Author: Leon

Automated unit tests from Asis

Post author By Leon
Post date April 12, 2014

This tool allows you to periodically grab stack traces and record calls to a library that are then saved as unit tests. It’s a shortcut to getting coverage for a library that’s already in production and stable.

zavg/Asis · GitHub

Asis – Tool to deal efficiently with legacy code through creating and running characterization tests automatically.

The main idea is the following: while user or tester is using your product (for example, Web site) the Asis tool records the function calls which are performed, the sets of arguments which are passed to the function and the received output. Output can be any, starting from strings, integers, HTML, JSON and finishing with serialized objects with complex internal structure. We don’t care what we receive – we just record it and approve as correct result, because we know that we are working with the stable release version.

Psychology

Psychology Links

Post author By Leon
Post date April 5, 2014

Here’ are some links to articles about psychology that caught my interest in the past several months.

For Depression, Prescribing Exercise Before Medication – Olga Khazan – The Atlantic

Aerobic activity has shown to be an effective treatment for many forms of depression. So why are so many people still on antidepressants?
Why People Work For Rewards They’ll Never Get to Enjoy | Hazlitt

Why do rich people work so much?

The quick, glib answer is that hard work is what made them rich in the first place. But then, why keep grinding away? At what point does it make sense to stop accumulating riches and start enjoying them? Are we even capable of knowing when enough is enough?
Rethinking schizophrenia: Taming demons without drugs – health – 06 February 2014 – New Scientist

Antipsychotic drugs may do more harm than good. The tide is turning towards gentler methods, from talking therapies to brain training
The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder – NYTimes.com

Diagnoses have soared as makers of the drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have found success with a two-decade marketing campaign.
BBC News – How much can an extra hour’s sleep change you?

The average Briton gets six-and-a-half hours’ sleep a night, according to the Sleep Council. Michael Mosley took part in an unusual experiment to see if this is enough.

Education News

Homeschooling Links

Post author By Leon
Post date April 2, 2014

I’m sitting on a pile of links I intended to share going back to September when I got really busy. Here are some I saved related to homeschooling and education. We kept Tre home this school year and a few months later took Henry out of public school. So far, it’s working out well, though there are definitely challenges.

My Daughter’s Homework Is Killing Me – Atlantic Mobile

What happens when a father, alarmed by his 13-year-old daughter’s nightly workload, tries to do her homework for a week
200 Free Kids Educational Resources: Lessons, Apps, Books, Websites… | Open Culture

Get free K-12 video lessons; mobile apps; audiobooks, ebooks and textbooks; foreign language lessons; test prep materials; and web resources!
Teach kids programming — Medium

I’ve been gathering the best resources to teach children & teens programming?—?books, environments, apps, courseware and games.

These resources are meant for teachers and parents who want to have their children fall in love with computers and see the magic of programming.
Homeschooled: How American Homeschoolers Measure Up

A look at the history, performance and outcomes of the American homeschooling movement.
Report: Attendance Crisis in California, Martinez USD Truancy Rate Higher Than Statewide Number – Schools – Martinez, CA Patch

Contra Costa is one of nine counties statewide with an elementary school truancy rate greater than 25 percent, according to a new report by the state Attorney General.
4 Free Websites Where You Can Learn The Basics Of Game Development

Over a decade ago, I taught myself the basics of game programming and game development through the limited tutorial resources I could find on the Internet. Since then, the landscape of game development has changed drastically, and anyone can start creating their own games within weeks with a few Google searches. But let’s say you want to start developing your own games but don’t know where to start. Where do you go?

Education News

Free Lessons from the James Randi Educational Foundation

Post author By Leon
Post date February 3, 2014

These look to be great resources for fellow homeschoolers.

New “JREF in The Classroom” Lessons!

The James Randi Educational Foundation is pleased to announce the release of four new additions to our JREF in the Classroom offerings:

Pareidolia: Do You See What You Think You See?

Illusions: Our Visual System

Cognition: Are You Rational?

Power Balance: Sports Enhancement, or Placebo?

These are downloadable lesson plans for use in high school and junior high school science and psychology classes that use topics in pseudoscience and the paranormal to teach critical thinking, skepticism, and scientific inquiry. Each lesson is designed to expose students to concepts identified in the National Science Content Standards and AAAS science literacy benchmarks.

News

Pettibon Interviewed by The Guardian

Post author By Leon
Post date February 2, 2014

Some truths are only safely speakable as art.

Raymond Pettibon: punk with a pencil | Art and design | The Guardian

His artwork for Black Flag and Sonic Youth helped define the punk aesthetic. Now he’s taking aim at the US government