Politics

How can I, that girl standing there,
My attention fix
On Roman or on Russian
Or on Spanish politics?
Yet here's a travelled man that knows
What he talks about,
And there's a politician
That has read and thought,
And maybe what they say is true
Of war and war's alarms,
But O that I were young again
And held her in my arms!
-William Butler Yeats

Do All Software Companies Suck?

Is there a software company that doesn't...

- ship software before it's ready because they'd rather book the revenue than have happy, returning customers?

- sell software that hasn't been written even though the customer is led to believe the software is written and stable?

- underestimate the time necessary to write stable software and overestimate the demand for said software?

- treat customers as expendable?

- treat employees as expendable?

- ignore the input of its architects/developers?

- put quantity before quality?

C# Singleton

class Singleton
{
    private static volatile Singleton _instance;
    private static object _lock = new object();

    private Singleton() { }

    public static Singleton Instance
    {
        get
        {
            if (_instance == null)
            {
                // Locking makes Singleton thread-safe
                lock (_lock)
                {
                    if (_instance == null)
                    {
                        _instance = new Singleton();
                    }
                }
            }
            return _instance;
        }
    }
}

More LOTRO Screenshots

As promised, here is Radagast the Brown. The ring above his head means he has a quest to give me. It does not mean he's an angel with a halo.
A picture of Amon Sul atop Weathertop.

Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) screenshots

This post is for John who wants to see some of my screenshots from LOTRO.

At release, they game only encompasses Eriador. So, you can only go as far east as the Misty Mountains, and not very far south. They're coming out with new content in June with a new zone north of the Shire. They've said they're saving the rest for expansions.


Here's a nice snowman I found on a hill.
Here's a picture George might appreciate. This blacksmith must be a developer at heart.

Ah yes, the finer things in life. A bowl of pipeweed in front of a cozy fire. You can blow smokerings but only if you have player-harvested pipeweed on you.

Here's a screenshot from NW of Bree. I just thought it was a beautiful shot. Now, off to kill something.

Here's a shot of a marsh East of Bree. I can't remember the name. Bad me.

Before the end of beta I ran from Bree to Rivendell. Quite a long trip; about 30 minutes, if I remember right. It actually took me longer because I couldn't find the way after I crossed the Ford of Bruinen. Anyway, here's a shot looking down into Rivendell and the Last Homely House.

Here is Gandalf and Elrond pondering what to do with the shards of Narsil in the Last Homely House.

When you get to level 10 you can participate in "monster play". That's where you can take control of a level 50 monster in the Ettenmors. It plays very much like a normal character, but you can't leave the zone. It's a player vs player zone so you can kill hobbitses and such. But, I didn't have that option because the level cap for player characters in beta was 15 so no one was high enough to go to this zone.

Monster play is hard. Monsters are inherently bad fighters. You have to play a long time to get them halfway decent. In the meantime, you're pretty much fodder to make the Aragorns of the world look good. Here my little Uruk Hai is being chastized by his superior after dying to a stupid human (NPC).

In monster play you can be two kinds of Uruk Hai, a melee or an archer. Or you can be a melee orc. Or a stealthy warg. Or a very cool spider. Here's a shot of my spider. It's very creepy just to watch yourself walk.

Here's a shot of a poor sot in Archet. It's not a player, so don't worry. Although, I have seen some player characters who would benefit from this correction technique.

Here's a shot of my first view of Bree. Behind me is Staddle. As you come over this rise, Bree comes into view. It's a very large city for an MMO. Very very impressive. You can only see a small part of it here.

Here's a shot as I was crossing the Midgewater Marsh in the Shire. Note the fish jumping. I thought that was cool.

Here's another shot from the Shire. No, I'm not posting any shots of Bag End or the Party Tree. You'll have to see them for yourself.

Another shot of the Shire.

...And another.

This is in Ered Luin. You start here after you complete the newbie zone.