As a lot of people have done or are doing, I moved my finance tracking off the old (read: previously) reliable Quicken desktop application, to a provider on the web.  I love the convenience of having quick access on all devices I use and wherever I am. But there are still things I will not […]

Recently, it was revealed that the NSA is able to break common encryption protocols used on the internet.  You can read the article here: http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/5/4698808/most-common-encryption-protocols-are-useless-against-nsa-surveillance But, to me, it’s not really that much of a revelation.  And taking the article’s claims at face value will cause the user to miss a practical side of security […]

I have been a software developer for over 30 years now.  That includes time as a kid playing with technology, time as a student, and professional and non-professional work.  Over that time I have encountered a lot of bad designs, and some good designs in systems and software.  I also have, like every person in […]

On a recent business trip to Pittsburgh, I experienced something that really surprised me. I went out to dinner with some co-workers to a microbrewery/restaurant known as Church Brew Works. The name is very appropriate. It is in an old Catholic church building (St Mark’s) which is on the city’s registry as a historical landmark. […]

I found this while cleaning out some folders on my hard drive.  After 8 years in the Orlando area, these I can vouch for. The original list is longer, and I removed the items which don’t apply to non-native Floridians.  The ones I’ve marked with asterisks I have found to be particularly true. ============================= “Down […]

I’ve been really amused over the last few months with some discussions about the best (or at least better) place to live. Currently it’s focused on the city of Pittsburgh or the Central Florida area. The debate between Florida and the rest of the country always seems to be a more heated, emotionally-intense debate.  It […]

This analogy, which I heard long ago while living in Europe, is a very revealing exercise. The story goes as follows: “A Taxi Driver is driving his taxi down a city road at 2:30AM. The traffic light at the intersection he is approaching is red.  As he approaches the intersection, he brings the taxi to a […]

My son discovered this license statement in some code he was looking at.  Daniel, I like your license: hope we get to meet you some day. /* * —————————————————————————- * "THE BEER-WARE LICENSE" (Revision 42): * daniel@bimschas.com wrote this file. As long as you retain * this notice you can do whatever you want with […]

About 20 years ago, I remember reading the original 10 commandments for C programmers.  A lot of time has elapsed since then, and there are some things that needed to change as technology and experience have changed the developer’s world. So here is my modernized version for the sect of Microsoft C# developers in the […]

While the death today of General Norman Schwarzkopf is sweeping the news, there’s another military veteran who died on Monday that you might recognize… but not for his military service. Character actor: Charles Durning He was a one of a number of actors who served in the military, fighting in overseas wars.  In this case, […]