A couple of weekends ago I finally bit the bullet and put the deposit down on a new car - an Audi TT. I went with the 3.2 litre quattro in Ibis White with a Mineral Grey interior. The salesman (the third that I had dealt with - the other two had left the industry soon after I saw them) was quite enthusiastic as he had been trying to convince his boss that the TT in white would make a nice show car and he would finally have the chance to show him.
I went moderately wild on the extras. iPod attachment, decent stereo, Audi magnetic ride etc. As this is my first ever brand new car I have to admit to lessened self-control. I did avoid things like the electric seats and the self-dipping xenon headlights though. I'm still torn as to which was the most useless option that I chose though: The luggage nets or the extended leather trim.
I'm still debating whether to get the car debadged as I'm not particularly interested in advertising the fact that I've gone for the most expensive model to all and sundry.
What I'm most irritated about is the fact that I may have a fight on my hands when it comes to getting the licence plate that I want BO07 HBY. I checked the DVLA website and it is up for auction 'soon'. I'm not absolutely desperate to get it, but I would be upset if it ended up not with a Boothby but with some obsessed Star Trek fan.
January 19, 2007
January 11, 2007
Balancing Ease of Use in Designs
I've long held that in software design and development that the only wrong way of solving a problem is one that does not work. I do however believe that some ways of solving problems are better than others.
In various entries I've talked about the ways I approach trying to arrive at better solutions, some of them were quite abstract. Most of them are ways of evaluating whether one solution is better than another.
In conversation yesterday with Neil, one evaluation came up that I have found very useful: which solution makes the everyday usage easiest?
This evaluation is probably quite familar to consumers of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) but often does not seem to be familiar to producers of APIs.
When designing something always consider adding a bit of complexity to doing the unusual things in order to make it easier to do the usual things.
In various entries I've talked about the ways I approach trying to arrive at better solutions, some of them were quite abstract. Most of them are ways of evaluating whether one solution is better than another.
In conversation yesterday with Neil, one evaluation came up that I have found very useful: which solution makes the everyday usage easiest?
This evaluation is probably quite familar to consumers of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) but often does not seem to be familiar to producers of APIs.
When designing something always consider adding a bit of complexity to doing the unusual things in order to make it easier to do the usual things.
January 05, 2007
Albert the Mongoose
Time for another family history blog entry. Today I want to tell some stories about Albert the mongoose.
Albert was ridiculously tame, he was a particular pet of my father's who had a poachers pocket sewn into many of his coats so that Albert could travel with him. Often, when my father was having a chat with an acquaintance or talking to a shopkeeper, the conversation would grind to a sudden, staring halt as Albert stuck his head out of the coat to see what was going on.
My grandfather was aware that Albert needed plenty of exercise. The favoured form was to tie a brick to a piece of rope and swing it around. Albert would bounce over the brick on each pass with evident enjoyment.
Albert loved people as they were always doing something interesting and would often wander off to see what they were up to. Once shrieking was heard from one of the neighbouring houses and on investigation it was found that Albert had introduced himself to a new cook. The cook did not appreciate the introduction and proceeded to defend herself with what was to hand: A basket of eggs. Albert thought this was wonderful as he not only got to dodge each egg as it was hurled but also had a race to see how much he could eat before the next egg arrived.
Possibly Albert's finest hour was one afternoon as he rested in a sunny spot on the large back lawn. A local tom cat spotted him. This cat was well known, he had caused no end of havoc among the local feline population, had despoiled birds nest for miles around and had caused much angst to the local humans too. The tom cat went into the full stalking mode; body low to the ground, ears pointed and slow, careful movements. Apparently it was a masterpiece of stalking, no noise, barely a shiver of the grasses and always downwind.
After nearly half an hour of stalking, the cat was perfectly positioned to pounce. What the cat had failed to notice was that thoughout all his zig-zag stalking from cover to cover, Albert had managed to always keep his back square to the cat.
With a tail twitch and a wriggle the attack was launched, but when he landed on the patch of ground that was Albert's resting place, the mongoose was no longer there - he was three feet up and dropping perfectly onto the cat's back. In went all of Albert's claws and with evident satisfaction a firm bite was made to the fold of loose skin on the back of the cat's neck.
The cat took off, squalling round and around the garden. As time went by the cat got more and more tired, more and more quiet until finally, panting heavily, he slowed to a staggering walk and stopped by where Albert had been resting. The mongoose let go and daintily jumped down.
The cat staggered from the garden and was apparently never seen again.
Albert was ridiculously tame, he was a particular pet of my father's who had a poachers pocket sewn into many of his coats so that Albert could travel with him. Often, when my father was having a chat with an acquaintance or talking to a shopkeeper, the conversation would grind to a sudden, staring halt as Albert stuck his head out of the coat to see what was going on.
My grandfather was aware that Albert needed plenty of exercise. The favoured form was to tie a brick to a piece of rope and swing it around. Albert would bounce over the brick on each pass with evident enjoyment.
Albert loved people as they were always doing something interesting and would often wander off to see what they were up to. Once shrieking was heard from one of the neighbouring houses and on investigation it was found that Albert had introduced himself to a new cook. The cook did not appreciate the introduction and proceeded to defend herself with what was to hand: A basket of eggs. Albert thought this was wonderful as he not only got to dodge each egg as it was hurled but also had a race to see how much he could eat before the next egg arrived.
Possibly Albert's finest hour was one afternoon as he rested in a sunny spot on the large back lawn. A local tom cat spotted him. This cat was well known, he had caused no end of havoc among the local feline population, had despoiled birds nest for miles around and had caused much angst to the local humans too. The tom cat went into the full stalking mode; body low to the ground, ears pointed and slow, careful movements. Apparently it was a masterpiece of stalking, no noise, barely a shiver of the grasses and always downwind.
After nearly half an hour of stalking, the cat was perfectly positioned to pounce. What the cat had failed to notice was that thoughout all his zig-zag stalking from cover to cover, Albert had managed to always keep his back square to the cat.
With a tail twitch and a wriggle the attack was launched, but when he landed on the patch of ground that was Albert's resting place, the mongoose was no longer there - he was three feet up and dropping perfectly onto the cat's back. In went all of Albert's claws and with evident satisfaction a firm bite was made to the fold of loose skin on the back of the cat's neck.
The cat took off, squalling round and around the garden. As time went by the cat got more and more tired, more and more quiet until finally, panting heavily, he slowed to a staggering walk and stopped by where Albert had been resting. The mongoose let go and daintily jumped down.
The cat staggered from the garden and was apparently never seen again.
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