Quite often when I'm pouring through an old codebase or evaluating a new codebase, I run into a variety of things that drive me nuts.

First, there are quite often duplicated/similar function names like doSomething(), doSomething1(), and doSomething2().  Every single one does something very similar to all the others but normally there's a special case handled in each one... or more annoyingly, a not-so-special (aka normal) case.  As confusing and annoying as those sound, they're not the worst.

Next, there are often functions that are basically big case statements that perform completely different behaviors based on a single parameter.  As wasteful as those often are, they're still not the worst.  (For reference, this is often called Conditional Complexity or Combinatorial Explosion.)

Since I started my career in software development, I've read and reviewed code in a variety of languages.  In each of them, I believe I've learned a few things.  I haven't always learned what to do, sometimes it's been an informative overview of what not to do.  Regardless, I thought it'd be worth sharing my notes here:

Classic ASP - I feel a certain appreciation for Classic ASP.  Not only is it the first code I wrote above the byte-level, but it resembles old PHP3/4.  Unfortunately, it hasn't evolved much since that time.  When you find a Classic ASP app, you can count on page after page of HTML validation errors, minimal css and table-based design, and behavior that is inconsistent on anything other than IE6.

If you have more lines of html validation errors than actual code, you might be a Classic ASP developer.

Ths single most important thing social media marketers can do is...

SHUT UP.

No, seriously.

I get pitched 3-4 times/week from people offering to teach me how to blog... from people offering me how to use Twitter via Twitter... from people offering to help me on Facebook... from people pitching their abilities on Twitter, Facebook, etc.

ARG.  SHUT UP.

Let me give you some tips:

I've had this blog for over 4 years and it has 550+ posts.  While I'd like to grow the traffic (who wouldn't!?), odds are I've been blogging longer than you have and quite possibly have more traffic.

About 20 months ago, I underwent a procedure.  Although my life was never in danger and I didn't have to spend a single night in the hospital, the procedure was not without pain or difficulties.  Regardless, the last 20 months have been like a whole other world.  I benefit from greater flexibility, better vision, and a better resistance to virii.  All in all, I will never regret the final step of dropping Windows - and more importantly Internet Explorer - for Ubuntu Linux.. and more importantly Firefox.

Let's face it, we do have some things to thank Microsoft for in IE6... namely the XMLHttpRequest object.  This concept was copied by all the other browsers and eventually became the Ajax that we know and love.  Without Ajax, the web would not be as much fun and we'd still be all web1.0 and junk.

But haven't we suffered enough?

Earlier this week, I sat on a panel at American University titled "Starting your own Business: Trials and Tribulations". While all of the panelists work in startups, have managed in startups, and have often founded startups, I found myself as the sole technologist in the bunch... speaking to a bunch of MBA grads and budding entrepreneurs.

Update on 27 Apr: I forgot to link to the great pictures taken by the Jobmatchbox team.

Disclaimer: With all due respect, what I describe can easily happen someone without an MBA, I've seen but I'm talking patterns here. ;)

One of the things that often - not always! - drives someone to business school is the desire to start their own company. The flexibility, the power, the excitement, the big idea that they have. No, seriously the *big* idea. Somewhere along the way, the get all the pieces that go into making it happen... they learn about the marketing, the strategy, the presentations, the research, and all the other little bits and pieces.

... just isn't worth it.

I have - on occasion - said something interesting, insightful, and even a bit provocative in this space. I had a post all lined up to go today.. and then I realized the date. I realized that at least two of my four readers don't know what I'm talking about most of the time, so I'm mostly writing for an audience of two... and since it's April Fools' Day at least one of those people wouldn't believe me anyway.

For example, when Gmail was announced on 01 April 2004, I didn't believe it. It was just so far out there and didn't make sense. Six weeks later, I was clamouring for an invite and managed to snag one through a friend of a friend of a friend who took mercy on my pitiful self.

So anyway, I - like my horribly unquotable friend Jimmy Gardner - am just waiting for 02 April to get here. Enjoy your jokes for today... some of them have been entertaining, but I'll wait to catch the news and read up until tomorrow.

This past week, an interesting article hit my radar from Wired magazine, titled simply "Top 5 Reasons It Sucks to Be an Engineering Student". As a former engineering student myself*, I thought I'd share some perspective on this one...

First, yes, most of the textbooks are awful. Some of them are beyond awful.. some of the worst ones are written by your own profs.

I remember getting chewed out by my Department Head and having to apologize to another Department Head when I publicly criticized the choice in a text book change and would not allow usage of the old book. Yes, because apparently thermo tables changed somewhere in the last year... oh wait, it was that Department Head's book. ;) That said, the single best "book" I had was a 90 page super cliff-notes guide to circuit analysis written by another prof. I still keep that one on hand.