this blog is girtby.net

Posts Tagged Nerd Factor X

Posted
8 December 2008 @ 11pm

Categories
Meta, Nerd Factor X

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Blog Migration Secrets

So given that the world (still) lacks a decent common export format for blog software, you might wonder how I managed to move the collection of assorted nonsense that is girtby.net from Mephisto to Wordpress.

Actually, there’s a real chance you might not wonder this. But let’s press on anyway for the sake of Google and [...]


Posted
1 December 2008 @ 10pm

Categories
Meta, Nerd Factor X

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And We’re Back

So girtby.net has been a bit quiet lately. You might have assumed that $WORK or $LIFE had both gotten crazy busy. In fact they had, but that’s not the only reason why girtby.net was in stasis. There’s a story behind that, but the short version is that I’m back. Not quite the same as before, [...]


Posted
30 September 2008 @ 11am

Categories
Nerd Factor X, Verisimilitude

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Why You Should Learn C++

Not all software development projects can sustain a reasonable living. Anyone who has worked as a professional developer will take this truth as self-evident. It’s a sad occurance, but often developers for notionally worthy projects find themselves having to abandon their dreams and find gainful employment elsewhere. The failed startup and the abandoned open-source project [...]


Posted
23 August 2008 @ 11am

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Nerd Factor X

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In Defence of C

Some of the criticism of the Blogging Horror article was based on my insistence that knowledge of the C language is essential for all software developers. Some even said I was “bigoted” for such a viewpoint, because there are many other worthy languages out there. And there certainly are. But they are not all created [...]


Posted
3 July 2008 @ 3am

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Nerd Factor X

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Wide Finder 2: The Widening

<movie -trailer-guy> Many months ago he attempted Tim Bray’s first Wide Finder in C++, mainly as a coding exercise. Back then the goal was readability and conciseness. This time … it’s performanceal. </movie>


Posted
4 June 2008 @ 10am

Categories
Linkpimpin', Nerd Factor X

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Twitter over IP

Let’s solve Twitter’s scalability problems, shall we?

So, like most people, I don’t know much about the problems there and certainly don’t have any solutions to suggest. But I do know there are a certain class of solutions which aren’t on the table.

If you look at Twitter from a suitably high vantage point you see real-time [...]


Posted
22 May 2008 @ 12pm

Categories
Nerd Factor X, Provocation

Blogging Horror

So you’re watching a new TV show and you’re hooked. It’s clever, the characters are believable, the dialog is witty, the cinematography is inspired, the direction is tight and the plot is engaging. You want to see more. You’re in love. With a TV show.


Posted
11 May 2008 @ 1pm

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Nerd Factor X

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Developer Essentials

A long, long time ago in a corporate universe far, far away… I was admitted to an elite group. A group where the members each had a manifesto. Chris was a founding member of the group, and has since published his manifesto on his blog. I don’t quite know how I was deemed worthy for [...]


Posted
4 May 2008 @ 10am

Categories
Nerd Factor X

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Building An Alien

This weekend, Peter and I built this:

It’s an Alien DAC; a USB to analogue audio converter that has a Burr-Brown PCM2702 chip at its heart.

I’ve been listening to it a bit today and am very impressed with the quality. In fact, to my ears it sounds even better than the DAC built into my Corda [...]


Posted
1 March 2008 @ 11am

Categories
Nerd Factor X, Provocation

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Web Forums Considered Annoying

Specialised web forums are commonplace these days. They cover the entirety of the long tail, and are therefore indispensable for discussing obscure, and not-so-obscure, topics.

These days I wouldn’t consider making any serious purchase without at least a brief consulation of the relevant web forum. Technical problems with just about anything can usually be resolved with [...]


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