Author Archives: docwhat

Firefox Fix

By docwhat | Published: 2009-11-09
I have a tendency to switch my default browser every so often. I like playing with new toys. I just switched from Safari to Firefox 3.5.5 and discovered I couldn’t stand the way external links open in new tabs though I wanted new-window links such as target=”_blank” to open in a new tab. This used to [...]
Posted in WebDev | Tagged | 2 Comments

Smoking craters are good

By docwhat | Published: 2009-10-28
Every wondered how to make bulletproof software? What tricks do the guys who build bank machines use to be sure their software doesn’t ever crash? Look no further!
Posted in My Projects | 4 Comments

RVM: ruby version management

By docwhat | Published: 2009-10-27
I just discovered RVM, a tool for managing multiple versions of ruby on the same system. This is really useful on my MacBook Pro, since the built-in Ruby “has problems”. Such as having gems in weird locations which makes updating them difficult. Plus the fact that the OS X updater may clobber your [...]
Posted in My Projects | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Another one bites the dust

By docwhat | Published: 2009-09-28
Once again, the curve on Hobart has claimed another victim. In this case, it wasn’t an innocent victim. At about 1am this morning I half woke-up to a weird “wumph” sound. I didn’t think it was cars crashing (they make a more metallic sound) but something had happened. Then after a [...]
Posted in My Life, Squirrel Hill | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Party of Stupid

By docwhat | Published: 2009-09-26
Rob Landley has written a very good description of how the Republican party is discombobulating. He gave me permission to reproduce it here; any formatting errors are mine. Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations [...]
Posted in The World Around Us | Tagged , | Leave a comment