permalink.gif 2004-09-22

permalink.gif Blogtimization

Wed Sep 22 15:14:15 BST 2004  Permalink 

I've spent some time today optimizing this page down to around 27kb, I think that's maybe 20-25% of the original size.  All I had to do was throw pretty much everything out.  I'm pretty happy with how long it takes to load now.  Still trying to work out whether the calendar really adds any value...

permalink.gif Understanding Erasure

Wed Sep 22 09:16:20 BST 2004  Permalink 

New Main-Class. A cool jar-file hack [java.net Daily Update]

Among other things there is a link to an interesting Bruce Eckel post about parameterized types and the implications of erasure in JDK5.  Eckel has also interviewed C# architect Anders Hejlsberg on this subject and his comments (on page 2) about Java's implementation are well worth reading before throwing 's around in your code.

permalink.gif Good ol Uncle Sugar or "Wealth, culture and history do not insulate a people from foolishness"

Wed Sep 22 08:38:47 BST 2004  Permalink 

And to its everlasting shame, American "capitalism" has almost always been willing to sell itself for a government handout, a government contract, a government subsidy, a loan guarantee. (That's the American System!) It will continue to do so, because too many businessmen would rather have, as part of what George F. Will (in one of his more lucid moments) aptly said, "socialized risk and privatized profits." Why actually work for something when Uncle Sugar is willing to tax and borrow to boost the bottom line? [Charles H. Featherstone]

Charles Featherstone muses on the Somalia civil war and some possible lessons about American (and I think British) societies given our current path.