Random Newbie Stuff

This post is strictly for people who have just entered into the software profession. I have jotted down some random things that I have faced myself or seen other people do wrong here. The solutions may seem to be pure common sense or banal, but I take that risk of being obvious because I know a lot of people who lack common-sense.

When I was coding in Fortran and C just to get something working, first days as a programmer, I never bothered about anything. I just wanted to get something done, by hook or by crook. Then, after joining a formal course on Computers, I had this notion of a good programmer being someone who spews out code which works on the first go. No errors, compiler or otherwise. Just works. Now, when I recollect what I used to think in those days, I almost feel its so lame that I shouldn't admit to it. But then, you learn soon after shooting yourself in the foot enough number of times that its just not worth it. You have to start coding and face the problems as they come. What I have found out over the years is that it is not only insane to try to write error-free code without actually coding, but also totally unproductive! I agree that human brain is a marvelous thing, but why waste it on stuff which a computer is kick-ass in doing. Don't sweat a lot about syntax and stuff. You anyway have Google, if nothing else. I suggest you, of course, learn the syntax and stuff, but there is no need to memorize it, like a lot of people I know try to do. You will remember stuff if they are important enough. Others, you can always look them up.

A lot of people like to talk about high level, abstract, potential "solution" to a lot of problems. They think and analyze for a long time and fear getting their hands wet. I know I used to do it and I know people who still do. All I can say is that its sheer "balls". You cannot just talk about problems. You have to get down to code at sometime and actually solve them.

Something I have found out is people don't learn the right things at the right time. If you are learning Java, there are reasons why you should, I would suggest you start from the command line and go through the Java classpath hell before you start doing stuff in an IDE like Eclipse or IntelliJ. You need to know how things work under the covers, irrespective of what it is that you are learning.

Something that boggles people down is the size of a code base, either when they join a project middle way or when they have to understand how something works. One thing you need to understand is that it is written in a language, I assume, that you understand. Just think of it as a novel or a text book that you need to read. The chances are you cant digest everything that is there in a day or even in a week. Just like reading a book, you need to start from the beginning, logical i.e., and then move deep into the code base. You will surely finish it, sooner or later! Just like a book, some code appeals to you and some don't. Its up to to you if you really want to work with some code or not. You can always do this. Or bail out.

A few things that I can think of which are done blatantly wrong and which can be fixed easily, with some mental effort.

Yet Another Opinion Seeking Blog

Given a choice between money and power, what would you choose? Choose under the premise that they are mutually exclusive. Don't start off with how valid that assumption is etc.

My Drinking Problem

Till recently, I used to be a very contented man and I felt very rich even with a very low salary. The reason is that I get a lot of food coupons, which I would use regularly to bring home big bottles of beverages like Pepsi and Coke. But now, that is starting to change.

My mom, the (overly-) concerned type, is telling me that those kind of beverages are “bad for health”, that they “eat into your bones”, they “contain pesticides” and that “you simply cannot have them so much. Get fruit juices instead.” All of which is making me very sad. These fruit juices are more expensive and don’t seem quite as effective when it comes to thirst quenching capability.

She doesn’t even seem to understand my side of the issue: “No food is inherently good or bad for health. It all depends on the immune system, which gets simulated when you feel happy or when you laugh. Pepsi and coke (and especially ThumsUp) make me very happy. So how can these things be bad for health? Aren’t you concerned about your boy’s happiness and well being?”

Now I’m stuck with fruit juices and the like. Does anyone know the FACTS about aerated drinks, whether they’re good or bad for health? Here, I’m looking for facts supporting my side of the issue. Also, do you know any fruit juices that taste great?

[Note: I'm a teetotaler.]

Random Conversation

(One of the random chats my brother and I have randomly)

M = Me, H = Him.

M: I think at least about a million chicken are killed everyday worldwide.
H: What?
M: Chicken. Killed.
H: Yeah. Somehow people tend to eat them.
M: Yeah. Imagine if they had like big time brains. They would have taken over the world. They would have waged a huge war and created a massacre. They would have made each and everyone pay for all the chicken they have ever eaten. They would have (is interrupted)
H: Flown away to some other planet.
M: Hmmm.
M: I think.................(Some other random thing)

A Life Of Happiness, or A Life Of Meaning

This is a great dialogue from one of the recent episodes of the hit series "Heroes". There's a lot of wisdom in it:

(Don't worry. I'm not spoiling anything if you haven't yet watched it.)

A: "I think there comes a time when every man must ask himself whether he wants a life of happiness or a life of meaning."
B: "I would like to have both."
A: "Sorry, my friend. It simply can not be done. Those are two completely different paths. If you choose a life of meaning, you're required to wallow in the past and obsess about the future, but if you choose a life of happiness, you must live completely in the present moment: with no thoughts of what has gone by or what lies ahead."

These are the kind of thoughts that Spencer Johnson's "The Present" is made up of.

This particular dialogue makes me think really hard: Is it really impossible to have both happiness and meaning in one's life?

In any case, if those are the only two choices I would readily choose a Life of Happiness. Which path would you choose?

The Monday Morning Test

"When you wake up on Monday Morning, do you feel like going to work? If you can honestly answer 'yes' to that question, your life is in good shape."

[This was a memorable citation in one of the episodes of "The Apprentice".]

Try that simple test. Do tell if you passed.

Interesting Fact and Statistics

1) If you consider a normal Homo sapien male to have a given mass, the total mass of our group would still be in par with average for 8 grown males of the species. We balance out each other.

2) Malaysia Demographics. Even more interesting is the Sex-ratio in Malaysia.

Our Apologies

About the "Coming Soon" entry, we hereby regret to inform you that nothing is actually "coming". We do hope you can empathize with our regretfulness.

Signed,
Eight of us

Coming soon

Can you imagine these four words in one sentence:

Abhi, Nithin, Malaysia, GRE

Stay tuned for the action, right here on Together We drown.

Just in case

This is to inform you that all eight of us actually have jobs. Jobs, in the sense of being "employed" in a "big company" and being paid a regular "salary". "Jobless Programmer's Hangout Place" was just a random name, that got stuck on.

So, How's work?

Many people ask this question when they see me. My usual reply is "Work? Null Pointer Exception."   That isn't an original idea, not completely. My company's ERP system has an application called "My Utilization", which tells you how well you are being utilized by the company. Have a look at what it produces for me:   error while fetching datajava.lang.NullPointerException

		My Individual Utilization (YTD) = 0 %
		My Overall Projected Utilization = 0 %

--
Swaroop Murthy
http://360.yahoo.com/swaroopmurthy

Munnabhai Part 3 trailor

Ketan sent a mail about Munnabhai part 3. I will paste Ketan's mail here, so I can go home and watch the trailor. Its URL is blocked in my company, just like a million other URLs (including Google Images) A very secure workplace, indeed.

ULTIMATE ONE!!! A MUST WATCH
It’s going to b the part 3 of Munnabhai series, check out this hilarious promo

http://clarion.cec.wustl.edu/~ss26/Munnabhai_chale_Amerika.zip

Download the file.. open the player provided in the zip and drag the trailor