Ah hah! My predictions are correct! GMail is becoming "bottomless"! Well, that's good news for everyone.
Oh, and Google Maps now has satellite imagery. It's pretty cool. Yeah, nothing new, but when it is something from everyone's favorite brand name, all their beta products are something to rave about. Right? Yup.
Study shows Microsoft, Linux costs neck-and-neck | Tech News on ZDNet
Umm, right. Of course it is...
Well, that is supposedly just on maintenance costs, which, yes, MIGHT be similar for Windows and Linux (more on this later). But, what about total ownership costs? All the licensing costs of Windows is just outrageous. And, for Linux, it is free.
Well, considering the chances of Windows crashing/having problems, maintenance might also be quite high. From my point of view, an office running Linux will have less problems overall than one running on Windows.
Toward the end of the article, there is this little section:
>On a scale of 1 to 10, companies rated Microsoft's security at 7.6, double the rating in a similar survey conducted last year. Linux's rating was mostly the same at 8.3
Above meaning company **heads** said this, the people that don't do the administration of the systems. When you don't do it, you simply cannot appreciate the difficulties in doing the stuff.
Oh and also this:
>DiDio said that Microsoft's shift to a monthly security update cycle and increased efforts to combat security issues were the main drivers behind its new ratings.
Yeah, well, does that change the fact that Microsoft has decided to ignore and not patch several severe security holes?
IMO, the whole survey was designed for Microsoft, so that they would maybe buy the survey and use it to market their products.
But, we all know the truth. People don't use Windows because of choice, but because they either have no choice or have no clue.
As Tiger wins the Masters, Apple announces the Tiger official release date, and it's earlier than what I had originally thought.
__April 29th, Friday__
Guess what that means?
Yup, I'll be going to the Apple Store right after school! :-P
As some of you know, Mac OS X Tiger is coming this Friday, and, well, there will be little celebration events at every single Apple Store from 6PM to midnight. That's when I purchase my precious copy of Tiger, and install it right there in the store :D
Look "here(Apple Store Locations)":http://www.apple.com/retail/ for a list of stores, and just pick one for details. You should see an image with Tiger World Premiere on it.
I've heard there will be drawings for Powerbooks and iPods. And also they might hand out T-shirts and the likes.
Possible destinations for me would be the Rancho Cucamonga store, or the Pasadena store (most likely).
If anyone is or might be going, leave a comment and state which store if you wouldn't mind.
Hope to see some of you there! And have fun!
Tiger has now been officially released, and I got my copy at 6:15 p.m. local time in Pasadena. Installed it in store, and played with it the whole time.
Spotlight is amazing. Really instant search. It is *wicked* fast! Much faster than the beta version I tried out on a friend's computer, and that was already fast. It indexes everything. When it finishes indexing my backup/external hard drive, I'll see just how good it is, and report back here.
Dashboard also exceeded my expectations. It is fast on my iBook, and not just beautiful, but also useful. At a touch of a key, I can gather all the tidbits of information I need, like weather forecasts, airline flight status, stocks, times around the world, and can also search in the built-in dictionary, do simple calculations, convert units, search in the yellow pages, and much more. Other features can be added by installing third party widgets.
Safari RSS is simply stunning in its speed and the new features. It is now even faster than the original Safari, despite new features. The most remarkable being the RSS capabilities. I can visit a site with an RSS feed, Safari would find it and display a little icon on the right side of the address bar, and if you click on it, the built-in RSS reader would go to that feed. By doing a simple drag-and-drop, you can then bookmark the RSS feed, and Safari would put a number by the feed to show new entries. The whole thing is done elegantly, and is very easy to use.
Other new features that others find great and I have yet to explore include the new Mail.app, iChat, Address Book, iCal, Automator, the new Preview, and Xcode 2. I'll be beginning to use these when I really start using Tiger to its fullest, and I'll write something if I find anything I like about these new upgrades and applications.
I was looking for a widget that can either run commands in the shell and display the output, or run the 'cat' command on a file. I was going to use it on Folding@Home, to display the unitinfo.txt file.
In boredom, I made a widget for Dashboard in Tiger that runs the 'cat' command in UNIX in a user-definable interval, and refreshes the result.
You can get it "Here(dashcat.v0.1.zip)":http://lokisnake.com/widgets/dashcat.v0.1.zip
It is currently *not* user-friendly, but it gets the job done.
To change the settings, you would need to go into the .wdgt bundle, and edit the javascript and css files. It isn't complicated to work with, but can be improved.
I will be improving this little by little. And feel free to submit comments and suggestions to lokisnake (at) lokisnake (dot) com
In CompSci class, we've just got an assignment where we have to work on a program in Java. It can be on anything and can do anything, but has to be worth about 4-5 weeks of work.
Well, I've decided to do something with Cocoa, just to start getting familiar with it. But, I need some ideas for the project. Someone in our group proposed a stock simulation. I think it may be too easy if we just pull stock information off the internet, and too complex if we simulate stocks by making our own class.
Well, any ideas on how/what to do with the stocks? Or maybe some other project we can work on?
And, no, it cannot be in Objective C. The class is *Java* orientated.
*Update*: Well, the group has decided to do a Chess game instead.
"Click here for the video(Hacking with Ramzi)":http://www.santoalt.com/videos/hacking_with_ramzi.php
Heh, saw this on the defcon forums, and thought I'd share this with everyone.
Enjoy!
Today, I have just discovered Speakable Items in Mac OS X, and, man, is it *awesome*!
I just turned on Listening in your System Preferences, and my iBook began listening for voice commands. It also provided a floating palette for feedback, so I could see if it heard me. I could optionally have it listen only if a key is pressed and held, or after I say a key word, like "Computer". There's also a Speakable Items palette that shows the user what commands the computer knows, and one can add one's own commands by making AppleScripts that run the command, and name it whatever you want to say to run the command, then move it to the ~/Library/Speech/Speakable Items/ folder
I easily made some iTunes scripts for play, pause, and other commands.
The speech recognition worked real well, and understood my commands most of the time. What really surprised me was when it understood the command "open nFoldMan" and actually started the application.
Mac OS X continues to give me wonderful surprises even after I used it for a year. And I definitely don't regret switching.
Ah, back in California, the nice dry warm weather.
Well, folks, I just got back from the Dell-Winston School Solar Car Challenge and, man, it was FUN(What else could this mean?!)!
We raced from Round Rock, TX to JPL(Jet Propulsion Laboratory) in Pasadena, CA in 8 days, and our team made second place in the classic division.
Well, that's all for now. I gotta get ready for some sleep, so I can take care of some business tomorrow.
Perhaps I'll talk about it more when I get some of my pictures and some other stuff in.
And more to come later.
This one is just for trying out the upload feature of WP.
This is our team advisor/sponsor, William, sleeping in the car.
And, sadly, I don't think I can go.
The one at Century City was right on the day of my SAT II Physics test, so I couldn't go. And this one at Manhattan Village falls directly on the Dragon Boating competition.
The good part is that I heard that there will be one around Beverly Hills or Hollywood somewhere, and is opening soon. Hope I can make it to that one, and join the celebration. Also to grab a free über-cool Apple T-shirt :P
According to ifoapplestore.com, Apple stores will begin carrying Apple logo merchandise.
I myself wouldn't mind a shirt and a hat. Hope they will have them at the Beverly Center opening.
P.S. Gah, I didn't even know that the Company store at Cupertino sold the stuff. I went there during Christmas break, and it turned out that Apple HQ was empty, and the store wasn't open. I should've went back the next day to buy some stuff.
Here's my first attempt on "transparent" monitors!
Not the best, but I'll be trying this again pretty soon, just to see how real it can get.
As you can see, the cup isn't matching up in the lower right corner.
Enjoy!
Well, after looking at all the Etymotics ER6i and the Shure E2C in-ear canalphones, I took the dive today and ordered the E2C's from Amazon.com for $65 with super saver shipping, which I found to be a pretty darn good deal, since they retail for $99 at shure.com.
Let's just hope they sound as good as they say online. Will post a review after I get them and try them out.
Oh, and if you are interested in new, perhaps better headphones, head-fi is a great place to ask questions and do research.
Well, I finally recieved my E2C in-ear headphones. Well, when I tried it with the default (type: flex, size: medium) plugs, I couldn't stick it into my ear, and also the sound was just horrid. Then, I took out the other plugs that came with the whole package and tried the ultra soft small ones, wow, just, wow.
I can now hear each part of the music quite clearly, especially in the big fat symphonies (tried it with Dvorak's 9th). The quality is simply amazing. Compared to my friend's Sony EX-71s, the bass isn't as "strong" but it is way tighter and much more accurate. And from a non-audiophile's point of view, this set of cans (do these qualify as cans?) is well worth the money.
Outside noise is almost totally filtered out. If I have these E2C's on, and am playing music, it was quite hard for my sister to grab my attention. She had to scream very loud, or to get my attention visually.
Oh, and if you are looking for just boomy bass, go for the Sony's, if you are looking for a nice pair of in-ears that isolate outside noise well, and reproduce music in an accurate manner, look no further. Well, unless you have more money to spend, then, the higher grade Shures or the Etymotics would do even better.
Perhaps I'll throw in another write-up after the so-called "burn-in" period, and see if the sound quality really improves.
Just in case you want to get me something :P
Anyways, here it is:
D-Link Bluetooth USB adapter
Nice big waffleweave microfiber towel (for drying car)
Some other microfiber stuff for washing car (e.g. applying soap and such)
Family Guy DVD (Movie or Seasons)
World of Warcraft
Claybar kit (for car again :P)
iceLink Plus for MINI (CD Changer version)
an unlocked cellphone on this list
or, be creative and surprise me :)
If you will be getting something, please post in comments or e-mail me at blog [at] lokisnake [dot] com, so I can cross them out and won't get two of the same items. Or, just get a gift receipt so I can return something in case of a double.
Thanks :)
Well, I just recieved an email from Apple saying that the Brea Mall will have an Apple Store grand opening on Saturday the 12th. For the past two openings in Greater Los Angeles, I've missed due to events like the SAT test and a dragon boating contest. Nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, will get in my way of going to this one, and getting my own Apple shirt.
Anyways, enough ranting. Is there anyone that might be interested in going together? I can take a couple of friends with me. Leave a comment if you are interested, and I'll give a confirmation if I still can take people or not.
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"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction." --Albert Einstein
Wow, this is so true. I mean, if you look at Windows v. *nix, SUV v. MINI, and Ghandi (can't believe I just said/typed this, for I know near nothing about him) v. current-day-U-S-of-A, it seems that everyone is aiming to be bigger and badder, yet they overlook the benefits of being gentle, small, agile, etc.
Well, here's a good read for the weekend: Click Here
A quote from the above link:
Jettas are safe because they make their drivers feel unsafe. S.U.V.s are unsafe because they make their drivers feel safe. That feeling of safety isn't the solution; it's the problem.
Here's a sign that America is awakening. Hopefully more will see the light.
Interesting A rant, but a very interesting and true one. We should really take a look at what America is becoming.
Even Mr. Paul Thurrott, long time MS-Win advocate, is seeing the light gradually.
And, to all those rushing to send in their college apps, like me, good luck, and remember to send them in early, to avoid any possible problems like the UC server crashes :P
I found this one on Google videos.
Here's another awesome one.
A cool idea would be if some students at our school can put together a video featuring cars at our school, and put it up on the video production stuff. Doesn't have to be performance, just something fun and cool, like the MINI + Audi one.
After reading this post at DrunkenBlog, I've noticed why I've been saving nearly all my reports, essays, etc. in .txt format. Before, it was just for avoiding Microsoft Word. Now, I will do so just to keep my files alive, in case one day Microsoft decides to stop supporting Office:Mac.
I've just ordered a pair of Puma Future Cats in Black/Red/Dark Shadow from Foot Locker. Below is a picture from Foot Locker's website:
After I recieve my pair, I'll do a nice little review of them here. Perhaps I'll even get a chance to compare them to a pair of Speed Cats (wink wink to all those Speed Cat owners)
Edit: In the picture, "this" refers to the black leather.
They've actually arrived several days ago, but I wanted to give a bit of time to let them wear in a bit before saying anything about them.
The Future Cats hug my feet quite tightly, and does so even more on my left foot. Maybe my left foot is a little bigger than my right. I tried running with these shoes on, it didn't work out too well due to the not very wide sole, so some steps didn't feel too solid. Walking with the shoes is (almost) as comfy as my old shoes.
Now, on to what these shoes are meant for, driving. It is simply a pleasure to drive with. My shifting suddenly became much smoother, mostly because of more pedal feel through the shoe's thinner rubber sole. The not as wide sole noted in the previous paragraph also helped. Before, with my older shoes, I sometimes had the heel of the shoes touch, and they'd get caught with each other. Not any more. And, the muchos rubber at the heel area also helps in smoothening out the rotating of the foot when operating pedals. Much of this might be just some psychological thing, but it makes a difference for me, so the shoes are definitely worth it for me.
I attended the LA Auto Show on Saturday the 14th of January, and I loved it. After seeing the Royal Grey MINI Cooper with the silver roof and stripes, I've noticed that is the color I've been looking for. See for yourself. It is simply beautiful, IMO.
I also saw the Bugatti Veyron that was there. It really didn't work for me. It just didn't feel like it is THE 1001-hp car. It just didn't look crazy enough. I mean, the Pagani Zonda has double the visual horsepower. For 1.2mil, it didn't seem like you were getting a complete supercar. Sure, it's got the performance, but I would've prefered if it just had a more radical look to it.
The big surprise for me at the auto show was the new XK from Jaguar. It was simply beautiful. If I had the money, I'd get one of those.
That about sums up the highlights for me at the LA Auto Show.
I've just ordered my copy from China, and hopefully it will be arriving within a week or two. The boxset is something like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6477610565
If the source I ordered my copy from is good, and the quality is also good, I'll post a link to the source I ordered from. The place I found it sold it for a scant $58, including shipping, much less than what eBay has to offer for the same set, and at fraction of what the US collector's edition boxset (discontinued, the one with three boxes) is asking for. And also much less than what I would've paid for if I bought each of the 20 DVDs.
I mainly ordered this set for accomplishing my goal for finishing all the Bond movies ever made, and also possibly for movie nights for after the senior finals. I've also got Band of Brothers and the Godfather series for similar purposes.
Supposedly these Bond DVDs are all perfectly legit copies distributed in China. We'll have to see about that.
They came on the day of Chinese New Years Eve. It came in quite good packaging, and was sent through the Express Mail Service from Shanghai, China. I was suspecting that they are pirated copies, and I can't say for sure they aren't, but I gotta admit that they are very high quality copies in very good packaging. And, the seller also included all 6 of the Star Wars films, which is a very good deal, IMO. Up to now, I've gone through 9 of the DVDs (4 Bond + 5 Star Wars) and have had no big problems. The only problem was that some of the Bond films were on Chinese dub by default, and since one of my DVD players had no audio selection option, I had to either use the other DVD player or use my iBook to watch the movie. Otherwise, everything has been near perfect for me.
Oh, and here's the promised link to the seller and his item: here on iOffer
I'm looking for a new language to learn, as I've had less and less things to do every day now. It'll fill in some of the gap for now. The thing is that I'm looking for a language that is good to use on some short and dirty programs that sometimes you'll want to whip out just to automate some easy, but tedious task. But also I'd like it powerful enough to do some more complex stuff, and not make it too difficult to do so. I did some Java before, but even just to get started, you needed to type a bunch of stuff, and sometimes the actual working code is less than half of the whole program. I got tired of it and just stopped.
Any suggestions/recommendations?
I was looking into perl, until I saw some short and VERY dirty code. Maybe python? Or even ruby? Also any recommendations on what book to use for learning the language? (It seems like a book suits me better than a web page/PDF/etc. I am lazy, and don't really fancy switching focus constantly)
I just attended the Admitted Student Program of Harvey Mudd College this past weekend (April 9-10) and, wow, even with my high expectations of what HMC is like and of the students, it still exceeded my expectations. I went even though I am sure of going, just to get a feel for what it is like.
First of all, the students are awesome. Everyone that I've met there has been friendly. They answer your questions, give you tips for the future, tell you what they've been through, and help you with everything that you might need help on.
The faculty is also one that I look forward to working with in the near future. I've attended a couple of classes (Intro to Astrophysics, General Chemistry, and some class on digital circuits I think) and a lecture on string theory by Vatche Sahakian. I've fallen in love (no, not literally) with the physics department at HMC. The lecture was very interesting, and the astrophysics class was just as good. Now I'm also giving some thought about doing physics instead of engineering.
The food was amazingly good. Much better than what I'd expect for food at a college. Sunday night was prime rib night. And I don't think that was done just to get us to pay $40k a year; Diego, my host's suite-mate, said that it is normal, and many students from the other 4Cs come over for sunday dinner.
The other surprising thing was that the I didn't actually see any Mudders do homework at all over the weekend. All were watching movies, TV shows, playing games, or just chillin'. From what everyone hears about the workload, I was expecting everyone to work their butt off, but no, they just sat around and seemed quite relaxed about everything.
After this whole experience, I am glad that I chose HMC and that I'll be going next year. And hopefully it really isn't as bad as they say and that they are just trying to scare us prefroshs. But I doubt it.
In this article, Mathewson is essentially saying that Apple switched to Intel in order to compete with Microsoft in the OS market.
I personally don't think so. The reason is that Apple is a hardware company, and that is where they make most of their money. I've heard that their profit margin is up to 30% for hardware. And they can't possibly make that much on operating systems alone. Sure they make more in terms of profit margin, but in terms of money, it is not possible. For example, the 20" iMac currently sells for $1699, and so that'll be a profit of about $500 using the 30% number, or $340 using 20%. By selling copies of OS X can never reach that height, at least not in the short run. Also, if they become a software company, their business model has to change completely. Right now, yes, they are great at making software, but all that work is just to cause more hardware sales. OS X for the computers and iTunes + iTMS for the iPod. I personally don't see how Apple could possibly only sell software in the future.
Just got back from the FBLA California SLC (State Leadership Conference).
It was a fun experience. I really only went for the competition aspect, but it was the mingling with the people that was the best part. After we arrived at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine, we sat down to begin studying Economics for both the upcoming AP test and my FBLA event. It was fun, and thanks to Sam for clarifying what crowding out is, it got me an extra question right on the test.
Then we went to Souplantation for lunch, which was horrid, but good for the price compared to what the hotel's cafe offered. The spit balls (we didn't really use spit, it was just water) were fun though. Sorry Felby. :-P
Next, the two tests I had (first Econ then Tech Concepts) were alright. Econ was easier for me though. Then we all went to our Advisor's room for some pizza, and then we each went to our own rooms for some movies. Or we were supposed to. Turns out no coverups were needed, and the whole thing was mostly eventless. Other than a sweet piggyback ride, and finding out that a MINI has the potential of fitting 5 people. Anyways, later we attended a dance after we finished Stewie Griffin - The Untold Story.
Then, we went to my room, and the girls and Jeff from next door came in to watch Tomorrow Never Dies. A half hour before the movie ended (where the action actually starts) they began their post-curfew spot check. Well, let's just say that it didn't turn out too pretty. When our advisor came, there were 5 misplaced people in our room, Jeff and the four girls. All our lights were off, so since Jeff sat by the laptop, and was in a dark spot, he wasn't spotted. The girls were also hiding behind the bed and wall. After the check, Jeff easily slipped into his room, but the girls were a problem. Their room was all the way at the other end of the hall way, and people were actually patrolling. So, after a couple of rounds of coming back to our room to check if we have "found" the girls yet, they finally decided to make a dash for the elevator, so that it appears they were just taking a walk/drink/etc. Well, I heard it didn't turn out too well. Anyways, that mostly completes our day. We watched Constantine on HBO, and later finished Armageddon. Then, we went to sleep at around 3:30 or so.
Next day, we went to Downtown Disney. We got food at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen. I ordered a oyster po boy. It was awesome, especially the oyster. It was breaded and fried to the most perfect condition. The outside was very crispy, and the oysters were still very soft. The only complaint I have of the sandwich was that the sauce was a little too spicy. I would highly recommend this restaurant, and wouldn't hesitate to go again. Then, three girls went shopping, and the rest of us saw either Silent Hill or Sentinel. I saw Sentinel, and it was mediocre. The acting is no doubt good, but the plot was plain boring. The ending had no "wow" factor, as they gave it away slowly. There was no epiphany. After a bit more of walking around, including visiting the World of Disney (the store), and playing with the various toys they had (the "pincher" was the best :P), we went back to the Hyatt, and got ready for the awards ceremony. Not many surprises here, other than Sam, I guess. He got 3rd in Networking Concepts, and 2nd in Technology Concepts. I got 3rd in Economics, and 9th in Technology Concepts. Benson also got something, I think 6th in business procedures. Then, unexpectedly, Ashley gave me two pecks to the cheek. The drive home after that was nice and smooth, making it home in 30 min or so.
Well, it was a fun experience, and if I had the chance, I would've done it again. Now, time for homework and lost sleep.
Update: Pictures are up. Thanks Benson!
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Grad Nite dress code, FMI (for my information :P)
DRESS FOR THE EVENING & THINGS TO LEAVE AT HOME�� Any clothing affiliated with a school, sports team, group,
club, etc. (i.e. letterman jackets, clothing with
school logos, etc.)� Clothing not in good repair (torn jeans, shirts, etc.). Jeans
are OK as long as they are not ripped or torn.� Extremely revealing clothing (i.e. bathing suit tops or
bottoms, see-through clothing, etc.)� Hats (official Disneyland� merchandise acceptable)
and other head attire, including beanies and wigs� All backpacks, briefcases, hip packs, camera bags, tote
bags and oversized purses larger than 81/2" x 11".
Small purses and fanny packs are OK.� Cameras, cell phones and pagers are OK. Camera and
cell phone cases are not allowed.� Shoes with skate wheels are not allowed. Tennis
shoes and sandals are OK.� Weapons, knives, chemical irritants of any kind,
laser pointers� Prescription medication (inhalers are OK); all other
medications must be given to your Chaperone� Over-the-counter medications
� Tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco,
snuff, etc.) and related material (lighters, matches,
pipes, etc.)� Alcohol or any controlled substance
� Bandanas (worn or hanging from belt loops, pockets, etc.)
� Glass containers and/or fluids of any kind (including
water, any drinks and perfumes)� Food and beverage (including water bottles and snack
items) Snack items include but are not limited to
gum/mints/candy (no candy containers)� Spiked-style jewelry
� Aerosol cans/bottles
Please note: To ensure the safety of our Grad Nite Guests, it will be necessary to search all persons and their belongings before entering the park. Any item is subject to search and may be disallowed upon security discretion. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
To speed up the entrance process, all Chaperones will be required to enter with the students.
This is Disneyland� Resort's dress code. Some schools may enforce a stricter dress code.
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I've recently discovered a "campaign" to promote Firefox, the most popular open source browser. It is ran by "four politically-oriented friends who care about open source software coming out on top." I like what they are about, and also like the idea. :P
Here's thier link:
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Well, at least for me. I used to be able to use SubEthaEdit under the personal use license. After the release of version 2.5, they have now gone to the 30-day-trial-then-pay-$35 deal. It was my editor of choice, for its snappiness, fast to launch, the ever so useful collaborative editing, and many other features. I now wonder if it is worth it to pay $35 for a text editor (or $20 as a student).
I have no idea as of yet what new features the upgrade has brought. I've recently tried TextWrangler is the one to try now. I once tried BBEdit (TextWrangler's big brother), and it felt a bit too clunky for my tastes.
I'll update this post after I give all the rest of the editors a run, and get some impressions.
Well, I've always wanted to make one for iComic, but never really had the chance/incentive. For a while, one of the plugins for Real Life Comics broke, and no one successfully fixed it. And it became so unbearable for someone, that they posted a $10 prize for anyone that gets it done first. So, armed with my Llama book, I began to tackle the problem. After much trial and error with downloading the HTML, parsing, regex'ing, and tinkering, I completed the plugin!
It sure did feel good. I finally used my knowledge on something useful. You can get the plugin here.
I'm currently trying out Movable Type. I like how it feels more clean in terms of design. It feels more Linux-y, compared to more Microsoft-y feel of WordPress. I don't know how to quantify this feeling, but it is there.
Well, we'll see how this works out, maybe I'll switch over some time.
Well, it is time to try out Movable Type. I've never really got around to playing with it. This seems pretty neat, and I think has a cleaner design in terms of the user interface.
I'm really waiting for the 3.3 beta to come out next week though.
I found this [e]book written by Scott Adams, the father of the Dilbert we all love. Scott mentioned that it is a free ebook download on the Dilbert blog, so I downloaded it then, but I never got around to reading it, until now.
I've just read up to page 25, and it is quite thought provoking. It kind of reminded me of the lecture of a physics prof at HMC that I attended on String Theory, how everything is predetermined. Well, I won't say too much. Just download it and read it!
Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech Audio/Video Download
This is an amazing speech. I love it. It is definitely worth the download, both video and audio. Just the stories that Steve Jobs tells are fun to listen to, but the ideas that he talks about is also great, and is fun to think about.
I think everyone should watch this, especially todays students. It just might touch the right spot, like it did to me.
Well, it is kind of late for this particular post, as it was 2 weeks or so ago. But I'm going to do it anyways, just for the heck of it.
Prom was fun. I was planning on not going, but at the last moment, I decided, well, it is a once in a lifetime experience, so why the heck not go? It turned out much better than I expected, thanks to Benson, Sharon, Sam, Brian, and most of all, Jennifer Wong, my prom date.
The food was pretty bad, IMO. Karaoke was set up in a weird way. It was essentially a smallish theater, the singer on stage, and singing. It didn't really feel "fun." Those were the worse parts, IMO.
Next, the gambling. It was not for real money, just chips for fun. We went to the open table that had no one there, and began playing blackjack. Everyone quickly lost, other than me. Well, I just couldn't lose. Must've been my night. Anyways, I just gave up in the end, and left, as my date was getting tired of our boring dealer. There were also free caricatures. The line was quite long, but we still got one, and it was quite interesting, looking at ourselves from the eyes of another person. The dance floor was not crowded, at least where we were. It was fun overall.
Post-prom, our group went to Cat's house, for food, more karaoke, and some random fun and games. It turned out that many were a bit tired, and we were mostly zombies walking about. It was fun though, with my tonedeafness and Sam's Color of the Wind. And then imagine half asleep people trying to play Taboo. I somehow tried to express lisp by using links to gay people.
Well, the whole thing was pretty fun. Too bad I didn't have a camera. Perhaps I'll collect some photos from some other people, and post them up later.
I actually discovered this show during my admitted student program at HMC. My host(s) (which were awesome) were watching it in the dorm room. I grabbed a chair, and watched it. It was like real life Dilbert. I loved it. And now, I'll be getting more doses of The Office soon, hopefully.
Can't wait until I start going to Mudd. It is going to be so much fun!
Currently I'm slowly learning Perl from the famous Llama Book.
I've fallen in love with the language for two reasons (for now). First, it has introduced me to regular expressions, which is something I've never really got the motivation to learn until now. Second, is how easily it integrates with the *nix system. I can easily run other utilities in the script (cat, (e)grep, curl, etc.) And I'm still only half way through the book. The language attracts me because I'm not a hardcore programmer/coder, and the quick-and-dirty-ness makes it easy to write something I need fairly quickly. (for example, to download a string of online comics from a website)
This is one of the best computer books I've used up to now. It explains things in a clear way, it has a decent amount of examples and practice questions, and it has some interesting, and sometimes funny footnotes. I've enjoyed reading and learning from this book.
I've tried to start on Python with this awesome ebook, but it just didn't work for me. I guess I'm more of a tangible book person than a learn off the screen person.
I've been looking through Facebook, as I don't have much to do these days, and noticed that Arrested Development is a popular show at Claremont, so, I gave it a shot.
So far, 4 episodes in, it is simply great. It is very entertaining, and i
