My Graduation Gift

This is my graduation gift to myself. It is a Junior Emperor Pen made out of Walnut Burl. I have wanted to make a high end pen for a while now and this was the perfect opportunity. I get a nice graduation “gift” and a chance to test the waters on the high end supplies. It is kind of hard to see, as I am still working on getting my photography skills as good as my turning skills, but the top, bottom, middle band, and clip are all engraved with designs. There are plusses/crosses on the middle band, a series of shapes on the top and bottom bands. The top/bottom of each end is engraved as well. You can see a much better picture of the actual pen hardware here.

This one is mine but if you are interested in a pen for yourself, contact me. This exact pen would run in the neighborhood of $80-$100 for roller ball (shown) and $100-$120 for fountain, however I have pens that start as low as $25-$30. Price ranges will fluctuate depending on how cheap I can get supplies.

Contact me for a free quote if you are interested in a hand crafted wooden pen for yourself.


Method Names

Quick, what does this method do:

isSupressMultiLanguage()

If you guessed that it determines if multi-language is turned on or off you’d be correct.

Quick, what does this method do:

isMultiLanguageSupressed()

If you guessed that it is does the same thing, you’d be correct.

The point of this is that each is readable. One may flow off the tongue slightly easier than the other, however both are perfectly legitimate verbiages for the underlying flag. Both point directly to the intent of the method and give a clear picture of what its purpose is.

So what is the opportunity cost? Zero. From a development standpoint it is pretty clear that these mean the same thing and a developer can get a feel for what each method does at a glance. As long as a developer can tell what a method does from just the name, the actual naming of the method is just a matter of personal preference.


My Bookshelf

I get asked from time to time what I read. Here is what my current bookshelf looks like.

I recently finished these:
Confronting Reality: Doing What Matters to Get Things Right
The Life of Pi
In the Line of Fire: How to Handle Tough Questions…When It Counts
I Am Legend

I am currently reading these:
The Peopleware Papers: Notes on the Human Side of Software
Principle-centered Leadership
Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction

I have these lying in wait:
Java Concurrency in Practice
The Algorithm Design Manual
A Beginner’s Guide to Discrete Mathematics
The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World

I plan on buying these but want to finish what I have first:
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
The Toyota Way
Facts and Fallacies of Software Engineering (Agile Software Development)
Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams