January 29th, 2006
From the ridiculous, in the previous post, to the sublime, in this…
There are two ways of constructing a software design. One is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies; the other is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies. The first method is far more difficult.
– C. A. R. Hoare, The Emperor’s Old Clothes,
CACM, February 1981
From The Art of Unix Programming /Chapter 4/Modularity/
by Eric Steven Raymond.
While I’m not by any stretch a real Unix Programmer, the philosophy and ‘Zen’ of the practice is one to which I subscribe down to my bones. I was planning to incorporate some humorously modified excerpts from this book into a general ‘Bus Conversion Design’ philosophy, but the words are so well-written that I’ve decided to quote them as-is and let the readers transpose the wisdom herein into their projects.
Expect to see more of these in coming posts.
Busology
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by 8wheels
January 28th, 2006
Eric’s wife wonders if any of us has had a problem with our bus obsessions affecting our marriage…
She’s asking the wrong crowd.
“Well Lady, at least he ain’t down at Joe’s Bar and Grill. Why not wander out to the project and give him a hand, or a cup of coffee and some moral support. Offer to rub his sore feet.”
“I fired my wife..kept the house..kept the kid… put the rig in the drivway and never had to listen again.”
“She says can I clean up the thousands of old junk parts laying around the yard. And I tell her that’s not junk.”
“Don’t worry honey - when he gets it done he’ll give you some grocery money to stock up for the first trip but when you get back he’ll be 4 or 5 counties away.”
“Keep the coffee comin’ and maybe for yer birthday he’ll buy ya new broom! (to help clean up with, not to fly away on! LOL)”
“[You need] something useful to do with your time. Can’t have women standing around doing nothing when there is a bus and hubby to support.”
“When I first brought the bus home, I kept it a hundred yards or so from the house. Each time I drove it somewhere it was parked closer and closer to the house. Now it is sitting nose up to the garage.”
“I left the door open a few times in the warm weather. She walked by looking in. When she gets done building our house, she will probably have time to work on the bus too.”
“She says she won’t drive it. I have a plan for that too.”
[BNO Forum]
Busology
| Comments | Permalink | by 8wheels
January 10th, 2006
Clarke is among our most well-spoken busilosophers.
One thing I’ve found in my life: I like challenges, and I decided to build the bus just to prove I could. Given the dollars spent, the return on investment in experience and knowledge gained makes it a decent undertaking, even if I never get beyond where I currently am. I have very few regrets in my life, and I have had the good fortune of having a father who … was willing to let me build and try things, whether they succeeded or failed, so I was not afraid to attempt the unusual.
continued »
Busology
| Comments | Permalink | by 8wheels
January 10th, 2006
Well, he’s the one who posted this with the title, “I need a life!”
A retired corporate executive decided to take a vacation. He booked himself on a Caribbean cruise and proceeded to have the time of his life…until the boat sank! He found himself on an island with no other people, no supplies, nothing, only bananas and coconuts.
After about four months, he is lying on the beach one day, when the most gorgeous woman he has ever seen rows up to the shore. In disbelief, he asks her, “Where did you come from? How did you get here?”
continued »
Busology
| Comments | Permalink | by 8wheels
December 31st, 2005
“A Treatise on the Importance of Smoke”
by Joseph Lucas
All electrical components and wiring harnesses depend on proper circuit functioning, which is the transmission of charged ions by retention of the visible spectral manifestation known as “smoke”. Smoke is the thing that makes electrical circuits work. Don’t be fooled by scientists and engineers talking about excited electrons and the like. Smoke is the key to all things electrical.
continued »
Busology, Energy
| Comments | Permalink | by 8wheels
December 30th, 2005
Clarke explains why some still believe electronic devices run on electricity rather than smoke…
There seems to be some occasional confusion about the term “letting the smoke out” of electrical or electronic devices. I thought it might be informative, and hopefully enjoyable, to some if I explain the term and its origins.
continued »
Busology, Energy
| Comments | Permalink | by 8wheels
