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| Sunday, March 7th, 2010 | | 2:29 pm |
Fell off the wagon...
Okay, so, today I had a half-cup of coffee with my breakfast.
So, the toughest part so far is that I'm feeling tired a LOT. The usual "afternoon doldrums" have always been rough, but now they kill.
Also, I've noticed my appetite has increased. I seem to always be hungry now... | | Saturday, March 6th, 2010 | | 11:54 am |
Quitting cold pigeon..
So, five days ago I decided to quit caffeine, cold turkey.
It's been.. a challenge to say the least, and I now completely understand my ADD symptoms way better than I did before.
Case study: this morning, I woke up at 4:30 (I did go to bed quite early yesterday, so that was somewhat expected). I fidgeted around the motel room and eventually decided to get breakfast and go for a little drive. I went back and forth from the car to the room no fewer than five times, because I'd forget my cell phone, my sunglasses, the (caffeine-free) soda I opened, and even my car keys.
Case study: yesterday afternoon, I was wandering around Pike Place Market, with no really definite plans other than to meet a friend at Starbucks at 5. I felt myself being pulled hundreds of different directions, every bright shiny thing keeping my attention just long enough for me to notice the next bright shiny thing a few feet further down.
Case study: even while typing this, I'm tracking about eight different thought processes in my head. "What time is it? When did I put the laundry in? Is it done?" "I should go to the grocery store to get more Diet Rite. Should I go to the Winco in Federal Way? That Safeway around the corner is darn convenient, and I could grab a sandwich or something for lunch." "Thinking of 'sandwich', I'm supposed to go have meatballs with K later this afternoon, I should probably eat a light snack right about now so I'm hungry by then." "Oh, right, grocery store. Did I decide where to go? I could always hit a Freddys or something near K's place." [redacted thoughts about K] "Oh, crap, what time is it? Oh, right, only a couple of minutes since I checked last time." "I wonder if there's anything interesting on television? Wait, I should probably go back to posting in my LJ, and the TV will just be distracting." "Okay, I have now totally forgotten the time I put the laundry in, let me walk over to the laundry room and check." (FWIW: my laundry was, in fact, done)
This was literally about a three-minute snapshot.
It's challenging, but I think it's going to be VERY worthwhile. I have an appointment with a NP on the 16th, and I think I'm going to be in my best scatterbrained form. We'll see how that goes...
In the meantime, I'd appreciate it if those who are around me keep in mind that I'm running on a lean mixture. | | Sunday, February 21st, 2010 | | 11:42 am |
My lesson of the day:
"Not today" does not mean the same as "never." We must learn to differentiate between rejections given due to momentary conditions, as opposed to universal rejections. | | Saturday, February 20th, 2010 | | 2:34 pm |
And another thing...
This is TOTALLY a random query.
If anybody knows somebody at a major cellular company (that is, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint) that might be able to talk about cell site placement and/or whether or not it's possible to have a microcell placed at a particular site, I'd appreciate it.
In brief: I have a request to do some legwork trying to get cellular service to a remote location, preferably semi-permanently, where only marginal cellular coverage exists. This is for an event that occurs annually with a few thousand participants and guests. | | Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 | | 11:38 am |
Great, so Apple announced the tablet that everybody thought they would.
Or did they?
Color me unimpressed. Maybe I've gotten so jaded over the years that I can't see it for what it is, but to me it looks like an iPod with a big screen. Nothing I've seen this morning makes it very compelling over any device I don't already own.
1. It's no netbook replacement. I think I speak for most netbook users when I say the reason netbooks are cool is because they are full-power Windows/Linux computers in a small ultra-portable form factor. They run the same applications you run on your desktop machine. They interact with the same memory sticks, printers, and wireless devices. They aren't proprietary devices that take weird connectors and only sync with one company's product. And my latest netbook gets 8 hours of use per charge, so the "10 hours" isn't that impressive to me.
2. It's no Kindle. The Amazon Kindle (and equally so the Barnes and Noble nook) is a purpose-built device with a wonderful display. The "traditional" Kindle form-factor is easy to hold, and a wonderful device to curl up in an easy chair with. Amazon already has the books, they already have the device, and the books already work on the iPod/iPhone (and we can safely assume it works on the iPad as well). Apple's bookstore, while pretty, is a latecomer, and I'll be surprised if it can get traction here. Oh, and did I mention that the Kindle gets weeks on a single charge, and can charge from any standard micro USB port (no proprietary connector conspiracy here)?
3. It's no iPod Touch. Sure, it does everything the iPod Touch does.. in a form factor that's honking huge. The iPod Touch is a wonderful little device, and I love mine. But, I like it precisely because it isn't a huge 9" tablet. It's a small device I can throw in my coat pocket with a pair of headphones, and if I find myself delayed for a few hours unexpectedly I can listen to some music, watch a TV show, browse the web (assuming there's WiFi about), or play a game. Or, even open up Amazon's Kindle software and read a book.
Now that I've talked about what it isn't, let me talk about what it is.
First off, the introductory price point is good: $499 is almost bound to guarantee it'll fly off the shelves. I might even be convinced to buy one eventually: I've been eying the Archos 5 tablet that runs Android, and Apple's iPad is more compelling (even to me, a self-identifying Android lover). And I can certainly see applications in my life for a $499 tablet.
However, as a Macintosh user, it's frightening.
I now have this nagging feeling that today marks the first day the Macintosh officially dies as a platform. I may be reading a lot into the statements of Phil Schiller and others during this announcement, but it does make one wonder where (especially at the low end) the Macintosh fits into Apple's product line strategy.
Let me put my conspiracy-theory hat on for a moment. One of the big problems with the Macintosh (as opposed to the iPhone/iPod) is that, like all general-purpose computers, there's no way for Apple to monetize the software market. Anybody can sell software for the Macintosh (just like anybody can sell software for Windows).
Not so with the iPod/iPhone, and we can safely assume (at the moment) the iPad, either. It's a closed API, and a closed ecosystem. And with Apple standing at the gate to collect a toll, and to (as they already have done with other applications) prohibit any program they don't agree with, regardless of the reason.
And that's scary. Apple's making an end-run around the way we've always bought and sold general-purpose computers and the applications that run them with the ultimate Trojan Horse: a cool looking device that comes with a pair of golden handcuffs.
Will users buy into it? Probably. Many of my friends bought iPhones, many of them people I would have thought would have "known better." They chose the smartphone platform that's closed API, closed source, and even padlocked to a particular cellular vendor willingly, and with a clear understanding of these issues.
It might sound like a dire warning. But, I can see a future where the dominant small-computing platform is the iPad. And it's scary to me: a closed platform and ecosystem that only runs apps blessed by Steve Jobs.
I think I'll go buy that Archos 5 tablet I've been wanting.
EDIT:It's worth noting that I'm not the only one to notice. | | 10:19 am |
http://thingsyoucan.tunsee.com -- that's all I'm going to say.
Other than... create an account there, let me know about it, and I'll give you "contributor" access for contributions.
Icanhasmyownpopularwebsite? | | Monday, January 18th, 2010 | | 9:05 am |
As if you didn't need anymore evidence about Bing being evil incarnate...
Slashdot reports CPAN getting DDoSsed by Bing's search robot, right around the time I notice that MSNBOT represents nearly 61% of the total bytes transferred from my pictures site, resulting in a total ban of Microsoft domains from feedle.net webservers.
It is worth noting that Bing's spider has pulled more bandwidth from the last three months from my websites than all other known search robots.. combined. | | Saturday, January 16th, 2010 | | 9:01 am |
Dear Pat Robertson... (second letter)
It is worth pointing out that unlike the Abrahamic God, Lucifer has a great sense of humor. | | Sunday, December 27th, 2009 | | 8:54 pm |
... might be in Seattle next week, if the finances can handle it. | | Thursday, December 17th, 2009 | | 1:44 pm |
So, there's some interest in doing a (video) game night at my house again. Halo/2 and/or Guitar Hero depending on interest.
I was thinking of doing it Christmas day, in the evening. Consider it an "orphan's Christmas party". Anybody interested? | | Monday, December 14th, 2009 | | 10:46 am |
Not a lot of posts lately.. mostly because I don't have much to say. Work is keeping me busy.. | | Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 | | 12:16 pm |
A few people have asked about this.
You can always access my calendar at http://fedl.info/cal . Those of you who use Google Calendar are more than welcome to subscribe, or do whatever you need to do. | | Sunday, December 6th, 2009 | | 3:32 pm |
I give up.
I've been trying on and off for months to get uShare to compile on my Debian machine. I give up.
If anybody has had any success getting uShare to work on Debian, I'd appreciate some input. I've tried to follow the instructions from http://stabbyjones.wordpress.com/2008/10/28/install-ushare-in-debian-from-source-for-streaming-to-xbox-360/ , but they fail while compiling libdlna. Specifically:
profiles.c: In function âdlna_item_get_propertiesâ:
profiles.c:596: error: âAVCodecContextâ has no member named âbits_per_raw_sampleâ
make[1]: *** [profiles.lo] Error 1
Any thoughts?
Difficulty: This is on an -amd64 machine. | | Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 | | 10:17 am |
Why does Apple insist on making shite?
Let me get this started by saying that I generally have a fondness for Apple's computers. Over the years, Apple has made some pretty decent hardware. Mac OS X has had a huge head-start on Windows, as far as making a stable competent operating system that Just Works(tm) (although, it is worth noting that Windows 7 is pretty darn close to Apple's design excellence in most respects).
However, one thing I can't get over is Apple's insistence to straddle us with absolute dog-shit HID devices.
Apple keyboards have never been the greatest. IBM totally nailed that one very early in the game with the legendary Model M (which, BTW, is still being made by Unicomp), and that's a hard act to follow. The Apple //e had a pretty good keyboard, even if I found the keycaps to be a tad small for my hands. The previous iteration of Apple's Bluetooth keyboard (before the current batch of chiclet shitboards) was probably the last usable Apple keyboard we'll ever see.
Apple's mice also leave a lot to be desired. This is the company that came up with the "hockey puck" mouse, widely considered to be one of the least ergodynamic mice ever made (although, some of the novelty mice shaped like cars or Mario or even mice of the mammalian kind are probably worse). It also had reliability problems, go figure. Macally and Kensington made buckets of money off early iMac users who got stuck with these, believe me.
I don't get it. Apple's a company that by in large has some of the best interface engineers on the planet working for them. It shows in the innovations they put into Mac OS and in their other hardware that they actually think about usability in their designs. I may not like the "one button" interface on the iPhone/iPod Touch, but I understand it and I can definitely see why it has been a contributor to the devices' popularity.
Which brings us to the present day. Apple's default input devices sold with all new Macs is the "totally shitty that you can't be serious" chiclet keyboards and the Magic Mouse. This has to be the two most astoundingly shitty (and I'm using that word a lot for a reason) human interface devices ever to be the "pack-in" devices for a modern computer. I'm really trying to think of a modern "major-label" computer that I've seen with worse default keyboard and mouse configurations, and I'm having a real struggle here. Even eMachines shipped serviceable (if bland and basic) keyboards and mice with their machines: I used the keyboard that came with my Athlon-based eMachine for years before the spacebar broke after one of many accidental launchings off of my desk.
I don't even understand why, especially in the keyboard case. Corporate IT departments have to be looking at those keyboards and just shaking their head in stupefied astonishment. They don't even look nice: they look like a keyboard that belongs to a cheap toy knockoff rather than a powerful 21st-century microcomputer.
And the "Mighty Mouse." Oh, god, what a step backwards that is proving to be. I bought one with an Apple gift certificate I had lying around from some vendor promotion. It seemed like a cool idea. But, here's all the ways it fails.
First off, it's too small. It suffers from the same problem as the hockey-puck mouse: there's no damn way to pick it up, and no way to hold it securely. At least the previous mouse, the Mighty Mouse, had a definite rounded edge that could be held (even if the side-touch buttons sometimes meant you triggered Dashboard inadvertently when clumsily grabbing for the mouse). And the touch surface on top makes it worse, because now there's no way to grip it with an opposing finger anywhere on the top of the mouse from the middle to the upper edge, lest you trigger a mouse click or scrolling action.
Microsoft has some amazing user interface people as well, even if their operating system often has idiosyncrasies in UI. They apparently all work in the hardware department, because by in large Microsoft's keyboard and mouse products all have very good ergonomics. You might not like the split-keyboard design, but it's based on some sound ergodynamic principles. I regularly use a Microsoft Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and I absolutely LOVE it: not since the glorious Model M have I found a keyboard that I actually enjoy using. And the mouse fits my hand well, and has enough features to keep me happy.
And while I'm ranting about Apple pet peeves, what's with them announcing some amazing new technology, and then creating something that doesn't support it? The Mighty Mouse had those squeezy side buttons for Dashboard, which took a little getting used to (see above) but was cool once I learned not to pick the mouse up by those fiddly-bits. The Magic Mouse has no "third button" at all to trigger those really cool new multi-desktop features we heard so much about in Leopard. Apple's done this hundreds of times.
Keyboards and mice are the only two parts of a computer that really need to be functional first, pretty second. It seems like Apple has done the opposite, which is odd given that everything else seems to go the other way... | | Monday, November 30th, 2009 | | 10:13 am |
Handedness
We all carry damage from our childhood, Freud would have us believe.
I was reading a study while idle on Saturday about placing children of a certain age (typically preschool-3rd grade) in "no win scenarios", and how it can create a lot of harm for them. The author's theory suggests that children in this age group, especially at early school-age, have the comprehension skills to recognize a no-win scenario, but lack any coping mechanism to deal with it.
When I was in Kindergarten, it was recognized that I already had many of the skills necessary to be in the 1st Grade: I had some very basic ability to read, I had already mastered some basic hand-eye skills, and was already even able to do some very basic math. In short order, I found myself in a 1st Grade classroom.
This particular 1st Grade teacher apparently had a problem with left-handed kids. For some reason, when I wrote I started with my left hand. She kept putting the pen in my right hand, and I kept wanting to use my left. It created one of these "no-win scenarios."
So, here's the odd thing. I actually COULD write with my right hand, I just didn't want to because it caused me physical pain. The reasons for this pain are long and involved (and have largely been corrected today), but it actually hurt to write with my right hand. I don't remember if I ever tried to explain this, but I don't think anybody can expect a 6-year-old kid to necessarily be able to explain themselves completely, especially when they are thrust into a situation they, themselves, don't completely understand.
I won't touch (pun intended) the implications for my development as a child, my ability to learn as an adult, and even my ADD may largely be the result of this lifelong inner conflict.
Saturday I picked up a pencil and wrote with my right hand. It felt natural, if difficult because I lack the muscle memory and hand-eye coordination in my right hand. But it didn't feel wrong. My penmanship was poor, but I suspect if I work on my coordination my right-handed writing will very rapidly be as legible as my left (like that means anything).
However, I feel an odd inner peace now. I now have some understanding of a big part of my personality that's always been something muddy. And I can start to work through the feelings of hurt, of pain, and frustration. Even if I never pick up a pen with my right hand again, I at least understand. | | Sunday, November 29th, 2009 | | 8:10 am |
I made a very disturbing discovery last night. I may, in fact, be right-handed at some level... | | Thursday, November 26th, 2009 | | 8:31 pm |
Went to the coast today. Enjoyed a trip to the aquarium in Newport, and a wonderful early dinner with ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) chibidl...
Sleep tonight... | | 6:57 am |
Fired TriMet operator...
Okay, so TriMet fired that operator who closed the door on a toddler and his father. http://bit.ly/6p6uD6
There's a lot of discussion, both in the comments and the article, blaming the intercom for not working. All these comments seem to be missing a greater point about TriMet transit operators that needs to change.
TriMet operators routinely, in my experience, close train doors for departure while people are still attempting to get on and/or off the train. And we're not just talking about one straggler running to catch the train: many times at my busy Lombard TC MAX stop people are still trying to navigate past each other to get on and off the train and you hear the "The Doors Are Closing" announcement.. and there's still a small group of people standing on the platform.
This incident shows something I've observed for years about TriMet rail operators: they don't look before closing the doors and push the "door close" button with all their might regardless of whether or not there are still passengers trying to disembark or board.
The intercom issue is a red herring. TriMet operators need to be trained to actually WATCH the doors when they close the train doors, and if their visibility is that poor that they can't see what's going on, TriMet must install cameras so the operators can see what's happening.
 | | Friday, November 20th, 2009 | | 10:27 pm |
Anybody out there still playing Second Life? I recently fiddled with it for 10 minutes, and it's STILL slow as snail snot, even on my moderately-high performance laptop.
What gives? | | Thursday, November 19th, 2009 | | 11:36 am |
This is a telecom announcement.
And, it's a bit of a pet peeve of mine.
When we're talking on the phone, and I say "I have to go," I have to go. Now. Especially during working hours (8-ish to 6-ish). It's okay to exchange pleasantries, but please do not extend the conversation any longer than necessary.
I just had to literally hang up on a friend because I indicated that I had to go, and they did the "just one more thing" line.. and I had to hang up two minutes ago. DO NOT DO THIS, please. If it was just a "hey, call me, I wanna tell you about ___", that's fine. Extending the conversation by 10 seconds isn't the complaint. However, in this case, the conversation already proceeded about 30 seconds after I indicated that I needed to go, and I really "needed to go" before I even picked up the phone. Perhaps this is my bad, but this is not acceptable.
I work from home. I also increasingly have other people who are depending upon me for various activities; some professional, some personal. I shouldn't have to explain to you why I need to go: the fact that I have said "hey, I need to go" should be enough to terminate the conversation without any additional commentary.
Lastly, it is increasingly painful for me to sit and yak on the phone for extended periods of time. I'm working on my ergonomics to improve this, however between fibro and my bad hearing, the phone tires me pretty quickly. Because I spend about 80% of my working day on the phone, I need to conserve my energy (and pain tolerance) for work. Sometimes when I say "I gotta go" it's because I'm in pain and/or have a physical limitation that is making further conversation difficult or painful.
Thank you for keeping this in mind. |
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