squeakynick
Joined 14 years ago
Karma
879
Submissions
198
Member since
Mar 19
Recent submissions
Comment · 5 years ago
Years ago, when recruiting for a tech support position, I had an agency send a bunch of 'pre-screened and qualified' candidates through. Most were fine, and we could start straight away with conversations about debugging AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS (this probably dates the time period!) One candidate, however, looked like a deer-in-headlights, and was clearly out of his depth. In the end, I asked "There is a computer in this room, can you point to it?", and he sheepishly pointed to the fridge!
I felt really bad for the poor guy; it was not his fault. We finished the interview early, had a friendly chat, and I sent him on his way with some bus fares.
I then got on the phone and tore the agency a new one. They had wasted his time, and my time, by 'doctoring' the qualifications. I never used them again.
Comment · 6 years ago
I'll plug my own -- http://datagenetics.com/blog.html
and one I enjoy -- https://www.redblobgames.com/
Comment · 6 years ago
Author of article here. Thanks for kinds comments.
Yes, it's possible to stabilize bottle rockets with fins (to adjust the CP), but as the article hints, the stick is multipurpose in helping with launch, as well as stability (plus being easy to manufacture with low precision).
I just published a follow-up article talking about bigger rockets. http://datagenetics.com/blog/july22020/index.html
Aeronautics is a complex science and my articles are intended to pique interest, not oversimplify or belittle. It's a hard balance to explain things in a few hundred words. I hope you enjoy them and, if there is interest, they become the catalyst for you to learn more. It's a fascininating subject.
Comment · 6 years ago
Nerdy articles about math, coding, and data science, in a style as homage to Martin Gardner.
Comment · 6 years ago
I write the blog: http://DataGenetics.com
1. Process: I keep a task list (using google tools) with a list of topic ideas. When I think of something I want to write about, or find interesting links, I place them there. There's typically about two dozen ideas at any time incubating.
2. Start: I started the blog about a dozen years ago as a way to add depth to my website that was the front-end for my consulting business. I stopped consulting shortly after starting, and am now retired, but I keep the blog up on that site; I've built a following. It was easy to start. Ideas are easy; the hard part is finding the free time to write!
3. Motivation. I love doing it. I get pleasure from writing. When I was a kid, I loved reading the works of Martin Gardner. I hope my blog could be seen some way as an homage to his works.
4. No real struggles, but I made a conscious choice to not enable comments on my site. Comments will get you down. Everyone is a critic. Jerks will say "that's not special, I could have don that" (hmmm, but you didn't). My email address is not hard to find on the site if you want to get in contact with me. Don't fret too much about publishing; do what is right for you. There is a whole spectrum of 'advice' from people saying regular rapid cadence (even if you have nothing to say), through to only publish gems. I typically average about one post a week. Some of my posts are lightweight, others are heavyweights.
Comment · 6 years ago
Writing simple multiplayer games using just Notepad++ as my dev environment. Two games so far:
Multi-Armed-Bandit http://datagenetics.com/blog/may12020/index.html
Space Miner http://datagenetics.com/blog/april12020/index.html
Comment · 6 years ago
I write about math, coding, and general geekery in a style similar to Martin Gardner. http://www.datagenetics.com/blog.html
Comment · 6 years ago
Half of these designs are simply scaled up drones which, according to simple physics and engineering, is the wrong direction.
Details: http://datagenetics.com/blog/february62019/index.html
How can organisations this large get it so wrong? When is someone going to tell them that the Emperor is not wearing any clothes?
Comment · 6 years ago
If we are allowed to self promote, then I'll put forward my blog http://datagenetics.com/blog.html
There's currently about 360 articles about math, science, programming, data-mining, geekery ... in style similar to a hero of mine, the late Martin Gardner.
I write the DataGenetics blog. http://www.datagenetics.com/blog.html