Archive for January, 2007

On the importance of encoding

Tuesday, January 30th, 2007

I’m converting my RSS aggregator to use PostgreSQL as its back-end instead of SQLite.  It has served me well for quite a while but it’s time to move on from SQLite so I can add some features such as a feed management UI and an IMAP server.
I’m working on an IMAP server for my […]

Improved Weather

Saturday, January 20th, 2007

This weekend has been much warmer than last weekend. I went for a walk.

Programming Tools

Saturday, January 20th, 2007

I stumbled upon Programmer’s Bill of Rights.  It has the expected collection of things a programmer should have at the workplace, including fast computers, nice monitors, good working environment, etc.  One bit in the post and one of the comments got me thinking.
In the post:
In college, I ran a painting business. Every painter I hired […]

Winter

Sunday, January 14th, 2007

Laughing at the native Californians reaction to a little chilly weather was amusing.  This is ridiculous, though:

I had to beware of ice on the sidewalk while walking this morning.

Nintendo Wii and Far Cry: Vengance

Saturday, January 13th, 2007

I’ve given up trying to play Far Cry: Vengance. The game’s crashes combined with the typical console “save point” nonsense has broken whatever desire I had to see the ending.
It was fairly weak as a game but it did prove that I could reasonably play a FPS with the Wii’s UI. The graphics engine was clearly ported […]

Braving the elements

Saturday, January 13th, 2007

I braved the cold weather to wander around with my new Canon 50/1.4 USM lens.

It’s a visible upgrade from the 50/1.8.
I prefer chilly, clear days to mild, rainy days, so the last couple days weather has been a treat.

It feels like a nice, brisk fall day in New England.
Meanwhile, it has been unseasonably mild in […]

Jet Blue

Monday, January 1st, 2007

If you have to fly across the country, Jet Blue is a decent way to do it. Nice seats, better seat pitch than the economy-class of other airlines I’ve used, and free DirectTV in the seats make for a better-than-average experience.

Nintendo Experience

Monday, January 1st, 2007

Wii
I won the opportunity to buy a Wii from Amazon. UPS delivered it three days later — Amazon apparently took a day more than usual to ship it. The results among my friends that also applied to win the opportunity to buy a Wii caused speculation about the effect of being an […]