Top down operator precedence parsers implemented in Javascript

Microsoft, beginning of week two: I got my first two bug assignments today, basic get-to-know-the-code sort of things. I haven’t quite figured out the build process yet, but I’m getting closer.

I skipped pool tonight and did some work on MJ’s jacket instead. I made the last round of changes to the pattern, after watching her try on last week’s muslin via Skype, then cut out all the main pattern pieces. Tomorrow I’ll apply interfacing and probably start sewing things together.

Thank you, Sony: due to the popularity of blu-ray players, 405 nm (violet-blue) laser diodes are now available for $50 (if you are willing to take apart the replacement laser assembly) or $80 (for just the diode). RGB laser assemblies, here we come!

I’ve spent the afternoon sewing. I am nearly finished with a new long-sleeved, crew-neck shirt, made of tan fleece and burgundy ribbing. I tried a very similar design in cotton stretch knit, but had a lot of problems with fit, and the collar simply would not sit the way I intended it to. The body of the shirt came out much more smoothly this time around, but I’m still having trouble with the collar. It’s a lot closer this time, and I can see a couple of adjustments that should make it work well enough, but this collar is still more of a challenge than it seems like it ought to be. Oh, well, next time I’ll get it right.

Once I’m done with this project I will take a little break, then do some more work on the jacket for MJ. The prototype basically fit her, which is great, but the pattern needs a couple of adjustments.

Tired. Driving to and from work is a surprisingly large drag.

Met the rest of the team today. Positive impressions so far.

I don’t really want to talk about work here. Maybe it would make sense to set up a blog on msdn; a lot of the other VB/VS/C# developers have them.

I just finished my first day at Microsoft. I did no actual work, met nobody from my new team, have yet to receive my employee badge, and did not even enter the building I will be working in: the entire day was spent in a series of HR presentations. I heard about more internal web sites and company services than I can even remember, much less describe or locate. The group of people Microsoft hired today was larger than the entire staff of all but one of the companies I have ever worked for.

My heart sank a bit when I pulled off the freeway and thought about having to spend so much time on the eastside, but I’m excited enough about the work I’m going to be doing that I am willing to deal with it.

Every now and then I like to travel back in time and have a conversation with my nineteen-year-old self, sitting in his apartment in Munich. It’s amusing to imagine his reaction to this one.

My sister Joanna just posted a video of her fire performance from Wednesday. So much fun to watch her go!

After finishing the vest for Jenna, I launched straight into my next project: a jacket for my sister MJ. I skipped the darts this time and made the pattern out of curved panels. It’s a structured, detailed sort of garment, so the seams will be stylistic elements, and I’ll topstitch them with contrasting thread. For now, I’ve basted together a simple muslin, which I will send off to MJ for a test fitting; in the meantime there is a lot of work to be done creating the center panel detailing.

After Adam finished work, we met up at the Rocket Factory and continued working on the loft floor. We bought a bunch of plywood, wrangled it into position, and screwed it to the joists. I’d still like to do a lot of finish work up there, and the ladder is still missing its bottom three steps, but at least it’s complete enough to function as a storage room.

I’ve been doing too much recently to have time for writing about it. After working at the Rocket Factory on Saturday, I went home and spent a few hours setting up for a party. We divided the basement up with gauzy curtains in shades of red and purple – dark and rich and really pleasant. The party was a good time with some good friends and lasted until some time after dawn. Michael H. brought his decks and played upstairs.

Sunday was basically all about recovery. I slept for most of the day, helped clean up, then went over to Adam and Janet’s place. I cooked up a simple pasta and we watched the rest of Project Runway season two.

Yesterday I did a whole bunch of sewing. I tightened up the fit on a little stretch knit shirt I made for myself the other day, then fixed the lining on the Jenna vest and finished the other arm-hole. It still needs hemming and buttonholes, but it’s much closer to finished. Then Dawn came over and we did some more work on the lining for her fur coat – we cut apart the old lining and cut out equivalent pieces of the new fabric, then sewed up a few of the seams. After that, pool.

Today was all about carpentry, and my muscles ache. Adam had to work so I decided I’d just build whatever I could manage solo. I hung all the remaining floor joists, then framed the passage between the floors. This was all I’d originally intended to accomplish, but once I’d gotten that far I just couldn’t stop, and got to work on the ladder. I built the upper part of the ladder and the halfway-platform that will double as a storage area. At this point I was aching and hungry, and had used up most of the remaining scrap wood, so I decided to leave the rest for later. The lower part of the ladder will have a cool hinge mechanism to provide access to the storage area. It shouldn’t be more than half a day’s work for Adam and I to finish the floor and move all the storables out of the main work area.

Tonight I’m going to have dinner with my housemates – delivery from India Express, I think, since we are all too tired to cook.

I signed on at Real Software seven years ago with a mission to write a shiny new modern compiler for REALbasic. It was two years before we shipped the new compiler, and a few years more before it became something you could call “shiny” or “modern”, but it worked and it took us where we needed to go. I kept on refining the language and improving the compiler, and while my dreams have always outreached Real Software’s resources, the code has come together well over the years and I am proud of what we have built.

It is time to move on. I will start work at Microsoft on April 14th, joining the VB.NET compiler team. I am excited and can hardly wait to start. VB is the most widely used programming language on earth, and I’ve been stealing its ideas for years. My primary responsibility will be compiler architecture – it will be a very similar position to the one I had for most of my time at Real, in fact, but with more resources and far more customers.

There are quite obviously a lot of changes on the way. It’s been seven years since I last worked in an office and almost nine since I had to drive to work. I’ve always been a Mac (and sometimes Unix) guy; I know very little about Windows and have never used it for my daily work. But whatever – I’m ready for something new. This will be a great step forward in my career, there will be tons of smart people around to learn from, and I’m thrilled by the idea that my work will affect millions of people.

Some workshops I would like to offer at the Rocket Factory this spring/summer:
– basic electronics: learn to solder, and make your own glowing LED badge
– slightly less basic electronics: make an adjustable blinking LED gadget
– basic sewing: learn to run a sewing machine, and make a utility belt with a holster-style bottle holder
– slightly less basic sewing: make a pair of raver-style fur leggings
– project: laserfingers
– project: laser hand-fans
– project: light-up water bottle
– project: sew your own custom-fitted kimono-style playa coat

It’s just about spring, and it’s time to get my motorcycle fixed up. My attention is focused elsewhere right now, and I don’t really feel like tinkering with it myself: Seattle riders, can you recommend a good shop for a slightly ratty ’82 Yamaha? It needs a carb adjustment, a new valve cover gasket, and a bunch of electrical work.

I spent the afternoon yesterday working on a vest for Jenna B. This is my first attempt at designing a top for a woman’s figure, and I had to learn how to make darts. Using a dress form makes a big difference! I think that part of what excites me about sewing is that I have the opportunity to pick up a new skill on almost every project I tackle.

Last night was the last Oracle party. They took over the whole CHAC, upstairs and downstairs, and put so much work into decoration that it was difficult to recognize the place. I spent the night marvelling at the energy and enthusiasm practically everyone there had put into their outfits. It was a really happy, creative, friendly party, and at least one of the three dance rooms was always playing something I could get into.

I wore my dark red fur / suspenders / hat outfit. The leggings are supposed to have lights, but I couldn’t find a pair of matching light packs. I don’t know where they all went. I guess I will have to make some new ones; anyway, I have a new design I’ve been wanting to try out. Instead of legging-lights, I scrubbed some of the playa dust off my old standby, the LAVI laser pack. I’ve been wearing it out dancing for three years now, so it doesn’t excite me much anymore, but the point is really to watch other people get a kick out of it, and it still works well at that.

More music last night, with Michael H. The gig rack worked as I’d hoped it would – setup took maybe five minutes. I have a compressor running on the Repeater’s output now, which really makes things easier. I still have to worry about relative track levels, but I can start with a couple of quiet loops and build up to a wall of noise without overwhelming the drum machine along the way.

It was snowing out, and we were in a down-tempo mood, so we played a lot of trippy, spacey, twisted-up stuff. At one point Michael suggested turning off the beats altogether, and we went off into the drone zone for thirty or forty minutes. It’s all pretty weird and experimental, but it’s a direction I am excited about.

Spring is making its way in. I’m done travelling for a while. The shop is coming together. Life is good. I feel a lot of creative energy right now, and intend to spend a lot of time over the next month making music, creating clothes, and ramping up the Rocket Factory.

Dawn invited me over last night to jam with her new band. It was not a great musical fit, but it is always fun to get out and play. Tonight I’m heading over to Michael H.’s place for another round of improvised loops and beats. I’m adding a compressor and a drum machine to the mix, and intend to focus more on dynamics changes, doing more distinct builds and breaks.

I went over to Nancy’s Sewing Basket on Queen Anne yesterday. I’ve been frustrated by the limited range and generally low quality of the material available at Pacific Fabrics (and especially Joann’s!); Stitches has great stuff, but it’s a very small store with an accordingly limited selection. Apparently Nancy’s is the source I’ve been missing. I chose two shades of blue wool gabardine for the shell and a nice shimmery tan silk for the lining. This will become a hip-length, double-breasted jacket with a banded collar, epaulets, and a whole lot of details I don’t know the names for.

I went over to Michael H.’s place on Thursday for another evening of music-making. This time I brought my Repeater and some other gear along with the keyboard, so I could record multiple layers of sound and let them loop. This worked really well with Michael’s computer setup, and we jammed for about an hour and a half straight. It was fun. I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes next.

I need to make my music system more portable. I have looked at various gig racks but they are all too big, too awkward, or too ugly. I decided that specific needs demanded a specialized solution, and spent the afternoon today building a custom console box. If I set it just above and in back of my keyboard, this will put all the most important controls right at finger’s reach. All the wiring will go inside the box, so I can leave all the devices connected to each other, and setting up somewhere will be a matter of connecting the keyboard, the audio output, and one single power cord.