@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

dabeaz

@dabeaz@mastodon.social

Free-range computer scientist living in Evanston, Illinois. Former academic. I teach computer science courses, but you'll probably find me yapping on about bikes, dogs, and other random stuff here. I wrote the Python Cookbook, 3rd Ed (O'Reilly) and Python Distilled (Addison-Wesley). Teaching CSCI 1730, Design and Implementation of Programming Languages at Brown.edu in Fall 2023!

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dabeaz, to random
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The end of an era tomorrow. Every year, the kids' K-8 school has had every grade from 1st grade up run a 5K at the end of the year. I'm no runner, but so far as I can tell, I might be the only parent to have run/walked it every year for 10 years in a row. Youngest kid graduates out next week so that's it!

mpirnat, to random
@mpirnat@mas.to avatar

We no longer own a piano.

(Sigh of relief.)

Now I just have to resist the temptation to fill the empty space with guitar stuff. 😅

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

@mpirnat What about a set of timpanis? That could be kind of cool.

jacob, (edited ) to random
@jacob@jacobian.org avatar

If for no other reason*, I support a mask requirement at because the kind of person who doesn’t attend because they’re required to mask is the kind of person who I don’t want to hang out with anyway.

(* and there are lots of other good reasons too)

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

@jacob The fact that masking might be a reason for not attending pisses me off for other reasons. I didn't attend because the conference fell in the last week of the kids' school year. However, are people going to think "oh Beazley, maybe he's one of those anti-mask guys?" I sure hope not.

dabeaz, to random
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

As far as I can tell, the primary use of RAII is to sound smart.

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

@PeterLudemann I have no idea. Are we just talking about garbage collection? Or how to program?

dabeaz,
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@PeterLudemann Honestly, I think my objection is not so much the thing, but the introduction of fancy terminology for the thing.

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

@PeterLudemann I like both of those far better.

dabeaz, to random
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

TFW you're looking at a bug report on your book, you're looking at the actual book seeing nothing wrong, and then the notification arrives. "Kindle edition." Aw. Hell.

chrism, to random
@chrism@chattingdarkly.org avatar

The best way to attract users and developers to your project is through continual exhibits of humorlessness. Nothing says "come hack with us" like a scolding email.

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

@chrism You're grounded!

dabeaz, to random
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

I sometimes wonder if I should teach a project course (like raft or compilers) where you don't even know what programming language will be used until you show up. That would certainly be one way to make things even more exciting.

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

I could make a little "language wheel" that I spin like on a game show.

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

@deshipu That is definitely an interesting idea, but how would you make it work?

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

@leblancfg If you don't mind me indulging for a moment, I don't think in-person classes are coming back. At least not anytime soon.

Even prepandemic, in-person classes were difficult. Most of the big players in the training space had already switched to online. So, Covid merely accelerated something that was already happening. 1/n.

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

@leblancfg Problem 1: It's actually quite difficult to fill an in-person class--even if it's only 6-10 people.

Problem 2: It's prohibitively expensive to host a class--especially if using outside facilities (ie. hotel meeting space, conference space, etc.)

Problem 3: The logistical risks are high. What happens if attendees get sick? What happens if I get sick? What if there's a storm? 2/n.

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

@leblancfg I was only able to make it work (pre-pandemic) because I had my own space. I could run small classes because my costs were extremely low compared to alternatives. So, even if I taught a class to 3 people, I was still out ahead.

I no longer have that space (lease expired), so the calculus changes. Yes, I could run a course, but I might have charge $5k/person. I'm just not sure if there's demand at that price. Even if so, the risks still remain. 3/n

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

@leblancfg I can't say that I'll never offer an in-person course again, but if I do, it will probably be a one-off or at the very least, something that's offered very infrequently.

That said, I do miss the in-person interaction. Sigh. n/n

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

@deshipu It would probably be easier to hide the "mystery" language in the project that they're creating instead of the language that they're using for implementation. But the idea of a big "reveal" at the end could be fun.

dansinker, to random

Cicadas are EASILY the most metal of insects. Crawl out of the ground, climb up a tree, split yourself open, and BURST FORTH from your own grubby husk.

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

@dansinker I can't wait until the sound starts.

gknauss, to random
@gknauss@mastodon.social avatar

According to my wife, I sat up in bed last night, shouted “BULLSHIT!”, then lay down and started snoring again.

So I’m fully prepared for the Presidential debates.

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

@gknauss Apparently, I once did the same thing except that I shouted "COMCAST!" I have no idea what THAT must have been about.

drj, to random
@drj@typo.social avatar

Tomorrow is the 29th birthday of my Model M keyboard. What would be a good way to celebrate?

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

@drj Have you cleaned it yet?

dabeaz, to random
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

Kid: "How do I play a blues solo?"

Me: "Play almost nothing."

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

This is also a good rule of thumb for coding.

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

@jmsdnns That's a lot of notes, but that's also a pretty good demo of "repeating yourself" which is a proven technique for playing a convincing blues solo as well.

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

@jmsdnns Oh definitely. If you're really ambitious, you can try to build the whole rest of the solo around the bad note ;-).

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

@elhult @jmsdnns I don't know, it seems to have worked pretty well for async. (drum hit).

dabeaz, to random
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

Trying to convince the kid to do summer community band with me. Aside from the big hurdle of "playing with a bunch of olds", I contend that community band is the way to get good.

We'll probably play 20+ songs. Real arrangements. Stuff they'd play in the top HS band. You'd probably only get 1-2 rehearsals per song--tons of sight reading. People are there to play and have fun. So, it's totally chill, not competitive. Get to be out in the community. And it's free. Unlike band camp.

dabeaz,
@dabeaz@mastodon.social avatar

So, I managed to get the kid to go to community band rehearsal last night. Afterwards, looking exhausted, he says "we rarely make it through a single song during rehearsal at school." Last night: 11 songs. Playing concert Monday.

Better buckle your seat-belt my friend because I looked at the calendar and we're playing 30 different songs in 5 concerts over the next two months.

Pro tip for kids who want a workout: Community band, not pricey band camp.

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