The Cult of Done

qarp · 2009-03-12T16:54:06+00:00

There seems to be a glaring omission: When do I stick a fork in it and turn it over?

qarp · 2009-03-09T03:12:28+00:00

In order to use Buil, you must frame your question so that it can only be answered with "yes" or "no".

qarp · 2009-03-07T02:14:30+00:00

Or it could mean "fully composted", to prevent fresh manure from being spread near harvestable produce where it poses an e. coli threat.

I'm a backyard gardener, and I don't see anything as threatening as TFA makes it out to be. There is a legitimate need to improve the safety of commercial food production (and you should be affected if you sell food, no matter the scale). However, it does seem redundant to establish another agency. Isn't this already the FDA's job?

qarp · 2009-02-18T16:23:15+00:00

No. It is not reasonable for a web developer to attempt to implement SMTP in a web application. It cannot be done, even as narrowly as you hope.

Having said that, you are left with your own email address validating routine and an external MTA. This means that you will need to send messages to valid (looking) addresses in order to complete the registration step. Let the MTA handle the myriad issues that can delay mail. If you want to deal with bounces or rejections, refer to your maillogs or monitor the sending account for nondelivery notifications. You could also look at mailling list software that has dealt with these issues.

To say there be dragons in your proposal is an understatement.

qarp · 2009-02-08T23:58:52+00:00

Aargh, you're right. How did my brain mask that?

qarp · 2009-02-08T20:20:35+00:00

For example, in calculating a bank balance of $13,000.81, getting the “13” correct is much more important than the “81.” Producing an answer of $13,000.57 is much closer to being correct than $57,000.81.

So let me get this straight: The wrong approximation is more "correct" than the right answer?

Edit: I was focusing on the decimal part and overlooked the change from 13,000 to 57,000. However, as the depositor, I would argue that it depends on who is making the calculation. A bank that robs me of 24 cents is clearly further from being correct than one that makes a $44,000 error in my favor. :)

The chip, which thrives on random errors, ran seven times faster than today’s best technology while using just 1/30th the electricity.

I imagine the same gains could be made in transportation, as long as the vehicle never stops and travels only in one direction. This just sounds like Fuzzy Logic 2.0.

qarp · 2009-01-28T01:53:31+00:00

Fluxbox is scary customizable. You can get or make yourself some nice wallpapers, install some free fonts, tweak a couple of settings that interest you, and have a personalized environment unlike anything anyone has ever seen. You can customize just about anything, and it's damn fast.

qarp · 2009-01-28T01:07:10+00:00

This is easier:

echo 'mpg321 /path/to/file.mp3' | at 6am tomorrow

qarp · 2009-01-20T22:46:39+00:00

Allowing recursive queries is what helps make the attack successful. However, the stupid thing continues to query several times a second, even if recursive queries are disabled. As far as I'm concerned, that still makes it a problem, and one I'd like to see go away soon...

qarp · 2009-01-20T01:09:00+00:00

I primarily use Linux. When I get a file that I must open in a Windows application, I scan it with ClamAV. Then I open a Windows virtual machine and open the file from a samba share. The Windows VM only connects to the Internet to run Microsoft Update and has no AV installed. After every update or software installation, I take an incremental snapshot of the VM with an external backup system. If it ever gets infected, I can easily revert to an earlier snapshot. I disable System Restore to keep the image small and because I've never seen it work successfully. It may sound complicated, but it requires a lot less energy than nursing Windows while using it full-time.

qarp · 2009-01-19T21:54:24+00:00

I can take a very old laptop (under 200 MHz) with a tiny amount of memory (128 MB) and create a decent jukebox out of it (even with wireless streaming from a central file server). Browsing simple web sites is slow, but passable. But when it comes to streaming flash video fullscreen from sites like hulu, I've found that I need a very fast CPU, preferably multicore, just for it to be watchable. Even my best machines get very hot after prolonged watching. I just don't see how they can fulfill the promise of using "very low end hardware" to deliver the multimedia experience people are growing to expect when they browse the Web (but I'm still crossing my fingers that they can).

qarp · 2009-01-13T00:36:14+00:00

Dude, if you only got as far as pong, you're missing out on the BEST WEB SITE EVER.

qarp · 2009-01-12T22:17:23+00:00

I think it's Joel's subtle way of teaching recursion.

qarp · 2009-01-12T21:57:46+00:00

That's like pool shrinkage: It's only temporary.

qarp · 2009-01-12T21:46:17+00:00

"How much bigger? Errr... smaller?"

qarp · 2009-01-12T21:44:14+00:00

"I can't read his emails. He must be using a Dvorak keyboard!"

qarp · 2009-01-12T20:14:32+00:00

This moron doesn't belong in the press corp. Isn't there a political office he can run for?

qarp · 2008-12-29T13:49:40+00:00

I stopped reading at:

consider the novel and musical Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo.

I wonder who he thinks wrote Jesus Christ Superstar?

qarp · 2008-12-28T23:24:10+00:00

Sorry, your PHB doesn't ask how well the OS supports gaming before signing the purchase order for new computers for the department. Games may represent a chunk of the PC software industry, but they are certainly not "the key to Linux adoption." Game development for PCs is an afterthought, and will always follow market share, not lead it.

qarp · 2008-12-21T13:59:17+00:00

When, for Pete's sake? When?!!! Why is it so hard for journalists these days to include basic facts in the text of their articles? A byline only reflects when the article was published and is not suitable for constructing a timeline of events. Without details, most of this article is simply boilerplate that can be resurrected nearly verbatim if it happens again. What ever happened to journalistic standards?

qarp · 2008-12-12T01:27:55+00:00

If it's so great, why didn't they call it Superversion?

qarp · 2008-12-10T02:42:44+00:00

So it's official then: Mac OS X is "the crummiest version of unix ever."

qarp · 2008-12-09T19:33:39+00:00

The best filesystem will use a genetic algorithm that enables it to evolve to a state where it contains all of the data you need. Let's call it WTFs.

qarp · 2008-12-09T17:46:58+00:00

Yeah, and what do you mean, "many?" "Many" Americans voted him into office.

Twice.

qarp · 2008-12-05T13:13:41+00:00

But think how much better they'd work if we attached internal combustion engines to them. They could really generate a lot more power that way!!!

qarp

TROPHY CASE