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Last week I finished the book “Prelude to Foundations” by Isaac Asimov.  It was recommended to me by my boss, and I have to say it was one of the better books I have read in a while.  I usually try to switch up reading technical books with non-technical books, and since I haven’t read any new technical books I decided to head over to chapters and pickup some new books.

I have head great things about both Java Concurrency by Brian Goetz, and Effective Java 2nd Edition by Joshua Bloch.  The real problem with both these books is they are hard to find in store.  I happened to come across both of them at my local Chapters, and quickly snatched them up.

I have been reading Java Concurrency over the past couple of days and I have to say this is one of the best Java books I’ve read in a while.  Brian Goetz has a way of writing that really helps bring complex problems into perspective.

One of my initial gripes about this book was the lack of exercises at the end of the Chapters, however now that I’m a little ways into the book I’ve noticed that the examples chosen for each Chapter progress almost as a set of exercises in themselves.  Not to mention that Brian picks examples that relate well to the real world, instead of most of the silly easy examples found in other books I’ve read.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to delve into the world of Java Concurrency, or even someone looking to freshen up on the latest stuff available in JDK 1.5 in terms of threading.  This book has really helped me in my pet projects and in my day-to-day work so I would definitely recommend getting it and keeping it close by.

I’ve yet to really get into Effective Java, but the little bits I’ve read here and there have really shown me that this this book lives up to all the hype about it.  Joshua is a smart man, and this book definitely reflects his intelligence.  It is well organized and shows you things about Java that you never thought even existed.  I’m really excited to delve deaper into this one.

I’ll write a more thorough review once I’m finished with it.  Anyway until next time …

kungfuice Computers, General, Technology, java, programming books, java, programming, reviews

Well this post is probably a little late, but I recently took a trip with some friends to New York City. This was my first time in the big apple and I have to say that I fell in love with the place, like so many do. This city has everything anyone could ever want and then some. I was only there for a short period, but in that short period I got the feeling like New York was the type of place I could see myself living, if only for a little bit.

My favourite part of the trip had to be the when my friends and I ventured down to Canal St, and China town. I have never experienced anything like that in my life, the amount of people and little shops on the street selling knock off everything was unbelievable. Looking for a follex? perhaps some Gucci sunglasses, they have it all and are willing to negotiate on price We happened to be in New York around the same time as Chinese New Year so the streets of China town were packed full of people celebrating and dancing around. At every corner there were people dressed as ritualistic dragons dancing and store owners presenting offerings for prosperous New Years.

Our best meal of the trip in my opinion was at this little Vegetarian Dim Sum place, where I got to sample of Simulated Shark Fin, Spinach, and Simulated Shrimp Dumplings which were all very yummy. We got the “real” tour of China Town thanks to my friends friend who actually lives in New York and worked for a long time as a designer in the China Town area. It was great because he knew all the cool places to checkout, and even took us on a little tour of Little Italy. Little Italy was great as well, but by that point the sun had set and I was beginning to freeze, so I have to say I probably didn’t enjoy it as much as I normally would.

My friends and I decided to get a NY Pass which got us into so many places for free and with line bypass. Our first use of this pass was a trip up the Empire State Building. It’s funny for such an amazing building the inside has to be thoroughly disappointing. Except for the main lobby where the architecture is breathetaking, the rest of the building is either falling apart or currently under “remodeling”. Once you get up to the top though, everything about the interior is forgotten. You are presented with a birds eye view of the entire city, and you really get a feeling for how big New York City is, and at the same time how small it is considering how many people actually live there. We were lucky since the day we went was a clear sunny day that allowed us to see the entire city.

Our pass also got us into all of the amazing museums in New York. We took our second day to tour around MOMA, Natural Science Museum, and the Guggenheim. I’m usually not a huge fan of Museums but I really did enjoy all of these, except for the Natural Science museum which I found somewhat boring. My favourite of the bunch was definitely the Guggenheim, it is a beautifully designed building and the exhibits were different from anything I had seen before. On display was a famous Chinese artist you used gun powder to create absolutely amazing “paintings”.

We also spent a lot of time walking around Central park as we made our way to the different museums, and I have to say I’ve never experienced something of that scale before in such a densely populated area. It was amazing to see all the beautiful apartments looking into Central Park, but even more amazing was that I felt like I wasn’t in the city anymore. It was like being transported into a beautiful natural wooded area, while still being steps away from the core of New York City. It really was quite an amazing feeling and I could definitely see why many New Yorkers spend so much time walking around Central Park.

I could go on and on about all the things we did and saw but I’d quickly fill up my entire blog, not to mention I just don’t have the patience to retell the entire story here.

I have to say that New York gave me this feeling that no other city has managed to give me. I felt like the city was alive, it gave me this energy that no other city has ever given me. There’s always something going on in New York, always places to go and see. Not to mention the history that engulfs the entire city. I loved the fact that you could just walk anywhere you wanted to go, there was no need to worry about getting into your car, just throw your favourite pair of shoes on and walk. Nothing was really that far and if it was it was only a short subway ride to get you there.

I really have to thank my friends for planning such an amazing trip, I really did enjoy myself and I can’t wait to go back. Hopefully next time I go it will be the summer time so I can enjoy more of the city without having to worry about freezing my butt off. I have also included the pictures from our trip.

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I don’t know how many of you guys are following the primaries going on in the US but I have been watching it closely over the past couple of weeks, and came across some interesting information regarding the New Hampshire primaries that were held last night.

It seems as though Diebold, you know the guys who make the electronic voting machines that even a child could hack, has been tinkering with some of the polling stations throughout New Hampshire in order to give Hilary Clinton a little boost in the polls.  Although the data is not 100% conclusive it does offer some interesting looks into what may be happening in the upcoming election.

Anyway this is a good read for anyone following what’s going on in Politics in the states or who generally follows Politics.

Diebold and New Hampshire

The Contrarian

Also I found these rather humorous images about Diebold.

Diebold Fixation Images

This is definitely my favourite

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I guess I should mention in regards to my other post that I have gotten a new job. I have taken an offer to work at Research In Motion full time as of January. I can’t wait to go back, since I really enjoyed myself this summer. I can’t wait for the challenges I know I will face working there, and I can’t wait to get back on my team.

So I guess as of January I will officially be a Waterloo resident, so if anyone knows of any good places for me to live hit me up, because I’m looking for a place!

I guess back to my suffering with school work

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The end of the summer is soon approaching and thus the end of my Co-op term at RIM. I could never have asked for a better summer, and I can definitely chalk this up as one of my greatest summers. Being out here on my own has really changed me, it’s helped me grow in ways I never thought possible. Being out here on my own has allowed me to meet some really amazing people, and make some really strong bonds, especially with my best roommate ever Shannon. Not only has this summer resulted in me making new friends, but I feel like I’m closer then ever with my old friends and family.

RIM has been an amazing place to work, the people I met and the friends I made definitely make it a place that feels like home. There is nothing more rewarding then knowing that the work you do is being used by millions of people. RIM really lets co-ops flourish, I really got the feeling like I was a valuable member of the team, not just some guy who was there to do things no one else wanted.

Everyone always told me that being away at school and being on your own really changes you as a person and to be honest I never really saw the merits in it, but being out here has shown me what it is truly like. I appreciate things more now then ever before, and this time away from my family has only shown me how important they really are in my life. There is another kind of family though that is just as important, and those are your friends. This summer has been a difficult one, and I don’t think I ever could have made it through without the support of my close friends. The times we shared together, whether it be road tripping to London with Simran, camping with my Sister Jenni Trevor and Simran, or just chilling out in my room with Shannon for Tuesday night hat parties. You guys all definitely helped make this a summer to remember!

Life moves by fast, and I’m glad that I got to experience this Summer, and meet the people that I have out here. I really thought Waterloo was going to be a bore, and my life was only going to revolve around work, but it has turned out to be the exact opposite. I guess it won’t be so bad when I come back out here in January for my full time position. Yes that’s right I’m coming back out to the ‘Loo for a full-time position at RIM, as a Software Developer.

I accepted my offer on Friday, August 17th which means I’ll be doing this all over again in the Winter, and for a presumably longer time then that. I guess what they say is true for every closing door, there is always an one that is opening.

I guess it’s time to walk through that new opening door then.

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