Author: Tim Jarrett

On the importance of modeling Manila

I did the preceding UML (Unified Modeling Language) sequence diagram with a little tool called ObjectPlant. It’s a shareware UML tool that just became my new best friend. There are times when you have to stop and draw what you’re doing in a project, even a moderately complex project like this one. I’ll be posting some more pictures like the one below as my version of the “Busy Developer’s Guide to ManilaRPC” that Daniel put together.
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Inconsistency and bugs

I’ve finally figured out why Manila Envelope occasionally gets stuck in spinning progress bar hell. It has to do with how I handled user notification in the code.

Basically, there are three types of function involved: one gets user input, one executes a series of Manila function calls, and one wraps a SOAP call to a particular part of the Manila API. Unfortunately, I was reporting user errors via dialog boxes in all three functions in the chain.

Shows why my app was blowing up.

This sequence diagram shows the problem–I was letting the Manila handler do the notification to the user. This caused timing problems in the window controller that kept it from successfully stopping the progress indicator and returning control to the user.

Parties and HDTV and Harvard, oh my

From the New York Times: “Two members of Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals were accused of embezzling about $91,000 from the 207-year-old student group for drugs, a party and entertainment equipment.”

Two thoughts spring immediately to mind:

  1. $91,000? And it took the club that long to notice?
  2. I’m attending the wrong university. If you multiplied the annual budget of the two clubs I’m involved with by each other, it wouldn’t be a tenth of the amount that these two jokers embezzled.

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What’s up with AIM and Fire?

Every time recently that I try to connect to AOL Instant Messenger using Fire for the last few days, it fails to connect. It’s odd being disconnected from all your friends… (at least the ones that use AIM). For any of my other friends watching, yes I’m on MSN Messenger too. Instant messenging right now is one of those things where it’s impossible to use only one standard — too many people are on one standard or the other, making programs like Fire and Trillian necessary.

Adjusting patterns

I think my blogging habits will be changing this semester. Last semester classes were 1 to 4 every day, leaving plenty of time to wake up, blog, do reading, and eat lunch before classes. This semester my classes cluster from 10 to 2:30, so it’s a very different dynamic. I think I’ll be blogging mostly in the afternoon.

Good news from PA

I just got off the phone with my sister. Fortunately, the previous story turns out to be only partly true. My grandfather was suffering from low blood sugar, but not from another stroke. Apparently he had just forgotten to eat–not good if one is on insulin shots. He’s already on his way home.

Now all we have to do is find my mom. She hopped in the car to drive from western NC to pick up my sister in Richmond, then go to PA. They’ll have to call the highway patrol — she doesn’t have a cell phone. It’s probably time for them to change that. 🙂

First day of classes

… for the last semester of classes. It’s interesting and scary–I’ve gotten very accustomed to being in a learning and growing mode over the last couple of semesters. It’ll be quite a transition getting out into the real world.

Palm Desktop ate my data

My Mac went into a kernel panic this morning as soon as I tried to hot-sync my Palm via infrared this morning. My data file got corrupted. I lost my class schedule, my to do list, everything. Call me unhappy…

Back before the parade

Okay, so little did I realize when I made plans to fly to Brussels and return to Boston today that we’d be just a few jumps ahead of the Boston Patriots as they pull into town. I had to deduce that they won the Superbowl yesterday (since the Monday European editions of the US papers didn’t report it). As the bus pulled away from the terminal en route to the train, the driver pointed out the helicopters that were hovering to cover the return at Logan, and we walked through the place where the parade was to end at Government Center on our way home. We may have been in Brussels for a few days, but we’re definitely in Boston now. 🙂

Belgium calling

I take off for a quick trip to Belgium later today. I wish I had a really good reason for going, but mostly it’s the cheap airfare. And moules frites and good Belgian beer. Lisa and I have never been to Belgium, but it’s been on our list of European trips for a long time (this is the list organized thusly: wine, beer, wine, beer, wine, beer, vodka, otherwise known as Italy, England and Ireland, France, Belgium, Spain, Germany, and Russia. We’re currently rethinking the last one). So no blogging unless I find free Internet cafés over there.