Thursday, April 28, 2005
The Time Traveler Convention
Calling all time travelers!. There's a convention at MIT on May 7, 2005 at 10:00 pm EDT. But you already knew that, right?
If I was traveling back in time, I'd be much more interested in hanging out with the "time indigenous" locals, not other time travelers. When you visit a foreign country, is your first priority to spend time with other tourists from your home country? Nope. Time travelers to Boston on May 7, 2005 will probably skip the convention. They'll be too busy getting insulted by the wait staff at Durgin-Park, just like all of the other tourists.
If I was traveling back in time, I'd be much more interested in hanging out with the "time indigenous" locals, not other time travelers. When you visit a foreign country, is your first priority to spend time with other tourists from your home country? Nope. Time travelers to Boston on May 7, 2005 will probably skip the convention. They'll be too busy getting insulted by the wait staff at Durgin-Park, just like all of the other tourists.
Big Red Button
Where does all of the time go? Sometimes it's on stuff like this.
SWT Happens
Mr. Ed at Hacknot has been working with Swing for the last seven years and with SWT exclusively for the last four months. After dealing with SWT bugs and missing features he's got a rant about why he doesn't like SWT. It's a decent rant, not the typical "XYZ sucks because it's not exactly like this other technology that I already know". There are a few rebuttals in the comments to the article including this one. Some of them miss the point a bit. Mr. Ed is talking specifically about SWT and JFace, not about Eclipse as a whole.
My experience with SWT has been limited to working in the context of Eclipse plugins. In this limited sense, SWT works fine for our purposes. My experience with Swing was nearly five years ago on a stand-alone application. It was pretty miserable. Lots of performance issues and display bugs on Windows. When we moved the application to Linux we ran into a litany of additional bugs and misfeatures. More recently then I've used several IDEs and applications (such as Alice) built with Swing and the performance is fine.
Eclipse 3.0 can support plugins written in Swing (with some caveats). That doesn't solve the problem of SWT vs. Swing but if you're moving existing Java code to an Eclipse plugin it does mean that you might be able to avoid rewriting it to use SWT.
My experience with SWT has been limited to working in the context of Eclipse plugins. In this limited sense, SWT works fine for our purposes. My experience with Swing was nearly five years ago on a stand-alone application. It was pretty miserable. Lots of performance issues and display bugs on Windows. When we moved the application to Linux we ran into a litany of additional bugs and misfeatures. More recently then I've used several IDEs and applications (such as Alice) built with Swing and the performance is fine.
Eclipse 3.0 can support plugins written in Swing (with some caveats). That doesn't solve the problem of SWT vs. Swing but if you're moving existing Java code to an Eclipse plugin it does mean that you might be able to avoid rewriting it to use SWT.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Alice
Alice is an environment for building and programming 3D worlds. It's primarily targeted at kids but the rest of us can have fun too. My son and I have spent some time exploring and he's really eager to build some projects in Alice.Alice is open source. It's primarily written in Java using Swing. There's some native code used for 3D rendering. Currently Alice is Windows only. Ports to OS X and Linux are at the proof-of-concept stage.
Exploding toads
This Wikipedia post about exploding toads sounds like a hoax or urban legend but apparently it's true. Numerous toads in the Altona district of Hamburg have been observed to swell up with gases and explode, propelling their innards for distances of up to three meters. Noone is quite sure why they explode. They just do.
Did something just move in that box of bananas?
Matthew Stevens was bitten by a giant spider that he disturbed while cleaning the freezer in his pub kitchen. The spider had stowed away in a box of bananas. Matthew took its photograph with his cameraphone which may have saved his life. Zoologists were able to identify the spider as a Brazilian Wandering Spider. It's listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's most poisonous spider. The spider grows as large as 5 inches long. Its temperament is listed as "aggressive and nervous". Just the sort of thing you'd like to encounter in the dark: a large, incredibly poisonous, aggressive and nervous spider. And apparently it's a fast runner and is not afraid of humans. Can we just stop importing bananas from Brazil now?
Surviving Partial Ejection from an A-6 Aircraft
Keith Gallagher has a terrific story about surviving a bizarre, life-threatening accident while serving as bombardier / navigator on a A-6 aircraft based off the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier. Keith's cousin Mark has set up a web site to share Keith's story. I'd recommend reading Keith's account first and then the account of pilot Mark Baden. The technical aspects of the accident are also quite interesting and can be found here.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Namely
Gail Armstrong has come with a word game where you think of people whose name makes a complete sentence (e.g. Tom Waits, Jeremy Irons, Julian Sands). This reminds me of comments one of my college roommates would make when we watched the news on television. One of the local TV anchormen was named Dick Wood. Whenever Dick introduced himself at the start of the broadcast, my roommate would reply "Dick Wood What?". And, of course, when the CBS News came on, he'd say "Dan Rather What?". So, I guess as a variation of Gail's word game, think of people whose name can be turned into a question by adding another word.
The Scrolling LED Belt Buckle
Here's the ultimate gift for that hard-to-shop-for übergeek. The LED Electronic Scrolling Belt Buckle. It can hold up to six messages at a time. Each message can be up to 256 characters long. (That's where the scrolling part comes in).Not geeky enough? Maybe you could add WiFi support and have it display stock quotes or RSS feeds as you walk around. Then again, having complete strangers staring at your nether regions while you're walking down the street may be a bit disconcerting. (Via BoingBoing)
LEGO Death Star
How many LEGO pieces would it take to build a reasonable model of the Death Star? For $299 you could buy this kit and assemble the 3441 pieces to build your own. I'd never buy something this extravagant for my kids but I can just imagine my eight-year-old son screaming as his five-year-old brother quickly reduces the LEGO Death Star to a big mound of gray plastic pieces. The Force is strong with this one.
Infomania
A British study for Hewlett Packard claims to show that "workers distracted by phone calls, e-mail and text messages suffer a greater loss of IQ than a person smoking marijuana." The study, found that excessive use of technology reduced workers' intelligence. Further, it warned of a rise in "infomania" -- people becoming addicted to e-mail and text messages. The BBC News article goes on to say that:
The HP UK press release is more detailed but doesn't shed much light on the study. It also includes this odd claim:
I think the overall message is fine: avoid distractions. Distractions are bad. Don't poll your email too frequently. Don't feel compelled to respond to email or text messages immediately. Don't use your laptop or PDA during face-to-face meetings. But calling distractions from email "Infomania" just sounds like so much psycho-babble.
How exactly do they determine IQ numbers under these circumstances?Those distracted by incoming e-mail and phone calls saw a 10-point fall in their IQ -- more than twice that found in studies of the impact of smoking marijuana, said researchers.
The HP UK press release is more detailed but doesn't shed much light on the study. It also includes this odd claim:
Hmm, 89% + 30% = 119%. Is this Psychology math? Or is this just badly worded? Are they trying to say that when colleagues act this way then it's rude but it's okay when I do it?In addition to the impact on workers’ performance, Info-Mania in meetings also has a negative effect on colleagues and the work environment, increasing stress and negative feelings. 89% of workers think that colleagues who answer emails or messages in a face to face meeting are extremely rude. This activity can also be extremely distracting. Yet, 30% of people believe it is not only acceptable but actually diligent and efficient to do so.
I think the overall message is fine: avoid distractions. Distractions are bad. Don't poll your email too frequently. Don't feel compelled to respond to email or text messages immediately. Don't use your laptop or PDA during face-to-face meetings. But calling distractions from email "Infomania" just sounds like so much psycho-babble.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Robots
My son and I saw Robots on IMAX this weekend. It's an entertaining film — not in the same class as The Incredibles — but mostly due to a weaker plot, not the quality of the animation. I loved the retro look of the film. A lot of the robots looked like they were constructed from auto parts from the 40s and 50s. Not surprising when you discover that William Joyce, the popular author and illustrator of children's books such as George Shrinks and Rolie Polie Olie was executive producer and production designer for the film. His other work has a similar retro look.An IMAX screen is definitely nice for watching detailed computer animation like this. The film is a real visual treat on the big screen. I just wish the story had been better. There's a decent message to the film that should have been developed more fully.
Fire from a can of Coke and a chocolate bar
Need to light a fire and all you have is a can of Coke and a chocolate bar? Try this idea: You use the chocolate bar and its wrapper to polish the surface of the bottom of the Coke can and make it shiny. Once you've shined it up you hold a small piece of tinder at the focal point of the parabolic reflector, in the sun, and you'll get a coal.
Need An SMTP Server? Use Gmail
A lot of companies block outbound traffic on port 25 (SMTP). Why? Computers infected with viruses, worms, trojan horses, etc. typically uses SMTP to propagate. If you use a POP client for your personal email this can be irritating. What to do? Use your Gmail account. Set your POP client to route outbound mail to smtp.google.com with port 465 and SSL enabled and use your Gmail login credentials. (Via greghughes.net)
Two Psychos
In 1998, Gus van Sant create a shot-by-shot remake of Hitchcock's classic film Psycho. I never saw the remake (why bother?) but it's fascinating to watch this overlay of Hitchcock's shower scene with van Sant's remake. Note: if you've never seen Psycho and are a little squeamish, this is probably not something you'll want to watch.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
What Kind of American English Do You Speak?
A quiz to determine your "linguistic profile". My score:
I'm not sure how 5% Dixie snuck in there. I'd also question the designation of "Yankee". I grew up in upstate New York but have lived in Boston for more than twenty years. There's quite a bit of linguistic difference between the two areas.
| 40% Yankee |
| 35% General American English |
| 20% Upper Midwestern |
| 5% Dixie |
| 0% Midwestern |
I'm not sure how 5% Dixie snuck in there. I'd also question the designation of "Yankee". I grew up in upstate New York but have lived in Boston for more than twenty years. There's quite a bit of linguistic difference between the two areas.
O'Reilly CodeZoo
CodeZoo is a site to "help developers find high-quality, freely available, reusable components". The initial launch is focused on Java components. It's not clear whether CodeZoo will expand to include other languages or not. Looking around a bit I found a couple of packages I hadn't heard about before that sound interesting: JSF-Spring and iCal4j.
Don't Gross Out The World
I can't vouch for the accuracy of all of the questions on this dining etiquette quiz but it's entertaining. I got 8 out of 11 correct. Speaking of international dining etiquette reminds me of a story from my mother-in-law. In Slovak culture, a guest is asked three times whether they would like more to eat. Proper etiquette dictates that you kindly turn down the first two requests and then acquiesce on the third. When my mother-in-law moved to the United States she quickly learned that here you need to answer in the affirmative the first time. Otherwise, you probably won't be asked again.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Hacking biometric security
Here's a sad story of the unintended consequences of a biometric security system. A Malaysian businessman lost a finger to car thieves impatient to get around his Mercedes' fingerprint security system. When the carjackers wanted to start his car again without having him along, they chopped off the end of his index finger with a machete. I can't help but remember a scene from Minority Report when I think about what might happen if they put retinal scan security systems in cars. Yikes.
Pareidolia
I learned a new word when skimming through the optical illusions mentioned in my last post. Pareidolia is the phenomenon of seeing (or hearing) meaningful patterns where none really exist. Examples of Pareidolia include images of animals or faces in clouds, seeing the man in the moon, and hearing messages on records played in reverse. Our brains always seems to be working hard to make sense of what we see and hear... Even to the point of just making stuff up.
Motion Induced Blindness
Motion Induced Blindness is a cool optical illusion. You see a rotating array of blue crosses and 3 yellow dots. If you stare at the center of the image, the yellow spots disappear occasionally. At least they look like they disappear. In reality they stay on the screen. Weird. Some of the other optical illusions on Michael Bach's web site are also quite striking. Now excuse me while I rest my eyes. They burn. (Via Metafilter)
Runtime Log
Axis of Elvis has left the building. Dave Delay has renamed his blog to Runtime Log.
Rocket Bob
I'm not sure why this guy with a hardhat and jackhammer is called Rocket Bob but it's an amusing Flash game.
Speaking of Flash, now that Adobe is buying Macromedia, I hope they don't bloat out Flash like they did the Acrobat reader.
Speaking of Flash, now that Adobe is buying Macromedia, I hope they don't bloat out Flash like they did the Acrobat reader.
Bob's Cube
Bob is out of the office for a while so it's time to snoop around Bob's cube. Clever. Check out the second drawer on the left, the mirror on the monitor and the Sam and Stan bobble heads.
Monday, April 18, 2005
Adobe to buy Macromedia for $3.4 billion
The consolidation of the software industry marches on. Adobe is buying Macromedia. I'm sure the press release will talk up the deal as "synergistic" or "complementary" — they always do. It's going to be interesting to see how they mesh product lines since there's a fair amount of overlap. And one fewer independent software vendor isn't good news in my view.
MIT students pull prank on conference
As a prank, a trio of MIT grad students submitted two computer-generated papers to the World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (WMSCI). To their surprise, one of the papers — "Rooter: A Methodology for the Typical Unification of Access Points and Redundancy" — was accepted for presentation.
Here's the submitted paper in PDF format. Apparently the conference doesn't review all submissions and this one "slipped by". If a reviewer had read the abstract they would know that the submission was bogus:
Here's the submitted paper in PDF format. Apparently the conference doesn't review all submissions and this one "slipped by". If a reviewer had read the abstract they would know that the submission was bogus:
If you want to generate your own paper, you can use their program called SCIgen. For example, see my excellent article on Kapok: A Methodology for the Simulation of the Location-Identity Split.Many physicists would agree that, had it not been for congestion control, the evaluation of web browsers might never have occurred. In fact, few hackers worldwide would disagree with the essential unification of voice-over-IP and public private key pair. In order to solve this riddle, we confirm that SMPs can be made stochastic, cacheable, and interposable.
Moore's Law is dead?
Gordon Moore says that Moore's Law is dead. Well not exactly dead; we probably have another 10 to 20 years before we reach a fundamental limit.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Hacking the Papal Election
As the College of Cardinals prepared to elect a new pope, Bruce Schneier wondered about the election process. How does it work, and just how hard it would be to hack the vote? He's a security guy, this is the sort of thing he thinks about all of the time. He concludes that when "an election process is left to develop over the course of a couple thousand years, you end up with something surprisingly good".
Update: A much easier task than hacking the vote is determining the name of the next pope. Rogers Cadenhead registered six the papal domain names: Benedict XVI, Clement XV, Innocent XIV, Leo XIV, Paul VII and Pius XIII. Looks like he got it right with benedictxvi.com.
Update: A much easier task than hacking the vote is determining the name of the next pope. Rogers Cadenhead registered six the papal domain names: Benedict XVI, Clement XV, Innocent XIV, Leo XIV, Paul VII and Pius XIII. Looks like he got it right with benedictxvi.com.
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Hackers are nothing like painters
Maciej Ceglowski has a new essay on his blog (Idle Words) where he deconstructs Paul Graham's essay Hackers and Painters. Good stuff.
If you enjoy Maciej's writing go read a few of his other essays: Attacked By Thugs!, 100 Years of Turbulence and Best Practices for Time Travelers.
If you enjoy Maciej's writing go read a few of his other essays: Attacked By Thugs!, 100 Years of Turbulence and Best Practices for Time Travelers.
Yahoo! 360
A week ago Jeremy Zawodny offered up a few hundred Yahoo! 360 invitations. I got one and signed up. Here's my 360 page. My main impression so far is that Yahoo! 360 is an amalgam of features: blog, social network, reviews, email, etc. I've noticed a few interesting features but nothing amazing yet.
I'm not sure if I can invite others yet. There's UI to send an invite but I don't know whether the recipient will be able to create a 360 account or not. It appears to require that you have or will sign up for a Yahoo account. Let me know if you want an invitation. There's also a web site for people who are looking for invitations.
I'm not sure if I can invite others yet. There's UI to send an invite but I don't know whether the recipient will be able to create a 360 account or not. It appears to require that you have or will sign up for a Yahoo account. Let me know if you want an invitation. There's also a web site for people who are looking for invitations.
ZabaSearch
ZabaSearch is a new people search site. The information returned includes an address, phone number as well as the person's month and year of birth. The information seems reasonably up-to-date although it sometimes lists a few addresses per name, especially if the person has moved frequently. Pretty much every name I've tried has returned accurate results. Scary stuff.
Who's Drawing Dilbert Lately?
Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams has lost the use of his right hand for drawing from overuse. He's suffering from focal dystonia. Recently he switched to using a tablet and screen. I noticed that recent strips did seem to be a little different; not better just different. Dilbert has always been a crudely drawn strip. Yet another reason why I miss Calvin and Hobbes; Bill Waterson was a terrific cartoonist. (Via Metafilter)
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Google Local Mobile Search
Google Local is a search service for mobile devices. Enter a search term and location and receive a Google Map and details; all designed to fit on a small screen. Works great on my Treo 650.
Monday, April 11, 2005
Saint Vitus Dance
When I was a child, one of our dogs died from distemper. Losing a family pet is hard. Losing a pet to a nasty disease like distemper is a miserable experience. She deteriorated over a few weeks with escalating health problems. She had a hard time getting around, the pads of her feet became cracked and bleeding and she began twitching uncontrollably. The last symptom was referred to as Saint Vitus Dance. We were talking about dogs the other day and I wondered why they used this term.
According to this article, a group 16th century Germans believed they could obtain a year's good health by dancing before the statue of Saint Vitus on his feast day. This dancing developed almost into a mania, and was confused with chorea, the nervous condition later known as Saint Vitus Dance, the saint being invoked against it. His connection with such "dancing" led to his patronage of dancers.
This reminds of a trip we made to Prague ten years ago. There's a gothic cathedral inside Prague Castle that is supposed to contain the bones of St. Vitus.
According to this article, a group 16th century Germans believed they could obtain a year's good health by dancing before the statue of Saint Vitus on his feast day. This dancing developed almost into a mania, and was confused with chorea, the nervous condition later known as Saint Vitus Dance, the saint being invoked against it. His connection with such "dancing" led to his patronage of dancers.
This reminds of a trip we made to Prague ten years ago. There's a gothic cathedral inside Prague Castle that is supposed to contain the bones of St. Vitus.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Another backyard visitor
While finishing dinner this evening my son thought he saw a rabbit on our deck. I looked over and saw the end of a tail disappear under the cover of our gas grill. I walked over to the playroom window and saw the tip of a tail sticking out from under the cover. It wasn't a rabbit. The tail was ringed. I rapped on the window and a very sheepish looking raccoon came out. I wish I had my camera to catch his facial expression. He walked away and disappeared into the hedges. We cooked fish on the grill the other night. The residual smell probably caught his attention. I guess I have to do a better job cleaning the grill next time.
Update: we've been told that in addition to nosing around for food the raccoon may have been looking for a new nesting site. Uh oh.
Update: we've been told that in addition to nosing around for food the raccoon may have been looking for a new nesting site. Uh oh.
Spring growth
It's a beautiful Spring weekend here in Boston. There are a few small piles of snow here and there but we're finally out of Winter. The dominant color is shifting from brown to green. The grass is growing, trees and shrubs are budding, our tulips and daylilies are coming up.
Funny thing about the tulips. Some of the soil is covered with oak leaves from last Fall and the tulips are growing up through the oak leaves. The oak leaves aren't being pushed aside, the tulip leaves are growing through the old oak leaves
Funny thing about the tulips. Some of the soil is covered with oak leaves from last Fall and the tulips are growing up through the oak leaves. The oak leaves aren't being pushed aside, the tulip leaves are growing through the old oak leaves
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Undead Squirrel
I was playing with my son in our backyard this morning and noticed something strange in the large Dogwood tree near the house. A gray squirrel was perched on a branch about 30-feet from the ground. His eyes were open but his hind legs were dangling in the air. Here's a blurry image of the squirrel that I took with my cellphone. He's circled in red:
Now the question was how to remove a dead squirrel perched high in our tree. We called Animal Control but they don't remove dead animals from private property.
About an hour later after we went inside, I noticed a squirrel on a branch on the same Dogwood tree. It was the same branch. It was the same squirrel. What the heck? But things weren't quite right. The squirrel's hind legs and tail were still just dangling. He was moving around on the branch just using his paws. I watched him for a while, amazed by this apparent resurrection. He scampered across the branch and swung down the trunk. He was a little clumsy but still nimble considering that he was only using his paws. He made it down to the ground and disappeared under the hedges into the neighbor's yard.
So what the heck was that? One of our friends thought that perhaps the squirrel had been hit by a car and crawled up there and had been in shock. Perhaps but could a seriously injured squirrel climb 30 feet up a tree and out onto a thin branch? And would it then just somehow "come out" of shock and appear normal? Maybe the squirrel had a stroke or seizure? We're not sure but the whole episode was very creepy. The only good news is that we no longer have a dead squirrel in our tree.
Now the question was how to remove a dead squirrel perched high in our tree. We called Animal Control but they don't remove dead animals from private property.
About an hour later after we went inside, I noticed a squirrel on a branch on the same Dogwood tree. It was the same branch. It was the same squirrel. What the heck? But things weren't quite right. The squirrel's hind legs and tail were still just dangling. He was moving around on the branch just using his paws. I watched him for a while, amazed by this apparent resurrection. He scampered across the branch and swung down the trunk. He was a little clumsy but still nimble considering that he was only using his paws. He made it down to the ground and disappeared under the hedges into the neighbor's yard.
So what the heck was that? One of our friends thought that perhaps the squirrel had been hit by a car and crawled up there and had been in shock. Perhaps but could a seriously injured squirrel climb 30 feet up a tree and out onto a thin branch? And would it then just somehow "come out" of shock and appear normal? Maybe the squirrel had a stroke or seizure? We're not sure but the whole episode was very creepy. The only good news is that we no longer have a dead squirrel in our tree.
Chrinitoid
When I was an undergraduate at RPI, there was a large kinetic sculpture on campus that we called the Chrinitoid. The sculpture was designed by George Rickey. Its proper name is Two Rectangles, Vertical Gyratory Up, Variation III.
The RPI campus is above the Hudson River in Troy, NY and can get pretty windy. The sight of two 20-foot long stainless steel panels swinging and swiveling wildly in the wind was amazing. It was a nice distraction when you were burned out by Physics, Thermodynamics, Organic Chemistry, etc.
I haven't thought about the Chrinitoid in years. It was removed from campus quite a long time ago and no one seemed to know where it was. Fellow alum Tom Payne was curious about the sculpture and tracked it down. It was purchased by Union Bank of Switzerland and stands in front of their Schanzenbrücke-Building in Zurich.
Tom also did an animation of the Chrinitoid to give you a sense of what it looks like in action.
The RPI campus is above the Hudson River in Troy, NY and can get pretty windy. The sight of two 20-foot long stainless steel panels swinging and swiveling wildly in the wind was amazing. It was a nice distraction when you were burned out by Physics, Thermodynamics, Organic Chemistry, etc.
I haven't thought about the Chrinitoid in years. It was removed from campus quite a long time ago and no one seemed to know where it was. Fellow alum Tom Payne was curious about the sculpture and tracked it down. It was purchased by Union Bank of Switzerland and stands in front of their Schanzenbrücke-Building in Zurich.
Tom also did an animation of the Chrinitoid to give you a sense of what it looks like in action.
Friday, April 08, 2005
GoogleMaps Satellite View Real-World-Mix
The drop shadow effect that Google Maps uses for marker captions is pretty cool. This image imagines what that marker looks like from the ground. That marker pin is huge.
Ask Flickr: how do I change this light bulb?
Let's say that you need to replace the bulb in an overhead light but can't figure out how to open it. What to do? Take a picture of the light fixture and Ask Flickr how to change it!
We have the same light fixture in our playroom and I was equally puzzled when I needed to replace the bulbs (yes, bulbs I waited until the second bulb burned out which forced me to change both of 'em). There were no visible screws, clips etc. I eventually figured out how to twist it the right way to get the cover off but it's not easy. I'm not looking forward to replacing the bulbs again. Who designed this thing?
We have the same light fixture in our playroom and I was equally puzzled when I needed to replace the bulbs (yes, bulbs I waited until the second bulb burned out which forced me to change both of 'em). There were no visible screws, clips etc. I eventually figured out how to twist it the right way to get the cover off but it's not easy. I'm not looking forward to replacing the bulbs again. Who designed this thing?
Google Sight-Seeing
Pete Lyons and I were scrolling around Google maps the other day and found this meteor crater in Canada that neither of us had seen before. Google map images (including the crater) was a topic of discussion in this recent thread on Metafilter. Lots of interesting links.
Is Blogger Like A Public Utility?
I use Blogger for publishing. According to this Wired News article a lot of Blogger users are pissed off. The article's comparison of Blogger to a public utility is hyperbole but if you use Blogger for blog posts and it's gone, you can't blog.
Just as I was about to post an entry effectively saying "Blogger is free and you get what you paid for" it stopped responding and I couldn't post anything either. So I can empathize. But I'm not going just whine about it — if Blogger doesn't improve soon I'll switch to a self-hosted blog system such as Movable Type or B2.
Just as I was about to post an entry effectively saying "Blogger is free and you get what you paid for" it stopped responding and I couldn't post anything either. So I can empathize. But I'm not going just whine about it — if Blogger doesn't improve soon I'll switch to a self-hosted blog system such as Movable Type or B2.
Disappointment
My younger son has a seizure disorder. He started having seizures just before his second birthday; about 3-1/2 years ago. Most people hear the word seizure and imagine violent, rhythmic convulsions that are typical of a grand mal seizure. My son has complex partial seizures which are more subtle. He stares off into space and sometimes tracks things with his eyes that aren't there. He doesn't respond to people. His seizures are pretty normal except for one respect; they don't stop on their own. They require medical intervention by administering Diastat.
His seizures have been under control by medication for the last nineteen months. That is, until two weeks ago. He got a stomach bug and spiked a fever. I'm our family's seizure dog — as I was caring for him I got the sense that in addition to being sick he was starting to have a seizure.
He's had stomach bugs before so we're not really sure why this one triggered a seizure. It may be that he needed an adjustment in medication.
He's fine now but we're a little disappointed. Reaching the two-year milestone without seizures would have meant that we could potentially reduce and eventually eliminating his medication.
His seizures have been under control by medication for the last nineteen months. That is, until two weeks ago. He got a stomach bug and spiked a fever. I'm our family's seizure dog — as I was caring for him I got the sense that in addition to being sick he was starting to have a seizure.
He's had stomach bugs before so we're not really sure why this one triggered a seizure. It may be that he needed an adjustment in medication.
He's fine now but we're a little disappointed. Reaching the two-year milestone without seizures would have meant that we could potentially reduce and eventually eliminating his medication.