Progress

I got PyDev installed, which is the Python addin for Eclipse. I then followed the instruction here, along with some judicious playing around and googling this error I can now step through my Python code while it executes - which means I can hit "post" on a webform and then see the new page being produced and check where the data is going. Which is going to be pretty much vital for getting anything productive done.

I understand that there are people out there who can work out what's going wrong in their code without that - heck I've done it myself from time to time, back in the dark ages, but it's a hell of a lot faster to go to the point where the data is set and see what it is, and then work through the various points where it's possibly being affected. Adding in logging is such a huge amount of extra effort that is thankfully completely unnecessary with modern tools.

Anyway, that's a good next step. Tomorrow is for experimenting with reading and writing data, and seeing how that all hangs together. And then looking into Python libraries to see what RSS-handling options I have.

John Cleese talks about Proportional Representation

Is there a more recent version of something like this?

via pseudomonas

The best movie I've seen this year

Went to see Kick-Ass last week, with meaningrequired, werejud, cairmen, Alex, Ian and Mike from Cambridge who was up visiting.

It was fantastic. It's smart enough to undermine the superhero genre while also revelling in it. It tells you how superhero stories work, brings you onside in finding them ridiculous and then does one so well that you get completely caught up in it.

Three quarters of it takes you through how messed up a person would have to be to be a superhero, the problems they'd have and the way it couldn't possibly work, and one quarter operatic, balletic action-fest that lead to everyone leaving the cinema on a complete high.

It managed to make me laugh. And make me cry. At the same time.

It comes out in America on the 16th. Go see it.

(Warning, movie contains scenes of violence. And swearing. If you don't like either of those things then this it not for you.)

Delicious LiveJournal Links for 4-11-2010

• 15 Charts About Wealth And Inequality In America
  (tags: economics politics poverty statistics capitalism corporations usa)
• How relativity makes Gold golden
  (tags: physics science gold colour relativity)
• The album art of Storm Thorgerson
  (tags: video art design music)
• Tea Party Jesus
  Genius!
  (tags: politics funny jesus usa)