Music.. Possy.. Emma..
January 22, 2010
At last, something about programming…
But not so fast. The topic I would like to share came indirectly from music. Or better say Xpress Music. As I was sitting and playing with my mobile, suddenly I saw program called pod-casts. I knew what that meant , but never tried it so far. So I pressed the button… I was deeply impressed by the numbers of channels there. The topics vary from absolute stupidity to very hard philosophy. But more impressed by the name of the first channel – Java Possy. Well this may sound confusing… but Java was the keyword for me. So I tapped there. After several seconds I was listening to an interesting discussion about software testing and QA. Podcasts may be useful…
One of the things that have been discussed was the test coverage and the useful tools. Then I suddenly remembered my experience on the topic. The tool we were using in our last project was Emma. I found it very useful. Actually this changed my opinion on unit tests. I have only few years in programming, but I know that writing unit tests is not so easy. I mean technically this is not that hard. But question is, will this tests guaranty that all aspects, states of given code are well tested… sometimes it is not easy to say. To make it easier to say, the test code coverage tools can be very useful. For example Emma provides very extensive statistics about tests for your code. It can give you even more detailed view, directly highlighting the code which is covered by tests and which is not.
This helped me a lot. I see these tools as “Must Have!!!”
The Glenn Miller’s Orchestra
December 28, 2009
It is strange but the most of my posts are about music. Well, may be for these last several months this is something that bothers me. Too many new emotions actually…
So, it goes about something absolutely new for me here. Have you ever thought what actually the true American culture is made of? You would probably say, well… Broadway, Musicales, Hollywood, Britney Spears (gosh..). Some geeks will mention Edgar Poe and O. Henry.
The last week I have discovered what the true American culture is for me. And it is The Glenn Millers Orchestra. Everything began when my father brought 2 tickets for their concert here in Sofia. The first question was – who is this? He said, well, they are very famous big band. I said – Jazz? He said – not exactly. They play Swing:) So I began to study the topic. I found it interesting. I finally got loved this music! I have read Glenn Milers biography and have seen a nice movie about his life. So I was totally ready for the show.
So, the big hall, 3000 people, everything is ready! The come and start to play. And of course it is the moonlight serenade! Just wonderful! Everybody is laughing, the atmosphere is just amazing! I was impressed by the way they behave themselves on stage. I have seen many events of that kind. In most cases, every step and every motion is subject of repetition and scenario. Especially on the Russian performances. Here it was just the opposite. Everything is just an improvisation. For example during the song, one of the musicians suddenly stands up goes to the front and plays an amazing solo. May be this is a script, but you don’t have this feeling, what makes it very pleasant.
During the performance there were not only music themes but also some very nice songs, performed by a gorgeous pretty lady. She had a very nice voice and a near to perfect figure. Nice dresses in style of the 40-es made everything look just magnificent! So I can say that this was a very nice present for Christmas for me.
The emotions are just fantastic!
And I think that that is what’s called a good music!
Converting Vegetarians
December 16, 2009
No, I am not going to become a vegetarian! I like meat!
Actually I’m talking about trance music. The same pretty lady, that recommended me the book of Oscar Wilde, recommended me to listen to an album called Converting Vegetarians. Just want to say it is impressive. I loved the strange combinations of sounds there. Some were quite unexpected, but their combination was nice!
If you like trance you probably know about this album. If no, try it 
I became a fan of trance after I listened to some Russian albums like trancemission! The last one is moderated by DJ Feel. He has nice sense of trance.
I wouldn’t publish anything. All this music can be easily found over the net…
http://mitiaalexandrov.su/
December 14, 2009
WOW! I have a domain! Now my blog is on http://mitiaalexandrov.su/
Thats really cool!
The Picture of Dorian Gray
December 9, 2009
Hehe, two posts for two days! Is that too much?
As I mentioned Carl Sagan, I couldn’t pass some other interesting books. Well, not his books. Actually, I don’t like to read one book at a time. I always have one book for my brain and one for my soul. I cannot read technical books before sleeping. If I read them, I would simply not sleep. Before sleeping I need something of type bélles-léttres.
After reading some books of Stanislaw Lem in a sequence, I wanted something more real. I just love science fiction, but not only science fiction! And one pretty lady told me to try to read Oscar Wilde and his famous The Picture of Dorian Gray. She was very impressed by the book. So I began to read it.
Well, first I was a little bit confused… the beginning seemed a little… homosexual for me! I am not against gays, but I don’t like the way they behave! But I knew that the author was a gay. So, the beginning was strange. But, there were so many interesting phrases there. Thoughts about love, about relationships, about the humanity and so on. Some of them a read twice or even more times. So I decided to continue. And I was not wrong! I was impressed how words can turn a real angel into a monster! How other people can have an influence on us! I was thinking about myself. What thoughts are good, what are bad, and what are just waisting my time! How do other people influence me!
I wouldn’t tell you the plot. Just read it, if you have time!
After this book few days I was just lying and thinking before sleeping. I like books that make you think!
After a long break… back!
December 8, 2009
Well, this was a hard time. But I have the results. Now I am master in informatics! But, does that make me happy. Yes and no. First, I am not student anymore. Sad… But I could easily take another Master program, or maybe PHD. That’s what makes me happier! Another gut stuff is that I can read whatever I like! If, I have time of course! And Finally I got my e-book! I began with Carl Sagan with the book The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence. It was waiting for me almost 2 years. I read it in two days (or three). I didn’t find the plot as something absolutely new, but got lots of good information to think about. I like his style! I liked the way he describes the brain, the way we communicate with each other, or even with different species (read the book to find out with whom and how:) ) I liked the way he connects psychology and physiology (and even anatomy). Well, I believe in God. And this book did not crush my belief (Actually I was a little bit worried about this question before reading it). I was once again impressed how everything was created! I strongly believe that we are not just a result of probability or chaos theory! In three words – a must read book! Now I want read his book the Cosmos once again!
My name is going to Mars!!!
August 12, 2009
Yeah! Now I am a part of the history!!! My name will be sent to Mars in 2011!!
http://mars9.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate/sendyourname/index.cfm
Thats my certificate:
http://mars9.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate/sendyourname/index.cfm?action=getcert&hashid=CD34663EA084CD21EF20CC5D00FFD51B
Jimmy Wales – the photos
June 8, 2009
So, here are some photos from the event. Not the best quality… I have the feeling that my camera is getting too old… But still, hope you enjoy them)))
Jimmy Wales live in Sofia!
June 7, 2009
Yesterday was a really wonderful day. I have visited the lecture of the creator of Wikipedia Jimmy Wales! It is really cool to see one of the 100 most influential people in the world just from 4-5 meters.
So… the impressions. Well, he is cool! He works very nice with his audience. Very informative and with lots of humor. This makes you fill comfortable and you really do not recognize the time. He said many really good jokes. My girlfriend has recorded them. I will post a link to her blog as soon as she publishes them (and if I am allowed).
Now about the content of the lecture. I can’t say I’ve discovered something absolutely new… all the statistics he gave could be easily found over the net. He said, that his mission was to populate the Wikipedia her in Bulgaria, but as he mentioned this is not the right place – it is already popular here, or better to say very popular)) . For me it was more interesting to understand the social and philosophical aspects of wiki. And I think I did. First – the role of Jimmy in the project. I think his job is just to be a generator of ideas and a good manager. As he said it is not his job to know how it’s technically implemented. Although I think he does understand the technologies being used. He also has this social feeling. I mean he can understand what people like and do not, in he can quickly adapt. Second – the role of the community. The way it’s treated. I mean, in which frames it can be the most productive and involved. Or better to say how strict the rules must be. I think here Jimmy has found the right formula! He told us about the Nupedia and why it failed, and why the wiki has succeeded (actually, this was my question (shy…)).
Actually, the second part of the lecture, where he answered the questions was the most interesting. Some of them, like connected with copyright, license or the ownership of information were really good. I liked his joke: on the question “who owns the information, owns the world. Who would be the next master of the world?”, he answered politely – “well, that would be me…”.
It is hard to describe the whole lecture here. You could try to find it over the web, and make your own conclusions. But it was really cool to participate. The atmosphere was very friendly. It was interesting to try to understand his philosophy and the way he thinks.
Simply, one of the greatest!
Don’t miss this kind of lectures! If you have the smallest possibility – just go!
p.s. I will try to post some photos later))
