Lazu on programmer survival skills / Daily crono / Stupid heater / Drugs and thesis /…

You cannot win a War on Terrorism. It's like having a war on jealousy. David Cross

Lazu on programmer survival skills

Lazu ( Lars Wirzenius) has written an interesting set of slides on programmer survival skills. Very much recommended to anyone interested in SW and programming.

Daily crono

Just to remember, for me. Waking up early, chatting with S, taking care of some bills etc, bananas for breakfast, blogging, starting to work on my thesis at 9am, working with some success until noon, lunch in the Chinese, a short walk along the Esplanade, a nap, working or drawing picture, painfully slow, visiting Deluga's in the Charle's Street for drugs, still working, dinner with Kumar, some wine, trying to work until late. Yesterday was basically the same except that I was working in the Barker Engineering library.

Stupid heater

The hotair blower, which is supposed to heat my cave, is just stupid. It has more or less broken thermostat: on/off. If it is on, temparature near it raises to 22C. If I turn it off, temperature drops by 1.5C/hour or more, all the way down to 16C or lower. And the hot air it blow is not fresh, it is stale. Well, in 40 days I am out of here. I could work in the library, but I am too lazy to move my ass there. I can listen to punk here, if I want.

Drugs and thesis

My thesis progress is totally dependent on drugs: chocolate, coffee, cola, alcohol. I could not work without those drugs. Some day I will try whether the so-called illegal (which means non-taxed) drugs are even more effective. In some enlightened country, in which they are legal (= taxed).

Which party to choose?

I have decided to become a member of the Finnish parliament. I think I have the skill, knowledge, education, experience, and ideas to make a difference and make Finland a better place for everyone, or almost so. Now, I just need to find a political party, which will a) accept me as a candidate and b) provide a opportunity to really get in the parliament. Any ideas? Greens are maybe closest to my views, but only beautiful (or not) women get elected from the Greens. Or should we start a new party just for the next elections? A liberal and strict party.

Me-too management

The easiest way to start a business is to apply the "me-too"-principle. Simply copy a business idea from someone else, set up a shop and try to drive the other shopkeeper out of business, or at least capture a large share of the market. This simple principle applies to bigger businesses than shops. Today, the rumor has it that Ford is going to close 10 factories and fire 30000 employees. Surprisingly the same number that GM just announces. Me-too rules. Bowling alleys will be deserted, and since Ford is firing white-collar clerk as well, golf-clubs are not that well of anymore either. Stay tuned for more corporate entertainment.

Thesis

Thesis work is going fine today. I think I will be able to finish my thesis in a week or so. At least it will be read enough for giving it to my advisor. Then I will just fix what he likes me to fix and I will be all set. Good. My year in MIT is coming to end very fast. I wonder whether I should write a book about it?

Good question

In his column in the Guardian, Richard Norton-Taylor asks a very important question: Why is the US flying terror suspects to secret camps if it has nothing to hide? I think the answer is simple: they have something to hide, they are really torturing and killing people whom they have kidnapped against their own and international laws. It is a pity that the criminals responsible for this torture will never be brought to justice. Well, unless their own citizens can convince the congressmen of the necessity of civilized and lawful behavior.
By the way, the Nobel acceptance speech of Harold Pinter is very much worth reading.

Alun perin julkaistu kuukausikoosteessa "Blogs December 2005".