Editor’s note: This post was originally published in January of 2008. Some of it still makes sense and some of it doesn’t. Back in the MS-DOS days, getting a new computer was easy. Not only was your new computer strikingly faster than what you had, but moving your work was just a matter of copying…

Once upon a time, real programmers wrote code. We had a computer, a C compiler, and a couple of books full of algorithms. The books never had all the answers so we invented our own solutions. We dug in and figured it out. Today we “leverage” code. We make a dependency file and list out…

I don’t buy object-relational mapping. It’s not because JPA or its implementations aren’t well written, but because the concept itself robs capability in exchange for conveniences we don’t really need. Relational databases have a lot to offer. SQL is a rich language that can perform complex queries, bulk data updates, computations, summaries, and more. It…

When William Shatner’s career was on the skids. By now everyone’s heard about William Shatner’s The Transformed Man — that infamous 60’s recording where he sings Mr. Tambourine Man and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds — but check out this other Shatner LP, an ultra-rare two-record set recorded live in 1978. It’s a recording of an appearance at…

Ok — raise your hand if you didn’t own this record. What record collection would be complete without this Herb Alpert masterpiece? Certainly not mine! It has been said that the thrift stores of any large city contain enough copies of “Whipped Cream and Other Delights” to wallpaper a house (I once found 10 copies in one…