Blog Posts
Incoherent ramblings, project updates, reviews, and other writings fallen into the ether.
"Pretend You're Xyzzy" Server Setup and Build Instructions
“Pretend You’re Xyzzy” is a Cards Against Humanity clone that allows you to play online with others. It consists of a Tomcat/JSP server and web page clients.
Programming - Paradigms, Satire, and Precedents
I’m not normally one to get absorbed into drama or gossip on the internet, but this evening I found myself a bit agitated, but not for the reason you might initially assume.
Programming as an Essential Skill Set
Lately, the internet has been abuzz with the recent “Hour of Code” campaign. For those unaware, this is a campaign that aims to introduce people (largely children), to the world of programming in order to “jump-start their futures”. The campaign features well-renowned programmers such as Ashton Kutcher, Shakira, and Barack Obama. Now I’m not attempting make light of Obama’s apparent bubble sort knowledge, but it just feels far too superficial. Additionally, I’m not necessarily saying that these individuals don’t know or can’t learn how to program, but all of these campaigns over years have been the same. You grab a few celebrities who quite obviously aren’t interested in this sort of thing and try to sell it to the audience. It’s quite painful for me to watch.
Spadille 1.6 - Better Late Than Never?
Well, over a year and a half later, I suppose I should release Spadille 1.6 eh?
C# - Global Hotkeys via GetAsyncKeyState
Here’s a quick little class for implementing global hotkeys in C#/.NET 2.0+.
Tabster 1.6 Released
Random update time! I have a bad habit of not updating my applications for long periods of time…
Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
A few months back, I wrote a [post](http://www.nateshoffner.com/2013/03/a-well-deserved-apology “A Well-Deserved Apology) where I apologized to Mathew Kemp (aka Sniped) from Jagex. I finally felt as though I had some closure. Some peace of mind. Everything changed when the Jagex nation attacked.
A Well-Deserved Apology
Months ago, amidst the chaos and commotion that is IRC, there were constant discussions with Jagex’s community managers Sniped (Mathew Kemp) and SallyTheButcher (Sally Da Costa). Conversation was often heated regarding the Ace of Spades community. This was primarily due to the Jagex community managers waving unwarranted sense of know-all in regards to the game and community based off “experience” from other games/communities. Most of which were dropped months after being launched, so they refused to properly cite said “experience”. Through all the bickering, I think it’s fair to say that nobody bumped heads more than Sniped and myself (IRC handle “StackOverflow”). This post is primarily directed at Sniped but occasionally Jagex as a whole.
C# - Reusable Portable Application Settings
Anybody who has worked with the .NET Framework has likely dealt with the native configuration files, especially if you’re using something as intuitive as Visual Studio. While the native functionality is pretty nifty, there’s still one small gripe myself and many other developers have. The .NET Framework is designed in a way that applications are to interface with a single configuration file whose location is found somewhere between AppData and obscurity. The reason for this design, according to Microsoft, was to alleviate the possibility of overwrite collisions between different applications. Despite being asked to allow developers to manage their own relative configuration paths, Microsoft has stood by this design. It’s quite an annoying “feature”, but there are workarounds, albeit tedious. This article provides a good bit of insight on how to tackle something like this. by inheriting the SettingsProvider class.
Aaron Swartz - Making Progress Without Being Demanded
As somebody who’s followed Aaron Swartz technologically and personally for many years now, it saddens me to hear about his recent passing.