借到房产中介的电话，说XX楼盘现在正在搞活动，首付只需要10万。我于是问了句，那么总价多少？ 对方沉吟了一下，说100-120万左右，85-90方。我顿时就没了兴趣。

不知道现在房产公司都打的啥主意。100-120万，接近13000每平米的房价，相比去年11000-12000的水平，完全是不降反升。你减少首付又有什么意义呢？首付少了，就意味着按揭多了。公积金贷款只能贷30万，剩下的全是商业贷款。虽说现在利息是降了，可是有多少人把资金拿在手上能跑赢银行的贷款利息？当年低首付玩的转，主要是一个买房后抵押贷款再买房的操作。但是这样的操作建立在房价迅速上涨的预期上。而今，全国人民都不再看好房价上涨的趋势，几个人敢玩这么一手。更何况买一套房都战战兢兢的人，有几个能玩转这么一套手法。

coursera 2012年的课程开始了。因为同时参加了好多门，所以得列个清单，以免遗忘：

早就开始的：

 Modelthinking https://www.coursera.org/modelthinking/

SAAS https://www.coursera.org/saas/

3.12 开始的：  

  NLP  https://www.coursera.org/nlp/

  ALG https://www.coursera.org/algo/

CRYPTO https://www.coursera.org/crypto/

3.19 开始：

 PGM https://www.coursera.org/pgm

 Gametheory https://www.coursera.org/gametheory

Extract from "Oracle PLSQL Programming" of Oreilly.

 We all tend to fall into ruts, in almost every aspect of our lives. People are creatures of habit: you learn to write code in one way; you assume certain limitations about a product; you turn aside possible solutions without serious examination because you just know it cannot be done. Developers become downright prejudiced about their own programs, and often not in positive ways. They are often overheard saying things like:

"It can't run any faster than that; it's a pig."

"I can't make it work the way the user wants; that'll have to wait for the next version."

"If I were using X or Y or Z product, it would be a breeze. But with this stuff, everything is a struggle."

But the reality is that your program can almost always run a little faster. And the screen can, in fact, function just the way the user wants it to. And although each product has its limitations, strength, and weaknesses, you should never have to wait for the next version. Isn't it so much more satisfying to be able to tell your therapist that you tackled the problem head-on, accepted no excuses, and crafted a solution?

How do you do this? Break out of the confines of your hardened views and take a fresh look at the world ( or maybe just your cubicle ). Reassess the programming habits you've developed. Be creative-step away from the traditional methods, from the often limited and mechanical approaches constantly reinforced in our places of business.

Try something new: experiment with what may seem to be a radical departure from the norm. You will be surprised at how much you will learn and grow as a programmer and problem solver. Over the years, I have surprised myself over and over  with what is really achievable when I stopped saying "You can't do  that!" and instead simply nodded quietly and murmured, "Now, if I do it this way...."

HOW MANY PROGRAMMERS DO YOU KNOW WHO ARE ROCK STARS? WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DO THEY HAVE?

It seems nowadays that programmers are a dime a dozen, but how do you pick the best programmers from the rest of the crowd.

It's not just about coding (although that is a big factor). It's about building your skill set over the years and nurturing them so you can stand out from the programming "collective."

What characteristics makes them stand out? Are they easy to get along with? How long have they been programming? Are they teaching you things you never knew were possible? Here's how to find out if you are a programming rock stars!

1. Master your language and tools. Whether it's Visual Studio, Eclipse, or even Aptana, your programming tools should be second nature to you when developing that next web application. Just like a plumber or carpenter, if you don't have the proper tools, you won't get the job done right. 
    
2. Enhance your tools and environment. With that said, even though you've mastered your tools, always strive to find ways to enhance your environment. This may include plug-ins to Visual Studio or Eclipse or a code generation tool that works along side your environment. If you're not looking for better ways to enhance your productivity, you may be working yourself into an early grave.
    
3. Research new technologies. While your primary language may do everything you need, make time to research your craft and experiment with new frameworks that wrap around your existing technologies. For example, while programming in web forms with C#, I heard about a new framework from Microsoft called MVC. Since I've started working with MVC, I've been programming in MVC for more than 2 years now and I haven't looked back or regretted my decision since.
    
4. Leverage your existing code you wrote. Programmers who write code and then immediately disregard it are missing out on the most exceptional tip on this list: start building your library of routines and techniques. If you are in a corporate environment, yes, you will have a corporate library to pull from for your projects. If you are an individual programmer, yes, you will have your own collection of routines or libraries that you can use in your "outside" projects. As the object-oriented saying goes, the routines are reusable.
    
5. Automate like crazy. If you've been around the programming block for a while, you know that there are always quicker ways to accomplish certain tasks. It's now getting to the point in this industry where if someone asks you for a web site, you can build one relatively quick. Then they start asking for features. It's the features part that makes the difference and slows you down.
    
6. Perform proper analysis. New developers always shoot first (start coding) and ask questions later. Take the time to analyze the project and ask as many questions as you can. The more questions you ask upfront, the better your ability to complete a more thorough and clear design of your application.
    
7. Perform Unit Testing. Along with preceding your coding with proper analysis, always finish your coding by performing unit tests. This not only tests the quality of your code but will also let you know when your system fails on regression testing. Unit Testing should be the "checks and balances" of your programming.
    
8. Extend your reach. Most developers keep to their code and that's all they do. Break out of your comfort zone and read up on usability studies, how to document your code better, and/or using better design techniques. Expanding your skills into other areas will do three things: 1. Make you more visible to other people; 2. Make you more valuable to others because of your thirst for knowledge; and 3. Provide you with more opportunities than just programming.
    
9. Communicate effectively. This is in regards to project management, coding, documentation, and impromptu meetings. If you can't explain an extremely awesome cool coding technique to your peers or communicate why a particular feature shouldn't be in the project to a project manager because of a time constraint, you may need to work on your verbal skills instead of your coding skills.
    
10. Make time to assist others. You will seem as a definite team player by taking the time to help a fellow programmer in need. Help them understand a new concept or technique that is unclear to them and they will be grateful for the help and see you as a definite resource and go to guy.

As you can see, there are a lot of factors to take into account when deciding who is a programming rock star and how they will be perceived by other team members or by clients.

Come to think of it, you could even use some of these factors for general interview questions.

很久很久以前，有一群人，他们决定用8个可以开合的晶体管来组合成不同的状态，以表示世界上的万物。他们看到8个开关状态是好的，于是他们把这称为"字节"。 再后来，他们又做了一些可以处理这些字节的机器，机器开动了，可以用字节来组合出很多状态，状态开始变来变去。他们看到这样是好的，于是它们就这机器称为"计算机"。 开始计算机只在美国用。八位的字节一共可以组合出256(2的8次方)种不同的状态。 他们把其中的编号从0开始的32种状态分别规定了特殊的用途，一但终端、打印机遇上约定好的这些字节被传过来时，就要做一些约定的动作。遇上00x10, 终端就换行，遇上0x07, 终端就向人们嘟嘟叫，例好遇上0x1b, 打印机就打印反白的字，或者终端就用彩色显示字母。他们看到这样很好，于是就把这些0x20以下的字节状态称为"控制码"。

Oracle 9i Data Guard: http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/B10501_01/server.920/a96653/toc.htm

Oracle 9i RAC: http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/B10501_01/rac.920/a96598/toc.htm

Is software maintenance a problem?

Today's standard answer is "You bet it is."

The standard rationale for that standard answer is "Look how much of our budget we're putting into software maintenance. If we'd only built the software better in the first place, we wouldn't have to waste all that money on maintenance."

Well, I want to take the position that this standard answer is wrong. It's wrong, I want to say, because the standard rationale is wrong.

The fact of the matter is, software maintenance isn't a problem, it's a solution!

What we are missing in the traditional view of software as a problem is the special significance of two pieces of information:

The software product is "soft" (easily changed) compared to other, "harder," disciplines.

Software maintenance is far less devoted to fixing errors (17 percent) than to making improvements (60 percent).

In other words, software maintenance is a solution instead of a problem because in software maintenance we can do something that no one else can do as well, and because when we do it we are usually building new solutions, not just painting over old problems. If software maintenance is seen as a solution and not as a problem, does that give us some new insight into how to do maintenance better?

你工作快乐么？你的工作好么？

　　有没有觉得干了一段时间以后工作很不开心？有没有觉得自己入错了行？有没有觉得自己没有得到应有的待遇？有没有觉得工作像一团乱麻每天上班都是一种痛苦？有没有很想换个工作？有没有觉得其实现在的公司并没有当初想象得那么好？有没有觉得这份工作是当初因为生存压力而找的，实在不适合自己？你从工作中得到你想要得到的了么？你每天开心么？

　　天涯上愤怒的人很多，你有没有想过，你为什么不快乐？你为什么愤怒？

　　其实，你不快乐的根源，是因为你不知道要什么！你不知道要什么，所以你不知道去追求什么，你不知道追求什么，所以你什么也得不到。

　　我总觉得，职业生涯首先要关注的是自己，自己想要什么？大多数人大概没想过这个问题，唯一的想法只是——我想要一份工作，我想要一份不错的薪水，我知道所有人对于薪水的渴望，可是，你想每隔几年重来一次找工作的过程么？你想每年都在这种对于工作和薪水的焦急不安中度过么？不想的话，就好好想清楚。饮鸩止渴，不能因为口渴就拼命喝毒药。越是焦急，越是觉得自己需要一份工作，越饥不择食，越想不清楚，越容易失败，你的经历越来越差，下一份工作的人看着你的简历就皱眉头。于是你越喝越渴，越渴越喝，陷入恶性循环。最终只能哀叹世事不公或者生不逢时，只能到天涯上来发泄一把，在失败者的共鸣当中寻求一点心理平衡罢了。大多数人都有生存压力，我也是，有生存压力就会有很多焦虑，积极的人会从焦虑中得到动力，而消极的人则会因为焦虑而迷失方向。所有人都必须在压力下做出选择，这就是世道，你喜欢也罢不喜欢也罢。