Random Things
I have a new hobby: listening to clever podcasts at work. I find I can do most types of work while listening to people talk. It's quite an interesting process watching yourself do it. Everything that has to do with language - e.g. reading web pages, typing emails - completely overrides the sounds. Interestingly though, coding does not seem very much inhibited by having some extra company inside your head. I should mention that I use a pair of Sennheiser HD-201 headphones at work - excellent isolation from external noise, and surprisingly good with music!
So what have I been listening to with such intent, you might wonder? Bruce Eckel. I've been a fan of his ever since I read the excellent Thinking in Java many years ago (it is one of those books you can benefit from by reading it once every year). Bruce did a bunch of interviews with fellow software luminaries such as Guido van Rossum and Martin Fowler, and the results are, well, very thought provoking.
On another note, I discovered this really cool tool called GParted LiveCD. I knew that someone had written a GUI for parted, but this 30MB download is particularly cool. I just did a non-destructive resize on an NTFS partition with just a few mouse clicks. Those too stingy to fork for a copy of PartitionMagic - this is your answer 
September 25th, 2006 - 19:45
Yoo, man! That GParted LiveCD is a lifesaver