JamesCronen.com

So I’m working on a Java project that I can’t say much about, but I’ve learned a serious lesson while working on this particular application.

That is, every minute one spends working on the architecture of the system will be returned tenfold when it’s time to code.

Yes, thank you, I recognize most people know this, but I’m stubborn. When I start a project I want to start a project, which means making classes and interfaces and methods and tigers and bears, ohmy!

I’m writing this not because I think you all really care about the vagaries of Java development, but more as a reminder to myself before I make this boneheaded mistake in the future.

What good is a mistake if you can’t learn from it, right?

The news has been abuzz on the Internet the last couple days with pictures of a double Einstein ring by the Hubble Space Telescope.

I’m not even going to try to explain this, since Phil Plait explained the phenomenon perfectly here.

What I especially love about this, is the publication of this article on the site Presscue. Presscue is apparently a minor Internet news site. Presscue’s standing in the Internet food chain of news sites was obtained using rigorous statistical methods: the fact that I’d never heard of it and I spend pretty much all my spare time in front of a computer.

Get this: even a small website’s article about a relatively obscure (yet cool) astronomical phenomenon has developed trolls! Is no part of the Internet safe?

(Link to Presscue article; text may not be work-safe)

Anonymity plus the Internet is a stupid-making combination. Want to be depressed about our world’s future? Have a look at the comments on any YouTube video.

The only possible perpetual motion machine per the Second Law of Thermodynamics is one in which the collective clueless rage of Internet trolls could power some kind of device with their submitted comments. With apologies to Dr. Gibbs, THAT’s free energy. We’ll be free of oil in no time.

And all this said, I’d still rather have an Internet that requires moderation, spam filters, and a cynical readership than any kind of censorship whatsoever.