Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Software Engineering tip of the day - History of the file being checked out


Software Engineering tip of the day - History of the file being checked out

Look at the history of the file that you are about to check out. This
tells you if there are any dependencies on other tickets. 

                                                - almirsCorner.com -


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Monday, May 27, 2013

Software Engineering tip of the day - Checking in your code


Software Engineering tip of the day - Checking in your code:

Do a diff on the code before you check it in. This prevents unwanted
changes and critical issues if changes not noticed in the code review.

                                                - almirsCorner.com -


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Thursday, May 16, 2013

Google I/O Keynote - 2013 (Very incremental improvements in the right direction)

Please watch this. I like the direction of Google and how they are unifying all the products and exposing APIs to developers as well. Very incremental improvements and in the right direction.





Keywords: #google #googleIO #googledevelopers
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Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Acura RSX Type S (Year 2006) My test-drive

2006 Acura RSX Type S - my test-drive

I test-drove Acura RSX Type-S manual with the intention to see if I am still into the high-revving engines and to look for that ultimate all-around package while staying under $20,000. This car is definitely a fun car, but it has some cons that I will point out. Here is a quick review:

I revved the engine all the way to 8,000rpm and it gives you a thrill. The engine works freely and you can't hear any loud noises that indicate that the engine is struggling. The clutch feel is on the light side but it is not as light as the clutches coming from newer cars these days.

The handling was great. Close to neutral feel with a bit of understeer. If I put a good rear sway-bar, it would be more neutral-oversteer like and that would sell me this car with the thrill of high-revving engine.

The torque is the negative side, but then again it is not expected from Hondas. I was kind of used my chipped VW 1.8T with 230lb/ft of torque starting at low RPM. I think that the torque aspect cannot be used against these high-revving Hondas/Acuras.  This RSX accelerates fast, but it never has a surge of power; however the revving to 8k gives you a thrill that is hard to describe.

Conclusion:
This car is still definitely on my list. The handling and the free high revving engine are the pros and the missing torque is a bit of negative for Hondas/Acuras. For $17,000 and having an overall package (sports and space for kids), this stays on my list, but at this point it does not justify for me to spend on this car; I am currently driving/experimenting with Mini Cooper (base engine) and sports suspension.


Keywords: #acura #rsx #acurarsx #AcuraTypeS #rsxtypes 
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Friday, May 3, 2013

Software Engineers and Cars - Explaining Shifting your Double-Clutch transmission to your fellow Software Engineer who is not into cars

Let me pick two topics that are dear to me and write one quick blog about it. I am talking about cars and software engineering.

I am a car enthusiast and a software engineering geek. Sometimes I have situations where some of my friends and some of my software engineer friends ask me the following question:

  • "Almir, why do you constantly shift gears in your sequential transmission if you can just put it in "Drive" and go?"


I have driven cars with manual transmission all my life until I recently switched to shiftable automatics to try it out. I can easily explain it using car terminology and start talking about RPMs and optimal shift points and torque needed to accelerate and so on............................but I quickly lose people with this explanation.

I need to word this in a way that my software engineering friends who are NOT car guys can understand and here is what I came up with:


Explanation to Software Engineers on what's on the mind of a car enthusiast:


Driving Automatic in automatic mode ==>
Checking in code that is NOT optimized and knowingly doing that.


Driving Automatic and manually shifting it constantly ==>
Checking in code that is well optimized.



Driving the real manual transmission ==>
Checking in code that is well optimized and enjoying that process very much.






Keywords: #cars #software #softwareengineering #deveopers #shifting
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Thursday, May 2, 2013

2002 Porsche 911 Carrera (320hp/273tq) - my test-drive

2002 Porsche 911 Carrera (996 model) (320hp/273tq) - my test-drive

Porsche 911 definitely is my dream car and I wanted to see how an older 996 model does in my review. I found this model close to my area and decided to test-drive it. This car would put a smile on your face every day going to work. It handles as it is on rails and at the same time it so comfortable enough that for my taste I could take it on a 3-4 hour trip to Vegas and not get tired. I am impressed with the mechanical grip and also the overall technology and build quality. Even though this car is 11 years old, it felt tighter than some of the newer cars getting off of an assembly line.

Let me talk about the power. It has 320hp but it feel like 370hp because Porsche just masters in transferring that power to the wheels. I don't think that I would need the Turbo version of 911 because this one is just great as a daily driver. There were some sharp corners in my test-drive and the sales guys is like "down-shift to 2nd and slam on it through the corner".......... and I did........wow. This car just takes any apex confidently; it is neutral with a bit of oversteer in street driving and probably on the track, I could definitely get it to oversteer more.

If I had to pick one negative thing about this car, it would be the shape of headlights on the 996 model. I am not a big fan of these. I could get over that knowing that I could get this used sports car for under $30k; I could spend $1k getting some aftermarket headlights that would keep me happy.

Conclusion:
If you were looking to buy a new sports car in $30k range, step back and think about it. Test-drive 2002 Porsche 911 Carrera for the same cost but with 70,000 miles; big deal; the car felt like new and it is really a Volkswagen behind the shell. So if you do the maintenance at a friend's shop, it can be cheap to maintain.


Keywords: #porsche #porsche911 #carrera #996 #car #cars #carreview #autoreview
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