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Reusing my ebook reader
I have a Sony PRS-T1 ebook reader that I can’t use as an ebook reader anymore due to the battery no longer holding a charge. The ebook runs android and I was able to root it so I could make it stay on for as long as the power was plugged in.
A bit of javascript and php magic to make a webpage pulling in the weather chart from yr.no and the upcoming subway times from ruter.no and I have a super useful display in my livingroom.
Being an ebook it has an e-ink display which doesn’t call attention to itself like an lcd screen would. It’s super comfortable and only flickers for a split second when there is a new weather chart every half hour. The subway times change without refreshing the entire screen.
Finally I got hold of an IKEA picture frame, and together with my trusty dremel I shaved off enough material to fit the ebook inside. I was considering modifying the ebook, but after looking at a video online I figured it was risky and not really worth it.
Why I can’t type on the iPhone landscape keyboard
Every time I try to enter a number I end up changing the language, and every time I want to change the language I enter the numbers mode.
And why of all things did I get an emoticon button where the dictation button was, and why change the colour?
Reading Haruki Murakami
In What I talk about when I talk about running he starts to describe the most important qualities for being a novelist. Making me wander what I would consider the most important ones for programming.
He talks about talent, but I have a lack of belief in talent. I believe anyone can learn anything, and the only talent there is is in the form of genetics that mostly tend to apply to your body more than your mind or brain.
So I would have to choose “a want”. The most important quality for a programmer is wanting to solve problems with computers.
For a second quality, Haruki mentions focus. Sure, focus is important for a programmer. But all the focus in the world won’t prepare you for the onslaught of failure that is programming.
So “enjoying failure” would be my next important quality. Simply because as a developer, your program will fail more often than not. You will be so sure that everything is fine, that you would bet your first born, only to have it crash miserably during that presentation for your boss.
So if you want to solve problems using computers, and you enjoy it when you can’t solve those problems. Then you’ll fit right in 🙂
Software is not a chair
Today I read a nice blog post about finishing your projects on hackernews, then read the comments and after a while came across a bunch of people ranting about how analogies are bad. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9837915
After this I started thinking about what a software chair would be like.
- Software has bugs. This is equivalent to a chair that breaks when someone sits on it at a strange angle.
- Software must be updated to support changes on the platform. Essentially a chair standing on a floor that someone keeps making uneven in new ways, or if someone kept adjusting friction and gravity, or the strength of the materials you used.
- Software can be copied. Those copies can be altered and the changes merged back into the original. Essentially a play-doh chair created with a 3D scanner and 3D printer.
- Software is not feature complete. The seller at the shop is selling you a new comfy chair, but what is delivered in a stool and a note saying that there will be updates.