This was kind of a fun way to kill five minutes.
See if it works, and come back to let me know.
May 13, 2008
May 9, 2008
Data baste
It's Friday. Another week at work: done. You're feeling good about yourself. You're feeling like a smarty.
And then you read this story on CNN.com about a dude who managed to get data off of a melted disk drive from the Columbia space shuttle. I don't even understand how you'd begin to figure out how to do that. I'm not sciencey, not by a long shot, but I do know one thing: This guy is way smarter than I am.
It also makes me wonder. At a company where I used to work, one of the VPs kept losing all of the data on her laptop computers because she kept dropping them. A few feet. On a carpeted floor. Our IT guys could only throw up their hands in failure.
The Columbia disk drive, on the other hand, falls about 200,000 feet from a vehicle traveling at about mach 19 -- a vehicle that basically disintigrated, by the way -- and the drive is burned almost beyond recognition, and a guy in Minnesota recovers 99 percent of the info on the drive. Wacky.
And then you read this story on CNN.com about a dude who managed to get data off of a melted disk drive from the Columbia space shuttle. I don't even understand how you'd begin to figure out how to do that. I'm not sciencey, not by a long shot, but I do know one thing: This guy is way smarter than I am.
It also makes me wonder. At a company where I used to work, one of the VPs kept losing all of the data on her laptop computers because she kept dropping them. A few feet. On a carpeted floor. Our IT guys could only throw up their hands in failure.
The Columbia disk drive, on the other hand, falls about 200,000 feet from a vehicle traveling at about mach 19 -- a vehicle that basically disintigrated, by the way -- and the drive is burned almost beyond recognition, and a guy in Minnesota recovers 99 percent of the info on the drive. Wacky.
May 7, 2008
Reality bites
I especially liked three sentences in this AP story about Hillary's pig-headed insistence on screwing up the Democrats' chances of winning the presidential election, uh, I mean, defiance in the face of having no statistical chance of, uh, I mean, bold decision to stay in the primary race.
Let's analyze, shall we?
1) "Clinton's appearance in Shepherdstown, W.Va., was meant to underscore her determination to stay the course."
Why I liked it: Seems like this is code for, "The only reason a person of means would visit god-forsaken Shepherdstown -- or anywhere in West Virginia, for that matter -- was that they had an insatiable desire to prove something."
2) "Obama has 1,846.5 delegates to 1,696 for Clinton in The Associated Press tally. "
Why I liked it: How the hell do you get a half delegate? Is Emmanuel Lewis involved somehow?
3) "Clinton told reporters it would take 2,209 or 2,210 delegates to win the nomination, not the 2,025 in use by the Democratic National Committee."
Why I liked it: At this point in the election process, the players really can't agree on where the end zone is? That's great. Hillary fans: You sure you want a president who thinks it's OK to keep changing the rules until they work out in her favor? I didn't think so.
Let's analyze, shall we?
1) "Clinton's appearance in Shepherdstown, W.Va., was meant to underscore her determination to stay the course."
Why I liked it: Seems like this is code for, "The only reason a person of means would visit god-forsaken Shepherdstown -- or anywhere in West Virginia, for that matter -- was that they had an insatiable desire to prove something."
2) "Obama has 1,846.5 delegates to 1,696 for Clinton in The Associated Press tally. "
Why I liked it: How the hell do you get a half delegate? Is Emmanuel Lewis involved somehow?
3) "Clinton told reporters it would take 2,209 or 2,210 delegates to win the nomination, not the 2,025 in use by the Democratic National Committee."
Why I liked it: At this point in the election process, the players really can't agree on where the end zone is? That's great. Hillary fans: You sure you want a president who thinks it's OK to keep changing the rules until they work out in her favor? I didn't think so.
May 6, 2008
A moment of silence... with chocolate sprinkles
R.I.P., Irvine Robbins.
One half of the duo that brought us Baskin-Robbins died yesterday at age 90. You can read the obit here, but I think the lesson to be learned is that eating cereal with a scoop of banana ice cream for breakfast is the key to long life.
There's a note in the article about the genesis of the "31 flavors" concept -- one ice cream for every day of the month -- something I finally read or figured out a few years ago. I think that's one of the best ideas ever.
When I was in high school, I used to make regular stops at a Baskin-Robbins near my violin teacher's house on the way home (for dinner) from my weekly lesson. I'd get two scoops of Rocky Road in a cup and somehow eat it while driving home on the expressway. Not sure how I'm still alive.
So, kids, what's your favorite BR31 flavor?
One half of the duo that brought us Baskin-Robbins died yesterday at age 90. You can read the obit here, but I think the lesson to be learned is that eating cereal with a scoop of banana ice cream for breakfast is the key to long life.
There's a note in the article about the genesis of the "31 flavors" concept -- one ice cream for every day of the month -- something I finally read or figured out a few years ago. I think that's one of the best ideas ever.
When I was in high school, I used to make regular stops at a Baskin-Robbins near my violin teacher's house on the way home (for dinner) from my weekly lesson. I'd get two scoops of Rocky Road in a cup and somehow eat it while driving home on the expressway. Not sure how I'm still alive.
So, kids, what's your favorite BR31 flavor?
May 2, 2008
Diamonds and gems
Ack. Another feel-good story -- my second of the day. Sorry, I don't know what's come over me.
But this one was too good to pass up -- a much-needed counterpoint to all of the unseemly off-the-field sports news the last few weeks: y'know, like Roger Clemens, Hall of Fame ManWhore; track star Tim Montgomery's stunning fall from grace; the LSU quarterback getting kicked off the team and that kinda stuff.
So here's an item about an impressive display of sportsmanship -- maybe sportswomanship? -- by the softball players at Central Washington University (the school's tagline, in case you're wondering: Your future is Central). After an opposing player hit a home run but hurt herself rounding first base, two CWU players picked her up and carried her around the bases, ensuring her run would count. This despite the fact that the home run meant CWU was going to lose the game.
I don't want this to be all bread and roses, so I'll just say I think it's a little goofy to get injured during your home-run trot. Aside from that, this story made me smile.
Jeez, I hope I see some news I can make snarky comments about. And soon!
But this one was too good to pass up -- a much-needed counterpoint to all of the unseemly off-the-field sports news the last few weeks: y'know, like Roger Clemens, Hall of Fame ManWhore; track star Tim Montgomery's stunning fall from grace; the LSU quarterback getting kicked off the team and that kinda stuff.
So here's an item about an impressive display of sportsmanship -- maybe sportswomanship? -- by the softball players at Central Washington University (the school's tagline, in case you're wondering: Your future is Central). After an opposing player hit a home run but hurt herself rounding first base, two CWU players picked her up and carried her around the bases, ensuring her run would count. This despite the fact that the home run meant CWU was going to lose the game.
I don't want this to be all bread and roses, so I'll just say I think it's a little goofy to get injured during your home-run trot. Aside from that, this story made me smile.
Jeez, I hope I see some news I can make snarky comments about. And soon!
Road signs
What? Good news on SFTC? Yeah, thought I'd try something new today.
I was pleased indeed to see this New York Times graphic (who has time to read the whole article?), which revealed some promising data on U.S. auto sales.
Overall, April wasn't the greatest month for automakers -- sales declined for all seven of the top manufacturers.
But... the outlook for the environment was decidedly cheerier. Check out the table for sales of the most popular cars and trucks for April 2008 vs. April 2007. All of the vehicles that saw sales gains from last year were mid-size or smaller and, with one exception (Toyota Corolla), all of the cars with sales declines were full-size or trucks.
And the biggest uptick was for my beloved Prius! I was actually surprised to see that Toyota only sold 21,757 of them last month. I swear they must all be in the greater Los Angeles area.
Anyway, it's a sign that maybe we're not all complete idiots. Hooray for us.
I was pleased indeed to see this New York Times graphic (who has time to read the whole article?), which revealed some promising data on U.S. auto sales.
Overall, April wasn't the greatest month for automakers -- sales declined for all seven of the top manufacturers.
But... the outlook for the environment was decidedly cheerier. Check out the table for sales of the most popular cars and trucks for April 2008 vs. April 2007. All of the vehicles that saw sales gains from last year were mid-size or smaller and, with one exception (Toyota Corolla), all of the cars with sales declines were full-size or trucks.
And the biggest uptick was for my beloved Prius! I was actually surprised to see that Toyota only sold 21,757 of them last month. I swear they must all be in the greater Los Angeles area.
Anyway, it's a sign that maybe we're not all complete idiots. Hooray for us.
May 1, 2008
Taken for a ride
I'm thinking maybe the practice of letting congresspeople lease whatever car they want, while we pick up the tab, is sort of a crappy idea.
If we're going to pick up the tab, how about at least forcing them to use hybrids?
This reminds me of when I was student government treasurer in high school, and the president and other officers thought it'd be fine to order top-of-the-line Champion sportswear to "sell" as a "fundraiser," while keeping one of each item for themselves -- in other words, stealing from the school.
You'll be shocked to know that the guy who was president is now an elected official in Maryland.
If we're going to pick up the tab, how about at least forcing them to use hybrids?
This reminds me of when I was student government treasurer in high school, and the president and other officers thought it'd be fine to order top-of-the-line Champion sportswear to "sell" as a "fundraiser," while keeping one of each item for themselves -- in other words, stealing from the school.
You'll be shocked to know that the guy who was president is now an elected official in Maryland.
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