Month: October 2014

Slowly but surely it has been getting darker earlier, especially now that daylight savings has reverted to winter time just last weekend.

This means that when I drive to work it is still dark, and by the time I get to the driving range after my work, it is nearly dark.

In a few more weeks winter will have kicked in for good. Not really something for me to look forward to. Grin and bear it, and before long spring will be on its way,

A promise can either be fulfilled or it can be rejected.

var promise = fetchTheAnswer();

promise.then(fulfill, reject);

function fulfill(answer) {
  console.log("The answer is " + answer);
}

function reject(reason) {
  console.log("Broken promise! Reason: " + reason);
}

You can even chain promises together with .then() and run through a whole slew of asynchronous actions.

var promise = Ember.$.getJSON('/promise-me.json');

promise.then(doThis)
       .then(doThat)
       .then(doOtherStuff)
       .then(handleFulfill, handleReject);

A promise is a method with asynchronous behavior. It returns a "thennable" which is an object that reflects fulfillment (success) or unfulfillment (failure).

You attach handlers for these states using the then method. Each then returns yet another promise.

More about asynchronous routing.

Hard to believe that it's been fourteen years ago today that my father passed away. Here is a picture of my Dad and me at the Nut Tree Inn way back in 1964. This was a favorite stop of ours when travelling from our house in Stockton to Giant's baseball games at Candlestick Park which was the old home stadium back in the good days of Willie Mays and company.

I'm honored and privileged to be part of this fine group of top-notch golfers again. We have a challenging golf season ahead of us. We will practice hard and put our utmost into being the best of the best winning as many matches as possible. The upcoming golf season will be a fun and exciting at the same time.

Riding a solex through the Dutch countryside.

I hope that I don't get Ebola. Imagine what it would be like if Ebola goes airborne and there is a worldwide epidemic? Who would die first and which ten percent of the population would survive? Most people carry on with their lives as if nothing is going to happen. The events so far are many thousands of miles away, so who cares? Or so it seems until it is too late. It won't be the first time that the human race has been caught unguarded by the whims of mother nature.

Breaking news (25-OCT-2014):
Ebola outbreak: Cases pass 10,000, WHO reports

Inspirational words hanging on the men's restroom wall at The Dutch.

Last week I spent a couple of days in Gladbeck, Germany for some business gathering with our customers and partners. During the late afternoon we formed teams and competed against each other in this geocaching contest.

As we explored the area and zigzagged our way through the dense forest, we came upon this arena-like building in the middle of nowhere. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was an old and deteriorating monument. To commemorate all those pour souls who had lost their lives in the two world wars. Senseless losses were everywhere to be seen on the walls.

Gedenkstätte für die Toten der Kriege von 1914-1918 und 1939-1945.

No one else in our group seemed to notice. They just went on with the game antics, laughing and shouting. Of course, being one who is sensitive to the surroundings and interested in history, I meandered around and took a closer look. I could see that the monument had been neglected for many years. I mentioned it later to a German person during dinner, and he explained that the Germans were not proud of their past, even embarrassed you could say. That's why such monuments were pretty much ignored, so that one was not reminded about the past too much.

On the walls completely around the whole circumference of this arena thousands of names were inscribed in stone (see picture). The passing of time had meant lots of erosion. Half of the names were faded and illegible, maybe more. That made me very sad. These poor folks had nothing left to give the world except for these inscriptions. As the letters faded away, no one would ever remember them again.

Here is the exact location.

Five thick volumes and 4273 pages later, I have finally finished A Song of Ice and Fire which I began a little more than a year ago.

Trying to remember the whole saga and history is impossible, and I could easily reread the whole thing all over again to refresh my memory. I am also sure that a second or even a third reading would reveal many secrets and interesting new twists that were hidden.

A constant reference companion for me was A Wiki of Ice and Fire which is a complete cross reference, including history, maps, chapter summaries and indexed character references.

Now that I've read it all, I can watch the videos series and enjoy it all much more.