I worked on one FoxPro app that was originally written by Vietnamese brothers named Minh and Man.

Have you read any of John Lescroart's books? They are set in and around San Francisco and describe the area so well it's like a character. They star lawyers and cops and were recommended to me by Tamar. My only complaint is they can be very repetitive, but I keep reading them. It has been over 20 years since I was in the Bay Area and these books make me want to visit again. They nail you to the spot like Ian Rankin's Edinburgh or Harlan Coben's New Jersey books.

>One of my places of employment was for the "preeminent" urine Analysis Company in the world! They hired me to resolve issues with their code. The previous programmer left the tag: “Ming”, in his code. It his comments you would find: “Ming was here”. Ming had a sense of humor, as all his variables were preceded with pp_. pp_Content, as an example.
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>The California Prisons tested inmates, with over three quarters failing, major companies had similar results. To reenlist in the military, you have to take a drug test. One sergeant failed the urine analysis, and was put in prison. He served six months until they found out that the results of his test were faulty. A second test was given and he passed. He was dishonorably discharged and not allowed to reenlist. He sued our company and won $6 million. I am sure that he would rather have had a correct result from the drug analysis.
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>Drug analysis is a difficult subject. It seems like there would be no problem attaining the desired results. Because of my experience I have doubts about the state of perfection that industry enjoys.
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>>I will point out that whole 'innocent until proven guilty' thing - which doesn't seem to hold true so much - so why should he 'confess' to something he actually might not have done?
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>>I really didn't pay that much attention to Ryan Braun until this whole thing came up, yet the one thing I did notice was that Ryan really doesn't fit the build, does he? There's no evidence of sudden bulking up, no personality change - none of the things that generally scream 'sumpin ain' right wit de boy'. The situation could honestly be a mistake in processing, etc. Since he's going to be tested ad naseum for the next decade, why don't we wait and see if something hinky turns up before we start flinging the 'pariah' title? By the end of the season I seriously doubt anyone will still be thinking of it - unless another failed test happens.
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>>>Switching to a more amiable topic: baseball. Well, more amiable usually. I said to Tamar yesterday that the baseball gods are p**sing on me. I think you know who my two favorite players are. Ryan Braun is now a pariah, probably for the rest of his career, and Tim Lincecum is getting rocked every time out. He has started three times and has as many bad starts as he normally has in a season.
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>>>I wish I could have given Braun some advice last fall. He would be a lot better off now. As it is everyone thinks he is guilty and got off on a technicality. It would have been far better IMO to take the 50 game suspension, admit he was doping with whatever it was, and say he made a mistake. He could go around, on his own dime, telling young athletes I was wrong and please don't make the same mistake I did. People will forgive someone who admits they were wrong and is repentant. What they don't like is a liar.
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>>>While eating my dinner one night last week I watched some of the Brewers' road opener at Wrigley Field. Braun was booed and mocked mercilessly. As you know, he was previously one of the most popular players in baseball, the golden child. This was a whole new ballgame. The camera caught one sign with pictures of Braun and Barry Bonds and the caption "Two of a kind." This is going to be the rest of his career if he doesn't repent.
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>>>Lincecum, I haven't turned on him, he is just getting knocked around. I have to think there is something wrong with his arm. People have always said his pitching motion is so unorthodox it's inevitable that he will have arm trouble. For sure it isn't normal for a guy who weighs 160 or 170 to throw the ball close to 100 mph. The Freak, they call him. Unfortunately he doesn't play for a manager who coddles his pitchers. I am FURIOUS at Bruce Bochy. The other night he put closer Brian Wilson (no, not that one) out there back to back in early April, throwing 32 pitches in the second game. Guess what? His arm is blown and he is gone for the season, at least. Managerial malpractice.
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>>>We should figure out a way to take in a game one of these days. Maybe even a minor league game. I could go for a weekend road trip sometime this summer. Maybe if we play our cards right we can talk Tamar (and others) into it. Tamar and I have batted around the idea of taking in a game at Miller Park or Citizens Bank Park. (Ballpark names have lost their poetry, but never mind). They both have the same incredibly cool tradition at Sunday afternoon home games. Kids whose names are drawn by lottery stand next to the position players for the national anthem. Their names and home towns are announced. Can you imagine how cool that is if you're a 10 year old kid, standing on the field next to Ryan Howard or whoever?