The President yesterday denounced the “extent of the fraud” and the “shocking” and “brutal” response of the Iranian regime to public demonstrations in Tehran these past four days.
“These elections are an atrocity,” he said. “If [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad had made such progress since the last elections, if he won two-thirds of the vote, why such violence?” The statement named the regime as the cause of the outrage in Iran and, without meddling or picking favorites, stood up for Iranian democracy.
The President who spoke those words was France’s Nicolas Sarkozy.
Twitter: 2009-06-17
- RT @PeteCarroll: cool panoramic photo from the coliseum today (taken by @USCRipsIt): http://bit.ly/bdjLM #
Halfway Through High School
Tomorrow’s the last day of school here in Irvine. I walk by my son’s room . . . he’s studying for his last finals and listening to bebop piano music, which is not on his normal playlist.
“What you listening to, Mr. Noodling Jazz Musician?” I ask.
“Thelonious Monk,” he says.
“Is that part of an assignment?” I know he’s been studying the Harlem Renaissance in English.
“No, it just helps me study.”
He’s in 10th grade now . . . he continues to improve his study habits and time management so I pretty much let him do things the way he wants to.
“OK. Let me know if you need anything.”
By this time tomorrow, my little boy will be halfway done with high school . . .
I Love LA!
[youtube http://youtu.be/7KJoid9HpWU]
Twelve-Minute Breaks
Twitter: 2009-06-16
- RT @presentationzen: 6 Easy Steps to Make Your Graph (Really) Ugly http://snipurl.com/k8c99 #
- Not every child is secretly a genius: http://bit.ly/Ksk8O #
Doomsday Cometh
I saw my brother for the first time in years this past weekend. He’s been living in Utah but he’s now on his way to Alaska to escape the coming Armageddon.
Canada and Mexico will be invading the United States from the top and bottom . . . I’ve forgotten the details, but it’s going to be bad. I don’t know why he was informed about this and I wasn’t.
I’m not moving to Alaska though. I’m not a cold-weather person. They can kill me right here in a pair of shorts . . .
The Streets of Irvine Were Deserted
It was like a ghost town yesterday. The Lakers were playing a close-out game. It’s Finals Week at the local high schools. Everyone young and old had something to do.
My own 10th-grade boy spent 12 hours Saturday studying at the Barnes and Noble cafe at the Marketplace, followed by an Extreme English Breakdown session yesterday at Starbucks on Culver . . .
Good luck, students!
Another Reason I Like to Just Stay Home
More People I’m Sick Unto Death Of
Adventurers
Jonny Copp, a well-known mountain climber and adventurer who grew up in Fullerton, has been found dead on the side of Mount Edgar, China, the apparent victim of an avalanche, according to a variety of websites, including his own.
Three words that come to mind when I hear someone introduced as an “adventurer”: Die, die, die . . .
Twitter: 2009-06-09
- RT @postsecret: A creative pool of photos on flickr that combines the past with the present in a ghostly way. http://ad.vu/nsee #
- RT @HeyTammyBruce: Adam doesn’t look gay, he looks one step away from a Marilyn Monroe wig, a boa and a name change to Eve. #
The V Model
The graphic on the right came up for discussion at the office today.
The V Model is a traditional model, still widely used, but (IMO) bad for at least a couple of reasons.
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Look where User Requirements and UAT are — the first and last items in the V. This ensures that the maximum amount of time goes by between users saying what they want and being able to test out the implementation. The more time that goes by between users saying what they want and being able to try it out, the more likely it is that they’re going to change their minds, for any number of reasons. That’s bad.
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If our testing is honest, there’s always some non-zero probablilty that the system will fail, again for any number of reasons — too slow, too buggy, not what I asked for, etc. By putting testing last, we don’t find out that the system is a failure until we’ve already invested the entire cost of building it, thus the rich history of big-ticket IT failures, where huge sums of money were spent and nothing usable was ever delivered.
IMO, you can use a design-code-test V model, but you have to use it iteratively every week or two weeks or at most every month on a project to avoid these problems and make sure users are getting what they want.
Thus spoke The Programmer.
Shell or Chevron?
I gotta get some gas. I pull off the freeway — Shell or Chevron? They’re right next to each other. I check the price for regular — $2.93 either way.
It’s a tossup.
Then my son notices on a sign that the Shell gasoline is “nitrogen enriched.”
“Nitrogen enriched!?” I say. “Are you kidding me?! Fuck Chevron . . . what is nitrogen, anyway?”
“It’s an element.”
“Yeah I know, but who can tell me why it’s a good idea to put it in gasoline? What are we, chemistry professors?”
“It seeks out and destroys engine gunk.”
“What? How do you know that?”
“I read it on the sign.”
“Oh . . . OK then, we’re going Shell!”
Twitter: 2009-06-08
My Son Gets His Braces Off Today
It’s kind of sad. The orthodontist has been almost like a member of the family the last few years and I’m going to miss him . . .
The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes
I’ve got the dog all hooked up for a walk but I don’t have shoes on . . .
Look! Right here by the front door are my son’s prized possession — his red sneakers!
He notices me slipping my feet into them and says, “Hey! What size are your feet? You’re not going to stretch them out, are you?”
“Actually,” I say, “they feel a little loose.”
“OK,” he says grudgingly. “Don’t step in any puddles.”
Keeping the Magic Alive
I went to a 50th wedding anniversary mass today. Normally I wouldn’t be caught dead at such a thing but in this case the husband and wife also happen to be my parents so not only was I there, I was there bright and early to hand out programs.
Fifty years! How do a man and a woman celebrate with each other such longevity and perseverance?
Honey, I want to say something to you tonight that I’ve never said before, although I’ve had it in my heart for many, many years.
Three little words . . .
. . . let’s try anal . . .
Randy Johnson’s 300th Win
Fellow Trojan Randy Johnson won his 300th game last night.
I miss the good old days when starting pitchers actually won games on the mound, not in the dugout after throwing six innings and handing it off to the bullpen . . .
David Carradine, 1936–2009
Alas, poor Carradine! I knew him, Horatio. A couple of years ago I was walking through the international terminal at LAX, picking up my family on a flight from Bangkok, when I heard a voice behind me: “This is David Carradine.”
I turned and it was Carradine, talking on a cell phone! A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy!
The rest is silence . . .
Another Reason I Just Like to Drink on Planet Earth
