PROGRAMMING : Nothing New?

So, what are the programming fads at the moment? two years ago everything was XML, XML, XML and Java, Java, Java (also patterns, refactoring, agile development and so on). I think some people tried to hype Webservices, but they haven't really acheived the grand heights of Faddom that XML and Java did.
I haven't, for example, heard much from the MS camp lately on how they are going to deliver the next greatest development tool.
Come on everyone, where's the hype, the FUD, the next silver bullet?

PROGRAMMING : free java books!

Here's a bunch of free java books
Some of these look really good.

PROGRAMMING : top 10ish J2EE tips

The top 10 (more or less) J2EE best practices

I agree with most of these (maybe not the JSP one..) and absolutely, categorically agree with "7. Use stateless session beans instead of stateful session beans."
I find it really hard to think of situations where session information has to be stored on the application server side - typically it is designed poorly if you do.
The web server side of things has to, because it is providing the interaction with the user, but to acheive a certain BL goal why do you have to flit back and forth?

LIFE : Defensive Driving

Defensive Driving course last night was kinda frustrating - the class structure was OK, but the other students were painful.
One dude couldn't speak english (which I don't have a problem with per se) so couldn't participate at all, in fact he could only slow things down. I don't know how he thinks he can pass the course.
The 2 girls didn't start answering questions until 2/3s through, and the rest of the class didn't even manage that!!!!

PHILOSOPHY : Relationshipism

I am a Relationshipist.
Which basically means I believe the only important phenomenon in life is your relationship to other things. This could be as simple as your relationship to the chair you sit upon (the relationship being sitter and sitee), to the relationship between you and your lover. In a way this is quite budhist; the world is an illusion, what is real are the relationships in between.
The way to 'persue happiness' as a relationshipist is to persue the richest relationships you can; those relationships you have with other human beings (they certainly make better conversationists than chairs...). After all, if all that is real is your relationship with anything, then happiness can only be acheived through your relationships.
And, as with all religions, as it's main proponent I am a great hypocrite, as I am terrible at fostering the wonderful relationships I have with the people who love me.

Isn't that right Mark, Dwayne, Mum, Dad, Neeka, Ash, Cathie, Reece, Kylee, Mia, Rob/Bob, Jeff, Craig, Ron....

PHILOSOPHY : Evolution and Free Will

It seems more and more these days that I find people falling into two approaches to life (well actually heaps more, but today I am going to talk about these two...)
Those that recognise the pre-eminant logic that underpins the theory of Evolution, and those that choose to live outside of the conclusions the evolution leads us to. This second group do this by either refusing to believe it exists or by using their Free Will to refuse to participate in its results.
Two excellent examples of the first group are the US and Australian governments. The US obviously believes that "might is right," and demonstrates this over and over again from one corner of the world to the other. Australia also subscribes to this view, demonstrating this by siding with the biggest bully on the block, hoping that if it can get the US to stand between it and an agressor then it might do OK. As John Stuart Mill said, to even participate in power games such as these is to reduce yourself to your most base form.
There aren't that many examples of the second group, at least not as far as governments go. Maybe the more liberal EU governments.
From my perspective evolution is an undeniable procedure that _just_happens_. This doesn't mean that, as a concious human being who can choose what action I will make in response to the events around me, I can't choose another path. A path in which teh value of all human beings is recognised, not just the powerful.

I'll continue crapping on a little later...

PROGRAMMING : The joy of Scheme (LISP)

The following is a pure object oriented system implementation written in Scheme. Doesn't have quite the same extent of libraries as Java :)
http://okmij.org/ftp/Scheme/pure-oo-system.scm
(BTW, obviously this is an entry for us programmer types, there will - hopefully - be stuff of interest to other people as the days go by...)

LIFE : Inane Tuesday

Pretty busy week; Tonight I go to the covert theatre for impro workshops, Wednesday I start my Defensive Driving course, Thursday is climbing, Friday I am going out with Alessandra and her crue, then I am spending the weekend with Jen, including going to Kev's birthday on the Saturday night in Taraunga.
The Defensive Driving course is starting to piss me off - 12 hours split into 4 classes - I just want to get it over with!! But I have to do it so I can get my licence that much quicker (yes I am nearly 30 and don't have my licence - never needed one till now)

First Entry

Howdy, this is my first entry, just to get things going