Fonts : You know that moment?

You know that moment when a script won't work?  When the compiler throws fatal error?  When you just can't make wget suck down the right file?... Yeah, you know it... I know you do...

Make sure you're not seeing that O as an 0... Damn this default font selection!

http://tobiasjung.name/profont/

Failed Windows versus Linux Rant

I'll be honest, I was coming to write to you all today to give windows another well-deserved roasting.  Unfortunately, I found the same issue in Linux.  Well, when I say issue, perhaps this is my own expecting something more logical from a system.

Lets take a look at the folder I'm talking about:

  

It's any folder you like, within it, I've created a folder called ".example", another without the leading period "example" and then a file which includes the word "example" within it's file name.

When I go to search this directory, with the explorer search bar within the window presented, I expect it to work by using exactly what I type...

So, if I search for "txt", only the "example.txt" file should come up, and it does...

But if I search for "example", I'm getting three results, as they contain the word, therefore I aim to be more specific and search for ".example"... The result of this last search:

Yup, I still get all three results.  Clearly only one item matches ".example", and this annoys me.

And I jumped to Linux to take screen shots of this not working this way, but I found ls does work this way too... To be more specific I had to use "find":

This annoys me, I want the search to be specific, unless I add wildcards like "?" or "*" then I want what I type to be what it searches for, and if they have to put dumbed down searches in there, make it obvious that what you're getting is not an exact match.

The reason?... Imagine you have 300,000 files and you select 2,49 of then based on an exact filename search, and you give it a cursory glance, assume it to be correct, select all and delete?!?!?!

Yes, you end up deleting a load of stuff you didn't intend.

And I know, I know, I assumed what it was doing, and I know assumption is the mother of all fuck up, but still....

Even more annoying however, whilst setting up this example on windows, I did find something minor to moan about:

You can't create a folder which starts with a period in Explorer...

But you can with DOS/Command Prompt!

C++: Boost Libraries, Code Documentation & Examples

I have a loving relationship with the Boost C++ libraries, but I have a real hate of their documentation, not just it's style, but the mistakes and fragmentation they build into it.

When I search for say "socket", I want it to take me to boost::asio::tcp::ip::socket.  But instead it takes me on a run around, and when I finally get to boost::asio::tcp::ip::socket the examples and namespace being used is incomplete, it assumes a bunch of things, and you get told to look in tcp::ip::socket.

This is fine, if your reader knows to assume boost::asio as well, but if you're new to the whole boost project, you don't know sockets live in asio, you might be looking for boost::net, or boost::networking, or boost::network or just boost::tcp.  And you're stuck, lost, you have to leave the boost documentation search and go to google.

To fundamentally have to leave the documentation of an actual project website, and use a third party in this way is fundamentally telling you your documentation is flawed.

Then, there are mistakes in the documentation, this is annoying, but when the mistakes are in the examples given it's unforgivable, you're basically giving your users the finger, because not only are you teasing them with an example, but when it doesn't work they are again cast out into the wilds of the internet.

Case in point, again the socket, it's example code shows it as "soocket".  A typo yes, but it tells me two things, first of all, the code was not proof read, and second; and perhaps most importantly; the examples are not from working code, they've never been run, because it's not soocket, and the compiler would instantly tell anyone trying to run that code soocket is invalid.  Examples SHOULD ALWAYS BE LIFTED FROM A WORKING EXAMPLE!

Chess - Waiting

I've continued to play chess online, and again after doing some of the training puzzles I took to another rated game... and this is where I find myself...

The chap has fallen into my trap with the knights and queens, he had the upper hand on the left, but then I had the two knights defence and he fell into this position.

All he can do is move the knight to block the my Queen (blue line) and then I move my Queen (red arrow) and we have check-mate.

However, he's not moving... I don't know if he's left, or quit, or just wants to let the time roll down, but I'll just keep giving him 15 seconds to stop him trying to time the game out.  So this is maybe another toxic player from the community.

Pet Hate of the Day

I've got a pet hate for the day, when I message anyone, before, during and after I try my utmost to get their name right, on the phone that's hard sometimes you ask them to spell it, or you look them up on the company website, or websites.

E-mail makes this easier, when someone has already contacted you, or there's an internal company address book you have their name right there, right in front of you...

Bob, might very well e-mail you, but you can see they're Robert... Stewy might send you a meeting invite, but you know he's Steven...

So why the fuck is it that my name, Jonathan, gets totally garbled... I mail and talk to people as Jon, I just sent a mail and signed it off "Jon".  That's permission for the other end to engage me as "Jon"... So when I get "Jonathon", "Johnathan", "Johnathon", "John" or even "Jonefan" it winds me the fuck up.

You have my name, you have how I've presented it to you, I'm not so mental that I don't know how to spell my own name, grrrrr

Dick of the Week

Do we think this twat is shitting his pants now his face is splashed all over the media... I think so... Guess he'll loose his benefits, the trash

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-33967375

Technology: "Yeah, I know"...

This is a state of mind, I'm pretty sure, it's something I've personally never been able to pull off; if I don't know what I'm talking about it's soon overwhelmingly obvious, and I'm sure throughout my life people have spotted this; what amazes me however is how often, especially in technology, people get into this mind set of "yes" and "I know", when patently they know fuck all.

Case in point, I was just reading how to use "BitBake", I've never used it before, today was the first time I've sat down with the manual and tried to get to grips with it, however, the person who had directed me to get to use this, wondered over, poking around what I was up to... "Reading the BitBake manual, it's very boring"... Their response was the nodded body language "yes yes yes"... But they remained looking over me, as if they expected a demonstration of something more, so I said "It'd very boring, just reading"...

They didn't say they had any experience with Bitbake, but their response was just one of those... "yes I know all about it" kind of moments, those moments where you think, "fuck off, you don't know shit".

People getting that body language vibe out annoy me.

I used to work with a guy who did this everyday, about every topic, about every possible thing, he never wanted to say he knew fuck all, but made out he did.  Even to the point that I was using code I'd written, in a class only I had ever seen, and he came asking what it was, so I said... "Oh part of the Node XML, have you heard of it"... "yes"... of course he'd heard of it... "Interesting, since I just wrote it"... Silence.

Same shit, different fella... I hate it, if you don't know what something is folks, go ask, go read, go learn, don't make out you know.

But then to those of you not as honest as me, if you do have this gift, rememeber it'll come back to bite you, when you're in that meeting saying "yes" to everything, one-day you'll be asked to deliver, and that means a shit load more work to do, because you've admitted you already know most of that stuff!... Good luck!

From Programmer to TV Repair man

The in-laws are currently calling me... Well they're not calling me, I'm hearing second or even third hand from the wife, or my niece, or from not so subtle hints... Their TV and Cable/Internet package is playing them up.

Now, I'm not a TV repair guy, I barely know how my own TV works beyond plugging it in and turning it on, there is no compiler inside a TV, I don't know what hardware is in them and I don't have any interest, so long as they come on and go off when I want, and I can change the channel I'm pretty happy.

So, why do the in-laws call me?... Because "I'm into that stuff"... I'm not, I hate TV, I hate all the shit you watch on it, I don't really want to ever watch the TV the wife and I sit down to watch, I do it so I avoid having to pay for a divorce!

But, I've become the goto repair guy, not because I'm overly skilled, but because I have logic and common sense... "No Signal?".... Plug in the wire which gives it a signal.... "It says no viewing card?"... Have you got the card inserted all the way?....  "It just won't come on?".... Is the plug fully inserted and switched on?

You know, the basics... I admit once, just once, in all the call outs, it was something I could fix, the father-in-law had been to look at porn, yes, porn, and he'd done this by googling porn and clicking away merrily, until the machine was dead... Yes he blue screen, FBI warning wiped it.  So I recovered their files and reinstalled windows fresh.  That was the only time I've been able to see what they did, and then I couldn't help but giggle to myself.

But as if as punishment, ever since I've had this tirade of requests for repair.

The latest one, well the latest one, I could throttle someone over, they went away on holiday and left a decorator painting their house, I know my father-in-law gives this guy a hard time, he basically picks on the fellow and they make demands of him like... "put our dustbin out on Wednesday"... The guy doesn't need this shit, so when it came to moving their tele forward and painting behind he, he clearly got his revenge by simply wrenching the wires out the back and dragging it... these wires were screw capped coaxial, so they sheered straight off.

Ever since, if you so much as breath on these two wires, the tele has no signal... The difficulty is my father-in-law is about as gentle with things as using cement for make-up foundation, he just stuffs and pushes and thinks the more pressure he applies the better.  He's also incredibly long sighted, so can't see the things in front of his nose.

All in all, this leaves me with near weekly call outs...