Sunday night was a good time at Park Tavern: Craft beer, fried oyster "really po'boy", music under the tent, Chicago interleague baseball (aka "the world's highest-paid Little League game") and a big thunderstorm before sunset to cool everything off. I really need to get off my butt and add this place to the dining page. Their kitchen is very capable (hellooo, sweet potato fries), and their beer is very good. Add some music and the best Atlanta skyline view around, and this place is a gem of the city. As for the music: Honey Honey (acoustic duo) was good; Ike (rock band) was best; whoever they had headlining the show (and drawing a few hundred fans) should have just signed autographs or something. I actually recall reading about Ike in Creative Loafing, probably a few years ago. It was good to hear and see them live. |
| posted at: 17:21 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| I know it's Monday, but...here's a Periodic Table of Beer. |
| posted at: 09:54 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| TheWebsiteIsDown, and is not safe for work, but it is made of win. |
| posted at: 01:08 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topics for discussion are:
| 1. Happy Hour. 2.Thyme. |
| posted at: 21:20 | permanent link to this entry |
It seems the neanderthals over at Conservapedia have had a run-in with Science, in the form of one Richard Lenski, who has recently become known for the results of his 20-year bacterial evolution experiment. The email exchange, and resulting smackdown, may be found here. I'm surprised C-pedia actually posted this, but more surprised that Dr. Lenski actually typed up the large response. Then again, maybe I shouldn't be surprised. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, and Dr. Lenski has chipped in a few pence on this watch. |
| posted at: 17:11 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Pale Ales. |
| posted at: 13:27 | permanent link to this entry |
| The weather's been warm, baseball has been watched, frisbee has been tossed, and I've actually been busy messing around with Javascript and Haskell. However, the BS factor has cranked up lately, and it's time to fetch a good length of stick. |
| posted at: 13:27 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| posted at: 12:03 | permanent link to this entry |
So, I'm actually playing around with Javascript again; this time, I'm tinkering within the context of Firefox extensions. I must mention that I really like the extension architecture. It's rather slick. Javascript, however, is a pain in the ass now. I've done some thinking while kicking various scriptlets around, and I've come to the conclusion that a strict object model and case-sensitivity are just counterproductive to a softly-typed language. Why, when a language can mung together any basic types (with an outcome of undefined if such munging just doesn't make sense), does this same language throw its hands in the air and bitch about the lack of attributes when you get an empty object? Is this punishment for not gumming up my code with try/catch blocks? Good grief. |
| posted at: 12:03 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Petition(s) of the Day: Netflix Profile Cancellation and Save Netflix Profiles |
| posted at: 19:01 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| The AP has started charging (and/or filing lawsuits) for quotes of five or more words from their stories. It's time to point and laugh, at least on the outside. |
| posted at: 18:10 | permanent link to this entry |
| We lost 10-2, Chipper aggravated his leg while scoring from second, and YEsco is out with some hip strain or another. I blame the cow. More on that, later. Seriously, though. Mariners had the book on Campillo, and it showed. The score should have been 16+, but for some nice play in the early innings. Infante robbed a HR, Tex saved about five runs again. Score another run (and more pitches than necessary) for the Wave in top-6th. Refer to my earlier comments about that effect. The other bright spot from last night: Walking Chipper and Tex to get to #5 doesn't work so well with Infante batting in that spot. It's safe to say we don't have a CF. Blanco got burned two or three times, "Wasn't Andruw" once, and slacked off once. |
| posted at: 14:33 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Nested Comments. (I'm playing around with them, but they currently run in N^2 or N^3 time.) |
| posted at: 16:48 | permanent link to this entry |
| The Braves are off their best road trip of the year (4-6), and host the failing Mariners this weekend. I've been holding this ticket since April, so I'm definitely there. We should win two out of three, but I'm living in fear the Lidle Effect with this lineup. |
| posted at: 16:27 | permanent link to this entry |
| Salami, turkey, muenster, spinach, basil on wheat. |
| posted at: 16:25 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Red Curry and Couscous Sandwiches. |
| posted at: 13:04 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Have you ever seen anyone playing (lottery) Keno in any of the bars that carry that game? |
| posted at: 18:55 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Figs. |
| posted at: 12:23 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| In the same vein as last years' discussion topic... |
| posted at: 15:07 | permanent link to this entry |
While at the barber's yesterday, I read some foodie magazine or another, whose name I can't recall offhand. This issue contained a nice article dealing with North Italian cooking; from this article, I was clued in to three components that have been missing from my sauces: [1] celery, [2] caramelized (vs. sauteed) onion, [3] carrots. Tonight, I put them to the test, and am pleased to report the results were outstanding; the next canning run will include these components. It helped to use a Vidalia onion, to mince the other veggies (incl. red bells) in a processor, and to use dried leaves collected from the patio. |
| posted at: 04:27 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Cool, rainy nights. |
| posted at: 04:11 | permanent link to this entry |
The Virginia-Highland Summerfest was held last weekend; to be brief, there's nothing quite like scoping out great art while eating carnival food, and listening to the banter of the overcultured. Here's a listing of the artists whose work I found the most impressive:
|
| posted at: 14:27 | permanent link to this entry |
I haven't bought a solar cooker yet, but I should. There's enough really good sun out front, to cook just about anything smaller than a roast. But then I remember: when the weather's too hot to boil water for tea, put the tea out in the sun. Of course! And I have just the jar for the job. Thinking beyond tea, however, there's something to be said for preheating water in the sun, as opposed to either water heater or stove-driven heating. Basically, I like the idea of getting the first 30 or 40 degrees (at least) of heating out of the way without using fire. So, I'll play around with the sun for a while this summer. I expect to at least not run the stove against the A/C as much. |
| posted at: 14:20 | permanent link to this entry |
The past two weeks have brought hard times for the plants. I forgot to prune them ahead of summer, then let them go too long without water, and they partially dried up. So out came the pruning shears, and I ended up with a few baking sheets worth of herbs for drying. As it turns out, a gas stove is not conducive to drying things, as demonstrated by a baking sheet full of scorched oregano. So, I ended up placing the remaining cuttings in the sun the next morning, and that did the trick. More on the sun, later. As for the remaining plants: Parsley is blooming, and will die off shortly; I'm finally started two new basil plants, and I'm going to try a cucumber vine again, if I can make room for it. The squirrel is now exonerated, as I've seen chipmunks digging in my plants. If I can get a picture of one of these critters, I'll post it. |
| posted at: 11:15 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Four-part harmony. |
| posted at: 10:05 | permanent link to this entry |
| This, folks, is what I'm talking about when I say Flash is the new arcade game platform: Mr. Bounce, a take on Breakout, with bubbles. And arc-tracking. And controllable bounce height. And a slow-mo key. And 8-bit slow-techno track. And a timer that shrinks your already-barely-controllable platform. It isn't a very playable game, but it's playable enough to be fun. |
| posted at: 23:25 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Creative Loafing's Beer Issue is up. Cheers! |
| posted at: 10:43 | permanent link to this entry |
Drought Panic 2: Electric Boogaloo
It's that time again: the really hot summer weather has settled in early, and that means it's time for Drought Panic '08! The AJC is starting to ramp up coverage, with a Weather Vent. Not that the drought ever broke; actually the winter weather rain patterns more closely resembled summer weather. It was all weekly rain fronts, with maybe two days of steady rain (vs. the normal 10 or 12 ). At least there are scattered storms meandering around the past few days; the big low that's currently flooding the midwest has dragged lots of Gulf air into the area; the storms simply coalesce from the mugginess like ghosts from aether. So some lucky folks are getting the 1"-2" rainstorm. There's been no luck for Lake Lanier, however. Most of the rain the past few months fell on the western part of the state; this has resulted in a record low (-17 feet) for the lake. Screwed, screwed, screwed. So, it's showers every other day again, for the time being. And as it turns out, the entire northeast corner of the state has been getting rain while I was typing this. Good deal. |
| posted at: 00:43 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| It's 90 degrees outside. Summer is officially here. :D |
| posted at: 16:43 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Favorite fruit in a Wheat Beer: Lemon, Orange, Strawberry, Rasberry? |
| posted at: 04:58 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Philadelphia: Where Every Night is "Bring your own Boos" Night. |
| posted at: 02:06 | permanent link to this entry |
I'd rather not post a link to our recently-zombified friend, the Wall Street Journal, but this blogpiece (found linked on Mostly Media) regarding gender-based effects in software development. The blogpiece itself looks like a combination of an appeal to Moore's Law, combined with some solid code maintenance practice, thinly wrapped with a gender-bias argument. It's also been pre-chewed for the readership. However, there are a few basics that you need to keep in mind: Code is, in essence, crystalline thought. This is particularly true for "higher-level" languages, which are translated into actual programs. As such, most code reflects the overlapping cultures that produced and maintained it. Gender-based code styles could well be valid, but it is only one of many cultural modifiers that affect a developer (or team of developers). These modifiers include national, geographic, economic, generational, and (multiple) organizational traits, that shape people's behavior over time. ObfuscationCode Obfuscation is definitely a test of skill, both for the writer and readers. The International Obfuscated C Code Contest is the earliest, organized Obf-contest I can remember, although similar contests exist for most modern languages (particularly those rooted in C). If I recall correctly, Obfuscation derives its roots in the quests for storage efficiency, runtime efficiency, and overall performance. These three traits are (usually) orthogonal to maintainability and legibility. Who can write the smallest program? Who can write the fastest program? Who can write the program which uses the least bytes or bandwidth? Answeres to these questions lead directly to the question of who can write the most unreadable program. Comments vs. CodeThat brings us to the danger of comments. Comments do not relate program function. Comments relate programmers' intent. Why? Here's an example, where all text to the right of '//' is a comment:
...what is the order of input_array? The comment says we have inverted input_array, but the code assigns something to result_ptr. Does result_ptr now reference an inverted input_array, or an entirely new array made of the inverted members of input_array? Nothing in this language prevents us from writing Invert() in either fashion. We have to look at Invert(), or establish an understanding through testing, to determine the function's behavior. My point here is: to the degree that comments and code actually match, you have "good" comments. It is far, far too easy for developers to substitute understanding of comment for understanding of the code which actually runs. |
| posted at: 16:39 | permanent link to this entry |
| Amidst the history and the retrospection this week (more on that in a later post), the Braves replaced their Strength and Conditioning coach. I don't know what's going on here, but there have to be real problems, of one kind or another, for a team to make that kind of move, especially mid-season. |
| posted at: 15:21 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Unagi. |
| posted at: 00:34 | permanent link to this entry |
I ran into a funny thing on the way to the volleyball tournament last Friday: about 500+ bicyclists! It was "Critical Mass", the quasi-promotion, quasi-protest, monthly group bicycle ride, from somewhere to somewhere else. It was highly cool to watch, as well as watching the looks on the faces of several Happy Hour denizens as this ginormous chain of bicicles rode by. And then, there's the matter of traffic, as flared-up in Shelbinator'sreview of the rally and local coverage. I still think these folks are missing a golden opportunity for advancing the ball, to cater to their own self-indulgence. |
| posted at: 00:33 | permanent link to this entry |
The AVP Beach Volleyball Tour was in town last weekend, camping out at Atlantic Station for the second or third year. I remember missing the '97 tournament due to work, and this year, I finally went to see some games in person. It had been years since I've watched beach volleyball; I vaguely remember the '04 Olympics (a long and separate story), and a few bits and pieces of beach volleyball on TV since then. Last Friday night and Sunday afternoon, I wandered across the Connector to go see some volleyball. Until that time, I'd only seen live sand volleyball at bars (Good Ol' Days, anyone?) and the occasional beach and park. It was worth the trip just to see live volleyball from bleachers. I know this sounds silly, but looking down on the sand was mind-opening. If the tour's in town next year, I'll pick up tickets again. After Sunday's Finals, I walked back over to the Park, and watched a game of...kickball? That's right: adults are playing kickball, as a prelude to beer. As it turns out, the kickball is difficult to catch, and sometimes, the kickball catches you. The latter case occurred to one unfortunate person, who was knocked silly by an overthrow while warming up for their game. All in all, it was a great weekend, for the cost of a few dollars and a blistered scalp (courtesy a nascent bald spot). |
| posted at: 01:52 | permanent link to this entry |
[full disclosure: I donated $25 to both Senators' campaigns back around Super Tuesday, and they both made it. :-] The Democratic Party Primary is over: Senator Obama will carry the nomination into the election, and will likely control the Party for at least the near future. Senator McCain and his people are back in control of the Republican party. Even after watching all of this unfold, I find it difficult to explain exactly what has transpired here. The short answer is: the downward spiral--led by two entrenched, unamerican factions--has been broken. First, our taliban: who have advanced a self-validating foreign and domestic policy of representative theocracy; who have used our treasury as a tithing in support of said theocracy; and who have advanced Third World status as a modern-day Manifest Destiny; have been put on notice. Their control officially ends on January 20, 2009, and effectively ends some time after that. Their cancer still infests their chosen host, but not for long. The Republican Party is now the "Party of Lincoln" once again. And now, our Socialists of the "American School": whose every move, proposal, rider, and statement serves a longer-range goal of reducing us to simple drones; who have allowed two consecutive taliban Presidencies to occur as a method of punishment for not kneeling before The Will of the Proletariat; whose ultimate vision for the United States is a role as Europe's oxen; and who would force the United States into indenturement to achieve these goals; have been ousted from their host Party. Make no mistakes: all is not bright and rosy. The malignant factions are now free-roaming, looking for new hosts to infect. The Libertarian Party has already been infected, courtesy the bastard Bob Barr. The Socialists, being freshly evicted, haven't had time to infect an existing party, or form their own party, but I expect them to find a new home before November. Also, this election is not over. As a matter of fact, it has just begun. There has been, up until this point, a decided lack of legitimate discussion about any of the real issues (and yes, there do exist multiple issues in this country and world) at hand, largely due to the metastasi of each ousted faction. Know this: The factions are on the sidelines. They will make as much noise as they can, and cause as much trouble as they can. They will vote for the opposite candidate, in the hopes of setting up future successes in future elections. They will spam forums of any kind, in the hopes of negating legitimate discussions. It's happening right now. Be aware of this fact, and be prepared to navigate past their efforts. Between the opposing efforts of our two factions, our nation has been greatly weakened. In their wake, there is ample reason to believe the next president will inheirit the lowest point--economically and militarily--in our country's history, including the Great Depression. Also expect the ousted factions to attempt to make political hay out of these hard times. However, also know this: The Great Darkness that has enshrouded this country since 2000 is over. There will be no third Bush term. The Bush Presidency will not be replaced with a Socialist lapdog. There will be a legitimately American President. Before that occurs, however, this country will see the shining light of legitimate discussion and debate. Outside the control of our national media and their controlling, conflicting interests, there will be legitimate discussion. And there will be reason. The next five months is exactly why Senators John McCain and Barack Obama have received so much support, from places both likely and unlikely. The cancerous factions and their harpies will be peripherals to this election. As such, regardless of the winning candidate, the United States has finally won an election. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and push. |
| posted at: 01:17 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
Your vs. You're: |
| posted at: 01:11 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Presenting: the new penalty for not subscribing to premium cable/satellite: paused programming. |
| posted at: 17:17 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Fried Apple Pie. |
| posted at: 02:39 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Someone has taken the time to conduct root beer reviews. This page looks like it's 10 years old, but should still be valid for most cases. |
| posted at: 02:06 | permanent link to this entry |
Today's topic for discussion is:
| Freshly-mown grass. |
| posted at: 03:53 | permanent link to this entry |
| June is the month when Sol, victorious, imparts lasting warmth and heat upon the land; when heliotrophs reach their zenith, and vampires, their nadir; when flowers are coaxed out of the most reluctant of plants; when a sleeper never has to see nighttime; when fashion includes sundresses and tank tops, sandals and flip-flops; when spiders spin webs with vigor, and ensnare a share of the multitudes of insects that take to the skies at night. |
| posted at: 01:00 | permanent link to this entry |
