Minimal

Still on a denouncing-dogma vibe, I’ve been meaning to post a link to this Register article for a while: Out of the (C++) Loop. For those with experience of the STL, its algorithms/iterators and (especially) parameter-binding, it’s a classic.

I like it when people openly challenge dogma, so I found Emil Stenström’s article on Why XHTML is a bad idea to be a great read. I’ve used XHTML on my websites for a while now, moving to the strict version sometime last year, I think. As a programmer, the cleanliness of an XML-based markup language appealed to me and I was happy to go with the flow of the web community. I also liked the fact that various presentational tags (bold, italic, etc.) weren’t supported, discouraging me from including style code in the markup.

One thing that’s always bugged me, however, is the ease with which the site can fail to validate. Whether it’s through my own clumsiness (not converting ampersands in hyperlinks is a classic mistake) or through the comments others make on my posts, I find new errors nearly every time I use the validator (infrequently, btw). Recently, when I made the Afterbang templates for Gav, I made them XHTML too. I’ve regretted that ever since and keep meaning to switch the site back to plain old HTML. Gav’s no chump, but it’s still a bit much for me to expect him to adhere to XHTML’s restrictions when I keep forgetting them myself. For me, that’s the clincher. I can’t expect everyone who wants to contribute to one of my sites to be as pedantic as me.

Beyond all of that, however, Emil’s article has highlighted an issue that should’ve rung alarm bells in my head a long time ago. If my pages frequently aren’t validating, why is the browser displaying them at all? Why isn’t it freaking out in the way it does for duff .XML files? The answer, it seems, is that it’s not even parsing them as XML. And if that’s the case, why the hell am I using XHTML? I guess I was just following the herd after all. Still, at least I know now. :-/

The karting circuit in Dunston, Gateshead has changed hands more times than I care to remember. Back in 1996, it was the first circuit I ever drove and, back then, had a tremendous layout despite not making the most of the available space. Aaaah, those were the days. :)

The current owners, however, have gone for a seriously emasculated layout, with the exception of a headline-grabbing flyover. The entire circuit consists of straights and hairpins or wide 90° corners, with nary a chicane or technical section in sight. Even the flyover does nothing to enhance the experience (although it did enhance the bruising on my back).

If you add to the circuit’s mediocrity the poor quality and preparation of the karts, you’ve got a venue that is, overall, quite crap. Not only did the karts have an unusually slow pick-up, they were limited to a decidedly low top speed. Where you should have been making your good lines count, you found yourself maxed out and, consequently, unable to make the pass. Your higher corner speeds hold little value if your kart just stops accelerating as you get alongside a rival. Deeply frustrating.

Safety-wise, it’s an own-goal too. You find yourself forced into overtaking in, or immediately after, the corners, rather than safely on the following straights. It’s a recipe for dangerous driving that the circuit owners might want to think about.

The reason for today’s visit, incidentally, was a stag party and I can see that being the primary business for the circuit these days. Indeed, another 3 stags were in while we were there. If, on the other hand, you’re looking for a circuit where you can really enjoy the technical side of karting, you’re far better served heading a few miles south to Warden Law. Even in the rain — especially in the rain — it’s a bigger, more rewarding challenge and every bit as much fun.

Yonks back, I wrote a massive blog post about how Wayne Hemingway consistently impresses me with his attitude, politics and... ermmm... attitude. Because I took too long to write and edit it, however, it stopped being topical and the post was never published. This time, I’m not gonna let it slip.

Wayne Hemingway is cool. Whereas last time I was impressed with his attitude towards pretentious foodies, this time it’s the environment; in particular, the role that wind farms have to play in our future energy mix. He sums up my own stance almost perfectly with the following:

I don’t care if there are cheaper forms of non renewable energy out there, [the wind turbines’] real impact is that these mesmerizing structures show that the energy industry is thinking about our futures.

Replace “the energy industry” with a more general “people” or “the government” and I’d be happier. Basically, I feel we need wind farms so that the idea of greener energy is more firmly rooted in the public consciousness. The energy industry might see them more as a good PR move than an expression of ideology, but the more we see them, the more we’ll accept the need for them and the sooner we’ll adjust to a world in which they’re commonplace. All of this crap about them spoiling the environment is just that: crap. Sure, they’re different, but they’re hardly harmful. Get used to their presence and you won’t even notice the damned things any more. In short, get over it.

If you want to do something a little different this coming bank holiday weekend, why not check out what’s on for Wind Weekend? I wish I could report that the Blyth wind farm is taking part, but it appears we’re not so enlightened on the PR front. Maybe your area’s better. As for myself, though, I suspect I’ll be in at work. Unless some sort miracle happens this next week and we actually release our software on time, that is. :(

Yesterday, I wrote a couple of macros in the Visual Studio IDE for the first time in ages. This brief moment of respite from C/C++ exposed me to Visual Basic — or perhaps a stripped-down version of it — for the first time in ages too. Last time I used VB in anger, it was still at version 3.0. I made a damned fine Minesweeper clone, mind. Aaaah... memories.

Anyhoo, I was struck by how much it’s changed from what I remember. It all looks properly object oriented. It’s nice. It’s actually nice. :-O Maybe I need to brush up on this stuff. Whatever, it was a (comparative) joy to work with, even if it was for only half an hour.

Similarly, I recently read a post on morethanseven.net that showed a bit of Javascript code using the Yahoo User Interface library. Again, it’s a long time since I used Javascript. Last time I did so, browser-sniffing was still de rigeur and standards-compliant browsers were a distant dream. This blog post, however, gave the impression that the future had arrived. The code was clean and remarkably simple. It, too, was nice. :-O

Part of that’s down to the library, of course, but just seeing someone use getElementById without fear of cross-browser problems was new and exciting. Damn, I really should stop writing off the technologies that cause me grief. Tomorrow, they might just be the perfect tool. :)

Here’s a quick quiz for all you internet hypochondriacs... name the ailment:

Symptoms

Sharp pain in ball of foot, near base of middle toe, when walking

Usually just the pain — no associated bruising

Pain comes on quite suddenly

Triggers

Wearing thin- or soft-soled shoes

Walking quickly / taking long strides

Walking on uneven ground

History

First painful after Geneva Motor Show weekend (mid-March)

Aggravated the problem many times since then, but just limped till it calmed down

Aggravated it badly this last weekend walking across a campsite (I’m rock, me!). Very sharp, persistent pain (even when not stood) and medium-heavy bruising (photo)

So, what do you reckon? 50 of my special Internet Quack points for the first person to get it right. The real doc’s verdict should be in by the end of the week...