Asymptomatic

There must be intelligent life down here

Grand Summer Plan
June 25, 2013
summer break kids

The kids are basically home on their own this summer.  Nana is there to keep them out of my hair three days a week, but apart from that, they're on their own to figure out what they're going to do all day, be it outside or playing games indoors.  But this undirected summer "activity" selection more often than not ends up with the kids on the couch staring at the screen, with or without a game controller in hand.

This summer, we wanted to give them something to focus on, maybe attract their attention and learn something.  We wanted to provide them a direction for discovery, and not necessarily some mandatory activities to try to force them to enjoy.  Obviously, there are chores to complete.  And there are some activities that are mandatory for this discovery, but I think we've worked out a good plan.

Job, Ideally
June 17, 2013
life work

I've been thinking lately about what my ideal, realistic job might be, and what concessions I might make to get close to that job.  I'm going to just spew those ideas here, in no particular order.

My ideal job would have a corporate office close to home, and have the ability to work from home on days when it would be preferable to have focused solitude away from the office or necessary to participate in home activities, like A/C installation or other home maintenance. "The office" would be in a building that is not a soulless corporate center building filled with sterile cubicles and Ikea-Lego desks, but would have some character all its own -- something you would enjoy showing off to family and other people in the industry, who would envy your daily environs.  It would be a place you would look forward to going.  And yet, the company would be flexible enough to let you work completely remotely for months at a time, for whatever reason.  As opposed to the sentiment I hear a lot where people who work remotely come into the office and learn to like coming into the office, I'd like the sentiment to be more one where the office is just one of many potential tools that builds team cohesion.

Fallback Profession
May 16, 2013
job bread work farming

I have joked with co-workers about giving up programming and going into a profession that doesn't involve technology at all.  Usually, the profession is farming, selected because it's so far removed from technology, and obviously - literally - fruitful.  

But the reality is that I would not make a good farmer. The hours are long and bad.  The money is not good.  I'm actually not good at growing things, in general.  So while saying "I'm giving up all this web insanity and becoming a farmer" makes the point easily, it's not really practical.

A Tyrology In Learning
May 07, 2013
guide tyrology practice beginner learning

An automated domain name renewal tripped today, reminding me of yet another project I had intended to work on, but haven't had the time to start abandoned.

program_a_problem.jpgThe idea started - and forgive me if I've written about this before, but I can't find it in the archives - when thinking about my old Bytes Brothers books.  The Bytes Brothers mysteries were a series of books with short "mysteries" that the brothers solve using the family computer and some BASIC programming.  The stories present a problem (usually quite fabricated) and usually a short program listing as part of the solution.  By following along with the story, readers get interested in solving the mystery and can try to solve them on their own by writing their own versions of the programs, or expanding on the ones provided.

Back to WinAmp
May 06, 2013
music winamp Zune

Microsoft killed Zune, and now I'm using WinAmp... again.  I'm not surprised.  I suppose that somewhere deep in their accounting department they were showing losses, or maybe not enough gains, and word worked its way out of Accounting and up to Management and eventually down to the users.  Canceled.

It's not really canceled.  You can still use it.  You can still pay them.  But they're not bothering to update the Zune software, which is what made paying them worthwhile.  I should explain.