The Problem With My Monitor

At work I use a Dell 3007WFP-HC 30″ HD monitor.  Don’t get me wrong, it is gorgeous.  However, I do have a single complaint.

It is difficult to read web pages when a browser window is maximized.  I have gotten so much in the habit of maximizing a window when I want to focus and read what it contains.  On 30″ of monitor glory, it becomes difficult to read a line of text without having to turn your head to read the text.  That sucks.

I have to resize the window to take up a little more than a quarter of the screen to actually easily read anything.  This is obviously a ridiculous complaint.  I apologize.

Sometimes I cry when I get home at night and have to check my email on my tablet way back in 14.1″ land.  Well not really, but it is difficult going back to a much smaller monitor after the 3007WFP-HC.  But, I’ll get used to it.  I promise.

Are RESTafarians clean?

No! Because they don’t use any SOAP!

Thought that one up on my way home from work today…  It’s probably been done before.

Does There Have to be a Monopoly on Operating Systems?

Simply.  Yes.

Whatever you think about Microsoft’s Windows monopoly, you must admit that they have done wonders for the industry.  It is because of Microsoft that computers and their hardware are standardized today.

Imagine if there were 50 completely different operating systems, each with 2% market share.  All require different hardware, software, and users.  Most people would end up using system Y at work, while using system X at home and trying to send files to a friend on system Z.

Currently, normal computer users have enough problems trying to use just use Windows, let alone several different operating systems.

Development would be next to impossible.  Cross-platform languages like Java would rule the world.  That would be if Sun could make 50 different compatible flavors of JRE’s.  Attempting to make any sort of system calls would phase out 98% of the market.

Hardware would be unreliable.  There is barely support for Linux now.

If it weren’t for Microsoft, another company would step up and take their place as the OS monopoly.  For computers to succeed, there must be a monopoly.

Friends Don’t Let Friends Write Singletons

Great article about how bad singletons are:

Singleton Considered Stupid

Ruby

Brilliant!

That is all.

Software Engineer == Buzzword?

I feel that software engineer is a term that is oftentimes misused these days.  I think that once Software Engineer was named Best Job in 2006, the term began to get overused.  Since then, used to be programmers are now software engineers.

It seems like anyone with a regular old degree in computer science these days can skim over some GoF and call themselves software engineers.  I believe that so many “software engineers” are only in name, not in practice.

Am I way off the mark?

Why is there a blue grass cover of everything?

After knowing well about bands such as Hayseed Dixie which cover classic rock in a blue grass genre, I have found that it is a pretty common occurrence.

These bands aren’t cover bands, they are tribute bands.  Not merely covering music, but paying homage to their original creators with some blue grass gusto.

This trend has been somewhat commercialized by CMH Music and their Pickin’ On music series.  They have blue grass tributes from Ozzy Osbourne to Dave Matthews Band.  Even Bob Marley isn’t safe.

Of all the tributes I’ve encountered, The Bluegrass Tribute to the Music Made Famous by The Simpsons made my day.  It contains such hits as The Monorail song, Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart, and Baby on Board.  Although the vocal stylings are no where near authentic blue grass sounding, it is still pretty fun to listen to.