Quickie News

Okay, first, no job for me. To those of you who knew that I was applying to work at ITS at Bishop's, that should satisfy your curiosity as to my immediate future. From an outside point of view, their decision to go with someone else looks sound. The candidate they selected graduated from Bishops 9 years ago and has been working in Windows development ever since, clearly on paper he has more Windows code experience than I do. My ego says that I can both learn and develop faster than most people can just develop, and past experience tells me that may actually be quite true. Aside from my ego, there is no way at all that the other person will ever put the kind of effort in that I would have, and if I do end up working for Bishops at some point they'll realize that, but I will not wait forever -- even if it is a job I would love to have.

So, currently I'm on a train heading for Toronto. And, by the way, internet access on Via trains is great, and oh so convenient. I was able to connect to my work VPN and do all my Canadian Tire stuff this morning. Anyway, I'll be in Southern Ontario for a few days, then back to North Hatley for Christmas. I'll wait until after the holidays to make any big decisions about my future.

Status Update.

Hey, I'm actually not going to rant about anything today!

The roads in North Hatley, which have been under construction for what seems like ever, are finally done (well, not completely, but the ones that I travel on are basically complete). It's nice to see North Hatley get a bit of a face lift -- the hill will have stone walls almost the complete length, with a sidewalk that finally goes all the way to the top. The town wants to showcase itself as a premium vacation spot, but they tend to be their own worst enemy, by letting things fall way too far into disrepair; indeed the last time the hill was repaved was about 20 years ago, and only then because a major storm washed away several large pavement chunks. At the very least I'm relieved that I won't have to worry about destroying my vehicle's front-end just to get basic groceries.

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I've taken to baking a lot lately, partly because I think it makes ideal Christmas presents but also because I have a feeling I'm going to need a bunch around the house this season. It's just disappointing that I can't enjoy any of my own cooking. Tonight was chocolate night, last week I made solid chocolates with painted chocolate decorations but tonight I made filled chocolates with cherry and orange fondant centers. Tomorrow I'll be experimenting with nuts, and liqueur fillings. I'm just sort of testing all this stuff right now...once I get it all perfected I'll combine all of it and start to make boxes. For now I think the people I work with at ITS are enjoying my experimentation.

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I was going to rant (and break my own statement) about some things, but now I think better about it....something about "If you can't say something nice...".

Anyway, poker Sunday at my place. Email me to confirm a spot.

Wow.

...Fox canceled a controversial show before they even got close to airing it. I amazed, though it was certainly the right choice.

The show? (and book incidentally - also canceled) "If I Did It", a story told by O.J. Simpson detailing how he would have killed Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown-Simpson if he had done it. Can you believe that? He was going to go on TV and tell the world how he killed them; for people of my generation this case has long spelled-out the weaknesses in the US legal system.

For once however, Fox decided to listen to public outcry. Maybe there's hope for them yet, now if we could just get them to take Fox News off the air...oh wait, still way too many red states to ensure a constant stream of viewers for that. Have you all ever watched that channel before? Seriously, it's Jerry Springer disguised in a thin veil of news headlines...I was once stuck with it being my only news station in a hotel I was in...they did like 3 hours straight on some girl who went missing in the Caribbean, I think they'd even interviewed the guy she'd lost her virginity to years earlier (just so he could say "she was such a nice person"), what an investigative accomplishment indeed.

UPDATE: I should be clear on why I don't think this show should air, for you're not likely to find me telling people and companies not to speak their mind. But this kind of television is the lowest kind of entertainment and I firmly believe it (and other similar programming) contributes to the denigration of our moral codes. Second, I really, vehemently disagree with the fact that OJ should be paid to confess to a double homicide.

Reproach.

The esteemed Nick posted over on his blog (http://evillenick.livejournal.com/) a rebuttal of my claim that the PS3 will win the latest round of the console wars because the machine can run linux out of the box.

While I agree with his contention that -- at this point -- the PS3 having an onboard BlueRay drive (the cheapest on the market) will drive some sales to it, it is not a lasting thing. Soon enough, dual format readers will hit the market and will become the $35 doorstops that regular dvd players are now.

I also agree that the general public will not run to the machine because they've heard of this phenom called "The Linux" but when I said linux, I meant people to read Linux. You see, the beauty of the open source community and Linux is that you can do virtually anything you want. How about these suggestions:

• USB video input and Linux in kiosk mode with MythTV - all of a sudden your PS3 is a PVR which can record shows and pause live television


• USB cameras and a customized distro and your PS3 is a home security system while you're not there...it would even email you pictures of movement around your house


• USB modem and the right distro turns your PS3 into a voice messaging hub while your not home...better yet, even a full VOIP solution running Asterisk

All of these solutions could be packaged in a custom download...you don't need to download Fedora and customize it then install Myth and customize it, instead you download the "PS3 PVR package"...the fact that it's running linux is something only us geeks need worry about.

My total point to this being that I think Sony did so much more than release a game system when they released the PS3...they released a very real and powerful, fully-functioning computer; further I believe that people haven't even begun to realize all the things that we'll be able to do with them in the coming months and years.

...but Nick's video selection was much better than mine... ;)

Why PS3 Will Win in the End.

Once people get used to the idea that with the PS3, they're not only getting a game system, but a full, working, fast PC...there really is no choice. Sony has promised that it will run any linux distribution that supports the PPC architecture right out of the box. Heck, it was just released on Friday and these videos are popping up all over YouTube and similar sites:



I've been reading articles for the last few days on how the New York Times reviewers don't like it because it just plays good games, and therefore why should consumers pay more for it than an XBox 360? Developers are complaining because they don't like to have to optimize their code around the new (ha! right...) paradigm of parallel systems. What they're neglecting to notice is that all systems are going that way...they'd better just buck-up their skills and get used to it. Dual core, quad core, and the like are coming fast and furious onto the market and until compilers can auto-optimize to handle those architectures in the best way, coders are simply going to have to get better at developing code for parallel execution. And heck, to be honest, coders should always be concerned about the efficiency of their algorithms...to be otherwise is to be the Walmart of coders.

The Pilsen Does Good (Sort Of).

Does anybody remember what I've been saying about the Pilsen for the last 5 years? I tell almost everyone...including the staff there. During the winter when the restaurant crowd slows down, I have long persisted that they should have a big screen in the downstairs bar to show sporting events on...certainly the major ones and possibly even getting into weekly hockey, etc.

So I am down at the Pilsen for lunch yesterday and what do I see? Of course, they're setting up a projection system! Initially it will only be for the Grey Cup, the Superbowl and any other major events...but they're polling the patrons to see if they would enjoy a more regular broadcast schedule. I told the owner that I'd certainly be down there regularly for hockey should the decision be made to air those events (I suppose that it would be the french broadcast...and mostly Montreal games, but I'll live.)

So I was all thinking that maybe the Pilsen is finally doing some things right...that is until someone walked out with a microwave and put it on the end of the bar.

Being in management taught me well about the perceptions that people (public, clients) derive from even the smallest actions. I was always (*am* always...as anyone who goes to a Canadian Tire store with me knows) very cognizant of what customers may perceive about a scene, even down to the simple stuff: a garbage can being too full, two cashiers talking to each other, etc.

A microwave has no place being visible to a customer in a restaurant! I don't care if they're only using it to heat nachos for a football game...no customer should ever see (or hear!) it. What does it say about a restaurant that is trying to convince its clientele about the quality of their food, when they put a microwave on the bar (5 feet from the entrance!)?

Well, it says nothing good anyway. Also, I noticed and took the time to point out a spelling mistake on one of the pieces of paper on their door. Come on, this one's obvious, a spelling mistake says "we lack attention to detail"...who wants to eat at a place that prepares food that doesn't pay attention to detail? Yikes...businesses need to do better.

It's All Muddy From Here

So most of us, at least those in my circle of friends, have seen and loved An Inconvenient Truth - if not for the staccato presentation of the facts we've been hearing piecemeal for years, then simply because there was a hole in the way these facts were being communicated to the masses and we were watching this movie fill it, with a talented guide and easy language.

But as always in life, there are certainly two sides to every story. In the past couple of years no doubt that you've heard the sentiment that "global warming is a myth" or "it's just part of the earth's natural cycle". These statements don't often make in into the mainstream press because they speak about the non-existence of a problem...and who pays money for news that tells them what doesn't exist?

Yesterday I went to a lecture by Curt Rose, Professor Emeritus of Bishops, on Problems Found in the Recent Literature on Global Warming. In this talk he concentrated on two main points (although he briefly hi-lighted some others during the discussion afterwards): first, all of the current forecasts put the mean earth temperature at +1.78 degrees at 2100AD (some suggest 3.5 degrees but they've been widely discredited), but the problem is that we have reliable paleontological data that shows historical temperature variance of greater than this over a 100 year period long before humans were contributing additional CO2 to the atmosphere. In fact this has happened many times. Worse yet, the models...all of the models that show that we will be up ~2 degrees by 2100AD are based on 2X the amount of CO2 we have in the atmosphere now (something like 750 ppm) and with a growth rate of 1%. We're nowhere near these values.

Second, the contribution to the idea of global warming that comes from the heat-holding capacity of CO2 is actually relatively minor on the global scale. It is responsible for some 16% of our total heat energy holding. Water vapour on the other hand...simple water vapour is responsible for 75%. To simplify what this means, if we had just 4% more clouds over the earth each year, we'd have no problem getting to +6 degrees at 2100AD, when we could continue to increase our CO2 output at similar rates to what we have now, and never come close.

Let me just say that I believe in global warming...I sit on that side of the fence. But it's a muddy issue. A lot of people think we might not be seeing the true problem because of the issue of global dimming. Right now, given a clear day in Africa and identical relative humidities, it takes longer for a pan full of water to evaporate than it did 40 years ago. Less solar energy is getting through to the earth...is this masking the true global warming issue? No one knows for sure.

Also, while I'm glad that Al Gore put together that wonderful movie, because sometimes we need to exaggerate to make our point, it should be noted that a lot of international organizations, including the IPCC are distancing themselves from the claims made in the movie...they are largely a stretching of the truth. It's not sensational to say that the earth's temperature will rise by 1.73 degrees and that there will be *some* noticeable change on the planet -- instead we say "+4.5 degrees by 2050 and most of the current earth coastlines will be under water!".

Oh, and what about Kyoto...we scorn the countries that have decided not to hop on board the Kyoto wagon...but the majority of the real science being done today (check the IPCC and Nasa climatology) indicates that Kyoto isn't going to do anything. Adopt it, don't adopt it, we end up at the same place 50 years from now. So yes, Kyoto is good, simply because it encourages the mindset that we're looking for in the future...not for any actual effect that people hope will come from it.
See what I mean? Muddy.

I'll Give Him Funny...

I'm not going to miss much about Ralph, not that I ever had to live under him, but I'll concede to the fact that he certainly has his moments...

It's Not What You Know...

It turns out that getting a family doctor in this province is like convincing a church elder to explore his homosexual tendencies with the youngest, most impressionable boys in his flock. Err, wait, I should come up with something that doesn't happen all the time. (Seriously, someone must have done some research on this...but statistically speaking there's definitely a high percentage of fondlers dressed in clergy garb these days....but I digress.)

Most of the doctors seem to have waiting lists that go on for years and years (I've been told by one doctor that it would be at least 5 years) which leaves people to try to obtain consistent care from walk-in clinics...hoping only to map out the same doctor's schedule so that he or she will hopefully remember you from time to time. Anyway, I was talking to someone in ITS about this the other day and he suggested that I check with JD, "he's got a great doctor who you'd really like", or something along those lines. Sure enough he does, but he's not taking new patients (surprise, surprise...). However, one call from JD and I've got myself a doctor! Not only that, he's a linux guy! Loves to talk about linux and he's a total tech-geek. It just goes to show it's all about who you know!

Ummm Turkey.

Is this creative, or just plain wrong...I confess I can't decide.

Me...Boring?

Just in case you find what I write here to be boring, or if you think you might be interested in the same things that I am, check here. That link is my google reader shared items page...entries that I find interesting from the 50 or so rss feeds that I read daily will end up there.

Down With iMovie!

Okay, I will never again use iMovie again.

Now, I'm in love with my Mac, and I'm all happy with the fact that it comes with the iLife package, which does have some genuinely useful stuff in it, by why the hell do people keep releasing editing software that actually makes the process of video editing harder?

You see, iMovie is not (NOT!) an A-B roll editor, in short you can only use one video source track and then just splice things into it.  This works mostly well I suppose if you only have video from one camera.  As soon as you have been using two cameras to record the same event, this becomes nothing but annoying.  Ideally, what you'd like to be able to do is just sync the two videos and then cut back and forth, but this is not possible with only the one source track.  It becomes an arduous process of making the entire show out of my B roll (which has the cleanest audio and a broad view of the lecture) and then splicing in the talking-head and slides from the A roll.  The problem is, now I have to manually sync every single insert (this workload will probably be lowered with some math and one good initial sync).

...on to the hunt for a new piece of editing software...

Back in Action.

So, if you've come here by typing www.scottstoddard.net, you've likely already noticed that I've switched back to my Blogger blog. I've tried running blog software myself a few times over the past few years, but inevitably I always stop because I get frustrated over the additional maintenance that's needed when you run your own software...web infrastructure, blog software, security updates, etc. So for now, back here. Maybe I'll just clean the place up a bit over the next few days.

Retirement

Well, after a year using this temporary blog, I have decided to return to my old URL with all new blogging software and new features!

Please visit my new blog soon!

The Good and the Good

So, some exciting things have been happening of late. What, you ask. Well here are a couple:

Around last October I posted that I was finally doing work for my favourite Linux distribution, Gentoo, as an Arch Tester and that I hoped to someday consider the possibility of becoming a Developer. Well, in January of this year I began the mentoring process and by mid-March I was done my review period and am now a full Developer. Currently I work only with the amd64 team to help port apps and ebuilds to this platform but in the future I hope to join the PR team to put some of my business background to good use.

Next (I know! How could there be anything else? That first news was just tremendous!), I have decided to wait another year before starting my Master's and instead add a major in math to my honours in computer science. I have always felt a little weak in the math department and I think taking the extra 10 courses next year to get a major should fix that (...or possibly make me entirely crazy, who knows...).

Wow...with all this goodness happening things are looking just great. One wonders if the universe is now going to do its best to smite me in order to balance things out...

Little Bald Men

The Oscars last night were a standard accountance of the usual fare. I thought the best acceptance speech was given by Reese Witherspoon (who, despite having lived in LA for however many years now, still strikes me as one of the more down-to-earth people among them). Sure, appearances -- certainly those made by an actress -- can be deceiving, but I prefer to believe not.

I was very glad that a movie as important as Crash won for best picture...and frankly, amongst the other contenders in the Academy's popularity contest, I didn't really see it coming. Crash probably goes down as my favourite movie from 2005.

I am miffed however at the "In Memorium" montage this year. I don't know if any other geeks have latched onto this yet, but I suspect they will. Conspicuously missing from the presentation this year was James Doohan, the actor who played Scotty in Star Trek for well over 30 years. In fact, his IMDB filmography listing has some 80 entries, most of which are not for Star Trek. I don't understand why such a seemingly glaring omission has been made, but I hope to hear why in the coming days.

:(

Time to let the armchair analysis begin I suppose. Was the it totally unnecessary offensive-end penalty Bertuzzi took? Or what about the Official calling lost-sight on a puck in only half a second and then we had it in the net just hundredths of a second after his whistle?

Really, my feeling is that we simply didn't play well. Canada did not look like a cohesive unit on the ice.

:(

Go Canada!

18 minutes till puck drop in the Canada/Russia quarter-final game.

Beer...check.
Chips...check.

Off I go to cheer for the best team over there in Italy. For we all know that there is no more patriotic Canadian than a drunken hocken fan. ;)

Lay Me Down in Your Soft Pillows

Have you ever shopped for a pillow? I mean, being a guy, and as unrelated to Martha Stewart as you can possibly be, I've never really considered what it meant to shop for a pillow. Until yesterday I'd only ever bought one pillow before, and that's because when I moved up to Timmins I discovered that I had forgotten to bring one from home. The process was simple: go to local softgoods store, walk in just far enough to see a box labelled "Pillows! Sale!", pay my $3.99 and get out of there.

Yesterday I decided I needed new pillows...indeed there comes a time when even a guy says to himself, "Ewww...my head is not going anywhere close to there." (Usually this realization occurs when you didn't drink enough before coming home...but I digress.) Suffice it to say, new pillows were needed. Off to Sears I go.

Upon arrival in the bedding department, I'm greeted with nothing short of a wall of pillows and the price of the first one I see...$189.99!! (note to all of the Sears executives that frequent my blog...apparently most of you skipped the day about merchandising at management ass-kissing school....never, ever, put your most expensive products in the first 8 feet of a >16 foot display) Seriously, who pays $189.99 for a pillow? That pillow costs a quarter the price of my second car...my second car which was a V6...and had air conditioning!

Apparently there are many choices to be made in the selection of a pillow: fill (I've usually thought 'soft and fluffy' was sufficient), firmness, sleeping pattern (it intrigues me that they sell pillows specifically for people who sleep on their stomach, or their back, or their side). Do people actually sleep on their stomach? I've never met anyone who does (regularly anyway). Anyway, most of the pillows seemed to be in the $30-$70 range, which I still consider ridiculous, but I did eventually find one there to buy: the grandpa pillow from the Martha Stewart line. $7.99 each. Where the grandpa name came in, I'm not sure...either the Martha line wants to embarass you into not buying it, or they're implying that "grandpa" will sleep on anything...even something that only sells for $7.99. Whatever, good enough for me.

Who's the Poker Star?

Poker Star
Originally uploaded by deltacow.

I am! Tonight anyway.

A good poker day today. I won $390 USD in only two games (the pic is the win-screen from the first game).

So...what is the reality of trying to earn a living playing poker? I'm going to spend a little time thinking about this over the next while. You see, I have been playing $5 and $10 sit'n'go tournaments up until this point where you make between $25-$42 if you win...and lately I've been winning about 70% of my plays. Problem is, it can take 2 hours to win that $25 which doesn't make it worth much more than entertainment. Anytime I would try a $20 game (going for the $84 prize) I would usually lose because I was playing far too timid, $20 was too much to risk losing.

Well today I decided that I would probably stand a decent chance of winning at a bigger money table if I could convince myself to play with my normal style, so I played a $50 game (easily covered by previous winnings anyway)...and I won $210.

We'll just have to see what the next few days bring...

Ha!

All you young'uns that I spend most of my days with remember having this argument at some time in the recent past: how to pronounce gif.

See, most of us who were hardcore users before the internet came to be used by the general public, we all knew that gif was pronounced as jif -- because that's what the original developers of the standard had specified.

All of the younger people seem to believe that it should be pronounced as g-if. Bottom line, you loose! Here's evidence to that end.

Next on my list: all the people who try to convince me that warez sites should be pronounced as war-ez. Honestly, how does that make any sense, it's a site that you go to to get softwares[z], not softwar-ez.