(Scene: Inside a meeting room with my new department, going over survey results)
S: “Well, the results indicate I’m not doing too well with y’allz careers on and individual level. So let me know if you’re aching to do something different..or if you’re bored with what you’ve been doing for 6 years.”
B: “Like…Harold was.”
Yep
I’m pretty content with what I’m doing,… Jeff Roberts - Aug 3, 2007
:-)
I’m pretty content with what I’m doing, although I just started ramping up for this iteration and found that all 3 of the things on my list are gated until NK does some work. Oh, well, another day or so to tie up loose ends before they turn into PTRs.
So, basically:
Create a struct to hold your class.
Create a Window struct.
Enter your event loop and process events
That’s kinda it…The rest is a bunch of nasty #define’s and macros Windows has built-up.
So, I’m reading through the documentation on Windows printing, trying to learn what this is all about. My team writes stuff that sits between the Windows Spooler (spoolsrv.exe) and the Kernel-model communications pieces.
Anyway, so I come to a great fork in the road: GDI and XPS. GDI (Graphical Device Interface) is the way that earlier windows programs (Win32) talk to the display and printing subsystem. Essentially, everything in GDI is a bitmap. This is “the old way of doing things”.
Hrm…let’s see. Yesterday:
- A French Bank closed 3 subprime hedge funds because there’s not enough liquidity to value them. I don’t know what that means exactly, but it sounds bad.
- The S&P dropped 3% yesterday.
- The subprime mortgage fiasco is turning into a vortex.
I yanked my 401(k) back into a money market. I’m NOT looking forward to a repeat of the bath I took on my Roth in 2001.
Whitney - Aug 5, 2007
not enough liquidity to value them….the mtg co’s are so far upside down on their lending that it’s not even worth the analysts’ time?
well, the hedge funds were invested in the subprime mortgages and mortgage brokers themselves. I used to be invested in Harbor Fund’s Harbor Bond fund and it had a great run investing in mortgages, but it scared me so I got out before 2005.
The final type is known simply as the demand clause, and this means that the lender can demand repayment of the loan in full at any time for any reason. This clause gives the lender the same powers as the acceleration and due on sale clauses, but also allows the lender to raise interest rates even if you aren’t selling your property.
Yikes…
Whitney - Aug 2, 2007
Yeah but that’s typically included in ANY loan ya get. The lender USUALLY reserves the right to demand payment in full at any time for any reason…..every loan I ever did had that as part as the standard loanliner - at both bank and CU.
The good:
I have an office (yes, my own!) and it’s really sweet–near the door, the printing area, the break area, and the AA desk. I got all my stuff over here in 1 load, and everyone’s been really nice so far.
The bad:
I don’t have a power cord for my phone yet. If you want to contact me, better try email, IM, or cell.
Think I’ll break for lunch and hit some yummy leftovers.
Jeff Roberts - Aug 1, 2007
Sounds cool! I keep talking to the empty side of your old office but no one answers :-)
So, I took one 2 hr block to myself. I grabbed my once-a-month blow fund and headed out after a rather trying Saturday of watching the kids, and said, “Damn it, I’m going to see something for me.”
Something with nary a trace of romantic comedy, meaningful plotline, or maybe even sense. I went to watch “The Simpsons Movie”.
Let’s cut to the chase. You get to see Bart’s penis, Homer flips-off the residents of Springfield, Otto hits a bong, and Marge says ‘Goddamn’. That’s why this movie is PG-13.
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }
Holden Beach Sunrise, originally uploaded by miniharryc.
(Trying out a post from Flickr, so forgive me if this is weird…)
Put in my context: “Here’s a 150MB download with a Java Virtual Machines, a Tomcat webserver, the entire Spring framework, extensions to the spring framework, a firebird database, and two Windows Services you must install.”
“What’s it do?”
“It gets 5 pieces of data from a fleet of widgets. But it’s really fast.”
“How long did it take to develop?”
“2 years”
::sigh::
I also believe a 747 can be used to squash a flea, but YIKES…
“Do you go a day without self-reflection?”
“Yes”
(narrowed eyes) “Do you go TWO days without it?”
(long pause) “Yes. To answer your next question: Three days is pushing it.”
Returning from our jaunt around Georgetown last night around 8, Joey and I entered a house that couldn’t be more tranquil: A load of laundry swished in the washer, the dishwasher was humming, and the pleasant smell of the new Airwick was in the air.
Joey went up to shower, and I sat down to veg-out.
A few minutes later, feeling peaked, I went to the fridge for a cheese stick. As I closed the door, processed cheese in hand I felt something hit my foot. Then I looked up to see A STREAM OF WATER GUSHING FROM THE LIGHT FIXTURE.
So, at my time on the beach, I inhaled Lippman’s “C++ Primer (4th Edition)”, attempting to get back up-to-speed on a language I left 6 years ago. At that time, I knew enough to be dangerous, but I didn’t know enough programming theory to “get” half the stuff. My instruction on C++ had been “C using iostream”, and some cursory stuff on classes and templates.
Anyway, I’m both impressed and horrified at C++. After coming through its ISO standardization, the language picked up some heavy-duty container and algorithm libraries, and they’re well thought-out and consistent. However, C++ makes some design decisions that are almost contradictory, and the programmer pays the price for it. It’s a compiled, strongly-typed language that allows multiple inheritance and operator overloading. Put a different way: It’s a language that lets you prove how smart you think you are, while shooting yourself in the foot, ankle, leg…you get the idea.
First things first–thanks for the well-wishes! Mom’s doing okay–she had gallbladder surgery July 20th, and sailed through with flying colors.
We embarked on our vacation, and I’ll be writing several updates to go with that, but to summarize: Eight days with no computer, and barely any traveling in the car were awesome. The drive down there and back with two small kids was not so great. Didn’t get too sunburned.
My mom is in the hospital, awaiting surgery today at 11 am. It’s just a gallbladder removal–simple, laproscopic, and routine. I’m still uneasy–the pain she’s been having doesn’t add-up to just gallbladder problems.
If all goes well with that, I’m headed out on vacation tomorrow, 654 miles to the Atlantic Seaboard, namely Holden Beach, North Carolina. I pray we all stay safe and that all goes well with Mom’s surgery.
