I love… Wednesday, 12/26/2007
Posted by Percy in Christmas, Personal, Programming.Tags: C#, Chirstmas, iPod, Linq, Personal, Programming
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…my wife. There’s a number of reasons why, but the most recent is that she knows me, and knows what I want, even when I don’t tell her. So, recently, I’ve been passively looking at MP3/Video players, with the intention of getting something, since my old Dell DJ is a few years old/falling apart/hard to use/etc. Plus, I really liked the iPod nano I got for her last year. So, what does she get me for Christmas, the device I’ve dubbed the AntiPod (since it’s black, and not the normal iPod white):
Now, that’s not my music selection there, but you get the idea. It’ll also play videos, which I tested out last night. It works like a champ. So, those of you out there with your own iPod, shoot me some suggestions on accessories. I’m planning on getting a cover for it (since I hate scratches in anything), but I’d gladly take any advice. All I have to say is that I’m a lucky man, and a grateful one. Thanks dear! For everything!
Now, the ubergeek part of this post. I’m loving Linq, and the new improvements in C# that come along with the .NET 3.5 framework. I’m sure the other developers out there can relate to this, but I usually code something thinking “Well, that’s how it should work, so I’m good”, knowing that it’s not true. I might get it 75% right, and after a few trips to Google/Microsoft.com/etc., I’ll get it figured out. Well, I just coded something using Linq, thinking that very thought, and what do you know…it actually DID work like I thought it would. It’s really the first time that I’ve experienced a language/technology doing exactly what I thought it would without having to understand the “guts” of what’s going on. Anyways, I just had to share.
Merry Christmas! Monday, 12/24/2007
Posted by Percy in Christmas, Personal.add a comment
I hope all is well with you and yours. And to add to the holiday merriment, enjoy this little ditty sent to me by my father-in-law:
May this season bring you many viewings of A Christmas Story (watching it now), It’s a Wonderful Life, the ever popular National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and one of my new favorites Elf.
What if… Wednesday, 12/19/2007
Posted by Percy in Personal.Tags: Movies, Personal
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…an immortal existed. Someone who had ridden the waves of time, and somehow never crashed. That’s the premise of an interesting movie I just have seen – The Man From Earth (which had it’s producer’s encouraging it’s download, which makes it even cooler).
The story, and the actual cinematics themselves, are fairly simple. A professor is “retiring”, and his friend surprize him with a going away party. During the conversation, he reveals that he’s actually a man who has lived over 140,000 years, while not aging a day. The whole movie is basically this guy’s living room, and the conversation that ensues. One of the neat features of this movie is that his fellow teachers each represent differing fields (which in turn represent different voices in history/mankind). There is a biologist, a historian, a psychiatrist, a “modern man” with his trophy wife, a religious literalist, and the open-minded girlfriend.
One of the interesting things about the movie is the idea that a person who had lived that long wouldn’t stand out. He wouldn’t be a collector of “relics”. In most other “immortal” stories (Highlander, for one), it seems that the main character has collected items through the years. In this movie, there is a reference to a tool that might have been used by early man. The main character, “John”, makes the point that this tool, to him, would have been no different than a simple pen or pair of scissors to us. If we were to live that long, would we still have that old pen?
Another interesting part of this movie is it’s simplicity. I believe that the entire film was shot in a week, and there are no special effects. The movie’s “meat” is all dialog. After watching, I thought this movie would transition well into the theatre.
Now, there are some controversial bits to the movie, mostly surrounding some of the more religious implications in the movie. While I may not agree with the sentiment in those moments, it is still an interesting discussion to have.
All in all, I was surprized at how much the movie made me think. It’s rare, these days espeically, that a movie leaves you with more questions to ask and more discussions to have. Usually, they’re just a “good ride”. Now, those movies have their place, and I enjoy them as much as anyone, but it’s nice to find a movie that’s simple, yet so complex.
Anyways, if you haven’t, you should check it out. It’s definately worth the time spent.
Until next time…
Santa??!?? Sunday, 12/16/2007
Posted by Percy in Christmas, Holiday, Personal.add a comment
I found this artice on Gizmodo (from Digg), and I had to share it.
Merry Christmas!
Another one bites the dust Tuesday, 12/11/2007
Posted by Percy in Football, Personal.add a comment
Wow, it looks like the shakeup in college football coaching jobs isn’t limited to college football.
How crazy is that? I mean, I know the Falcons are stinkin’ it up this year, but I thought he’d at least last another season. This one went down the crapper right from the beginning, which wasn’t his fault at all. The interesting thing is that the resignation is effective pretty much immediately. He’s not going to finish out the rest of the season.
Oh well, we’ll see what happens.
Christmas in HOTLanta Sunday, 12/09/2007
Posted by Percy in Personal.2 comments
Ok, does anyone else find it hard to get into the Christmas spirit, when you’re driving down the road in December, and you’re rolling down the windows since it’s so warm? I’m just wondering.
I’m sure it’ll cool off as the month progresses, but we’re looking at breaking record highs for this time of year. Craziness, I tell ya.
Jackets snag Navy skipper Sunday, 12/09/2007
Posted by Percy in Football, Georgia Tech, Personal.add a comment
That was the headline of the AJC, that I thought was pretty clever. So, Paul Johnson is to be our new head coach. There’s an interesting article online, from the AJC, about the timeline between Gailey’s dismissal and Johnson’s announced hire.
So far, I think it’ll be a good thing. He’s got a pretty impressive record, and he comes from a college where academics are as (if not more) important (and difficult) as they are at Tech. Time will tell. We’re about to enter some “rebuilding years”, but I hope it doesn’t take too long to “right the ship” (to use another nautical aphorism). I think Gailey never really understood how to coach a college team. I think his skill is with the pros, and it just doesn’t translate well (look at Spurrier for the opposite effect). Anyways, that’s all I have for now.
BCS doesn’t work Tuesday, 12/04/2007
Posted by Percy in Football.Tags: Football
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Look, I’m a die-hard, dyed in the wool, Georgia Tech fan (and I even graduated from the place). Still, I think UGA got an unfair shake in the BCS. Basically, the same rule that’s putting Ohio State into the championship game is keeping UGA out. Now, I haven’t fully decided if UGA should be playing for the title, but how is it that one team doesn’t play for almost three weeks, and jumps up two positions, when another team doesn’t play one week and drops a position. That is, when the two teams above them both lost in the same week. In a purely theoretical sense, the way the BCS decides position should work. However, realistically, it just doesn’t. Either every conference in the BCS should have to have a conference championship game, or none of them should count towards BCS rankings. I know a lot of people out there will say that UGA should have won the SEC championship to go to the big show, but I say that Ohio State should have had to play in a conference championship game to go as well. Honestly, I’m of the opinion that post season games (ex: conference championships) shouldn’t be considered for the BCS rankings, since all conferences don’t have them.
Now, the real issue is that there should be a bracket playoff system in place. If that were the situation, it wouldn’t matter to me if conference championships were considered. In that case, those teams possibly penalized by that unwritten rule would still probably be in the top N teams, and would have a shot. I know they do a bracket in high school, and pro football is a lot more controlled (division, conference champions). So, why not in college? Too, other college sports are that way, like basketball. I know that life isn’t always fair, but it’d be nice if TPTB would at least look for a more fair system.
Anyways, until next time…
