Back in high school there was this really nice guy named Rodolpho. As high school students go he was a rather fascinating guy. He grew up all over the world, moving from country to country; his parents were in the Peace Corps. Every day at lunch he would regale us with tales of the strange, bizarre, and exotic. He used to tell us about tribal men that would paint themselves with the blood of lions just before a hunt or a battle, believing it would grant them the strength and ferocity of the lion.

One day Rodolopho stopped coming to school. We all assumed his parents took him to another far off land to do whatever it was they did. I wonder what became of Rodolpho. . . .

art by Dan Dos Santos

I may or may not know what Twitter is really supposed to be for. Maybe it's a hip urban spontaneous social gathering tool, or maybe it's a social networking micro-blog slash IM app that for some inane reason includes SMS. The point is rather moot when no one reads what you write. Twitter failed me yesterday because only half of the people who usually chat with me even know what was going on some 12 hours after the tweet. Was it Twitter's code? No, it was the social network aspect of Twitter that failed.

Because you guys will ask and I really don't want to repeat myself, here is how my birthday went:

1. I had planned on having a nice and relaxing lunch with Holly. I nearly got that. It was nice but not exactly relaxing as I was unsure if anything would settle well. Turns out it did, so win for me, except the entire process took 2 hours!
2. Due to the extra long lunch (90 minutes longer than usual) I had to work late, but decided not to work too late and make up 30 minutes on Friday, so that I might better enjoy my birthday. This was a mistake.
3. I tried to play Bourne Conspiracy while waiting for my folks to return home from errands, as we were to have a steak BBQ at their house to celebrate my birthday. It is now roughly 1700 hours and Emma is in a screaming hysterical fit. This continues until 2030 hours, with only a short break (15 minutes) while she's in the car.
4. Instead of 4 adults eating a steak BBQ it was 3 of us eating a cold steak BBQ while Emma screamed and wailed and turned beet red. It was then decided that we should go home and try to put her to bed in familiar surroundings. This means the planned cake and games time was canceled (maybe postponed).
5. We get home and Holly puts Emma to bed while I put in "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" in a vain attempt to salvage something of my birthday. Yay. I'm 31.

I didn't ask for much, and I stupidly allowed myself to be optimistic that I could have a nice dinner with my family and play either a lawn game or a board/card game. My birthdays don't usually turn out exactly as planned but none have bombed as bad as this one. No cake, no presents, no fun, only 4 hours of screaming that set me on edge and gave me a headache. Instead of being "the birthday-boy" I was "dad". Le sigh.

The third in an n-part series on "How I Use Quicksilver".

Define words

Thanks to the built-in dictionary on a mac (and optionally dict.org), I can select a word anywhere (or manually enter it in the input box), tab to the second pane, type 'dict', and get my definition right quick.

Note that this is on the weaker side of quicksilver tips; there are so many ways to get word definitions on a mac that just about anyone can do it effortlessly. Right clicking on a word usually gives a dictionary option, and the spotlight-inclined among you can type a word into spotlight to get the definition most of the time.

The second in an n-part series on "How I Use Quicksilver".

Send a file via email.

This one has been done to death in screencasts, but I do it so much I'd be remiss if I failed to mention it.

As many technology oriented people do, I send a fair bit of email with attachments. Dozens of different workflows accommodate this, but I like to involve quicksilver.

I activate this workflow in one of two ways. I either a) select a file that I wish to send in Finder, or b) I wish to send a file that is in a common location that I know is in quicksilver's catalog.

Once I have my file selected in quicksilver, I'll usually compress the file into a zip archive to get past stupid MTAs like exchange. Doing this is a quick procedure: {tab} c o m p [highlights 'compress using...'] {tab} z i p [highlights 'zip] {enter} (wait a second for quicksilver to reappear with my file selected).

At this point, I'm ready to fire off an email. One {tab} gets me to the middle box, I type 'e m a i l', tab again, then type some letters of the recipient's name, finally hit {enter} and I'm done.

In my day job, I measured I do this about 5 times a day, and without any "nifty" workflow in place, it took me about 40 seconds to navigate to my mail app, compose an email, get the name in the 'to' field, click 'attach', find the file in the following dialog, and finally send it. Even more time was required if I wanted to zip the file first.

On the other hand, quicksilver takes about 7 seconds to do this on a slow day.

The first in an n-part series on "How I Use Quicksilver".

Shorten a URL

I have a trigger set up to take whatever I have highlighted in my system, and put that in the first pane of quicksilver. (It happens to be Cmd+/ )

From there, I have to type 'sho' which will select 'ShortenUrl.rb'. (It took one trial to get quicksilver to learn that.)

Finally, I hit enter, and wait for a fraction of a second, and quicksilver comes quickly back with the shortened URL.

I can effortlessly copy this to the clipboard for later use. Or, I can then use this to post to a chatroom within colloquy [or emacs] if I so desire. Look for that in a later post.

Average time saved: 3 seconds.

Dashboard isn't "the killer app", but that's not to say it isn't useful. I have found it to be a time saver (at the expense of resources) in a few tasks. Allow me to illustrate.

Home

In the morning I drag myself out of bed and attempt to feed myself. I'm sure it's a comical event, one which my children will laugh at many times. During this entertainment extravaganza I usually check a few things on my trusty iBook: the day's comics, some blogs, and Dashboard. Dashboard will tell me in a glance if I need to dress warm or cold, expect rain, snow, sleet, or sun, and give me an idea of the wicked pollen and it's continual struggle to kill me. If I've purchased something online I'll usually also track it on Dashboard, so I'll know, "Hey! Why did my package go from Nevada to Kentucky?!?"

Work

My office doesn't afford me a view of the outside. It's terrible in that respect. I never know how the weather is doing, and in the cold months of the year (or April) I like to keep an eye on the freezing point so I can make a hasty exit and work from home. That and it's always fun to comment on the weather in chat, because inanity is great stuff! Beyond this I find that I need to generate random passwords for db connections, random text for site layout testing, and sometimes need to know the HTML entity for something strange like the Yen (¥ btw).

For whatever reason people are always asking me about dates. And I hate loading up iCal just to refer to a date on a calendar, so I just go to Dashboard and look. Takes me a brief moment. I also drop sticky notes on my Dashboard from time-to-time, which keeps things greatly uncluttered.

In summary I use Dashboard for those things I only occasionally need, want to keep hidden but resident, and for those things where a quick glance at data is all I need to answer my question. A push of F12 and I get my data is fast, easy, and most of the time I don't notice the missing resources.

For someone who is on the keyboard all day long like me, a keyboard is one of the most important tools a programmer can invest in. The wrong keyboard can give its user finger, hand, arm, shoulder, and even neck problems, but the right keyboard is, well, bliss. Or so I hear.

For the last year, I've been using a Microsoft's ergonomic 4000. It's nice, but not perfect. My hands lay perfectly on the keyboard when I'm typing normally. I can't speak enough good things about the research Microsoft did on the angle of a person's arms on all 3 axes with this keyboard.

However, I fear they've made some wrong moves. The mouse simply lies too far from the center of the keyboard. This makes it awkward to do any serious mousing. Second, the keys are a bit tall. It takes a bit more effort to push the keys down that I'd like; something I notice after working on it for 12 straight hours.

Next up in line is the keyboard I'm using to type this, the Apple aluminum keyboard. It's nice. It has been doing some weird things like screw up text that I've written, but I suspect that could be fixed with a reset and new keyboard firmware. (Sidenode: This keyboard has firmware... that's just weird.) As far as typing goes, this keyboard gets it right in the travel department. The keys barely have to move to trigger an event on the wire, and that makes for relaxed fingers at the end of the day. However, it sadly does not make for relaxed arms. Being a "traditional" keyboard, it forces its user to contort their arms to painful extremes just to line the hands up with the keys correctly.

In the end, I'm not sure where to go, but I think I'll be trying to Microsoft Comfort Curve next. It appears to be a combination of the two that just might work for me.

JD made an interesting point here about a desire to have the ability to create what I will call a new "project space" at will; a place where we can discuss, document, brainstorm, and implement a programming idea. The idea has merit and it brings to mind a question of what [web] tools are needed for such things? A wiki? A forum? A blog? A run-of-the-mill CMS? I've tried to do this stuff before and invariably things break, and I'd like to figure out why and what to do about it.

The Wiki

The wiki is a great place to brainstorm ideas and document direction. Beyond this I don't know what it has to offer. It's a terrible medium for discussion and it's not ideal for one-way communication "from on high", so for "immutable" docs a wiki is a bad idea.

The Forum

This is a great place for discussions and to hash out the merits of feature x vs feature y. The problem with forums, however, is once the topic thread leaves the front page it's a dead topic no matter how eloquent. Forums are great for ephemeral conversations and hashing things out, but they beg for someone to do a "formal writeup" after the fact. Forums make terrible reference material.

The Blog

To be honest I'm not even sure how this could be useful to a development team. It has all the drawbacks of a form and the wiki but none of the gain. And yet it is a tool for getting information out. Does it even apply in a development environment?

The CMS

This one can work for those immutable documents (but then how is this not a wiki with security?). This gives a person(s) the ability to push out those few settled upon docs, but again, isn't this premature in a development environment? Isn't this the tool to use to distribute the software and have press releases and stuff?

The Trac-like Thing

I'm not a major fan of Trac; it doesn't work for me all that well. But the software idea of having a shared list of "action items" and bugs, along with milestones, goals, and deadlines could be handy. I'm not sure to what degree but it could be handy. Now having a browsable repository . . . that's not too shabby either, especially if it displayed the commit logs in a meaningful way.

The Main Question

What things are needed in order to create a project space? Right now I like having a forum (in which only the invited devs can access) and a wiki. Are there other components? Is there a way to join these two into one package (a wiki/forum combo)? Thoughts? Ideas? Flames?

I rented Call of Duty 4 (CoD4 from here on out) Friday night and finished it early Saturday afternoon (about 5-6 hours of play time). I confess I am not a big fan of FPSes on console games, though I have played one that I like quite well, and I have a history of playing Quake games on the PC and having a ball. Playing CoD4 however left me wanting more, and feeling quite unsatisfied and a little upset. Mind you I did not play any of the multiplayer online stuff, which I suspect is the main use case for the game, so this is only my reactions to the single player game, which I submit is only there to train you on how to use the game engine.

At fist blush the game presents itself as a bit of a modern day war simulation. You are either a short-lived Marine or an invincible S.A.S. soldier. They hand you and arsenal of what I can only assume are modern weapons (though I never did find a Barrett light 50 calibre rifle anywhere). The tagline of the game is "Modern Warfare" and to this end things seem up to snuff, though not having ever fired anything more advanced than a shotgun I cannot say how accurate they are. Nonetheless I'll assume they got the recoil right, the magazine capacities, rate of fire, blah blah blah all simulated right (although I never could change the fire mode for the MP5; it was always on full auto and I desperately wanted a 3-round burst). The game even goes so far as to start you out with a training level which to my eyes simulates modern warfare urban tactics (complete with flash-bangs, which I never used after that one level). Suffice it to say I got the distinct impression that the game was going to be a modern warfare simulation, and I was all geared up to go tactical, work with my team, and conserve ammo. Too bad I was wrong.

I would imagine that on a real battlefield if I took even one bullet to any part of my anatomy I'm fairly sure that would get me sent back to base-camp where a purple heart would await me (along with lots of morphine). In the game, however, I can withstand a barrage of bullets and even shrapnel from a grenade, if only I find cover and rest for about 10 seconds, after which I'm miraculously healed to 100% and ready to take more bullets. In one level I'm fairly sure I took 10 head shots and still didn't go down. They must have been using rubber bullets on me, but actual lead on my allies, because I saw them drop down dead. And this is an odd point: I cannot take the magazines from a dead comrade to replenish my dwindling supply. Instead I'm supposed to take the enemy rifles as my own, and lets face it an AK-47 doesn't hold up against any of the guns I start with.

At this point the simulation aspect is right out. And so are any tactical elements I was expecting. I cannot open any doors, I have to wait for my Captain or a Lieutenant to do so, and then they get to run in and sweep the room. I'm left to stand around like a useless wad of pixelated flesh (with X-Men healing capacity!). Hell, I can even stand in front of an M1 Abrams tank while it's firing it's main gun and suffer no hearing loss whatsoever! I mean talk about making me think that modern soldiers come straight out of the comic books; Marines are all Superman! WE PWN THE WRLD!!!

Allow me to move on to my next (and final) point: the story is a cruel exercise in railroading the players. My actions have absolutely nothing to do with the outcome of the story, because if I fail they force me to restart the mission (thankfully from the last non-failed checkpoint). I cannot even over-succeed and save some of my dying comrades with an act of heroism. Everything in this game is fated, and you cannot fight Fate. This quite quickly kills any motivation to care, though you are given the sense that "maybe if I were a little faster in this timed level so-and-so would not have been shot to death". Nope. That's a futile thought. You are an utter loser and you can do nothing but watch the people around you die; yeah, that's right kids. War sucks, and heroes don't exist, not even modern near-invincible ones. You may be able to heal all kinds of battle wounds, but don't even think about trying to save a comrade, because you can't. Ain't nihilism great?

The worst part of all this was the stupid flashback level. Talk about total and utter futile loser lameness. They set up the level by introducing a character your Captain knows, and in the photo Mr. Bad Guy (who had a Russian sounding name I cannot remember) has only one arm. Then your Captain goes into some 15 year old flashback about how he was given an assassination mission to kill Mr. Bad Guy. Immediately I thought, "Oh great. The stupid f-er failed and now I get to play the mission. Thanks a ton Mr. Developer guy, because now I get to play a mission where I know I FAIL and that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside." I did wonder how I was supposed to shoot his arm off though, but I shouldn't have thought about it. Apparently 15 years ago the British had developed 50 caliber homing bullets, and not just any homing bullets, but homing bullets that would only shoot your bloody arm off. Now I'm not sure why our cousins from across the pond would only want to shoot people's arms off from 1,000 yards out, but I suppose they figure it's a more humane way to assassinate someone. I mean, it's just plain mean to blow someone's head off. At least let them die from shock and blood loss like your spotter suggests will happen (news flash Captain Moron: he won't die, and I had time to get a second shot off). It's sad but I think the developers were making some kind of political statement about the ineptitude of the S.A.S. at confirming their kills, and I think that is highly uncalled for. I'll bet those S.A.S. guys are some really bad mo-fos and I for one would not want to be in their sites for any reason.

I'm sure the game plays like a ton of fun in the free-for-all multiplayer semi-tactical online play, but I'll never find out. I'm not all that good at that sort of game on a console, and what I really cared about was the story, which I found all too linear and way to railroading. I wanted to know what happened when I didn't let Son of Mr. Bad Guy cap himself. I wanted to know what happened if the Marine I played managed to escape the nuclear blast (and yes, the British survive, but the Marines all die. Semper what now?). I know games can be written with branching story-lines, I've played a couple. Without this I'm afraid CoD4 is just an online FPS with a weak story-mode game that must only be there to train you for the "fun" you'll have taking headshot after headshot while killing some poor 10 year old kid from New Jersey. 'Oorah!