As most of you who read my rambles regularly may have realized, I try and write a title for each blog post that gives a simple summary of the entry's main point, along with (hopefully) a nice pun of sorts.
I also am a firm believer that you should periodically Google yourself to see what/if people might be saying about you, or what writings of yours come up first. I, for one, have a Google trail that goes back to the early '90s (both on USENET and the web) - I've been online a long time and have said a lot. My practice here (believe it or not) is to avoid being too specific about some things (read the archives, you'll get an idea) and never say anything that I wouldn't say to someone I've known about 5 minutes. A lot of people are just waking up to the idea that most everything they've ever said in public is cached in all the major search engines - I've known it for years.
Anyhow, the most interesting thing I turned up this time was an entry about 4 pages in. Some guy who has a Wordpress blog on music took exception to the entry I wrote back in October when I picked up a cheap iPod Shuffle. Why? Because after using the title I used, I didn't write about Springsteen, or even about music.
Wah. By the way, I don't write much about potty training anymore because he's done with it.
(though once in a while there is an accident)
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Screw with the planet long enough
And sooner or later, the planet will start screwing with you. A month of rain? Record-setting hurricane season? Blizzards? scorching hot summer days? Yep.
When you increase the amount of heat in the system, it's not just that the average temperature gets warmer. It's that there's more energy in the global feedback loop. Storms become more frequent and more violent. Cold days get colder, hot days get hotter. As we melt more ice from the poles and lower the salinity of the oceans, the current loops that steer weather around the globe will slow or cease entirely. Europe's going to freeze at some point.
Basically, we're screwed. I suspect we've passed the point of no return on climate - 5-10 years ago we might have been able to change things but not anymore. Humans will survive, of course, but the world we're giving our children is not going to be nearly as nice a place as the one we had. Way to go, humanity!
When you increase the amount of heat in the system, it's not just that the average temperature gets warmer. It's that there's more energy in the global feedback loop. Storms become more frequent and more violent. Cold days get colder, hot days get hotter. As we melt more ice from the poles and lower the salinity of the oceans, the current loops that steer weather around the globe will slow or cease entirely. Europe's going to freeze at some point.
Basically, we're screwed. I suspect we've passed the point of no return on climate - 5-10 years ago we might have been able to change things but not anymore. Humans will survive, of course, but the world we're giving our children is not going to be nearly as nice a place as the one we had. Way to go, humanity!
Thursday, June 01, 2006
MacBook - surprisingly suh-weet!
I set up my first MacBook (the $1299 middle configuration) for a client yesterday, and it was much nicer than I feared it would be. Heat is warmer than an iBook, but cooler than the MacBook Pro (or maybe that's because mine is a little faster, with a higher-speed drive). The reflective screen is pretty nice - I expected a worse mirror effect - the screen is very sharp, and the chipset-based acceleration is fine for routine business and recreational use. It doesn't ship with enough RAM, though. Rosetta (as I've mentioned before) introduces roughly a 30% memory hit over a native PPC Mac per application - a small price to pay for the compatibility and (typically) performance you get from it. But with only 512MB of RAM standard and provided as a pair of pre-connected SO-DIMMs, you have to scrap all the existing RAM to get up to a usable gigabyte. Which is a shame, not to mention priced poorly.
Were I designing the MacBook, I would have tried to incorporate 512MB right on the system board, leaving the DIMM sockets open for expansion. Other than that quibble, it's a well-engineered system, the size factor is really good, and I'd say overall it makes both iBook models and the 12" PowerBook G4 its beeyotch. The only thing you give up compared to a PowerBook 12" is the metal case, ATI video (and slightly smaller size), because the 12" was always just an iBook with a shiny aluminum skin. The backlit keyboard that the MacBook Pro (and bigger PowerBooks) had isn't on the 12" or either iBook anyhow, and you also get the built-in camera, 802.11a capability, and the multi-display support the iBooks lacked.
It's basically a worthy ride, and had I not bought my wife a 12" iBook back in December as a birthday gift I'd be looking at these. My only advice to the prospective buyer - skip the black color. True, you get an 80GB drive instead of a 60GB, but other than that it's the exact same machine for an extra $200. If you really want the 80GB drive, add it as a BTO option on Apple's website - that way it only costs $50.
Also, with virtualization all the rage I'm expecting to have a review of Parallels Desktop in a few days - I'll post it on the BNUG site as well as here.
Were I designing the MacBook, I would have tried to incorporate 512MB right on the system board, leaving the DIMM sockets open for expansion. Other than that quibble, it's a well-engineered system, the size factor is really good, and I'd say overall it makes both iBook models and the 12" PowerBook G4 its beeyotch. The only thing you give up compared to a PowerBook 12" is the metal case, ATI video (and slightly smaller size), because the 12" was always just an iBook with a shiny aluminum skin. The backlit keyboard that the MacBook Pro (and bigger PowerBooks) had isn't on the 12" or either iBook anyhow, and you also get the built-in camera, 802.11a capability, and the multi-display support the iBooks lacked.
It's basically a worthy ride, and had I not bought my wife a 12" iBook back in December as a birthday gift I'd be looking at these. My only advice to the prospective buyer - skip the black color. True, you get an 80GB drive instead of a 60GB, but other than that it's the exact same machine for an extra $200. If you really want the 80GB drive, add it as a BTO option on Apple's website - that way it only costs $50.
Also, with virtualization all the rage I'm expecting to have a review of Parallels Desktop in a few days - I'll post it on the BNUG site as well as here.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Racin' thought
Because there aren't many...
After my annual two-race day (I've liked watching both the Indy 500 and the evening NASCAR race on Memorial Day weekend for years - even since before I learned anything about it), I had a thought on how to make the NASCAR points system more competitive. Right now, the rules say that the top 10 in points, plus anyone within 400 points of the leader are the ones to make the 10-race "Chase for the Cup" that they finish the season with. This is the third year of the system, and in both the prior years it's been just the 10 drivers to make the playoff.
The reason for this seems to be the points system itself. So long as the leader manages to stay catastrophe-free, it's almost inevitable that he will add to his lead weekly before the points reset for the playoff race. With the leading team playing pretty safe, they can still wind up with top-10 or top-15 finishes that just don't really hurt too much in the overall standings. So, for instance, unless Jimmie Johnson has an early DNF in one race between now and September, he'll do no worse than maintain the spread for the rest of the "regular season".
My idea is simple: stretch the points gap allowable out to 500 instead of 400 (as of right now, that would allow 2 extra people into the Chase, with 2 more on the bubble), and also increase the points for a win (right now, you get 15 points over 2nd place) to 20 or even 25 - giving more of an incentive to go for a win instead of playing it safe. Maybe even get rid of the "5 points for leading a lap" bonus - all that does is let the multi-car teams make deals with each other to allow each driver to lead and pick up a few points (the Roush drivers do this every race). Make sure incentives (and points) drop off sharply after the top 10 at most.
What should result is a more competitive sport and a more inclusive playoff - which can only help make the sport more watchable. Besides, it's in my interest to have a better sport - my kid likes it so I'd have to watch it anyways!
After my annual two-race day (I've liked watching both the Indy 500 and the evening NASCAR race on Memorial Day weekend for years - even since before I learned anything about it), I had a thought on how to make the NASCAR points system more competitive. Right now, the rules say that the top 10 in points, plus anyone within 400 points of the leader are the ones to make the 10-race "Chase for the Cup" that they finish the season with. This is the third year of the system, and in both the prior years it's been just the 10 drivers to make the playoff.
The reason for this seems to be the points system itself. So long as the leader manages to stay catastrophe-free, it's almost inevitable that he will add to his lead weekly before the points reset for the playoff race. With the leading team playing pretty safe, they can still wind up with top-10 or top-15 finishes that just don't really hurt too much in the overall standings. So, for instance, unless Jimmie Johnson has an early DNF in one race between now and September, he'll do no worse than maintain the spread for the rest of the "regular season".
My idea is simple: stretch the points gap allowable out to 500 instead of 400 (as of right now, that would allow 2 extra people into the Chase, with 2 more on the bubble), and also increase the points for a win (right now, you get 15 points over 2nd place) to 20 or even 25 - giving more of an incentive to go for a win instead of playing it safe. Maybe even get rid of the "5 points for leading a lap" bonus - all that does is let the multi-car teams make deals with each other to allow each driver to lead and pick up a few points (the Roush drivers do this every race). Make sure incentives (and points) drop off sharply after the top 10 at most.
What should result is a more competitive sport and a more inclusive playoff - which can only help make the sport more watchable. Besides, it's in my interest to have a better sport - my kid likes it so I'd have to watch it anyways!
Sunday, May 28, 2006
The terrible twos (continued)
When do the Terrible Twos end, anyways? David turned four this week (on Wednesday), and with the exception of a few moments of nice, he's been a walking disaster for a while now. Yikes. Today, we had to take the step of marching him out of the bakery this morning when he simply wouldn't behave - leaving his cookie behind. A terrible waste of a cookie, but oh well.
Yesterday we went to Ikea and bought a hew home office rig for me - a wraparound table that I am using to properly move things around in there - it's a fairly small bedroom that I work out of, with limited storage. I have two regular desktop computers (a Windows box and an iMac G5) that I need to accommodate, plus I need a place for my work laptop (a MacBook Pro) when I'm in the house instead of at the "real" office. I had an old particleboard desk that I'd owned for around 13-14 years or so, and a newer rig that is kind of an avant-garde setup designed for one small PC. So now I have both my desktops and the laser printer on the new desk (with plenty of room for my other stuff), and I can reserve the small desk for the MacBook - which lets me keep my work life separate. I need a new chair, too (the old one is really battered and broken in a couple of spots), but I couldn't find anything compelling there.
Ikea trips are kinda fun (despite having to drive about 45 minutes to get there) - we get a nice lunch, the stuff is cheap and pretty good quality, and David can go play in the supervised play area while we keep shopping. Swedish furniture rules, though assembling it isn't always a joy.
Tomorrow, I get to take the holiday off - we're going to head down to the Willows and try to both have family fun and keep our boy from misbehaving too much. Wish me luck!
Yesterday we went to Ikea and bought a hew home office rig for me - a wraparound table that I am using to properly move things around in there - it's a fairly small bedroom that I work out of, with limited storage. I have two regular desktop computers (a Windows box and an iMac G5) that I need to accommodate, plus I need a place for my work laptop (a MacBook Pro) when I'm in the house instead of at the "real" office. I had an old particleboard desk that I'd owned for around 13-14 years or so, and a newer rig that is kind of an avant-garde setup designed for one small PC. So now I have both my desktops and the laser printer on the new desk (with plenty of room for my other stuff), and I can reserve the small desk for the MacBook - which lets me keep my work life separate. I need a new chair, too (the old one is really battered and broken in a couple of spots), but I couldn't find anything compelling there.
Ikea trips are kinda fun (despite having to drive about 45 minutes to get there) - we get a nice lunch, the stuff is cheap and pretty good quality, and David can go play in the supervised play area while we keep shopping. Swedish furniture rules, though assembling it isn't always a joy.
Tomorrow, I get to take the holiday off - we're going to head down to the Willows and try to both have family fun and keep our boy from misbehaving too much. Wish me luck!
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Grim Determination
Today, we had David's 4th birthday party (he actually turns 4 on Wednesday, but Mom's going away for her annual sales meeting tomorrow morning - so we had the party this weekend). This year we kept the group size down some, compared to the previous three, which worked out well. And unlike years past, this time he managed to not cry when everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to him (he'd promised me he wouldn't).
But the really notable thing was that he ate a second piece of cake - even after everyone else finished and went back out to play, he kept at it. Here's proof:
See? That look on his face gave me a good title for the post...
Other than that, I'm pretty busy (as usual), but I deliberately booked a slightly less intense schedule than usual for this week so that I could have more time for David while Jane's away. And on an unrelated note, I'm looking forward to the D-X reunion (if it happens as the WWE has been teasing for the last couple of months). In other sporting news, I did not watch any of NASCAR's all-star race last night. Yes, I've come to like stock car racing somewhat, but not enough to watch it when it's not on Hi-Def. I will, however, be watching both races next weekend - I've always enjoyed the Indy 500 (I like the signature events in most sports - even ones I don't normally follow) and I plan to stick around for the later NASCAR event as well.
But the really notable thing was that he ate a second piece of cake - even after everyone else finished and went back out to play, he kept at it. Here's proof:
See? That look on his face gave me a good title for the post...
Other than that, I'm pretty busy (as usual), but I deliberately booked a slightly less intense schedule than usual for this week so that I could have more time for David while Jane's away. And on an unrelated note, I'm looking forward to the D-X reunion (if it happens as the WWE has been teasing for the last couple of months). In other sporting news, I did not watch any of NASCAR's all-star race last night. Yes, I've come to like stock car racing somewhat, but not enough to watch it when it's not on Hi-Def. I will, however, be watching both races next weekend - I've always enjoyed the Indy 500 (I like the signature events in most sports - even ones I don't normally follow) and I plan to stick around for the later NASCAR event as well.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
It's launch Tuesday...
The Apple Store online just went dark. Expect MacBooks (the iBook/PowerBook 12" successor) to be launched today - maybe some other goodie or another, but probably nothing major other than that.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Glub...
Howdy - I've been meaning to post, but we're underwater. Glub glub.
Actually, our house isn't too badly off. We've had enough rain that our roof's been leaking some, and the front window in our bedroom is having some issues (when we get a hard, persistent rain out of the due east, it's prone to leakage in the frame), but overall our 100-year-old house is holding up well. The basement is fine, unlike some of our friends in town.
However, getting in and out of town is another story. Neighboring Peabody's entire downtown is underwater, and one of the main roads through our town is seriously underwater as well - the local McDonalds is flooded to the counters as of right now. Several of the secondary roads are having some issues as well. I went out for a little while this afternoon to do errands and navigating wasn't easy at all.
As for everything else, David's been sick since Thursday night, when he got home and started running a fever. He's been ill since, though his temperature is mainly down and his spirits have been pretty decent the last couple of days. I took him out for a while yesterday in the rain and he bought Jane a card, flowers, and a bag of Trader Joe's corn puffs for Mothers' Day. We were slated to go out this morning for brunch but he really wasn't up to it.
Given the current weather, we're pretty lucky we even have a house to hang around in right now! The forecasts say that after tomorrow we'll be drying out for a few days some. I'll believe it when I see it.
Actually, our house isn't too badly off. We've had enough rain that our roof's been leaking some, and the front window in our bedroom is having some issues (when we get a hard, persistent rain out of the due east, it's prone to leakage in the frame), but overall our 100-year-old house is holding up well. The basement is fine, unlike some of our friends in town.
However, getting in and out of town is another story. Neighboring Peabody's entire downtown is underwater, and one of the main roads through our town is seriously underwater as well - the local McDonalds is flooded to the counters as of right now. Several of the secondary roads are having some issues as well. I went out for a little while this afternoon to do errands and navigating wasn't easy at all.
As for everything else, David's been sick since Thursday night, when he got home and started running a fever. He's been ill since, though his temperature is mainly down and his spirits have been pretty decent the last couple of days. I took him out for a while yesterday in the rain and he bought Jane a card, flowers, and a bag of Trader Joe's corn puffs for Mothers' Day. We were slated to go out this morning for brunch but he really wasn't up to it.
Given the current weather, we're pretty lucky we even have a house to hang around in right now! The forecasts say that after tomorrow we'll be drying out for a few days some. I'll believe it when I see it.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Memo to Barry Bonds
On the eve of tying Babe Ruth for the all-time #2 spot in career homers, I just wanted to tell you something important. You've misunderstood us, the American sports-watching public - I would like to set the record straight.
Yes, many of us (not me - I was a child of a more progressive era) in this country hated Hank Aaron because he was black. As a nation, most of us got over that as we adapted to changed times. It was shameful, though. But that said, virtually nobody hates you because you're black.
We hate you because, in the single-minded pursuit of baseball's loftiest record, you went from being possibly the greatest all-around player in the history of the game, a feared slugger in your own right, and a guaranteed first-ballot Hall of Famer to a bloated human lab rat. Between the steroids and the HGH, you now are a joke in the outfield, you've got a head the size of a small sedan, and your muscles look like they popped out of a Popeye cartoon. It's obvious, what you did to yourself to hit more home runs, and it's a waste of one of the all-time best players.
We also hate you because you've demonstrated that you can't look in the mirror. You refuse to acknowledge that we, the public, are on to you, and you insist on passing the buck and trying to blame things like racial tension. Racial problems exist in this nation, but that's not the problem with you.
And most importantly, the reason we hate you, Barry, is because you're an asshole with a 20+ year track records of being one of the most miserable, arrogant pricks in the sporting universe.
Nothing personal. But I hope you get indicted on the same day you hit number 714.
Yes, many of us (not me - I was a child of a more progressive era) in this country hated Hank Aaron because he was black. As a nation, most of us got over that as we adapted to changed times. It was shameful, though. But that said, virtually nobody hates you because you're black.
We hate you because, in the single-minded pursuit of baseball's loftiest record, you went from being possibly the greatest all-around player in the history of the game, a feared slugger in your own right, and a guaranteed first-ballot Hall of Famer to a bloated human lab rat. Between the steroids and the HGH, you now are a joke in the outfield, you've got a head the size of a small sedan, and your muscles look like they popped out of a Popeye cartoon. It's obvious, what you did to yourself to hit more home runs, and it's a waste of one of the all-time best players.
We also hate you because you've demonstrated that you can't look in the mirror. You refuse to acknowledge that we, the public, are on to you, and you insist on passing the buck and trying to blame things like racial tension. Racial problems exist in this nation, but that's not the problem with you.
And most importantly, the reason we hate you, Barry, is because you're an asshole with a 20+ year track records of being one of the most miserable, arrogant pricks in the sporting universe.
Nothing personal. But I hope you get indicted on the same day you hit number 714.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Underwater
I'm in the middle of a weekend project - one of my biggest clients is moving from their office on one side of town to a gorgeous new space across town (only about a mile away - it's a small town). Today was the longest day - I brought my friend Greg out to help me and we took down the servers and moved them to the new site (updating DNS for the new IP addresses). Tomorrow I'll be heading back up solo to help get workstations online - I'd have done it today but the desks are still being built!
Beautiful place, though, and it's coming along well. I may even post (or link) a picture once it's all finished.
Beautiful place, though, and it's coming along well. I may even post (or link) a picture once it's all finished.
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