“You see, it’s like the old saying, ‘Everybody loves a cane.'”

broderic on September 8, 2005

A couple months ago, there was a dustup between Nike Skateboarding and Minor Threat over the former appropriating the image from the seminal Minor Threat album cover for their summer tour. I really want to go on a rant about this, but don’t have the time to. I think that Jason Kottke was right in calling it an homage.

I remember about 15 years ago that the rage in skateboarding graphics was copying a well known logo and transforming it into a skateboard manufacturer logo. The best was the NBA logo of red, white and blue lay up guy transformed into a skater doing a kickflip. These were all tweaking of the establishment. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

I remember about 20 years ago that my favorite pair of skate shoes were the black and red Air Jordans. Still the best after all these years. Nike was a part of skate culture a long way back. I can still recall a cover of Thrasher with Jesse Martinez kicking out a big judo air in a pair of Air Jordan’s.

“Don’t try to confuse me with the facts.”

broderic on September 2, 2005

I am saddened by the events befalling the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. I wish it would not have happened like this. I remember coming into South Florida after Hurricane Andrew. The place never looked so strange.

Yet, the devestation showing on TV is out of this world. Katrina was a Cat 4 and it would seem that it should not have wreaked as much destruction as the Cat 5 Andrew. Yet, here it is almost a week after it has hit and it looks as if the end of the world has arrived there. I can’t imagine facing this.

New Orleans is gone. She won’t recover for years if not decades.

My heart and thoughts go out to those affected by this.

“Help, I’m trapped in a complaint box.”

broderic on September 26, 2004

I just signed up for DSL from Earthlink. Is this a good idea or not? I noticed that I was still signed up for dial-up. They also say on their FAQ that I will keep my email addresses from the dial-up. Is that true? Anyone know?

“Don’t mess with a man with a way-back machine, I can make it so you were never born.”

broderic on September 25, 2004

Another Friday night at the movies this time to see Julianne Moore in The Forgotten. A very strange choice of a role for the always great acting Ms. Moore. I never knew her to choose doing a science fiction flick, but then a quarter of the way into the movie that is what it became. It was billed as a thriller, but don’t buy that line. It is straight out of a Twilight Zone episode being investigated by Mulder and Scully from the X-Files. Ms. Moore does an excellent job at being perplexed, but her acting reminded me of the coked out scene in Boogie Nights: hysterical, paranoid, and slightly crazy. The ending was predictable by the time you knew that she wasn’t crazy. It is THEM we must be afraid of, and THEY are here. Cue Twilight Zone theme. Cue the X-Files theme.

3 of 5 stars.

“I am a cypher, a cypher wrapped in an enigma… smothered in secret sauce.”

broderic on September 25, 2004

The NFL season is only a couple of weeks old and it looks like a long season for my favored team, Tampa Bay Bucs. Their offense stinks. The defense still formidable, but getting slower and slower each year. And the front office seems to be a mess with the ousting of one of the principle architects of Tampa’s revival, GM Rich McKay.

I don’t know what to think. I loved them as the lovable losers in the late eighties and early nineties. Cheered them on when Coach Dungy turned the sinking ship around in the mid and late nineties. He made them a contender almost every year. Was ecstatic when they won the Super Bowl in 2003. But lately, I am puzzled on their direction. They released John Lynch and Warren Sapp, stalwarts of the defense even if they were aging and on the decline. Their offense even under Dungy sucked, and it still sucks. Why can’t Coach Gruden get this thing to work correctly?

Perhaps, I have had it good for so long with this team that when the going gets rough I want to get off their bandwagon. Not me. Not for this lovable team. Go Bucs!

“The eyes are the windows to the skull, my friend.”

broderic on September 23, 2004

I am posting the first of my homework assignments here on my blog, because I don’t want to lose it in email.

The Process Patterns Resource Page offers the student and practitoners of software engineering a central repository of online links to sites that focus on process patterns. It is maintained by Scott Ambler a major proponent and developer of process patterns. At the site, one is informed of Scott Ambler’s two books that deal with process patterns, Process Patterns, Building Large-scale systems using object technology and More Process Patters, Delivering Large-scale systems using object technology. Along with links, Ambler includes a brief overview of process patterns via an abbreviated FAQ, frequently asked questions. The FAQ answers, “What are process patterns,” “what is the history of process patterns,” and “what types of process patterns exist?” He also instructs users on how to document a process pattern in the similar manner as documenting design patterns. Overall, the Process Patterns Resource Page, is a good starting point for researching process patterns.

Since the main focus of The Process Patterns Resource Page is to aggregate links to other sites about process patterns, the sites that it links to are of special interest to software engineers and students when they visit this site. As communication is the primary facet of a process framework, then what can be more important than communication amongst peers? In fact, each link gives access to more information about process patterns. For example, Ambler includes a link to a white paper (PDF) on process patterns which he wrote. This gives a more in depth introduction to process patterns. Another example is a link to online library which categorizes all types of patterns including process patterns. Lastly, an important link in the pattern ecology is the Portland Pattern Repository. Another library of patterns, but this time in the form of a wiki, a self-organizing online discussion board. It is a good place for software engineers to interact in a continuous dialogue with peers. There are many links which can be explored in order to learn more about patterns.