I'm writing a Flex/AIR app that grabs stuff from a database and displays it in an mx.controls.list. Interacting with it you can switch the list mode, which changes the visibility of certain controls in the itemRenderer. There are currently 20 items in the dataProvider, about 8 are displayed at any given time. I noticed that switching modes - and by doing so waiting for validateList() to run, took incrementally larger amounts of time for each of the first 3 items that were in view. So if you scrolled down one item and switched modes it was a bit faster, and if you scrolled past the first 3 switching modes became instant as it should be.

After looking over the same possibly relevant lines of code several times, reading up in detail of how the validateList() cycle works and getting into the nitty gritty of list classes I realized the problem was on the database side. I had a column named length. At first I thought there was an issue where I'd set the column type as a floating point number and maybe actionscript was having a time converting it or dealing with it in an object - there's no actual reason why I thought this, but the performance issue was not noticeable if the floating point number was smaller than 10,000.

Fortunately after only a few hours time wasted I, the spaz writing this, realized that the length column was being interpreted in actionscript as the length(ie: number of children/values) of the object. So say length was set to 100,000, for every item in the list it would have to create and analyze 999,992 blank values - creating space in memory for each one, along with the 8 actual values pulled from the database.

Furthermore when I referenced the item.length value while technically the value pulled from the database, was really the number of children in the object. The small robots that live inside my computer and make it work must have though I was bananas.

I'd like this to be my formal application for the prestigious Leader of the Idiots, but since I'm obviously not equipped with the basic skill set to do anything(read: dressing oneself, remembering reserved names) I'll rely on some kind soul reading this to file the application for me and submit it to the proper authorities.. thanks.

The origin of the word 'hello' from Answers.com, I just think it's weird that we used to engage regularly in "long-distance shouting" and probably weirder that we don't anymore.

Origin: 1885

 

Alexander Graham Bell's much-talked-about invention gave us not only the new word telephone (1876) but also the greeting hello. To be sure, something like hello had been with us for a long time as a shout that the English had learned from the French in the Middle Ages. Ho là! they would say. It meant both "stop" and "pay attention," or in the words of an early translator, "hoe there, enough, soft soft, no more of that; also, heare you me, or come hither." In various English shouts and reshouts over the centuries, this became holla (1523), hollo, hollow (1542), and hillo, hilloa (1602). For long-distance shouts the ending was lengthened to -oo, leading to halloo (1568) and hulloo (1707). By the nineteenth century the variants included hallo, halloa (1840) and hullo, hulloa (1857).

It is not surprising that a call to stop and pay attention should become associated with the first telephones. But with all the possible ways of saying it, why should telephones call for a different pronunciation, that of the present-day hello? Because it is rude to shout, and hello discourages shouting. The short e keeps the mouth more closed than o or a, and -lo makes a quieter ending than. -loo. Telephones badly needed this civilizing because the first ones required people to shout and the first telephone exchanges were manned by boys who enthusiastically shouted right back. "Nothing could be done with them. They were immune to all schemes of discipline," noted one author. So within a few years, in the mid 1880s, "In place of the noisy and obstreperous boy came the docile, soft-voiced girl"--often called a hello girl in recognition of her civilized calling word. In 1889, Mark Twain's Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court included this tribute: "The humblest hello-girl along ten thousand miles of wire could teach gentleness, patience, modesty, manners, to the highest duchess in Arthur's land."

The telephone hello soon became a face-to-face greeting too. It could take the place of How are you? and How do you do?, although it did not replace the informal hi and howdy derived from those expressions. At the end of the twentieth century, there was also a hello? that expressed surprise and a Hello-o-o with an exaggerated up and down of the voice that implied, Wake up! What do you think you're doing?

blach
hello, i know how you eat a cassarole.
that classy donut just did a classarole.
Not as good as you could,
not as adept
But if it was at all good
you'll have to accept.

You're not a donut, YOU'RE NOT
so any attempt to go nuts, SHOULD NOT
be allowed.
...to stop

 

A flaw was discovered in the tls renegotiation process where a 'man in the middle' could take over the connection in a number of ways and perform a number of exploits. Transferring login, credit card, and other important info using https:// is no longer considered secure. The 'man in the middle' could be bumming off your local wireless network, anywhere in between you and your ISP, your ISP and the destination, or on the destinations network. Secure Certificates from the likes of VeriSign can no longer be fully trusted until they find a fix, at which point you'll need to update all your software - browsers, email clients, twitter apps, smart phone firmware, as all the software manufacturers implement and roll out the new(not yet figured out or released) protocol.

Luckily the vast majority of internet users are stupid and this won't affect activity on the internet a bit, even people that are reading or writing this post will still log into their email accounts and go about their online life relying on sheer improbability of them being exploited by this massive(read: catastrophic) security hole. Once again it's stupidity and recklessness that will keep the world turning cause as we all know if you stop and think about anything too long you'll just give up and go live in the forest like we were originally supposed to.

If you're interested in a more technical description go here.

If you're a programmer and you contribute to or write software which implements tls please disable renegotiation a.s.a.p. and push the update to all your users until a new version of the protocol is released.

via Ars Technica

I think it's appropriate, well it would have been appropriate at any time so now it is, to announce something very important. There have been lots of rumours floating around, most completely off base and contradictory to what I'm about to announce, but I think it's necessary that I set the record straight. By no stretch of the imagination did I ever intend to hide this, no, actually I've gone out of my way to illustrate the truth but it seems some people still don't get it. I'm a complete idiot. I'm filled with totally utterly ridiculously idiotic thoughts and those carry through into idiotic statements, actions, and behaviours. Everything I do, and have ever done, was conceived of and carried out with nothing but idiocy. It's only logical to suspect that going into the future this trend will continue and everyone I come into contact with should be aware - if it isn't instantly apparent, that I'm not capable of anything really when you think about it. It's amazing that I'm able to throw myself into a shirt and pants every other day and do things. If there weren't higher priorities on their list like HIV and Global Warming I would be studied, if only to determine whether I with no clear sign of intelligence could statistically manage to appear functional for as long as I have. It would be determined after some months of observation, and at least I've noticed, that my idiocy goes far beyond any statistical average which suggests - for those who haven't put in the time to think about this - it's not that I lack common sense or basic intelligence, but in fact am FULL of idiocy - the very definition of a complete idiot.

Looking around Liberty Village when I saw this guy flipping the Google Street View Car the bird. Not sure if that makes me want to live there more or less, but it makes me question the guy's motive for hanging a cross off his rear view.

 

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They're actually not sure if accounts were hacked or phished, but Microsoft is saying it's not a breach of their servers... Their probably going on the assumption that if the content was from their databases the passwords would be hashed, but what about xss or some rogue browser plugin? What if there's a breach in some popular software that lets people log into msn messenger and sends off their credentials? Or those 'who blocked me' sites that lure in American Idol voters. Either way they're reporting 10,000+ accounts exposed beginning with A and B, regardless of how they got the info one can only assume they have A through Z.. the probability of getting that many credentials and all of them happen to start with the first two letters of the alphabet? ANYONE that still has an @hotmail, @live, and whatever other domains Microsoft uses must change your passwords for ALL the sites you use, starting with your hotmail account. Assume all your mail and calendar appointments have been read by the original hackers AND about 100,000 other random people by now. Someone with access to your email account can reset all your passwords, online banking, facebook, etc. and gain access to all of it while simultaneously locking you out. Now while this is almost definitely not Microsoft's fault, I can't understand why so many people still use hotmail. Like it's almost as shit as Yahoo mail, and Yahoo mail is complete shit. Maybe this is a good thing, maybe it'll prompt a wave of computer literacy so users can protect themselves from this stupidity. Furthurmore WHY hasn't anyone thought to take phishing into the non-virtual world. A bunch of guys set up next door First National Bank with a big sign out that says "Fish National Bank" then just wait around for people to hand over their financial information. People are obviously ridiculously stupid. And while we're on the subject how pretentious is First National Bank, like anyone cares you were first.

I'd like to announce that I'm starting a new business, it's a revolutionary concept and this is the first time I'm talking about it in a public space.

It's gonna be called Go Goats and basically what it is is you go online(the site will go live soon) and you pick the goat you need to rent, there will be a wide selection of utility and sedan goats. We stuff it into a a big crate and ship it directly to your door step. Or anywhere you'll be in the world. When it arrives you'll find a fresh goat inside with some goat fuel, a.k.a. carrots and cabbages, and packing material. You pay by the day and when you're done you can either leave it at the airport or call our automatic goat returns network which within 15 minutes will send an apache helicopter with a suspended crate direct to your location, all you have to do is usher the goat in and shut the door.

That's it!

Once unpacked you just climb on the goat and it'll chauffeur you around town. It's gonna be the next big thing in green transportation. The manufacturing process has far less environmental impact than electric cars today. You also get better mileage and will be able to customize your goat with a bevy of features including "Cup Holders" for those thirsty trips, "Velvet" where we drape the goat in velvet for a more comfortable feel and "Nitro" which is where we lace the goat's carrots with coffee. Another big benefit and what of course will be a standard feature is that as you drive around town your goat will recycle the world around you, everything from aluminum cans to cigarette butts.

You'll be able to sit atop your goat with pride and your friends will envy you, but they won't have to because of the low low prices we're aming for. Focus groups have already indicated that it's gonna be a big hit and we're striving to meet your needs and if we really knock this one out of the park we'll make available a set of leasing plans and move into the owner's market.

today i'll tie my shoe lace
in a knot but not a bow
a complex net work of order
that order two and fro.
that material ending in plastic
for threading through my shoe,
comes in little aid
when frayed; adieu
adieu i leave this wretched place
was ok for tying two shoes
that's it

into it i climb and nestle
the body of my car.
down i put my new tied shoe
I'll test its mettle far
where the rubber meets the road in a different kind of shoe
one round and rubber and black and bolted to the metallics of my car
the four of them turn two and fro
first front, then back will surely follow

if i were to keep a spare shoe in my trunk
it would only slow me down
not my car my car's the opposite
if i were a car i'd frown
but it's always standing, standing on
it's tired little rounded feet
flying 80 miles an hour
down the fricken street.

BANG a duck, i've smashed in too
before i hit the wall
i noticed some yellow, some fluff, and white and you
it's stuck against a mall

to crash is actually quite a shock
the duck i'm sure agrees
besides the duck, i'm stuck as well
i'm buckled at the knees

my legs are turned up in side out
they're pointing at the face
accusing me of some foul act that
i can almost taste

i don't see my shoes no more
no duck no car no wall
down the road along the edge
oh no oh my i'll fall

quickly move to safety
in the middle of the street
exactly where a speeding truck
lifts me off my feet

swiftly to the air i flew
embodying the duck
who still remains against the wall
he isn't in the truck

out the truck the driver dove
he tucked and braced and rolled
his head he did not quite protect
and now he's but a fold

still flying through the air i knew
a truck i'm in it's path
it swerved left and rolled right up over itself
any one could do the math

BANG i'm stuck, almost taboo
a sandwhich with the ground
from now on it's all i'll be
lights out, lights down, a frown

I just threw out my TV and I feel ok about it. You think something bad's gonna happen when you do, but nothing did.

Over the last 2/3 years i kinda stopped watching cable tv. I was never just sitting around doing nothing when the shows I liked came on so I used to just watch them online(if it was 'available in my region') or torrent the episodes and play them on my 1st gen softmodded xbmc xbox which was, hooked up to a tv. Recently I came to find two things:

1. I didn't really care enough to download new episodes of stuff
2. I found a whole lot more shows I liked and started trying to get in front of the tv when they were on

oh yeah and a 3rd thing:

3. The only thing I've really gained from tv is hours and hours of lost time. Fleeting precious hours gone watching people cook things I'll never eat, talk to people I'll never meet, places I'll never go and events that will never affect me.

Some days I'd watch CNN for hours, I'd even leave it on while I worked so I could keep up with what was happening in the world and to make sure I listened to the same story told by 8 different groups of people throughout the day. I now know a ton about the inner workings of the U.S. government and virtually nothing about Canadian politics. At least I find that fact funny, or maybe it's more amazing than funny... In my defence this was partly due to a need to understand the deeper layers of what Jon Stewart was talking about, but also partly to understand the even deeper layers of what Stephen Colbert was parodying. I've seen Iron Chef so many times I'm a pro when there's only 1 thing in my fridge and I have to make a 7 course meal. Thanks to Gordan Ramsay I could help any restaurant turn a profit and get their shit together and I feel really comfortable yelling at cooks in a scottish accent. I got to see The Simpsons lose their subtlety and finesse (quite frankly a little piece of me died), and developed ADHD from watching Family Guy, and American Dad. If I ever end up working in a cubicle I'll find it hillarious thanks to the Office. I reaffirmed my vegetarianism watching Anthony Bourdain visit Egypt where a bunch of guys murdered and chopped up a camel before feeding it to him. I now see that it's possible to be a somewhat modern family and practice polygamy thanks to Big Love. Thanks to House I now know for sure that it is really all about the doctors and their egos or perks.. depending on the doctor. They also never show any nurses, anyone who's met at least one nurse and at least one doctor knows that there wouldn't be a functional health care system anywhere without nurses. Without nurses healthcare would be more like factory farming--cold sterile and abusive. Myth Busters is one of the best shows to ever exist by far. Last night was the season premier, the first time I'd ever seen a show that wasn't a repeat which are on all the time cause it's such a great show. It was a 2 hour special of blowing things up and smashing other things. It was late, I was tired, and I feel asleep halfway through. The fact that I missed the other half, doesn't really bother me at all. Watching Jimmy Fallon burst out of the whomb was interesting, but since I'm not a movie critic I've got nowhere to put all my comments. The Roots are the only thing that made it watchable. I feel like I might regret watching Conan's first week, but let's be honest, tonight, late night, late late night.. Every night is really just the same infomercial with the same monologue and slightly different guests reading from a script promoting the next thing on tv or movie they're working on. Planting a little seed so by the time you see the trailer or the promos you've got yourself a little seedling and when it's d-day and you've got to tune in or drive down to the movies you're just dying to buy your ticket to another crappy flick. It's all the same crap though. Watch one season of one show and you get it, you don't have to watch anything else ever, you could come back in 50 years and watch the newest plasma hologram show and you'll see all the jokes coming from a mile away. It's like trying to listen to more than one Bill Hicks album in a day without hoping and praying to find a shotgun delivery service in the local yellow pages. ITS THE SAME SHIT on loop. Break your TV, SMASH your tv... throw it out on the curb, unplug it and melt it down for the uncompromizing soul sucking leach that it is and has been all your life and be free. That is my gift to you, the 5 people that will ever read this. Freedom. It's a cold lifeless dying medium who's only unique contrabutions to the universe are infomercials and made for tv movies. Two things that if left unchecked for too long could flatten the earth all by themselves, individually or together. A medium centered around selling you shit you don't need and don't want. Carson Daly's new format is pretty cool, it's up there with MythBusters, it is. Live music, artist interviews--not the cheesy obviously scripted kind from other shows, but you know what, some content shouldn't be locked up on tv. The few good shows in the sea of crap aren't worth it. Besides there's a pretty spankin' music scene around here and as cool as Carson is it still doesn't beat actually being there. Flight of The Concords,  The Sarah Silverman Program, and tons of other not as good are just the next trend of suedo reality. Triggered by Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and popularized by viewers who got sick of pathetic 'reality shows' especially when they found out during the writer's strike actually had writers. I won't deny that there are some great shows out there but I'd rather get the finished compiled version,  commercial free, comentary, and not have to revolve my life around the schedule of a glass rectangle. "Technology will one day enslave us" is the phrase uttered by someone who hasn't yet taken a step back to see what's happened over the last 110 years.

Hopefully with this post I've released all this useless fucking knowledge back into the ether from where it came. I did it in the hopes that I get a little real estate back that can once again be used to host useful things. Things like thoughts and ideas, and with the extra time maybe, just maybe I can implement one or two of them.