stacyprowell.com

I’ve been doing some nasty database work with Python and MySQL.  Specifically, I’ve got long programs that run eight to ten hours, and sometimes I need to kill them and restart them later.

So… I wanted a way to trap CTRL+C and clean up.  That is, I wanted to have transactions without actually having to use transactions.  I’m funny that way.  (In other news, I’m probably moving to PostgreSQL at some point.)

Anyway, here’s what I came up with.  You might find it useful, too. Continue reading »

I recently posted about the Facebook group Put Christ Back Into Schools.  I’ve taken the time to read commentary by supporters  and to visit other sites with similar goals.  I’ve come to think that we can divide these groups and their supporters into two categories.

1. Those who genuinely misunderstand the U.S. legal position on prayer and Bible reading in public schools.
2. Those who understand the U.S. legal position, but want to use the machinery of the state to advance their own cause.

In both cases I fear the end result is the spreading of misinformation.  In this post I’m going to excerpt from publicly-available online postings to support the above.  I’ll provide links, unless asked to remove them by the site maintainers, so that you can have them in full context.  I don’t want to misrepresent anyone’s position on this issue, or to be guilty of spreading misinformation.

Citations tagged “wall post” or “discussion thread” can be found on the Facebook page for Put Christ Back Into Schools, linked at the start of this article. Continue reading »

There’s a cause group on Facebook called “Put Christ Back Into Schools.” I’ll wait while you decide whether to join up. Done? Okay, let’s move on. Continue reading »

computer science: n. a study akin to numerology and astrology, but lacking the precision of the former and the success of the latter.

– Stan Kelly-Bootle, The Devil’s DP Dictionary

I’d say the above is no longer true: computer science is successful.  But it really isn’t very precise.

The field of computer science is probably the area of knowledge that is closest to pure gibberish. Continue reading »

I was recently asked what I do to secure my home computer.  This post will tell you some (though not all) of the things I do.  It will probably tell you more than you want to know.  I tried to start simple, and work up to more sophisticated items.

If you have additional advice, let me know and I’ll add it to this post.  I’ve tried to keep it simple and make it a summary; I don’t explicitly tell you the steps to do any of this stuff since you’ve all got access to Google.  Still, if you want more information on any of this, let me know. Continue reading »