For years... nay, decades... I've been attempting to work in a paper free environment. I didn't even realize I'd achieved this goal until my wife visited my office and made the observation. No one here has any paperwork on their desks. Everyone's desk's are clear... except mine. Subconsciously, I've replaced all the missing stacks of paper with toys. Lots of Legos, a ball puzzle, a Yoda statue, and a pair of Hulk Hands. Lego sets include Hulk Buster armor, Darth Vader, and the Apollo 11. I rotate regularly with other sets: Star Destroyer, Millennium Falcon, X-Wing Fighter, etc. I also make sure a jar of jelly beans remains stocked at all times. I'm just curious what sort of desk toys do you guys prefer? Or do you think them a waste of time?

____________________________________________________ I'd rather have a frontal lobotomy than a bottle in front of me... Bill W

I made a home server a few years ago when faced with the same conundrum. It has since Frankensteined into a full blown Plex Media server, but it all started from humble beginnings.

____________________________________________________ I'd rather have a frontal lobotomy than a bottle in front of me... Bill W

In a way, I've taken 25 years to get my degree. After a failed attempt to be a classical musician, I bailed the college scene and went to technical school. After a few years in the real world, I was moved into engineering because I worked for a lazy engineer who had me do all his work for him. But, with the latest round of economic hickups, I've had a very hard time securing a job at the engineering level without the degree, so at 43, I started college again. Since it's been over 20 years since any credit is valid, I'm starting from scratch. I'm working full time and taking 13 hours per semester along with every compressed and summer course available. I'll have my Associates by next May, enough pre-requisites to transfer to a "real" school in another year, then 2 more to finish up. So, I'm looking at 5 year total to get a sheet of paper saying I'm qualified to do what I've been doing for the last 20 years. :| But, I'll be damned if the lack of a B.S. will stand in my way again!!!

____________________________________________________ I'd rather have a frontal lobotomy than a bottle in front of me... Bill W

So you're on friendly terms with the German?

____________________________________________________ I'd rather have a frontal lobotomy than a bottle in front of me... Bill W

I have to agree with the comment that Sudoku helps. It really was just a matter of elimination. Like most others here, I used Excel just to visually provide a canvas. I laid out all the clues as if they were pieces of a puzzle. With exception of one possible variable (the dreaded water drinker) they all fit nicely together. All said, I was done in under 10 minutes.

____________________________________________________ I'd rather have a frontal lobotomy than a bottle in front of me... Bill W

I've been carrying a laptop for the better part of the last 10 years. It's always been a trade-off between functionality and portability. As an engineer, I will always opt for more power. I recently switched my desktop at work for a 17" performance laptop since I go out into the field quite a bit. I have no intention of pulling this puppy out in an airport or just casually sitting around with it on my lap. My sole intention is to use this ONLY as a desktop replacement. And it's a good thing since the batter barely lasts over an hour at full speed (and is there any other way to run a computer?) When I get where I need to be, I set it up on a desk or surface, and get to work. I have however, found the joys of netbooks. I bought an Asus netbook for my girlfriend in January and absolutely love it. With a battery that lasts 14 FLIPPIN HOURS and a chassis that's solid as a rock, it is the ultimate in portability. As long as I have no mis-guided intention of compiling an application or drafting anything, it works great to browse and watch movies from my server or over Netflix. Conclusion... use the right tool for the right job. I only wish the right tool didn't weigh so much as I'm jogging between connecting flights with my desktop replacement strapped to me. :D

____________________________________________________ I'd rather have a frontal lobotomy than a bottle in front of me... Bill W

You need a sabbatical. I've done it twice in my career. Walk away for at least a year. In my first one, I built a house in the middle of nowhere with NO tech. No TV, no dishwasher, no clothes dryer, and a wood stove. I raised chickens and farmed for a year. It was hard work and I got my head straight. My second sabbatical was less of a chosen after I got laid off and just couldn't find work. I was doing lots of contract work and one day they just stopped rolling in and I was left on the other side of the country away from everyone I knew. With just a few hundred dollars, I lived out of my car and tent in state parks. I used what I learned from my first go and provided my own food. In both cases, I re-entered the industry with a fresh perspective and a great sense of priorities. Technology just for technology's sake will burn anyone out over time. The real life occurs when you step away from your computer. I don't recommend this for everyone, but for me it's like heaven to be free of the bonds of the great digital race.

____________________________________________________ I'd rather have a frontal lobotomy than a bottle in front of me... Bill W

John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

No, and don't call me Shirley...

ummm.... you forgot to bold Shirley...

____________________________________________________ I'd rather have a frontal lobotomy than a bottle in front of me... Bill W

Interesting... the post erased the "" command after the vector designation. Hope it doesn't with this text. Otherwise, I'm going to end up looking quite foolish. :D

____________________________________________________ I'd rather have a frontal lobotomy than a bottle in front of me... Bill W

Thanks a lot. The vector was the key to what I was looking for. I'm using CString, though. But it all works fine. My question about adding to the array was concerning changing the size of the array. The vector makes that easy with the push_back command. Also, returning the value from the function required that I make the type of the return as a vector:

std::vector CNCLine::LineSplitter(CString LineIn)
{
std::vector strOut;
... code
return strOut;
}

Works like clockwork. Thanks for the direction.

____________________________________________________ I'd rather have a frontal lobotomy than a bottle in front of me... Bill W

Wonderful. I really appreciate it. I'd rather have a frontal lobotomy than a bottle in front of me. - Bill W.

I'd love to have one of those invites if you have any left. Don't have any snappy patter or interesting bid items off the top of my head for entertainment though. I've had my head too deep in ancient C++ code too long to be "fresh". markus dot randel @ gmail. Thanks in advance.

I've already written my code in C# and it works. But to integrate it into our product, I have to re-write it C++ 6.0. I'm very weak here and am lost. My problem is this: I start with a line extracted from a file. The string contains a variable number of individual commands consisting of one letter followed by a number. In C# my code is built like this:

private string[] LineSplitter(string LineIn){
if (LineIn == "")
return null;
string[] strOut = new string[0];
int i = 0;
string strChar;
do
{
...code to locate length of number following letter
} while ((isNumeric(strChar)) && (i + 1 < LineIn.Length));
strOut = (string[])ResizeArray(strOut, strOut.Length + 1);
strOut[strOut.Length - 1] = LineIn.Substring(0, i);
LineIn = LineIn.Substring(i);
} while (LineIn.Length > 0);
return strOut;
}

(And I'm sorry for putting C# in a C++ group, but I'm looking for the C++ equivalent) Here are my questions... 1. How do I declare the function as string array? 2. How do I increment array elements until I'm done? Each line can have a variable number of elements. 3. How do I return the result. Please be gentle. I'm struggling with C++ and this is my first post. I'm wrestling through the majority of everything else in this process, but this has my brain in a pickle.