Monthly Archives: May 2010

Some Reflections about my Students

Most of you know that I teach an introductory computer class at the local university. It is an interesting experience – I sort of get a first hand glimpse at the general computer knowledge of a diverse sample of the … Continue reading

Posted in school and teaching | 13 Comments

Iron Man 2

Sequels generally suck. This is especially true for Marvel super-hero movie sequels. It is almost like a rule – a Marvel adaptation quality is inversely proportional to the number attached at the end of the title. Think about it. Spiderman … Continue reading

Posted in movies | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Achievements vs In-Game Perks

Who here cares about video game achievements? You know, stuff like Steam Achievements, or their X-box/Games for Windows Live based equivalent. Personally I don’t really pay them that much attention. I’m not the kind of person who likes to brag … Continue reading

Posted in video games | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Happy 25th!

Today is special for quite a few reasons. Firstly, it seems to be the international Geek Pride Day which coincides (on purpose) with the anniversary of the Star Wars premiere (1977 in case you didn’t remember). As if this was … Continue reading

Posted in news & current events | 17 Comments

Mirror’s Edge: The Story

When I reviewed Mirror’s Edge the other day, I purposefully left out the discussion of the games plot because… Well, it warrants it’s own post. Not because it is complex or thought provoking. It’s because it makes no sense. I’m … Continue reading

Posted in video games | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Mirror’s Edge: Trial and Error

Unlike most people who bought Mirror’s Edge when it was first released, I knew it was not going to be spectacular. Still, I decided to try it out because jumping around rooftops Parkour style it looked vaguely fun to me. … Continue reading

Posted in video games | Tagged , | 9 Comments

I hate websites with light text on dark background

When you browse the web do you prefer websites which have light background and dark text or vice versa? I wrote about it some time ago and it seems to be a polarizing issue. Some people seem to prefer one … Continue reading

Posted in programming | Tagged | 12 Comments

Let’s use a methaphor: Charlie and his car

Few weeks ago I posted a rant about stupid people not knowing how to internet. Most of the readers could relate, but some folks criticized me for being elitist. I’m pretty sure these people were just trolling but I guess … Continue reading

Posted in technology | Tagged | 19 Comments

Python: Open the Most Recent Log File

Lately I have been on a Python kick. You know, just in case you haven’t noticed it based on the new outcrop of Python centric posts around these parts. In addition to Google App Engine related stuff I’ve been doing, … Continue reading

Posted in programming | Tagged | 9 Comments

Ginger Snaps 2

Ginger Snaps 2 is one of these movies that are built around a concept so clever that you can’t help to be impressed. Ginger Snaps 2 combines Lycantrophy and substance abuse rehabilitation. No, seriously. Check this out: Brigitte is infected … Continue reading

Posted in movies | Tagged | 2 Comments

Flaws of Hierarchical File System

The hierarchical file system we have right now is great. The file/folder/directory metaphor works very well and makes it easy to organize your files on the disk in a way that makes them easy to find. The tree data structure … Continue reading

Posted in technology | 13 Comments

The new age superpower…

I was driving to work the other day listening to the radio, tuned to some kind of morning show with multiple hosts doing random banter and fart jokes when I heard something that made me very angry. I mean, not … Continue reading

Posted in technology | Tagged | 19 Comments

Generating Random Pronoucable Passwords

Here is an interesting problem: how to generate sufficiently random but semi-pronounceable, and easy to remember passwords. I mean, putting together a random password generator is easy – just pick bunch of random character from a pool of printable symbols … Continue reading

Posted in programming | Tagged | 5 Comments

In which I hate Borderlands

I took a brief vacation from being Geralt, the horny card collecting Witcher to check out Borderlands. I wanted to play this game for a while, mainly because I expected it to be a dumbed down Fallout 3 with less … Continue reading

Posted in video games | 11 Comments

Character mapping must return integer, None or unicode

The other day I implemented a simple rot13 function in python like this: from string import ascii_uppercase as upper, ascii_lowercase as lower, maketrans def rot13(text): rot13_alphabet = upper[13:]+uc[:13] + lower[13:]+lc[:13] rot13_transform = maketrans(upper+lower, rot13_alphabet) return text.translate(rot13_transform) Yes, I know there … Continue reading

Posted in programming | Tagged | 3 Comments

How to ask questions

I really don’t know what is it with lusers and asking technical questions. I swear I have a fruitless conversation that goes like this almost every day: luser: I am having a problem with my computer me: Ok, what’s the … Continue reading

Posted in sysadmin notes | 23 Comments

DRM – Death of Public Domain?

I am not a lawyer. I don’t even play one on TV. I am by no means an authority on matters of copyright but I sometimes feel that I know more about it than an average person on the street. … Continue reading

Posted in technology | Tagged | 9 Comments