Dead Programmer's Cafe

Author: deadprogrammer

  • I Dream of Trigla

    I am using a two-pronged depression fighting approach : drinking coffee and thinking about fishing.

    I thought about fishing in the Black Sea. I remembered how I really wanted to catch three rare fish about which I’ve read in books: a fluke (Paralichthys dentatus), a sargan(Belone belone euxini) and a trigla (aka sea rooster) (Trigla lucerna).

    I caught my first big fluke in the US, I think. I never caught a sargan, but this eel more than makes up for it. The trigla is a special story. I’ve only read about it in books. I’ve never even heard about somebody catching one. The books described it as an ultra rare, very tasty and beautiful fish. The pictures that I’ve seen in the books portrayed a brightly colored fish with huge iridescent fins. Trigla has an almost mythical status in the Black Sea area. It’s said that it brings bad luck if a fisherman doesn’t release it. Stuff of legends, really.

    In the books I’ve read it was described as a fish that makes loud sounds under water. And I know one fish like that. Yes, the favorite prey of underwater hunting of , the sea robin. But the pictures from those books did not look anything like any sea robin that I know. Well, I did a bit of research today, and it turns out that the mythical trigla is in fact a specie of sea robins. The Black Sea trigla has slightly more colorful fins, but looks and behaves almost the same as the kind that I catch here. The dumbass book illustrator did not have a photograph of a trigla and worked from the description.

    I find it kind of unsettling that the mythical fish I wanted to catch all of my life in Odessa turned out to be a lowly throwback fish here in the US. This must be symbolic of something or other, but I don’t know what.

  • Diner

    Missed my bus stop today (why don’t the bus operators announce all stops?) while reading. Since I was in that area anyway, decided to pick up some food from this really cool diner. It’s built in really cool 70s style.

    Looks like some sort of an alien spaceship, that diner.

  • Live From Times Square

    Turns out that there are a couple of wireless net connections in Times Square . So here l am standing there like a dork making this post. I bet I am on a couple of web cams right now as well.

  • Paging Doctor Lunchtime Rant

    This discussion really freaked me out. I have a bad feeling about that. How can this be? We don’t have the little black bag yet!

    Oh, can you guess ‘s future profession from her blog? I could not believe this. I am scared.

  • They Are Out of Business I Guess

    My phone number at work is very similar to a phone number of some medical office. I used to get phone calls from patients all the time. But this morning I’ve got a message on my answering machine from a doctor, who inquired about a New York Times ad for medical office space (I don’t think he listened to my very professional answering machine message). My guess is that the med office with that phone number is either out of business or moving.

    has a phone number at work that is similar to some bank’s. I egged him on to ask people calling him for their bank card passwords, but he is smarter than that. I do not indulge in phone pranks with people who misdialed numbers either. Although I could have offered that doctor to sublet a part of my cubicle. I have a big cubicle.

  • Clippy? Is that You?

    One of my favorite TV shows is NYPD Blue. There are a lot of little details on good shows that only become apparent if your read the FAQ. For instance, one of the detectives, Danny Sorenson sometimes did this weird thing – when upset, he would start putting office implements, usually paper clips into his shirt pocket. The explanation is in the FAQ:

    What’s the deal with Danny and those paperclips?
    During Rick Schroder’s first few episodes on the show, the writers introduced the idea that when Danny gets emotionally “stirred up,” he deals with it in part by grabbing office supplies — usually paperclips — and sticking them in his shirt pocket. And on one occasion, after getting a particular problem off his chest, we actually saw him take the clips out of his pocket and put them back in their caddy on his desk. At least one therapist who watches the show says this means that Danny had Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder, which is a more mild version of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

    When I get stirred up, I go and buy office supplies. Especially pens. It seems to have a calming effect on me.

    I am especially lusting for a really really good fountain pen. I think one day, when I feel especially crappy, I’ll finally buy myself a modern Parker Duofold, a descendant of the noble offshoot of Parker’s Jack Knife Safety line. My high school physics teacher used to have one of those. They are great. Nibs made of osmium, iridium, ruthenium and other unobtainium, split by hand. Ooooh.

    Anyway, because the prospect of buying an apartment is making me poor, all I can afford right now is regular ballpoint pens at Staples. And writing in livejournal about that.

  • it’s cool   – ‘&ts kül

    Explanation by and Illustration by Jesse Reclaw.

  • The Paperman

    What’s that paper this homeless guy is concentrating on? An unpublished Great American Novel? A description of a hyperdrive? Mathematical equations that perfectly predict financial markets? We might never know.

    I was talking with about this. I can’t find the explanation for the origin of the expression “Great American Novel”. Newsgroup discussions on the topick quickly deteriorate into “Take off! You hoser!”. , maybe you know?

  • Back to the USSR


    See the spiked ironwork on this subway railing? See the art deco pattern on the cast iron? That stuff is very very old. The IRT line which became lines 1, 2, 3 and 9, was built around 1903. The cast iron work looks as good today as it had back then. The stations themselves fell into disrepair. NYC subway companies could not raise fare and thus follow supply and demand and were bought by the state. The hammer and sicle is a final insult to capitalism in this case.

    Construction of the 23 street station :

    Interborough Rapid Transit ; the New York Subway , It’s Construction and Equipment was a book published by the IRT in 1904. Only 200 copies were printed, for gifts to bigwigs. Abebooks.com has the cheapest copy at $150. Luckily it was also reprinted in 1970es. There is also an online version for you cheapscates.

  • Photoshoppery or the Nth Beatle

    Sorry, . This had to be done.

    If I find the photo some day, I’ll post a picture of me sporting a mop top.