Posts
Friday, August 14, 2009
The Philosophy of Engineering (part 2)
What does it take to motivate engineers? (Or anyone, for that matter)
I.e., what can I do to motivate engineers?
Will it take an Advanced Degree (TM) to figure this out?
Let's start with: what motivates me?
Me: interesting problems to solve. I like solving problems, I like making things. Things I like making have included some of my furniture (actually quite a few pieces), computer programs, electronics, model railroad stuff...there have been other things as well (deck outside house in Dallas).
I got started down the engineering path by about age six because I watched my dad fix things, and I was intrigued at the insides of things. At age 14, I found out that engineering pays better than most other jobs, which certainly clinched that.
So let's speculate that most engineers are motivated by having interesting problems to solve. A good team has an interesting large problem to solve, and many smaller ones that can be handled on an individual basis. A problem that *can* be understood, and a solution that *can* be found without it taking forever, materials and tools to go from the beginning to the end, and the satisfaction of having succeeded and producing a final widget--one that people actually use and like.
What of other folks, for whom the challenge of the problem is not sufficient? Do they need a $ incentive? What other incentives might there be? Formal recognition?
Here's a reference that covers similar territory. Actually, it *really* covers the same territory, except they left out problem challenge (unless you say challenge=creativity, then it's "internal"). Here's the detail.
Another link HERE has a really good first comment:
"People also get motivated when they are working for a leader who has the following traits:
Why do you/I/we care?
"Employees who are motivated are willing to invest discretionary effort to go above and beyond the call of duty." (HERE)
That's something you want.
But different people have different motivations, and need different incentives. From some recent reading on this (related to above links), money appears to be one that doesn't work too well. I can't say that a tiny amount of money would get my attention...you'd have to offer at least $50k to even get my attention, and more like $100k to get my participation. Maybe if I had some debt issues...but $1000 doesn't do it for me.
Getting one's paycheck is a motivator, of course, but you really need to like your work to go beyond that. What makes that happen?
Probably you want a suite of incentives, to get folks going. Recognition for performance. Influence over what gets done. Money. "Internal" reasons (see that first link above; this includes a number of factors, I think, good mgmt, good team, creative challenge...).
So how to do you define those incentives? Recognition could be as simple as a thank-you from the boss...but that could be pretty hollow, too. A private thank you for something that no one else even knows about, and then nothing...why bother? I want something a little more serious than that.
I.e., what can I do to motivate engineers?
Will it take an Advanced Degree (TM) to figure this out?
Let's start with: what motivates me?
Me: interesting problems to solve. I like solving problems, I like making things. Things I like making have included some of my furniture (actually quite a few pieces), computer programs, electronics, model railroad stuff...there have been other things as well (deck outside house in Dallas).
I got started down the engineering path by about age six because I watched my dad fix things, and I was intrigued at the insides of things. At age 14, I found out that engineering pays better than most other jobs, which certainly clinched that.
So let's speculate that most engineers are motivated by having interesting problems to solve. A good team has an interesting large problem to solve, and many smaller ones that can be handled on an individual basis. A problem that *can* be understood, and a solution that *can* be found without it taking forever, materials and tools to go from the beginning to the end, and the satisfaction of having succeeded and producing a final widget--one that people actually use and like.
What of other folks, for whom the challenge of the problem is not sufficient? Do they need a $ incentive? What other incentives might there be? Formal recognition?
Here's a reference that covers similar territory. Actually, it *really* covers the same territory, except they left out problem challenge (unless you say challenge=creativity, then it's "internal"). Here's the detail.
Another link HERE has a really good first comment:
"People also get motivated when they are working for a leader who has the following traits:
1. Good memory
2. Genuine interest in people
3. Integrity
4. The ability to communicate effectively
5. Decisiveness
6. The ability to relax
7. Genuine enthusiasm."
This is about teamwork and good leadership. Good management. I can't argue with that, having had both good and bad (which is separate from experience, although there is a correlation). More detail can be found HERE.
There are probably some other ones...More are listed HERE.Why do you/I/we care?
"Employees who are motivated are willing to invest discretionary effort to go above and beyond the call of duty." (HERE)
That's something you want.
But different people have different motivations, and need different incentives. From some recent reading on this (related to above links), money appears to be one that doesn't work too well. I can't say that a tiny amount of money would get my attention...you'd have to offer at least $50k to even get my attention, and more like $100k to get my participation. Maybe if I had some debt issues...but $1000 doesn't do it for me.
Getting one's paycheck is a motivator, of course, but you really need to like your work to go beyond that. What makes that happen?
Probably you want a suite of incentives, to get folks going. Recognition for performance. Influence over what gets done. Money. "Internal" reasons (see that first link above; this includes a number of factors, I think, good mgmt, good team, creative challenge...).
So how to do you define those incentives? Recognition could be as simple as a thank-you from the boss...but that could be pretty hollow, too. A private thank you for something that no one else even knows about, and then nothing...why bother? I want something a little more serious than that.
The Philosophy of Engineering (part 1)
A year or two after I joined my current employer, I became interested in what I now call the "Philosophy of Engineering".
What is that exactly? Let me offer an example...
In 1992/3, I worked on a health-care project. It was 10-20 years ahead of its time then, and still is, although the concepts behind a little of it are now being talked about, and some of the associated hardware has come to exist since then...
That project was a team effort--the best team I have worked in ever.
Immediately upon joining my current employer, I was in a new team. One which I have since described as "five guys with the same charge number"; not really a *team*, as I had just experienced it. I was the latecomer, and I ended up with the largest responsibility: integration and delivery and support...
I don't recall that this second team ate lunch together more than 3 times over 20 months. I don't recall that we ever held anything resembling a design meeting/discussion, or really anything I associate with a good team. So that was the worst team I've ever worked on.
I've been on various in-between ones since then, or solo. All have their little problems, none are perfect.
So what is it that makes for a good team? Does it take an Advanced Degree (TM) to figure this out?
Crucial elements:
You need someone (at least one, but not very many) who is the keeper of the vision. That person is often (around here) known as a "Principal Investigator", which is not necessarily the same as a System Engineer, although it could be the same person. The PI should do things like define the concept being attempted, create/locate/define/refine examples like "use cases", make presentations to existing/potential customers, and could offer implementation suggestions. I've never quite had exactly that kind of PI, yet.
You need a System Engineer, who can figure out exactly how to implement the vision. This has often been my role.
You need an implementation team. These folks are not keepers of the vision, and they are not decision makers about system block diagram kinds of things (although they might be); these folks are the ones who create what the SE decides should be created. I've been this person too, although most commonly I am a combination of SE and implementor.
You need a good Program Manager. This guy deals with the financial aspects, meetings with customers, marketing, personnel...all that mgmt jazz. The PM should not be the SE, probably should not be the PI (although that is common).
The last actual team I worked on (2004/5) had a decent PM, a not-so-great PI (only did about half the job), myself as SE, and one implementor guy (so of course I did a lot of implementation). That was actually going well until the PM found himself unable to continue in that role (he commuted in from a ways off, and then his wife got pregnant with triplets). The new PM was a jerk, really unsuited to the role, not interested in the project, obnoxious in meetings. I had tried to get someone else to take the role, but that person was not yet interested/ready to do that. My involvement faded out, and the project died within a year after I wasn't working it any more.
Mind you, that really cool health-care project got killed, too, although that was because too many managers wanted control of it, not because it wasn't going anywhere.
So I'm thinking next time I'm in at the beginning, I'm going to specify exactly who/what I get on my team, else I'm not getting on it myself.
What is that exactly? Let me offer an example...
In 1992/3, I worked on a health-care project. It was 10-20 years ahead of its time then, and still is, although the concepts behind a little of it are now being talked about, and some of the associated hardware has come to exist since then...
That project was a team effort--the best team I have worked in ever.
Immediately upon joining my current employer, I was in a new team. One which I have since described as "five guys with the same charge number"; not really a *team*, as I had just experienced it. I was the latecomer, and I ended up with the largest responsibility: integration and delivery and support...
I don't recall that this second team ate lunch together more than 3 times over 20 months. I don't recall that we ever held anything resembling a design meeting/discussion, or really anything I associate with a good team. So that was the worst team I've ever worked on.
I've been on various in-between ones since then, or solo. All have their little problems, none are perfect.
So what is it that makes for a good team? Does it take an Advanced Degree (TM) to figure this out?
Crucial elements:
You need someone (at least one, but not very many) who is the keeper of the vision. That person is often (around here) known as a "Principal Investigator", which is not necessarily the same as a System Engineer, although it could be the same person. The PI should do things like define the concept being attempted, create/locate/define/refine examples like "use cases", make presentations to existing/potential customers, and could offer implementation suggestions. I've never quite had exactly that kind of PI, yet.
You need a System Engineer, who can figure out exactly how to implement the vision. This has often been my role.
You need an implementation team. These folks are not keepers of the vision, and they are not decision makers about system block diagram kinds of things (although they might be); these folks are the ones who create what the SE decides should be created. I've been this person too, although most commonly I am a combination of SE and implementor.
You need a good Program Manager. This guy deals with the financial aspects, meetings with customers, marketing, personnel...all that mgmt jazz. The PM should not be the SE, probably should not be the PI (although that is common).
The last actual team I worked on (2004/5) had a decent PM, a not-so-great PI (only did about half the job), myself as SE, and one implementor guy (so of course I did a lot of implementation). That was actually going well until the PM found himself unable to continue in that role (he commuted in from a ways off, and then his wife got pregnant with triplets). The new PM was a jerk, really unsuited to the role, not interested in the project, obnoxious in meetings. I had tried to get someone else to take the role, but that person was not yet interested/ready to do that. My involvement faded out, and the project died within a year after I wasn't working it any more.
Mind you, that really cool health-care project got killed, too, although that was because too many managers wanted control of it, not because it wasn't going anywhere.
So I'm thinking next time I'm in at the beginning, I'm going to specify exactly who/what I get on my team, else I'm not getting on it myself.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
The cutting edge is in my rear-view mirror (TM)
I needed a motto, and that one came to me 30 mins ago. I like to think of myself as doing programming few others are doing; examples available upon request.
a few months ago came this one: Cloud Computing: not as scary as you might think.
that one was intended as humor...
a few months ago came this one: Cloud Computing: not as scary as you might think.
that one was intended as humor...
Sunday, July 19, 2009
politics 2
so Sen (R) Jeff Sessions, of Alabama, doesn't like Sonya Sotomayor, a non-white, non-rich non-male as a Supreme Court candidate.
born in Selma, Alabama, according to his wikipedia page...you'd think he'd have a better appreciation...but...
is anyone surprised? The guy's an insensitive jerk. Why is he still in office? Why did he ever GET into office?
born in Selma, Alabama, according to his wikipedia page...you'd think he'd have a better appreciation...but...
is anyone surprised? The guy's an insensitive jerk. Why is he still in office? Why did he ever GET into office?
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Star Trek movie 2009
OMG was this good. Better than I was expecting, really. I was afraid it was going to be "Star Trek kids".
They did of course have to show the one and only Starfleet Academy episode of Kirk's of any significance: Kobayashi Maru. Really, no way to do this timeframe in his life without it, that would have really been ripping off the audience. I did think he was a little smug about it, though, eating the apple...there should have been a point at which he say something more like "when faced with that kind of impossible situation, change the rules".
Only complaint: they missed a couple of opportunities for the various characters to say a phrase permanently associated with them: "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a ___" -- Bones did *not* say a variation of that in the movie, and he should have...and Spock should have said "Fascinating" or "indeed" or "that would not be logical" at some point. Scottie did at least say "I'm givin her all she's got, captain"...[later: upon watching DVD, Bones *does* say it: "I'm a doctor, not a physicist"]
Otherwise, damn near perfect. Except for being a parallel-universe Starfleet...I mean, Spock's mom dead? Vulcan destroyed? How will there be the "Amok Time" episode now? I thought for sure the movie denouement was going to be the time-travel-to-set-things-back-on-track sort of thing...[apparently, from an interview, this change was deliberate, allowing a retread of some familiar things, with a different approach]
But nonetheless...this bodes well for a sequel working out well...and I cried at the end when Nimoy said the opening words: "Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages..."
They did of course have to show the one and only Starfleet Academy episode of Kirk's of any significance: Kobayashi Maru. Really, no way to do this timeframe in his life without it, that would have really been ripping off the audience. I did think he was a little smug about it, though, eating the apple...there should have been a point at which he say something more like "when faced with that kind of impossible situation, change the rules".
Only complaint: they missed a couple of opportunities for the various characters to say a phrase permanently associated with them: "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a ___" -- Bones did *not* say a variation of that in the movie, and he should have...and Spock should have said "Fascinating" or "indeed" or "that would not be logical" at some point. Scottie did at least say "I'm givin her all she's got, captain"...[later: upon watching DVD, Bones *does* say it: "I'm a doctor, not a physicist"]
Otherwise, damn near perfect. Except for being a parallel-universe Starfleet...I mean, Spock's mom dead? Vulcan destroyed? How will there be the "Amok Time" episode now? I thought for sure the movie denouement was going to be the time-travel-to-set-things-back-on-track sort of thing...[apparently, from an interview, this change was deliberate, allowing a retread of some familiar things, with a different approach]
But nonetheless...this bodes well for a sequel working out well...and I cried at the end when Nimoy said the opening words: "Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages..."
Friday, July 17, 2009
Monty Python
a personal favorite for years...my son is properly fond of them as well...spouse too.
this is hilarious:
click here for MP game fun
this is a hilarious YouTube piece:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luVjkTEIoJc
and this is another one...it starts slow, but just you wait:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enlyHAJfwyI
this is hilarious:
click here for MP game fun
this is a hilarious YouTube piece:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luVjkTEIoJc
and this is another one...it starts slow, but just you wait:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enlyHAJfwyI
recent reading...
Julie Czerneda's "Stratification" trilogy 1-3, which are actually 1-3 of 9, where 4-6 were published some years ago...and she's working 7 now...kinda like Star Wars, eh?
These were pretty good...I don't remember 4-6, so I guess I'm going to have to go read those again...
These were pretty good...I don't remember 4-6, so I guess I'm going to have to go read those again...
Monday, July 13, 2009
computer games on Steam
Steam is of course the service from Valve (Half-life)...this seems to be working pretty well overall.
I snagged some of the game demos, which weren't too bad. I punted one or two right away for being too short, but others were ok.
There's this one series you can get all of for $15, and the demos are decent, called "Alien Shooter" in which have to eliminate aliens from an underground facility or two. Alien Shooter Revisited is the original with newer artwork, AS 2 has a bit more interesting "inventory" system, and Zombie Shooter is essentially the same game except with Zombies. How much better can a game get than whacking umpty-thousand zombies with nifty weapons?
however...Alien Shooter Revisited has flaws...one of which is disastrous...on level 5, near the end, there's this yellow forklift, and if you run to it, you can get math-locked onto it. No way off, which means there's a serious path-finding error combined with what is probably a 3D-model-positioning error, so that you go through a tiny little gap that the path-finding can't get out of. Has happened to me twice now, I've sent a msg to the devs, and I am done playing that one.
Had the same problem with AS 2, got math-trapped in an odd spot. I can't even allow a monster to kill me, their "AI" is too stupid to path-find closer to me.
Apparently AS 1 has a couple more expansion packs, and Zombie Shooter 2 is due out soon.
I snagged some of the game demos, which weren't too bad. I punted one or two right away for being too short, but others were ok.
There's this one series you can get all of for $15, and the demos are decent, called "Alien Shooter" in which have to eliminate aliens from an underground facility or two. Alien Shooter Revisited is the original with newer artwork, AS 2 has a bit more interesting "inventory" system, and Zombie Shooter is essentially the same game except with Zombies. How much better can a game get than whacking umpty-thousand zombies with nifty weapons?
however...Alien Shooter Revisited has flaws...one of which is disastrous...on level 5, near the end, there's this yellow forklift, and if you run to it, you can get math-locked onto it. No way off, which means there's a serious path-finding error combined with what is probably a 3D-model-positioning error, so that you go through a tiny little gap that the path-finding can't get out of. Has happened to me twice now, I've sent a msg to the devs, and I am done playing that one.
Had the same problem with AS 2, got math-trapped in an odd spot. I can't even allow a monster to kill me, their "AI" is too stupid to path-find closer to me.
Apparently AS 1 has a couple more expansion packs, and Zombie Shooter 2 is due out soon.
Jason Bourne...
Robert Ludlum is one of my all-time favorite writers...he was a master of the conspiracy story...
The Bourne Identity was perhaps the most intense story I've ever read...
So I was excited when my wife came home with the "new" Jason Bourne story, "The Bourne Legacy", by Eric van Lustbader. Pretty sure I've read some of EVL's scifi/fantasy stuff at some point, but I don't own any...suggesting it was short stuff, or uninteresting.
Well, this book stars Bourne...but it's not Ludlum, it's not a Ludlum-style conspiracy...it's really more like a recent James Bond (hm...note the initials on both of them) film. Other than the lack of explosions at the end of the book, it really felt like Bond movie with fewer overall scene locations.
I thought Bourne got into too many fights where he got hurt a bit more than I thought appropriate. He seemed more fight-savvy in the Ludlum books.
It is based on the very early Bourne history, as David Webb, prior to his training that turned him into Bourne. Some of that didn't hang toegether as well as it needed to...
Apparently EVL has written several more Bourne books since this one...well, this story was ok, just not RL. Maybe I'll read the next one, but only as a used pb, not a new one. And maybe not any time soon, I have A LOT of other stuff to read already on a shelf here.
The Bourne Identity was perhaps the most intense story I've ever read...
So I was excited when my wife came home with the "new" Jason Bourne story, "The Bourne Legacy", by Eric van Lustbader. Pretty sure I've read some of EVL's scifi/fantasy stuff at some point, but I don't own any...suggesting it was short stuff, or uninteresting.
Well, this book stars Bourne...but it's not Ludlum, it's not a Ludlum-style conspiracy...it's really more like a recent James Bond (hm...note the initials on both of them) film. Other than the lack of explosions at the end of the book, it really felt like Bond movie with fewer overall scene locations.
I thought Bourne got into too many fights where he got hurt a bit more than I thought appropriate. He seemed more fight-savvy in the Ludlum books.
It is based on the very early Bourne history, as David Webb, prior to his training that turned him into Bourne. Some of that didn't hang toegether as well as it needed to...
Apparently EVL has written several more Bourne books since this one...well, this story was ok, just not RL. Maybe I'll read the next one, but only as a used pb, not a new one. And maybe not any time soon, I have A LOT of other stuff to read already on a shelf here.
Stephanie Plum...pt 2
Plum book #15 was just published last month...got it and read it last week.
Classic goodness, and this time Stephanie's car blows up again. Twice...well, actually it's Ranger's car each time, but still...that was a signature event in the first 10 books, and then it stopped for a while...I emailed and got a rather stupid reply from some worker-bee who wasn't the author. But it's back.
I definitely recommend this, although if you haven't read the others, don't start with this one, you need the character background, and don't worry, the used bookstore has plenty of copies.
Classic goodness, and this time Stephanie's car blows up again. Twice...well, actually it's Ranger's car each time, but still...that was a signature event in the first 10 books, and then it stopped for a while...I emailed and got a rather stupid reply from some worker-bee who wasn't the author. But it's back.
I definitely recommend this, although if you haven't read the others, don't start with this one, you need the character background, and don't worry, the used bookstore has plenty of copies.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Oh frabjous day! Calloo callay!
(look that up if you don't know it)
So this year I paid more attention to the April calendar and certain "events".
Why?
Well, I think I wrote about this before...apparently in this area (I don't know about elsewhere), beginning about 2 weeks before Passover, and probably for a week or so after, you can actually get what is colloquially (and probably somewhat pejoratively) known as "jewish coke"...
Which is to say, Coke made with sugar.
OMG is that good. I went home and promptly over-caffeinated myself and was awake most of the night (apparently caffeine doesn't pass through me quite so well as it did when I was a lot younger :)
I bought about 45 bottles (it's only available in the 2-liter). Same price. Why can't Coke just go back to that? I called on the phone several years ago to ask about this, but whoever I talked to didn't know anything about the annual recipe change, and I hadn't heard of it yet.
NOT telling you where I got it, I don't need competition next year.
So this year I paid more attention to the April calendar and certain "events".
Why?
Well, I think I wrote about this before...apparently in this area (I don't know about elsewhere), beginning about 2 weeks before Passover, and probably for a week or so after, you can actually get what is colloquially (and probably somewhat pejoratively) known as "jewish coke"...
Which is to say, Coke made with sugar.
OMG is that good. I went home and promptly over-caffeinated myself and was awake most of the night (apparently caffeine doesn't pass through me quite so well as it did when I was a lot younger :)
I bought about 45 bottles (it's only available in the 2-liter). Same price. Why can't Coke just go back to that? I called on the phone several years ago to ask about this, but whoever I talked to didn't know anything about the annual recipe change, and I hadn't heard of it yet.
NOT telling you where I got it, I don't need competition next year.
Presidential dining
Apparently when Obama went to Ray's Hell Burger there last week he wanted some Dijon mustard on his burger. Probably been even worse if he'd wanted the foie gras on it. (I happen to like some funky mustards, and have been known to put dijon on one)
And has since caught A LOT of flack about that, at least from the standard bunch of tired old conservative/republican talking heads. You can tell that their lives are pretty feeble if this is what they need to complain about.
Of course, you can tell this is all out-of-town chatter, because whoever wrote about it couldn't manage to get the restaurant name correct. This is probably the same bunch that thought "Freedom Fries" was a good idea.
---
I haven't been to Ray's HB, which is because I'm not much at my company office the past 3 years...Ray's HB is just up the road a tiny bit. Ray's The Steaks is even closer, and I have been to that, shortly after it opened; it's probably better now, I thought it a shade high-priced and under-good right at the beginning. [later: it IS better now]
And has since caught A LOT of flack about that, at least from the standard bunch of tired old conservative/republican talking heads. You can tell that their lives are pretty feeble if this is what they need to complain about.
Of course, you can tell this is all out-of-town chatter, because whoever wrote about it couldn't manage to get the restaurant name correct. This is probably the same bunch that thought "Freedom Fries" was a good idea.
---
I haven't been to Ray's HB, which is because I'm not much at my company office the past 3 years...Ray's HB is just up the road a tiny bit. Ray's The Steaks is even closer, and I have been to that, shortly after it opened; it's probably better now, I thought it a shade high-priced and under-good right at the beginning. [later: it IS better now]
Gimme that old-time religion
Oh, the irony.
Can you believe this?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8041421.stm
Well, the Catholic Church is certainly an expert at mixing religion and politics--been at it longer than any other organization you can name.
Can you believe this?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8041421.stm
Well, the Catholic Church is certainly an expert at mixing religion and politics--been at it longer than any other organization you can name.
Fallout 3 followup
Have played a decent ways into this...
recall the earlier I wrote that it seemed jerky at times...turns out that my machine has other stuff going on that causes it...not sure what, but as an example, if I let NAV run (which it generally does, overnight), that just about kills F3...even if nothing else is running.
F3 runs ok after a fresh reboot, but of course that's only good for a few hours before it's bedtime and NAV runs. Gad.
And as noted the terrain is kinda boring. There are two flavors: southwest US badlands-looking desert-with-rocks, and bombed-out buildings.
The other thing that is really bothering me right now is that a number of areas are only reachable by going through the subway tunnels...because they are actually separate maps that get loaded. You cannot just walk everywhere, from anyplace to any other place, as you could in Oblivion. This means that if the map marker you have to travel to is on one of those other map areas, you are going to have to figure out what combination of underground travel is going to get you to the right place (GNR is the first one where this is a hassle).
And you can't "noclip" to just fly over the buildings, that doesn't work. Bummer. I'm losing interest...I can't be more than halfway through the main quest, and that's after accidentally short-circuiting some of the early stages.
I wish Starcraft 2 was coming out sooner.
recall the earlier I wrote that it seemed jerky at times...turns out that my machine has other stuff going on that causes it...not sure what, but as an example, if I let NAV run (which it generally does, overnight), that just about kills F3...even if nothing else is running.
F3 runs ok after a fresh reboot, but of course that's only good for a few hours before it's bedtime and NAV runs. Gad.
And as noted the terrain is kinda boring. There are two flavors: southwest US badlands-looking desert-with-rocks, and bombed-out buildings.
The other thing that is really bothering me right now is that a number of areas are only reachable by going through the subway tunnels...because they are actually separate maps that get loaded. You cannot just walk everywhere, from anyplace to any other place, as you could in Oblivion. This means that if the map marker you have to travel to is on one of those other map areas, you are going to have to figure out what combination of underground travel is going to get you to the right place (GNR is the first one where this is a hassle).
And you can't "noclip" to just fly over the buildings, that doesn't work. Bummer. I'm losing interest...I can't be more than halfway through the main quest, and that's after accidentally short-circuiting some of the early stages.
I wish Starcraft 2 was coming out sooner.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
playing Fallout 3
I think I reported earlier how Fallout 3 installs ok, starts up ok, and plays ok *until* you get to this point early where your gf has just told you the cops are coming to arrest you. As soon as you exit your room, some script is triggered and the game crashes to the desktop for me.
So I let my son run it a bit on his computer (32-bit) and do some saves, so I could try to run from one of his early saves...which worked just fine.
In one sense, F3 is "Oblivion with guns". Except that I don't think it's as interesting...and my son has already finished the game, in just a few days...apparently when you complete the central quest sequence, the game terminates. Not interesting.
Have had some trouble with it, in terms of mouse-responsiveness, etc. It feels a little jerky in comparison with Big O.
I don't really/yet like the skill-leveling approach. Big O did this well...I.e., if you spend time sneaking, your sneak skill goes up. In F3, you have to get XP in order to level up, and then have skill points to spend to level-up individual skills. So there's little value to sneaking very much.
Son says you can read multiple copies of a skill-book and increase that skill multiple times.
I haven't gone very far yet, but it's not as interesting as Oblivion. It does have a lot of similarities, but the terrain isn't as interesting or variable (at least as far as I've gone). Looks like burned-out wasteland. Which of course it should, but that's all there is. I'd have definitely gone for more of the Wash DC buildings. It's not like that would be hard to do, since you could go photograph the outsides, and paint those results onto the models as wall textures...and a work acquaintance is telling me he knows how to extract a 3D point cloud from an image sequence taken as you drive past a bldg...instant-3D model!
So I let my son run it a bit on his computer (32-bit) and do some saves, so I could try to run from one of his early saves...which worked just fine.
In one sense, F3 is "Oblivion with guns". Except that I don't think it's as interesting...and my son has already finished the game, in just a few days...apparently when you complete the central quest sequence, the game terminates. Not interesting.
Have had some trouble with it, in terms of mouse-responsiveness, etc. It feels a little jerky in comparison with Big O.
I don't really/yet like the skill-leveling approach. Big O did this well...I.e., if you spend time sneaking, your sneak skill goes up. In F3, you have to get XP in order to level up, and then have skill points to spend to level-up individual skills. So there's little value to sneaking very much.
Son says you can read multiple copies of a skill-book and increase that skill multiple times.
I haven't gone very far yet, but it's not as interesting as Oblivion. It does have a lot of similarities, but the terrain isn't as interesting or variable (at least as far as I've gone). Looks like burned-out wasteland. Which of course it should, but that's all there is. I'd have definitely gone for more of the Wash DC buildings. It's not like that would be hard to do, since you could go photograph the outsides, and paint those results onto the models as wall textures...and a work acquaintance is telling me he knows how to extract a 3D point cloud from an image sequence taken as you drive past a bldg...instant-3D model!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Idiocy in Pakistan
Today is April 28, 2009. For reference.
What do you think the likelihood is of the Taliban taking over Pakistan this year? How about next year?
Personally, I won't be surprised if it happens this summer.
It *IS* going to happen. Soon. Not enough people there with a clue how bad that is going to be. Or how undifficult to solve. Hard to feel sorry for them...the only really bad part about this is that they'll probably have something in the way of a nuclear device.
Maybe I need to start a pool at work. That'd be interesting.
What do you think the likelihood is of the Taliban taking over Pakistan this year? How about next year?
Personally, I won't be surprised if it happens this summer.
It *IS* going to happen. Soon. Not enough people there with a clue how bad that is going to be. Or how undifficult to solve. Hard to feel sorry for them...the only really bad part about this is that they'll probably have something in the way of a nuclear device.
Maybe I need to start a pool at work. That'd be interesting.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
conservative writers
I do find it amusing reading the editorials in the Wash Post. Not sure if I've ever really changed my mind about anything based on them...Some are better than others.
in the Post, there are several conservative writers who appear regularly. Krauthammer and George Will are the most "prominent".
George Will wants to be William F Buckley the 2nd. You can tell this because he uses a lot of "buckley words" -- you know, the ones that cost $20. Buckley loved them. George does too.
So much so that you can measure the pomposity of Will's columns in "buckleys" -- i.e., how many buckley words he uses.
George Will is at his best when he writes about either baseball or First Amendment issues. The rest of the time, he's just a pompous, unhappy conservative.
But occasionally he's unintentionally funny, like a couple of days ago...when he wrote a column in effect showing what a geezer he has become, because he doesn't like the fact that so many people don't dress the way he wants them to, i.e., too many folks wear denim too often. And then he complains that too many people over 18 play computer/video games (probably would prefer that they listen to him pontificate [ooohhh, I used a buckley word]).
This reminds me SO much of the classic quote attributed to Socrates (approx 400 BC) about how the young people of "today" don't respect their elders and behave like their elders wish them to:
(the full quote is better, but seems hard to find online?!)
Socrates was pompous, too.
in the Post, there are several conservative writers who appear regularly. Krauthammer and George Will are the most "prominent".
George Will wants to be William F Buckley the 2nd. You can tell this because he uses a lot of "buckley words" -- you know, the ones that cost $20. Buckley loved them. George does too.
So much so that you can measure the pomposity of Will's columns in "buckleys" -- i.e., how many buckley words he uses.
George Will is at his best when he writes about either baseball or First Amendment issues. The rest of the time, he's just a pompous, unhappy conservative.
But occasionally he's unintentionally funny, like a couple of days ago...when he wrote a column in effect showing what a geezer he has become, because he doesn't like the fact that so many people don't dress the way he wants them to, i.e., too many folks wear denim too often. And then he complains that too many people over 18 play computer/video games (probably would prefer that they listen to him pontificate [ooohhh, I used a buckley word]).
This reminds me SO much of the classic quote attributed to Socrates (approx 400 BC) about how the young people of "today" don't respect their elders and behave like their elders wish them to:
Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their teachers.
(the full quote is better, but seems hard to find online?!)
Socrates was pompous, too.
Old people
What is it with old people and sticker bushes?
You know what I'm talking about. If you are older, let's say past 50-something, live in a single-family detached house, eventually you are doing gardening in your yard. At some point you decide that what would look good is a sticker-bush, so you plant one. Or two. Or more...
This has a pleasant side-effect: kids will now avoid your yard, so you don't have to go out and yell "get out of my yard!" at them.
But still...I hate sticker bushes. Partly because I remember being a kid having to go through yards where there were sticker bushes...
So a few years ago my mom decided she had to have a couple of sticker bushes. Guess who had to trim them when they got too big? They're gone now, thank you.
But still...am *I* going to want a sticker bush in my yard in 10 years? Kill me now.
You know what I'm talking about. If you are older, let's say past 50-something, live in a single-family detached house, eventually you are doing gardening in your yard. At some point you decide that what would look good is a sticker-bush, so you plant one. Or two. Or more...
This has a pleasant side-effect: kids will now avoid your yard, so you don't have to go out and yell "get out of my yard!" at them.
But still...I hate sticker bushes. Partly because I remember being a kid having to go through yards where there were sticker bushes...
So a few years ago my mom decided she had to have a couple of sticker bushes. Guess who had to trim them when they got too big? They're gone now, thank you.
But still...am *I* going to want a sticker bush in my yard in 10 years? Kill me now.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
another brilliant statement in the Wash Post
"Team cohesion and concentration on missions would suffer if our troops had to live in close quarters with others who could be sexually attracted to them."
The authors on this are a former SOCOM cmdr, former CNO, former SAC cmdr, former assistant USMC cmdr.
Who is being referred to here? Care to guess? When was this written?
----
Can't have women in the military, can we? Troops might get distracted.
But this one is about gays in the military. Any real difference between the two groups in this case?
The authors on this are a former SOCOM cmdr, former CNO, former SAC cmdr, former assistant USMC cmdr.
Who is being referred to here? Care to guess? When was this written?
----
Can't have women in the military, can we? Troops might get distracted.
But this one is about gays in the military. Any real difference between the two groups in this case?
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