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Spring in January
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 2057
It's an early spring, 12 degrees Celsius outside and I'm restless as all out. 3 days of this, each successive day warmer than the last - tomorrow it's forecast to snow. And there's little enough snow on the ground now, it's all been melting faster than the Columbia Icefields.
The cats, they've been thrown outside to enjoy the weather, the orange tabby sits at the door and mews, it's cat abuse, this, the other cat slinks inside as soon as the door is opened, they should be dying to get out and enjoy the weather, they've been housebound for 4 months, but neither seems inclined to enjoy it. They'd rather sit on the stairs and the sofa and hiss at one another.
And I finish the code for the job I want, send it off. It's basic, I've figured out that some of my coding errors were related to the 1and1 server environment, not much I can do about that. And in any event it's time - it's working, simple, I could work on it a year - or more, but what would it get me?
The restaurant calls, they've been calling for the past couple of days, I've been afraid to answer the phone. But I do and I'm summoned, the new schedule is ready, I'm due back at work next week. I should be thrilled, but...
I should be thrilled.
I have to remind myself that it's only temporary, a step on the road to better things but the thought of returning fills me with dread and a profound depression.
The schedule, they've honored my request, it's somewhat reduced, livable even (although the night shifts and weekends mess up my imaginary social life...), there will be time,
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
The other job? What if they should call, if they should review the code and forgive my ignorance or see something worth investing in? IT would be preferable, certainly, but Pa, having rehired me (although to be fair I didn't reapply, I was summoned), would take it amiss that I should leave, regardless of the opportunity. In any event neither of these are the choices I should be considering in an ideal world, there's enough on my plate to keep me busy for centuries....And so it begins again...
Daily WTF
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: WTF
- Hits: 1896
A new list of inexplicable things. Take the above for example - when will Disney buy up the rights and dub it with the voices of Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in English? And, you know, why does it even matter? All that matters is that this is THE PROOF that cheap digital and CGI effects will only make movies better...
The Beale Cipher
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Lost
- Hits: 1892
"I have deposited in the county of Bedford, about four miles from Buford's, in an excavation or vault, six feet below the surface of the ground, the following articles, belonging jointly to the parties whose names are given in number three, herewith:
The first deposit consisted of ten hundred and fourteen pounds of gold, and thirty-eight hundred and twelve pounds of silver, deposited Nov. eighteen nineteen. The second was made Dec. eighteen twenty-one, and consisted of nineteen hundred and seven pounds of gold, and twelve hundred and eighty-eight of silver; also jewels, obtained in St. Louis in exchange for silver to save transportation, and valued at thirteen thousand dollars.
The above is securely packed in iron pots, with iron covers. The vault is roughly lined with stone, and the vessels rest on solid stone, and are covered with others. Paper number one describes the exact locality of the vault, so that no difficulty will be had in finding it."
And so begins one of the bigger treasure hunts in history. But the treasure hasn't yet been found. Maybe it never even existed....
Link: Wikipedia on The Beale Ciphers, The Thomas Beale Cipher - Short Film
A tangled skein of thought
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 2037
It's like a big ball of yarn in all different colors rolled up by my cat, and I spend the day picking at it and trying to unravel it all. Today, five hours down the well trying to convert 3 lines of code into a class method that - at minimum - would have taken 10 lines. But you get so entangled in thought, so focused on the problem at hand, finding solutions, applying them, then finding that they weren't really solutions at all. And still it goes on. And when finally you take a break - mandatory now, because your obsessed, you realize that it was far, far easier (and more productive) to live with the 3 lines of code - however ugly - and just move on. Such is inspiration. But I'm so close to being done - and done properly - and it's all in the details....
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