One of the things I’m doing in my new job is working with some open source software. It all seemed to be going pretty well, until today. Today I started digging deeper, and found that the software doesn’t compile right with my current compiler (there’s obviously some magickal flag I don’t know to set), and when I try to use it, I get a structure that’s misaligned so my code can’t read the data it needs to get. It’s part of OS X, and I need to use it, but because it’s open source, there’s no nice installer, or system API provided, and I managed to burn almost the entire afternoon just trying to get one of the many function calls supplied to work correctly. I’m just a mite frustrated with it at the moment.
But otherwise things are going well. I mostly like the job, even when I’m being frustrated by shitty software (and besides, if all the software out there was perfect, I wouldn’t have a job). In all, it’s not a bad holiday season, even if I wish I could just get to Christmas so I could spend that week between the holidays sleeping. Meanwhile, I’ll keep plugging along, and maybe even get the cards sent out one of these days.
And on the way home today, I finished the shopping for the Christmas pot-luck at work this Friday. Got a couple pounds of shrimp, a couple pounds of andouille, some tomato sauce, and it’s pretty easy to figure out what I’m going to be cooking. Recipe to follow once I’ve figured out little details like whether I’m just making a crock-pot’s worth, or hauling in the 5 gallon pot. Got enough fixin’s to go either way. And that, plus a few links, is going to do it for today.
- Asking the imoportant questions, Engadget wonders Is it “iPod shuffles” or “iPods shuffle”? Good question. [kottke]
- Over in St. Paul, Bars may fight more limits on smoking, saying that if the ban is expanded, they’re preparing to launch a referendum on the issue. And the Hennepin County Board voted today to amend the smoking ban so places that sell more booze than food can allow smoking. No help in Minneapolis, but there’s a bar in St. Anthony going up where the Stone House used to be… [press-patch]
- Here’s a list of Surprising Expiration Dates Dan pointed to. I am surprised. Mostly by how short many of them are. Bar of soap, only three years? Heck, I still have some of mom’s Avon samples that I’m pretty sure I got from her in the 80s. They still lather up just fine, and the scents I didn’t like have mostly gone away. For white rice, they say it’s only good for two years. Pshaw. Still cooks up fine after more than five. [flutterby]
- Bob Barr Says Totalitarian Regime a Danger if USA-PATRIOT is renewed. He’s been wrong about plenty of things, but I sure do like his views in this case. [police state]
- And finally, there’s more updates in the Cory Maye case. Check ’em out over at The Agitator, where among other things, Balko has a good summary, and quotes Churchill (
One of the most important signs of the existence of a democracy is that when there is a knock at the door at 5 in the morning, one is completely certain that it is the milkman.
) and Strummer and Jones. I like both of the quotations.