Monthly Archives: September 2008

Random quotes that give you a feel for my week

Posted by TD on September 25, 2008 4 comments

(one black cow-orker to another black cow-orker, just as a black guy’s coming in to the lab)

“Why are you so racist against black people?!?”

(after a brief, surreal conversation with an instructor)

TD: “Did we just get invited to a circle jerk?”
Cool cow-orker: “I believe we did.”

(while working with a student who cannot grasp the concept of HTML)

Student: I’m trying to validate my page but I keep getting errors.
Me: So you’re trying to fix the errors?
Student: No, I don’t care about that. I just want to validate it.
Me: That’s what validating IS; it’s making sure that your HTML doesn’t have any errors.
Student: So I can’t just validate it anyways?
Me: …

(after a student asks for SQL help, and it quickly becomes obvious he’s made NO effort to understand the material)

Me: Okay, do you have your textbook?
Student: No.
Me: Alright, how about your PowerPoint slides?
Student: No.
Me: Have you READ the book?
Student: Well, it’s like… I was busy.
Me: I suggest you do your reading and then, if you still need help, come see me.
Student: This is due in 15 minutes! You’re supposed to help me! That’s your JOB!

Kitty Pix!

Posted by TD on September 23, 2008 3 comments

It’s been far too long since little Clancy made an appearance here. He’s a week shy of 11 months now, looking more like a full-grown cat than a kitten.
Clancy standing up
I don’t know what was so fascinating about my pile of spare computer hardware, but he spent a lot of time checking it out tonight.
Clancy looking very serious
Clancy looking very serious indeed.

Things gotta change ’round here.

Posted by TD on September 19, 2008 3 comments

It’s been a frustrating and unhappy week in my little corner of the world, and I’ve little to say. Here’s a vid instead:

Notes on the J-Frame

Posted by TD on September 15, 2008 5 comments

Since I’ve now owned a Smith & Wesson 642 for a month and a half, I’m obviously qualified to dispense expert advice on the subject. Some observations:

  • Regular dry-fire practice makes all the difference. I’m snapping in between 50 and 100 times a night with each hand. I can now lift small cars with my index fingers. Seriously though, between my fingers getting stronger and the action slicking up, I can now keep the front sight MUCH steadier.
  • I’m happily carrying in a front pocket with a Galco Pocket Protector holster. While no one will ever mistake it for a Milt Sparks or a Del Fatti, the quality is reasonable for a $25 holster and it’s working fine so far.
  • After looking at every ammo option on the market, I decided on either the classic 158-gr +P LSWCHP “FBI load” or Speer’s Gold Dot Short Barrel offering. Then I found a smokin’ deal on the standard 125-gr +P Gold Dots. They’ll do just fine.
  • The gun snob in me wants to order a set of real Craig Spegel grips to replace the factory Uncle Mike’s grips (which are Spegel’s famous Boot Grip design executed in rubber), but Tam’s post on lasers has me considering a set of Crimson Trace LG-105s. Maybe Santa will bring them to me this year.

That’s all I have for the moment. Gotta finish a little C++ project and get some sleep.

That’s not secure at all!

Posted by TD on September 12, 2008 1 comment

Hmm, last post was #777, or, for you UNIX geeks out there, -rwxrwxrwx.

The IRC lulz continue

Posted by TD on September 12, 2008 No comments

Drunkenly (and jokingly) arguing with unix_jedi that time is not a dimension (my logic went something like this: time only flows in one direction and cannot be stopped, so it must have inertia, and therefore mass, and therefore it’s an object):

[01:31am] TD: look, time is an object. they keep it in Switzerland along with the official kilogram
[01:31am] TD: why do you think all the best watches come from there?

And you’re not on the IRC channel WHY?

Posted by TD on September 10, 2008 1 comment

Highlight from tonight’s session:

(the topic of discussion is Dr. Cuddy from House)

Atomic-Fungus: I’d be all over that in a hot minute.
Atomic-Fungus: …
Atomic-Fungus: that’s probably all the longer it’d take. :’(
TD: give her the best 12 seconds of your life
pdb: best 19 seconds of her life
pdb: fuck off
TD: pdb’s an optimist

Getting Rusty

Posted by TD on September 10, 2008 6 comments

So I’m sitting here tonight, diligently dry-firing my Smith & Wesson 642 when I notice, horror of horrors, GUN CANCER! The grip screw, which is inexplicably the only blued part of the gun, had a nice even coating of bright orange surface rust. Some vigorous scrubbing with CLP cleaned it right up, fortunately, but now I have to keep a close eye on it. THIS is why I buy stainless or chromed guns for carry.

Does anyone have any leads on a stainless screw? I checked both Brownells and Gun Parts Corp. but came up empty-handed. Maybe it’s a common size and I can find a replacement at the hardware store (yeah right)?

C’mon, anybody? Bueller? Bueller?

I got nothin’

Posted by TD on September 6, 2008 4 comments

Really. Absolutely nothin’.

I’m disappointed that we have a VP nominee named Palin and it hasn’t led to a single decent Monty Python joke yet.

Right now I’m sitting here loading XP onto my laptop, since I need to use Visual Studio for a class. :grumble grumble: Back in my day we wrote our code in vi and compiled it with GCC, like Real Men. None of this fruity graphical IDE crap. Kids these days…

Alright, time to go back to the never-ending Windows Update “install-reboot-install some more” cycle…

Back to the Future

Posted by TD on September 3, 2008 2 comments

The pdb went and set up an IRC channel for gunbloggers!

I can hear it now, all the n00bs and whippersnappers wondering, “what the hell is IRC?”

Well, n00bs and whippersnappers, go get educated, get a client and get in the channel!