If you find it hard to write JavaDoc for your method, it’s a sign that you should rethink what your method does. Most likely your method is doing way too many things and you should break it into multiple methods.
16 May 2014
7 May 2014
Life as a video game
Distance between “real life” and video games is shrinking. When I was a kid, my father worked 6 days a week, got a cash envelope every month which was later used to buy food and stuff for the family. You had to move physical things around to make things happen in the physical world.
Ever since I left college, I have never once gotten a cash envelope. When it’s pay day, a number on my internet banking site goes up... like getting a health pack in a video game. Every time I buy something, like being hit by monsters, that number goes down a bit. You often try to get things done with little loss to that number.
Most important goal of the game is to make sure that that number stays positive as you get things you want to get. And then there are all sorts of things you can do to artificially increase that number — for example you can get a loan which you’d pay back over years. There are also “danger zones” which suck your health points super rapidly (scams!) which you take great care to avoid.
It’s crazy how life changes right in front of our eyes and we barely notice it, if ever!
Ever since I left college, I have never once gotten a cash envelope. When it’s pay day, a number on my internet banking site goes up... like getting a health pack in a video game. Every time I buy something, like being hit by monsters, that number goes down a bit. You often try to get things done with little loss to that number.
Most important goal of the game is to make sure that that number stays positive as you get things you want to get. And then there are all sorts of things you can do to artificially increase that number — for example you can get a loan which you’d pay back over years. There are also “danger zones” which suck your health points super rapidly (scams!) which you take great care to avoid.
It’s crazy how life changes right in front of our eyes and we barely notice it, if ever!
1 Apr 2014
The US tax system and me
What is my “default” reaction when things don’t go the way I want them to? Anger. I get angry that things are messed up. This pretty much ruined my happiness in Hyderabad. I hated Hyderabad pretty much every day; I am not sure what good came of that hatred.
Now that I have just moved to California, I am angry again. Both in India and Australia, you don’t have to choose how much tax you want to pay. Your employer deducts the right amount of taxes from your salary and you get exactly what you should get. But in the US, I need to decide how many “deductions” I “claim”, how much extra tax I want to pay, etc. There is a long form to work out all these numbers.
Impatient and irritable, like my usual self, I don’t want to think about money. Even today, I haven’t learned about or made an informed choice on these numbers. I am not even sure if I am underpaying or overpaying my taxes. One thing I know for sure is that taxes are more taxing here than in any other country I have lived in.
Every once in a while, I hate this country for doing taxes differently, especially when I feel like I am paying way too much in taxes. Unlike in Hyderabad, however, here I am a bit more conscious of my hatred. Also, moving to California was a choice I made; not something imposed on me. Maybe I should relent and get familiar with this tax system. That would end this hatred for ever.
Now that I have just moved to California, I am angry again. Both in India and Australia, you don’t have to choose how much tax you want to pay. Your employer deducts the right amount of taxes from your salary and you get exactly what you should get. But in the US, I need to decide how many “deductions” I “claim”, how much extra tax I want to pay, etc. There is a long form to work out all these numbers.
Impatient and irritable, like my usual self, I don’t want to think about money. Even today, I haven’t learned about or made an informed choice on these numbers. I am not even sure if I am underpaying or overpaying my taxes. One thing I know for sure is that taxes are more taxing here than in any other country I have lived in.
Every once in a while, I hate this country for doing taxes differently, especially when I feel like I am paying way too much in taxes. Unlike in Hyderabad, however, here I am a bit more conscious of my hatred. Also, moving to California was a choice I made; not something imposed on me. Maybe I should relent and get familiar with this tax system. That would end this hatred for ever.
24 Mar 2014
Sleep deprivation + driving = not good
While driving, I made two stupid mistakes this morning within a few hours. I have been sleep deprived for a few days now, and I think that has elevated my response time. It’s scary when this happens. I need to sleep well this week.
4 Feb 2014
Driving on the freeways
I have always considered driving on the highways easier than driving in the streets. There’s a lot of space for yourself and a lot less possibilities for a collision. Every time people expressed their view that driving on the freeways in the US was a little dangerous, I refused to accept it. What happened yesterday and today has made me think again.
I was on a ramp connecting CA-85N to US-101N. The ramp was mostly empty, and I was driving at around 50mph. There was a Honda Accord to my right just ahead of me. I wasn’t paying much attention to my own lane because I was busy looking at the fine details of the Accord’s body. Only after a second or so I saw that my lane had completely stopped with cars queueing up. I stepped on the brake and thank god my car stopped without colliding into the car before me.
On the same road today, (US-101N) I was merging onto the right-most lane so I could take the next exit. Traffic was moving at around 30mph or so. In the one second I turned my head to look at my blind spot, the lane had completely stopped and there was hardly a second for me to stop. I jammed the brake again, and my car stopped just at the right time.
It’s crazy how unpredictable traffic on freeways is!
I was on a ramp connecting CA-85N to US-101N. The ramp was mostly empty, and I was driving at around 50mph. There was a Honda Accord to my right just ahead of me. I wasn’t paying much attention to my own lane because I was busy looking at the fine details of the Accord’s body. Only after a second or so I saw that my lane had completely stopped with cars queueing up. I stepped on the brake and thank god my car stopped without colliding into the car before me.
On the same road today, (US-101N) I was merging onto the right-most lane so I could take the next exit. Traffic was moving at around 30mph or so. In the one second I turned my head to look at my blind spot, the lane had completely stopped and there was hardly a second for me to stop. I jammed the brake again, and my car stopped just at the right time.
It’s crazy how unpredictable traffic on freeways is!
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