All posts by rbowen

GeoCaching

This morning, Sarah and I went to Shillito Park to play in the playground. While we were there, we went over to the GeoCache that I had found on Thursday. I did not have anything with me to swap out with what was there, on Thursday, so I had taken something with me today to swap out. So, I went to where the thing was hidden, got it out, and let Sarah pick something out of it, replacing it with what we had brought.

Sarah promptly cancelled most of the other stuff that we had scheduled for the day, and decided that we needed to spend the rest of the day “treasure hunting.” We found three caches, and looked for one other, which we were unable to find. Sarah enjoyed it all at least as much as I did.

If you’re not familiar with GeoCaching, you should take a look at www.geocaching.com. It’s basically a treasure hunt with a GPS, and it is very cool, and a lot of fun.

By the way, we found:
Belleau Woods Cache
Another Li’l Cache in a Pretty Li’l Park
“Wave” at me

We looked for, but did not find:
GardenSide Treasure

Trackbacks

I just discovered that my journal was configured to reject trackback pings, which is, presumably, why none of them have shown up, even though I know that I’ve been referenced elsewhere. Now, perhaps, my ego can swell to its intended size.

Pair programming

Did some pair programming this afternoon with Ken, on the Library project for the LPLUG. It really was amazing how much more can be accomplished with two programmers working together than the same two could produce working on their own.

Particular kudos to Schwern for the Test::More module, and particularly for is_deeply, which saved a HUGE amount of time and work on testing.

Also interesting is to see the looks that people give you when you’re pair programming – like they think that you’re just wasting half of your effort. I do know for sure that I always get more actual functional code written when I have someone working with me. Part of it is motivation. Part of it is the fresh ideas. Part of it is the catching of stupid mistakes before they can cause real damage. It’s an interesting synergy.

GPS

I picked up a GPS on the way to work this morning, in anticipation of an upcoming trip. The idea was to get something, play with it for a week or two, and then return it.

I am hooked. This is the coolest toy I have every played with, with no exception that I can think of. I’m a little unclear what the appeal is, exactly, but it is very very cool. Real specific, huh?

So, in case you wondered, I’m at 37,51.508N, 84,39.595W, and 883 ft elevation

Oh, by the way, what I got is here, but what I really want is here

Fra Filippo Lippi

Also featured in “Vittorio The Vampire”, by Ann Rice, is Fra Filippo Lippi, a painter who lived in the first half of the 1400’s in Italy. I get the feeling, more and more, from Rice, that she is trapped in this genre by her fans and by her publishers, but that she really wants to write historical fiction about the Renaissance. This book, which I just finished, was really good, except for the parts that were about vampires. Rice is a wonderful writer. It’s quite a shame that she has to spoil it by writing about vampires. Her knowledge of the Renaissance is quite extrordinary, and her descriptions of the period painters are sufficient to make me want to go to see these works in person.

Anyways, Filippo winds up being a major character in the book, although he never appears personally in the action, except by way of a recounting of a glimpse of him by a younger Vittorio.

And, by the way, his paintings are indeed beautiful.

Ouch

Last night, while leaning over the arm of my chair to reach behind it to get a power cord, I slipped, fell on the arm, and I think I cracked or bruised a rib. It is quite painful, but only when I breathe, or lift something, or stretch. So I’m trying not to do that.

Spam and junk mail

After several weeks in which I’ve received one desired mail message (ie, snail mail) and drifts of undesired, and downright objectionable mail, I am finding, increasingly, that I am glad when I receive junk mail. At least it’s not a bill, or a letter from the IRS, or yet another letter from a lawyer. This is in sharp contrast to email, where I am getting increasingly angry with junk email, which has moved from a minor annoyance to a major source of indignation. How dare these folks waste such a huge portion of my bandwidth for their highly objectionable advertising campaigns? And why is the system set up to permit them to do this with impunity. It really steams me. But, of course, you’ve heard all of this before.

But when I go to the mail box, and can discard every item that I pull out, I sigh with relief that there’s nothing more that I have to deal with. Perhaps if I checked my snail mail every 6 minutes instead of once a day, I’d feel differently!