Sun Microsystems

Sun’s, allegedly, rejected print adverts for their Sun Fire series.

Ensure a Job for Life!

n the interests of creating employment opportunities in the Java programming field, I am passing on these tips from the masters on how to write code that is so difficult to maintain, that the people who come after you will take years to make even the simplest changes. Further, if you follow all these rules religiously, you will even guarantee yourself a lifetime of employment, since no one but you has a hope in hell of maintaining the code. Then again, if you followed all these rules religiously, even you wouldn’t be able to maintain the code!

You don’t want to overdo this. Your code should not look hopelessly unmaintainable, just be that way. Otherwise it stands the risk of being rewritten or refactored.

A few excerpts…

Be polite, Never Assert
Avoid the assert() mechanism, because it could turn a three-day debug fest into a ten minute one.

Bedazzling Names
Choose variable names with irrelevant emotional connotation. e.g.:
marypoppins = (superman + starship) / god;
This confuses the reader because they have difficulty disassociating the emotional connotations of the words from the logic they’re trying to think about.

Use Continuation to hide variables
Instead of using
#define local_var xy_z
break up “xy_z” onto two lines:
#define local_var xy\
_z // local_var OK
That way a global search for xy_z will come up with nothing for that file. To the C preprocessor, the “” at the end of the line means glue this line to the next one.

“This American Life” has an episode covering several stories from people who endured the post-Katrina hardships. This is a must hear episode that tells ground zero eye witness stories that are, simply put, shocking.

Some highlights:

Why didn’t people just walk away from the Superdome and Convention Center? Well, as it turns out the authorities wouldn’t let them leave the city.

Why didn’t people evacuate? This is a question I have heard often. Did you know that more than 20% of the population of New Orleans is below the poverty line? Did you know by the mayor’s estimate at least 80% of the popluation evacuated. So, in most cases, those who stayed behind had no place to go and no money to get them there. Another interesting tidbit: the storm came aground half a day earlier than expected. Many people didn’t even hear about the storm until the day before. Lot’s of folks didn’t want to get stuck on the highway and hit by Katrina.

Why did people at the Superdome and Convention Center keep lining up for buses that they were told were coming, but those who were drilling them to line up in the hot sun every four hours knew buses weren’t coming? In case you haven’t been to New Orleans in the summer time, let me tell you, the heat will kill you; especially if you are old, sick, or an infant.

Why were white people allowed to walk out of the city, but black folks weren’t?

Why were the authorities aiming weapons at American citizens, firing shots when people were attempting to leave the city, and threatening to shoot people who were seeking dry ground?

Why were private citizens’ chartered buses, which were purchased with their own money to get themselves out of the city, comandeered by the military?

Looters?! In almost all the cases in which looting took place these people were survivors grabbing supplies for distribution among the old, sick, and children.

Why couldn’t FEMA get through to people who were dying? Too many roadblocks? The media could make it through in Consumer SUVs!

Most importantly, it is interesting to note that although many in the federal government and idiots like Limbaugh have tried to place blame on the state and local governments, reponsibility for support and recovery was the federal governments responsibility before Katrina even hit ground as was determined by the federal declaration of a state of emergency, which soundly placed responsibility with FEMA.

USAToday:

“The more one learns about him,” Republican commentator William Kristol said on Fox News Sunday, “one is surprised that he’s in that job in the first place.”

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, however, said FEMA had a disaster plan in place, but Louisiana leaders did not implement it. “Brown is getting a bad rap,” he said.

Bush called him “Brownie” and said he was doing “a heck of a job.”

My question: “a heck of a job” doing what? Killing poor darkies? Good job Brownie!

My point: This administration, yes federal, is guilty of criminal negligence and has allowed countless to die and tens of thousands to suffer needlessly. Michael Brown, although guilty, should not be the only head to roll.

BBC

Iran has offered to send 20m barrels of crude oil to the US to help with the consequences of Hurricane Katrina.

The two countries have had no diplomatic relations for decades, but America did send help to Iran when a severe earthquake hit Bam in 2003.

Speaking on state-run radio, Iran’s envoy to OPEC said his country was ready to send up to five shiploads of crude oil to the US.

But he said this could only happen if US sanctions were lifted first.

Whats interesting is that you dont hear about this in America’s news outlets.

Editor and Publisher

NEW YORK Forced to defend what some critics consider its slow response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said on Tuesday it does not want the news media to take photographs of the dead as they are recovered from New Orleans.

FEMA, which is leading the rescue efforts, rejected requests from journalists to accompany rescue boats as they went out to search for storm victims, Reuters reported.

A FEMA spokeswoman told the wire service that space was needed on the rescue boats and assured Reuters that “the recovery of the victims is being treated with dignity and the utmost respect.”

“We have requested that no photographs of the deceased be made by the media,” the spokeswoman told Reuters via e-mail.

…”By and large, American television is the most sanitized television in the world,” he said. “They are less likely to show bodies, they are less likely to show graphic images of the dead than any television in the world.”

DirectNIC

This journal has become the Survival of New Orleans blog. In less perilous times it was simply a blog for me to talk smack and chat with friends. Now this journal exists to share firsthand experience of the disaster and its aftermath with anyone interested.

This is a great blog from a fellow holed up in an ISP in New Orleans. Apparently the ISP never went off-line, and they even got City Hall and some other fairly key places access to internet.

On the topic of New Orleans I want to strongly encourage everyone to donate to the Red Cross or Salvation Army immediately. Tara and I both are deeply saddened by Katrina. Moreover, we are both outraged by the lack of organization and response. We were married in New Orleans and up until recently would try to visit annually. It is a historic gem. Additionally, Tara has many friends in Hattiesburg, MS and the word out of there is the same: No FEMA, No help. Makes you wonder what we have been paying taxes for. Meanwhile, the White House only points the finger in others’ direction. The events of the last week have been outrageous and inexcusable.

NPR : Scientists: Male Chromosome Won’t Lead to Extinction

Scientists at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts say fortunately for humans the Y chromosome is not on the verge of extinction. This is important because the Y is the chromosome that makes males. The outlook is less favorable for the chimpanzee Y chromosome. blockquote>

All things Considered

This band’s music video is almost as cool as Daler Mehndi’s.

Energy Fiend

How much of your favorite caffeinated drink would it take to kill you?

New Scientist

THE world’s largest frozen peat bog is melting. An area stretching for a million square kilometres across the permafrost of western Siberia is turning into a mass of shallow lakes as the ground melts, according to Russian researchers just back from the region.

The sudden melting of a bog the size of France and Germany combined could unleash billions of tonnes of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.

While one of the current top stories at ABC News is a guide to online dating, this is one of the many news stories with real value and impact that will probably get swepped under the rug.