Month: December 2004

Auto Java Syntax checking in XCode

Posted on by david

I don’t use XCode if I can help it (no sir, don’t like it) so I spend most of my time in Eclipse. I find it a superior Java IDE for a number of reasons (build on the fly, code completion, no index, etc) and one of the biggest reasons for me is syntax checking. I find it saves me a ton of time, no need to build and wait for the syntax error before realizing I’ve missed a ";"

Kieren has posted an interesting tip that gives you access to some of this yumminess in XCode. Granted, it’s not as nice as Eclipse, but next time I’m forced to use XCode it’ll come in handy.

The great playlist meme of ’04

Posted on by david

Here are the instructions (and I quote):

  1. Open up the music player on your computer.
  2. Set it to play your entire music collection.
  3. Hit the “shuffle” command.
  4. Tell us the title of the next ten songs that show up (with their musicians), no matter how embarrassing. That’s right, no skipping that Carpenters tune that will totally destroy your hip credibility. It’s time for total musical honesty. Write it up in your blog or journal and link back to at least a couple of the other sites where you saw this. (Like here and here.)
  5. If you get the same artist twice, you may skip the second (or third, or etc.) occurances. You don’t have to, but since randomness could mean you end up with a list of ten song with five artists, you can if you’d like.

Here is my list:

  1. Miss Blue – Filter : Title Of Record
  2. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-7) – Pink Floyd : Echoes: The Best Of Pink Floyd – Disk 2
  3. Spahn Dirge (Live) – Skinny Puppy : Rabies
  4. Blemish – David Sylvian : Blemish
  5. Bridge (For David Sylvian) – Alex Cline : The Constant Flame
  6. Mmm Skyscraper I Love You – Underworld : Dubnobasswithmyheadman
  7. Blood, Milk And Color – White Zombie : Astro-Creep: 2000
  8. This Corrosion – The Sisters Of Mercy : Floodland
  9. Dr. Mabuse – Propaganda : A Secret Wish
  10. I, Assassin – Gary Numan : I, Assassin

My first hack

Posted on by david

I think I was 3 or 4. I’d found a small light-bulb somewhere (maybe a dismantled Christmas gift) and I’d begged my dad to help me build something in his workshop. – so we built a flash light.

I remember nailing the blocks of wood together to form a small box that held a C-cell battery. A piece of wire acted as the contact to the cathode and a screw made contact to the anode and acted as the switch (loosening the screw pulled it’s point into the block of wood broke the contact with battery).

We used a trio of common nails partially driven into the end of the box to hold the lightbulb. I think I used the same technique several times later in other projects.

It’s quite amazing how clear some of those memories are. I think that was a pretty influential experience – it certainly set the stage for my later experiments.

Joe 90

Posted on by david

I received a Dinky Joe 90 car for my 5th or 6th birthday. It was cool, it had a jet engine exhast that flashed, and spring driven wings that popped out.

I immediatly took it apart.

I spent hours trying to get the spring mechanism in place and the toy back together again. Finaly in tears of frustration, I broke down and brought the disassembled car my father. An hour later, he and my brother (5 years my senior) returned the toy (in one piece) with a stern warning to never do that again.

I promptly took it apart again.

I had it back together again in about 15 minutes. Knowing it could be done was all it took – yeah, I was that kind of kid.

I also had the Dinky UFO Interceptor – now there was one really cool toy!