Dating Design Patterns

Rating:
Summary: This is hilarious
Review: I don't know what kind of mind is so into patterns that they come out the other end with this book, but the result is very funny. You need to be a geek to get it, but if you do it's definitely worth it. It's a satire of patterns and of some fairly leading figures in the computer industry. Basically the authors say that the Gang of Four came up with these dating patterns in college: Trojan Proxy, Interested Listener, Half Bad Boy Plus Protocol, Unexpected Persistence, Container-Managed Relationships, etc. Christopher Alexander was in on it, too, starting off kind of geeky and playing Dungeons and Dragons and going on to be a dating machine.

I've never laughed this hard reading a patterns book. (Well, OK, I haven't really laughed much at all at patterns books.) Can hardly wait for the book on refactoring. Wonder if Martin Fowler was dating refactoring god in college?

Rating:
Summary: Way more fun than regular patterns
Review: It's like the Gang of Four had a little too much to drink (or something) at a National Lampoon party and went home and wrote a sequel. I think my favorite pattern is goTo guy, which is prefaced with a note that the article "GoTo Considered Harmful" doesn't apply to dating patterns. Haven't tried any of the patterns since my SO disapproves strongly of multithreading.

Rating:
Summary: Best use of the term "private members" in a patterns book
Review: OK, when I saw this under the tree I thought that the Gang had a new little workbook deal out or something, and then I saw that there was a silhouette of a naked woman on the front and that it was very very doubtful that this was going to help me figure out distributed programming. But at that point I didn't care anymore and it is now officially my favorite gift. Applies the rules of patterns (strategies, refactorings, all that) to dating and it's hilarious. Definitely a kick for anyone with even remotely geeky tendencies.

Rating:
Summary: Who knew?
Review: We all know that software development has benefited tremendously from design patterns. But I had no idea what you could REALLY do with patterns. Fortunately, my partner Bert was a beta tester for some of these patterns, and let me tell you, without half-bad-boy-plus-protocol, I'm not sure he would BE my partner today ; )
If you have a brother/friend/co-worker geek in your life who is still single and searching, you might want to slip this under the tree as, you know, a "gag" gift. But it's really a lot more than that--there's REAL dating advice in there! Don't be fooled by the fun; this book is really stealth love-life-improvement wrapped up in a package that will look funny and geeky and won't embarass the guy who needs it. He can put it on his desk or bookshelf where it'll look right at home next to the Dilbert-a-day thing. It'll make every developer/programmer (and yes, even the *architects*) laugh out loud, but secretly they'll be learning how to apply a pattern language of design to... dating. (Sorry, no sex patterns in this edition, so if the advice works and you find yourself in a successful dating scenario, you're on your own for what happens after that. Perhaps there'll be an eXtreme Dating (XD) version?)

Heck, forget the single guys--if you're a woman, you might give this to your partner if he's forgotten (or never knew) how to *act* like he's trying to sweep you off your feet.
There's one more reason I like this book... if even a fraction of the guys who work in cube farms take up the advice, the workplace will get a lot more fun and stimulating! How could more chocolate, games, and toys at work be anything but GOOD? (Yes, they really are girl magnets...although they might be guy magnets too, but that's OK too... the more friends you have in your camp, the more likely it may be that one of them will introduce you to your next hot date. And don't forget the puppy.
This is no fluffy, foofy, self-help, mars vs. venus, get-in-touch-with-your-inner-whatever book. You'll find all the things that make a software developer feel right at home, beginning with UML. If you've read GOF or just skimmed it, you know what to expect from the format.
So, get it for the humour, get it for the practical advice. And for gosh sakes, go get a slinky, a couple of unusual action figures (there's even an Einstein action figure now and a Starbucks-style barrista--either one a better choice than G.I.Joe) and some chocolate, right now, and put them on your desk tomorrow.
Have fun!!