Man, I am happy that it's almost the weekend! The best time of the workday is at 5pm on a Friday, just as I'm winding down.
So what do I have planned? So far -- NOTHING!
Sunday is my birthday (I turn "old"), so I'm sure Lis and I wil do something fun. I know we're going to watch her little brother in a race that morning. That'll be a blast, but it's damned early (like pre-8am type early).
Oye, hate to cut this short, but my brain is pretty well mush at this point. But I'll leave everyone with a question: when asking an expert for advice, why do some people insist that the correct answer given by the expert isn't correct for their particular situation?
Aaron, I had signed on to this RSS because I was (a) hoping to find some ramblings and (b) to see your essays on RB programming and internals. I do not so much care for the report about when get on and off the toilet, though. ;)
Not that your ramblings on your personal life aren't valid, it's just that I am not so much interested in it and wished it would be more focused on either personal or computing so that my computer related RSS feeds have less random noise...
I'll drop off this RSS feed now. If you should ever start a separate feed on computing topics of yours, I'd appreciate a note on the list or the forum, as I find those always very interesting.
Oh, and before I leave: Happy birthday to you on sunday!
Well, it is Ramblings after all. I don't mind the non-programming entries at all. Makes me feel like I'm not dealing with a machine :)
Perhaps WordPress can be configured to offer custom category-based RSS feeds for Thomas.
@TT -- This is a personal blog. When I happen to post RB stuff, it's because I feel like it. If I feel like reporting when I'm on the toliet, then I'll do so with gusto. ;-) I probably won't ever get a separate feed (or site) because that's more work than I'm willing to do. If someone knows of a way to configure WordPress to split the RSS feeds by category (so someone can subscribe to a feed by category, but I have to do not extra work when writing the posts), and is willing to set it all up for me, then I'm all ears.
@Thomas: WordPress allows feeds by category - just use &cat=catnum[,catnum] on the feed url. Example for Aaron's "Programming" and "REALbasic Gems" categories:
http://ramblings.aaronballman.com/?feed=rss2&cat=2,12
@Aaron: Have a great birthday on sunday. About the question... if that happened with you [and you were the expert ;)] why didn't you ask the person why the answer you gave was incorrect for his/her situation?
You mean I'm the only one wondering if Aaron's BMs are regular?
lol :P
@Carlos -- awesome tip, thanks for that! And I've asked, and the answer I've received is "but that's just not what my users expect" or "but my way works."
@Anthony -- LoL
Aaron, is this expert answering the questions he was asked?
Or do the questions imply a bad design decision has already been made and the expert is trying to correct the decision?
Aaron, is this expert answering the questions he was asked?
Or do the questions imply a bad design decision has already been made and the expert is trying to correct the decision?
Apologies if this appears twice, I posted it with a different email address the first time.
I follow closely Aarons bowel movements as it is a good predictor of his overall well being. Aaron provides a very unique viewpoint here, and instead of bitching (well, ok not bitching, but being quizzical) over that perspective, embrace the Aaroness of it all.
And, as a matter of fact, how Aaron feels about dissimilar things affects the RB community greatly. Take the now infamous Avacado / String class debacle as the perfect example. It boggles the mind.
@Steve -- Most times involve a user who's designed and started implementing things a particular way, but then got stuck in the middle and needed some help. So yes, the expert is usually attempting to steer them in another direction (but it's usually less work to scrap and start over in the proper direction than to continue on the improper direction).
@Bill -- You are crazy, and the XBox 360 is way too expensive to purchase, which makes me sad.
@Aaron. Bullhookeys. The paypal account that is linked to has an almost unlimited amount of funds tied into it. Go crazy, get yourself an XBox 360 if you want one.
Happy Birthday.
Hey - happy birthday man. Have a good one. ;-)
Thanks guys! :-)
> when asking an expert for advice, why do some people insist that the correct answer given by the expert isn’t correct for their particular situation?
Because the question, and just as much if not more the expert's answer, are vague and are void of a google keyword or reference URL.
Why would a question be vague? Becuase the questioner is frustrated as their at the point of needing to ask a question (or rushing to the question, in either case grappling to communicate), and only explains what they feel is necessary. They also don't want to lay their work or vulnerability at the mercy of the audience's speculation.
Why would the answer be vague? Because the expert sees the problem through their own experience, and their memory cue feels l like the answer. They're busy and their attempt as succinct is merely terse.
Why must the answer be correct? The expert presenting themself as having "The Answer" may be the problem, when they're lucky just to be able to provide helpful suggestions.
Happy Birthday