The quantified surveyor
Dec. 22nd, 2015 06:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hirezA thing which has happened to modern people who care about special made-up computers is that they are assaulted from all sides by pictures and graphs. Many of the pictures are nearly meaningless or would make that Tufte fellow strap on armour and weapons in the manner of an Austrian-born action hero. Or a cyber-oik in impractical trousers and dark spectacles worn indoors. I dunno. I've never tried firing one of those with one hand.
As it turns out, the notion of 'hoover up all the data, graph the shit out of it and then see if any of it lines up with stuff we already know' is a really good one. If you (like me) have travelled from the ancient land of 'Well, if 'top' and 'sar' aren't good enough for you I don't know what. Good day sir!' then you'll have learned things like 'Go and look at the computer. Are the disk-LEDs burking bridely and is it emitting a constant sound of 'bdak-bdak-bdak-bdak' as the read/write heads flap yea and fro like a flag in a high wind?'
These things do not work with special made-up computers that are far away.
It has also taken a few years of pointless flailing for people to work out how to do all the bits in between the special made-up computer that is running out of puff and the big screen on the wall that is not a Telescreen, no. Avoiding Java for much of this sort of thing is a good start. Although I guess the actual message would be 'Avoid piling in a complete kit of bits that is someone else's idea of a 'complete' 'solution' and that is made up of many moving parts in many toy languages because that sort of thing always works really well.'
In only vaguely tangential news, I am now accompanied everywhere by a Fitbit, which is also big on 'hoover up all the data and graph the shit out of it.'
The sleep data's probably not wrong, but it makes for less-than-optimal reading. It also turns out that there are many stairs in my house. I should avoid pusher robots.
As it turns out, the notion of 'hoover up all the data, graph the shit out of it and then see if any of it lines up with stuff we already know' is a really good one. If you (like me) have travelled from the ancient land of 'Well, if 'top' and 'sar' aren't good enough for you I don't know what. Good day sir!' then you'll have learned things like 'Go and look at the computer. Are the disk-LEDs burking bridely and is it emitting a constant sound of 'bdak-bdak-bdak-bdak' as the read/write heads flap yea and fro like a flag in a high wind?'
These things do not work with special made-up computers that are far away.
It has also taken a few years of pointless flailing for people to work out how to do all the bits in between the special made-up computer that is running out of puff and the big screen on the wall that is not a Telescreen, no. Avoiding Java for much of this sort of thing is a good start. Although I guess the actual message would be 'Avoid piling in a complete kit of bits that is someone else's idea of a 'complete' 'solution' and that is made up of many moving parts in many toy languages because that sort of thing always works really well.'
In only vaguely tangential news, I am now accompanied everywhere by a Fitbit, which is also big on 'hoover up all the data and graph the shit out of it.'
The sleep data's probably not wrong, but it makes for less-than-optimal reading. It also turns out that there are many stairs in my house. I should avoid pusher robots.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2015-12-22 08:33 pm (UTC)I'm pretty sure I don't get as little as the sensitive setting days; but seeing as there's bugger-all I can do about it, I prefer not to know. It was just stressing me out even more.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-22 11:58 pm (UTC)Well I'm using that one.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-25 07:24 pm (UTC)approx 6 stairs seems to count as a flight and the sleep data counts in my reading time but it otherwise fairly accurate.