Apr 19, 2011

ItemsControl hidden feature when binding to a list

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I've been battling (and finally, at last, solved) a particularly annoying problem lately which I was convinced for the longest time must be a bug. As usual, it was instead an undocumented feature. I tried to wait to write this so I wouldn't still be fuming after having torn my hair out for hours on end. I'll attempt civility, but if you detect a tinge of frustration you'll know why.

Apr 13, 2011

Debating politics with libertarians is boring

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It's gotta be frustrating as hell to debate politics with libertarians. Not just because we're nutso and constantly at odds with both major political parties, but because it's the same damn answer from us most of the time: "Not the gub'mint's job!"

Apr 11, 2011

Intersection of geek and libertard

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A big deal in the world of programming has to do with what's called "separation of concerns." Put simply, parts of a system (in this case, a computer program) should have as little overlap as possible. This ends up making things more modular, which is techy-talk for having individually replaceable (or change-able) parts. Think of it like parts in a car. You can usually replace your tires without fear of screwing up the starter, because the two aren't really connected even though they both go into the making and design of a car. You can do this because parts of a car are distinct and discrete. Tires come off. Seats and doors and windows are removable.

Apr 9, 2011

Be passionate, but humble

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We have a duty to base our judgments on the best available information. This is not only because we owe it to other people to represent the issues fairly, but also because we owe it to ourselves not to squander our lives on fairytales. A great wrong has been done by this movement. We must put it right.

Coming from a prominent enviro-nut, that line is sure to cause a lot of turmoil for greenies and the guy that wrote it is effectively going to be disowned. Without getting into the debate on green issues too much (which, despite my slur earlier in this paragraph, I'm not completely against), I found this conclusion extremely well-stated.

Apr 2, 2011

Alcoheimer’s

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This might seem at first like an odd observation, but I sometimes think drunkenness might be the closest most people get to experiencing debilitating dementias like Alzheimer’s disease.

Okay, a couple to-be-sures:

  • Alzheimer’s et. al. is far, far worse than getting tipsy
  • Being sloshed is nothing like forgetting your loved ones

But that’s why I said closest. It still may be far off.

Hear me out.

Being drunk puts you in the weird state of disconnect. You are impaired but aware. Your actions, mostly physical but also things you say, seem disconnected from your mental state a bit, like the two aren’t fully in sync. You are aware completely when you misstep or misspeak things, knowing you wouldn’t normally do so, and also knowing that it’s the weird sensation causing it. (This might be why drunk people are so often keen on stating that they are drunk.) You are completely aware but also a bit helpless and must witness your own humiliation.

From what little I know of dementias, this seems to be on that same track. They are aware of the things missing, though they are still missing and unknown. They know there’s a bathroom around here somewhere, or that they have a child all grown up that looks like… something. It’s frustrating to them, but only because they are aware of the impairment.

Much like severely shit-faced folks, extreme forms of dementia probably do leave them with little recollection, but for the vast majority of cases I think the similarity is there.

Of course, it’s only a glimmer of what it must be like. None of us normal folk can possibly know without actually having Alzheimer’s (and who would wish for that?) but, like I said, it’s gotta be the closest we’ll get to experientially understanding it.

Coincidentally, I made this observation whilst a bit drunk myself…