Jay McGavren's Journal

JavaBeans says that if an object has a boolean attribute Foobar, then the getter method for that attribute must be named “isFoobar()” rather than “getFoobar()”. That makes sense, I guess.

But when objects were designed without the intention of making them JavaBeans (such as XML Schema types that were converted to Java through code generators), you wind up with lovely names like “isOfferBreakfast()”.

Well, I suppose “getOfferBreakfast()” is misleading too. :P Maybe this whole notion of accessor methods is just plain wrong. What we need is a language where you can specify onGet() and onSet() events for object attributes, and only in the rare cases they’re needed.

I wanted a dead-tree version of my LiveJournal, because I want my kids to be able to read it someday, and I know a soft-copy will go poof well before then. LJ’s own export feature excludes comments, and I’m not about to download one month at a time, so I had to keep looking. Fortunately, a quick Google produced this:

SourceForge.net: ljArchive “ljArchive is a tool for downloading, browsing, and analyzing journal entries and comments from LiveJournal (or LiveJournal clones).” http://sourceforge.net/projects/ljarchive/

I was able to export the entire journal (comments included) to both XML and HTML formats. One single file for each. A couple more clicks, and the whole thing was printed (well, I also had to refill the paper tray - it was 117 pages).

The invasion of sensible thought by video games...

As I passed a pay phone today, my first thought was: “Hmmm, a hard line. I’d better remember that’s there.” (I’ve been playing The Matrix: Path of Neo.)

As I may have mentioned to some of you, I’ve also caught myself considering what Tom Nook would pay for various items while walking through the produce section at the grocery.

Ah, that’s why I’ve been in such a blue mood lately! I forgot to listen to The Campfire Headphase for, like, a whole month! I feel much better now.

Either that, or I had my first productive day in a few weeks. It feels good to be out of programmer’s block.

If, like me, you haven’t played Animal Crossing: Wild World in 4 months (the critters all reminded me exactly how long I’d been gone), you may want to pay your town a brief visit. I found a ton of fish and insects that I’d never seen before. I also found a ton of weeds, but at least there was a four-leaf clover among them. I even found a ton of cockroaches in my house! (Actually, there’s no upside to that.)