Comments on: geek. http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/ Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made Sun, 27 May 2012 00:43:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Eszter http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/comment-page-1/#comment-179987 Eszter Wed, 22 Nov 2006 19:00:27 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/#comment-179987 FSRV - thanks for that pointer. I had seen Gwigle before, but enjoyed it more this time around. It's a neat concept, although I think the focus right now is a bit too much toward geeks who are most likely to know the advanced functionalities in the first place. Nonetheless, nifty tool. BTW, you sound a LOT like a friend of mine, but I don't think he'd identify himself as FSRV. And yeah, sorry about the disappointing classification, but it's just a category we have as "fun & games". Vivian, glad you got your timesink fix met, I felt guilty for not posting anything of the sort last weekend.;) Kenny, regarding the Google Image Labeler, I think it's interesting and have enjoyed spending time with it. Interestingly, I thought those nonsensical words were things people developed to trick the system and get scores quickly. That said, I never understood why you'd pick such long and complicated words for it. There is another similar game that's been around for much longer from what I can tell: <a href="http://www.peekaboom.org/" rel="nofollow">Peekaboom</a>. It's similarly addictive and interesting. And yes, GHQ is very cool. I've been meaning to post about the food in particular so stay tuned. FSRV - thanks for that pointer. I had seen Gwigle before, but enjoyed it more this time around. It’s a neat concept, although I think the focus right now is a bit too much toward geeks who are most likely to know the advanced functionalities in the first place. Nonetheless, nifty tool. BTW, you sound a LOT like a friend of mine, but I don’t think he’d identify himself as FSRV. And yeah, sorry about the disappointing classification, but it’s just a category we have as “fun & games”.

Vivian, glad you got your timesink fix met, I felt guilty for not posting anything of the sort last weekend.;)

Kenny, regarding the Google Image Labeler, I think it’s interesting and have enjoyed spending time with it. Interestingly, I thought those nonsensical words were things people developed to trick the system and get scores quickly. That said, I never understood why you’d pick such long and complicated words for it.

There is another similar game that’s been around for much longer from what I can tell: Peekaboom. It’s similarly addictive and interesting.

And yes, GHQ is very cool. I’ve been meaning to post about the food in particular so stay tuned.

]]> By: bad Jim http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/comment-page-1/#comment-179963 bad Jim Wed, 22 Nov 2006 09:20:47 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/#comment-179963 Zack may have a point. See <a href="http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/bgoogle/aboutMaina.php" rel="nofollow">Barney Google (With Your Goo-Goo-Googly Eyes)</a> The many Dijkstra quotes brought to mind the title of his most famous article, <a href="http://www.acm.org/classics/oct95/" rel="nofollow">GOTO Considered Harmful</a>. One evening in Tokyo I found myself seated next to a rather attractive young lady named Goto; I think I've still got her card somewhere. Perhaps Edsger needed to get out more. (I should note that in the years I worked with microcontrollers at the machine level, I never found that insight particularly useful.) Zack may have a point. See Barney Google (With Your Goo-Goo-Googly Eyes)

The many Dijkstra quotes brought to mind the title of his most famous article, GOTO Considered Harmful. One evening in Tokyo I found myself seated next to a rather attractive young lady named Goto; I think I’ve still got her card somewhere. Perhaps Edsger needed to get out more.

(I should note that in the years I worked with microcontrollers at the machine level, I never found that insight particularly useful.)

]]> By: Kenny Easwaran http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/comment-page-1/#comment-179959 Kenny Easwaran Wed, 22 Nov 2006 08:33:26 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/#comment-179959 Speaking of games, you might try <a hREF="http://images.google.com/imagelabeler/" rel="nofollow">Google's Image Labeler</a>, where it seems some computers have often been guessing the word "googley" for all sorts of things where it wouldn't belong (along with "accretion", "diphosphates" (or something like that) and a few other words). Speaking of games, you might try Google’s Image Labeler, where it seems some computers have often been guessing the word “googley” for all sorts of things where it wouldn’t belong (along with “accretion”, “diphosphates” (or something like that) and a few other words).

]]> By: Leonard http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/comment-page-1/#comment-179951 Leonard Wed, 22 Nov 2006 03:43:56 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/#comment-179951 My sysadmin 15 years ago had the vanity tag: DEV CAR I envied that. My sysadmin 15 years ago had the vanity tag:

DEV CAR

I envied that.

]]> By: vivian http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/comment-page-1/#comment-179950 vivian Wed, 22 Nov 2006 03:28:38 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/#comment-179950 So is google hq as cool as it sounds? Good quotes. Wasted wa-a-y too much time on gwigle, and, embarrassed I didn't already know about the calculator feature, I will slink off to mope. So is google hq as cool as it sounds? Good quotes. Wasted wa-a-y too much time on gwigle, and, embarrassed I didn’t already know about the calculator feature, I will slink off to mope.

]]> By: french swede the rootless vegetable http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/comment-page-1/#comment-179940 french swede the rootless vegetable Wed, 22 Nov 2006 00:33:49 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/#comment-179940 I liked the quotes from syslang; tehy were fun. #5 zack: <i>That license plate has the wrong spellings; it is called Googly.</i> 'Googly' is also a fun word, though bowlinging is like, <i>not</i> my sport. [Check out the "see also: <a href="" rel="nofollow">untransability</a>" in that wikipedialy article; funny in an interesting way] <i>But</i>, this post is tagged "fun <b><i>& games</i></b>", so I expected sweetly, timesinkingly, creatively funny googalicious games! Well, I have found one myself: <a href="http://gwigle.varten.net/" rel="nofollow">The Gwigle game</a> I liked the quotes from syslang; tehy were fun.

#5 zack: That license plate has the wrong spellings; it is called Googly.

‘Googly’ is also a fun word, though bowlinging is like, not my sport. [Check out the “see also: untransability” in that wikipedialy article; funny in an interesting way]

But, this post is tagged “fun & games“, so I expected sweetly, timesinkingly, creatively funny googalicious games!

Well, I have found one myself: The Gwigle game

]]> By: Watson Aname http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/comment-page-1/#comment-179935 Watson Aname Tue, 21 Nov 2006 23:28:22 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/#comment-179935 Brian, `benefit' is more a mixed blessing, and any confusion is a feature of weakly typed dynamic languages though, and even then only in ones that aren't introspective enough --- nothing particularly to do with dynamic or static. I understand why some people like Hungarian notation, but personally think it papers over flaws in either development style, language design, or both. It does serve to prop up a certain type of development effort, and reduce errors while using that approach. That isn't the same as an endorsement for the notation, or the approach. Brian, `benefit’ is more a mixed blessing, and any confusion is a feature of weakly typed dynamic languages though, and even then only in ones that aren’t introspective enough —- nothing particularly to do with dynamic or static. I understand why some people like Hungarian notation, but personally think it papers over flaws in either development style, language design, or both. It does serve to prop up a certain type of development effort, and reduce errors while using that approach. That isn’t the same as an endorsement for the notation, or the approach.

]]> By: Brian http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/comment-page-1/#comment-179925 Brian Tue, 21 Nov 2006 22:00:22 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/#comment-179925 Note that the common view of it is probably more strongly shaped by Microsoft's APIs than anything else; this is unfortunate because does a bad job of illustrating the benefits of Hungarian notation. Specifically, the original proposal was to prefix functional types before a name; what the Windows API does, instead, is usually prefix concrete data types before a name. It's odd that you claim it's a particular weakness of C and C++, Jake; in many ways, more dynamic languages seem to have a bigger problem with it, since you don't even have the benefits of compile-time datatype restrictions. Note that the common view of it is probably more strongly shaped by Microsoft’s APIs than anything else; this is unfortunate because does a bad job of illustrating the benefits of Hungarian notation. Specifically, the original proposal was to prefix functional types before a name; what the Windows API does, instead, is usually prefix concrete data types before a name.

It’s odd that you claim it’s a particular weakness of C and C++, Jake; in many ways, more dynamic languages seem to have a bigger problem with it, since you don’t even have the benefits of compile-time datatype restrictions.

]]> By: Jon H http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/comment-page-1/#comment-179922 Jon H Tue, 21 Nov 2006 21:18:04 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/#comment-179922 I wonder if the person with the Ugo Boss plate knows Hugo Boss designed the uniforms of the Nazi SS... I wonder if the person with the Ugo Boss plate knows Hugo Boss designed the uniforms of the Nazi SS…

]]> By: Zack http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/comment-page-1/#comment-179913 Zack Tue, 21 Nov 2006 20:01:57 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/#comment-179913 That license plate has the wrong spellings; it is called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googly" rel="nofollow">Googly</a>. That license plate has the wrong spellings; it is called Googly.

]]> By: Jake http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/comment-page-1/#comment-179906 Jake Tue, 21 Nov 2006 18:39:01 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/#comment-179906 Some people like it, some people think it's useless, some people think it's worse than useless. It's ok at solving one particular problem that is particularly bad in C and C++, but there are other ways of solving that problem that aren't as aesthetically displeasing and don't rule out other sorts of useful cleverness. It's also strongly associated with Microsoft. I would guess that the general perception is between useless and worse-than-useless, but more in an overtaken-by-events way than a bad-idea kind of way. Some people like it, some people think it’s useless, some people think it’s worse than useless. It’s ok at solving one particular problem that is particularly bad in C and C++, but there are other ways of solving that problem that aren’t as aesthetically displeasing and don’t rule out other sorts of useful cleverness.

It’s also strongly associated with Microsoft.

I would guess that the general perception is between useless and worse-than-useless, but more in an overtaken-by-events way than a bad-idea kind of way.

]]> By: Eszter http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/comment-page-1/#comment-179880 Eszter Tue, 21 Nov 2006 15:49:32 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/#comment-179880 Bi, why yes. I met him earlier this Fall, nice guy. I don't have a good sense of how that notation is perceived. Bi, why yes. I met him earlier this Fall, nice guy. I don’t have a good sense of how that notation is perceived.

]]> By: bi http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/comment-page-1/#comment-179877 bi Tue, 21 Nov 2006 14:55:19 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/#comment-179877 "There are only two kinds of programming languages: those people always bitch about and those nobody uses." Or as the old saying goes: "All programming languages suck." conjAnd vbWas nnCharles nnSimonyi advNot detThe nnInventor prepOf detThat nnThing vbCalled adjHungarian nnNotation? “There are only two kinds of programming languages: those people always bitch about and those nobody uses.”

Or as the old saying goes: “All programming languages suck.”

conjAnd vbWas nnCharles nnSimonyi advNot detThe nnInventor prepOf detThat nnThing vbCalled adjHungarian nnNotation?

]]> By: dave heasman http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/comment-page-1/#comment-179865 dave heasman Tue, 21 Nov 2006 10:57:14 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/11/21/geek/#comment-179865 Nice quote from Stan Bootle. I met him when I worked for Univac in teh 70s. In fact Univac seemed chock-full of Bootle-alikes then. No wonder it sank. Actually the English computer industry seemed chock-full of Bootle-alikes then. No wonder it sank. Nice quote from Stan Bootle. I met him when I worked for Univac in teh 70s. In fact Univac seemed chock-full of Bootle-alikes then. No wonder it sank. Actually the English computer industry seemed chock-full of Bootle-alikes then. No wonder it sank.

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