The Only Thing I Hate About Python

Let's get this straight: I love Python. It's a fantastic language that maps particularly well to the way that I think. I find it so comfortable to work in that it seems like I have always known the language, even though it's been less than 2 years.

The only thing that I hate is a small detail about the python interpreter, to wit:


Brent-MacPro:~ $python
Python 2.4.4 (#1, Oct 18 2006, 10:34:39)
[GCC 4.0.1 (Apple Computer, Inc. build 5341)] on darwin
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> quit
'Use Ctrl-D (i.e. EOF) to exit.'
>>> exit
'Use Ctrl-D (i.e. EOF) to exit.'


So, the implementors of the interpreter decide to implement the 'quit' and 'exit' commands as indirections: "Oh, so you want to quit? Well you're doing it wrong, type some cryptic key combination instead of the absolutely clear command you just typed." Who thinks like that?

Argh. I type 'quit' or 'exit' Every. Single. Time. I. Need. To. Quit.

Local Mexican

We went out for dinner last night to El Taco, a little hole-in-the-wall 'authentic Mexican' place on Davie Street north of Granville. I have been looking for a place to get decent Mexican food since my other new favorite Mexican place (Chilo's) was forced to close down for food safety reasons. I guess that's one thing you have to be careful of... sometimes authentic food is actually illegal. Chilo's made the greasiest soft taco imaginable for $1.50 and it was absolutely delicious.

Anyway, El Taco was unfortunately nothing very special. The quesadilla was marginal. I had a tamale that was marginal, and some chorizo soup that was marginal. In sum, it seemed pretty expensive, too, but maybe that's the price you pay for a kitchen that's up to code.

Noodle Surfing

Went swimming with the kids yesterday, and invented a great new game to keep the little ones amused: noodle surfing.

Take one extra-floaty pool noodle, and try to stand on it, staying upright in the pool while balancing on the noodle. It takes a few tries to get the hang of it, and you can always make a big show of "falling" off. The kids will laugh at you, which is fun. If you do fall off, try to arrange for the noodle to go shooting up into the air dramatically, rather than just floating to the surface.

If you manage to stay afloat on the noodle, the next challenge is to swim from one end of the pool to the other while staying balanced. This is a little easier than getting on in the first place, but also offers plenty of opportunities for dramatic failure. Try it! Fun!