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I like the idea of the treadmill but I'll only get it if it has a holder for my Bawls.

Interesting comments...

I don't think I've ever in my career worked with anybody who was able to keep high output AND high quality AND all the time.

We have project based work - so it comes and it goes. Everyone needs downtime for sure. There are times - "go" time if you will - where sleep is a wish and the notion of being on an island alone for a year is a plesant one. During those times - we write quality code because it is what is expected of us and it is our job. We also do it quickly for the same reason. Quality code and speed is about discipline and not letting the dark side get to you. Oh, and Bawls too.

today's outsourcing is yesterday's working new graduates to death, with about the same quality level for code produced etc.

I would argue it's much, much worse than this. Depending on where you go, the code quality will be even worse, and will continue to be worse - there is no feedback mechanism to correct really poor coding, worse yet, problem solving abilities.

If this was a PHB forum I would be expecting comments along the lines of 'who cares about quality'

Quality is vital to the success of long lived applications, I agree. Though there are millions of examples of where quality does not matter. At the end of the day - if the application works properly the builders job got done. It is really an "artistic" decsison to persue the "proper" path. It may not have gotten done how you or I would like, but it works none the less. This why I think that many of the attributes raised in the article are valid - good engineering comes from a belief in a particular way of doing things. A system even. Those that don't care about the art and craft of programming are unlikely to produce an artistic product.

I am not sure I would be able to work as architect full time without ever writing any code

I don't think it is possible to be a good architect and not write code. As with houses, one must know the materials and it's capabilities before incorporating it into a new design. If you don't do very creative work, then perhaps you can get away with little coding, but the tech industry is not exactly static. Sometimes things don't work quite the way we think they should.

If you use anything that's not a well known 'standard' with an active development community

I don't, and I stay away from things like the plague. I also prefer to buy components where appropriate, especially for things where the amount of effort is clearly not worth the purchase price. Where I think I can reduce complexity and ease implementation I write my own frameworks.

because, if you have been in that situation, often you end up with code that works well for what you specified in 1.0, but that is basically unmantainable and unexpandable, and often unsupportable (when said framework is not the buzzword-du-jour anymore, you find bugs in it, and nobody is interested in fixing them).

I would argue that this is why you and I continue to be employed. We make sure that the project lasts, and that framework-du-jour is in fact a viable solution to the problem, and that it does not create a real hazard to the longevity of the project.

The high school guys are perfectly acceptable so long as they a) write good code b) willing to learn c) are motivated. No one can know everything so that's why the more senior members can raise the quality of the work.

Some high school guys are not going to want to raise the quality of the work - it's about finding those that have the innate talent and enthusiasm and perhaps got lost on the road that society deems the "proper" route through life.

As an aside - there are some jobs that you need a CS major or someone with higher educational training (or someone with the correct on the job experience) - you need the math and the science that they were taught - these jobs are not for the high school guys - but then you wouldn't hire a baker to build you a new CRM

Hey! At least wait until I've finished my Bawls.

Definitely Bawls...

It tastes good, comes in a pretty, decorative blue bottle, and the name can inspire an endless stream of juvenile humor.

Plus, mixed with orange juice, tastes just like a mimosa.

I have NO idea if it actually "works."

His BAWLS ?!?!

Bawls?

It would be interesting to make a list of what basic (computer related) services Google DOESNT provide yet.

1: Not yet an ISP! - Give me WiFi, damnit!
    *Reads This * "Good boy Google, now fetch"

2: Webpages - With the amount of storage they have for gmail, they could certainly fork up 50mb free webpage accounts by now, right? Just like with the mail, the average person probably wont use 50 megs, I'm sure that's what they'd count on. But it would be really interesting to see something like this happen with google. Oooh, what's this, searching appears to imply it exists, dispite the fact that it links nowhere...

3: Coffee and TV - It's true you can search froogle for just about anything, and it's true google has a small merchandising department (appairently), but they don't have anything like...amazon.com as an example (all be it a rather poor one). I think you get the point...if your company makes something, they cant add it to a google store, and if you want something, you cant buy it through google. (again, froogle, I know, but it's just not the same).

4: A Better Blogger - What the hell is up with blogging everything these days? I mean...it's like a diary, except anyone has access to read it. Now, this was fine until one day you turn on the news and they're reading some random John Doe's opinion on the economy, and acting like it's important. *ahem* but anyways, Blogger. If they slapped the google name on blogger, and wrote just a tad bit of support into the client their Google Talk client right here (something really simple, like, link your gmail account to your blogger account, and then just a little link in the drop down menu) and I'd bet my Bawls they'd see a sudden spike in blogger's popularity and it crushes other services as quickly as blogging crushed my hope in humanity.

5: Google Browser - a Gowser? I don't know what to call it, but it's an idea that I've seen google talk about as early as September 2001. Fork mozilla already! Just think about it though, how many of you have google as your start page? (or something that links to google in bright bold letters at the top of the page, such as this lovely one you're reading right now). If they've already made a messenger client and service, then they've clearly invested at least a reasonable amount of effort into software. It's not hard to imagine a massively google-customized fork of firefox, or mozilla, finding it's way onto my desktop, laptop, and PSP (once I get a good linux port running, emulating an x86 is too much of a round-about way of doing things for me). Of course, then someone would suggest they make a google media player, and they'd jump on the idea. And people would keep naming off apps they want google to make until one day they make a google kernel (goognel? or something...) and we have a complete google operating system running. I wish.

More importanlty, why did I stay up till 5 AM reading/posting on here? And when exactly in the night did I misplace my pants?

I've been using this drug for years... its called bawls

My co-workers and I have been going to a place like this for sometime here in Greensboro, NC. Digital Lifestyle Center has approx. 16-20 Alienware 64-bit gaming monsters and around 10 XBox'en.

Great place to go after work, enjoy a few Bawls, and kill your co-workers (legally).

How about vodka and Bawls?

And I'm willing to bet the other 30% are just utter fiction. :)

<steve>
Dude! Yer goin' to hell!
</steve>

BTW. I like to drink Bawls, right?

Well, they finally got a sugar free version using sucralose. The fun part was that I had a dream that this stuff existed before they started making it. I had it correct, except I dreamt it in a green bottle instead of a clear one.

So....like I had a nightmare the other night that they were going to make a caffeiene and sugar-free version.

Someone shoot me. :P

Apparently you have never been to Quakecon. We don't drink that wussy mountain dew. It's all about the Bawls.

I'll second that one. Bawls is AWESOME stuff. I can slam a 10oz bottle and be wired for like the next 6 hours. Plus it tastes great (kinda like punch but w/o the vodka), and the bottles look damn nifty stacked ontop of my computer desk.
I've got a whole case of 24 sitting in my room right now... which reminds me, I need to go out and buy some more soon!

But yeah, for me... Bawls is the ONLY way to fly.

Actually, no. I suck Bawls.

• 16 Xbox hooked up in System Link (Halo, Rainbow Six 3, Ghost Recon ...)
• Bawls
• PCs (this has already been covered in other posts)
• Lot's of tables and chairs for board game, collectable card games, role playing games, ... Maybe even for chess, who knows!

I was addicted to Bawls for a few years until I decided to cut back. I started eating Altoids instead whenever I felt the craving for caffeine. I ended up healthier and eat better, unaddicted to caffeine, and grew 2 cavities.

Damn Altoids are half sugar!

More specifically you need Bawls . Buy some over at ThinkGeek.

you'd better have BAWLS!

The gamer's choice for over caffination.

...ask yourself, "Do I really want to be put in the same league as this guy?

I know that a typical LAN party accessory for me has been Bawls a high caffine drink that incorperates Guarana, an herbal energy inducer. Plus, what ever happened to just having coffee?

What is Guarana?

Guarana (Paullina Cupana) is nut-like seed of a climbing vine that grows in the Amazon basin in Brazil just south of the equator. Guarana has been used for centuries by the indigenous people of this area as natural energy supplement and today over 25% of the soft drinks on the market in Brazil contain Guarana as a main ingredient.

The Guarana berry contains a naturally-occurring form of caffeine which is 2.5 times stronger than the caffeine found in coffee, tea, and soft drinks. In the United States Guarana holds a GRAS-status (Generally Regarded As Safe). However, as with any other form of caffeine, individuals with heart problems or high blood-pressure should use caution when consuming large quantities of Guarana. The recommended daily dose of caffeine is 35 mg., but keep in mind that most coffees and teas can contain anywhere from 2 to 5 times this amount. So BAWLS® Guarana, with its 80mg/12 oz.. is no more caffeine than a cup of coffee.

What is Guarana used for?

Guarana is used as a natural aid to increase performance. Be it physical or mental. Guarana is also said to help after strenuous exercise by cleansing the body of lactic acid buildup and thus bringing energy levels back to normal. Keep in mind that Guarana, as any caffeine, is a natural diuretic, and you should not drink Guarana in liquid form (such as BAWLS® Guarana) as a substitute for water, but rather as a pre- or post-work out supplement.

See? Now I'm buff from using my mouse... And my bicepts are ripped from lifting my bawls. Later on, I'm going to play some Q3 and work on my quads.

I read that here: http://www.bawls.com/bawls.php?page=guarana

that would work for a time. though you'd have to keep it fed fairly well or you would get the jitters. Quake framerates would have sudden spikes and such. Though eventually he'd build an amunity to caffeine and you'd half to either cut him off and let him loose the imunity or up the dosage. I would prefer the first method my self, because after he's clean and past the jitters you could give him your Bawls and he would have a massive boost in OC capabilities.

The chart in the story shows Jolt as the highest caffeine, 72mg in 12oz. Well, don't forget about Bawls!, it has 80mgs in a 10oz bottle! I drink this stuff when its "one of those mornings" or I want to go to a show or club and I just don't think I will have the energy. You'll know when it kicks in (and you'll definetly know when it starts to wear off)!

To purchase some of your own Bawls, check out ThinkGeek but I highly recommend against buying from BeveragesDirect, they don't answer the phone and forget to ship stuff...

Geoffeg

"hackers" don't drink Coke... far too little caffine! We all drink The Dew (or for the serious, Jolt and/or Bawls.)

what about Crystal Pepsi a few years back, then? and what about that caffeinated spring water that is popping up now and then? and what about Red Bull ?? (If you've never had Red Bull, then you've never lived yet... the rules here in Canada seem to be inconsistent. I was surprised when the people at Bawls said they couldn't sell in Canada (this may have recently changed), but lately 7-11 here in Canada has been selling five or ten brands of guarana based soft drinks - XTC, RedDevil, etc. Head to your nearest Chinatown for RedBull or GoldBull (goldBull is actually a knockoff of RedBull, but is actually stronger - YMMV).

That's B A W L S...

It's an interesting drink. I have one setting here on my desk.

Pound for pound Guarana may be stronger than the caffeine we find in cola and coffee; however, they put less in each bottle, so the overall kick is the same...while a shot of whiskey is a lot more potent than a shot of beer, it carries the same buzz as whole mug. Am I reading this correctly? "So BAWLS® Guarana, with its 80mg/12 oz.. is no more caffeine than a cup of coffee."

We're not coming up with anything new here. Listen to their jingle. It's the one at the bottom of their page, subtly marked with the link "They've Got You. Buy the Bawls".

Bawls isn't limiting themselves to naked women. You should check out the link marked "Meet the Bawls Spokesmodel"


Her name is "Bambi," and she's pretty insulting. There's even a letter from a 'concerned female reader.' Bambi responds with great lines, like "Perhaps you are caloricly challenged (fat) and your complexion tends to be lifeless (ugly)." and "I find that the more make-up I apply and the more BAWLS Guarana I drink, the closer I am to inner peace."