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Richy's Random Ramblings

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the new Mr and Mrs. “Turnwell” who got married on Friday the 9th of June at just gone 3pm. It was a marvellous ceremony and I hope my sister can make a decent man of “Moggy”

[added after comment from the bride]

Sorry, so you did – the wedding was on Saturday the 9th of June, but I actually had to be up there for the 8th to the 10th as I was Ushering (and I ushed very well 😉 ).

Coding: Less Code Is Better Code

Rich Skrenta (he of Open Directory Project fame) has blogged how code is our enemy. The following phrases in particular: “The more code you have, the more places there are for bugs to hide….The longer it takes a new employee to make sense of your system. If you have to refactor there’s more stuff to move around.”

These sound so true to me and I agree with Jeff that Smaller Code Is Better, but I’d prefer smaller, segmented re-usable code with comments over a large bloated undocumented mess any day!

Desktop Tower Defense Continued

I may just need to edit my “hosts” file on my computer to stop myself play Desktop Tower Defense – it’s proven very very addictive! No wonder the author is earning nearly $8,000 a month. Some people will resent him for that, but I think good on him: he’s come up with a fairly unique idea of a good simple game and given it away free – he deserves to get rewarded….

(added: It appears the developer has even set up a new blog about it – so keep an eye out for other variants of the game).

Now back to those towers….

Driving Test – Passed First Time

Wohooo! Go me! I’ve just passed my Car driving Practical Test first time with only 8 minor faults (every single one of them I knew about as I did them). Woot!

I can now legally drive on the roads of the UK all on my own (well, once I get car insurance which my other half is trying to sort out).

Go me!

Admittedly, I did think I failed (as I didn’t quite stop in time for a set of lights: I should have continued going), but still first time pass! Woo!

If you are looking for driving lessons in Leicester, I’d recommend contacting Stephen Chamberlain as he’s the guy that got me through.

Top 10 Lies told by clients

And from Evolt, there’s the top 10 lies told by clients – which my old workplace especially will recognise. Handly, it also provides some advice.

  1. Do this one cheap (or free) and we’ll make it up on the next one.
  2. We never pay a cent until we see the final product.
  3. Do this for us and you’ll get great exposure! The jobs will just pour in!
  4. On looking at sketches or concepts: Well, we aren’t sure if we want to use you yet, but leave your material here so I can talk to my partner/investor/wife/clergy.
  5. Well, the job isn’t CANCELLED, just delayed. Keep the account open and we’ll continue in a month or two.
  6. Contract? We don’t need no stinking contact! Aren’t we friends?
  7. Send me a bill after the work goes to press.
  8. The last guy did it for XXX dollars.
  9. Our budget is XXX dollars, firm.
  10. We are having financial problems. Give us the work, we’ll make some money and we’ll pay you. Simple.
  11. and from a commenter there: We’ll pay you less than you are asking and make it up as royalties on the product.