My youngest son likes to eat a fortune cookie as a snack.  I’ve been trying to put on some weight, so I decided to have one, too.  I popped one out of its plastic wrapper, then crunched the two halves apart.  Pulling out the slip of paper, I anticipated reading some vague prediction that might serve as a not-too-serious guide for my day.  It read:

You will read this and think, “Geez, I could come up with better fortunes than that!”

Truly, a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I heard a piece on NPR the other day that claimed that fortune cookies were not Chinese at all.  Rather, they were brought to America by Japanese immigrants.  When the Japanese on the West Coast were interned during Word War II, the Chinese restaurants picked up on the popular oriental after-dinner treats – and that’s how they became associated with Chinese food.

I turned to my son and asked, “So, what did you get in yours?”

“Paper.”

• Masked coder saves the day with updates to tee utility for Windows — Chip’s Tips for Developers
  Who was that masked man, anyway?
  Tags: chipstips tee utility windows anonymouscoward
• Amazon.co.uk: Profile For Dr. M von Vogelhausen: Reviews
  The Amazon review as a framework for humor.
  Thanks, Jim
  Tags: amazon humor
• Is independent consulting dead? | IT Consultant | TechRepublic.com
  I've got a pulse.
  Tags: consulting techrepublic

• The Development of the C Language
  A history, by Dennis Ritchie
  Via the Code Project.
  Tags: c programming ritchie history
• Synthesis 2.0.2: more improvements to regexen, lists, and code coverage — Chip’s Tips for Developers
  I wonder how many total hours programmers around the world and over the years have spent tuning sort algorithms…
  Tags: chipstips synthesis synergyde sorting regex codecoverage
• Chad Perrin: SOB » Business Terms Explained
  Makes me glad I'm self-employed.
  Tags: apotheon business humor

A psychologist told me many years ago that rather than getting out and doing things, I prefer to (as he put it) “sit in the catbird’s seat” and critique all the options.  He may have been right about that, but I’ve often wondered about his choice of metaphor.

Have you ever actually seen any bird… sit?  In a seat?  I don’t know about you, but to me the whole sitting concept seems completely out of the avian character.  Their hip bones just aren’t right for it.  They can blame the dinosaurs for that.  You never see an artist’s conception of a Tyrannosaurus kicked back in a La-Z-Boy, now do you?  No, it’s not working for him.  It might be relaxing for you and me, but for T-Rex it’s just not comfortable.  No place for the tail, arms too short to reach the lever – what was the idiot who designed this thing thinking?

And why a “catbird?”  What does that have to do with smugness?  The catbirds I grew up hearing were so named because they mewed like a cat — that doesn’t sound so smart to me.  What conversation could an intelligent bird possibly want to have with a cat?  Maybe something along the lines of “No birds in this tree, Snowball – I already checked.”  I can tell you, though, if you’re a bird trying to speak Feline, you’d better be sure you have the local dialect down.  You don’t want to accidentally invite Felix and friends over to dinner.

I suppose this post proves the psychologist’s point.  Naturally, Wikipedia has all the answers – if you can believe them.

• Phil Factor’s Phrenetic Phoughts : The Seven Phases towards Craziness in IT Development Groups
  Too true to be comfortable, but hilarious.
  Tags: development productivity projectmgt philfactor
• Engineering a Sort Algorithm

  Tags: quicksort system:filetype:pdf system:media:document

• flor.nl – text-only – drug-dealers vs software developers
  Thanks, Stu
  Tags: humor programming drugs

• Using Elance or oDesk as a source for IT consulting leads | IT Consultant | TechRepublic.com
  "Goin' down to the river, when the well runs dry"
  Tags: techrepublic consulting elance odesk
• Using Fibonacci Numbers to Convert from Miles to Kilometers and Vice Versa – good coders code, great reuse
  Easy, because everyone has the Fibonacci sequence memorized to at least five digits.
  Tags: geek mathematics fibonacci conversion goldenratio
• Google Defends Against Large Scale Chinese Cyber Attack: May Cease Chinese Operations
  Google finally shows some non-evil backbone
  Tags: google censorship security china
• Synergy-e-News Quiz for Jan. 12, 2010: Getting UTC
  It's about time
  Tags: synergyde synergex quiz utc

Yes, it’s my bloggiversary today – four years since the first post here on Chip’s Quips.  While I’m not as ancient and established as some of my fellow bloggers, 48 months exceeds the longevity of the majority of blogs.  It’s as long as the term of office for the US President, which prompts the question: “would you re-elect this blog?”  Sorry, I don’t have any bribes or promises to fix all the country’s woes with which to gain your vote.

Only 191 new posts graced this space over the last year, down from 321 the year before.  Only 42 of those were more than just link posts, so well under one per week.  I’d like to post more, but I’ve just been far too busy with work and other stuff.  I’m not going to beat myself up about that, though.  I write here because I love it, and I don’t want to smother that love with the pillow of obligation.

Despite my reduced posting, our conversations here have generated 743 comments (not counting spam, which was about an order of magnitude greater).  Thanks to all my readers for not giving up on me.

Here were the five most popular posts for the last year, measured in page views:

1. You can’t handle the truth
2. My Dad, the phone phreaker
3. Extreme Snakes and Ladders
4. I’d add more, but the web already has too much ADD
5. Backstage humor

And here are my personal favorite five:

1. Thanks, Wally
2. The winning season
3. No harm
4. Thoughts on MLK day
5. Newspaper obituary

As you can see, I lean towards the more emotional pieces, even though I’ve been accused of not being in touch with my emotions.  Perhaps that’s why.

Here are links to the three previous annual celebrations.  Onward, into year five!

• Exceptions to the rules of consulting engagements | IT Consultant | TechRepublic.com
  Never make exceptions (except when you have to).
  Tags: techrepublic consulting exceptions
• Pergelator: Quote of the Day
  Pretty well nails it.
  Tags: programming quotations
• » txt.io | sterlingcamden
  Read my first (and probably last) post on txt.io for my take on this service.
  Tags: txtio microblogging minimal

• CreditCardOlogy: What do the numbers say about you?
  Don't enter you real number — trust me on this.
  Tags: credit numerology scam leonbambrick humor
• Thieves in Sweden steal left shoes to match stolen right shoes from Denmark – Telegraph
  There's a Monty Python skit in here somewhere.
  Tags: shoes sweden denmark theft
• CodeProject: The Lounge. Joke of the Day
  An adaptive algorithm.
  Tags: codeproject humor programming

• There, I Fixed It: Epic Kludges + Jury Rigs New Year’s Resolution: Make Music, Not Debt «
  Save money two ways at once.
  Tags: kludge guitarpicks credit
• 10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling | Don’t mind Rick
  Your sure to think Its funnier then alot of spelling guides out their.
  Thanks, Arjan.
  Tags: spelling grammar
• Synthesis 2.0.1: chasing bugs out of the woodwork with coverage analysis — Chip’s Tips for Developers
  Debugger, debug thyself
  Tags: chipstips synergyde codecoverage synthesis regexen