Monthly Archives: December 2015

Multidimensional Arrays in Javascript

Defining arrays in Javascript turns out to be a bit tricky. You can’t just predeclare the dimensions, you have to initiate them by defining the actual values for each element, dimension by dimension. For a one-dimensional array with three elements … Continue reading

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Starting to Learn About the Java Memory Model

While out for a walk today, and while listening to lectures about economics, my thoughts wandered to the structure of the Java language. (They do that. I don’t always know why…) From writing assembly for various processors and also from … Continue reading

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Order Of The Engineer

I grew up reading a bunch of popular technical magazines and always wanted to do something in that vein. Excelling in a seventh grade mechanical drawing class gave me an idea that I might become an architect but over time … Continue reading

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Don’t Use the Tool Until You’ve Already Solved the Problem

The article below opened the Continuum section of the August, 1981 issue of Omni Magazine (page 35, 15 in the linked pdf). It’s interesting to me because I took third-semester physics from Dr. Eisenstein, who is mentioned early in the … Continue reading

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Cool Building Toys

My favorite Christmas gift growing up was always some form of construction toy. There are a bunch of them out there and I think they’re good for teaching kids logic, cause-and-effect, and hand-eye coordination. They’re great for giving kids a … Continue reading

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If You’re Going To Use That Time on the Road, Here’s How

So you’re on the road and have some time on your hands. You decide to buff your skills or do some research or work on a demo project. Here’s how you might go about it. Work on a certification: There … Continue reading

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Use Time on the Road Effectively

While a lot of folks are traveling for the holidays it’s a fine time to comment on how best to make use of your time while traveling for work. I’ve experienced three kinds of business trips and you should employ … Continue reading

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Discovery Takes Place on Many Levels

Technical projects involve learning on many different levels. You learn about your customers, your colleagues, yourself, technologies and techniques, modes of organization, ways to prevent errors, ways to add value, your customer’s project, how to do the next person’s work, … Continue reading

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Suggestions for How to Learn More Quickly

I’ve encountered a few interesting comments and stories about how to learn things more quickly. One thread that runs through all of them is frequent review. It’s one thing to blast through and learn something, even to the point of … Continue reading

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You Can’t Always Get Kismet, But You Can Avoid Terrible

Sometimes things just come together. You end up with magic. Kismet. And maybe a nice trophy. And sometimes you don’t. My fraternity at Carnegie Mellon was rarely any good at Buggy (also called Sweepstakes) but we were always competitive in … Continue reading

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