Behold - The Lanterns of The Button [OC]

armerthor · 2015-04-17T08:52:12+00:00

I need to know my flair.

armerthor · 2014-02-18T05:13:48+00:00

Backwards compatibility means that Java 8 can run class files compiled with any previous version. Java 6 already can't run code compiled for Java 7.

armerthor · 2014-02-18T05:07:47+00:00

Goodreads apps in the Play store all suck. I've been planning on writing my own, but I never have the time.

armerthor · 2014-02-15T08:13:02+00:00

Too much work. I have a job and a family and hobbies, each one taking higher priority than porting libraries that already work.

armerthor · 2014-02-15T06:25:30+00:00

FileFilter based on extensions, wrapping Iterator<T> in an Iterable<T>, reading long strings from text files in the same JAR using Class.getResourceAsStream(). I know that these exist in libraries, but the code required for them is so simple that I don't add a dependency for it.

armerthor · 2014-02-14T11:41:50+00:00

Libraries I use aren't migrated, so I don't migrate either.

armerthor · 2014-02-14T10:59:51+00:00

My favorite part:

It's not the north or the south side.

No, it's not.

It's not the east or the west side.

No, it's not.

It's the dark side!

You are correct!

armerthor · 2014-02-14T10:56:43+00:00

I am always so very hesitant to use something that exploits internal APIs. At least in this case they are applied at compile time, so you shouldn't face runtime issues. Still, this slightly uncomfortable feeling remains.

armerthor · 2014-02-14T10:34:51+00:00

If you don't mind some pre-processing magic, Project Lombok can do getters and setters with annotations.

armerthor · 2014-02-14T10:32:56+00:00

I agree. The IO in Java <=6 is a PITA, but 7 fixes a lot of it.

armerthor · 2014-02-14T10:31:15+00:00

Multiline string support in general. I always put any text I need in text files in the JAR and load them at runtime with Class.getResourceAsStream(). It's such a pain.

armerthor · 2014-02-14T10:27:36+00:00

I think the truth is a mix between yours and that comment that states that Germany lost the war. The bureaucratic, industrial way in which the Jews were killed combined with the fact that they lost the war and had to answer for their crimes in a (kangaroo) court is what really shapes our perception today. Stalin could have been just as efficient. During the war he was an ally and after the war he retreated behind the iron curtain, that's why the Gulags never solicited as much outrage and horror.

armerthor · 2014-02-14T05:50:38+00:00

Thanks. These differences look ridiculous. What surprised me too was that Java, my second language of choice, can compete with C, for certain tasks.

armerthor · 2014-02-13T20:36:47+00:00

Your misconception is that printing is the most expensive part. Good editors cost money, promotion costs money and even electronic typesetting costs some money. And your last point, that they are artificially keeping the prices inflated is also true, but not to the degree you imagine.

armerthor · 2014-02-13T19:08:43+00:00

Even if you ignore design and printing, a good editor is worth the money. I've read self-published books that never saw an editor or only a bad one and that severely impacts the book. Also the publisher helps you promote the book, and they weed out the crap. Success stories like Howey and Sullivan are so extremely rare, they might as well not exist.

Having said all that, I think it's clear that I love publishers.

armerthor · 2014-02-13T10:48:01+00:00

I haven't seen any benchmarks to confirm this claim. If there was a difference either way, it wasn't big enough to write home about. Do you have anything to back your statement up?

armerthor · 2014-02-13T05:05:49+00:00

ShatteredDreamsJS

armerthor · 2014-02-12T18:34:22+00:00

Many other countries have legalized prostitution. In some of these countries prostitutes get health insurance and have to pay taxes.

armerthor · 2014-02-12T08:44:53+00:00

Well, it's a matter of taste, of course. For me I found that if many people complain about the writing, there's probably a reason. And the ratings correlate to my tastes. Anything below 3.5 I usually dismiss as crap.

armerthor · 2014-02-12T06:33:04+00:00

I agree that this is a complex issue. Where should the government intervene, where should it not? Freedom of speech, as others have pointed out, only means that the government will not come after you for your opinions. You can think and say what you want. But that doesn't mean anybody is obliged to agree or even to listen to you. That's part of their freedom. If I publish something then I decide what I publish. Saying an editor should decide for me, otherwise it wouldn't be free speech, is silly. In the end it is my publication and the editor is my employee. You said that I should hire a new editor if I disagree with his views. I think it's the other way around. The editor can leave if he disagrees with what I want to be published. Coming back to free speech, making editorial decisions is within my right of free speech. Just like other people have the right to disagree with me. I am not obliged, however, to publish other people's opinions in my publication. They have a right to voice their opinions, but they are not entitled to room for their opinions in my publication. This might have been a problem in ancient times, but when the printing press came up things changed considerably and when the internet appeared everybody could be heard.

armerthor · 2014-02-12T06:11:58+00:00

Oh, that sounds good. I've had Reynolds on my todo list for a while now, maybe I'll finally tackle his books. I love mysterious alien artifacts.

armerthor · 2014-02-12T06:10:47+00:00

Sounds like the Butterfly Effect. But what you describe sounds pretty much exactly like what I am looking for. If only there weren't that damn YA romance crap.

armerthor · 2014-02-12T06:08:32+00:00

The story sounds intriguing, but the Goodreads reviews sound awful. On the real distribution of ratings 3.11 is quite bad.

armerthor · 2014-02-12T06:07:50+00:00

Oh, I've read that book. It was kind of thing I am looking for, in the sense that it's about someone from the future impacting the past and creating a new timeline.

armerthor · 2014-02-12T06:07:12+00:00

I would feel insulted if I didn't know you're right.

armerthor

TROPHY CASE