Programmer’s Diary

After spending a week on the Isle of Wight, I’ve finally returned to the civilized world. Thanks to Lawrence for recommending Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, although in the end I didn’t have enough time to finish reading it.

Programming Report

Most days I was up about an hour or so before everyone else, which proved to be my only chance to get any programming done. The only technology I had available was a Nintendo DS, with a R4 flash cartridge.

The R4 cartridge allows the DS to run downloaded homebrew software. DSOrganise is one of the best and includes an editor, IRC software and a simple web browser. Unfortunately, I never found a WiFi connection to use the Internet.

The DS turned out to be handy after all, since I downloaded the ANS 94 Forth Standard and eForth to the R4. I managed to implement a couple of dozen words in assembly over the week

First thing tomorrow I’ll be heading south to spend a week in the great outdoors. Although my laptop is staying at home, I’m planning to program something worthwhile with a handful of scrap paper and a few hand-written notes.

Since I didn’t have time to order a book about Forth, there’s still some space available in my rucksack. There’s a few on my bookshelf I haven’t read. Which should I take for inspiration and what should I leave at home to avoid the distraction?

• The Emperor’s New Mind, Roger Penrose
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig
• Unsolved Problems in Number Theory, Richard K. Guy
• For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway
• my tiny life, Julian Dibbell
• Crypto, Steven Levy