daem0n.org

When I first started this little personal portal / blog site, I was initially expecting a little project to help keep my web programming abilities sharp and updated. As I got deeper into the project, I started really getting into the code and making it a personal goal to do everything as beautifully as possible. I first thought I could get away with just having a simple page and controller class, but as I started getting to more advanced functions of the page with more database interaction, I realized having a model class is necessary.

Now, I've developed some database access layers in the past for companies I've worked for, so I could have just taken the guts of one of those, but I decided to rewrite a completely new model/db class from the ground up and do this right. I guess the best part of doing personal projects is not being in the constraints of a time critical project, or taking orders from ridiculous CEO's that have no understanding of what it takes to build a backend. I get to write this on my own terms, my own time frame, and my own rules :) So, expect minimal updates until I get the model/db to a more usable state.

It's so funny, I was just having a conversation about this topic a few days ago with my girlfriend, and today I stumble upon this article that solidified my views.

Communication skills, not coding skills, are a developer's greatest asset in a bear economy

This is so true. It is so important to be able to communicate effectively with your employer, co-workers, clients, etc. You would not believe the countless stories I hear about the issues of poor communication in the IT and Development field.

Today's developers must be equally effective in the conference room as in their cubicles. They must be fully engaged, not merely in the software design and implementation process but in the business itself. For many programmers, that means learning not just a language but a whole new set of skills.

Unfortunately, this is also true, most programmers these days are horrible in the social environment, and I truly believe that is what separates the average code monkey from the successful IT industry leaders.

Software development doesn't need more typists, secretaries, intermediaries, or middle managers. What it needs are more skilled, engaged, communicative, responsive, assertive developer-analysts -- the kind who can understand, influence, and guide development efforts, rather than simply taking dictation. The shrinking economy makes this need ever more acute -- so for those who can fill the bill, the opportunity has never been greater. For those of you who are still trying to decide which language to learn next, on the other hand, I don't envy you.

Couldn't have put it better myself.

Read the full article: http://www.infoworld.com/d/developer-world/coder-your-days-are-numbered-849

Well, for those of you that don't know, I recently was lucky enough to get a new MacBook when my Dell XPS M1330 died due to a motherboard failure. I've been thinking of getting a mac for my primary laptop ever since they went with Intel processors and you can now run those necessary windows applications on them via VM or in a dual boot setup. (I personally use Fusion 2 by VMWare, and I might explain why in a later post)

It now turns out that this may have been a great move for me, not only am I very pleased with the great quality and performance of my new Aluminum unibody Macbook, but I just learned that these days Mac developers are more sought after and are paid more than windows developers. Now, provided I am a WEB developer primarily, I do like to test my hand in some standard application development. There is quite a plethora of wonderful applications already out for OS X and already, I can see there's just so much more intuitive and creative approaches to standard computing tasks on OS X apps. I guess this is a great time to start learning more about OS X application development, and what the heck, I might as well grab the iPhone SDK and start fucking with that as well ;)

So I've been wasting plenty of time working on the framework for this site and I must say it's coming along quite nicely :D After getting some necessary pieces working properly in the backend, I finally got the Uploads system working again. So for any of you people that need to send me some quick files, that's all back up and running. (Although the Private? feature is not working, and won't be until I get user accounts/registration up, which should be within the next few days at the pace im going.)

Wow, so I almost thought this was some kinda april fools joke, but no this is legit. The upcoming X-Men movie, slated to be released in theaters on May 1st, has been leaked to the internet.

The plot, as taken from IMDb, Wolverine lives a mutant life, seeks revenge against Victor Creed (who will later become Sabretooth) for the death of his girlfriend, and ultimately ends up going through the mutant Weapon X program.

Now this version is an unfinished WORKPRINT, but it is entirely complete as far as the storyline goes. There are some interesting scenes that have the cgi missing from them, and it is pretty damn neat to see how they add all the cool special effects afterwards. The quality otherwise is pretty much DVD like, and you can totally get a good idea and feel for the final version. Personally, I'm still going to catch it in the theaters because I love the X-Men movies and you gotta have full special effects to properly enjoy it. If you need or want a copy, let me know ;)

I'll post screenshots once I make a read more part of the blog system, lol. View the IMDB