It's late and I need to get to bed but I had to post this first, if only for my own information so I know where to find it later. It's an extraordinary blog post about software management and hits on just about every problem you are likely to run into as you move from being a software developer to being a software manager:
Why on earth did it take so long for this song to be a song of the day, I hear you ask?
Well, that's a good question. And I don't have a good answer.
Here's a tidbit from Wikipedia about this song:
Many of Morrissey's lyrics are borrowed from other sources. In particular, the title of this song has been a source of wonder. One credible suggestion has been that the title is a paraphrase of what Hugh Latimer said to Nicholas Ridley as they were about to be burned at the stake as heretics during the reign of "Bloody Mary," Queen Mary I of England:
"Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out."
And without further ado, here's the song!
And here are the lyrics:
Take me out tonight Where theres music and theres people And theyre young and alive Driving in your car I never never want to go home Because I havent got one Anymore
Take me out tonight Because I want to see people and i Want to see life Driving in your car Oh, please dont drop me home Because its not my home, its their Home, and Im welcome no more
And if a double-decker bus Crashes into us To die by your side Is such a heavenly way to die And if a ten-ton truck Kills the both of us To die by your side Well, the pleasure - the privilege is mine
Take me out tonight Take me anywhere, I dont care I dont care, I dont care And in the darkened underpass I thought oh god, my chance has come at last (but then a strange fear gripped me and i Just couldnt ask)
Take me out tonight Oh, take me anywhere, I dont care I dont care, I dont care Driving in your car I never never want to go home Because I havent got one, da ... Oh, I havent got one
And if a double-decker bus Crashes into us To die by your side Is such a heavenly way to die And if a ten-ton truck Kills the both of us To die by your side Well, the pleasure - the privilege is mine
Oh, there is a light and it never goes out There is a light and it never goes out There is a light and it never goes out There is a light and it never goes out There is a light and it never goes out There is a light and it never goes out There is a light and it never goes out There is a light and it never goes out There is a light and it never goes out
I had figured out some of the strange made-up words used throughout the book by myself (based on context) but found the dictionary *really* useful, and interesting - most of the words are derived from Russian words, it turns out.
This is a live version, so maybe (maybe??) this won't fall foul of copyright laws and get taken down by the music nazis. Look folks, music, writing and software should be free and distributed to all - it's as simple as that.
They did a nice job filming this, it resulted in a very intimate version of the song. Bonus round: lots of nice twiddly guitar bits!
Lyrics:
Come to decide that the things that I tried Were in my life just to get high on When I sit alone come get a little known But I need more than myself this time
Step from the road to the sea to the sky And I do believe it, we rely on When I lay it on come get to play it on All my life to sacrifice
Refrain: Hey oh, listen what I say, oh I got your hey oh, now listen what I say, oh
When will I know that I really can't go To the well once more time to decide on When it's killing me, when will I really see All that I need to look inside
Come to believe that I better not leave Before I get my chance to ride When it's killing me, what do I really need All that I need to look inside
Refrain: Hey oh, listen what I say, oh Come back and hey oh, look at what I say, oh
Stick: The more I see, the less I know The more I like to let it go Hey oh, whoa
Deep beneath the cover of another perfect wonder Where it's so white as snow Privately divided by a world so undecided And there's nowhere to go
In between the cover of another perfect wonder And it's so white as snow Running through a field where all my tracks will be concealed And there's nowhere to go
When to descend to amend for a friend All the channels that have broken down Now you bring it up, I'm gonna ring it up Just to hear you sing it out
Step from the road to the sea to the sky And I do believe what we rely on When I lay it on, come get to play it on All my life to sacrifice
Refrain: Hey oh, listen what I say, oh I got your hey oh, listen what I say, oh
Stick: The more I see, the less I know The more I like to let it go Hey oh, whoa
Deep beneath the cover of another perfect wonder Where it's so white as snow Privately divided by a world so undecided And there's nowhere to go
In between the cover of another perfect wonder Where it's so white as snow Running through the field where all my tracks will be concealed And there's nowhere to go
I said hey, hey yeah, oh yeah, tell my Lord now Hey, hey yeah, oh yeah, tell my Lord now Deep beneath the cover of another perfect wonder Where it's so white as snow
Privately divided by a world so undecided And there's nowhere to go Deep beneath the cover of another perfect wonder Where it's so white as snow
Running through the field where all my tracks will be concealed And there's nowhere to go I said hey, oh yeah, oh yeah, tell my love now Hey, hey yeah, oh yeah
Found this today and thought it was useful, it was written "a long time ago" by internet measures but still is very good and relevant if you develop software.
Enjoy!
-BT
(PS - Rob Pike is the guy in the foreground, Brian Kernighan is behind him)
Rob Pike on Complexity
Rule 1. You can't tell where a program is going to spend its time. Bottlenecks occur in surprising places, so don't try to second guess and put in a speed hack until you've proven that's where the bottleneck is.
Rule 2. Measure. Don't tune for speed until you've measured, and even then don't unless one part of the code overwhelms the rest.
Rule 3. Fancy algorithms are slow when n is small, and n is usually small. Fancy algorithms have big constants. Until you know that n is frequently going to be big, don't get fancy. (Even if n does get big, use Rule 2 first.) For example, binary trees are always faster than splay trees for workaday problems.
Rule 4. Fancy algorithms are buggier than simple ones, and they're much harder to implement. Use simple algorithms as well as simple data structures.
The following data structures are a complete list for almost all practical programs: array linked list hash table binary tree
Of course, you must also be prepared to collect these into compound data structures. For instance, a symbol table might be implemented as a hash table containing linked lists of arrays of characters.
Rule 5. Data dominates. If you've chosen the right data structures and organized things well, the algorithms will almost always be self-evident. Data structures, not algorithms, are central to programming. (See Brooks p. 102.)
Re-made recently to great acclaim by Gary Jules, this is the original version, and I'm sorry, but I think the original is better than the cover! I played this all the way through on the old youtube, and at the end there was a little bonus... not sure if it was a fluke but it took me to another good one by T.F.F... "Everybody wants to rule the world"
Lyrics:
All around me are familiar faces Worn out places, worn out faces Bright and early for their daily races <-- inspired rhyming! Going nowhere, going nowhere And their tears are filling up their glasses No expression, no expression Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow No tomorrow, no tomorrow And I find it kind of funny I find it kind of sad The dreams in which I'm dying Are the best I've ever had I find it hard to tell you 'Cos I find it hard to take When people run in circles It's a very, very Mad World Children waiting for the day they feel good Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday <-- the saddest line? Made to feel the way that every child should Sit and listen, sit and listen <-- maybe this is sadder? Went to school and I was very nervous No one knew me, no one knew me <-- no, this is sadder, boo hoo! Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson Look right through me, look right through me <-- by now you are thoroughly depressed
Two classic tunes from Blondie. The first takes me back to my schooldays and the second I heard more recently when I listened to the sound track from "Bend it like Beckham". Both have that instantly recognizable and tirelessly rhythmic Blondie drum-beat.
Blondie, Heart of Glass
Lyrics:
Once I had a love and it was a gas Soon turned out had a heart of glass Seemed like the real thing, only to find Mucho mistrust, love's gone behind <-- oh..! I always wondered what she was saying! Once I had a love and it was divine Soon found out I was losing my mind It seemed like the real thing but I was so blind Mucho mistrust, love's gone behind
In between What I find is pleasing and I'm feeling fine Love is so confusing there's no peace of mind If I fear I'm losing you it's just no good You teasing like you do
Once I had a love and it was a gas Soon turned out had a heart of glass Seemed like the real thing, only to find Mucho mistrust, love's gone behind
Once I had a love and it was divine Soon found out I was losing my mind It seemed like the real thing but I was so blind Mucho mistrust, love's gone behind
Lost inside Adorable illusion and I cannot hide I'm the one you're using, please don't push me aside We could've made it cruising, yeah
Yeah, riding high on love's true bluish light
Once I had a love and it was a gas Soon turned out I had a heart of glass [radio version] Soon turned out as a pain in the ass [album version] Seemed like the real thing only to find Mucho mistrust, love's gone behind
Blondie, Atomic
Lyrics (nothing too profound here..!):
Uh huh make me tonight. <-- ooh err..! Tonight make it right. Uh huh make me tonight. Tonight. Tonight. Oh uh huh make it magnificent. Tonight. Right. Oh, your hair is beautiful. Oh, tonight. Atomic. Tonight make it magnificent. Tonight. Make me tonight. Your hair is beautiful. Oh, tonight. Atomic. Atomic. Oh.
Crap, I think I ruined that song for myself by printing out and reading the lyrics, I had never really paid much attention to them until now (luckily).
For the Brits who grew up watching Tony Hart on the telly - here is a somewhat-recent interview that had me in stitches. Tony Hart died this week, sadly.
"Evan Reynolds, 19, got his hand and part of his arm ripped off in a car accident and has since been fitted with an i-LIMB, a robotic hand developed by an Apple/Star Wars fanboy. The i-Limb was developed by a Scottish company, Touch Bionics, and has won awards for its innovative technology. The total cost including the hand itself and the fitting is about £30,000. Time Magazine named the i-LIMB as one of the Top 50 inventions of 2008."
By looking at the URL you can probably figure out how to get some of his notes for other courses, I'll leave that as an "exercise for the reader"! The stuff that I have read so far from the above link (much of which is in PDF) was very interesting and well-explained and would probably be a real help to anyone who is looking to get their feet wet in the IT world.
