Andrew Freed Blog

Programming jokes

Fri, 09 May 2008 14:15:03 EDT

If you aren't laughing at these Best Programming Jokes, you are probably not a nerd. Example:

Two strings walk into a bar and sit down. The bartender says, "So what'll it be?"

The first string says, "I think I'll have a beer quag fulk boorg jdk^CjfdLk jk3s d#f67howe%^U r89nvy~~owmc63^Dz x.xvcu"

"Please excuse my friend," the second string says, "He isn't null-terminated."

How are people spending their stimulus checks?

Thu, 08 May 2008 13:49:37 EDT

I'm glad you asked... go to HowISpentMyStimulus.com. My favorite is the May 8 entry from a person who converted it to Euros for a vacation.

What's wrong with the health care system?

Thu, 08 May 2008 10:46:22 EDT

The Angry Economist says that American Health Care is Totally Broken because "[i]n the American health care system, nobody is optimizing for value". I agree with that sentiment, but I wonder if the fix is as easy as he proposes.

375,486 people thought this was really funny

Thu, 08 May 2008 07:31:15 EDT

What's the difference between accurate number and made-up numbers?

Why is music more expensive from Apple than Amazon?

Wed, 07 May 2008 15:45:30 EDT

According to Reg Braithwaite, it's an exciting tale of collusion! Read Why Apple is more expensive than Amazon. Then decide if you think this is a case of collusion, or that of "never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by incompetence."

My Halo 3 strategy in two words

Wed, 07 May 2008 14:09:02 EDT

I found the perfect description of my Halo 3 strategy: loss aversion. It means losses hurt more than gains feel good. Incidentally, it's also why most people make for lousy investors.

Users aren't reading what's on your site

Wed, 07 May 2008 09:47:00 EDT

Well, they are probably only reading about 20-28% of the words. So says Jakob Nielsen in How Little Do Users Read? over at Alertbox.

Commencement advice from P. J. O'Rourke

Tue, 06 May 2008 11:21:08 EDT

P. J. O'Rourke weighs in with Fairness, idealism, and other atrocities. My favorite passage is this:

Well, I am here to advocate for unfairness. I've got a 10-year-old at home. She's always saying, "That's not fair." When she says this, I say, "Honey, you're cute. That's not fair. Your family is pretty well off. That's not fair. You were born in America. That's not fair. Darling, you had better pray to God that things don't start getting fair for you."

Get Off Donovan McNabb's Back!

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:10:27 EDT

I thought I was one of about three remaining Eagles fans who supported Donovan McNabb. Now I found a great article showing how he compares favorably to none other than golden boy John Elway through the first nine years of their careers (Donovan has played nine seasons). Please read Get Off Donovan McNabb's Back by The Angry T.

Get more productive employees via a culture of quitting

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:35:21 EDT

It may seem strange, but Alex at TheDailyWTF makes a compelling case on how to solve the IT turnover crisis -- by embracing a culture of quitting. For one thing, it beats lying to yourself that your employees will never quit.

Classic memory: You were running in THOSE?

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 08:53:23 EDT

One week before my dad's first (only?) marathon, I convinced him that he needed to purchase real running shoes, from a real running store. This was to be the final step in his distance running makeover: shorter runs become longer runs, no water becomes water/Gatorade/gels, cotton T-shirts become breathable/wicking shirts, and sneakers become running shoes. Prior to our shopping trip, he had prided himself in buying the cheapest shoes possible for running.

The shoe tryout started typically, as the salesperson had my dad walk up and down the store, and he was able to detect my dad needed stability shoes. Then he asked what size - Dad said "9 1/2". After all, that's what the last pair had been. The salesguy looked skeptical and had him step on the sizing tool - which read "10 1/2 - 11". Finally he asked to see Dad's old running shoes. When he saw them he gasped in disbelief. "You were running in those!?"

In the end, Dad buckled down and got a rather nice set of shoes, with running socks to boot! All that was left was to run the race.

Om Nom Nom Nom

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:26:38 EDT

If you're not saying Om Nom Nom Nom out loud ... then you're doing it wrong!

How to pick your profile picture ...

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:42:50 EDT

from PHDComics.com, and I am guilty of most of those offenses!

Save money on a pet!

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:38:40 EDT

Here's xkcd's humorous take on saving money on a pet.

Desktop Tower Defense

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:18:47 EDT

Highly addictive but fun -- Desktop Tower Defense!