ZOMG New Game!

ZOMG I think I have to get this new game for the XBOX 360!

Halo 3 is awesome

Okay, so Mr. Studmuffin got me an XBOX 360 for my bday (thank you!). I have to admit, that it is a super sweet gift :). Why get something like jewelry or a stuffed heart pillow when you can decapitate aliens with a big electric axe?

200 geeks

So, went to the midnight sale of Halo 3 last night with Mr. Studmuffin (who pre-ordered the game--the super-geek edition with helmet :p).


There were like 200 other geeks there! Of course, none of them were in coordinated (but not matchy-matchy) Halo 3 tshirts or anything. There was a kid in line behind us.. I think he was about 11. There were also 2-4 police vehicles there at any time, but I don't think that they realize geeks are pretty subdued. There was also a huge box of bagels on the floor if anyone got hungry. The only person who I saw eat them was the 11 yr old because a big box of bagels sitting outside on the sidewalk is just a little too sketchy for me. Anyways, it took about an hour in line to get the game (we were there a little bit before midnight), but it was a pretty interesting experience :p.

I'm kind of disappointed that there wasn't a guy in the Master Chief outfit, like that had in NYC. (NY's 'Halo 3' launch was no riot, but it was close).

Shoot 'Em Up and Halo 3 and Fall Fashion

So saw Shoot 'Em Up last night with Mr. Studmuffin. It was a pretty awesome movie. I read that it was only 1 hr and 20 min, but then again--that's the right length for a movie like that--2 hours of the same type of humorous violence would get boring. :) I guess my favorite scene was the "love scene" of the movie and some cheesy quote after he shot a bazillion bad guys, which I won't mention here, hehe :). "Do we just suck, or is he really good?" And remember parents, a bullet proof vest for a baby is a much better investment than a crib. I, for one, have learned from this movie that getting a tank is much better than a standard stroller. Yeah, I don't mind violence in a comic book type of way with blood squirting all over the place--I guess it's reminiscent of the Kill Bill movies, which I really enjoyed (should go watch them again!).

So Halo 3 is coming out (Sept. 24)... and we're probably going to go to whatever midnight release thingie they have at Gamestop. And of course, I need something to wear. It would be completely unimaginable for me to wear my old Halo 2 tshirt--that is beyond "so last season", so I was very happy to see that for Halo 3, there is a new ladies' tshirt with bling! So, of course I had to order it.


Fall Fashion
One of the best fall fashion articles that encompasses all of the latest trends I've seen, Fall For Fashion (The Korea Times).

Fall's color palette is predominantly dark, but gray is this season's "it" color. However, there are flashes of jewel tones such as royal blue and purple and touches of metallic that brighten up an otherwise dark look.

Before you start shopping, remember to choose one or two trends to follow. Start off with last season's clothes, and update your look with key pieces. For example, flirty shift dresses can transition in fall, when paired with dark tights and ankle boots. The swingy dress look can be updated with platform shoes.

The verdict is still out on whether skinny jeans will remain a wardrobe staple for this season. Some fashion magazines are already urging women to throw out their skinny jeans, and replace them with the more figure-friendly wide-leg versions.

You can still get some mileage out of skinny jeans if you pair them with knee-high boots or ankle boots.

For coats and jackets this fall, it is a return to minimalism. Black tailored jackets are always a good investment, and can be used for several seasons.

No outfit will be complete this season without the trendiest shoes: platform heels and ankle boots

Don't forget the season's "it" bags. Chanel introduced Coco's Croco bag, a luxe quilted satin bag with a chain handle. Bags made out of exotic skin like crocodile and alligator, are among the season's most expensive items. For party girls, the colorful and embellished clutch bag is a must-have.

Badminton nets, face cream, pecan crusted tilapia, and code coverage

Badminton Net
Okay... looking for a good badminton net--anyone know what might be nice to find? I don't know if I want a set, one with posts, or stakes that go into the ground. Something portable would be nice.


New Chanel Face Cream?
Also, the Chanel lady told me about a new line of Chanel skincare coming out, called Sublimage.

Little did I know that it's $350 for 1.7 oz. Hehe, I think the $90 I pay for my Rectifiance night cream was a bit out there.

And, take a look at the first Chanel makeup studio in the OC--I wish I lived the the OC!


Pecan encrusted tilapia
Last night I made this great pecan encrusted tilapia, which was modified off of this food network recipe for pistachio crusted tilapia. Okay, I didn't follow the recipe AT ALL since I didn't have pistachios, but also... I wasn't fond of the heavy herbs put in the crust. Instead, I sprinkled salt and pepper on the tilapia, and then spread maple syrup on it. I then coated the fillets in pulverized pecans. Then, I fried up some slices of prosciutto so it was really thin and crispy and served that on top of the fish. The extra saltiness and flavor with the fish was really tasty!

Code Coverage and Unit Tests
I got unit tests and code coverage running in my project's build using JUnit (of course) and Coberatura. They are pretty cool, and describe the line coverage as well as branch coverage of unit tests. I've always had mixed feelings about unit testing... is there some magical sweet spot for unit testing? For instance, I don't want to spend 75% of my time writing unit tests, and have to change and manage unit tests whenever I touch any code (but if that's the case--I think that the unit tests weren't written properly or the functionality wasn't well understood in the first place). I am definitely NOT a test-first coder though. I do see the benefits, but it's just no fun writing unit tests. :) And, I have to add that I am extremely very proud of myself for actually getting this to work in the build considering how distracted I've been at work lately. :)

Football: the goal line extends to infinity

I was watching football with Mr. Studmuffin on Sunday, and he explained to me that the goal line extends to infinity, meaning that if you are in bounds and cross the goal line, even if you go out of bounds--you still make a touch down! I never realized it before... but I guess that was why the player running the ball decided to do a somersault over an opponent. :) Okay, so is it super geeky of me to say that the favorite part of the explanation was the "infinity" part? Not just, "it goes on forever"... which you might have to further explain--what do you mean forever? Infinity is much easier to understand.

Backwards Compatibility

Ok, this is going to be a completely different tangent than my fun/fashion posts, and I'm going to talk about backwards compatibility. Why is backwards compatibility so hard? Is it that people do things SOOOO wrong the first time, that they have to rewrite everything? Even so, you can simply use the same language practices to give the same interfaces that people expected. It shouldn't be a separate item to "design for backwards compatibility" -- it should always happen!

JavaOne - Cattle, Sheep, or Lemmings

So, I think JavaOne is really a complex logistical system, or some people may call this as people herding. Okay, that some people is me, I admit. I guess there is a whole thing on "herd behavior" in humans. But, my question is on whether humans (in this case JavaOne geeks) are like cattle, sheep, or lemmings. I guess it also depends on the hunger factor (i.e. if it is breakfast or lunch). Personally, I think geeks are more like cattle or sheep. That we usually have something that we want to do, but will be herded to some other place because of sheep dogs (i.e. conference coordinators).

JavaOne - Social Aspects

So, I'm actually one of those people who turns to the people next to me at sessions and introduces myself and asks them what they are doing, etc. Maybe we chit chat about where they are or how the session applies to them. Okayyyy, I admit that I did this at the beginning, and then towards the end I was just anti-socially playing my PSP.

Anyways, I would say approximately 60% of the responses are good ones. I.e. people will respond and you will have a mini conversation. But, those aren't the interesting ones. The interesting ones are when people start shaking and stuttering when you start talking to them, and you can't help but feel bad. Are people so lacking in human interaction that they can't talk?

And, there was this other person I introduced to, and the conversation went like:
Me: Hi, my name is Brandy.
Other: My name is blah.
...We shake hands...
Me: Where do you work?
Other: At Blah in Blah.
.... and yeah... end of conversation.
About 20 minutes later, I see him pick his nose... I broke out my anti-bacterial hand wipes fast.

Fashion @JavaOne

Pretty much, there's not really fashion at JavaOne. Again, there was that guy in some video with a camera taped to his forehead--is that what's called good fashion? Also, what's up with women who go up on stage and present with their hair all frizzy. Okay, so sometimes I don't brush my hair in the morning, but if I knew I was presenting something, I'd at least make my hair look shiny and glossy and not a huge frizzy mess. I mean, I guess if you are the CTO of blah blah super huge company, you don't have time for these things? But, there are lots of Frederik Fekkai hair products out there that I am sure can make you have shiny glossy hair in less than 2 minutes.

Oh, and in some general session, the "cool" fashion was a NASA jacket and Duke surfing. Okay, so the geek in me thinks that they are pretty cool, but... not really. And, I am happy to say I have seen at least 5 or 6 women carrying designer handbags! Yay! Must be a couple of Louis Vuitton, couple of Burberry (ok if I don't count, then just make that count 1), and one vintage Gucci. Unfortunately, as I've told my friend, it was vintage because it was old, not because it was vintage.

Butt cracks--need I say more? Just don't do it. Wear a belt... this goes for men as well as ladies.

My hair. How many people have commented on my purple hair? One. And, that was someone who works the conference and doesn't attend it. :) When I was in NYC just walking around, I swear I got 3 comments on my hair in one day. I guess JavaOne attendees just don't care about hair.

Ok, I guess that is it for my initial fashion update at JavaOne.

JavaOne - Some other general session

So I went to some other general session in the afternoon on Tuesday, May 8.

First they started out with an more in depth explanation of Java FX Script--a scripting language that allows for super rich client experience without writing a lot of code. It looks pretty slick to be honest. Useful?, at least in products that I work with, I don't really think so. One key thing they were talking about is treating the "web as a platform". And, along those lines, I went to a GWT (google web toolkit) session where they were saying that the web should behave like the web. While Java FX Script is something I would love to play with, and is super sexy, it just doesn't feel like the web to me.

Java SE -- lots of stuff coming in Java 7. They described a much quicker adoption rate of Java 6 even over Java 5. Well, that's cool--wish my company would move to Java 5. So, what I'm doing is putting together a list of compelling business reasons why we should move to Java 5. As far as Java 7 is concerned, there are upcoming concepts like superpackages and superJARS that better handle interoperability, versioning, and dependencies.

Open source JDK--that is another huge thing. What it really means... that's to be seen. Other miscellaneous "big" things are JRuby (on Rails), jMaki, Phobos, etc. ... all in the scripting realm. Also, Glassfish seems like a pretty lightweight web application server that can do everything.

So, it's a really exciting time for new concepts and (finally?!) solutions to some problems. On the other hand, I'm not sure what the handful of sticking technologies should be.

:)

Taking a break

I had to walk out of another session today. This is only my second one out of the whole conference, so I think I'm doing pretty well so far. Just posted my thoughts about the JavaOne general session from Tuesday. I'll post more stuff throughout the rest of today and tomorrow. By the way, why is it colder in San Francisco than in Boston?

JavaOne General Session

These are my thoughts on the general session on Tuesday, May 8, 2007.

Technology wise, the new buzzwords/concepts/whatever were Glassfish, Open Source, Java FX Script (including Mobile), Mobile, TV/Multimedia, Java Real Time, open platform, rich internet. I'll have more thoughts on the technologies and things later, as I post more blogs about the other weeks. But, as with all of the sessions that people attend everyday, it's a mixed bag of really cool concepts and technology, with things that are just plain hype (or things that just don't apply). It's a strange dichotomy of "network in your hands", but well, Java is a tool for that. Sun is dependent on other companies/people to get Java in the hands of consumers and users.

I was pleased to also see a "social responsibility" theme towards Java technology. I mean, American Idol had their benefit for needy children, why can't Java/Sun? They talked about eco-friendly (carbon neutral conference), engineers without borders, and free curriculum around the world (curriki.org). There was a UN speaker at the conference, and it was kind of great to see him up there at a technology conference. Geeks are people too, and we need to help out others in the world using what we do best. On the other hand, I doubt Java is going to save the world. Though, maybe AJAX will.

Oh, and another thing. When did JavaOne become a cool rock concert type thing? Though, have to admit that the techno DJ at the beginning of the session was pretty cool (anon-music.com) or something.

Things I'm sure to be sick about at the end of the conference? Well... script wars. Scripting framework wars. Java FX Script looks really awesome, but is it hype, or for real?

JavaOne

I left for JavaOne on Monday, May 7th--had a great flight on JetBlue, and actually slept a good amount. But still, JetLag certainly caught up with me yesterday. When I left, I noticed that the trees were in full bloom, and now I see it is going to ran. So, I'm going to miss the flowers on the cherry trees. I'm very disappointed I didn't take pictures of them this year.

So, before I left, I had this dream/nightmare that for some strange reasons, I kept on not being able to attend the technical sessions. For instance, I would have to go to the post office for important documents and travel from Waltham to Cambridge without a car (yes, I know the conference is in San Francisco--this is a dream, remember?). So what happens my first day? One of my sessions gets rescheduled to late Friday afternoon! But... it was good since it gave me time to get my mini schedule thingie. I went through a lot trying to get it--this desk and that desk, to wind up at the original desk I was at, and yes, they did have them there. UGH!

As you've noticed, I just started this blog... so more to come later.

WoW Diet

Tue Apr 11 14:44:42 EDT 2006
Have decided to do a series of social experiments. My friend Jennifer and I are going to go to various (or many the same) bars and see how many people (men) approach us when we vary different aspects of our looks or behavior. These variables include: (1) Wearings skirts vs. pants (2) different colors (3) glasses vs. no glasses (4) hair up vs. down (5) male friend vs. no male friend. If there are any others... we'll let you know how this goes. I hope to update all findings and give charts of our progress.

Next item... I'm now on the WoW diet (World of Warcraft diet). I notice that I don't really eat when I am playing... so, this is a really effective diet! Whee. :)

[How to Hook a Hottie at JavaOne]: Introduction

Mon Apr 10 14:59:56 EDT 2006

[How to Hook a Hottie at JavaOne]: Introduction

This is the beginning of my new online blog saga on "How to Hook a Hottie at JavaOne". Now--to give you all some background on this... I am not necessarily seeking a relationship. However, it is somewhat a goal of mine not to be completely single and alone when I am old. :) If I did end up single forever, I think I would be ok with that. I enjoy my independence, time with my friends, family, and playing World of Warcraft.

But, give that I will be going to JavaOne this year in San Francisco (May 16 - May 19), I thought it would be interesting to do a social experiment and write a blog/short story on "How to Hook a Hottie at JavaOne".

You may be concerned and ask... "Are there going to be any hotties at JavaOne?" Well, I'm going to be there--so, there is at least one. I'm imagining that there must be at least one other (male, single) hottie there? If not, I'll just concentrate on my Java stuff.

So, keep tuned in for developments on my journey. I think in the next episode, I'll be talking about what to wear.

Beauty and the Geek

Thu Jan 19 21:12:50 EST 2006
My favorite quote from Beauty and the Geek 2: "I know nothing about anything." I like how "MIT Graduate" is a type of geek. And, this show really makes me want to be a Dungeon Master... kool. :)

Got my karaoke mics last night...

Thu Sep 16 10:36:09 EDT 2004
Got my karaoke mics last night... and my voice is a teensy bit lost... :p Hehe. Also, woke up kind of late this morning. I woke up, and looked at my clock... 9:15 -- oopsies. I don't think it was from karaoke, I just think it was from lack of sunlight.

Hmm... it's only Thursday--why does the week feel so long? It feels very much like Friday. I was reading some of my London guidebooks last night--it seems like such a huge city... or, I just can't tell distances on the map. :p I think I definitely want to go to the palace and covent gardens. I am staying right near Hyde Park--so I will definately visit there. I think I will see at least one theatre thingie... :p. I can't wait!

Ok, I have to admit that I am a major geek... I am bloggin from my pda.

Tue May 25 20:13:16 EDT 2004
Ok, I have to admit that I am a major geek... I am bloggin from my pda. Don't worry--I have a keyboard attached to it. :) So, does that make me more or less geeky?

Watching American Idol... blah. I don't normally watch it-but it's on before the season finale of 24--which I am majorly anticipating! Whee. Ok... back to tv. :p

Geek Test

Mon May 24 09:46:58 EDT 2004
Took the Geek Test: 37.27811% - Major Geek. 'nuf said.