Another month, another Ocarina release. And we didn’t have to wait a whole year this time! My main focus for this release was finishing the backend code cleanups that I started before releasing 6.0. I’m much happier with how the code looks and I now have unit tests for every file in core/.
This release removes support for importing an Ocarina 5 library.
I’ve mentioned before that I like being somewhat open about my transition (at least around people I trust) because it lets me make better jokes. Here is an exchange that happened a few weeks ago:
I needed something out of a closet at work and apparently I looked “heroic” when I opened the door, because a coworker commented “Wow, Anna, you looked like you were about to change into Superman or Wonder Woman or something!” My reply? “Well, first one … then the other!”
Of course, we all know that if I were a superhero I would be one of the X-Men! =P
I have not had an Ocarina release in almost a year and a half. The last year has been busy (more on that later), but I haven’t forgotten about my pet-project!
I started working on a new rewrite of Ocarina in May 2013. I created previous versions by writing whatever features I felt like implementing at the time. There was no plan, and it didn’t take too long to transition into an ugly hackjob. I felt like the code would have been almost impossible to update without breaking everything, so I started fresh.
For the first few weeks I only worked on a design document. This allowed me to stay focused during development and gave me a chance to think out features before writing a lot of code. I really like this approach, and I recommend it to everybody before starting off on a project. I plan to keep this document updated as much as possible.
This is also the first version of Ocarina to have unit tests. I like these so far, since I can now focus on testing a single component without needing to have a functional GUI. I plan to keep these updated as much as possible, too.
Ocarina 6.0 is still Linux only and I don’t have the time, resources, knowledge or interest to support a Windows or OSX port. I am willing to work with anybody ambitious enough to attempt a port! Let me know …
Other notable changes:
I’ve had a small collection of stickers sitting around my home for the last couple of years, but I never really had any ideas for what to stick them to. I know some people like to stick them to laptops, but I don’t like the idea of losing all my stickers when I get new hardware. So they mostly just sat around on my bookshelf half forgotten.
I briefly thought about attaching them to a framed poster board to hang on an empty wall, but opening up the frame would be a hassle when I acquire a new sticker. Then I discovered magnet paper!
I grabbed the first stickers I could find and attached them to the paper.
I cut everything out…
And then put them on the fridge!
Now if only I had a use for my extra Jolly Lama and Think Geek stickers …
I adopted both of my cats at the same time last November – they even shared a cardboard carrier when moving into my home! So of course I had to find two names that go together.
I thought about Doctor Who names first, but which pair of companions should I choose?
Maybe 50 years ago. Amy and Rory?
Too recent. Tegan and Turlough?
They were never actually a couple. That’s about when I remembered that everybody knows I’m a big Doctor Who fan, so nobody would be surprised if I named the kitties after Who characters. Naturally, I thought about Star Wars next.
Now we’re getting somewhere, but people would still know where “Luke” comes from. How about … Corran and Mirax?
I have no problem naming my kittens after a Jedi and his smuggler wife! And as a bonus, these names are geeky enough that most “entry level” geeks won’t figure it out.
Now if only I knew somebody with a pet named Booster …
My body does not produce hormones the way a genetic female’s would, so instead I have to take estrogen supplying and testosterone blocking pills regularly to keep my body functioning normally. I’m usually pretty good at remembering to take my hormones, and about 75% of the time I even remember to pack my hormones before going out for the night. So far, I have only forgotten to medicate once.
This happened last July, about a week after my first dosage increase. I was still adjusting to my new medication schedule, and one Saturday morning I forgot to take my hormones with breakfast. I lasted about 4 – 5 hours before I started feeling really moody, for no obvious reason that I could think of. I was out ice skating, and I needed a few angry laps around the ice rink before I finally thought: “My hormones!”. When I finally reached home, I had about 6 hours to kill before taking my next pill. There was no way I could wait that long. I ended up cutting a pill in half and taking that, figuring it was be close enough. I was back to normal within an hour!
I’m in California this week for a business trip, so I need to medicate three hours earlier every day. Naturally, this is throwing off my normal routine. I was good for most of the week, but this morning I managed to leave the hotel without packing my evening hormones. I figured I had two options: 1) make a special trip back to the hotel to get my medicine or 2) subject my coworkers to moody-Anna during dinner.
Lucky for them, I picked option 2.
Every now and then I like to come up with little challenges for myself to try to break some bad habit.
Almost two years ago I decided to see how long I could go without eating a hamburger. When I looked at a menu, I would always flip right to the burger section and order something from there. Always. This finally changed when I was on vacation one week. I challenged myself to go the entire week without ordering a hamburger to force myself into trying other foods that various restaurants offered. By the end of the week I had tried several new dishes and I didn’t eating a single burger. I decided to keep the challenge going, just how long could I go without eating a hamburger? One year and nine months later I still haven’t eaten one, and there is really no “challenge” left.
That must mean it’s time to increase the difficulty!
I always make some vegetables for myself when I cook at home, but when I eat at a restaurant I almost never order a side of vegetables. Sandwiches usually come with a side of fries, and while fries are delicious they also aren’t the most healthy thing a person could eat. Which brings me to my new challenge: whenever I eat at a restaurant I will order some vegetable either for or with my meal beginning … now. I wonder how long I can keep this going?
Disclaimer: I am an Atheist with Wikipedia, I could say anything! No promises on getting all of the details right, either.
Apparently some people think that LGBT (well, possibly just LGB) people are caused by Satan. Does anybody else think that these people are blaming the wrong mythological deity here?
First, a bit about Satan. I figure I’ll talk about Old Testament Satan, since sequels are never as good as the original. Satan is subservient to God, and his main role is to test people as a method of proving their faith. So wouldn’t the works of Satan also be the will of God?
I feel a better deity to blame would be Pan, the Greek god of nature and sexuality. Creating both straight AND LGB people would fall under Pan’s domain. Now, I can see where people could get confused here. The modern depiction of Satan takes the form of a Satyr, but this originated in the 1800s due to Pan’s popularity. Christians merely adopted the half-man, half-goat image of Satan as a way to scare people into converting.
Of course, there are problems with trying to place the blame on either deity. Both Pan and Satan are characters out of mythology, so they don’t actually exist. Instead, they provide people with a convenient scapegoat (pun intended) that could be used to discriminate against those who are different. Fortunately religion is on the decline, so with any luck these “arguments” will disappear in the near future.
“You can’t blame me for code I wrote 4 years ago, I was a different person back then!” – Me
