dirtypotato.com^2.0

...and you live in the best town in the world, then you might enjoy 123 things to love about new york.

Posted by christopher andersson at 10:16 PM

• Comments ()

Waking up this morning I realized that I had forgot to set my alarm, and once again I was going to be late to work. I've gotten accustomed to getting ready in a hurry, and have the whole process down to about 20 minutes which includes a shower and nice clothes. As I stepped out my front door I saw the bus on the corner which gets me to the subway about 10 minutes quicker than walking and I sprinted over just barely making it before the doors closed. I grabbed my metro-card out of my pocket, shoved it in the slot as I greeted the driver with a good-morning and a smile as I usually do. Saying good-morning to a bus driver in Brooklyn has varied responses from no response at all, as if the driver doesn't even hear me, to a half-hearted almost under the breath "mornin'". This morning the driver replied with a confident "good-morning", and I even think I caught a smile. Just as the driver was replying to my greeting the metro-card reader made the dreaded low-tone embarassing beep that it makes when you don't have enough money on your card. With almost mechanical reaction I grabbed the card, said "shit" and started to get out of the way of other passengers. As I started to jump off the bus the driver yelled to me, "hold on a second, where you going...the subway?", I nodded as that was exactly where I was going, "just stay on the bus then." and I thanked him and walked to the back of the bus. It's not often that someone acts like this in New York, and I was taken completely off-guard. I wanted to show him my appreciation not just for the ride down to the train, but because I knew that he had already made my day. As I got off the bus I walked right in front of it as I was crossing the street, looked right at him through the windshield, gave him the warmest smile I could and waved. He waved back and smiled too.

Now doesn't that just warm your fuckin heart?

Posted by christopher andersson at 11:19 AM

• Comments ()

...when a site like this one puts a smile on your face and brings back nostalgic memories of dot com dreams, and the people you worked with. See we built in a little "Ninja Admin" tool into our administrative functions of the application we were working on. Not sure why we found it so funny, or how it actually ended up in there, but it definitely provided some simple comic relief during the many late nights at the office.

Posted by christopher andersson at 2:27 PM

• Comments ()

User interfaces are so ancient history. Why do we need them? I prefer a direct stream of binary directly to my brain. Shit just listening to an endless stream of droning zero's and one's over a loudspeaker would suit me just fine for listening to the newest ditty production. Think of the control you have! Just flip a few of the numbers around, and presto! It's a Zepplin re-mix of laffy taffy.

Re-wind.

I just finished reading an e-mail trail where the god of linux flamed a bunch of programmers in a childish rant that made me want a little mano a mano with the finnish punk.

His tone is a little unbelievable coming from a man of his age and stature. Almost like he just got off the phone with his nagging mother and needed somewhere to vent; too bad his Mom's printing problems kept him on the phone with her for 2 frustrating hours...maybe if it was a _little easier to use_ he wouldn't be so pissy.

Posted by christopher andersson at 3:32 PM

• Comments ()

Watched the Project Aardvark documentary this week-end which if you are not familiar with it is a documentary about the full project lifecycle (almost) of a software product. Being a pretty avid Joel fan I pre-ordered the DVD and recieved my copy last week.

I wasn't really sure what the doc was going to be like, but it didn't really turn out as I expected at all. All things considered it was done pretty well coming from some software engineer's, and the filmmaking help of Boondoggle Films, but I wouldn't say it was the most eye opening documentary either. Now I'm a software engineer myself (or I try to be), so maybe it would be more informative for someone that isn't in the industry. On the other hand I did watch most of the movie with my roomates woman who has absolutely no affiliation with the software industry, and we exchanged many confused looks as the movie progressed.

I'm not going to bash the movie, as I really think the idea of making a documentary about 4 interns writing a product from start to finish is a great idea. However images of tomato plants growing on the 19th floor of a midtown office, and strange out of context transitions into interviews with other well known software heavy-weights such as Paul Graham seem to be the only things that stick out in my mind about the movie.

I really didn't feel that the environment of working on a software product was captured. There was a point in the movie where one of the interns was speaking about a bug they had found, and the process of who's code it was residing in turned into an argument; that would have been a great interaction to show. I wanted more images of the teamwork involved in the project, more of the guts of everyday work.

This could possibly inspire some other pieces on the subject, and I am definitely thinking about my own ideas for a version in my own style.

Posted by christopher andersson at 10:32 PM

• Comments ()