1/14    Why is NULL defined to be "0" in C++ instead of "((void *) 0)" like in
        C?  I have some overloaded functtions where one takes an integer
        parameter and the other a pointer parameter.  When I call it with
        "NULL", the compiler matches it with the integer version instead of
        the pointer version which is a problem.  Other funny effect is that
        sizeof(NULL) is different from sizeof(myPtr).  Thanks.
	...

2/19    I program a lot by sshing to a Linux cluster.  So I'm used to using
        Xemacs to code.  This works fine from a Linux or Windows workstation,
        but sometimes I have to use a Mac.  On Mac, the meta is usually
        bound to option, but that often doesn't work over ssh for some reason.
        This makes using emacs a real pain.  Any suggestions on how to fix it?
        (Other than "use vi")
	...

12/18   Happy 25th birthday Perl, and FUCK YOU Larry Wall for fucking up
        the computer science formalism that sets back compilers development
        back for at least a decade:
        http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/18/print-happy-25th-birthday-perl
        \_ I tried to learn Perl but was scared away by it.  Maybe scripting
           lanauages have to be like that in order to work well?
	...

7/19    In C or C++, how do I write the code of a function with variable
        number of parameters in order to pass the variable parameters to
        another function that also has variable number of parameters?  Thanks.
        \_ The usual way (works on gcc 3.0+, Visual Studio 2005+):
               #define foo(fmt, ...) printf(fmt, ##__VA_ARGS__)
           The cool new way (works on gcc 4.3+):
	...

8/29    There was once a CSUA web page which runs an SSH client for logging
        on to soda.  Does that page still exist?  Can someone remind me of the
        URL please?  Thx.
        \_ what do you mean? instruction on how to ssh into soda?
           \_ No I think he means the ssh applet, which, iirc, was an applet
              that implemented an ssh v1 client.  I think this page went away
	...

9/6     Why is it that many of the PhDs I know write some of the shittiest
        and unreadable and unmaintainable code?
        \_ "I don't know what your problem is, it works on my machine."
        \_ "Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct,
            not tried it." - D. Knuth
        \_ I've seen the same from the Ph.D. consultants (i.e. contractors)
	...

7/2     If I download a software that has GNU GPL and create a search
        engine on top of it and the search engine profits (and I don't
        release the source code nor do I modify or redistribute it), is
        that an acceptable use of GNU GPL?
        \_ Yes.  Even the AGPL allows this if you don't modify the program.
           \_ What if I'm a search engine that uses something that uses
	...

3/29    A friend wants a PC (no mac). She doesn't want Dell. Is there a
        good place that can custom build for you (SSD, large RAM, cheap video
        card--no game)?
        \_ As a side note: back in my Cal days more than two decades ago when
           having a 387SX made me the only person with floating-point hardware,
           most machines were custom built.
	...

4/02    We use Perforce at work for revision control. It seems to work okay.
        Lately, a lot of the newer developers are saying that Perforce
        sucks and we should switch to Mercurial or Git. I have done some
        searching on the Internet and some others have this opinion. Added
        advantage is that Mercurial and Git are free. However, there would
        be some work to switch for the sysadmins and the developers.
	...

4/11    This looks like something that Nick Weaver writes ("if you're in
        CS for money, you're most likely an incompetent engineer"):
        http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/07/when-code-is-hot
	...

3/15    Why does MS put double-quotes around the '8' in Windows Server 8, like
        the following?
        - Windows 8
        - Windows Server "8"
        \_ Because when they didn't do it, code didn't see the '\0'
           and went over?  Looks better than '8','\0' *shrug*
	...

12/20   Question to people in industry: I'm a transfer student, which
        means I can take an extra semester to graduate. I will have met
        all the requirements to graduate in May, but already have an
        internship lined up for the summer and was planning to use the
        semester afterward to take some courses I haven't had a chance
        to yet (graphics, distributed systems (if they add the course),
	...

1/6     http://tinyurl.com/top100schools
        UCLA is ranked above Berkeley. UCSD is ranked above
        Berkeley. Irvine is ranked one below Berkeley.
        Berkeley has seriously gone done in the past
        two decades. I'm not surprised.
        \_ These aren't "best schools" these are "best value" rankings.
	...

10/5    any UC berkeley students that had successful startups
        in the past 15 years?
        \_ all the Cal grads I know with MBAs are in VC or finance.
           maybe they are just better at risk analysis... starting a company
           is not a great way to make money!
           \_ I'm a Cal grad with an MBA working in Finance (not High Finance).
	...

9/23    I'm in grad school part time, and the professor I was trying to get
        to advise me just sent me "What you suggest (remote, part-time, topic
        formulation) doesn't fit my advising style..."  Does anyone know
        what "topic formulation" might mean in this context?  I come with
        funding from work, but the topics I can choose are somewhat limited.
        Could be a reference to that...
	...

6/12    Brilliant! Police can bar recruits for having high IQ scores
        http://csua.org/u/lqs (NYTimes)
        \_ But New London police interviewed only candidates who scored 20 to
           27, on the theory that those who scored too high could get bored
           with police work and leave soon after undergoing costly training.
        \_ This is VERY old news.  I've been talking about cops who clearly
	...

9/24    Wow, they don't have gays in Iran
        http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8RS115O0&show_article=1
        \_ There are no gays in the US military, either.
           \_ Why pick on Iran?  How about Saudi Arabia?  How come we have
              no issue with Saudi chopping people's hands off, gauging eyes
              off, and stone women to death?  In fact, we love Saudi so much
	...

6/14    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/14/washington/14diplo.html
        Hamas routing larger Fatah security forces, may take over Gaza
        territory from Palestian unity government.  Fear is that Gaza
        will become a "full terrorist state".
        Abbas to dissolve unity government, call for new elections, buying
        undetermined amount of time where Hamas is not officially in power.
	...

4/5     What do you think about Pelosi's Middle East diplomatic efforts?
        Yay Nancy?  Violation of Separation of Powers?  Good job?  Naive and
        screwing things up?
        \_ Pelosi was a super hottie when she was in her early 20s. Man
           those Italian women are HOT HOT HOT (when they're young).
        \_ on the whole it's not a big deal.  plenty of republicans
	...