NUL == No Unnecessary Limits

How to export your Eclipse color preferences

Eclipse sucks. It’s one of the best examples of software that would easily confound even the smartest of developers. Yes, it has it quirks, but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. We just have to learn how to live with it, to just say Ooookaaay in its multitude of menus.

One of the things I hate most with Eclipse is that there is no obvious way to export one’s color preferences. If you have experienced working with different machines for development and each time you try to get your color preferences right, then you know what I mean when I say it suck great balls of dung go biggie. Anyway, here is how to do it:

$ cd your/work/bench
$ cd .metadata/.plugins/org.eclipse.core.runtime/.settings/
$ cp org.eclipse.jdt.ui.prefs \
org.eclipse.ui.editors.prefs \
[org.eclipse.ui.workbench.prefs] \
~/your/choice/of/directory

For windows users, it’s just the same as going to your workspace directory, navigating to .metadata.plugins\org.eclipse.core.runtime.settings, and copying the files mentioned above to your choice of directory. The one enclosed on brackets is optional since it contains platform specific settings that may not be portable with different systems.

Put those files somewhere convenient, like a flashdisk, and copy them to the same location of a different workspace. I personally like to put my config stuffs in an online repository. If you want, you could grab my Eclipse color scheme here:

git://github.com/avendael/tool-configs.git

The Big Picture

Some people see the big picture, but fail to appreciate it’s details. Some focus on the details, but they fail to see how it interacts with the big picture.

When I code, I sometimes have a general idea of the big picture. I see the all the intricacies and interactions of what it is to come, and then I get confused on where to start. Sometimes though, I focus on the details of what has to be done, trying to perfect every aspect of my code and savor the beauty of it, never wanting to leave.

When you find yourself overwhelmed by the big picture, do something. It could be anything that relates to what you have to do. When you find yourself focusing too much on one thing, do something else. It could be anything that does not relate to what you have to do.

Failing to balance these two things will make you either someone who understands but can’t do anything, or someone who knows too much about a little thing without understanding it’s role with the bigger picture.

A peek into my mind

I have been quite busy trying to keep up with the world these past few days. Now that I have another chance to write what’s on my mind, I would do so by sharing you one of the dreams that I had this month. Take a peek on what’s going on inside my head as I sleep, quoted from the inside wirings of my unconscious mind…

I met a nice girl that likes me so much. We are enjoying our time together at some sort of a beach resort. Excruciating pain ruined the moment. I felt something like a burning blade’s stab to my right leg. And there it was, a gaping wound. I can vaguely remember how it got there, but it’s there. The wound is so deep that I could see the insides of my leg. The skin flaps around as I walk. Blood and flesh covers my tracks. I’m about to kiss my girl as this misfortune happened. No kissing happened, only worried looks and hurried breaths. I need to get my leg done so I could get on with the kissing later on.
Walking was a difficult task, but I’m glad that she accompanied me home. I found myself in our first house before I moved twice, and I found it strange to find my whole family there. I asked my dad for the car keys and for the medical benefit card, then I asked my youngest brother to drive me to the hospital. As we went into the garage, I noticed another strange thing. The pedestrian gate is open.
The habit of doing things myself compelled me to close the gate, and it proved to be my bane at that moment. A passersby have ran into the gate range and tried to pull it open as I close it, making me kneel in pain. I saw through the gap below the gate that this passersby happens to be a woman. Another one came but just stood there watching. My wound is opening wider. I can practically see the bone and sinews of my leg. It opens and closes as I move, like the mouth of a rabid dog ready to attack an offender. I can’t really remember how I managed to close the gate, whether it be by myself or with my brother’s help. I then scolded the maid for not closing the gate after this event.
While I was at it, I asked the maid to bring me some alcohol to cleanse my wound. Some dirt has managed to get their way inside, which is the result of my kneeling while clashing with a passersby. I sat by our garden set to rest. My second brother is sitting there with me, and I found it strange that he still looks like he is in his highschool days. He is chubby and small at that time. My youngest brother, on the other hand, looks just the way he currently is.
We had a chat, the details of which I could not remember. The increased traffic on our street broke our talk. Tricycles and cars were jammed through our street. One of the tricycles happen to be next to our gate, and the driver is peeking through, eying us and our garage. I hate nosy people like this driver. Naturally, I went hostile to him by asking him what he is looking at. He gave me a look that gives me a hint not to mess with him and said, “Shut up woman.”
I was pissed. I may be slender and have long hair but I’m no way a woman, not even in the nine circles of hell. He was big and bulky, so I went inside the house to get something pointy and bladed. I went back to the garage brandishing a machete to scare him off. He responded by brandishing a mere hairbrush, which drove me back inside the house. Embarrassing.
I told my dad about the nosy tricycle driver and asked him for his gun, but he instead went out on his own with a fancy knife. At this time though, the driver went ballistic. He is wielding an axe while trying to climb our gate. We sensed the impending danger and locked ourselves inside the house. Again, I asked my dad for his gun, but he instead handed me a key…
Where did you put the gun?
It’s inside the cabinet within a curve by the parabola…
His voice trailed off and I started to wake up.

I woke up tired, instead of refreshed. I was wondering who the girl was, what the driver was after, and why I got the wound. Or should I be wondering about the meaning of this?

The Geek vs The Generalist

Geeks have an uncanny focus on a specialized body of knowledge. There are technology geeks that may focus on one or more areas of hardware and software, art geeks which favors a particular form of expression, automechanic geeks that have their favorite brand of autos, fashion geeks, name it. They spend huge amounts of time trying to grok their area of interest. Ask about a topic within their interests and they would gladly fill you massive amounts of information, most of which you would not care about most of the time. Though geeks spend a huge amount of time gathering knowledge about their interest, this does not mean that all of them are from an intellectual group of people. Most of them are just too compelled by their area of interest. They have limited opinions about topics outside their area of interest, and most of the time, they really don’t care about things that do not interest them. Usually, a geek’s area of expertise is something he is passionate about.

Generalists are people who doesn’t really have a particular area of interest. They gather knowledge just as needed, and most of the time they learn from experience, or from another person’s ideas. This does not mean, however, that all generalists are not of an intellectual type. They are, rather, an intellectual type that is practically oriented. They have opinions on different topics, regardless of how deep their knowledge is regarding the topic. Generalists usually have an area of expertise that they really do not care about.

These stereotypes are misleading. I, for one, abhors the use of sterotypes, but I need to use such for the purposes of this article. I do not, however, use such bullshit in my everyday life.

Diminishing marginal return is a term most commonly encountered in economics, but I think it would also apply in knowledge gathering and generation of ideas. A geek can be thought of as a hamster forever running in his hamster wheel. He spends most of his time gathering knowledge in his particular area of interest, much like a hamster who could run in his wheel forever. This is because each no single area of knowledge remains without a change. New advancements are brought in each day whatever field it is, but most especially in the area of science and technology. Geeks tend to be good at what interests them, but they seldom have revolutionary ideas because of the lack of general knowledge. When I say revolutionary idea, it is not something that is a relatively new idea within a particular field. Revolutionary ideas are something that could change the course of the world, much like Microsoft’s/Apple’s idea of GUIs which radically changed not only the world of computing, but the way we actually live.

A generalist does not spend most of his time with intricacies. He keeps his options open, and is opinionated about different things. Their knowledge may not be deep, but oftentimes an idea would strike them that compels them to do something big. Oftentimes they do not know of the actual impact of their idea until they see it to its fruition.

As I have said beforehand, these sterotypes are misleading. What I really want to say is that ideas can come to everyone who are open-minded. Being observant is the key. One must know what he wants to do, but he must also know what the people around him really cares about in order to do something revolutionary. This is getting long and I could go on but I think you already get the point. Leave a comment and let’s leave this for open discussion.

Truth is but a norm

This idea came to me while walking. Truth is but a norm. Factors such as time, geography, age, etc. can affect the validity of an established truth to make it false. In order to illustrate this, consider this simple example:

I was once a child, but no longer. Therefore, it is not true that I am a child, although it was true during my childhood days.

People change, times change, tectonic plates shift, paradigms change. Truth can only hold for such a time after which it is discarded in favor of a new one. Discarded truths can be found all over our society. The Earth was once considered to be flat, but no longer. It is through the path of scientific discovery that we are able to know this fact.

Facts are different from truths. It is through facts that we establish something that is true. It is a fact that in order for us humans to survive, we need food, which we get from other life forms such as plants and animals. It is therefore true that humans need to eat other organisms in order to survive. But this will only hold for such a time until scientific advances discover something that will make humans survive without the need of feeding from other life forms. This might sound crazy but who knows? The idea of travel through airspace was once considered crazy. Nowadays though, it is an everyday occurence.

Some people are in search for an absolute truth. I consider such activities to be in vain, for no man in his entire lifespan could be able to discover such, if there is actually something as an absolute truth. Everything changes. Nothing is absolute. Even change can change.

This change within a change is something that others might call metachange. I have no further ideas with regards to the topic of metachange for I am yet to observe such. I shall leave this matter hanging for now.