And for my next trick

I will be driving a stupid fast bike on questionable tires in the rain up to capitol hill on my way to work. On the other hand, if I can't hack asphalt and concrete in the rain, how can I possibly handle a washed out road in the Yukon Territories?

twistd

Looking over the twistd code for an ssh client, I really have to say I'm impressed with it. Now, I'm not really a big fan of significant-whitespace, but the code is facile and readable, and if I feel particularly lazy, I can just adapt the example code to my wishes and expand as necessary later.

I am starting to think that, maybe, python suffers from the same problem perl does: python code is individual, may or may not use the builtin warnings and debuggers, and as such there's a whole spectrum of code from "unreadable" and "good god!" to "hey, this looks like it could work." For contrast, see perl code that's written without strict, warnings, and -T. Or, for that matter, imperative, top-to-bottom code with no modules in sight.

You can write code like that in python, despite it being something of a disservice to your coworkers, but you can also write very maintainable code. Maintainable code, that is, that I can debug at three in the morning without too much digging.

Gosh, I hope I can be a force for good in this regard.

unpossible!

How can you have a software documentation index without a helloworld program?

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

Well, that's cute.

Why didn't I think of not including the goddamn binaries for the database I shipped with the OS?

Ah, bikes.

When we're flagged for construction in America, we normally must wait for a pilot car to guide us through the zone. Like Sunday-school teachers they lead us along, giving wide girth to any potentially litigatable situations. In Canada the flaggers stop you for a little pep talk. "We're doing a bit of maintenance up ahead, eh. It's slick as snot and a couple bikes went down this morning, but you'll be fine. Oh. And watch out for the steamrollers." So you're plowing your way through the glossy mess and the steamrollers are coming at you. To avoid them you bulldoze your way through a couple berms of decomposed granite, but oncoming semi trucks and motorhomes quickly remind you which side of the road you're on. You thread your way through the traffic, cranes and dump trucks Space Invader style, taking brief note that all the heavy equipment operators have stopped their machines and are sitting there watching you. And they're giggling. We didn't stop to curtsey.

(emphasis mine)

Oh, yes. There will be a ride to Alaska. I have decided.

Do all things at a certain level of performance look the same?

I've developed a bad habit of looking at bikes I probably don't need. Because I've been commuting on the ZX7, I've mostly convinced myself that I need a K1200RS (below) with hard bags to store my helmet when I'm off the bike and my laptop when I'm on the bike. I don't really ever get the bike leaned over enough that I'd be dragging a bag (at least, not on my way to work!).

And, I've pretty well decided that the ZX7 is near tame enough that I'd like something a bit faster. That, and I kinda don't like the way the windscreen is pinched down towards the airbox, despite the enormous front profile of the bike. But, as I look around at bikes I'd be inclined to purchase, they all look the same.

 

Mine's red and a little newer, but this is essentially it.

Then there's the CBR1000, with the same issue.

And the FZR, which looks approximately the same.

  

The GSX-R 1000

I like the FZR because it's a 5-valve head. I like the CBR because the Hondas are just about legendary, and I can't say anything bad about the repsol bodywork (other than it's expensive if you drop it!). I have a kawi, of course, and the GSX-R 1000 looks, you guessed it, exactly the same.

The only difference between these bikes, as I see it, is where the tailpipe is hung, and the position of the headlamps and any forward-facing vents (which give, according to most manufacturers, between 20 and 30 hp at speeds greater than 150mph). The rest of the time, it's the same high tail, angular front cowling, high, rear-pointed bump for the airbox/fuel tank and the same reach-for-the-ground handle bars.

In fact, the only bike I've been able to find that looks substantially different is the Hayabusa, which I kinda don't want. I mean, I want it, but I am fairly certain it wouldn't last a year without a turbo, and it's a huuuuge bike. I'd really rather have something down near 400lbs, which I guess puts me in the Ducati or super-600 category. Come to think of it, the 998 and 1098 look a whole lot like the bikes above.

This is kind of disappointing. $wife was complaining recently that the Gumpert Apollo, the Ascari A10, the Koenigsegg CCX, and even to some extent the Veyron all look very similar. A huge, swooping hood that runs all the way to the ground with slash-cut vents in it, a windshield that mates seamlessly to the hood and sits broadly over enormous front haunches, as well as the teardrop cabin sitting atop enormous vents to cool the rear brakes and feed the mid-mounted engine, stopping at a huge wing and truncated rear quarters that have a single or double tailpipe sitting atop an enormous rear diffuser.

In that regard, even though the new GTR is ugly as sin, at least it looks different. I'm really disappointed that all these bikes look so similar. It seems to me that there is more than one way to punch a hole through the air; so why are all these vehicles so goddamn similar? Can't they do something inventive rather than simply iterative?

On the other hand, anyone wishing to donate a 1098 or ZX12 will be heartily thanked, and the bike will be ridden within an inch of its life. I'm not above taking a free bike, even if it looks like everything else.