Random Musings and Nicknacks

Venice Beach

Getting out of LA was nowhere near as simple as one might expect. First off there was the problem of buying gas for the rental car. I drove into a nice looking gas station, swiped my credit card, and it asked to authorize a 75c charge – weird, but I thought OK, said yes, and it asked me for a PIN. I don’t have a PIN for my credit card so I went inside and asked, and was told that they only took cash or bank card. I told the attendant I would pay cash then, and she agreed, and reset the pump. I walked back outside, pushed the cash option, and was told I had to go inside (where I had just been, saying I would pay cash), and prepay. Dumfounded, wondering why she let me walk back out without mentioning this, I said “F*** this place” drove to the station across the street which took credit cards, and swiped my card.

It asked for a zipcode – not a trivial question for a Canuck, and I didn’t see letters on the keypad.
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When looking at just about anything that changes regularly, you can divide the world into two groups: traditionalists, who are apoplectic when things change, or pragmatists who recognize and move with changes. Of course there isn’t a clear definition, and in some cases the same person can be a traditionalist in one area, and a pragmatist in another.

Language and writing is one area where this divide is very apparent.

There was on specific aspect of high school and university writing that I remember I hated. It was trying to do citations and how to write a bibliography. I am so glad I don’t have to do that anymore!

And yet, looking back on my writing recently, I realize that I am far more studious about citing my references and research than I have ever been in the past. I just don’t call it a bibliography. I call it a hyperlink.

[This is an article that I've been drafting in my head for a long time, no recent events have led to it. I actually had it written around mid-march, events since then have consistently conspired to leave me feeling like it was an inappropriate time, but I've finally decided I need to increase my post count --ed]

I want you to take a look at the above numbers. Think about them, roll them around in your mind for a bit. Consider that the murders were an all time high for BC, and the traffic fatalities were a six year low (down from 450 the year before).

With that thought in your mind, I ask this: why was there a public outcry every time one of those 53 people were shot, but nary a peep when any of those 350 were killed by a car – which is more likely to happen to the average person on the street?

There is something about our society that trivializes the act of killing somebody with a vehicle. Even the term we use — accident — trivializes it. The term “accident” for a vehicle collision is one that I wholly and completely reject.
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How Star Trek artists imagined the iPad… 23 years ago

One interesting characteristic of Star Trek: The Next Generation—one that separated it from the original series and most of the early films—was its widespread use of smooth, flat, touch-based control panels throughout the Enterprise-D. This touch interface was also used for numerous portable devices known as PADDs, or Personal Access Display Devices. These mobile computing terminals bear a striking resemblance to Apple’s iPad—a mobile computing device largely defined by its smooth, flat touchscreen interface.

Again, the entire article is well worth a read, they went back and interviewed the people who designed the NCC-1701 and NCC-1701D bridges [1].

[1] And I can’t believe I remember those callsigns off the top of my head

My favourite science site (and by science I mean everything – technology, physics, chemistry, biology, sociology, you name it) has been doing a long running series on the history of our reactions to new technology, and demonstrating how little attitudes change.

Their latest entry is looking at how telephone etiquette has been defined through the decades

Well worth a read, my favourite quote:

Some local phone companies even pushed for, and won, city laws making profanity in phone conversation a finable or jailable offense.

Last week, dad and I were talking about old movies that we have gone back to watch and see how they hold up, or are curious to see again.

One of the ones I mentioned was “Something Wicked This Way Comes”, which I remember absolutely terrified me as a kid, and I’m curious … is it anywhere near as good as I remember.

By an amazing coincidence, that movie appears this week in Roger Ebert’s forgotten DVD’s column, where he highlights movies that he thinks are worth watching but people missed.

Maybe I do need to go looking for it after all!

Saw this in the news yesterday … a few years ago a man in California bought a bunch of pieces of glass (about 60) that had some nice looking landscape pictures on them, he paid $45 at a garage sale.

It’s now been confirmed that they are actually some of Ansel Adams lost glass negatives, and are estimated to be worth $200 million.

Attacking?

One of Ling’s co-workers sent me an email on Saturday, asking if I would mind if he followed us on our Sunday bike rides, and took some pictures. The request is not so odd when you consider that two of my other riding partners also work with Ling [1]. We all agreed, and got a bit of a feel for what it was to be a real racer, with the paparazzi chasing us all over the hill!

The actual story of riding is probably quite boring for those who don’t do it, so I’ll limit myself to one story.
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I am a geek / engineer at heart. When Ling was going through her project management stuff today, I pointed out that last year when looking at what smartphone to get, I actually produced a requirements document / competitive comparison between the iPhone and the Droid (at the time the top of the line Google phone, not even available in Canada then). Based on my usage patterns I went to the iPhone, but I’m still keeping an eye on Android – especially when the iPad competitors start coming out.

I’m currently playing with the new iPhone OS, and marveling at how much faster it feels, and at the new features.  The changes in it remind me of a paradigm in software development that Apple does better than nearly everyone else (and places I have worked are trying to hard to do):

1. Don’t deliver a feature unless you are absolutely satisfied with it
2. Provide constant, incremental improvements

The improvements part is very important – it has to be getting better, not just changing – but for this kind of philosophy to work, you must do both – shipping only when ready gives an impression of a mature, elegant system, but means that you might be missing features that your competition’s marketing materials claim they have.  People are willing to accept that a feature is missing, but only if they have confidence that it will arrive and get better with time.
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