The problem with life, right, is that it sucks.

I tend to write what I call "immature" code, in that I don't go for all the fancy syntax, nifty "tricks" that just mean the same thing in less lines of code, etc. I find that this is a good thing rather than a bad thing. Generally when I see that type of coding practice, although I can understand it, it tends to detract from the flow and clarity of the meaning. I guess it's like spoken language: you can speak the jive, but unless you speak it, it's not always clear.

That's not to say that I can write that code like that: I can. Maybe it detracts from the flow just because I don't write that way. Just like spoken language.

Spoken language is about communication: the transfer of information between people. The information is the important part, not the longest words that you can use. Same with coding: what it does is more important than how obscure it is. (Of course, I assume no difference in efficiency, etc, but that's another story).

The important distinction here is to specify who we're communicating with when we write code. First we're communicating instructions to a compiler. The compiler doesn't care how tricky or obscure we are, just as long as the syntax is correct. So why am I rambling on? Because we're also communicating with the next person who comes along and has to read this code, typically the maintainer. This may or may not be the same person that wrote the original code: we generally don't know, except to say in industry they typically aren't. That said, making assumptions about the level of comprehension that the maintainer has is a Bad Thing(tm). Therefore, writing code in a manner that enhances readability and clarity makes the next persons job easier.

Some would argue that this is the purpose of block header and inline documentation. Somewhat it is, however documentation of this nature tends to be repetitive. In general, I believe that block header documentation should be an overall description about the purpose of the code (including the interface specification, if applicable), possibly outlining the approach taken to achieve that. Inline documentation should serve a similar purpose: to clarify the impact of certain operations and how they influence the result, if that may have the potential to be unclear. Again, this is to aid comprehension of the code.

You never know, that next person reading that code might be you.

I'm a solitary kinda person. I've said it many times in the past, and it's still true. I like to be with my own thoughts and ideas. In the past (for reasons that I've also gone into) that tends to isolate me a bit because I spend so much time at it :)

I often tend to get side tracked though, because I'm not one to sit down and do nothing. I'm always fidgetting, playing with this or that, listenning to something, or whatever. I've got the proverbial ant in the pants. Can't sit still. That's where roller blading helps. I can zoom around for 90 minutes or so on a course (about 22km's), thinking about whatever pops into my head. Me, alone, doing something that'll take my mind of whatever I'd otherwise have to fodget with, and start thinking about things. I even get some form of excercise.

So being a "loner" can't be all that bad, can it?

Wooo, all these blog entries make it look like this site actually does something! Heh.

I think it's official. I'm an anime geek. Or rather, I'm a wannabe anime geek, as I haven't got enough/watched enough anime to know all the popular shows or at least some of the lesser known shows. That's not to say that it's what you've watched or how much of it, but the enjoyment you get out of doing it. You know what people are like though. It's sad, I know. I should go out and fulfil the stereotype and buy myself an anorak, grow a wispy beard, and put on weight.

I've recently started attending an anime club called Jafwa, which meets weekly to show all sorts of good (and bad) anime. Attendees are also avid anime fans, and they come in all shapes and sizes. It's truly scary to see what comes out of the woodwork. You just don't know that there are people that look that scary out there :) No. That's a lie. There just happens to be a fair percentage of people there who happen to fit the "stereotype".

Aside:

Ever wonder where stereotypes come from? Don't most stereotypes have some negative connotations? My quickly put together hypothesis goes something along the lines of this. A stereotype originates from those who do have some form of dislike against the subject group. Actually, no, it can even just be against that which the group is associated with. The person associates people who do like that subject group (or who are associated with it), and categorises them based on "negative" characteristics of those people. Those characteristics are at the some time exaggerated and distorted, and form the base of the stereotype.

Of course, whether this is true or not is something I can't answer. It's just "The World As Chris Sees It".

It's still inherent in today's society that people will try to not associate themselves with those that "fit" some stereotype. However much people intellectually acknowledge that they shouldn't, there's still the underlying social programming which causes them to do it.

Is this a stereotype?

Resume:

Luckily for me I go to Jafwa with a group of people I feel comfortable around (didn't help today though, they were LATE!). They're long time anime fans, and are all up with the scene. They're kind and generous enough to lend me their stuff, and I can watch and catch up at my leisure. Lucky me :)

My taste in anime is weird and has surprised me so far. Is it weird though? Are my tastes different from other anime fans? It's still a surprise to me though. Initially introduced to "Evangelion", "Akira", and "Ghost in the Shell", I thought that I would like that "serious", "meaningful", and "adult" (not hentai, baka!) style shows. I've watched all sorts of stuff from "Cowboy Bebop", "Lain", "Azumanga Daioh", "Kanon", "Kenshin", "Bubblegum Crisis", etc. These cover a wide range of different anime genres, some of which I'd never think that I'd ever remotely enjoy (like "Azumanga Daioh" or "Kanon"). I find it interesting that I'm able to enjoy some of those things, some of which are clearly aimed at kids, or are the romantic types, etc (btw: from what I've seen, I hate "Love Hina"). I begin to question what/why about them I like. I also think it also offers insights about the watcher too.

At the very least, it's another one of those interests that I was talking about before. I think that while there's the enjoyable aspect of the act of watching anime, it also opens a door to something else.

Oh, and my Megatokyo manga finally arrived yesterday. Hooray!

Woo, long post...

Last night and this morning have been mostly spent on writing the scripts to manage the blog for me. It also included putting the blog on the main page of the site, giving it a purpose for once :) The code has most of the rough edges knocked off, and seems to function okay. There's only a few asthetics that I want to get some advice on, but appart from that, I'm happy with it for now. No doubt I'll find something wrong with it in the future.

Still sick today, however I seem to be slowly on the mend. I feel somewhat guilty about being away from work for three days now, given that it's such a critical time in the project that we're working on, and we've had enough delays. However, I feel that work "owes" me something in terms of time. Since working in this team, I've put in a huge amount of unacknowledged time and effort (well, I feel that way anyway), so now it's their turn to give something back.

Pity I only "claim" when sick...

*Must get better*
*Must get better*
*Must get better*

I hope I'm fine by the weekend, because I'm really looking forward to getting out and doing stuff (badmington, dim sum, etc).

Sucks to be me right now.