Asymptomatic

There must be intelligent life down here

Peanut Butter Programming
December 13, 2008

On a mailing list to which I still subscribe (registered users only), a message was recently posted about pre-testing programming aptitude. Being a programmer myself, these topics always amuse me, and will no doubt be the focus of at least 10 minutes of our next work lunch.

In particular, the ensuing discussion focused on whether it’s easy or difficult to teach programming. The focus was perhaps more concerned with whether programming skills are important at all in comparison to problem solving skills, and the difficulty of teaching those. Being that one of the better sessions I attended at BarCamp Philly revolved around the curriculum required for community college computer classes to produce employable programmers, and the difficulty of finding programmers in the marketplace with any skill, I have much interest in this topic.

You're In The Movies
December 13, 2008

I was bumbling around the console game section of Best Buy last week looking for a bigger XBox hard drive when I saw this strange little game on the shelf. The trend these days is toward creating games that have you doing something other than sitting in a chair pushing buttons with minute hand twitches and drying eyeballs. You’re In The Movies is a unique game in that genre.

The game is packaged differently because it comes with a small USB video camera. This is a shame because I has already (for some reason) bought the XBox video camera, and now I have two. I didn’t see a copy of the game without the camera, and this box was shelved in a different location because of the non-standard game box.

School Lunch
December 11, 2008

Abby’s in second grade this year. On the refrigerator we have her school lunch schedule posted, in a December-festive black toner on red paper.

The lunch menu is in the form of a calendar, with each day’s lunch options listed in the date blocks. There is always a choice of different food options that would satisfy any 2nd-grader.

Twist Tied Kitten
December 09, 2008

On the counter in my office I keep a small pile of twist ties, the kind you tie around wires to keep them from becoming unruly during shipping. I have since replaced most of these ties with Velcro wraps where I’ve needed them, so I suppose that I should be rid of them, but every so often Berta has the need for one, or their unique nature leads to a specific useful result like ejecting a stuck CD drive.

In any case, I keep this pile of twist ties on the counter between my synthesizer keyboard and my scanner.