Redefinition


Since I’ve just started out this new blog, I felt that it’s time to reinvigorate myself and also have a better plan what I want to talk about in this venue. Lately it’s been far between the posts, and I’ve mostly just written without any kind of plan. That’s supposed to change.

I do have ideas for what I want to write about. Specifically, I have three different projects that I’m in different stages with. All of these will generate lots of content as soon as I release any of them. So those I’m definitely going to write about. This is going to be lots of language oriented stuff. Both the DSL variety and the full general purpose language variety.

But until then I need your input. I’d like to know what kind of posts you want to see more of, what kind of subjects interest you the most, and so on. I’m quite versatile and touch on lots of subjects in my daily life, so it’s more or less up to you. If I don’t get any input I’ll just write whatever I feel like. As an example of things I could definitely focus more on, here’s a list of subjects that lie close to my heart:

  • Ruby metaprogramming
  • Ruby nooks and crannies
  • Anything regarding JRuby
  • Security with Ruby
  • Security with Java
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Programming languages in general, type theory and things like that
  • DSLs

This list is just a sample, though. Give me your opinions in the comments. If I don’t get any comments I’ll either think no one is interested, or just keep on writing whatever I want. =



First post


I am very happy to write the first post on my new blog. Of course, it’s got the same name as the old one, the same author, and the same history. But it’s still a new blog – just look at the layout! It’s completely different!

I chose WordPress as my blogging system. It was the solution that seemed the be the most fully featured, without being too complicated to handle. So if you’re reading this, you have already found this place. Remember to add the feed to your reader. Oh, and the feed from wordpress automatically redirects to feedburner, just so you know.

The plan is to add some other kinds of content to olabini.com, as soon as I have some time to set up the initial structure. I’ll probably talk about it more when it happens.

The blog is dead, long live the blog.



Fractured blogging


My blogging in the future will be a little bit fractured (or more fractured, some might say), since I have been invited to write at Inside Java for APress. The address is http://java.apress.com and I do recommend that you subscribe to the feed if you’re interested in Java or associated technologies. My first posting was about the two closure proposals for Java 7, and I will try to focus my posting there to be more Java specific, mostly in article format. But if I write anything I deem to be exceptionally good, I promise to link from here to there.

Go subscribe now!



The obligatory meta-blog post.


So, this is post number 100, since I started blogging. And that’s almost exactly one year ago. Isn’t that interesting? I’ve been writing something here each 3.65’th day. Often it’s been uninteresting, very often indifferent, but sometimes I have manage to write something that people liked. So, I’m happy about this small anniversary.

So, I plan to do what almost every blogger do at least once: turn the writing process inwards and investigate why people blog, why the person in question blogs, and perhaps, if we are really META, why the current blog post is actually written. Hopefully I’ll know why I’ve written this by the end of this post. Otherwise, it’ll probably be something indifferent or boring.

Let’s begin. “Why blog?”, the general question. When I started out, I had no real goal. I knew that I wanted to get better at technical writing and that was largely it. I hoped I would get some new contacts and interesting discussions but the base reason was for the writing ability. As such, I wouldn’t have to write public; I could hone my writing skill in my basement and never publish anything to the (sometimes scary) scrutinizing eyes of the public. But that’s the problem. If I didn’t publish it, I wouldn’t have as much incentive to become better. Now I absolutely have to get better at writing, otherwise I will feel ashamed about the filth that will for all time be remembered by Google.

That’s reason number one. The second reason, that I’ve come to realize this last year but didn’t know when I started out, is that I learn by writing about a subject. If it’s a technical topic I basically have to research the topic quote thoroughly, so I won’t look like a fool. And that is really good, that is incredibly good. I have learned very much by writing about things I find interesting. The first learning when I research and think about what I should write, and the second learning when people read it and comment and correct me.

Reason number three can be thought of as hubris. I believe that some of the things I know can be useful for other to know, and I believe that some of the problems and bugs I uncover in open software should be documented somewhere so others won’t have to go through the same bug finding escapades as I did on that subject.

And here’s where we come to the point. The point is that if you’re working with software (or with anything where information sharing is important, really), you should write about. Because the writing benefits you and it benefits me. If you find a problem, write about it. Doesn’t matter if someone actually reads it or not, for the most important aspects of writing is about yourself.

Steve Yegge wrote about this in his “Blog Or Get Of The Pot”, and also in one of this older blogs (“Why you should blog” I believe it’s called).

Coda: Why did I write this post? To make it clear in my head why I blog. To make it obvious and explicit why I do it. So that’s what this post is about, and it’s a recursive post since it talks about itself. I’m satisfied.