So Ted (The Swimmer) Kennedy is Dead

I see that Ted Kennedy is dead. May justice for Mary Jo Kopechne be served in the afterlife. It sure wasn't served here

Soccer Starts Tonight

Sigh, another soccer season starts with 90 minutes of practice for my Son tonight. Yea!

Working Effectively with Legacy Code

What can be said about Michael Feathers' Working Effectively with Legacy Code that has not already been said?

This book, along with a few others (for example, Code Complete
and Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code
) belong on every programmer's bookshelf.

Michael defines "Legacy Code" as "Code without tests". In this book, he shows you examples of HOW to find the "seams" in your code, so that you can add tests, in order to refactor your code and/or extend your application without breaking your code.

Code refactoring is the process of changing a computer program's internal structure without modifying its external functional behavior or existing functionality.

If you work at ALL with legacy (brownfield) applications, you need to read this book.

Machine Shop Trade Secrets

A couple of years ago, the author of the book Machine Shop Trade Secrets sent me a copy for review, and I've had a quick review on mw web site for a long time, but I thought it was time to expand it a bit.

This book, written by James A Harvey, is a compendium of tips and tricks for use in the machine shop.

It's somewhat in the same vein as Guy Lautard's The Machinist's Bedside Reader, but with a heavier slant towards the professional machinist, for example, there is an entire chapter on Mold Making, which is not normally a Home Shop activity.

The book has 18 chapters, with everything from the aformentioned Mold Making Tips, Tips for Novices, How to make your parts look good, how to work fast, and lots of others.

I DID notice one mistake in my copy of the book that I pointed out to the Author. In the Chapter "Tell Me something I didn't know" he claims that "The 'RS" in RS232 stands for Radio Shack". Nope, it stands for 'Recomended Standard'

Summer Soccer if Over

Ah, Summer soccer is over - Hugh's team (U7-U9 unisex) came in 2nd, Anna's (u12-u15 I think, again Unisex) came in 3rd

Of course, one of Hugh's (and looks Like Anna's too) leagues has their parents meeting Friday - it never ends

"Dissent is patriotic."

Of course, except when you have a Dem as President

What could Possibly go wrong?

Health Care Reform - >What could possibly got wrong?

If Obama has his way, his health care plan will be funded by his treasury chief who did not pay his taxes, overseen by his surgeon general who is obese, signed by a president who smokes, and financed by a country that is just about broke.

Shack Updates

Well, I never have gotten the beam up. Two years later, it's still sitting in the yard. I can't find anyone to install it, because no one waht the liability of bolting it to the roof. I might just have to save up, and out up say a 40 ft crankup in the yard.

One thing I really want to do in the shack is change my desk around. It's a mess. I really think I'm going to make or buy a couple of desktop "turret" racks to mount all the ham gear in, plus put say a 2.5 or 3 ft rack under the desk to mount all the computer stuff and power supplies in.

Anyone have thoughts on this?

Leg aching today

It's aching - just aching. I'm tired. I need a vacation

It's watching me

40 years ago + 1 day

Yes, I know it's an urban legend, but...

"Good Luck Mr Gorsky"

Painting

Recently, I've been painting my old bedoom at my parent's house. As the ceiling was new sheetrock, I decided to try that new Behr (read Home Depot) paint and primer in one. I found it worked really really well on the raw sheetrock, and the few spots I spot primed on the walls, it covered the old paint extremely well. The raw wood trim however was not so good (needed a 2nd coat)

Interestingly, I've always been a Benjamin Moore user - I went to paint the walls with the standard Regal Wall Satin - the color choice was "Opal" (aka OC73), simply because I had 2 gallons of it sitting here at the house. It didn't cover worth a darn - 2 coats were manditory, where the spots with the ONE coat of white Behr paint just covered.

YMMV

Charlie

Gahh - Wound Care

As I think I've blogged, my old wound care MD disapeared in Mid-Feb. Started with a new one today. I've been told no gym, stay off my feet, I'm back in a Unna boot, and there is talk of major time in a wound care center.

Breaking News

Michael Jackson is still dead.

(and so is Generalissimo Francisco Franco)

Endocrinologist visit

Went to my endocrinologist yesterday

First the bad news - I gained weight (boo)

The good news - my A1C is down to 5.8

This is kind of a shock to me, as I expected it to have gone UP. My average readings have gone up, but that is partly because I've started to have a mid morning and late afternoon snack. Good news on a whole I guess

Dentist turned out to be no big deal

Woot!
Turned out not to be a big deal - the chip was small enough that they were able to bond on some sort of plastic or something - no drilling, no pain, in an out in 15 minutes.

While I was there, I made an apointment for my cleaning. As I go every 3 months, that's usually not too bad

Dentist tonight

I woke up Friday moring, a spit out a small chunk of my left rear lower molar - joy, but luckly no pain. I had a choice - travel about 1 hour, and mess up my weekend, or wait - DDS said "it's OK to wait if you're not in pain", so tonight is the night

Oh so true

A quote from Tocqueville

The sovereign extends its arms about the society as a whole; it covers its surface with a network of petty regulations—complicated, minute, and uniform—through which even the most original minds and the most vigorous souls know not how to make their way… it does not break wills; it softens them, bends them, and directs them; rarely does it force one to act, but it constantly opposes itself to one’s acting on one’s own … it does not tyrannize, it gets in the way: it curtails, it enervates, it extinguishes, it stupefies, and finally reduces each nation to being nothing more than a herd of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my lovely wife Mary, and to Canada

Billy Mays

First there was Ed,
Then Farah,
Then MJ

But wait, there's more...