Tablet UML News


News and commentary (and whatever else catches my eye)
from Martin L. Shoemaker, author of Tablet UML
and UML and Tablet PC instructor for The Richard Hale Shaw Group

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Generosity above and beyond the call!
I am so, so very touched.

My good friend John Hopkins, current president of GANG, is as big a fan of the Apollo program as I am. We can trade Apollo stories all night. And John has been making me envious the last few meetings with tales of Virtual LM: A Pictorial Essay of the Engineering and Construction of the Apollo Lunar Module. I'm too pragmatic: I can never really picture myself as one of the Apollo astronauts. But the engineers of the program, those folks I can empathize with. My favorite episode of From the Earth to the Moon tells the story of the team who built the LMs. Well, this book is full of incredibly detailed design sketches and notes for the LM, as well as stories from the design and construction. And the bonus CD includes lots of photographs of LM test units, as well as operations manuals and checklists for the LM. It's a true delight.

Tonight, after my presentation at GANG, John gave me a copy of Virtual LM. So I wanted to take this opportunity to thank him publicly. This is truly a book I'll treasure.

I'll let you know when the slides and sample code for my presentation are up at the GANG site. I would post them on my site tonight; but I've got something else to occupy my time right now, thank you very much. (And thank John very much!)
Generically speaking
I'll be speaking on a .NET generic implementation of Undo, Redo, Scripting, and Logging at GANG tonight.
Is it just me...
...or does Microsoft Anna, the new default voice in Vista, sound suspiciousy like Majel Barrett?

(I would include a sample to make my point; but my version of Camtasia Studio isn't working since I upgraded to Vista. Not cool.)

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Job interview advice for programmers
When you explain to the interviewer at the new company that you're looking to work with new technology because the system at your current company is so well architected that there's just no reason for them to switch from the old technology, it always helps when the interviewer turns out to be the former architect for the current company.

It's a small world, after all...
It's a small world, after all...
It's a small world, after all...
It's a small, small world...

Saturday, February 3, 2007

Apparently they don't read Wikipedia
Wikipedia says that mallards are migratory; but apparently they don't read Wikipedia:

Winter Mallards

I saw these five when I was driving to pick up dinner. When I got back to the hotel, I brought over some old bread that I had planned to throw out, and there were close to twenty of them there.

Back at home, they're calling this weekend the Blizzard of 2007. That's why I couldn't make it home. Even on this side of the state, it's not a good night out to be a duck.
Something familiar about this
Just in case you missed it, Comedy Central is showing Groundhog Day today at 12:30 p.m.

Help me, Phil...
Something familiar about this
Just in case you missed it, Comedy Central is showing Groundhog Day today at 10:00 a.m.
Something familiar about this
Just in case you missed it, Comedy Central is showing Groundhog Day today at 7:30 a.m.