idiots on parade

Grok Headline matches for idiots on parade

museum of idiots

museum of idiots 06/05/2005 10:53 PM
I saw Phil Hellmuth at E3 today, in what I think was the Yahoo! Games booth (I'm not entirely sure,...

Programmers Are Idiots

Programmers Are Idiots 08/02/2004 01:32 PM

So I'm out here in Boston (home of the Free Speech Zone) at a seminar on distributed enterprise application development. The instructor is Pinku Surana, who certainly seems to know his stuff. I found this interesting article in his blog, where he argues that programmers are idiots, and I have to say he makes a pretty good case.

I occasionally teach IT programmers. I've taught over 100 people now and I can honestly say I've met maybe 5 good programmers. The rest are dangerously incompetent. In fact, they are so profoundly ignorant of computer science and programming that they actually believe they are fairly good. This is the perverse effect of ignorance: because they don't know what they don't know, they think they know everything. Brookes' Mythical Man Month described the uberprogrammers who are mysteriously 10x more productive than the average. I would go further and say the uberprogrammers aren't really so uber; rather, the average is abysmal.

He goes on to say that if non-IT companies want effective software, they should ditch their programmers and demand flexible software from vendors.

I agree with him on the first point. We, as programmers, are not nearly as good as we think we are. I think it probably stems from the fact that even a novice programmer knows more about computers than nearly everyone he knows, and they all praise him for being "so smart" when he fixes their printer or gets rid of their virus problem. My mechanic is "so smart" about replacing my car's water pump. Noone really praises him for it because cars have been around a long time and there's not much magic to them. I don't think I'd have my mechanic build me a new car from scratch, though.

I disagree with Pinku on the idea that you can solve your software problems by demanding configurable and interoperable software from vendors. It's a great idea in theory, but when you start dealing with vendors in reality, it quickly breaks down. We already demand these things from vendors, and they either don't deliver, or don't deliver as expected. Most programmers dislike vendor solutions because they're crappy in some way and hard to integrate with. That's because the vendor's programmers are idiots, too. The vendor's programmers spend a lot of time griping about how the customers write crappy architectures that are hard to integrate with their "well-written" solution. So, which is more dangerous, the idiot you know or the one you don't?

Click here to comment on this entry

Your Congress is a Bunch of Idiots

Your Congress is a Bunch of Idiots 02/05/2005 09:37 PM
[The following is excerpted from the darkly hilarious book Washington Babylon by Ken Silverstein and Alexander Cockburn. Some edits have…

Hey Symantech your a bunch of Idiots

Hey Symantech your a bunch of Idiots 04/01/2005 03:24 PM

I have been having this periodic problem with Norton Antivirus 2005 when I start the computer or loaded a word document windows would appear like a program was trying to load. I thought it was spyware or something. Turns out it is a bug in Norton Antivirus 2005 and here is what I found.

I was getting the message in a popup dialog box that said. "Norton Antivirus 2005 does not support repair feature reinstall Norton" , so I do that and the problem goes away.

Then a couple of days later it pops up again. I go to the Symantec support site and here is the solution to the issue and I am red in the face.

This message can happen if you have changed the default location for the Norton AntiVirus shortcuts in the Windows Start Menu. The default locations of the shortcuts are:

In Norton AntiVirus installed as part of Norton SystemWorks:

\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Norton SystemWorks\Norton AntiVirus
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Norton SystemWorks Premier\Norton AntiVirus

Here is what that all means you are forced to have it on the main Program line. What a bunch of idiots. I like my program bar nice and organized no sole program gets to be on the main program line everything is in neat categories..

It has been a while since I tried a Mcafee product where is my credit card anyway.

Stanford: Textbooks for Idiots

Stanford: Textbooks for Idiots 03/26/2005 10:03 PM
March 17 I decided to take a look at the Introductory Psych textbook (written by Dr. Zimbardo) before tomorrow’s final….

Segways are brilliant, you idiots

Segways are brilliant, you idiots 07/30/2004 11:50 AM
Letters Whatever you say...

Not all Apple users are idiots, you
idiot!

Not all Apple users are idiots, you
idiot! 01/22/2004 07:32 PM
Letters They're Christians - Nietzsche

FoTW: Turbots don't have scales, you
idiots!

FoTW: Turbots don't have scales, you
idiots! 06/04/2004 10:23 AM
FoTW Honourary award

Do we all drive like idiots? (airplane
insurance cost)

Do we all drive like idiots? (airplane
insurance cost) 04/09/2004 04:11 PM

Just got my bill for next year's airplane insurance.  This is a vehicle valued at $200,000 and a typical minor accident, e.g., striking the propeller on an obstacle or the runway when landing badly, costs about $30,000 to repair.  You can't pause or pull over when flying an airplane.  A few clouds in the sky and you can find yourself disoriented and plunging toward the water like JFK, Jr.  Now that I've got 550 hours of experience in this type of plane and 750 hours of total time AVEMCO has cut my rates to... $1737 with a $1000 deductible and $1 million of liability coverage.

If I were to get a new minivan here in Cambridge, despite my lack of claims and tickets I expect that it would cost about the same to insure, with much lower liability limits.  The minivan costs just over $30,000 with every conceivable option.  A minor accident costs $1000 to fix.  Many people are able to operate an automobile safely despite never having had any formal training.

Conclusion:  To come to a situation where these vehicles are equally costly to insure, we must really be driving like idiots.

[Update:  Okay, I answered my own question by driving to Mt. Wachusett today for some skiing.  Rolling along the familiar ground in a quiet comfortable minivan, belted in and protected by airbags as well, it never crossed my mind that we were moving at a potentially lethal velocity and that death could be just around the corner.  Whereas in the airplane I'm always scared and therefore cautious.]

Women treated like idiots when shopping
for tech

Women treated like idiots when shopping
for tech 01/16/2004 01:00 PM
Like many social problems, companies are now starting to sit up and take notice because they have a social conscience they're losing money.

Canadian legislator calls U.S. "idiots"
(Reuters)

Canadian legislator calls U.S. "idiots"
(Reuters) 08/27/2004 01:59 PM
Reuters - It was damned bastards last year, "idiots" this year.

Idiots team takes honors with random
picks

Idiots team takes honors with random
picks 01/01/2004 11:04 AM
San Jose Mercury News Jan 1 2004 8:04AM ET

Oakley Thump MP3 Sunglasses Reviewed
(Verdict: Good for Idiots)

Oakley Thump MP3 Sunglasses Reviewed
(Verdict: Good for Idiots) 04/06/2005 09:09 AM

I love that the first caption I see on I4U's review of the Oakley thump MP3 sunglasses is, "never ever wear it with the lenses flipped open - it is dorky!" I would like to expound on that thought a bit and encourage you to never, ever wear the Thumps at all—they are perhaps the ugliest sunglasses ever to fall off Predator's codpiece.

For $500, I will ride on your shoulders and bang 256MB worth of songs onto your ear piercings.

Oakley Thump MP3 Sunglasses Review [I4U]

Why Oh Why Are We Ruled by These Idiots?
(Special Troika Forecast Edition):
Archive Entry From Brad DeLong's
Webjournal

Why Oh Why Are We Ruled by These Idiots?
(Special Troika Forecast Edition):
Archive Entry From Brad DeLong's
Webjournal 02/10/2004 01:35 PM
Why Oh Why Are We Ruled by These Idiots? (Special Troika Forecast Edition) .. can't stop shaking his head .. wakcy employment numbers .. Every month in 2004 .. Brad DeLong notes

j-bradford-delong.net/movable_type/2004_archives/000253.htmltrack this site | 5 links

Sentient Non-Idiots For Kerry / Repubs
pick a fight about Vietnam while Bush
ruins America right now? Is the nation
drunk?

Sentient Non-Idiots For Kerry / Repubs
pick a fight about Vietnam while Bush
ruins America right now? Is the nation
drunk? 08/27/2004 05:26 PM
Oh my God yes, yes, it does .. Mark Morford

sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2004/08/27/notes082704 .DTL&nl=fix
track this site | 3 links

"Saddam Hussein Must Either Be Released
From Custody By June 30 Or Charged If
The Us And The New Iraqi Government Are
To Conform To International Law (If You
Ever Doubted That The Red Cross Was Run
By Idiots...)"

"Saddam Hussein Must Either Be Released
From Custody By June 30 Or Charged If
The Us And The New Iraqi Government Are
To Conform To International Law (If You
Ever Doubted That The Red Cross Was Run
By Idiots...)" 06/15/2004 03:37 AM

Bulls on Parade

Bulls on Parade 07/19/2004 04:45 PM
Everything's going skyward! Or is it?

Veterans in D-Day parade

Veterans in D-Day parade 06/05/2004 07:37 AM
World War II veterans take part in a parade in County Down to mark the 60th anniversary of D-Day.

Parade Kid is Back!

Parade Kid is Back! 07/16/2004 10:12 AM
Parade Kid is Back! It's been a number of years since Parade Kid has had a web presence. But with renewed interest from media outlets who have taken kindly to his unique... um, talents, Parade Kid has turned into his own celebrity-steamrolling machine. With the obligatory Parade Kid music video and t-shirt shop, you have to assume that the Parade Kid sponsors are wearing their elf ears with pride.

Retailers On Parade

Retailers On Parade 02/17/2004 11:49 AM
This week will bring some notable retailers up to the earnings podium.

Robot Parade

Robot Parade 11/05/2003 11:37 PM
Yay! Rambling fangirl post! Ye have been warned.

FC Now: Icons on Parade

FC Now: Icons on Parade 09/20/2004 02:49 PM
OK, I admit, I was secretly hoping that the New York advertising community would pull off some outrageous stunt -- maybe bringing back the giant...

one less idiot on parade

one less idiot on parade 01/16/2004 11:31 AM
Last month, I wrote about The awesome generosity of Penny Arcade readers, and the lack of media coverage of that story. Well, today there is a fantastic follow-up to that story. The author of the story that prompted the guys at PA to launch Child's Play celebrated, and apologized to Penny Arcade and its readers.

Parade ruling overturned

Parade ruling overturned 06/25/2004 02:04 PM
The Parades Commission reverses its decision to ban a contentious Orange Order parade in Belfast.

Appeal for calm at parade

Appeal for calm at parade 06/26/2004 04:36 AM
A senior police officer appeals for calm ahead of a contentious Orange Order parade in Belfast.

Olympians get London parade

Olympians get London parade 09/13/2004 08:48 AM
Great Britain's Olympic medal winners will be honoured with a parade through London.

Hacker hit parade goes live

Hacker hit parade goes live 11/14/2003 05:52 AM
BBC Nov 14 2003 4:47AM ET

VHS Memories Parade Into Your DVD Vault

VHS Memories Parade Into Your DVD Vault 11/13/2003 03:09 AM
New York Times Nov 13 2003 1:50AM ET

Hospital violence follows parade

Hospital violence follows parade 06/19/2004 07:18 AM
Patients are locked in wards during disturbances at a north Belfast hospital after an Orange Order parade.

World War II Veterans Parade Through
D.C. (AP)

World War II Veterans Parade Through
D.C. (AP) 05/31/2004 11:43 AM
AP - A smattering of America's World War II veterans showed their spunk again Monday, marching in a Memorial Day parade with high school and military bands, floats and veterans of other conflicts who came to honor them.

Arsenal parade trophy

Arsenal parade trophy 05/16/2004 06:32 AM
Arsenal's Premiership-winning squad go on an open-top bus tour to celebrate their title.

Stormtroopers on July 4 parade

Stormtroopers on July 4 parade 08/03/2004 09:21 PM
Inkeeper2097 sez, "My family and I went to a parade on the 4th of July. One of the participants was the Ohio Garrison of Storm Troopers. As they were coming down the street I told my 5 yr old to go stand in the road so I could take his picture with them. As you can see from the photo, a couple of Storm Troopers got out of formation to pose for the picture. My 2 year old was scared to death and ran to Mom. I kept telling my 5 year old not to be scared and to stand still. The look on my boys face, priceless. Fun was had by all." 129K JPEG Link (Thanks, innkeeper2097!)

AMD to parade Socket 939 at Computex

AMD to parade Socket 939 at Computex 05/10/2004 04:23 AM
The Register May 10 2004 8:48AM GMT

Trouble flares after parade

Trouble flares after parade 07/12/2004 03:39 PM
Nationalist youths attack security forces in north Belfast after a contentious Orange parade passes by.

Revised ruling on parade

Revised ruling on parade 08/13/2004 07:02 AM
Loyal order members involved in a contentious parade can be bussed past a flashpoint area, the parades body says.

Parade passes without incident

Parade passes without incident 08/14/2004 04:43 AM
A controversial parade passes peacefully in north Belfast ahead of the main Apprentice Boys demonstration.

Commission restricts parade

Commission restricts parade 07/06/2004 01:24 AM
The Parades Commission decides to restrict the return route of a loyalist parade in north Belfast.

Business Week Pundits on Parade

Business Week Pundits on Parade 06/05/2005 11:25 PM
Henry slams the Business Week cover story on blogging.  Bravo.

Frankly, the entire article smells.  Heather Green and her cohort are using the article to launch a new blog that talks about business blogging.  Can you say:  business book?  Scoble will soon have some competition.

Also, the article is full of over the top analysis.  This is classic Forrester, but the analysts were left out of the picture.  The reporters are now the subject matter experts/pundits/analysts.  "We've done our research on blogs, made our dire pronouncements." Very funny.

Finally, the article (of course) claims that businesses will find ways to dominate the world of blogs.  It has to.  You can't sell business consulting/books/articles/commercial blogs/speaking engagements unless you can tell companies that they can eventually dominate the blogging world (or that their company is at risk).  If they told the truth, interest would tank.

Talks focus on parade ruling

Talks focus on parade ruling 07/11/2004 06:38 AM
Unionist politicians meet the NI secretary to discuss concerns over an Orange Order parade in north Belfast.
Grok Description matches for idiots on parade
GrokA matches for idiots on parade

idiots on parade