“A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.”
– John Barrymore

My theme: something about books, something about poetry, and something about tech – QA in specific. And D is Dynamic: D is for Da Vinci Code, Diminishing Verse and Defect

Entertainment Corner:

This letter was a tough one for me; I first thought of ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ but I had not read the book. And I did try to make an effort to read the book for this blog series here but could not muster enthusiasm to read past the first few pages somehow. So, that idea was down the drain. The movie however was one I did enjoy – a fun, easy watch.

Next up on my radar was Dumbo. It seemed perfect in fact, with the new Tim Burton adaptation of Dumbo out in theaters currently. But there was a problem – I had only read the Walt Disney version of the book (based on the movie) and the Little Golden Book.

As I looked into this further, I found that the original story upon which it is based was a story written to promote a Roll-a-Book idea and no physical copies of that exist.

However, a limited edition of a thousand prints were published with the story Dumbo the flying elephant by helen and harold with no reference to Disney at all in 1939. I found copies of this book (sold now) at an online auction site.

With no actual book (before the movie) to read, I vetoed this idea as well.

I would ask my readers which movie version they prefer though (if they have already been to the theaters to see the Tim Burton version!) – the original Disney animation or the Tim Burton live-action one. From what I have heard – the original is a clear winner.

D is Dynamic: D is for The Da-Vinci Code

The Book:

Before I start: When I read fiction that revolves around religion, I ensure I remember that it is fiction. While I am not passionately religious, I know books like these incite controversy easily and tend to point out when I talk about them that – this is fiction.

Now that I have said that, this book was one I recall as having enjoyed reading – a fast-paced thriller with twists and conspiracies to keep you turning the pages until you reach the very end. At the same time, it is one of those books you pick up at the airport and read on the plane to pass your time.

And since I read the book years ago, I will not attempt to actually review it however except for stating what I already did in the previous stanza.

Reading this series was one of the first times I looked at conspiracies in everything actively. And maybe this series also started a whole lot of other conspiracy theories showing up online. Symbolism suddenly became cool! And every weird connection seemed to have deeper meanings 🙂

Overall, this was one of those books I would read when I am looking for a book like this

The Movie:

I had pictured a very different Langdon and while I love Tom Hanks, his Langdon, not so much. The movie, again watched years ago, did not have the same thrill for me as the book did. Though I did enjoy the visual virtual tour of all the places from the book!

The Question: Book or Movie:“

This one again confirms that the book is always better than the movie. What about you? Vote below to share your opinion:

[yop_poll id=4]

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
– Paulo Coelho
h

Poetry Corner:

D is for Diminishing Verse:

This is a fun form to play with and the rules are simple; well, there are almost no rules at all. As mentioned in the WritersDigest:
There are no rules for rhymes, syllables, poem length, stanza length, etc. Just a simple removal of a letter from the last word of the previous line. That said, poets can also remove sounds if they wish like “braille” to “rail” to “ale.”

Here was a hurried attempt as I wrote this post today.

Waiting on Breakfast
The eggs were waiting to be beat,
So we could have fluffy omelettes to eat.
I wondered where the beater is at?
My memory, it sure fits a sieve to a T.
-Vidya (ladyinread)

QA Corner:

D is for Defect:

Finding defects – definitely the ‘funnest part’ of the QA role (at least for me). When I see an error (not that my blog is error-free!) or discover a defect or find a bug, whatever you may call it, I am thrilled. It was waiting there, and no one had seen it before, and then there was me! Well, it is not all that dramatic but it is always cool to find bugs (or defects) in any product that we are testing.

But it is not all that fun to find them in a product we are using actively. Which is why every product – software or physical products – need to be QAd well and QAd right – so the product can do what it is supposed to and do it well.

What it is:

So what is a defect? A software defect is a variation or deviation from it’s stated requirements or from the expectations of end-users(even when not part of requirements, if an issue is noted which diminishes the quality or value of the product, it is a valid issue). So, anything that causes an application to function incorrectly or produce wrong/unexpected results is in effect a defect.

I find the below definition much more easier to remember and understand (from James Bach’s definition of the bug):

A defect is something that threatens the value of the product to someone who matters.

Wrapping up the D post:

“There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.”
– Douglas H. Everett

So here is hoping I will become one of those that will turn one into the other as I wrap up my D post today. What are your comments or questions about today’s post? I would love to hear from you. Check out previous posts in this challenge using the links below.

Day 0 Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

Linking up to BlogChatter A to Z, A to Z Blogging Challenge, and the Ultimate Blogging Challenge (click on the images to learn more about these challenges)