The Dead Year

This blog has been dead for a year and it's not been a lack of passion. I had some rather large life changing events to deal with. I have emerged stronger than ever before and I plan to start posting regularly here again. To let you know what to expect, I hope to do some new articles on my exploration of Python and Django. I've been enjoying my time with Python quite a bit. I also hope to spend some time digging into Google's V8 ECMAScript. It's time for me to kick this blog back into gear. Hold on!

Domain Change

Update your bookmarks from blainebuxton.com to blainebuxton.net. The new blog address is: blog.blainebuxton.net. I plan on to start blogging again soon in the next year. Things are going on that I'd rather not discuss in a public forum. But, I will be back soon!

Five Years

I can't believe it. I missed my fifth anniversary for blogging! I started out in 2003 to be a public diary for my technical side. I've enjoyed doing it and plan to do so for many years to come. It's just too much fun to read through all of the posts and remember where I was at during that point of time.

A Phrase Past Its Expiration Date

I've been a fan of Roger von Oech for a long time. I love his books, blogs, and cards (yes, cards). His latest blog entry entitled, "A Phrase Past Its Expiration Date", struck a chord with me that I thought I would share. In it, he asks his readers what phrases are overused and should be put to rest. His phrase was "It is what it is." The reason why was because it is commonly used to end debate and thought.

There are several phrases that carry the same role. Here's mine:

• "YAGNI" also known as "You Ain't Gonna Need It"
  If I never heard this phrase again in my entire life, it would be too soon. I hate it. The original intention was well meant, but many a poor developer took it the wrong way. I've heard it uttered too many times to end discussion because a weak mind couldn't support their assertion.


• "Do The Simplest Possible Thing That Could Work"
  Another well-intentioned phrase that originally came from Albert Einstein. How could it be bad? Again, I've heard it from one too many hacks to be lazy and not think through their design. It was once used in a debate to store records in XML files instead of a relational database. Even though it was known that the system was to deal with lots of records that had to be randomly accessed. Why? Because they thought relation databases were "hard". The resulting XML files architecture turned out to be way more complex than any OO mapping tool could dream of being. On the surface, the XML seemed simpler, but only when you ignored all the other factors to take into account. The above phrase ended the debate despite cries of the obvious. Confusion abounds because simple is often confused with easy instead of elegant.


• "If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It"
  The maddening catch all to stop refactoring code that everyone fears. This one has been used because apparently certain developers like hearing the buzzing of pagers at 3am. The code in their eyes "worked" even though it was riddled with bugs. The code need to be cleaned, but they just wouldn't let it go. Fear is a terrible thing to use matras to justify.

That's my list for now. I'm sure there's more. I'm really bothered by most mantras because they are used in the most inappropriate places. I'm for debate and rational thought. Anything that short-circuits that annoys me without measure.

Quiet Lately

It's been a busy couple of months for me. I've been giving a bunch of talks (Refactoring, Good APIs, and Design). Switched from being a consultant to an employee working for an incredible team. I spent two weeks traveling and to top it off, I saw some of my fave artists (Alice Cooper, Behemoth, and Shadow's Fall) and caught a late summer cold. Still recovering from the cold and trying to get back into blogging. Sorry for being so quiet, I plan to correct that situation soon. Life is getting back to normal. I just got to kick this cold.

Sign Your Real Name

Penelope Trunk recently wrote a blog entry on why you should blog under your real name. I agree completely with all of her points. I would also add to comment under your real name as well. Personally, I can't stand anonymous comments or even ones with nicknames. If you're going to say something, stand beside it. Don't hide. Defend it. Dig?