Emma's new sentence: I like X

This morning, X was blueberries. A few days ago, it was rice. Her mother tells me that she's been doing this for awhile, but apparently when I'm not around, as the "I like rice." was the first time I heard it. Its too bad I don't have a sound clip, since she says it with all the conviction of an advertisement. She likes it, and you're convinced that you should, too.

Fun with constants in Java

The following code does not compile:

public class A {    public static void main(String[] args) {        int i = Integer.parseInt(args[0]);        switch (i) {            case X: System.out.println("ONE!"); break;            case Y: System.out.println("TWO!"); break;            default: System.out.println("ZERO!"); break;        }    }    public static final int X = B.getNumber("X");    public static final int Y = B.getNumber("Y");}class B {    public static int getNumber(String s) {        if (s.equals("X")) {            return 1;        }        else if (s.equals("Y")) {            return 2;        }        else {            return 0;        }    }}

The compile error is:

A.java:5: constant expression required            case X: System.out.println("ONE!"); break;                 ^A.java:6: constant expression required            case Y: System.out.println("TWO!"); break;                 ^2 errors

I think I'll leave explaining why as an exercise for the reader. (Or for a future post. ;-)

Sprint and Verizon have more reliable 3G networks than AT&T

During March and April, we spent a day testing the major 3G services in 13 cities across the United States. Verizon's service showed a combination of speed and reliability, Sprint's results lent credence to its 'most dependable' claim, and AT&T's network showed fast upload speeds in most cities.
via pcworld.com

As an AT&T subscriber, I'm completely unsuprised that AT&T's network is less reliable than Sprint & Verizon. I would have been really curious to see how T-Mobile's network stacked up.

Running up to Coit Tower

Since I didn't get any company for my lunch run today, I decided to mix things up and run to Coit Tower instead of the normal run along the Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf and back. I learned a few things from the endevour:

  • Telegraph hill is neither as tall nor as far away as it looks.
  • Stairs are infernal torture devices designed by Satan himself.

It ended up being a rather enjoyable run: I discovered a flower garden on the side of the hill, and the views were, of course, spectacular.

In case you're curious, I did upload the map.

I'm definitely going to have to explore more on lunch runs, it was really nice not to be doing the same old run again.