Oxymoronic Drivers

I'm thinking of adding "turn signal" to my collected oxymora. Drivers (here in California, at least) invariably only ever use them if it's already obvious which way they're headed, yet fail to use them when it would actually help. Take lunchtime yesterday, for example. I was waiting to turn right out of a parking lot, but there were 7 cars approaching from my left. I sat there watching as every single one of those drivers slowed down and pulled into the parking lot before they got to me. Thus, had I known, I could have exited at any time. Did any of those drivers signal to let me know that? No! Not a one.

My Fibonacci Joke

An infinite number of mathemeticians walk into a bar. The first mathemetician says, "I'll have one beer, please." The second mathemetician says, "I'll have one beer, please." The Nth mathemetician points to N-2 and N-1 and says, "I'll have what those two are having."

Trashy Entertainment

I sure get good value for my city taxes. Not only do they haul away my garbage, but the entertainment of watching them do it with those robot-armed trucks is bonus material.

Rockin' with The Antix

I had some time to kill at Disneyland tonight, so I wandered over to Innoventions to see the Asimo robot do his tricks. Unfortunately, I missed his last performance (hourly from noon to 6), but I got a great consolation prize -- for just then, The Antics hit the stage at the Tomorrowland Terrace, singing one great rock 'n roll cover after another: Billy Idol, The Cars, Wild Cherry, Stevie Wonder. The first set was so good, I waited for them return after their break and then enjoyed the second set as well.

I don't see on The Antix web site where they tell you where you might catch an upcoming performance, but you can always hire them for a private gig (seriously, for weddings and corporate events, etc.). Check out their video clips online. And you can always look for them at Disneyland. Apparently they're regulars there.

Update: Scheduled dates can be found at http://www.myspace.com/brookewilkes and http://www.myspace.com/antixband

Stupid Procrastination Advice

And the award for the most inane utterance heard this week goes to the psychologist on NBC's Today Show yesterday morning for her advice on curbing procrastination. Her biggest tip? "Set priorities."

How stupid is that? Doesn't the term “procrastinate” pretty much imply that the items not being done are important? I mean, when was the last time you heard a guy apologize for not getting all of his TV watching done?

The Blank Page Syndrome
My personal procrastination demons are usually of the fuzzy-goal species. It's hard for me to get things done when I'm not even sure what "done" looks like. Whenever I realize that that is what's happening, I use a trick that they teach to budding novelists. “Write the ending first,” the professionals say. "Then, go back to the beginning and write to that end, changing it, if necessary, when you get there."

This trick works for all kinds of tasks. For example, in software maintenance I usually have to document the changes I make, explaining to the end-user what each bug fix or enhancement means to them and how to take advantage of it. I find that when I start with writing that documentation, pretending that I've already implemented the change, it really helps to clarify in my mind the specifics of the end result that I'm trying to achieve. Then, as I do the work for real, it gives me an acid test to know if I'm on the right track. In other words, does the software now work as advertised? A side benefit of this end-first exercise is that it often reveals latent issues and questions for which I have no answers. It also helps me to enumerate any assumptions that I've been making, which perhaps ought to be validated.