definition of baller

Originally 'baller' meant the riches attained through playing basketball (I make that shit up but it sounds plausible). Now you hear atrocities like 'baller-ass wall street banker'.

Fuck that shit. This is the definition of baller:



Swimming and playing with lions. I can imagine nothing more manly.
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an evil python bug

Not actually a bug in python, more pebkac.

In python there is a built-in dictionary type that you can access with bracket notation (e.g foo['bar']). However, doing this gets you an error when you try and look up a key that's not there. It's a pain to have to keep writing 'if key in dict:...', but luckily, python dictionaries have a built in get() method that will return None instead of erroring out. This is useful if you're looking for duplicates in a list, for example, using dictionaries to remember what you've seen.


Sometimes, though, this behavior isn't enough. What if you want all values to default to 1? Luckily get lets you specify a default value. So if you say dict.get(key, 1) your values will never be None, instead they'll be 1 if there's no key in the dictionary. Right?

Wrong :( get() can still return None, and this was crashing my script. How the hell does dict.get(key, 'blahblahblah') ever return None? The solution eluded me for about an hour and a half on Friday. I wracked my brains with frustration and came up with nothing until a coworker pointed out the blindly obvious. Sucks how it works out that way - the longer you try to debug, the more likely it is to be a retarded basic logic fail that has been staring you in the eye the whole time. I now understand why my office has a ping pong table, nerf guns, and a shuffleboard table, among other distractions - it's because sitting there programming the whole time basically guarantees you'll run into one of these. Also the lack of cubicles - being able to talk to someone and have them look at code with fresh eyes really helps.

Turns out, the value for key in my case was in fact, None. RAGE.

But part of becoming a good developer is learning to be detail-oriented enough so that little shits like these can't trip you up. One down, many more to go...

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Retail bankers

An NYU girl (A Stern business major) was sharing various NYC nightlife stories with me when we were at the bar. This was by far the best one. And if you don't get it, you're part of the joke.

• "So this guy at the bar started talking to us. He thought we were just stupid dressed-up girls, so he tried his best 2007-era pick-up line. 'I work at a bank.' My friend and I give each other that look where we tacitly agree that he's a douchebag, we but decide to humor him.
          'Oh wow, so where do you work?'
          'Wachovia.'
          '....BWAHAHAHAHAHHAAH, OKAY RETAIL BANKER'"

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Summarz

Summer: -> go home -> dick around for a few days -> that ends -> bored out of my mind. Resume brogging.


Maybe it's just me, but every break since sophomore year of college has degenerated into this pattern. The breaks of my friends from LA never really match up, and this time everyone's abroad. I see it coming every time, too. I have to prepare beforehand, during the last week before break starts. The classic 1 book/3 movies/1 game pattern. "Okay, so I've got Jurassic Park to read, and I have a few classic movies (Manchurian Candidate, this time) I've been meaning to watch. Reinstall Portal, that was pretty cool, there's some more achievements I can get. And then I maybe visit UCLA once. Reformat some family computers. Call it a break."

No, no no no, no no.

Now that all of the above is done, I feel like I'm staving off Alzheimer's by trying to keep occupied at home. Here I am, voluntarily reading lecture notes for a class I tested out of and won't have to take in an effort to feel caught up for when I take the next class in the series. In a month. Summer school. I'm summer-reading-prepping for a summer school class. Shit, I wasn't built for long breaks. What the hell do people DO in their spare time?

Lucky that the other broggers are all caught up full-time in their respective internships. I envy them. So. Backup plan. I have the entire intarwebz to keep me company. I've heard good things about this blog, but this is one of the first posts that was decently interesting for me. I also have all the time in the world to learn about, say, investing. Here we go, day trading.

On second thought, maybe I'm feeling guilty for relaxing...on my break. When all else fails, burn a day at the beach... Read More......

Liveblogging the Obama GM press conference

Sorry we let the brog die, royar forrowers.

I just moved into Park Slope in Brooklyn and I have a couple of days before my internship starts. I'm watching CNBC and all the anchors are JIMP'ing about the stock market rally. In 50 minutes, Obama will be having a press conference about what's going on with GM. For all the idiots that live under a rock, GM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy at 8:00am Eastern and the US Treasury owns 60% of the company.

11:10 - Kudlow is JIMP'ing about all of the economic indicators that say everything is butterflies and sunflowers. OMG durable goods OMG transportation index up OMG consumer discretionary up. BTW the guy he's interviewing has too much blush on.
11:13 - Kudlow keeps repeating "Little green cars that nobody wants to buy," likely talking about the fuel-efficient cars that Obama is going to force GM to manufacture.
11:16 - Steve Liesman says that Geithner emphasizes the imporance of China in laying the foundations for the global economic recovery. No vein popping out just yet, though.
11:20 - Will China keep buying US Treasuries? "Clearly the world is shifting its views on US debt, Chinese are very concerned about US debt, they said so at the beginning of the year, but what do you do with a bad position? They're long US dollars and long US Treasuries. At some point the Chinese have to let everyone know they're not going to keep buying these things".
Note: The chick keeps asking questions that try to hook in the Joe Sixpacks: "How does this affect the average investor looking to buy Treasuries?" "But isn't China's economy fundamentally linked the the American consumer's demand?"
11:28 - Reporter in Victorville, CA, VICTORLINVILLE????? "What do dealerships do now?" "We keep selling cars to the best of our ability. It's all we can do. It's all we know how to do."
11:30 - Dealer subsidies are huuuuuuuuuuge, that's why they are getting shut down left and right
11:35 - Schatz of Heritage capital: "This rally is sustainable, I think we're going to at least 9,000, maybe 9,500, maybe 10,000"
11:36 - Kudlow: "Construction up 3 straight months, nobody thought that was possible"
11:37 - Long term bearish case: "We're setting the stage for inflation, we don't have the bullets to kill inflation, how is the Fed going to stop inflation if we have to keep rates low to continue housing recovery?" The bitch: "What is long term? Labor day? End of the year?"

• these companies were facing a crisis decades in the making


• relied on loans from the previous administration (potshot at Bush)


• i would not put any more tax dollars on the line if it meant perpetuating bad business decision


• not permanent wards of the state


• recognize the importance of the well-being of our auto industry to the well-being of the country


• collapse of these companies would be devastating for countless Americans and be devastating for our economy


• good for American workers, manufacturing, good for economy


• if GM and Chrysler stakeholders were willing to sacrifice for the company, then the US government would stand behind them


• earlier plan did not not the necessary restructuring


• after consulting with my auto task force, I became convinced if they were allowed to undergo a restructuring and form a partnership with a global car company, they could get a new lease on life: new Chrysler is poised to complete its alliance with Fiat. Court has approved the Chrysler, Fiat alliance, emerging from bankruptcy in few more days

OMG STOCK MARKET RISING WHILE OBAMA SPEAKS

• people were wrong about a quick bankruptcy being impossible, people were wrong about car sales dropping off a cliff when Chrysler went bankrupt


• GM is different; much larger, much more complex, needs to streamline brands, clean up balance sheet, GM and its stakeholders have produced a viable, achievable plan that will give this iconic company a plan to move towards profitability


• GM will start building a bigger share of cars at home, including fuel efficient cars***


• Deal that has worked out is tough, but fair: Unions take pay and benefit cuts


• Shareholders give up remaining value of their shares


• unsecured bondholders get substantially more than if the government had not intervened


• executing plan will take substiantial money that only the government can provide


• the governments of canada and ontario will help to provide an investment


• government of germany has reached an understanding for the sale of an overseas stake


• We inherited a financial crisis unlike any we have seen in our time. Survival ane success of our overall economy depends on it. "Reluctant shareholders"


• US government will not make decisions for GM


• US government will get out quickly.


• Fleet modernization subsidy???

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