Overview of Graphical User Interfaces
GUIs (graphic user interfaces) are very popular for computers nowadays. Very rarely will you find a program that doesn’t have some sort of graphical interface to use it. Most non-graphical programs will be found on Unix-like operating systems; even then, those programs are usually older ones where the programmer didn’t want (or see the need) for a graphical interface. > more <

I’ve started my hobby programming again. As some of you may know, I learned the Python programming language a few years ago because I wanted to make an online role playing game based on the movie Aliens. That dream slowly faded as I realized I didn’t have the skills to do it nor did I have the time to devote to gaining those skills. > more <

Found via Slashdot, Frank Wiles writes in his blog about why hiring the top programmers results in a better product and ultimately at a cheaper cost, contrary to popular thinking. His reasons are similar to what I’ve been thinking.

If you’ve ever read The Mythical Man Month, then many of his thoughts will sound familiar. A single expert programmer is equivalent to several average programmers. Therefore hiring a few experts yields numerous returns, such as: > more <

I read a blog post from Paul Graham a while ago and it’s stuck with me since then. In it, he states that hiring programmers proficient in “esoteric” languages means you’ll most likely end up with a better caliber of programmer.

The reason is that people who learn a non-standard language are learning because they like to program and the standard languages aren’t necessarily the best ones available. These people go out of their way to learn a new language for personal enjoyment, not because they have to know it to get a job. Graham calls it the “Python Paradox”: > more <

Well, I figure it’s about time to harvest the power of the Internet and see what happens.

I plan on getting out of the Navy next June and so I’m starting to get my resume in order and see where to send it. Naturally I’m looking at Monster, et al. but for many large Internet job sites, it’s like looking for a job in the classified ads: you’re just one of several thousand resumes mass mailed to prospective employers. It’s even worse now in the digital age; it takes nothing to email a resume so a lot of people essentially spam employers in the hopes of “shotgunning a job”. > more <