2007 October | BrainBlitz.org

October 23, 2007

The 1337 hAx0r Chronicles – Episode I

Filed under: Programming — Anthony @ 5:45 pm

Me: I knew it.
Me: “DENVER (AP) — Colorado Rockies officials planned to relaunch their sale of World Series tickets Tuesday after the team said its first attempt to sell tickets online was stopped by an ‘external malicious attack.’”
Me: I’m telling mom.

V: don’t make me DOS YOU

V: cause i will

Me: you couldn’t dos a windows ME server if your life depended on it.

V: son, I grew up DOS’ing ME servers, thats where I learned
V: now I DOS the cia and nasa
V: and the rockies

Me: IT WAS YOU?!?!
Me: And there I was, an innocent, aspiring geek, trying to run apache off his windows ME computer, while his brother, in the next room, was DOSing him.

V: yeah, i always meant to apologize for that
V: just never got around to it
V: so … i’m sorry

Me: Yeah, well, I never got around to THIS
Me: (imagine I just punched you)

V: jeeze, thanks for destroying a tender moment

Me: There never should have been a need for a tender moment.

V: ok, i take it all back then
V: i’m not sorry
V: and you will be sorry

Me: The only thing that’s gonna be tender is your face, after I finish tenderizing it.

V: better just disconnect your computer from the internet

Me: better just disconnect your life from existence.

V: and that of everyone you love
V: i’m going to Dos everything you hold dear in your life

Me: V, I know you think you’re all that, but I’m telling you, typing “ping” again and again is not really going to do it…

V: but … if i have all my friends do it at the same time …

Me: stop deluding yourself. We both know you don’t have any friends.

V: holy cow, thats like 30 pings every 10 seconds
V: nothing can withstand an attack of that magnitude
V: whats your ip?

Me: “localhost”

V: k, thanks, prepare yourself
V: hmm, my computer just crashed when i tried to attack you
V: weird

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October 16, 2007

PHP tips (from one sick programmer to another).

Filed under: Programming — Anthony @ 4:24 pm

Me: I almost murdered php last night.

V: well thats no good
V: what were you doing?

Me: I was going to show you but now I can’t ftp into [the site]

Me: got it I hate how they force you to change your password every 4 months or whatever

V: yeah, i hear ya, ive had issues with that on the [other] website

Me: ok, go here:[url]
Me: and go into [link]

V: k

You have sent 1 file to V.
[file.php]

Me: find the line ” if((int)$expression[$i][$j] >= 0) $cSign = ‘+’; ”

V: got it

Me: ok, so, “$expression[$i][$j]” is simply the current number being looked at, and if it’s greater than zero, then it sets cSign from null to “+”, where it gets prefixed a couple lines later.
Me: pretty simple.
Me: but if you look at the page of problems, every once in awhile a + get prefixed to a negative number, and I have no flippin idea why
Me: on the problem page, the () value is the actual value of $expression[$i][$j].
Me: from the sheet I just generate, one of the outputs is:
Me: (8)8u, (8)+8u, (6)+6h, (10)+10h, (2)+2k, (-1)+-1k, (10)+10z, (-8)+-8z,

V: k, let me look at it a sec

Me: right you will

V: shouldnt you be initializing $cSign to ” in the inner $j loop?
V: so the ‘+’ doesnt get carried over from a previous iteration?

Me: I hate myself, but that is more than compensated by my love for YOU.
Me: come here you… >:D<

V: lol, that was just a first guess, i didn’t really want to think to hard about what you are doing here
V: and you give me a hard time about comments

Me: yeah, well, on my third try programming this type of problem (’cause I keep finding more efficient ways to do it), I decided to comment AFTER I finished.
Me: But, I figured the problem was something simple like that, so I didn’t think you’d need to get what I was actually doing to see the error.

V: yeah, thats the kind of error i hate too, sometimes it just takes a fresh pair of eyes to look at it

Me: And now I feel foolish for saying so many bad words in my head last night.

V: lol, as long as you didnt start throwing stuff

Me:Â I broke my mouse once, in fort collins. Dad got real irritated at me.
Me: also, I threw my calculus book once, and it made a hole in the wall.
Me: in fort collins. [but I haven't gotten that angry for years now!]
Me: calculus and programming are the two things that will make me swear in my head.

V: ah, the rage within
V: i usually keep myself under enough control to find something soft to throw
V: like a kitty or a bunny
V: they dont make holes in stuff

Me: LOL, I’m glad you… found a … erm… healthy… outlet for the rage….

V: >: )

Me: [M] says… “yeah, [they don't leave holes], they just leave stains”

V: my motto has always been “easier to paint than to patch”

Me: wow, you’ve really thought this through.

Lessons learned:
Pay more attention to variable scope, and use bunnies, not books.

Note: Don’t take this post seriously. I promise, I’d never throw a bunny. In fact, I’d never throw ANY living thing… bigger than a hamster.

Note 2: But seriously, despite the twisted sense of humor,Â programmers are actually quite kind to little furry things when it comes down to it.

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October 9, 2007

Motivation (or lack thereof)

Filed under: Adderall — Anthony @ 8:26 pm

If you’ve read any of the Adderall category of this blog (or have taken Adderall yourself), you know what a profound impact it can have on motivation.

The other (Adderall free) day I found myself under a moderate, but typical amount of stress for the beginning of the month (chores, work, bills, etc). On top of the normal stress, I had agreed to do a rather large freelance job a couple of days prior, and now was desperately wishing I hadn’t. For a small period of time, I had a little cloud of gloom floating over me. I had more to do than I wanted to do, and the end was nowhere in site. My overall demeanor drooped enough for my wife to notice.

The next day, I took my usual dose of Adderall. Like clockwork, 45 minutes later the little cloud of gloom dissipated without a trace, the sun was shining, and life was worth living. Chores and work transformed into challenges and puzzles, to be looked forward to rather than dreaded. Not only was I looking forward to that freelance work, I was suddenly thinking about how I could build it into a full time job.

Obviously, I’ve observed this effect many times since I started the amphetamines. But this time a new thought struck me. Not a particularly novel thought, but interesting enough to write about .

I wonder if the Bill Gates’ of the world feel (in general) like I feel on Adderall, and if the hobos of the world feel (in general) like I felt on my dumpy day. The truly striking thought is – motivation is dependant primarily on the actions of dopamine in the brain – can the difference between the “winners” and the “losers” in the world be boiled down to differences in levels/efficacy of a simple chemical in the brain? Obviously that’s an oversimplification, as people can train themselves to perform even when particularly unmotivated. But, in my case, the simple excess of dopamine triggered by the Adderall changed my entire outlook on life almost instantly. Opportunities opened up, and the future was inviting rather than daunting. And the funny thing is – nothing changed. The chores were still there. The bills were still there. The freelance work was still there.

***

I would love to stand in Mr. Gate’s neurological shoes for a few minutes, as I performed my daily tasks. What would it feel like? Would obstacles seem petty? Would the sun be perpetually shining? Was he born with what amphetamines give naturally unmotivated people? (Heck… ARE there naturally unmotivated people?) What about standing in the shoes of a homeless person? Would the thought of performing labor be so overwhelming that I’d trade the comforts of a home and “normal” life just for the “privilege” to not work? And is that simply due to a dopamine shortage?

Of course, none of these are blanket statements. But statistically, how dependant IS a person’s success on a neurotransmitter’s (or two’s) level?

The big question for the non-Mr. Gateses out there, and for those of us who are uncomfortably reliant on a synthetic drug for our motivation -Is it possible to make that little cloud’o'gloom go away naturally? I know we can learn to live with it, and even thrive in spite of it – but can we make it go away? Or are we stuck with little nagging mind-splinters that we were born with?

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