconciled. At least according to this incredibly scientific poll on Hacker News, the vast majority (60 percent) of programmers score as either INTJ or INTP on the Myers-Briggs test. A study of the U.S. population suggests the total INTJ and INTP population is only 5.4 percent. Our working hypothesis, therefore, is that programming attracts (or requires) people predisposed to thinking, judging personality types.
When we isolate the Thinking/Feeling and Judging/Perceiving factors from all responses, however, a slightly different picture is revealed. “Thinking” soars to 82 percent of those tested, while “judging” falls back to the pack at 48 percent. (The same study shows T of 40 percent and J of 54 percent.) Pushing our amateur psychology to its limits, we deduce that practical nature of programmers corresponds to the high likelihood of self-identifying as a thinker, and while our detached nature makes us less likely to judge, we shouldn’t be surprised to find that ideologues tend to shout louder.
In the spirit of realpolitik, let’s set the record straight.
The article goes on to explain Flash and HTML and how they are similar and how and why HTML 5 is closing the space that Flash has to play in. I agree completely with what Nate says there and I’ve got to say, I won’t be terribly sorry to see Flash go.
Flash is cool, but it’s not… right, if you know what I mean.
The article is certainly worth the read: http://www.fullstopinteractive.com/blog/2010/02/the-withering-away-of-flash/
Llamas give birth standing. Birth is usually quick and problem free, over in less than 30 minutes.
Real programmers don’t use APL, unless the whole program can be written on one line.
I have just one thing to say: May the fucking incompetents responsible for not fixing the potholes in the roads of Johannesburg, South Africa, DIE IN A FIRE.
“UNIX is simple. It just takes a genius to understand its simplicity.”
– Dennis Ritchie
Ok, I’ve been a little busy and haven’t had time to write my own stuff this week. Hopefully things will calm down a little so I can get some time to write. What I’ve done, to fill in the blanks and stick to my daily posting schedule is… borrow from other people… credited and everything.
So, if you’re interested in the content below, you can find the original posts here (and you should go check out Godless Blogger’s blog, it’s pretty good):
– http://www.godlessblogger.com/2010/02/01/creationist-survival-kit-pic/
– http://www.godlessblogger.com/2010/02/01/atheism-is-a-religion-like/
Creationist Survival Kit
Creationist Survival Kit
Atheist Is A Religion Like…
Atheism is a religion like not collecting stamps is a hobby
Atheism is a religion like health is a type of disease.
Atheism is a religion like off is a TV channel.
Atheism is a religion like abstinence is a type of sex.
Atheism is a religion like a big mac is healthy. (Yea this one is kind of iffy, but laughable.)
Atheism is a religion like bald is a hair color.
Atheism is a religion like clear is a color.
Atheism is a religion like sitting on your ass is a form of exercise.
Atheism is a religion like the way that Fox News is a reputable and balanced news source.
Atheism is a religion like celibacy is a sex life. (Similar to one above, but oh well.)
Atheism is a religion like starvation is just a different kind of eating.
Atheism is a religion like anarchism is just another political theory.
Atheism is a religion like silence is music.
Atheism is a religion like 0 is an IQ.
Atheism is a religion like religion is a science.
Atheism is a religion like unemployed is a career.
Atheism is a religion like flat-line is a heart-rate.
Atheism is a religion like the blue screen of death is a program.
Atheism is a religion like ERROR 404 PAGE NOT FOUND is a website.
Atheism is a religion like my ass is a hole in the ground.
Speaking of atheism. I read something awfully true on a christian site the other day. It said that atheism needs religion. When you think about it, it’s pretty much true. Without religion, there would be no atheists or atheism. The only thing that makes atheism into anything that resembles a community, the only thing that gives atheists anything in common, is religion. If there was no religion, if there was no pressure from religious groups, there would be no atheist groups or communities. If all religions gave up any political aspirations and went about their business quietly, I think every atheist group would evaporate over night. This, I suspect this is the reason it is so difficult to organise atheists, we fundamentally only have one thing in common and that thing is not generally a unifying concept.
Just a thought.
Real programmers don’t use PL/I. PL/I is for insecure momma’s boys who can’t choose between COBOL and Fortran.
The Nuclear Physics Department of the University of Stellenbosch has discovered the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.
These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second, to take from 4 days to 4 years to complete.
Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2 – 6 years. It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium’s mass will actually increase over time, since each re-organization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration.
This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass.
When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.
Seriously.
“There are only two things wrong with C++: The initial concept and the implementation.”
– Bertrand Meyer
I briefly toyed with writing a post about the cosmological argument, taking it apart. Then I watched this video and realised I actually have nothing constructive to add.
For your viewing pleasure, his geekliness, TheAmazingAtheist:
Cosmological argument? What cosmological argument? That is all I have to say about that. (HT Tim Cooley)
Alpaca are descended from a wild vicuna ancestor while the domesticated llama is descended from a wild guanaco ancestor, though at this point there has been a considerable amount of hybridization between the two species.
One Furious Llama 