This is particularly aimed at the less experienced programmer, but even experienced ones occasionally forget these things.
http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/10-mistakes-every-programmer-makes-909424
Sep 28, 2011
Feb 24, 2011
Self Defense: Consider Wing Chun
When I was a kid my parents let us roam around all day. They wouldn't worry about our safety unless we didn't show up to dinner. Times have changed. Children are abducted daily. Violence against women is at a high. Practicing some kind of self defense is a wise move, particularly for people of smaller stature because they APPEAR less intimidating.
When choosing what kind of self-defense to study, don't choose it based on what's closest to your home or office. This could be a life and death decision so choose wisely. I highly recommend you consider Wing Chun K'ung Fu and here are some things you'll want to know about it.
Wing Chun is very well suited for smaller, slighter people. In fact, stronger larger people might actually be at a disadvantage studying it. It was developed by Chinese nuns and designed not to require great strength or size. So, it is well-suited to women and children. It was the martial art which Bruce Lee studied. That should tell you that it is very effective.
Wing Tsun is a "soft style" of martial arts. Some martial arts require constant physical training to keep your body in an extremely fit state. This obviously becomes a greater and greater challenge as we age. Soft styles start you out with slow, soft movements so as to ingrain a physical memory of the correct movements into your subconscious. With practice, this allows you to respond instantly even before you consciously decide to. More power is added after you have the movements down well.
Some people assume it takes a great deal of time to master an Asian martial art. If I am not mistaken you can achieve what other styles would consider a black belt level of skill in 2-3 years, but of course that varies widely depending on your aptitude and how often you attend classes. There is always more to learn, and your degree of skill will continue to improve, but this should be enough time to master the 3 main "forms".
Wing Chun is not flashy. It is very direct. There are no high or twirling kicks. Those are only going to expose you to attack. Kicks are no higher than waist high. If you know what you're doing, combat against an attacker will be over in a minute or less.
You are trained to block and attack back simultaneously. Martial artists from other styles have described combat against a Wing Chun master as if you were hitting yourself. That is because Wing Chun trains you to respond so quickly that your attacker may just be in the first instant of their attack by the time you are already responding. Their punch is blocked and they are counter-attacked before their attack has really begun.
You fight in close quarters which has the advantage of limiting the power of their punches and kicks, and also allows you to be very sensitive to their movements so as to react very quickly.
The goal of all martial arts is not just to teach you very specific movements, but to teach you to respond instantly at a subconscious level. If you have to consciously recall what moves to use when an attacker is doing a particular thing to you, you are not going to win that fight. That is where many "self defense classes" fail.
But in addition to teaching you how to fight, a good martial art will give you confidence, and help you respond to challenging events in your life without fear. I don't just mean combat, I mean all of your life.
Here are some links to demonstrations of this extremely effective martial art:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdLuNBSwFoE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K6WZhWp7pg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDnm0YiNfcA
When choosing what kind of self-defense to study, don't choose it based on what's closest to your home or office. This could be a life and death decision so choose wisely. I highly recommend you consider Wing Chun K'ung Fu and here are some things you'll want to know about it.
Wing Chun is very well suited for smaller, slighter people. In fact, stronger larger people might actually be at a disadvantage studying it. It was developed by Chinese nuns and designed not to require great strength or size. So, it is well-suited to women and children. It was the martial art which Bruce Lee studied. That should tell you that it is very effective.
Wing Tsun is a "soft style" of martial arts. Some martial arts require constant physical training to keep your body in an extremely fit state. This obviously becomes a greater and greater challenge as we age. Soft styles start you out with slow, soft movements so as to ingrain a physical memory of the correct movements into your subconscious. With practice, this allows you to respond instantly even before you consciously decide to. More power is added after you have the movements down well.
Some people assume it takes a great deal of time to master an Asian martial art. If I am not mistaken you can achieve what other styles would consider a black belt level of skill in 2-3 years, but of course that varies widely depending on your aptitude and how often you attend classes. There is always more to learn, and your degree of skill will continue to improve, but this should be enough time to master the 3 main "forms".
Wing Chun is not flashy. It is very direct. There are no high or twirling kicks. Those are only going to expose you to attack. Kicks are no higher than waist high. If you know what you're doing, combat against an attacker will be over in a minute or less.
You are trained to block and attack back simultaneously. Martial artists from other styles have described combat against a Wing Chun master as if you were hitting yourself. That is because Wing Chun trains you to respond so quickly that your attacker may just be in the first instant of their attack by the time you are already responding. Their punch is blocked and they are counter-attacked before their attack has really begun.
You fight in close quarters which has the advantage of limiting the power of their punches and kicks, and also allows you to be very sensitive to their movements so as to react very quickly.
The goal of all martial arts is not just to teach you very specific movements, but to teach you to respond instantly at a subconscious level. If you have to consciously recall what moves to use when an attacker is doing a particular thing to you, you are not going to win that fight. That is where many "self defense classes" fail.
But in addition to teaching you how to fight, a good martial art will give you confidence, and help you respond to challenging events in your life without fear. I don't just mean combat, I mean all of your life.
Here are some links to demonstrations of this extremely effective martial art:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdLuNBSwFoE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K6WZhWp7pg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDnm0YiNfcA
Feb 4, 2011
I'm Going to be Arrested! HELP!!!!
Looks like they are coming for me on Feb. 24th, 2011. I'm going to be jailed for the benefit of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Yes, "Jerry's Kids".
If you would be so kind as to help out, please check out the following web page:
Muscular Dystrophy Association - My Home Page
If you would be so kind as to help out, please check out the following web page:
Muscular Dystrophy Association - My Home Page
Jan 20, 2011
My First Blog Post (maybe?)
originally posted May 2005 to my Windows Live blog
Oops, I stepped in “blog” ??!!
What to BLOG? What to BLOG?
Let’s start with music, since that’s one of my favorite things. I am going to come out with the "Remember when they didn’t suck?" CD box set. There are a lot of bands that started out kicking @$$ and ended up lame. Lot of 70′s-80′s bands died and went to ballad-hell! Need examples?
- Journey
- Heart
- Cheap Trick
- Foreigner
- Chicago (after Terry died, obviously)
- Even Van Halen lost their kick!!!!
I could make the list pretty long, but who would you add?
Stevie Ray never lost it, but we lost him. Best thing that ever came out of the 80′s.
In the 90′s I was worried I’d be like old people and say there’s no good new music nowadays. But there was a ton. Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Metallica, Eric Johnson …the list goes on. One of the best was Stone Temple Pilots. It was testosterone rock. Now we have Velvet Revolver, which is ok, but not STP good (yet?).
Kenny Wayne Shepherd, what the hell happened to you? You could do no wrong….until that last CD which was a total waste of my cash. Get your old singer back and do what you excel at. Stop smoking whatever it was that made you do that last CD.
Jonny Lang…one of the few people I’d pay to see right now. Sings with more soul than anyone I know of, and plays great.
Who is good lately? Not many I’ve seen. Jet is retro and catchy. When they stop making the new good stuff, check out the old stuff. Find out about the blues. It’ll move you.
Guitar gods of all time? The usuals…Hendrix, Van Halen, Page, Vai, Eric Johnson, Clapton (though more for style than technique), ….know who is probably the best Musician? Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd. He is like BB King in that he can convey more with one note than a lot of guys can with a blinding fury of notes. Music is not all about technique. It’s about delivering FEELING and EMOTION with your tools.
On the other hand, I’m not interested in 99.9% of "music" by non-musicians – those who don’t master their art, but they look hot or can dance or program a computer and talk smack in trite rhymes.
Sam Phillips is a shining star that few know about. Martinis and Bikinis was incredible! Find out about her.
http://www.bradfordvillebluesclub.com/ is the place to go for the finest music in N. Florida. Check out local wonder boy Rick Lollar, too. Amazing! Go out and support your local bands. They need it, and you might find a gem!
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Musical Legends of Tallahassee
originally posted to my Windows Live blog May 2005
Tallahasssee, Florida, for being such an out of the way smallish town, has spawned some musical greats. Some you may not have heard of, but savvy Tallahassee locals know about all of these. If they are ever in your area, go check them out.
The most famous in recent years is probably the now defunct Christian Grunge rock band Creed whose break-out hit "My Own Prison" was originally recorded by another local talent. If you liked Creed, check out Alter Bridge which has former Creed members.
Another all time great who originated in Tallahassee is guitar legend Julien Kasper, who I first saw performing with a legendary local band Crosscut Saw (now defunct). Crosscut Saw was an outstanding blues/rock band who featured many local talents, but I was blown away when they backed Julien in a rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s "Third Stone from the Sun", which is not something your average player dares to perform in public. It’s very idiomatic of Hendrix, but Julien pulled it off with flair, playing as if on fire with the spirit of Jimi. Julien is now an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music, sharing his expertise on the playing styles of Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix, among other things. I recommend his CD highly and if you ever get a chance to see his band perform, don’t miss it!
Also from Crosscut Saw emerged the king of harmonica Pat Ramsey, who I’ve had the good fortune to jam with on two occasions, once playing guitar at Tallahassee’s own Bullwinkle’s Saloon, and once while playing bass at the home of a friend of Pat’s. I’ve never heard a better harp player, though Pat’s own son may already be vying for his crown. Some claim that John Popper of Blues Traveller is one of the greatest, and I’ll tip my hat to his technique, but in terms of soulfulness and musicality, he doesn’t come anywhere close to Pat. You owe it to yourself to buy all of Pat Ramsey’s CD’s. I did. Catch Pat Ramsey and the Blues Disciples whenever and whereever you can. [Edit: Sadly, Pat has passed away since the time of this post.]
Dedicated fans of the Blues already know about "The Sauce Boss," Bill Wharton. Whenever Bill Wharton and the Ingredients perform, fans love not only the great blues but also the great eats. Bill has been known to cook up a big batch of mighty good Gumbo to share with the fans. You know you want some!
Well, that’s barely the tip of the iceberg for the best blues/rock musicians from Tallahassee, and hopefully I’ll add more in the near future, but I have to also tip my hat to two great Tallahassee organizations:
- The Bradfordville Blues Club cranks out the finest blues every weekend, sometimes with local acts, sometimes bigger names. This is Tallahassee’s authentic back-woods juke joint and if you haven’t been, you haven’t lived. Bring dancing shoes!
- The Apalachee Blues Society promotes Blues and Blues culture in a wide swath around Tallahassee. They also get together at least monthly and have a good time. If you live in the area and like blues, show up at a meeting and see what I mean.
The State of the Computer Programming Biz
originally posted to my Windows Live Blog on July 1, 2005
Thinking about going into computer programming? Everyone knows that salaries are not what they were before the DotCom crash of the 90′s, but salaries are still decent, right?
Well, they may be improving, but the only way the vast majority of software developers will get paid well is if the industry as a whole sets some standards for itself. There are some indemic problems in the industry. In a move to hire cheaper labor, lots of companies sacrifice quality. This obviously can impact the sucker, er, I mean end-user buying the cheapware, but it also costs the software company more in the long run. The reason is that there are huge differences between the kind of code cranked out coders with low vs. high experience levels. It is one thing to be able to make something work in your code. It is another thing to make it work well, not only in terms of the user’s experience but in terms of stability over time, error handling, etc. It is yet another thing to write code good enough that it is easy for other coders to figure out how to fix and enhance without spending days trying to guess how the code works and complaining that the whole thing needs to be rewritten, preferably in the language that they prefer to code in.
On one hand it is very cool that writing software is easier and more feasible for the average computer user. On the other hand, that doesn’t mean they should be hired to produce code professionally.
There aren’t any widely accepted industry standards that rate the quality of work by a software developer. Lawyers at least have to pass bar exams to certify that they are qualified to do a decent job. Doctors have to meet requirements established by the AMA. Why should you care? If you are a software developer, you are the one that has to help make this industry a better place to work, and a more lucrative career as well.
Are you a software developer who actually cares about quality and professionalism in your work? Maybe you have learned about the technology, but now you want to know the difference between a good coder and a great coder? There is actually quite a lot written on the subject, but it seems that only a small percentage of coders bother to learn about this subject, and even fewer to make the effort to do anything about it. You have to not only learn how to make things work in your code, but you need to pay attention to sometimes very minute details of how you design your code. You need to also think about the bigger picture of the process of developing software.
Here is some suggested reading for those interested:
- Software Craftmanship: The New Imperative by Pete McBreen
- Code Complete (2nd Edition) by Steve McConnell
- After the Gold Rush: Creating a True Profession of Software Engineering (same author)
- Rapid Development (same author)
- Software Project Survival Guide (same author)
- Writing Solid Code by Steve Maguire
- Debugging the Development Process (same author)
- Writing Secure Code by Michael Howard & David LeBlanc
- Dynamics of Software Development by Jim McCarthy
Drew Hankin Dies at age 38
Here are some links to articles about Drew's Passing
- My Post For www.SectionB.com
- Warchant: Drew Hankin dead at 38
- WCTV Article, Video and links to more
- Steve Melewski's Sports Blog
- Tallahassee Democrat News (requires subscription)
- Tallahassee Democrat Obit (requires subscription)
- Tallahassee Democrat: FSU baseball program hosts memorial service for Hankin (requires subscription)
- AllVoices.com article
Feb 17, 2009
Facebook Responds to Concerns Over Terms of Service
Facebook Responds to Concerns Over Terms of Service
This really highlights a much bigger problem for everyone who wants to do any kind of social networking on the internet. Well, okay this is even a broader problem with computer software in general, but let's stick to Facebook for the moment.
Terms of Service such as the one you "sign" with Facebook are carefully reviewed by users....just about never. Generally they are accepted with a muttered "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just let me get to the page I want," and never even read. I'm just as guilty of it as you are. Let's face it, these are legal agreements, so any smart and careful person would have them reviewed by a lawyer. However, even if you did take the time and expense and your lawyer pointed out the potential problems, that doesn't mean you could convince Facebook to amend their agreement.
Maybe you think you are pretty clever and know what/what not to post. Who do you suppose has the vision and foresight to know the possible future consequences of sharing something on Facebook? Maybe a guy named Nostradamus, but he's long dead. As it happens, people have already had their profiles cost them potential jobs in ways that they could not foresee. Teenagers have to fear that their profiles might be reviewed by college boards. How significantly could that affect their future? What other more nefarious purposes could other people come up with in the future?
Ok, so what are we supposed to do about it?
Well, option A is to learn how to carefully apply Facebook's security options to the people on your friends list. You may not be aware that you can organize your friends into groups and carefully assign rights to those groups with regard to who can see what bits of your profile. I would highly recommend every Facebook user learn how these features work and carefully apply them to their profiles. Of course, you are still trusting that the good ol' guys at Facebook will never use your content for something you didn't intend, and never have a security feature fail to work the way it is supposed to. What if Facebook is later purchased by another company? Will there still be good guys in charge who would never abuse their rights to your content? What if the new owners decide to broaden their terms of service even more? How much money could the owners of Facebook make simply by selling name/address/phone/email data to marketers? Will you someday regret posting that personal video online?
What is option B? Maybe it's to only post the most unrevealing, superficial (translation: boring) information about yourself on your profile. Of course, in that case why bother having a profile at all?
Is there an option C? Should you get hyper-paranoid and stop communicating anything about yourself with anyone you haven't personally known and trusted for dozens of years? Fear Big Brother, have internet cut off and never leave the house? Wear tin foil hats to keep aliens from stealing our thoughts?
What other possibilities exist? Should it be made illegal for a company to expand their rights to your intellectual property (and yes, that is exactly what your Facebook profile is, folks!) without prior written consent from you the owner? But then, could excessive legislation make it too onerous and costly for services like Facebook to exist?
Obviously there's no easy answer here. Maybe you ultimately have to assume there is no such thing as real privacy, either on the internet or anywhere else, and live your life accordingly.
This really highlights a much bigger problem for everyone who wants to do any kind of social networking on the internet. Well, okay this is even a broader problem with computer software in general, but let's stick to Facebook for the moment.
Terms of Service such as the one you "sign" with Facebook are carefully reviewed by users....just about never. Generally they are accepted with a muttered "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just let me get to the page I want," and never even read. I'm just as guilty of it as you are. Let's face it, these are legal agreements, so any smart and careful person would have them reviewed by a lawyer. However, even if you did take the time and expense and your lawyer pointed out the potential problems, that doesn't mean you could convince Facebook to amend their agreement.
Maybe you think you are pretty clever and know what/what not to post. Who do you suppose has the vision and foresight to know the possible future consequences of sharing something on Facebook? Maybe a guy named Nostradamus, but he's long dead. As it happens, people have already had their profiles cost them potential jobs in ways that they could not foresee. Teenagers have to fear that their profiles might be reviewed by college boards. How significantly could that affect their future? What other more nefarious purposes could other people come up with in the future?
Ok, so what are we supposed to do about it?
Well, option A is to learn how to carefully apply Facebook's security options to the people on your friends list. You may not be aware that you can organize your friends into groups and carefully assign rights to those groups with regard to who can see what bits of your profile. I would highly recommend every Facebook user learn how these features work and carefully apply them to their profiles. Of course, you are still trusting that the good ol' guys at Facebook will never use your content for something you didn't intend, and never have a security feature fail to work the way it is supposed to. What if Facebook is later purchased by another company? Will there still be good guys in charge who would never abuse their rights to your content? What if the new owners decide to broaden their terms of service even more? How much money could the owners of Facebook make simply by selling name/address/phone/email data to marketers? Will you someday regret posting that personal video online?
What is option B? Maybe it's to only post the most unrevealing, superficial (translation: boring) information about yourself on your profile. Of course, in that case why bother having a profile at all?
Is there an option C? Should you get hyper-paranoid and stop communicating anything about yourself with anyone you haven't personally known and trusted for dozens of years? Fear Big Brother, have internet cut off and never leave the house? Wear tin foil hats to keep aliens from stealing our thoughts?
What other possibilities exist? Should it be made illegal for a company to expand their rights to your intellectual property (and yes, that is exactly what your Facebook profile is, folks!) without prior written consent from you the owner? But then, could excessive legislation make it too onerous and costly for services like Facebook to exist?
Obviously there's no easy answer here. Maybe you ultimately have to assume there is no such thing as real privacy, either on the internet or anywhere else, and live your life accordingly.
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