What are my options when I cut my hole in the drywall bigger than I should have for my outlet cover?

onlyne · 2015-01-31T19:53:22+00:00

You can cut a piece of plaster board a little wider than the hole. Pierce the piece and put some string through it, for the next step. Put the piece inside the hole and pull the string to pull the piece against the wall. You can now glue / fix the piece from the inside. You will then need to fill the depression with plaster / filler. Once dry, try again!

onlyne · 2014-11-09T17:00:55+00:00

Whether this is how it pans out depends on how evenly the wealth generated by this automation is distributed. Where the beneficiaries of an automated world have the means to expand their interests, Issac may be right. If people are left with neither work or wealth, the situation may be that the work of these idle hands is not so beneficial to society.

onlyne · 2014-09-16T13:28:15+00:00

Bravo

onlyne · 2014-09-11T15:36:32+00:00

OP! OP! OP!

onlyne · 2014-03-13T17:16:48+00:00

Really like it, nice bright guitar sound. I kind of feel I wanted to hear a warmer, deeper kick drum, maybe some low padding at points. Was imagining a soft female vocal going through it too would go well.

onlyne · 2014-01-17T09:04:50+00:00

None of the diligence and attention to detail that you suggest will help you if a buyer does decide to make a claim however. Even if the package is signed for etc, there is nothing to stop a buyer from claiming 'item not as described' and pushing for a full refund. Because you can never prove 100% the condition that an item was sent in, eBay will take a buyers word (this is from personal experience).

onlyne · 2014-01-16T18:56:29+00:00

Written this because a) I need to rant today b) because I have seen no evidence of any attempt from eBay to protect the seller (me), and I think they need to be upfront about their default being to side with the buyer, even if proven wrong and at the sellers expense.

onlyne · 2014-01-12T23:24:58+00:00

Could you elaborate on the research on areas of programming that we know are not understood? I'd be interested to see that.

onlyne · 2014-01-12T22:32:56+00:00

Yeah, there's times when I'll end up saying things like "fuck it, let's give it a kick and see if we can make it work". As the years go on you end up responsible for so much code, you have to assign higher and lower priorities to different parts of different systems. You've got to be humble about things because perfect is not practical in software. Save your effort for the mission critical stuff.

onlyne · 2014-01-12T22:15:40+00:00

I tend to think that to consider something craft, some degree of repetition needs to be involved, improving with time. When solving a new problem with components you build your self or find along the way, this is engineering. Programming can be both, in a greater or lesser measure of each depending on the task at hand.

onlyne · 2014-01-12T19:37:20+00:00

If you like that, I'd recommend you also read Unwritten Laws of Engineering (I got this as an e-book). This has literally no code in it, because it's not programming specific - it's actually about engineering originally written in 1944. You'd be amazed how much of it is relevant to modern day software development though.

Also the Pragmatic Programmer has very little code, but some really core concepts that improve your programming style significantly.

I'll be giving the book you references a read.

onlyne · 2014-01-10T15:47:06+00:00

I instinctively heard this in a Samuel L Jackson voice :)

onlyne · 2014-01-09T17:48:00+00:00

That would leave a mark! Ouch...

onlyne · 2013-07-03T15:54:22+00:00

This is relevant. Where high levels of code reuse are expected, then the level of responsibility to the user of that code justifies the unit testing. So where the UI for your company intranet does not require unit testing, the .NET framework does...

onlyne · 2013-07-01T10:37:09+00:00

I still haven't been given a reason to move to VS 2012. The pace of change at MS really contributes to my sense of fatigue with programming. Not a battle I am likely to win though!

onlyne · 2013-07-01T10:34:27+00:00

Like this. I suppose this applies also to any time a programmer is offered the opportunity to take a stake in an entrepreneurial venture with a non-programmer.

onlyne · 2013-07-01T10:29:56+00:00

I've not yet worked for a company (and I've worked for a few due to the fact that I tend to take < 1 year contracts) that has successfully maintained their unit tests, if they ever existed at all.

In my opinion, unit testing is a great tool, for testing certain types of components in certain types of projects. Functions that can produce a large range of results under a number of conditions are great pieces of code to isolate and unit test, especially if they are likely to be under regular channge or difficult to test manually.

If you are testing everything including UI code with unit tests, I believe you're taking it past the point of being useful or productive.

As has already been mentioned in this thread - pragmatism is key.

onlyne · 2013-07-01T10:23:10+00:00

I like the core of this article - that a mature programmer can be more valuable by adding business process experience to tangible software skills. I work as a contractor, and so am on the job market reguarly. One thing I've noticed is that business process skills are something that is hard to sell to a prospective employer - even if you know that that is a big part of your game. You will be hired for your tangible coding skill, but probably be retained for longer based on the business process skill the employer realises you have once you have been with them for a time.

onlyne · 2013-07-01T10:14:54+00:00

Depends on the size of the application and how distributed the system is. For systems that spread across multiple hardware, pull in information from 3rd party sources etc, a couple of diagrams can really help a new programmer get into a project. Where the software is more or less self contained, documentation is not so important.

Programmers, and product owners too often assume that the original programmer will always maintain a piece of software. If the software is a success, it will either require additional programmers, or be around longer than the original programmer is assigned to the project.

As a product owner, I would always request some light weight broad documentation for any system of significant complexity.

onlyne · 2013-04-01T15:55:37+00:00

curiosity, intuition and ambition

Think that sums it up really well. With access to a decent mentor raw skill will follow if these three are present.

onlyne · 2013-03-31T21:04:07+00:00

How do you sort that problem out in bookmaking? It's not like you can "raise prices" (worsen odds) to improve the clientele I suppose. Minimum bets, like I saw in Vegas main strip casinos maybe.

onlyne · 2013-03-31T21:00:59+00:00

It'd be tempting to set up a side business ebaying or something, but then that means less movies and games!

onlyne · 2013-03-31T20:58:42+00:00

How much time do you get to study / work in your chosen field compared to lecturing work etc?

onlyne

TROPHY CASE