Pragmatic Prose

Fund Wasteland 2 on Kickstarter

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 07:50:50 -0700

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/wasteland-2

Brian Fargo et al are trying to make an old school RGP. It's a follow up to the classic Wasteland. Wasteland inspired Fallout.

The team Brian is putting together includes a lot of all stars from the Fallout 1 and 2 era.

It looks like it's going to be an all star affair if it gets funded (which should should do, hint-hint, wink-wink).

Brian Fargo founded Interplay Productions (By Gamers, For Gamers) in 1983 where he went on to produce and finance some of the biggest RPG's made like Bard's Tale, Fallout 1 and 2, Stonekeep, Dragon Wars, Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and more. Creating a new Wasteland will be a point of pride in the long history of games.

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Getting Object Dependencies via Sql Query - Sql Server

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:55:32 -0700

In case you want to get dependencies as Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio shows you but with a script instead of through the management studio gui.

/* all dependencies */

SELECT distinct o.name, o.type_desc, p.name as dependency, p.type_desc as dependency_type_desc

FROM sys.sql_dependencies d

INNER JOIN sys.objects o

ON d.object_id = o.object_id

INNER JOIN sys.objects p

ON d.referenced_major_id = p.object_id

/* user table dependencies */

SELECT distinct o.name, o.type_desc, p.name as dependency, p.type_desc as dependency_type_desc

FROM sys.sql_dependencies d

INNER JOIN sys.objects o

ON d.object_id = o.object_id

INNER JOIN sys.objects p

ON d.referenced_major_id = p.object_id

and p.type_desc = 'USER_TABLE'

Source:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/299128/sql-server-dependencies

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Enable Gzip Compression IIS 6

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:03:54 -0700

Use the adsutil script in C:\Inetpub\AdminScripts\ directory. The following script will enable most common file extentions for gzip/deflate compression.

cscript.exe adsutil.vbs set W3Svc/Filters/Compression/GZIP/HcFileExtensions "htm" "html" "txt" "ppt" "xls" "xml" "pdf" "xslt" "doc" "xsl" "htc" "js" "css"

cscript.exe adsutil.vbs set W3Svc/Filters/Compression/DEFLATE/HcFileExtensions "htm" "html" "txt" "ppt" "xls" "xml" "pdf" "xslt" "doc" "xsl" "htc" "js" "css"

cscript.exe adsutil.vbs set W3Svc/Filters/Compression/GZIP/HcScriptFileExtensions "asp" "dll" "exe" "aspx" "asmx" "ashx"

cscript.exe adsutil.vbs set W3Svc/Filters/Compression/DEFLATE/HcScriptFileExtensions "asp" "dll" "exe" "aspx" "asmx"

IISreset.exe /restart

Source: http://weblogs.asp.net/ssadasivuni/archive/2003/12/10/42448.aspx

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When Social Media Goes Awry - Toyota Van Fire

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:34:00 -0700

I just happened upon this little drama on the Toyota Sienna Facebook page.

Apparently, a family is claiming their van caught fire in their driveway just a few days after purchase.

Heidi Trockels Dunigan Toyota, this is Dr Dunigan, you have your facts inaccurate. The resolution to the mini van was agreed upon Toyota Legal Department and the bank that financied the vehicle. As I was told by the bank that this was the easiest way for the bank and Toyota to come to a resolution. They forgot to include us in the negotations when we have greater than 50 percent equity in the van. Now the paperwork that was delivered from the dealership (the dealership has been awesome in this matter) was three blank pages that I was supposed to sign. Who would in their right mind sign blank papers authorizing who knows what. If this is the resolution or Toyota's standard operating procedures then I have a concern about purchasing another 2011 Sienna. I always thought that the customer comes first but appearently Toyota has taken that position for self protection. A sad day!!!!

Heidi Trockels Dunigan The cause has been determined to be a faulty fan wire that may have gotten knicked during manufacturing. So far it appears to be an isolated incident - I hope so.

Heidi Trockels Dunigan Phil - much more then cleaning off the driveway - there is a big hole in my driveway and half my house was torched! But yes the cause has been determined as stated above. Not to mention that my kids are still freaked out by it - we were not out of the van 2 minutes and then it was totally engulfed in flames...

What's more interesting to me (besides the obvious questions of safety in light of other recent events) is the social media aspect of this. Toyota uses Facebook to promote their product. Customer has problem with said product and posts complaints directly on this Facebook page. Now Toyota has an embarrassing problem on a very popular public web site that it does not control. I wonder how this will play out. It would be a great opportunity for Toyota to who it's dedication to customers (again, especially in light of recent events).

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Beyond Black Boxes in Software

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:56:07 -0700

I've seen/heard object oriented software compared to a black box. You don't need to know how something happens, you just need to know that it happens.

This is a nice analogy, as far as it goes. Unfortunately, most software libraries are not well documented. Even the gold standard Microsoft/Java/Python libraries could be improved. This isn't a a jab at those technologies, I use them all the time, but even the best could be improved.

In fact, I've downloaded some of the .NET framework so I could see how certain algorithms were implemented.

Now, to black boxes. Wouldn't it be better to have crystal boxes? Where you can clearly see what is happening on the inside, but not be allowed to mess with the guts (unless it's open source of course). .NET sorta has this. You can use some kind of reflector to see all the internals of an object.

You'd still have the open closed principle (open for extension, closed for modification). I think Python is close to this ideal. You can play with objects in the interpreter. You can also get your hands on the source.

Black boxes sounds good in theory. However, in practice, I'd prefer a nice transparent crystal box.

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Including Unit Test Code in Classes

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:58:30 -0700

Why don't we include unit tests _inside_ a class? The test would be exposed via a _Testable_ interface. Methods would include RunTests() and return a object reporting success or failure.

While reading a post about testing, I had an epiphany of sorts. Instead of making all private methods public _just_ to facilitate testing, why not make an interface that supports testing. Much like electrical equipment that ships with a self test mode, the test could be run "in the field" to make sure it works OK.

There are some small issues to figure out. Which testing framework do you support? Does the extra test code bloat the production code? However, I wonder if this wouldn't solve a lot of problems causes because the test is separate from the code. Especially unit code testing which is by definition very closely tied to the code under test.

Do you see any other problems with this approach? Is this a good idea or not?

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New Phone - HTC Incredible

Thu, 13 May 2010 09:58:54 -0700

Wow, what a surprise. This phone is great. When you've been in the tech game awhile, you get so used to over-promised under-delivered crap that when something does what it claims, you are amazed.

I am amazed. This phone works well for email, text, camera and even making phone calls. Navigation works well. Web browsing is surprisingly easy. (Why is is easier to surf the web on my phone than on my computer?)

I just need a decent case. I'm looking for a sleeve that isn't too bulky, just enough to protect the screen when not in use. Looks like I may have order the Nexus One sleeve from HTC. (please comment if you have a suggestion).

I've spent a week with the phone. Still discovering features. Haven't even started hacking on it yet.

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mpc-hc or why is free software better than paid?

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:51:00 -0700

My Dell Zino came with PowerDVD. PowerDVD does upscaling, which is nice, however, it was using so much of the cpu that the little fan on the Zino was cranking away. Very annoying.

So I tried Windows Media Player. It used less CPU but it doesn't upscale (at least I couldn't see how to do it).

So I downloaded the trusty mpc-hc (which I always end up using as my media player). So far it's upscaling fine with pretty decent (low) cpu usage.

So again, why would you pay for something (PowerDVD) when a better product is available for free?

I don't mind paying for software, but when it's not as good as the open/free stuff, I don't see the point.

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Writing Advice for Engineers

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 07:17:41 -0700

How to make engineers write concisely with sentences? By combining journalism with the technical report format. In a newspaper article, the paragraphs are ordered by importance, so that the reader can stop reading the article at whatever point they lose interest, knowing that the part they have read was more important than the part left unread.

State your message in one sentence. That is your title. Write one paragraph justifying the message. That is your abstract. Circle each phrase in the abstract that needs clarification or more context. Write a paragraph or two for each such phrase. That is the body of your report. Identify each sentence in the body that needs clarification and write a paragraph or two in the appendix. Include your contact information for readers who require further detail.

-- William A. Wood , September 8, 2005

http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0001yB

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Adding DVD Shrink to Autorun in Windows 7 64 bit

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:34:29 -0800

DVDShrink_Autoplay.reg Download this file

If you ant to add DVD Shrink to the Autorun menu in Windows, here's a link:

http://www.dvdshrink.info/autoplay.php

This works fine for the 32 bit versions of Windows but I needed a 64 bit version.

Here it is. Works for me on Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate. Your Mileage May Vary.

WARNING: as with any registry change, you should back up your registry before applying this.

Use at your own risk. You've been warned..

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Recursive Minutes to Days, Hours, Minutes in C# (Humanize Time)

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:12:00 -0800

If you need to convert a lump sum of minutes into something a little easer for humans (people) to read then here it is:

Comments welcome.

private static string MinutesToHumanTime(int minutes)
{
        const int MINUTES_IN_DAY = 60 * 24;

        if (minutes >= MINUTES_IN_DAY)
        {
                var days_as_string = (minutes / MINUTES_IN_DAY).ToString() + " days ";

                return days_as_string + MinutesToHumanTime(minutes % MINUTES_IN_DAY);
        }
        else if (minutes >= 60)
        {
                var hours_as_string = (minutes / 60).ToString() + " hours ";

                return hours_as_string + MinutesToHumanTime(minutes % 60);
        }
        else
        {
                return minutes.ToString() + " minutes ";
        }
}

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Why I Solo MMORPGs

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:54:00 -0800

In response to:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/experienced-points/6921-Experienced-Points-Massively-Single-Player-Part-1

Why would you play a MMORPG solo?

Disclosure: I only played one MMORPG because a friend at work convinced me.

I did play a hunter. Actually it was my second character. I shopped around for the best Solo class. Forums recommended Hunter. (in the article above, Hunter is the Solo/Newby class)

My list of reasons for playing (mostly) solo:

Tried to recruit people to help in quests but they were all stupid 13 years olds who can barely type, let alone spell, who want to jump around in their underwear.
Played quests with my real life friends. My friends were not online all the time, so soloed most of the time (because of reason 1 above)
I like exploring and seeing things at my own pace. With others I always have to either speed up or slow down. I didn't have time to experiment.
When I died (which was often because my higher level friends were taking me to areas above my ability) I had to catch up. After too much of this everyone gets annoyed. Trying to retrieve your body from a beast's den is no fun, especially when aforementioned nasty is standing on your carcass.
In a game you want the player to feel like the hero. You want to be Strider. Not player 15623 of 23490834. I remember at one of the low level boss spawns. There was a line to kill the boss. WTF, talk about suspension of disbelief or total lack thereof. Up until that point, I loved WoW. Then it just kind of occurred to me that this is dumb. Standing in line for a boss encounter. Why am I paying to stand in line? Why not have the whole game world to myself?
When I game, its usually to escape. To escape stress of work of relationships but most of all the stress of dealing with people. Games are a fun little puzzle box. Something I can control. I turn it on an off. I can figure it out. Not so with people or the real world. Games are a great escape and stress reliever just likes movies and books. Would you read a book with 5 people? You see a move with friends, but that's a passive experience.

I quit WoW after 3 months. IMHO it was not worth $15 a month. I was tired of flying across the world just to go skin 15 more crocodiles. Too many pointless fetch and carry quests. I had a stack of more interesting games waiting for me,.

What could you do to entice more soloists to your MMORPG?

Good question.

Make everything accessible to single players.
Make group play suck less (or just don't require them, see 1).
Segment servers by age? I fear that I may be talking to some 13 year gothopotamus on the other end. I don't want that. I don't want to hear about some adolescents problems with his teacher, etc.
Value gamers time. Teens have unlimited time. I don't. I want to get in and get some playing done. Wasting my time with travel, fetch and carry or skin 15 kittens is anathema.

I think you can have a living breathing world with multiple players. Just relax the whole group thing. Forced social shit is overdone/overrated. It's like school with the stupid group projects. Nobody really works that way in the real world.

Let me trade with my friend, go on raids, stuf f like that, but let me have some ME time. Let me explore, be a hero. I'm paying $15/month to be player 13435 of 123453234 and stand in line to kill an Imp.

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This Bourgeoisie is Not a Class

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:00:50 -0800

The attempt has been made, and wrongly, to make a class of the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie is simply the contented portion of the people. The bourgeois is the man who now has time to sit down. A chair is not a caste.

Victor Hugo
Les Miserables

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Best Summation of the Blog Business

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:47:59 -0800

This is one of the best coverages of the blog business I've seen. He sums up everything pretty well.

http://www.whattofix.com/blog/archives/2009/12/hamburger-casse.php

So the question you're all asking: are you making any money off of this? After about ten sites, yes, we are. Would I recommend this as a hobby business for others? No, I would not. It's a freaking lot of work, to begin with, if you are really looking to provide useful and quality information.

It's also getting to be a highly-competitive business. Companies are using advanced algorithms to determine exactly which subject areas have the most lifetime value for advertising and creating lots of material around them. It really has the feel of the stock market when computers got in and changed everything. Yes, you can still have a very profitable niche. Heck, I have several ideas about moving up to the next level. But these guys play hardball over pennies-per-day. Any newcomers should know that before getting in.

Of course he's not giving up:

Having said that, we're probably going to keep it up. Every week we get emails from people we have helped with our sites, and that's really neat. There's something about having recurring income that makes you go "Wow!"

It's a good feeling.

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College Vs The Real World

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:05:40 -0800

Is it the problem that school teaches how to follow directions instead of think for ourselves? What does most of school consist of, even at the college level? Following directions. Make sure you paper is exactly 20 pages long, get the right answers to the even number math questions in the book. Not until you emerge in the real world at age 22, do you finally get a chance to think for yourself. You lack street smarts but a lot of (questionably) valuable information on Political Science, Western Civilization, Algorithms, Data Structures and Cobol. Most of my liberal arts education could be picked up (much cheaper) with a library card or a Kindle. I think internships and apprenticing are a much better option. How much did my computer science/economics/poli-sci education help me in the real world as a programmer/software developer? Not much. On the job I Learned how to research and experiment on my own, while questioning everything (while being allowed to, without some crusty know it all prof shutting your down). Corporate culture is actually a little better for pushing the boundaries than academia.

In response to a post on hacker news regarding Universities and Economic Growth.

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Haskell Is Beautiful

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:35:48 -0800

Wow,

Started reading Real World Haskell this week. Working my way through it slowly.

It's amazing when you start to understand it.

I've seen code samples of Haskell before and I was always a little put off buy it. But now, with some understanding I have to say that it is one of the most (if not the most) beautiful languages I've used.

I can't wait to get unto some real coding with it.

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Blue State = Unemployment?

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:21:14 -0800

I’m not affiliated with either party. But I am curious.

How strong is the correlation between the margins of victory for Democratic candidates and the current level of unemployment?

Current Levels of unemployment

Red State/Blue State map

Visually there seems to be some correlation. New York seems to be an exception. Maybe Alaska too. So it might not perfectly correlate.

I’m curious if the strength of public sector employee unions matters. Does a Democratic state allow strong public sector employee unions to grow? (yes). And if so what is the long term prognosis for those government entities (state and local)? I think the answer is obvious. The coming collapse of the Municipal Bond market might give some indication of the level of crisis in the spend more than you tax states.

Again just wondering what voting for “Big Government” does to a state in the long run. Obviously California is the poster child for socialist welfare state disaster. But how does New York fare? Our relatively poor state of South Dakota has very low unemployment. If you discarded the data from the Native American Reservations our unemployment would be significantly lower (employment on the reservation is always low).

Disclaimer: I’m a social and economic libertarian.

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4 1.5TB Western Digital Caviar Green Drives = Nice Windows Home Server

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:00:56 -0800

I installed another 2 1.5TB Western Digital Caviar Green drives.

Total size is now 6TB (really less than that like 5.4 or something).

Yes I need that much storage. I've been filling up the server with movies, software, pictures and backups of all my machines.

I have to say that I'm impressed with Windows Home Server so far.

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Another 3 TB

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:09:02 -0800

Storage

So I ordered 2 more WD 1.5 TB Green drives for my Windows Home Server.

I'm backing up 3 pc's and have all of my pictures and movies on it. So I'm using quite a bit of space already.

3 TB should give me plenty of room to grow. If I'm going to dig my server out of it's obscure location in the furnace room, I might as well make it worth while.

Network

I might need to run CAT 6 to my media streaming locations. Most of the time it's fine. However, I've noticed a couple times where the movie has skipped/slowed. This mostly happens with the 1080p mkv files.

Otherwise the media streaming/Windows Home Server experiment is a success. Ben enjoys watching Dora from any location in the the house.

I'm still looking for a new TV. Might wait to see if prices drop after christmas. The prices already seem really good, but they might get better.

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Getting Scammed on eBay

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:49:18 -0700

What's up with eBay? It's not even usable any more. What's worse is all the fraud.

I just finished a listing of my Gateway P 7805u FX Edition. Everything was going fine into some scammer bid twice as much as the top bid. I suspected fraud.

Wouldn't you know it, an hour or so after the auction, ebay contacted me to let me know the auction/listing was cancelled because a user's account had been compromised.

Is this an isolated incident? I don't think so.

A noted security expect gets shafted twice and was even willing to try a third time before selling the laptop to a reader of his blog.

Now what do I do? I gave up on fraudBay. They deleted my entire listing so I would have to go through and create it again. No way I'm going through all that worked just to get scammed again. At least not at this point.

Instead I listed it on Amazon. We'll see how it turns out.

If you're interested in a great gaming/development laptop with Windows 7 installed you can check out my listing on Amazon:

Gateway P 7805u FX Edition for sale on Amazon

I'm selling it so I can but a Windows Home Server and a new TV. The little boys videos and pictures are more important than my mobile gaming (I guess). I also have my eee pc 1005HA which is good enough for checking mail and light web surfing. I don't think I could do development on the eee.

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