extreme Programmers

By leonard on May 16, 2012 6:00 PM | No Comments
If you ever wanted to consider some bad@$$ programmers consider the developers that wrote the software for the apollo guidance computer.

I recently found a claim that my new favorite microcontroller is faster than the Apollo computers.

It turns out they are not lying. The arduino runs at 8 or 16 MHZ, which is faster than apollo's 2.048 MHZ.

However I got to thinking, what are the differences between the two?

arduino_uno.jpgapollo_guidance_computer.jpg

Arduino VS Apollo Guidance Computer
RAM:
2K vs 4K
ROM:(flash on Arduino)
32K vs 72K
PROCESSOR:
16MHZ vs 2MHZ

The Arduino is only better in the speed department than the apollo computers. The Arduino falls short in both RAM and ROM by about 1/2 the capacity of the Apollo computers.

However I did not compare the BEST arduino's available on the market.

It would scare the pants off of me to try to build a guidance computer with this little processing power. I frequently run out of RAM when reading GPS coordinates, or trying to build a little robot that doesn't run into walls that has a single sensor. The apollo engineers are people who deserve our respect. Landing on the moon was no small task.

Happiness

By leonard on April 12, 2012 9:27 AM
Happiness comes from not wanting more than you currently have. If you live in the western world, you have the ability to not want any longer. To be happy with what you have is well within your grasp, you simply need to be happy with what you have, and where you are in life.

Frozen Perl 2012

By leonard on February 3, 2012 11:15 AM | 1 Comment
If I had had the time this last summer, I would be neck deep in Frozen Perl 2012 right now.

I am sorry to those of you who were looking forward to FP2012, but given circumstances in my life this last summer, I was not able to give the workshop the planning time it needed. If I had managed to cobble something together, it would have been terrible and disorganized. Additionally, I would have had enormous amounts of stress that I wouldn't have been able to handle.

So here is my apology, and a call for FP 2013.

If you are interested in helping put together FP2013, I would like to help and share my experience, but I will not be able to be the charge person. Its better to admit that up front than to pretend otherwise and fail miserably when I cannot follow through on my promises.

If you are interested in helping, please comment below, email me directly, (My first name)@umn.edu, or get ahold of me some other way.

I hope you all have a good weekend,

Leonard

Frozen Perl 2012

By leonard on September 14, 2011 9:10 AM | No Comments
It saddens me to announce that unless somebody steps from the shadows to organize Frozen Perl 2012, that it will not happen. We as organizers each have our own reason for not being able to pull together a workshop, and we have decided that we cannot reliably put together a quality workshop.

We haven't given up on the idea of putting together workshops during other times of the year or FP 2013, or even YAPC 2013. We have decided that at this time, we cannot do FP 2012.

If you are willing to take charge and be in charge of FP 2012, then I will bring my experience to the table, and help you, however at this time, Frozen Perl 2012 is not going to happen.


For the job search

By leonard on August 21, 2011 10:39 AM | 1 Comment
I have learned some important points while searching for employees that would help anybody in their job searches.

  1. Get your application in AS SOON AS THE POSITION IS OPEN.
    Getting the application in first means that your chances of having it get read goes way up. After having open positions for seven weeks, I didn't read every application as completely as the first applications. After I have sent out offers, I am still getting applications.
  2. If you were not able to get your application in first, don't wait until the last minute to submit the Application. It looks bad, and if there is another circumstance that paints you in a bad light, this could make it look like a pattern of poor behavior.
  3. This seems silly and obvious, but proofread your resume. (duh!) Make sure your resume/application speaks to what the hiring manager is looking for. I have seen resumes that don't mention computers, and that's the focus of the job.
  4. Fill out ALL the information required in the application. If there is an application form, fill it out. If there is an option to attach a resume DO IT. If there is an answer you don't know (could happen without being unqualified), write 'unknown' or N/A. Do not leave ANYTHING blank, unless the application instructions say something like 'skip to question seven if xxx'
  5. Make sure your return mail fields in your email program have your full name. It is SOOO much easier to find somebody's email, when they have first and last name.
  6. Submit the application via the poster's preferences. If sending via snailmail, send electronically as well (if that is an acceptable option to the poster). Every snail mail sent to me, we have converted to an electronic submission. In other words, sending a paper application is MUCH easier to ignore than to properly process.
  7. If something doesn't seem right about the scheduling of an interview, contact the interviewer and clarify. If they say Thursday the 21st, but the 21st is a Tuesday. Find out ahead of time what they meant. As I scheduled many interviews there was a bit of cut and paste, and sometimes a date or day of week doesn't get changed. Find out before you look bad.

When in the interview there are a few things that you should do, need to do:
  1. Relax. The interviewer is not there to torture you, they are there to find an employee they can work with. You have the interview because you are qualified(on paper). You will get the job because they like you, and think they can work with you.
  2. Relax. Really. The interviewer does not hate you.
  3. Be friendly, and if possible, nice to talk to. The interviewers could be tired, and your energy in the room, and excitement for the job will lift them up. (really who would YOU rather work with?)
  4. Be excited for the job. Spend some time the night before learning about what you think they want you to do/know. This translates to 'eager to learn' which for me is far more important than 'knows everything'
  5. Know exactly what it is you are applying for. Research who they are and what they do. The can be hard, but this really is important to fit in.
  6. Follow directions. Sit where you are asked. Failure to follow simple directions at best looks bad, at worst, would cost you your job.
  7. Use the interviewer's names. I had one applicant do this. It is amazing how much he sticks out in my memory after 25 interviews.
  8. Write a thank you email. I have done 20 interviews in the last three weeks, and I have received ONE thank you. It will set you apart.
  9. Sometimes the stupidly obvious answer is the answer the interviewer wants. give that and ask if they want you to elaborate. If they want more info, they'll ask for it.
  10. Find what your weakness is BEFORE the interview. Its a hard question, and they will probably ask. 
  11. "I don't know" is a bad answer. However, worse is making up SH*T because you don't know.
Because my positions are for students, and not full time employees, here is a list of don'ts that might never happen for a full time position:
  1. Don't be more than 5 minutes early. I might even say 2 minutes early. Wait in the lobby, or in your car. The interviewer might be using the last few minutes to read your application/resume and printing something needed for the interview. If you are early, you may have frustrated the interviewer before they ever had a chance to lay eyes on you. Instead you might benefit from giving them a chance to review your materials before the interview.
  2. DON'T show up if you haven't been scheduled for an interview. You don't know how exhausting it is to squeeze a fourth interview into an afternoon.
  3. If the question is something like: "tell us about a time you have broken policy" give one answer. Be honest, but don't give a list. Just one example would have been enough
  4. Don't assume that you will get any communication from the hiring manager, just because you applied and sent a followup email. I'm sorry to say it, but you are not entitled to a response. The job was posted, you applied, then the job was removed from the job board(s). This means that if the manager wanted to call you, they would have. Don't prove how annoying you are by pestering the hiring manager's superiors.
The applicants that really stick out to me:
The one that sent a thank you email (also sent a paper application via snail mail).
The one that used all of our names.
The one that was fun and easy going during a long stretch of interviews.
The one that I missed because he showed up uninvited, and when I found out, he had his laptop open, and was very insistent that we view his web design work, which is something that is nice, but not what we needed.
The one that had a terrible offensive odor. 
The one who didn't have a clue about how to do more than basic things with computers.

Remember, just because you didn't get the job, doesn't mean you were not qualified. It means that there was someone MORE qualified than you.

Sysprep your Windows OS for more than 3 times

By leonard on July 11, 2011 11:20 AM
A student employee of mine found this original article and to help push its ranking in google and to also make the information more publicly known I am copying the blog entry here.

Nothing here is my own work, but instead belongs to Sharon on blogen.creed-tech.net.

This is simply to spread the information around and to help someone else with a difficult problem.


t can happen, the need of re-syspreping an already syspreped machine, why ? maybe you lost your Image master. so.. you running the setup process, adding the changes you want, relocating the XML answerfile, running the sysprep with /generalize switch.. the process is running for few seconds and then the sysprep window is disappeared. well.. open the sysprep log file under \sysprep\Panther ... there you will find setup error log, if the logfile contains this line :

Date Time, Error [0x0f0073] SYSPRP RunExternalDlls:Not running DLLs; either the machine is in an invalid state or we couldn't update the recorded state, dwRet = 31

then Microsoft say... "Hey dude, bummer..., re-create the whole image".

well... it's not so true... this error indicates that you syspreped the machine more then 3 times, you cant do that... if the windows system was already activated by pre OEM activation you cant even re-arm the machine.. so you have 2 problems, one - can't sysprep anymore and probably you can't re-arm your machine (it wont let you sysprep if you cant re-arm..).

so, first check if you can re-arm by runing the slmgr.vbs /dlv and check the re-arm counter, if it set to zero.. you need to do the following : http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929828 (set the <SkipRearm>1</SkipRearm> like in the example, note: this option will make the product key window to appear in the setup process).

you can also try running : slmgr.vbs -rearm, to rearm Windows.

after that, let's come back to the sysprep process.. for syspreping already syspreped machine we have to change few keys in the registry :

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup\Status\SysprepStatus\GeneralizationState\

CleanupState:2
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup\Status\SysprepStatus\GeneralizationState\

GeneralizationState:7

After done with the registry, do the following :

  1. Start -> Run : msdtc -uninstall (wait few seconds)
  2. Start -> Run : msdtc -install (wait few seconds)
  3. Restart the machine
  4. Check the registry for the right registry keys values
  5. sysprep with the new XML answerfile.
  6. and.. Walla !
  7. Have fun.

Hiatus

By leonard on June 21, 2011 9:26 AM
I know that the ironman is over, but I think I should get back to the regular blogging.

The biggest thing that I have learned in the past year is something that nobody else could have known, or taught me. This one thing is simple.

It is bad for me to work alone.

I have found that working in an office is far better for my psyche than working home alone. In fact now that I am not working at home I have found that I am much happier not working alone all the time.

The advantage of working from home is much smaller than it appears on the outside. I am happy to be with people again, and to have friends at work.

Frozen Perl Call for Speakers!

By leonard on November 9, 2010 12:08 PM
The Frozen Perl 2011 Call for speakers is up. Please submit a talk. As usual we want to keep the talks relevant and useful to our attendees. So if you have an idea of something you'd like to share with other, please submit your talk. We try to include all the speakers who submit talks, so there is a good chance that you will get accepted if you submit a talk.

The lone programmer

By leonard on November 2, 2010 2:50 PM | 2 Comments
Beware the lone programmer.

I say this for many reasons, but they all can be summed up by answering either: 1. Why isn't anyone else working with him/her? Or: 2. What are we missing with a programmer working alone?

I will start with the second one, since it is more innocent. If the programmer leaves, how screwed are you? How good is/was their code? There has never been anyone to tell him/her that its bad, so that they can improve. What if they spent 9 months rewriting some existing module (CPAN or otherwise), simply because they didn't know it existed, or how it worked? What do we do at vacation time? What happens if he/she gets hit by a bus? These are all valid concerns, and is mitigated by having a second programmer on a project. What happens to the programmer when he/she gets frustrated and there is no one to help them?

The primary question, of why, is really the kicker. Is the person an jerk to others? Do they write terrible, unreadable code? This in my opinion can lead to a bad, toxic situation, and will foster bad blood among all involved.

The 'rock star' programmer that does whatever they want, I have found usually write terrible code, that is buggy, not conforming to any standards, and worse: they think its ok to do some 'magic' in the code, because they think they are a rock star. I have seen better code coming from college students than the rock star. 

Also, what of your other programmers? They have to deal with his/her sh*t whenever maintenance on the code is needed,and they may feel that they write better code, but don't get benefits.

The last point on the 'Why?' question is what if the team hasn't 'adopted' the new programmer? How discouraging is it when they have spent a week doing what they feel is good work, and then getting completely shot down? Part of development is getting shot down, but a new programmer doesn't know that, and working with a team that accepts the reality of the changes, and moves along, teaches him/her not to be discouraged. 

If you are a developer and working alone, you are doing it wrong.

Frozen Perl 2011

By leonard on October 25, 2010 10:44 AM
Planning is underway, and we are now at the phase where we are looking for sponsors. 

If you are interested, or have potential sponsors that we should contact, please comment here, and I will get back to you.
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