We just hired a new developer at work, he started this week. When he interviewed a while back, I was one of the people who talked with him about technical stuff. So I was amused at the first thing he asked me: had I read The Perils of JavaSchools before the interview? I hadn't, but I just did and I can see why he asked.

I spent a lot of time in the interview asking about memory allocation and memory management, both of which happen for free in a programming language like Java. We also talked about iteration vs. recursion, how they work, what's good, what's bad, what kinds of memory considerations need to be made, etc. The funny thing is that Joel's article above discusses these very topics, only he goes on to make the point that "pointers and recursion" are neglected in C.S. curriculums today. He argues (correctly, I think) that more time in a C.S. program is spent on traiditional C.S. topics (like data structures or algorithms), and less time on things like memory management. From my own experience getting an undergraduate degree in Computer Science, the most useful and practical courses covered assembly language, compilers, operating system, and object-oriented design. Probably not by coincidence, these courses that were taught by professors who weren't professional academics. That is, they had either current or previous real-world experience writing software in the professional world. Seems pretty obvious: discussing c.s. theory in a lecture hall is not good preparation for being a productive contributor to a software development group.

So why talk about memory management in an interview? Because I like to ask questions that cannot be answered without applying thought or recalling something you ought to have learned (and retained). It's not very useful or informative to discuss things that are common knowledge (such as queue vs. stack), unless you don't know the answer, which can be really bad. Every technical candidate should expect questions about Java language characteristics, or basic data structures (and be able to nail them to the wall). But if you are unable to compare strings in Java, or describe what a linked list is, we can pretty much wrap things up early and say goodbye.

True story: I once interviewed somebody for a Java development position and noticed "emacs, vi" (footnote for the non-technical: these are two popular but different text editors) both listed on the resume. I was curious because I've never, ever heard of anybody using both. In fact, you're far more likely to find a crusade-like passion for one or the other. But not both. So I ask what's up, and was suprised with: "they're good at different things". Really? Like what? "Well, one is good for searching and replacing, and the other is good for moving stuff around". I didn't end the interview there, but I damn well should have.

The presence of emacs and vi on the same resume now carries the same level of presumed idiocy formerly associated with the inclusion of "Microsoft Word" as a "skill". Developers should not mention Microsoft Word. That's like saying you're a race car driver, and then bragging that you know what a car key does.

Back to the point, my goal in an interview is to find the knowledge boundaries, because that's where things get interesting. When I can find the edge of what you know really well and are comfortable talking about, that's where the interview becomes a bit more genuine, more authentic, and much more informative. And just as important as your actual answers, I also pay attention to your behavior and attitude. Some people get rude and downright jerky when you ask questions they don't know. Thank you very much, I would rather they work somewhere else. At some point, we will encounter real-world problems that none of us knows the answer to, and if you can't handle an interview scenario like that, you are likely to implode if something goes seriously wrong on a production server while paying customers are online, or if we're working toward a big deadline. A shot of negative energy from someone cracking under pressure is the last thing your team needs.

As the interviewer, the challenge is finding that boundary of your comfort zone. This varies with every interview, because each candidate knows different stuff. Sometimes it's hard to find the boundary, other times it's easy. But once you get there, all kinds of interesting things start pouring out.

... you're downloading communism

... you're programming communism

Thanks to a reader for pointing me to the open source version (on the left), which can be found here. Good stuff.

This isn't really much of a suprise. In fact, I think it's an expected outcome. A study from Brown University found that 80% of the black population and 50% of the white population will not return to New Orleans (Study Says 80% of New Orleans Blacks May Not Return).

The prehurricane population of the entire city was 484,000, and if these numbers are correct that would put the new New Orleans population at 140,000. They found various reasons for former citizens not returning, including ruined neighborhoods, relocation costs to move back, or the simple fact that they've already begun putting down roots in other cities. So what's gonna happen to New Orleans? What will the city be like a year from now?

From California tobacco smoke 'toxic':

California has become the first US state to classify second-hand tobacco smoke as a toxic air pollutant. The decision by the California Air Resources Board puts drifting smoke in the same category as diesel exhaust, and could lead to tougher regulation.

Here's a fairly thorough bandwidth speed test from DSL Reports, as well as a simpler one from Time Warner Austin.

Since I've started using screen again (something I haven't used since college), I'm posting my .screenrc and keyboard shortcuts, both as personal reference and possible use by others. When I invoke screen from a terminal window, it will automatically set up a few different locations for me so it's ready to go right away.

This is my .screenrc:

	# disable startup message when invoking screen
	startup_message off
	# automatically set up some custom screens
	screen -t one /path/to/your/bin/.screen_setupone
	screen -t two /path/to/your/bin/.screen_setuptwo
	# include screen info across bottom of window
	hardstatus alwayslastline
		"%{-b bw}%-w%{+b bw}%50>%n %t%{-b bw}%+w%<"

Here is .screen_setupone:

	(cd ~/path/to/somewhere/interesting/; tcsh)

and .screen_setuptwo:

	(cd ~/path/to/somewhere/else; tcsh)

And here are the most useful commands:

	screen			Invoke a new screen session
	ctrl-a c		Create a new window
	ctrl-a ctrl-a		Toggle between windows
	ctrl-a n		Switch to next window
	ctrl-a p		Switch to previous window
	ctrl-a "		List all windows
	ctrl-a A		Name the current window
	ctrl-a ctrl-\		Exit and kill all windows

In June 2005, Steve Jobs gave the commencement address at Stanford University. It's an interesting speech with practical advise, and most certainly would have been great to see in person.

This part just rocks. It certainly describes my attitude toward life. I wish more people would recognize that a huge portion of what they worry/stress/complain/etc about is just a damn waste of time, and not just for them personally but for everyone involved. Just like the old saying goes: if you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Life is happening 24 hours a day, and every second spent wallowing or complaining isn't doing anything to help.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Read Steve Jobs' entire commencement address here: You've got to find what you love

Watched the first 2/3 of The Aristocrats last night. I had really, really been looking forward to seeing this movie. Who wouldn't be excited to see Hank Azaria, Eddie Izzard, Robin Williams, Eric Idle, Bill Maher, and a horde of other funny people in one film? Needless to say, I'm not impressed, and I somewhat regret watching it at all.

Parts of it were funny and/or a little bit interesting, but good grief there was a lot of swearing. Personally, I think raunchy humor has its place and can be extremely funny, but this movie went way past humor pretty early on. Maybe within 5 or 10 minutes. My wife fell asleep part-way through (she didn't miss much), and I eventually stopped watching to go do something (anything) else.

The next time you're at the video store, skip The Aristocrats. It's just not worth it.

MacSpeedZone posted this review of the iMac Core Duo, and makes some interesting points about interpreting the speed differences between the G5 iMac and the new iMac Core Duo. Overall, their results differ greatly from MacWorld's results, and show that the new iMac Core Duo is in fact very fast; in many cases much faster than the iMac G5.

Mitch was one of the funniest comedians I've ever seen, and it was super shitty to hear that he had been found dead in his hotel room last spring. There was a flurry of coverage surrounding his death, but nobody seemed to know what really happened. I remember seeing a lot of "heart failure" claims, but there was never very much information. It seemed like there had to be more to the story.

Recently, Spin magazine tracked down reports filed by the New Jersey medical examiner's office. It turns out Mitch died of multiple drug toxicity, including cocaine and heroine. I'm glad to finally know what really happened to him, but it just reminds me of how shitty it is that he's gone. Why couldn't someone else have died, like that antagonistic prick Pat Roberston? Surely he wouldn't be missed, not by me anyway. Oh well.

After receiving this same information, Mitch's family posted a note on his website (www.mitchhedberg.net) on December 28, 2005:

To Mitch’s Fans,

As you may know by now, new information on the cause of Mitch’s death has been reported by the media. The original report of heart failure as the cause of death was the best information we had at the time.

We decided that any further information would be kept a private, family matter out of respect for Mitch and a personal desire to allow him to rest in peace. The full Medical Examiner’s report was not provided to us until later that summer.

With this new information, we ask that what you remember about Mitch was the love that he gave so generously, the comedy he created so brilliantly and the laughter that he shared with us all.

Love,
Mary and Arne Hedberg

Well, I hope there is an afterlife, and that it has internet access. That way, cool people like Mitch Hedberg can see how much they are missed by the rest of us, and idiots like Pat Robertson can see how glad we are when they're finally dead and gone.

Dear Mitch,
Whenever I buy a donut, I think of you.
Kaan

Report: Comedian died of overdose

What do you get if you strap a rocket engine onto a bike? That's right! Rocket Bike!

After plenty of speculation and rumors, Disney is officially acquiring Pixar in a stock-only deal worth $7.4 billion. Steve Jobs will become the single largest share holder with 7% of Disney stock.

This is good news for Disney, as the Pixar folks will provide a huge infusion of creativity and energy. But I'm not so sure it's good for Pixar. What will Pixar gain from Disney? Better distribution deals? Better marketing? Most companies would do well to have the Disney name on their product, but Pixar has proven themselves and created their own reputation of excellence and quality. And for the past decade, Pixar has already had marketing and distribution agreements with Disney. So I'm not too sure what Pixar stands to gain from this vs. the risks of being acquired by a mega company.

One key point of positivity: John Lasseter will remain with the group as a creative director. Lasseter is probably the single most important person to retain, and keeping him around is critical to the success of the Pixar acquisition. If John Lasseter ever leaves Disney/Pixar, or "transitions" into some other role, that will signal the beginning of the end for Pixar.

Disney to Acquire Pixar for $7.4B in Stock

In the past week, I've gotten links from two friends about sites with kittens or other cute animals. The first one is Kitten War!, and the other is Cute Overload (look on the left side of the window for categories such as "kittens").

A tiny kitten shot of Salsa has been added to Kitten War.

Americans are a little closer to a non-prescription, over-the-counter drug to fight obesity (FDA panel OKs drug for obesity). Called orlistat (same thing as prescription Xenical), it will help block fat absorption in the body. Trials showed that over 6 months, people who took orlistat lost 5 or 6 pounds more than those without orlistat (not much other information on their trials, so it isn't clear if the study participants were eating well/poorly, or exercising at all).

The manufacturer is careful to set people's expectations realistically. John Dent, R&D executive at GlaxoSmithKline, said, "There is no magic pill for weight loss and orlistat is definitely not a magic pill. Orlistat is a tool that will help people control their calorie intake."

It will be interesting to see how the public responds to this. WIth 2/3 of the adult population obese or overweight, one might be tempted to think that most of those people would take a pill to lose the extra pounds. But social trends have been changing in recent years, and more adults say they are comfortable with being overweight. So will they care about this new pill? And if they do, will they try it out immediately? Or perhaps they'll wait to see if it's safer than the last anti-obesity drug, Fen-phen?

Reviews are starting to surface for the new iMac Core Duo. Earlier this week, Ars Technica posted this review of the 17" iMac, and then Macworld put an iMac Core Duo in the lab to gather more specific performance data on the new iMac.

Both Ars and Macworld reached similar conclusions: the new iMac is fast, but not "2 to 3 times faster" as Apple claims. Macworld says it's about 1.1 to 1.3 times faster. I couldn't find anything specific in Ars' review about actual speed improvements over the PowerPC-based iMac, but the benchmark data was clearly not 2 to 3x over the previous iMac.

Update: MacSpeedZone has posted a performance review, which includes a better interpretation of the speed differences between G5 and Intel-based iMacs.

I recently found Server Admin Tools 10.4 which allow remove administration of Mac OS X Server. I first read about it somewhere (don't have the url), and they said the tools worked with plain old Mac OS X (not Server). But that's incorrect. Well, partially incorrect. The tools will run on OS X, but cannot do anything useful on OS X. So from what I can see, the Server Admin Tools can only administer OS X Server, not OS X.

The tools require OS X 10.4 or higher, and include Server Admin, Workgroup Manager, Server Monitor, System Image Utility, Server Assistant, Gateway Setup Utility, QuickTime Broadcaster, Xgrid Admin, QTSS Publisher, and Documentation.

More information (including download link) available here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2006
Release #06-069
Firm's Recall Hotline: (800) 448-3876 Ext. 233
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

CPSC, Syntace USA Announce Recall of Bicycle Handlebar Stems

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: F99 (Force 99) Bicycle Handlebar Stems

Units: About 2,300

Distributor: Syntace USA, of Olney, Ill.

Hazard: The recalled bicycle stems can crack or break under normal conditions, causing the rider to fall and suffer serious injury.

Incidents/Injuries: No incidents or injuries have been reported.

Description: The recalled bicycle handlebar stem is black. Stems with production codes 01 03 through 45 04, and stems with no production code are included in this recall. The production code is the bottom set of numbers located on the end of the stem.

Sold by: Bicycle dealers, mail order magazines and on the Internet from May 2003 through July 2005 for about $90.

Manufactured in: Taiwan

Remedy: Consumers should stop using bicycles equipped with the recalled handlebar stem immediately and contact Syntace for instructions to receive a free replacement stem and installation.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Crystal Trout at Syntace USA at (800) 448-3876, extension 233, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or log onto www.syntaceusa.com - consumers also can e-mail the firm at syntaceusa@syntace.com or write to: Syntace USA, 1902 Miller Drive, Olney, Ill. 62450.

To view this recall online, please visit our website at: https://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06069.html

I enjoy trying new restaurants, but I normally don't write reviews about the places I've eaten. However, if a restaurant is exceptional (good or bad), I feel I owe it to other Austinites to share my opinion. Masala Wok made it onto my "exceptional" list: exceptionally bad.

On the strong recommendation of a friend, my wife and I made the trek to Masala Wok for dinner. We enjoy good Indian and Chinese food (and I don't mean "good like white people eat there", but "good like Indian and Chinese people eat there").

And while Masala Wok had a lot of people inside, and many of them were not white, my wife and I both agreed that this was some of the worst food we had ever eaten. Anywhere. Indian or not. And just so it's clear, I will never, ever return to eat there. Not even if you paid me.

In all seriousness, I've had more enjoyable meals from the little egg roll carts around the UT Austin campus. I'm not saying that the cart food was good, but it's edible and at least you get what you pay for. At Masala Wok, everything was way more expensive than cart food, and the food was so bad we couldn't finish eating it.

I don't recall the exact items we ordered, but we tried several different things that night, including Veggie Manchuria. We spent more than $20 and were served overly-salted food that otherwise had little to no flavor. Not to mention that we had to drive halfway to Waco to get there (yes, I'm exaggerating about the distance, but it's definitely on the edge of Austin city limits, almost in Pflugerville). If we had spent $4 on the whole meal, I would have felt like it was a fair purchase, but I would still say the food was bad.

About the atmosphere: picture a school cafeteria, fill it with people, and then cram all of the tables and chairs so close together that you cannot walk to a table without rubbing against everyone else along the way. It was also as noisy as a school cafeteria, if not noisier. We had to practically shout at each other to have a conversation. I think the typical bowling alley is quieter than Masala Wok.

So in summary:

• flavorless food with an unbelievably huge amount of salt
  
• prices are way too high considering the quality of the food
  
• loud and annoying atmosphere
  

There are a lot of good places to eat in Austin but this is not one of them. So Instead of driving to Masala Wok, just point your car in any other direction and go. You can easily find half a dozen other restaurants that will serve you better food in a much more pleasant environment. Another option would be to buy a few cans of dog food from the grocery store, add 3 or 4 cups of salt, and enjoy (this will produce food comparable to what they'll serve you at Masala Wok, but without driving in your car or paying their ridiculous prices).

I just took the Nerd Quiz. I scored 90 ("Supreme Nerd. Apply for a professorship at MIT now!"). My friends Lowell and Brandon are nerdier than me, they scored 93 and 92 respectively.

One of my co-workers just wrote an article for Java Developer's Journal, "Java Is Dead, Long Live Java!" - The Future of Java. Hey Bryan, when you're big and famous, don't forget the little people. :)

It seems that lately lots of writers have been bashing Java. Some people seem to think that Java has stagnated, and that the "hyper-enthusiasts" have left. Well, the rest of us are just quietly coding on a platform that is more exciting than ever.

Levi Strauss has designed a pair of jeans that will have an iPod remote control and docking station in the pockets, and they will also have headphones attached. One pair will cost about $200, and should be available this fall.

Is it just me, or does this sound like a really, really dumb idea?

Levi Strauss Designs iPod Jeans

I think this explains why I like to stay up late at night, and usually get very little done in the morning.

A person's thinking ability may be better after being awake for 24 hours or being drunk than it is following a good night's sleep, a study suggests. A University of Colorado team found understanding and short-term memory were worse in the minutes after waking.

Mental skills 'worse after sleep'

After an eternity of waiting, our beautiful little baby has finally arrived!

We'll be posting more updates (including pictures), but on a different website. This is the last baby update to appear on this blog. From now on, all updates will be on the new website.

The new website will be password-protected, so please send an email and I'll set you up.

Young's decision yesterday to join the NFL is not much of a suprise, he's an amazing player. We watched the Rose Bowl from the hospital, easily the most exciting football game I've ever seen.

Longhorn is long gone -- to NFL

Pat Robertson is in the news again after he said God made Ariel Sharon have a stroke for trying to divide the holy land. I think God should end Pat Robertson's life for being an antagonistic idiot.

US attacks TV host on Sharon slur

We rang in the new year by watching They Came Back with friends. Very interesting concept, average cinematography, completely sub-par plot resolution. Way too little dialog, too many unanswered questions (to be clear, all questions remain unanswered throughout the entire film). It started out strong and just degraded into a bucket of mush by the end. For what it's worth, this movie was made by French people.

My summary: Do not watch this movie. Go outside and watch cars drive by, or call a friend on the phone, or go take a nap. None of these is particularly entertaining, but you almost certainly will not be annoyed and confused afterward as you would if you watched They Came Back.

2005 was a big year for us, and with the imminent arrival of our kid, 2006 promises to be an even bigger year. Hope everyone has a great year, starting right now.