Being a Better Developer

I've got so much work still to do and so I'm going to keep this post as brief as I can here. Since it's been a few days since I've really geeked out, I might as well jump right into some CS stuff. A relatively new blogger has given five ways to become a better developer, and I liked it so much that I just had to discuss it here. I was already impressed with his first tip: learn Ruby/Ruby on Rails. I'd say that Python or even Haskell could probably fit in there also because we get so caught up in semantics nowadays that we forget how good elegant code looks and how fulfilling it is to not only be able to run it but to be able to read it. Learning something new every week is so very important, and is something that I was told way back when before the Internet was big and you had to read magazines to figure out what's hot and cool. Now you just browse the Net and keep your eyes on Digg, and it makes you such a better developer to be aware of your options. Customer needs and wants are something I experience first hand at TI, and they really do butt heads a lot. You have to be that interface between what makes sense and what the customer really needs. Passion is most important though, and is what wakes me up every morning. Going back to his first point, eWeek actually has a list of languages you may want to look into if you want to try out something new. I can personally vouch for PHP, C++, and Java being invaluable, and C and Perl gets you street cred among your peers.

Ars Technica has posted one of those reviews I love so much, but this one is for the 2G iPod Nano, and the best part has to be the stress test. I can't believe it worked after being thrown in a washing machine! Now that's durability. Do you remember the simpler days of the 1G iPod? If not, then strap yourself in for a ride in the YouTube time machine, which has the first introduction of the iPod. This is before the fancy presentation and excited audiences Jobs has come to know nowadays, and was a turning point for the company. Plus, it's pretty funny to hear him laud a 0.75-inch thickness and FireWire connectivity. We may talking about his last speech five years from now in reference to digital video distribution, and Google clearly believes in it because they're in talks with Jobs to produce video content for the iTV. Can you imagine watching "White and Nerdy" in your living room via an iTV? Google has released a new version of Picasa with some much needed updates, including a better screensaver generator, which I've used and love. Warner has struck a deal with YouTube to release its videos to them in exchange for a slice of the ad revenue, and so it sounds like YouTube is following through on its 18 month music videos plan! Lastly, I leave you with more great freeware utilities.

Gridiron Gang took top honors in the box office this weekend at $15 million with more lackluster sales. At least The Black Dahlia followed close behind, though they probably should've waited longer after Hollywoodland to release it. Paramount must be really mad at Tom Cruise because they're actually looking to Brad Pitt to fill the role of Ethan Hunt for MI:4. I almost feel like I would boycott the movie on principle alone. How can you recast Ethan Hunt after three movies?! Yahoo Movies has another trailer for Saw III, which doesn't show you much new stuff, but the horror geeks will eat it up. There's also a trailer now for The Invisible, which I love the story of for some reason and am intrigued to check it out. I haven't seen Blade: Trinity though so I have no idea how good Goyer is at directing. Lastly, the people who brought you Mr. Show and Reno 911 are coming out with a movie called Let's Go to Prison, and AICN premiered it so I thought I'd show it here. Oh how I crave even a teaser trailer for this one.


Now for some Monday Madness:

1. How do you eat an oreo cookie?
Usually just bite it whole, but I'll lick the creme off sometimes.
2. How long does it take you to eat lunch?
Usually 10-15 minutes, but I try to stretch it to 20 minutes to relax some if I'm at home when I'm eating.
3. Caffeine or decaf?
Caffeine, though I don't drink coffee.
4. Chicken or beef?
Chicken, because you know it's better.
5. Pen or pencil?
Erasable ink pens are where it's at.
6. Autumn or spring?
Autumn, because it's typically a little cooler than the spring, which just brings the promise of the heat wave known as summer.
7. Baseball or basketball?
Basketball is so much better.
8. 'Survivor' or 'The Amazing Race?'
Survivor, though I don't care for either.
9. Come up with one question I can ask our Monday Madness participants in the weeks to come
How often do you pig out when you eat?