Thursday, November 30, 2006
Wovel
The other day I shoveled snow for the first time since we moved to Seattle. Last year we had a single storm of two inches of wet snow that melted quickly. We gave away our snow blower when we moved but kept a couple of snow shovels. The snow blower was more efficient but would be overkill out here. Maybe I should buy a Wovel?
It looks kinda cool, almost like it would make shovelling snow enjoyable. I wonder if it really works or not?
November Thaw
After two more days of freezing temperatures and icy roads, the thaw is finally on. It began to warm up last night. Main roads are fine this morning, side roads are still somewhat icy. School is closed again (third day in a row) but warmer temperatures today and the rest of the week should set things back to normal. This has been an unusual month weather-wise. It started with a lot of rain — it was Seattle's wettest November on record by the 19th. And then a snow storm and two days of icy roads at the end of the month. We're hoping that December is more seasonal. Some warmer temperatures and some rain. The snow can stay in the mountains. Speaking of snow, Mount Baker got twelve feet of snow during this last storm. Amazing.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Server Geek Humor
Reddit was under repairs earlier today and displayed this image:
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Wordplay
We watched Wordplay over the long weekend on DVD. It's a terrific documentary about people who are obsessed with words, specifically with Crossword puzzles. The film features New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz. It also includes interviews with famous crossword puzzle fanatics including Jon Stewart, Bill Clinton and Mike Mussina. But the bulk of the movie focuses on the annual crossword puzzle competition in Stamford, Connecticut. As in film Spellbound, the filmmakers profile several contestants on their quest to win the 2004 Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Watching contestants solve crossword puzzles on paper may sound about as exciting as proctoring an SAT exam but it is surprisingly fun to watch. And the competition is pretty lively. Recommended.
Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol
The other day we were remembering favorite holiday movies and television shows. There were the usual choices: It's a Wonderful Life, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Miracle on 34th Street...
One television special that I recall from my childhood that no one else mentioned was Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol. I remember watching it when I was little. It was shown every Christmas season for many years.
One television special that I recall from my childhood that no one else mentioned was Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol. I remember watching it when I was little. It was shown every Christmas season for many years.
More November Winter
It's a snow day today. Schools are closed. The Microsoft campus was closed this morning. The roads are pretty icy and there's another storm on its way for Wednesday.
Monday, November 27, 2006
November Ice Not So Nice
This afternoon we got another snowstorm. We initially got a weird blend of hail / sleet / corn snow. Then it dumped a few inches of powder, partially thawed and froze as the temperature dropped. The end result was icy roads and gridlock. I tried to leave at the usual time but the roads were clogged with cars that weren't going anywhere. The area is hilly and even a gradual incline caused spinning tires.
I waited it out, hoping that the traffic would clear before the temperature dropped even more. Fortunately I made it home but watching the late news it looks like I was lucky. Lots of people are still stuck out there. It's amazing how much turmoil a thin coating of ice can cause.
I waited it out, hoping that the traffic would clear before the temperature dropped even more. Fortunately I made it home but watching the late news it looks like I was lucky. Lots of people are still stuck out there. It's amazing how much turmoil a thin coating of ice can cause.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
November Snow
There was an inch of snow on the ground when we got up this morning. It melted during the day but started up again this evening. Right now we have a couple inches on the ground.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Thanksgiving Turkey Drop
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Ten
Our older son Benjamin turns ten today. While it's amazing to think that ten years have passed since his birth, it's also hard to remember when he wasn't part of our life. Happy Birthday Benjamin!
Monday, November 20, 2006
American Goth
On my drive home the image of Grant Wood's American Gothic popped into my head.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Stranger Than Fiction
We watched Stranger Than Fiction last night. I'm not a big fan of Will Ferrell but he was terrific in the lead as IRS agent Harold Crick. Harold lives a life of precision; the exact time that he rises, how many steps to the bus stop, how many times he brushes his teeth, etc. (the visuals for these are great). He starts to hear a female voice in his head, narrating his life. He realizes that he's become the main character of a novel with an author who's apparently intent on killing him off.The twisted reality of the plot reminded me of Charlie Kaufman's work (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and especially, Adaptation) as well as The Truman Show. But Stranger Than Fiction is not as dark as Kaufman's stories. And isn't intended to be a think piece like The Truman Show. It's a comedy. And a good one with a good cast. I especially liked Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman in funny, offbeat supporting roles. And see if you can spot Tom Hulce (Amadeus) in a small role. Definitely recommended.
Water Bill
My Mom forwarded this video clip to me, along with an apocryphal story about a family returning from vacation that noticed that their water bill was very high. I've heard of cats being trained to use the toilet, but never thought that they'd be capable of this.
Software Project Disasters
Andrew Wulf is writing an interesting series in which he categorizes different types of software project disasters. So far he has two essays: The Train Wreck and The Death March, both good. I look forward to reading the rest.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Fire breaks out at Salt Lake crematorium
This story about a fire at a Salt Lake crematorium involves the cremation of a six-hundred pound man. His "body fluids" were "too much for the oven" and caused a "grease fire". That's probably more than most of want to know about the cremation process. The kicker to the story is the last sentence:Wasn't harmed?
The crematorium is back in business and the funeral director said they'll notify the family to assure them their loved one wasn't harmed.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Flags of Our Fathers
During the battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines raised a flag atop Mount Suribachi. It was taken down, and a second flag was raised. AP photographer Jack Rosenthal's photo of this second flag-raising is one of the most famous war photographs in U.S. history.
Eastwood is making a companion film, Letters from Iwo Jima, which tells the story of the battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it. The film is scheduled for release in December in Japan and early next year in the United States.
Eastwood is making a companion film, Letters from Iwo Jima, which tells the story of the battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it. The film is scheduled for release in December in Japan and early next year in the United States.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
The Prestige
I saw The Prestige recently. The story takes place in turn-of-the-century London and concerns two magicians, played by Christine Bale and Hugh Jackman, with a life-long rivalry primarily surrounding a trick called "The Transformed Man" in which the magician walks through a door on one side of the stage and reappears through a door on the other. They start out as friends but an accident early in the film turns them into fierce enemies and then bitter rivals. The film is directed by Christopher Nolan best known for Batman Begins and Memento. It's a terrific dark story, told in a narrative that jumps around its time line. The cast is excellent, I was especially impressed by David Bowie in a small but important role as physicist Nikola Tesla. Highly recommended.
Java on Vista
Java had some issues on Windows Vista which caused it to disable the "Aero Glass" desktop. The bugs have been fixed in recent Java SE 6 builds. The fixes have been backported to J2SE 1.5 as well. Read Chet Haase's blog post Java on Vista: Yes, it Works for details. One interesting tidbit in Chet's list is that in Java SE 6, the Windows look and feel was re-written to use the native platform rendering engine (UxTheme) to draw Swing widgets.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Lotus Expeditor
Lotus Expeditor: What an odd product name. I guarantee that it gets misspelled a lot — expiditor, expediter, expiditer. Maybe even "XP Dieter"? English has a few hundred thousand words and they picked this one?
And who writes the press release copy for IBM? For example:Ugh. It's technical writing put into a blender. Trying to parse this press release made my brain hurt.
Update: it looks like there's another software product called Expeditor.
And who writes the press release copy for IBM? For example:
Software applications that do not have a common language or structure make sharing data and information difficult, if not impossible. Lotus Expeditor helps enterprises address these constraints by giving developers the ability to create a personalized user experience that spans across desktop platforms and devices providing access to critical business applications and data anytime, anywhere.
With Lotus Expeditor users can create composite applications combining existing and new software assets within a service oriented architecture (SOA); add extensions to existing databases that allow mobile workers to access key financial or sales information from any mobile device; or augment existing applications using Eclipse or Web 2.0 technology to create a Voice-Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) plug-in for an instant messaging environment.
Update: it looks like there's another software product called Expeditor.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
SkyMaul
SkyMaul is a funny parody of the SkyMall catalog that you usually find in the seat pocket on airlines. (Via Seth Godin)
Monday, November 06, 2006
Pineapple Express
My son's soccer team played on Saturday afternoon in driving rain. Fortunately the grass on their field held up. The next field over was one giant mud puddle. In other parts of the country the game probably would have been postponed. In Seattle in November it rains. No big deal. But the rain out here is usually drizzle, this is especially heavy. It's part of a weather pattern called a Pineapple Express. Warm moist air travels up from Hawaii and is dumped on the Pacific Northwest. Aloha!
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
On the Edge of Blade Runner
On the Edge of Blade Runner is a terrific documentary on the making of one of my favorite films. It's interesting to see how the film came together, what the cast thought of it, etc. I had no idea that Rutger Hauer wrote his character's final speech:
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tanhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time...like tears...in rain. Time...to die.Such a terrific film. By the way, Ridley Scott "settles" the Deckard /replicant question at the end. Or does he? He has a wry grin on his face after he says it. (Via MetaFilter)
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