geekitarian

I'm teaching a class at the University of Pittsburgh on web development with App Engine and as part of it I'm putting together a getting started guide. Here's Part 1 and Part 2 .

I've been using an Xperia Ultra (Play Edition) for a few months and I have to say - other than the fact that it's about the size of a dinner plate, it's a pretty great phone (interesting to note - you could actually use it as a dinner plate and then wash it, since it's waterproof).  Sure, everybody makes fun of it for its giant size pretty much all the time, but hell - I like the attention and I'll take any attention I can get.  I spend a LOT more time browsing the web or reading & writing email than I do talking, and the large form factor is really effective for that.  The battery life is great, performance is good, and the screen is large enough to do just about anything you need. The Xperia Ultra has lots of upsides: Nice, big screen. Long battery life - I can get 2 days, easy. Great processor / memory. It's super thin. That being said, my 3 biggest complaints about the Xperia Ultra: No stereo speakers. My kids have one of these and i...

I've always liked this meme: "When C++ is your hammer, everything looks like a thumb." A thumb with multiple inheritance. The problem is that all languages have issues... so I wondered, "What kind of hammers would they be?"  These are my best guesses**. Houses with questionable indentation. But the hammer is so easy to use! But you have to pay extra for the special glove to hold it. And your screwdriver is made of modeling clay. A problem that somebody will probably solve with a screwdriver instead. But then it will be really easy to use. And nobody else will ever be able to figure out how to use your hammer. And the hammers come from a AbstractHammerBuilderFactory. But it comes in any color you want! ** I'm sure that other people have come up with the same jokes so I'm not claiming any amazing originality here.  I couldn't find a system to look up joke patents. ...

Last spring I decided to have some fun on the final exam for my Computer Data Structures class.  I was happy with the way it turned out , so I figured I'd do it again in this past fall term's Web Development class.  These are the results.   Disclaimer: to the best of my knowledge, no actual rabbits were harmed during this exam.  However a few students took the exam outside of the normally scheduled time with a proctor and I really don't have any idea what kind of interactions they had with rabbits or any other rodents, for that matter. Click the images to enlarge. * * *  #10: While not the most artistically drawn rabbit in the bunch, this rabbit has evolved into a bipedal species so I think he should get some credit. #9: I don't have anything to say about this rabbit, but I hope that's a foot in the back there.  #8: This rabbit also scores points for having hands and opposable thumbs.  #7: Thi...