Stubborn Idealism
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Bad English
Date: Sat 23 July 2005
Time: 7:53 PM EDT
If you say "could of" or "would of," "could care less," "between you and I," or "for all intensive purposes," then please, for the love of your English teachers, read this site:
Mormons on the Bus
Date: Mon 18 July 2005
Time: 10:04 PM EDT
I was riding the bus home from work tonight as usual, when, about a mile from my stop, the driver let on a couple of very clean-looking young white men wearing ties. I thought to myself, "What are they, Mormons or something?" One of them sat across the isle from me, and the other sat a few seats behind me (I was near the back of the bus). The one who sat across the isle from me struck up a conversation with the man sitting behind him, and I thought, "Yeah, he's leading up to the pitch." He was very charming, funny, and likeable, of course. He somehow managed to get the person he was talking with to ask him what he and his friend did. I don't know if they try for that, but it was pretty slick. In response to the man's question, the young white man in the necktie reached into his shirt pocket ("Here it comes," I thought), and pulled out a small book. He said, "Well, this is what we share with people. This is the Book of Mormon," at which point I interrupted, loudly enough for everyone on the bus to hear, "I knew it! I knew it the moment I saw you that you were here to solicit somebody's soul!" He looked at me, clearly not sure how to take this, and he repeated in a slow, dull voice, "Solicit somebody's soul." I said, "Yeah, I had you pegged as soon as I layed eyes on you. You two fit the stereotype perfectly." At this point, he had recovered a bit, and, amazingly, now he was extending the book to me. I said, "No thanks, I'm good." (Later on as I was walking home from the bus stop, I realized that I should have said, "No thanks, I'm an atheist.") Then I said, "You know that soliciting is not allowed on MARTA." (MARTA is the public transit system in these parts.) He said, "It's not soliciting." I said, "Of course it is." Just then, the bus had arrived at my stop and I got off, calling "Have a good night!" over my shoulder.
Bad Habits
Date: Sun 10 July 2005
Time: 11:12 PM EDT
I've been re-reading some C++ reference books I have because I'm about to port one of my projects to C++. As I read through the guidelines in Scott Meyers' Effective C++, I'm amazed at how thoroughly I've lost the habits of good programming. I've learned to be content to write quick-and-dirty code that works but is very hard to maintain. I think it's because most of the programming I've done over the last couple of years has been in a stressful real-world environment, where a solution is always needed NOW. There is no time to consider good design or to put in extra effort now that will make things easier down the road.
When I reflect on it, I realize that not only have I lost the make-the-future-easier attitude with software development, I've changed my habits for the worse in all aspects of my life. I tend to do what's easiest now, regardless of whether it will make things harder later on.
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